So I'm BACK!

So I took a hiatus ...

a really long hiatus. 

I tried to come back a few different times

but was overwhelmed 

by how much I had to update ...

which is a lot ...

and when I mean a lot, I sure do mean a lot.

It has been about 8 months since we've connected.

But, I'm baaaaackkkkk!

And hopefully to stay - forever.

Here has been what has been going on:

Sophie is now 4 years old

Blake is now 2 years old

Andrew and Charlotte are well ... 

old ... and getting older.

Numbers need not apply. 

Sophie just finished her 2nd year of preschool -

A-P-P-L-E-S ... juicy APPLES are the BEST! 

Blake is still mommy's little helper - 

coming along to transport Sophie from ballet to gymnastics

to this activity to the next.

His most exciting visit of late is the doctors office.

Oh, and of course his beloved Pau Pau and Ga-Gungs house. 

He is obsessed. 

(side note: Blake for some reason cannot say Gung Gung.

He's renamed Gung Gung "Ga-Gung" - it's starting to stick.

Poor 2nd child. 

Our weeks have been filled with play dates

and lots of fun ... and the weekends have been

filled with birthday parties and family time.

Same old, same old.

In October we went to the Bahamas.

First to the Atlantis Hotel in Nassau ...

it was a few days after a hurricane had come across 

the Bahamas so it was windy, windy, windy.

But, we still had a great time.

Seriously, a great time - sitting by the pool

and for the kids, the kiddie pool area.

For the adults, the adult slides.

The only bad morning was when Andrew

had to work and it took longer than expected.

The kids and I sat and waited ... and waited ... and waited.

That was the only bad moment.

Otherwise, it was great family time.

From Nassau, we flew to the Abacos Island

for my friends Brittany and Erasmo's wedding.

The ride to the airport is worth a mention.

We underestimated the amount of morning traffic and

the amount of time it would take for us to get there. 

We almost missed our flight - arriving only 45 minutes

before take of time. Yep, you read that right ... 45 minutes.

We even were able to check in luggage and made it to the gate

with plenty of time to spare. Thank God for small airports.

Britt and Erasmo's wedding was beautiful and amazing. 

We had an incredible time. 

We played in the sand and celebrated their love.

We danced and danced and danced.

I can't believe they are married!

The in December/January, we made the "trek home".

This time, we brought my parents with us to New Zealand.

On this MEGA-trip, we went to Fiji, Auckland, Wellington, Sydney,

Hawaii, San Jose and home ...

I'm finding that traveling "home" is a great way to see the world.

Fiji was beautiful but honestly, since our stay was so short,

we didn't get to really explore so it left me slightly less than impressed.

The kids had a great time though and we spent all our time at the resort

at the Shangri La pool ... swimming and relaxing.

Lots of ice cream was eaten.

New Zealand was amazing as usual.

The best part was that Richard and Mel (Andrew's brother and sister-in-law)

and their 4 kids came up from Hastings (which is about a 6 hour trip)

to stay with Alan and Erin (Andrew's parents) while we were there.

Steve and Becs (Andrew's youngest brother and sister-in-law)

and their 2 girls live in the Auckland area so we all got to 

be together for about 2 weeks. That would be 2 grandparents,

3 siblings, 3 wives of siblings and 8 grandkids.

It was utterly amazing. 

I love my family - wish this happened more often.

Hawaii was ... well, Hawaii ... do I need to stay more?

It was an incredible end to our trek around the world.

Despite the fact that we were in Honolulu, we found a little

piece of paradise. This time we decided to stay

at the JW Marriott which was right next door to the Disney

Aulani hotel. As it turned out, this was a secluded area,

away from Waikiki and it was nothing but paradise. 

As an early celebration to Sophie's birthday, we treated

the kids to a breakfast with Mickey, Minnie and friends.

Sophie was in heaven as you can see, 

Blake ... well, he was not a fan. 

Some day soon my little friend.

If I ever get organized enough,

I promise to share more photos from our trips

but these are the only ones I currently

have on my computer.

I will get organized

I will get organized

I will get organized.

Probably not.

Speaking of Disneyland

we decided this year was the year to get

Annual Passes. Blake is still free and Sophie is in preschool

so it would be no consequence for her to miss a day or two

of school. We decided to celebrate Blake's 2nd Birthday there

for our first visit. Well, the kids first visit ... ever.

They both love the roller coasters - 

perhaps Sophie more than Blake.

But still. 

Blake just makes the height requirement

for the more roller-coaster-y rides.

That makes me happy.

I will try to organize myself enough to

post photos from Disneyland.

We've been 3 times since May 21st

and plan to go 1 or 2 more times

before our passes black out at the end of the month.

 I think that's about it.

I'm sure I've missed something.

But yet another good reason ...

to blog again.

I'm back.

And it sure does feel good ...