A Few Memories of our Kauai Trip

Just a few of my favorite shots of our trip.  I think this was my favorite vacation ever.  The kids were great, we got to do a lot of fun things, the weather was nice, Big Dad seemed to really enjoy himself and just hanging out with the kids.  What an awesome way to end the summer. 

Dad and Sophie heading out to surf near Poipu Beach.  There is a little reef break right out in front of the Kiahuna Plantation.  They had such a great time.  Dad was able to stand in a shallow part of the water and push her so she could catch the waves.  Tony was out there paddling around on his boogie board and was able to help tow her back out around the breaking waves and other surfers. The board was giant so it was hard for her to maneuver on her own. It was a true team effort.   

Nick playing in the sand at my favorite, Tunnels Beach. We snorkeled and swam here.  I think it is the most beautiful beach I have ever visited.  There is a huge reef that is home to tons of tropical fish.  Last time we even saw turtles here, but not this year.  Sophie was our little snorkle-girl this time.  She was able to go out really far with no problem at all. I was impressed.  She loved it, too. 

The 3 oldest at Kalapaki Beach. Tony, Claire and Marty all surfed at this beach, too. Tony and Marty also did a lot of body-boarding this year.  Tony is starting to enjoy it as much as surfing.  He can do a lot of pretty cool tricks in the waves. He flips the board over and does a barrel roll or does a 360 while riding the wave.  

Our beautiful baby girl.  I love this photo because she still looks like a baby with chubby cheeks.  We bought the girls flower leis at dinner one night.  Can you see how tired she looks?  

My boys. I absolutely love this picture. Tony and Marty are watching a really great surfer way out in the water.  The waves were really big that evening. Nick is checking out a sea turtle in the rocks below.  The turtle was huge. I think he freaked Nick out a bit. The turtle kept sticking his head out of the water and looking around. He was pretty awesome.  I would have taken a photo of him, but he looked like a giant rock. 

First Day of School

It is the day Tony and I have been dreading.  Even the weather was bad.  It was drizzling a little bit. We are all still a bit jet-lagged but we made it in time.  The girls were excited but Tony made his typical "face."  Nick goes back to pre-school 3 mornings starting next week.  

I made this today while the kiddies were at school. I enjoyed putting a police hat on myself. I do feel like a warden at times.  I also liked the chef hat and briefcase combo for Marty.  I know...  I have far too much time on my hands.

I would far rather be spending my time putting together an adoption dossier, but we are not there.....yet.

OLYMPICS CRAZY!!!

WE ARE CELEBRATING TONITE !!!!  Team USA and Mommy's favorite, Nastia Liukin, winning the GOLD in All-Around.  We made Chinese Food and had a great time eating.  Sophie and I made: Dumplings (Costco) Broccoli and Beef, and  Sweet and Sour Shrimp, both from Emeril Lagasse (TV Food) We even made decorations, a little cheesy, but a yellow plastic lid was as close as we could get to a Gold medal.  Sorry Shawn, but all we had for a Silver was a beige top and it looked completely disrespectful.  We kept telling Nick that he and Nastia were from Russia and we were so proud. He has absolutely no idea what we were talking about, he just wanted to eat the "potstickers," his alltime favorite.  We love celebrating this crazy stuff. Gymnastics and Russia both hold dear spots in our hearts. So...Let's eat Chinese... (food!)  

Fun at the Beach

We spent all last week at the beach.  Here are some highlights.  Sophie finally got it. She is surfing now...just like the rest of them.  She is the one in the ponytails.  How about Nick in his board shorts and pajama top?  He rolled out of bed and onto the beach.  What a life these kids have!!!! Even Luna joined in on the fun.

Happy Birthday Claire!!

We celebrated our gymnast's 9th Birthday this weekend.  I cannot believe that she is 9 years old.

She wanted to have her team over for a swim and pizza party It was so much fun.  

Boys and Their Toys

This is what my boys do in the summertime while I think they are getting ready for bed.  Apparently the "old" gameboy has been passed down to the little brother. BUSTED!!!

Moto' Homies Do Zion

It all started about 10 years ago.  I was a new "stay-at-home" mom.  I had recently had my first son, and converted to Catholicism.  My old friends were still working full-time and had no kids.  I decided to call the Church and see if they had any kind of Moms Group where I could meet other moms and have like-minded ladies to hang out with.  Unbeknownst to me another mom had recently made the same phone call to the Church looking for the same exact group (which we were both told did not exist) You know where this is leading......

I finally met this mom (after I completely forgot to even show up the first meeting the Church had set up for us, thank goodness she understood.) We became fast friends, we had kids the same ages, we both love to cook, we both wanted more kids, our husbands liked each other....the list goes on and on. We ended up starting the first ever Moms Group at our Parish.  This particular group went strong for a number of years and had almost 100 members at one point.  As our kids got older and were off to elementary school, we (the core bunch) stopped meeting formally, though we still see each other all of the time.  The Parish Moms Group is still going strong, but if I attended I would not know a soul.  Those of us who started the group have remained friends and still see each other often.  

Our kids have grown up together and are like siblings. We have gone through and supported each other through a variety of life events.  That first mom I mentioned above and her husband are Nick's proud Godparents.  

Fast Forward to 2008. The only really organized event that we all still do together is go on a week's vacation each summer and sometimes over the New Year Holiday.  We all have acquired RV's of some sort and enjoy camping together.  We plan all of the dinners around nightly themes and have tons of fun activities for the kiddies. The parents pretty much sit around and watch the kids run wild, play games, cook fabulous meals and eat.  We have been to many places in California and have even ventured to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.  This year we traveled to Zion National Park in Utah.  We had 7 families.  A grand total of 18 kids between the ages of 13 and 3.   We call our group The Moto'Homies.  Cute name-huh?? My Gymnast thought of it, she won the contest.  Some of our members can't stand the name, but they have to live with it for awhile because we made T-shirts last summer.  I think it is a hysterical name.  

Here are some photos of our trip to Zion last week.   We finished out the week stopping for a night in Las Vegas so 4 of us girls could have a night on the town to celebrate my friend's birthday.  The dads stayed in the blazing heat in the RV Resort with the kids.  It was a nice break and us moms had a blast. The last photo is the Birthday Girl and some of the little girls checking out the Limo that took us to "The Strip" this was her birthday surprise from us.