Las Vegas, Part II...

In February, my grandparents asked us to plan a trip to Vegas again. I guess we did a good job in October! About a week before we left, we started to prep the kids that we would be gone again for a few days. Cade's initial response, "AGAIN!? You guys always go to Vegas! I wanna go to Vegas too!" 

 

Grandpa on his favorite machine. Too bad it wasn't giving any money back! 

 

During the day we ventured off to shop and eat out. Checking out the big fish at Bass Pro Shops

 

In N Out Burger is a must! This time we had "animal style fries"! YUM! 

 

We didn't make it to Bellagio in October, so we made sure to make time for it this trip. The beautiful spring flowers had a very strong aroma too!

Kenny would've loved the butterfly  house...

 

... and the giant lady bugs!

 

I was the "big" winner on the trip: $140 at Bingo... 

 

...and $120 on slots. Plus a little bit at craps and Pai Gow. I think my small winnings offset all of Garrett's misfortunes. 

 

We caught the red-eye back to Honolulu, so we both had to sport our glasses for the trip. I was lucky to have fallen asleep for most of the 6 hour flight back; Garrett and my grandparents weren't so fortunate. I kept telling Garrett "wow, that was a fast flight!" but he wasn't too thrilled with it and thought the flight was soooooo long! We were again blessed with a successful, uneventful trip... who knows, maybe another trip in 6 months? :)  

Spring Break 2013...

Since Spring Break is over, I can now say it was one of the best we've had... without jinxing it! Last year was miserable for all of us- I ended up having to take care of two little ones with pink eye and colds! So, comparatively, this one rocked! 

As the kids are getting older, they're getting so much easier to care for and entertain. Granted, we still have our share of tantrums and tears... but they're learning to play both independently and together!

We played at different playgrounds...

 

Cade hung out on the humpback whale!

 

He also showed us he could climb to the top!

 

Monkey see, monkey do! It was funny because they both were stuck in this position! 

We also squeezed in a few beach days with Daddy and Papa Dean (Gammy too, but she's hiding)

 Papa and the kids digging a big hole- trying to reach the water

 

Cade showing how deep the hole was!

 

Spending time in the beautiful weather; safely picking blueberries! 

 

Hanging out at Fun Factory!

Cade even had his first friend sleep over this break! He did really good- I was a little worried I'd get a call late at night to come pick him up... but nope!

Bye bye baseball...

Cade's baseball season is winding down- sorta thankful, but also sad. Thankful we won't have to sit in the cold, windy, rainy weather; sad because he's just starting to get the hang of it. For it being his first year, he did really well; it was definitely a learning experience as a parent. 

Top 5 things we learned:

5. Cade doesn't play Saturday morning games

4. Make sure to have snacks and distractors for Kenny

3. Cade doesn't play Saturday morning games

2. Be patient, laugh it off (Garrett coached them, and there were definitely moments he wasn't too happy)

1. Cade has a stubborn side, and doesn't play Saturday morning games. NOTHING. WILL. GET. HIM. TO. PLAY= not even a trip to Disneyland/Carsland! (Trust me, I tried!)

But on a happier side note, it was very rewarding and exciting to see supportive parents; seeing "old timers" come out and support this next generation reminds me how lucky we are to live where we grew up. 

Cade took a really nice baseball card picture! :) 

I couldn't help myself= I needed to document what the "unhappy, Saturday morning Cade" looked like so I can show him later. Half way through the season, we eliminated all the other variables and figured out it was the early time that threw him off. All the parents and family on the sideline knew as well; poor kiddo- you're not gonna hear the end of it when you get older!

Cade playing his last Saturday game! We begged him and reminded him of all his toys he's been waiting for. It worked! He's the little pitcher!

Our weekends have been busy with baseball, but not for long!

Kenny needed to be bribed to put on her little Girl's Day outfit

 The left side pic was last Saturday; the right side is about 9 months ago. Look how their faces have changed! 

Garrett went to Oahu for a weekend to attend a PT class, so the kids, Gammy, and I hung out.

First, Kenny caught up on her Netflix: Diego played non stop!

Then, Cade played with his pillowcases! 

We decided to get out of the rainy weather, and headed to a park to have a picnic. On the way, we noticed the Kula Country Farms was open. This is the same farm we come to and pick our pumpkins in the fall. On the way home from the park, we stopped in to check it out. 

Beautiful view!

Cade checking out the plants for Daddy to grow! 

Look at those sunflowers- we'll have to come back when they're all in bloom!

Riding the bull!

Goofy kiddos!

There was an area to pick strawberries, but we have our own little patch at home, so the kids weren't really interested. Plus, I think Daddy would've been a little offended! :(

Busy with baseball...

Ok, so baseball has been taking up quite a bit of our weekday afternoons and weekends, but we've still had some time to enjoy friends and family!

 Sweet Sarina (oh, and her mommy and daddy too) came to visit! ;) Haley and G are classmates from PT school and we lived with her for three years. They enjoyed a nice long vacay on Maui, so we had fun spending lots of time with them!

 

I had a cold for most of their trip, so I didn't hold Sarina til the end of the trip. Yes, what a cutie, huh!

 G's cousin, Dayne celebrated her 20-something birthday at the beach, so we headed out one day after Cade's t-ball game.

 

Chaz and Cade playing in the sand

 

The birthday girl with all the guys

 

The birthday girl with only the girls. We were missing Sherie and Shaina!

 

Kenny playing with Aunty Chansi's pretend glasses

 

Aunty Dayne and all the kiddos

Everytime we say goodbye, we always invite Chaz to come sleep over... this time he finally agreed!

 

Right before bedtime. The woke up on opposite ends!

 

 

 Name pancakes! Since Chaz had his hat on, Cade needed to also!

 

Cade's t-ball uniform 

 

This is how Kendyll entertains herself during Cade's games!

 

One of Cade's friend's mom sent me this collage of pics she made. She got some good shots of Cade playing! 

 Garrett has been playing baseball this season as well, so the kids and I have ventured to his games. Cade entertained himself by feeding the ants some crackers. He decided that was more interesting than watching his Daddy hit his first home run!

 

Kenny showing off her Valentine's treat from Aunty Liana's house. 

Busy, busy, busy...

 My cousin, Thomas, and his fiance, Thao, visited us at the beginning of January. We enjoyed taking them around Maui for a few days and showing them the beaches and food!

Cade making sand angels. This kid LOVES the sand! 

 Ululani's shave ice is a must after a hot day at the beach!

Cade officially started tee ball! It has been fun to watch him, but also a little frustrating because some days he refuses to participate. I had to bribe him a few times with Icees or lollipops. We've now resorted to a "goals chart" with stickers. We'll see if that helps...

Cade had fun one day practicing wearing his new helmet; reminds me of a hamster!

Cade's other adventure has been riding his bike without training wheels! We push him down the little hill in the front yard and he does quite well!

Can't leave out pics of the little princess. She continues to keep us on our toes with all her energy! She showed us that she's strong enough to hang on the bar at the playground for more than 10 seconds!

Here's Kenny sharing one of her favorite songs in Hawaiian-Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

This is Cade's 2nd day of riding bike, this time with Garrett