The Baroni's Hawaiian Adventures

Spring Break in Mississippi

2009-04-11T21:17:00.003-10:00

Yes, I know it may sound strange to want to go to Mississippi for Spring Break when we live in Hawaii, but it's true! Plus with Eric leaving for his deployment during that time, I just wanted to be around family and friends for support and distraction! As you can see, when the girls and I were flying home, I had 2 very tired little traveling companions with me!

One thing we were most excited about going on this trip was to meet our new nephew/cousin, Tripp. He was 9 weeks old when we first met him, and he is sooooo sweet! Emerson loved helping out with him in any way she could....sometimes she was a little too much help!

We went to Vicksburg to visit with Eric's parents before he left and the girls got to enjoy the new playpark down by the river, Catfish Row. They had lots of fun!

Our attempt at a family picture before Eric left. We even let Chelsea get involved!

Emerson, Macie, and baby Tripp

Eric's last night before he left (bright and early at 6:18am!!) He wanted to get the girls something to "remember" him by, so he got them each a piece of jewelry. He got Emerson a little necklace with a heart shaped charm on it, and she wears it ALL the time. He got Macie a bracelet with a heart on it. She doesn't really know what to do with hers but she knows it's from Daddy. Hopefully it will help them not miss their Daddy as much during these next 8 months!

Valentines Day 2009

2009-04-11T21:06:00.004-10:00

Eric surprised all of us girls by sending us presents that were delivered to us for Valentine's Day. He sent the girls yummy chocolate covered strawberries and cookies, and I got an edible arrangement that was delicious! The girls loved it too!

Tom and Jonnie's visit dec/jan 08/09

2009-02-24T22:46:00.003-10:00

Tom and Jonnie came to visit us over the Christmas holidays this year. We kept them very busy while they were here. I think they may have needed a vacation from their vacation when they got home! We visited the Polynesian Cultural Center, where we enjoyed learning all about the islands in Polynesia. Eric and his dad "enjoyed" a shark cage adventure--no thank you! Not for me! We went parasailing and Emerson even joined us! I couldn't believe it! Eric and his dad also went on a glider ride on the north shore. they said it was amazing, but I think i'll stay on the ground! Getting me to parasail was about all the adventure I could handle! We also went on a whale watch where we spotted whales 5 times--it was amazing! We have lots of fun things to do here, if anyone wants to visit!

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The life and times of Molly Baroni

2009-01-19T17:30:00.004-10:00

It's been a sad day. Molly, our 11 (I thought she was 12) year old dalmatian had to be put to sleep today. I knew the day was coming, but never having had to make this decision before secretly prayed she would die in her sleep like all of our other dogs have.

We adopted Molly in February 1998 after learning that b/c she was deaf, the pet store in the Burlington mall wanted to place her with a family. A friend of ours worked there (thanks for thinking of us Trishadee!), and knew that we could handle a dog with this type of disability since Chelsea is also deaf, and we were starting to look for a companion for Chelsea. We fell in love instantly with this tiny little puppy and took her home. Chelsea and Molly acted like real sisters right from the start....Molly would antagonize Chelsea by biting her ears and bothering her in general. One of her favorite things to do would be to back up and sit on Chelsea, usually straddling her right behind her head. They both would just sit there, like it was the most normal thing in the world! Even until just recently, when Molly would have a burst of energy she always grabbed one of Chelsea's back legs. Why? Who knows? That was just a Molly thing. Molly was pretty much known for not being the smartest dog to ever grace the Dalmatian breed, but what she lacked in social graces she more than made up for with her character. She chased her tail almost incessantly some days, waaaaay after she had graduated from puppy days. And, she was the best cuddler. Since she was never very big, she always was able to curl up right in front of you on the couch or in bed and would squeeze herself into a tiny ball and stay there all night.

Molly and Chelsea travelled with us all over before we became parents to children. They frequented many AF Band of Liberty concerts, went camping, made the 24 hours Christmas drive with us too many times to count!, moved from Boston, to San Antonio, to Florida, to Oklahoma, and then finally to Mississippi. They loved to travel and Molly would always just curl up in her crate and sleep, occasionally sitting up to look out the window and watch the world go by.

We made the decision to leave Molly with my mom and dad in Petal when we moved to Hawaii b/c I just didn't know how either she or Chelsea would handle the stress of moving "overseas". I'm so thankful to my mom and dad for taking such good care of the dogs and always loving them, even when they would grate on your last nerve. My daddy even dug a grave for Molly, so she can always be "home", right next to cocoa.

I said my goodbyes to Molly when we were home in October b/c I realized then that this day was coming. She has been in mine and Eric's lives for most of our married life and it's really sad to know that piece is no longer with us. We love you, Molly Anne. May you rest in peace. I hope you know that we love you and made this decision so you wouldn't have to suffer any more. We'll miss you.........

Get a cup of coffee, a snack and get ready to read!

2009-01-05T00:27:00.003-10:00

Okay, I am almost totally caught up on blogging. Whew! I frantically uploaded all the pictures while I was home this afternoon, thinking I could comment and edit the posts at work. Well, I thought wrong. I updated pictures all the way back to our trip home in October. It is posted in 3 installments (although it shows up as 4, since the b'day posted twice ????). We had such a good time when we were home, it really made us miss being close to family and friends, which are soooooooo important to us! We started our trip in Vicksburg, then went to Guin, then to Birmingham to hang with the Thiens and have dinner with Shaley, Corie & Matt, Aunt Jan and kids. We then went back to H'burg to spend the rest of our stay. Lauren flew in while we were home and we got to spend lots of time together as a whole family. Hard for us to do, since most of us live on opposite sides of the world!

We spent Halloween in H'burg and went to Zoo Boo one night and trick-or-treated the next. The girls loved getting to wear their costumes twice!

While we were home, the girls had their birthdays. They got to have 2 joint parties, one at Nana and Grandpas, and the other at Mimi & PopPop's. They had lots of fun, but I don't think we can convince them that it's fun to have joint parties much longer!

We got to go to USM's homecoming game which was a BLAST! We took both girls and went with our friends the Tharps. Laura Kate and Emerson acted like they were best friends and had so much fun watching the game together and showing off their eagle tattoos! Macie loved to cheer and will break out in S-OU-THERN, Southern Mississippi, USM! whenever we wear a t-shirt or drink out of a USM cup! I'll have to try to get it on video and post it (someday).

Okay, so i just signed back in and some of my comments are showing up and some are not. Go figure! But, in any case, enjoy the pictures. I have no idea why the birthday montage posted twice, and there is a Halloween picture on the Christmas montage. Remember, I did this quickly and then wrote during the middle of the night. I apologize for any typos! My next posts will include all the fun things we did during nana & grandpa's visit. Enjoy!!!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-04T18:09:00.002-10:00

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Thanksgiving Art 2008

2009-01-04T18:03:00.004-10:00

We didn't do much for Thanksgiving this year b/c I had to work, but we did get a new doormat made that we have been wanting to make for a couple of years. I think it turned out pretty cute!

Emerson's New Bike

2009-01-04T17:57:00.005-10:00

Once we got back from MS, we decided we needed to get Emerson a bike. We wanted to get her one during the summer, but never got around to it. And, I didn't want to wait untl Christmas, so we got one for her really for no reason at all! She hopped on the bike and took off and, so far, has not had any major falls, just a couple here or there. If we had someplace really safe for her to ride, I might try to let her go without the training wheels, but there just isn't anyplace safe for her to try on her own yet! We'll let her get a little more confident with the training wheels......

Happy Halloween 2008

2009-01-04T17:57:00.004-10:00

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Celebrating Emerson & Macie's Birthdays

2009-01-04T17:44:00.003-10:00

Here are some pics from the girls' birthday parties at both Nana & Grandpa's and Mimi & PopPop's

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Good times in Mississippi Oct/Nov 2008

2009-01-04T11:39:00.001-10:00

These are just some random pictures from all the fun we had on our trip to MS in October. We started off in Vicksburg for a few days, then went to my Grandmother's house in Alabama, met up the the Thiens in B'ham for some good times, had dinner at my cousin Shaley's house and got to visit with her and some of my other family. Then we went to Hattiesburg for pretty much the rest of our stay. Aunt Lauren flew in and had a good time with the girls. We went to USM's homecoming game with the Tharps and had a GREAT time! Everytime we pull out a USM cup or t-shirt, Macie breaks out in S-OU-THERN, Southern Mississippi, U-S-M!! And then, if we say Go, Eagles!, she says To the TOP! So stinkin' cute! I think football really made an impression on her!

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Emerson's field Trip

2008-12-04T22:12:00.002-10:00

In October (yes, I'm behind---again!), I got to chaperone Emerson's field trip to a farm on the West side of the island. The children got to learn all about farm animals and got to pet and feed them. They also learned about plants that are native to the island and how to farm plants that we use (fruits and vegetables). The children really enjoyed the whole trip, enjoyed a picnic lunch, followed by a game of duck, duck, goose, and gave the chaperones and teachers a treat---a quiet bus ride home, since most of the kids fell asleep. It was pretty comical to see all the adults trying to keep the kids from bouncing out of their seats and falling on top of one another!

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Random things that have been going on

2008-10-22T06:44:00.003-10:00

Since it's been a while since I've posted anything, thought I would do a quick montage and update everyone. Eric and I got to go on a Catamaran ride with his co-workers to celebrate Dr. Judd's (Courtney) birthday. It was lots of fun, very relaxing, and a good time was had by all, especially since we had no children with us! There's also some pictures of the girls playing at one of the parks on base, in the backyard, and just some really cute pics of them together! We also got caught in a terrible downpour one afternoon walking home from school. Emerson thought it was pretty fun, but Macie was not too thrilled to be running down the street strapped in a stroller getting drowned by the rain. I thought it was pretty funny, and it felt good....it was really hot that day! And, finally, we brought chocolate chip cookies (Christie's yummy recipe!) to share with Emerson's class for her birthday. The kids sang happy birthday to her and she got to pass out the treats and goody bags to her friends. Enjoy!

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Labor Day Weekend 2008

2008-10-22T05:59:00.002-10:00

For Labor Day this year, we decided to "get away" for a couple of days, so we went to the Hale Koa, a military hotel in Waikiki. It was really really nice, and we had a great time hanging out at the pools. We tried going to the beach, but it was just too rocky (second time we've gone to waikiki and it's been really rocky....still don't see the attraction!). Anyway, we had a good weekend, a break from our normal routine and plan on going back soon!

The Pool at the Hale Koa

Macie is ready to hit the beach!

...so is Emerson!

Daddy and the girls with diamondhead behind them.

Enjoying the pool. I don't know who enjoyed it more, them or us because they both could touch and weren't hanging all over us like a couple of monkeys!

What's new with us...

2008-09-21T22:34:00.002-10:00

Not a whole lot is going on with us this month. Emerson is continuing to like school. She really amazes me with everything she is learning (the pledge of allegiance, America the Beautiful) every day. She is a little under the weather this week, though. We found out on Friday that she has pneumonia....who would have thought you could get that where the weather is so nice all time? She is feeling much better now, just has a cough that she's having trouble getting rid of.
I started working nights at the beginning of the month. I just finished my 2nd week this morning and am fighting to stay awake as long as I can, hoping I can sleep well tonight. I didn't adjust very well last week, so hopefully this week will be better.
Eric is trying to train for a marathon. He ran 8 miles tonight. He usually feels pretty good after he runs, but he is starting to have problems with his foot that has not been operated on....looks like he may have an operation to fix his right foot sometime after the first of the year.
Macie is learning new things everyday. Dawn (her childcare provider) is teaching the little ones the alphabet, and last week's letter was A. She kept saying ah, ah, ah...like apple! So cute! And she made some really cute crafts too!
That's about it for us for now. Aloha!

Macie's new tricks.....

2008-09-21T22:11:00.004-10:00

Why are almost-2-year olds so funny? I don't know either, but just look at what Miss Macie has been up to lately!

update: we decided it was probably better not to post naked bath shots of our 2 year old on the computer....if you haven't seen the video and want to, please email us and we'd love to share with you!!

Mainland Visitors

2008-09-21T21:07:00.001-10:00

We were so lucky to have our good friends from Oklahoma come visit us in August. Damon, Joanna, Brodie, & Layla came to see us for a few days before heading to the Big Island to enjoy time with Joanna's parents. We had such a good time, and the older kids had so much fun playing with each other. The little girls, however, either stared at each other or were yelling about who took who's toy (usually Macie doing the majority of the screaming!). Even though we shared waaaay more germs with each other than we wanted to (thanks to a nasty stomach bug that seems to attack every visitor we have from the mainland), I think a good time was had by all! Enjoy the slides!

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Snorkeling at Shark's Cove

2008-09-21T20:34:00.002-10:00

Eric and I went with Beth one day in August to Shark's cove, a rocky cove on the North Shore, where the snorkeling is great! That is, if the surf is down.....we didn't get to go out over the deep water because the surf was pretty rough that day, so we just hung around the rocks in the shallow area. Although the water wasn't as clear as we had hoped, we got some pretty cool pics and got to try out our underwater case for our camera. We think it turned out okay! Enjoy!

Here is the state fish, a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (or you can just call it a trigger fish!)

beautiful......

Emerson's First day of Kindergarten

2008-08-25T12:48:00.002-10:00

Yes, Emerson is really in kindergarten this year. I was a little skeptical at first, sending a 4 year old to kindergarten, but she is really doing well. She even told me to "Go on, Mom!" one morning as I was dropping her off. (my first rejection!) I think she really likes going.....we'll see in the coming months how long she keeps it up!

The obligatory walking to school picture! (no, Dolly is NOT allowed at school!)

Standing in front of the sign at her new school

Settling in at her seat doing "quiet" activities while waiting for the other children to arrive.

Getting LOST in Hawaii

2008-08-25T12:28:00.003-10:00

Yes, my friends, we have become LOST fans. I mean, who wouldn't? We watched it when it first came on and then kind-of drifted away, but now we are hooked, and Eric was given the first season for his birthday (so we could catch up!). We actually have to get caught up on 24 first, but LOST is next in line! Anyway, as many of you may know, LOST is filmed almost exclusively here on O'ahu. So, we started doing some asking around, and research and found a beach where they film a lot of the scenes. We made the drive up to the North Shore one Saturday morning and arrived to a beautiful, almost deserted beach. Then we found out that this particular beach is more well known for it's turtle population than being a site for LOST. There were 7 or 8 in the water right by the shore. We must have stood there and watched them and played with them for almost an hour! It was so much fun to be that close to them. The girls loved it too! When we finally made it over to the filming location, which is easy to spot b/c of the orange fence they have surrounding it, we were a little disappointed b/c there wasn't anything there. You could see back in the woods that things were under tarps and the "groundskeeper" was there watering the trees and grass, but there were no sets like we had hoped to see. We did find out from a nice lady who lives in the area, though, that shooting was supposed to start back up later on in August, and there used to be a large set there, but that had just finished tearing down the last bits of it the day before ....figures.
But, the highlight of our trip was the sea turtles. And, since we were on the North Shore, and it was about time for lunch, we had to stop at Cholo's and get our Mexican fix!

A sea turtle (honu) coming up to say HI!

Eric getting a little too close to the sea turtle!

Family Pic

The remains of the LOST set....

The Waikiki Aquarium

2008-08-25T12:19:00.003-10:00

In our quest to do as much as we can in the 2 years we have remaining here in Hawaii, we ventured off to the Waikiki Aquarium one Saturday recently. It was pretty cool, kind-of small, compared to some other aquariums we had been to before, but we had a good time. We also found a convenient parking place that's free, and a great hamburger joint! In true Baroni fashion, we had our camera, but didn't have a back-up battery, so the battery started dying after we had been there only about 5 minutes. (Good thing it's not that big at the aquarium!)

Here's Eric and the girls in front of the big aquarium where there are reef sharks and big fish.

And of course, we found Nemo......

Here's Emerson in front of the big aquarium again.....

Then the camera died! Oh well, maybe we'll have better luck on our next outing!

Happy Birthday America!

2008-08-04T21:05:00.002-10:00

The 4th of July was a little more exciting this year than last (remember....we laid on an air mattress in our unfurnished house and watched fireworks on TV.....BOOOORRRRING!). At least Eric and the girls had fun. I, on the other hand, had to work---this shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has known us for any length of time. Eric and I rarely get the same holidays off. Anyway, enough griping.....Eric and the girls, and Beth and James went to Bayfest, which is held at Kaneohe Marine Corp Base on the 4th of July weekend. There is a fair and all the fun and games that come along with the fair. Enjoy the slide show....the music is a throw-back to Eric's band days....National Emblem is/was one of his favorite marches!

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Yard Work

2008-08-04T20:55:00.003-10:00

Many of you have wanted to see pictures of the house, and being as efficient as I am, I have not gotten around to it. One reason was the front of the house looked terrible. It was the first thing we said when we walked up to the house.....those giant plants HAVE to go! So, a year later, we enlisted the help of a landscaper (who also cuts our grass--thank goodness!) who really spruced up the front for us. I thought I had a finished product...and one at night, too with all the lights lit up. Will have to search the archives a little better for those!

BEFORE

DURING

Oh well, I can't seem to find the full after pictures. But, I'm sure you get the picture. No more "little shop of horrors!" We are soooooo pleased!

Emerson's Preschool Graduation

2008-07-02T15:03:00.003-10:00

Emerson graduated from preschool this past Friday night. We had no idea it would be such a big deal, but apparently it is here in Hawaii. A tradition we were not aware of is that you are to bring leis for friends/classmates and share them after graduation, so that by the time you are done, you have leis up to your eyeballs--literally. Too bad we didn't know this little tradition, b/c we won't be around for another graduation in Hawaii (hopefully!).

We had a small "party" at the house for Emerson and James & Beth came over to help us celebrate. Emerson was excited about her cake, but was concerned because I had forgotten to add the birthday candles! It didn't stop her from eating it, though!

Enjoy the pictures!

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News about D.C.

2008-06-29T21:53:00.003-10:00

I know a lot of ya'll are wondering if we have heard anything about the D.C. job, so we will share the latest with you. Eric had a great trip to D.C. and loved everything about getting around the big city and the whole atmosphere of that setting. However, he was not chosen to be one of the next PA's to serve in the White House. We are disappointed, but know that he gave it his best shot and for what ever reason was not the one the panel chose to select. We will keep you all posted on any updates we hear about his upcoming deployment, etc......

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support this last week. We all really felt the prayers and enjoyed a week filled with a peace that we haven't felt since we got to this island. Now, we have to try to find that peace again and deal with the daily struggles that living here presents.

We love you all and miss you dearly!! Please keep praying!

MiMi & Pop Pop come back to Hawaii

2008-06-29T21:46:00.001-10:00

Mom & Dad came back for a visit to Hawaii this month. We were able to see Lanikai beach (sooooo pretty) and we hiked Diamond Head (without the kids, thank goodness!). Eric took them to see the Polynesian Cultural Center and to the Iolani palace. They had a really great time and got to spend a lot of time with the girls. After their loooong trip home, which included an unexpected stop at the ER in Salt Lake City, it may be a while before they get back on a plane to come see us again! Enjoy the pictures!

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BIG BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

2008-06-03T18:18:00.002-10:00

We have some news to report here in the Baroni household.......

Many of you may have known that Eric applied for a position at the White House to be a PA there.

WELL......he got asked to come for an interview in a couple of weeks!! We are very very excited, and hope that he gets it! He will be flying out on the 22nd and will be interviewing on the 24th and 25th at the White House. This would be a great opportunity for Eric as well as us as a family. We definitely appreciate your prayers on these days regarding this matter, both if Eric gets the job, and if he doesn't, b/c then we would be facing another 2 years here and that could be very difficult.......

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know!!! How many of ya'll thought our big news was we were expecting? Are you crazy?????? Not yet!!HA HA HA

Memorial Day fun

2008-06-03T17:31:00.006-10:00

We FINALLY got to go on a short trip over Memorial Day Weekend. We went with our friends Beth and James and really had a good time! I think we squeezed as much into the short time we were there! We left Oahu around 9:30 on Saturday morning and got to Hilo around 10:15. Once we picked up our rental cars, we were off on our road trip! Our first stop was the volcano!

James is checking out the steam vents where steam from the volcano seeps out of cracks in the Earth's surface. These obviously are man-made, but you can find them all around the park!

Family pic in front of the volcano. This eruption started about 2 or 3 months ago and caused a pretty big hole in the side of the crater. Pretty cool to get to see it!

Emerson and Macie posing in front of the crater at the observatory.

This is the Thurston Lava tube, where lava flowed during an eruption many many years ago. You can walk all the way through it.

This is inside the lava tube. No clue who the random stranger is in our picture or why he is looking back at us and "posing"!!

Because of the eruption currently happening, we weren't able to travel all around the national park. (too much dangerous air and sulfur dioxide to be safe). So, we ventured down route 130 where there is a lookout where you can see the lava hitting the ocean, and you can see where the lava damaged and took out an entire neighborhood back in 1983 or 1984. Pretty neat stuff!

Even though she doesn't look it, Emerson is thrilled to be standing on lava!

Here we all are (minus Eric, he's taking the picture) walking to the viewing area where you can see the lava.

And here is where the lava meets the ocean. Every once in a while you could see flashes of red as it hit the water, but mostly you just saw steam. Pretty darn cool, though!

If you look closely, you can see the steam coming up out of the earth as the lava flows from the site of the eruption, down the mountain and into the water. The lava is flowing underground and you can only see the steam escaping through the vents.

On our last day, we went to Akaka falls. Fans of Fantasy Island may remember these falls, as this is the one used in the opening scene (I believe). Pretty cool to see such a huge waterfall!
And Emerson and I stood next to a GIANT fern in the rainforest to have our picture taken! Can you believe how big this thing is?!?!?

We definitely enjoyed our trip to the big island. We hope to get back there sometime soon to do some more exploring!!

My sincere apologies!!!!

2008-05-05T23:18:00.003-10:00

Okay, I'm sure a lot of ya'll are wondering if we fell off the face of the Earth....well, no, we didn't, we (I) have just become very lazy and didn't post a whole lot in the month of April. Okay, well, not at all. SORRY!! One reason, excuse, whatever you wish to call it, is that we purchased a new camera, and Eric didn't have a chance to download the software until a few days ago. Soooooo, what follows are some of the most recent things we have done around here. I have been trying to get a video clip of Emerson singing in church, but I think it's too big....the computer just kind of freezes after a while and doesn't do anything. We were so proud of her...she sang and did the motions and everything....too cute!

And, I took Macie in for her 18 month well-baby check up today. How in the world is that possible? I have no idea. For all you LOST fans out there, I am really starting to believe that there is some sort of space-time continuum, or whatever the guy on LOST keeps talking about when the people seem to lose time.....it must be an island thing. As far as I can tell, Island time flies by, isn't slow like I thought it would be! Where has the time gone?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy seeing pics of the girls. You can kind-of see Em's new haircut in some of them. I can't find the pics from the day she got it cut, and Eric is asleep right now, so I don't dare wake him up!. We were inspired by Aubree's haircut! She gets soooo many comments on it--even when it doesn't look so cute! Thanks for being such a trend-setter Aubree!

ENJOY!!!

Emerson's first hula performance

2008-05-05T22:19:00.003-10:00

Here is a little clip of Emerson's first hula "performance." The preschool she goes to offers a hula class once a week, where the kids learn all about the history of hula and it's importance to the culture of Hawaii, not just a dance routine. The kids showed us some of their other moves, but this was the one clip that most resembled "hula" that most people would recognize. (And, the class only started in January, and didn't meet for several weeks, so they are all very much beginners!)

Enjoy!

Hawaii Children's Discovery Museum

2008-05-05T22:07:00.002-10:00

Eric was able to be a chaperone for one of Emerson's field trips recently. They went to the Hawaii Children's Discovery Museum, which apparently is a great place to take the kids. I haven't been yet, but Eric said the kids had a blast. Maybe we can all go one day!

Here is some of Emerson's classmates and one of her teachers before they all went inside the museum.

Eric had charge of Emerson and another little girl named Mandy. Here they are sailing away! And being very safety conscious, wearing their life jackets!

I think this is the grocery part of the museum. The kids can take turns shopping, and running the register and checking out the groceries....lots of hands on experience!

One area of interest for my two family members was the theater area.......I don't think I have to say anything else!

Hawaiian Waters Adventure park

2008-05-05T21:47:00.002-10:00

We tested out the water park here on Oahu a couple of weekends ago and had a BLAST!! It was so much fun watching the girls have so much fun! We went with our new friends James and Beth and just wore ourselves out! The fun wasn't all for the kids, though, the adults were able to sneak away and get a few rides on the big slides.

Here's Macie going down one of the little slides. She wasn't scared of the slides at all....when she'd get to the bottom, she'd turn around and say "gin...gin" and try to climb up the slide!

When we finally took a break to eat lunch, Macie discovered how much fun it is to dip your fries in ranch dressing and ketchup! Here is a shot of her with her ketchup mouth!

Remember I said the kids didn't have all the fun? The big splash on the left is Eric, and coming in second place is James, on the right. Why they think riding down the Wedgie slide is so much fun I'll NEVER know!

And finally, here is Emerson coming to a stop at the bottom of the slide after going down all by herself! At first she wouldn't go down unless she was sitting in one of our laps, but after a couple of times, she was going up and down, up and down....we couldn't hardly keep up with her! She had a blast!

Easter Fun

2008-03-30T21:33:00.005-10:00

Emerson was really excited about coloring eggs this year. She did a really good job, and only a couple of eggs got broken. Next year will probably be a different story because Miss Macie will likely be involved!

Easter Sunday. I FINALLY finished Emerson's ladybug dress just in time for Easter. I didn't intend for it to be her Easter dress, especially since I cut it out last January before we moved! I just happened to finish it right before Easter, and since I didn't find anything that I liked any better, let her wear it! We also dressed Macie up in her dress, but couldn't let her go to church because she was getting over the Chicken Pox! (It was a really mild case, so she never really felt bad, we just had to quarantine her until all the pox were crusted/gone....you moms know the drill!) Anyway we had to get pics of both girls because they both looked sooooo cute!

While Eric and Emerson went to church, Macie and I stayed home and cooked Easter Dinner. She happened upon a Recee's Peanut Butter Egg (that I thought I had picked up), unwrapped it, and proceeded to take a big ole' bite out of the end of it! I think she liked it, because after I strapped her in her highchair to finish, there wasn't a whole lot to clean up!

We had an egg hunt in our back yard for the girls before we had Easter Dinner. I think they had a pretty good time getting to find all the eggs themselves, and not having to share with others!

Showing off their new bunnies from Mr. James and Ms. Beth!

Recent, Random Pics of the girls

2008-03-28T22:17:00.003-10:00

I don't know where we took this picture, but it sure is a cute picture of Macie!

Macie's new favorite toy is the little car. She will go in the back yard and just sit in it. Doesn't even have to be going anywhere, is just content to sit! Luckily, I can see her from the kitchen window and don't have to be supervising!

We are going to try to enjoy eating outside more often. We enjoyed having grilled hot dogs on Good Friday. Where else can you grill, wear shorts, and eat outside almost any day of the year? One of the few perks of living in Hawaii!

Trying to get a cute pic of the girls before church one Sunday morning. Macie looked like such a big girl in that halter dress! It's so difficult to get both of them to look at the camera at the same time!

Emerson's new digs

2008-03-28T22:10:00.003-10:00

We finally finished Emerson's room a couple of Sunday evenings ago. We were pretty proud of the way her grass skirt bedskirt and window treatment came out. And no, for all you family members out there, no animals were injured, in any way in the trimming of the grass skirt (Lynda). Ha! We couldn't stop laughing about the "incident" that occurred the last time a grass skirt bedskirt was attempted by someone in our family!
And, I think Emerson enjoys her new, finished bedroom, too!

Church Easter Picnic

2008-03-28T21:44:00.005-10:00

We went to our church's annual Easter picnic a couple of weekends ago. The girls really had a good time and the park was way up in the mountains and had lots of trees and was cool. Not at all what you would expect in Hawaii!

Emerson and her friend Hannah enjoying playing with their new bubbles!

Macie going on her first Easter egg hunt. It didn't take long for her to get the hang of putting eggs in her basket!

Emerson, Hannah, and Ryland waiting their turn to hunt eggs.

Emerson's turn!

Macie and Daddy enjoying their chocolate cupcakes ...maybe a little too much!

Both my girls! Aren't they the cutest?

Macie's New Tricks

2008-02-22T22:48:00.004-10:00

Here's Macie performing at her best.....She learned how to say "cheese" at Dawn's house and we think we've just about got all of her body parts down pat! Enjoy!

"SAY CHEESE!"

"WHERE'S MY.......?"

A hike on the end of the Earth....

2008-02-22T22:18:00.006-10:00

Well, it's on the eastern shore of the island, anyway! We took a hike to see the Makapu'u lighthouse on the Windward side of the island on Monday, since we had the day off for President's Day. Here we are at the bottom of the hill, getting ready to go straight to the top. Luckily we got to take a lot of breaks on the way up....there are a TON of whales on that side of the island , and they were very very active, giving us lots to see!

Emerson the explorer is all set to go with her binoculars in hand to see all the whales! (How cute does she look?)

I think she's spotted something waaaaaaaaaay out in the ocean! (or maybe not!)

There's the lighthouse, and our explorers! We still have a little way to go before we reach the top of the mountain. The lighthouse is not all the way at the top (like we thought), but rather sits nestled on the side of the mountain!

Here's Emerson at the very top. Mommy and Macie are down on the flatter part of the top having a snack and letting Macie air out after sitting in the stroller in the hot sun for the walk up. Wish we had more pics to share, but in true fashion, the camera decided not to work. I guess we should be thankful we got as many pics as we did! It usually likes to die at the beginning of an adventure! We can add this trip to our tour for any adventurers that want to experience it! Let us know!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-22T22:06:00.003-10:00

Here's a couple of pics of the girls from Valentine's Day. Macie is getting the hang of digging into present bags, as you can see! Emerson had a fun day at school -- it was pajama day and everyone, even the teachers and the principal, wore their pajamas!

Emerson is learning how to hoola-hoop so we thought we'd get her one to see how she does! Not bad!

Sea Life Adventure

2008-02-22T21:48:00.004-10:00

A couple of weekends ago we went to Sea life Adventure Park. We got to see lots of sea animals, like dolphins and sting rays, turtles and sea lions, and lots and lots of fish. We had lots of fun and plan to go back before we leave here so we can swim with the dolphins.....how cool!

Emerson at the touch pool looking at a sea star. She thought she wanted to touch it, but decided against it!

Macie's not so sure about the turtle, either!

We spent most of our day at the Hawaiian waters reef tank. It has so many neat fish in it. We just kept watching the turtles and sting rays and sharks come by. It was very cool! There was a blowfish that seemed to be following Emerson.....every time we moved to a different window, he would show up and "stare" at her!

Nana & Grandpa come for a visit!

2008-02-03T14:18:00.000-10:00

Eric's parents arrived for a visit in January. They have become quite the world travellers as of late, having traveled to Germany in November to see Mark and his family. They arrived safe and sound in Hawaii and were greeted by Emerson and Macie (and Eric) with leis.

After a good night's rest, Eric got everyone up and started the tour with a stop at the Dole plantation.

Taking a ride on the Pineapple Express at the Dole Plantation

Enjoying the shade from a Banyan tree outside the Honolulu Zoo, across from Waikiki Beach

Taking a break from the zoo with some yummy shave ice!

Grandpa and Macie are exploring the guinea pig house and tunnels at the zoo.

On Thursday, we went to a luau. The food was good, the entertainment was great and we even met a great couple from Australia who had a little boy who kept Emerson entertained!

T.R. getting up close and personal with one of the performers at the luau!family pic....

On Friday, Eric took the girls to school and daycare, and took his parents to the Arizona memorial (it is definitely much easier and much less stressful to do this without children!)

On Saturday, everyone (except me, of course, b/c I had to work) went to the Ala Moana beach park and had a picnic lunch and enjoyed playing games in the park. Looks like a lot of fun!

Sunday was a fun adventure day.....Whale Watch! Wales come from Alaska to Hawaii every winter to have babies and mate and stay away from the frigid waters of the north. We saw several whales while we were on the cruise. It was a lot of fun!

Our ship for the Whale Watch - the Star of Honolulu

Grandpa taking the girls on one of several walks during the week! I'm sure he was worn out when he got back to Mississippi!

On the last day Eric's parents were here, they took a driving tour of the Windward, or east, side of the island. Here, you can see T.R. has ventured waaaaaay out on the cliffs and is standing on the edge of the island!

We really had a good visit and enjoyed showing Tom and Jonnie the island. We are getting pretty good at the tour guide gig. That's a hint for anyone that wants to come for a visit! Aloha!!

Random shots of the girls - January

2008-01-26T14:44:00.001-10:00

These are just some random pics of the girls that we took this month:

Macie loves tacos from Taco Bell (And yes, those are 2 more teeth on top! And, there are all 4 molars in the back! Yeah! When did she get these you ask? All in the same week! What fun for Mommy and Daddy!)

Here's our little Kama' aina Baby (not really, but she's as close as we've got so far!). That means "local". Isn't she pretty with her lei?

Here are the girls enjoying a picnic lunch at Ala Moana Beach Park when Nana & Grandpa came to visit.

Apparently, blonde kids are something for Japanese tourists to check off of their things to see list when they come to Hawaii.....I have never seen so many people stop and look and touch and take pictures of kids (who are really, really, REALLY cute) doing nothing! It's quite strange, but it happens almost every time we have them out in Waikiki (where the majority of the Japanese tourists are).

Christmas Morning - Part 2

2008-01-26T12:34:00.001-10:00

Here's how everything looked before we tore into the presents.....
Again, don't you think we need more presents next year?

Macie getting to tear into one of her presents

And this is the lovely snow queen, Emerson, modeling one of her newest
dress-up outfits
(As cute as she is in it, she can only wear it for a few minutes at a time....
it's quite warm!)

Macie is checking out her Jack in the Box from the Germany gang. Once she figured out
where he was popping up from, she would try to bite him when he popped up!
Very cute!

Taking a break from all the festivities and enjoying some sausage balls
and marshmallow puffs!

And here is Emerson again, modeling some more of her new presents: a lovely Little Mermaid gown from Mommy and Daddy, and several princess accessories from Nana & Grandpa!

Yes, I think both of our children have inherited their father's gene for cleanliness!

And, of course, there are many many more pics, but in order to see them , you'll just have to come visit and we'll bore you to death with all the Christmas pics, if you like! We had a great morning at home, and then went and enjoyed Christmas dinner at Holly & Ashley's house! A very good day overall!

Santa Claus does come to Hawaii....Christmas Morning part 1

2008-01-26T12:20:00.001-10:00

Emerson was delighted to see that Santa ate some of her cookies and drank all of the Chocolate milk she left out for him (he better drink all of that milk....it's EXPENSIVE here!). But she was a little disappointed that he didn't eat ALL of the cookies. Better try harder next year, Santa!

Emerson was excited to receive Pat Pat Rocket from Santa, thanks to much behind the scenes work from one of Santa's special helper elves!

Macie is ready to go for a ride on her new musical/sound making/loud/obnoxious ( i know, we bought it, or, santa bought it, so I can't complain can I?) bike with 1 of 2 identical purses she received.....who knew Santa liked to shop at lillian vernon as much as Aunt Abby?

Santa brought a new super-cool wagon for both girls to ride in.
They love it!

FINALLY......Christmas Eve photos!

2008-01-26T11:32:00.000-10:00

Okay, so it has taken me MORE than a little while to get these posted..... I finally have a Saturday off, and I am trying to get caught up on everything I need to get done!

Emerson cutting out Christmas Cookies for Santa

Macie getting her first taste of Cookie dough! Yum!!!

You've got to have LOTS of sprinkles on the cookies!

And, what would Christmas Eve be without a picture in front of the tree?
I think we need some more presents next year, don't you?

Santa's cookies are all ready for him to come down the chimney and leave us presents!
Oh wait, we don't have a chimney.....he came through the back door this year!

Sprinkling the ground with reindeer food for all the reindeer.....it's a long way
to Hawaii, so they need lots of snacks!

Now, it's off to bed for sweet dreams and visions of sugarplums, and a long night of waiting
for some little girls to go to sleep so Santa can come and make a deposit at
our house!

Getting the perfect Christmas Card picture.....

2007-12-30T21:53:00.001-10:00

By now, most of you have seen our Christmas Card picture for this year. The idea came from my Mom, who had seen a picture of a sand Christmas tree on a card and relayed the idea to me. Perfect, right? Not if the wind is blowing like a cyclone and your 4 year old, who was woken up from her nap to take the picture, is not cooperating in the least. The one year old wants to just sit and play in the sand, in her brand new white dress... Our tree builder (Eric) had arrived about 30 minutes before I did with the girls so he could have the tree ready for the photo shoot, but the waves kept creeping in on his creation and sending it our to sea! And, just as we started to get some decent pictures, the batteries started dying !!! Oh, well......Here are some of the outtakes......hope you can laugh with us!

Visting Santa

2007-12-30T21:47:00.000-10:00

Well, we thought we were going to have a great picture with Santa........After standing in line for 45 minutes with Macie yelling "santaaaaaah" every time we saw him, we really thought we wouldn't have to deal with the whole anxiety issue. Emerson was very excited to see Santa and even had drawn him a picture. She looks scared in the picture, but I think she was just scared of Macie...I mean, the child was WAILING! But being the torturous parents that we are, we insisted on having the picture taken, and spending money on it! Everyone has to have at least one of these great pics in their inventory, right? Enjoy!

Christmas Decorating

2007-12-26T20:46:00.001-10:00

Here are a few pictures of our house in it's decorated state.....I really had a lot of fun decorating it, and really started to like the house more and more after it was all done.....What will we do next year? Hmmmmmm.....

This is the entryway and staircase

This is the dining room

This is the buffet in the dining room

This is the "kitchen tree" that isn't really in the kitchen!

Christmas Carols in Hawaii

2007-12-26T20:37:00.001-10:00

On Sunday before Christmas, we went Christmas Caroling with the church. We are at the Japanese pastor's house here, singing to her and her mom. Emerson is in the middle of it all, being a ham, dancing, with her two favorite aunties, June and Joanne. Everyone was surprised that we, the newest , "haoliest" family in the group knew the words to 'Mele Kalikimaka"......thanks mom! (&Bing)
Oh, "haolie", pronounce "how-lie" is a Hawaiian term for "white people". Sometimes derogatory, sometimes not!

Emerson's first choir concert

2007-12-21T21:21:00.001-10:00

Emerson participated in the Music Makers choir at our church this fall semester. She was one of the youngest kids there, but I think she really enjoyed it. The kids sang in choir on Veteran's day and then had a performance for Christmas. They did a little play called the "Not so Silent Night." I don't really know how much she actually sang during the performance, but she sure did look cute standing up there on stage! I have some video clips of the musical, but they were too large to upload to the blog.....sorry! Maybe next time!

It's beginning to LOOK a lot like Christmas!

2007-12-16T14:36:00.001-10:00

b/c it SURE doesn't feel like it! Here are some pics from us starting to get the house all spiffed up for Christmas. And, just like we were surprised with the pumpkins, there are pretty good Christmas trees to be had here in Hawaii. At K-Mart, even! (yes, I think we are the only part of the country who still has K-Mart!) Here we are bringing the tree into the house.......note the giant tropical plants on either side of the entrance....kind of hard for you to think it's Christmas too, huh?

Emerson hanging the first ornament on the tree. We wanted Macie to get in on the action, too, but she went to bed early that night. And, after thinking about it, it was probably better that we didn't let the one year old help!
This is Macie's contribution before she went to bed that night.....playing with the lights. Don't worry, they're not plugged in!

Emerson's tree in her room. She decorated it mostly all by herself. Just a little coaching here and there from Daddy! Oh, and the bandages on her feet are just for play...she saw Eric with his ankle wrapped after he ran, and of course, she had to be just like him!

Macie enjoying her Christmas tree in her room. She actually did help put some balls on it, and she took them off, and put them on, and took them off.....

Emerson and I got a "snow day" off from school and work after some bad storms came through one night and did a lot of damage to the area. So, we made Candy cane cookies. They were very very yummy!
And yet again, I forgot to edit the pic and rotate it (oops). Keep checking back for more pics from the Christmas Season!!!

Thanksgiving 2007

2007-12-16T14:23:00.001-10:00

This was our first year to celebrate Thanksgiving in Hawaii, and we were lucky enough to have our friends Matt and Teresa invite us over. As you can see, several of us were able to "gather together' and have a delicious Thanksgiving feast.
Emerson and Jackson playing in the clothes hamper (yes, I know I should have rotated the picture when I transferred it to the computer....I forgot!)

Emerson & Macie looking very festive in their pumpkin shirts. (They were probably burning up...it actually was a little too warm for pants and long sleeves, but it was Thanksgiving for pete's sake!)

Emerson's Thanksgiving at School

2007-12-16T13:31:00.000-10:00

Emerson's school had a Thanksgiving Potluck lunch and fall fair the day before Thanksgiving. Luckily, Eric was off that day, and got to enjoy going with her. She got to do all the fun things 4 year olds love to do.....get a tattoo, face painting, and she even tried some new foods....lumpia, haupia (coconut pudding), and pumpkin bread! Our contribution to the potluck was Sweet Potato Casserole.....no good Southerner can eat a Thanksgiving meal without that! And, it was such a hit, there was very little leftover, and what was there, the teacher took home! Getting a tattoo!

Emerson's face painting.

Emerson's class enjoying their meal out on the lanai at school.

Birthday Supper for Emerson & Macie

2007-11-17T19:48:00.000-10:00

We felt pretty bad not having "real" parties for Emerson & Macie, so we had a dinner in their honor on the Saturday between their birthdays. We don't know many people with kids, and the ones we do know, couldn't come, so we pretty much had a dinner for adults and they brought presents over for our kids! Anyway, we had a "Mexican Fiesta" of sorts, since Emerson requested cheese chips and tacos for her birthday food. I had originally planned on grilling, but it's a good thing we didn't, because while I was grilling the flank stead for fajitas, the grill ran out of propane! So, on to plan "B"......I'll try to finish the meat in the broiler.....yeah, right! I almost burnt the house down. Even though the fajitas were a little on the rare side, there was enough food that every one had a good time and even got to eat seconds.

The girls enjoyed eating their cupcakes!

and opening presents!

Words for Halloween pictures

2007-11-13T19:55:00.000-10:00

I don't know why, but when I posted the previous pictures (from Halloween night), the website wouldn't let me write my blog entry. So, after many attempts to correct it, I gave up and just posted the pictures. As you can see from the preview to Halloween, Emerson dressed as Ariel, and Macie was an Octopus. We went to a church for their harvest festival, or "Hallelujah Night", as they called it. It was nice, but a bit crowded because it was pouring down rain outside, the first big, constant rain we had since we moved here! Everybody said it ALWAYS rains on Halloween....how weird! Anyway, we were all able to participate in the festivities this year. No one was giving birth or anything like that! And, because it was about 85 degrees at 8 pm, Macie was ready to shed her octopus skin and go trick-or-treating in her diaper by the end of the night!

Our first Hawaiian Halloween

2007-11-10T19:51:00.001-10:00

Halloween Preview

2007-11-03T21:37:00.000-10:00

Here are pics from the fashion show we had before Mom and dad left. They (Mom mostly) wanted to see the girls in their halloween costumes. In case you can't tell, Emerson is Ariel and Macie is an octopus. A very cute, but very hot octopus! You can see just how hot when I post the pics from actual Halloween night.....pretty funny!

Macie's First Birthday!

2007-11-03T20:50:00.000-10:00

We celebrated Macie's first birthday a little early, so Mimi & PopPop could enjoy the festivities. Macie's real birthday is on Halloween, and that was just a crazy night, so it's a good thing we took care of birthday fun before the real day!

Emerson's 4th Birthday

2007-10-28T20:20:00.000-10:00

One of the things we got to do while Mimi & PopPop were here was celebrate Birthdays. Emerson's was on Tuesday, the 23rd. We started out the day with Emerson's favorite breakfast...."smarshmallow" puffs and sausage balls. At lunch we had tacos & cheese chips, followed by birthday cake and presents. After we woke up from our naps, we went downtown ate at the Cheesecake Factory, where Emerson got birthday ice cream and a song from the waiters and waitresses. Then for the grand Finale, we went and enjoyed the broadway production of The Lion King. It was wonderful, and Emerson really enjoyed it. She stayed awake for the whole thing (it lasted 3 hours). We didn't get home until after midnight, but had a great day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMERSON!!! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!1

Mimi & PopPop come to Hawaii!

2007-10-28T17:21:00.001-10:00

We had a GREAT time this last week with Mimi & PopPop here (that's Whitney's parents, in case some of ya'll don't know). They came for Emerson & Macie's birthdays, and to see what life is like for us here in Hawaii. I have to apologize.....I forgot to upload the pictures in reverse order, so, as usual, they are backwards.....if you want to see the week in review in order, then scroll to the bottom and work your way up!

This is from Friday, the last day Mom and Dad were here. We went to the Ko'Olina resort and enjoyed their lagoons....very nice for the girls to enjoy the water without having to worry about getting wiped out from the waves!
This picture is Macie enjoying some delicious pineapple ice cream from the Dole Plantation. YUM!

More fun in the sun!

Visiting the Dole plantation.......

We went to a luau one of the first nights Mom and Dad were here. We got to go on canoe rides and Emerson & Mimi got matching "tattoos!"
Emerson greeted Mimi & PopPop in the traditional Hawaiian way....with leis. She was such a big girl running up to meet them as soon as they got off the airplane and giving them their leis. The next day, Sunday, we went for a drive to the Leeward (East) side of the island and visited the blowhole and Bellows beach. It was a long drive, but a fun day at the beach for everyone! Sorry for any confusion with the pics being out of order....I'm still learning about this whole blog thing, and editing is something I don't really have a whole lot of time to worry with. The most important thing is that we had a really great time and enjoyed having our first visitors to Hawaii. Who's Next???????

Yes, there IS a pumpkin patch in Hawaii!

2007-10-28T17:05:00.000-10:00

Last weekend we enjoyed a fall tradition that we were afraid we might not get to do this year, since we live in Hawaii and all now. But, there is, in fact, a single pumpkin patch on our island, and it happens to be not too far from our house!
So, we loaded up the girls, and having no expectations of what a pumpkin patch in Hawaii might be like, were very pleasantly surprised. There were Hay Rides and Pony rides and all the things one might expect at a pumpkin patch and LOTS of pumpkins. We had so many pumpkins to choose from, it was a hard decision. There was a patch full of medium to large pumpkins, a patch with small to medium pumpkins, one with white pumpkins and one with teeny, tiny pumpkins perfect for the girls to pick out for themselves. Aside from the fact that I believe that almost the whole population of the island was there and it was 85 degrees, we had a really fun time.
And we got some really cute pumpkins, too!

We've got a Walker!

2007-10-14T21:52:00.000-10:00

Okay, so this video shows Macie at her best......in her diaper, belly hanging out, going as fast as she can for the bottle, passy flying out of her mouth and squatting with the grace of the best Sumo wrestlers out there! We shot this the first weekend she was walking and now she has really got the hang of it. You can't stop her from walking! It is the cutest thing. Oh, and she did cut a tooth about a week before she started walking, but we can't seem to get a good picture of it. So, she barely had a tooth before she started walking! And yes, it is still a singular tooth, no teeth just yet!

Glass bottom boat tour

2007-09-23T21:39:00.001-10:00

To try to take advantage of all Hawaii has to offer, we have decided to try to do a fun thing with the girls on Saturdays. Last Saturday we went on a Glass bottom boat tour, sponsored by the Tickets & Tours office on base. The tour was pretty fun and not too long, so the girls didn't get too antsy! We drove to Kaneohe Bay (on the Windward, or East side, of the island) on the AF bus....very bumpy ride.....where we boarded the glass bottom boat. The actual "glass bottom" was in the little holes in the middle of the rows of seats. After we got out on the reef and saw some fish, we got to go up on the deck and throw bread out to the fish and see them from the top, too. We waited around to see if any turtles would come up, but we only saw a couple from far away. They never got close enough to the boat to really see them. Anyway, a good time was had by all!

Macie trying to figure out what in the world we're looking at!

No fish in this picture, but you can see the water & the reef & see how close we were to the reef.

Emerson throwing bread to the fish!

Even though most every day in Hawaii is BEAUTIFUL, this day was a little overcast. It was raining in the mountains, but luckily we only had a few sprinkles!

Emerson's first day of Preschool

2007-09-23T21:26:00.001-10:00

Emerson started her new preschool on Sept. 10. She is really excited about going and seems to have fun while she's there. Aside from the fact that she won't eat lunch, she's doing great. In the 2 weeks she's been attending, she has gone on a field trip, and got to play on the Tumblebus. So much fun!!! The school teaches a lot about science, reading and does a lot of art and free play with centers for the kids to play in. They also teach the children a lot about Hawaii, which should be pretty interesting for us to learn,too!

Yes, dollie went with us on the first day.

Emerson's Turn.....

2007-09-07T23:06:00.001-10:00

Emerson is not the only one in our house doing new things. She decided she wanted to snorkel like her friend Zach does, so we bought her the mask and snorkel and she put it on and even made it to the bathroom so she could try it out in the tub....but quickly decided she didn't like it very much. Maybe we'll try again later!

Emerson also LOVES to help me out in the kitchen. She is always asking to help me bake. Here, she is dipping some muffins in butter and then in cinnamon sugar....YUM!!!

And today, she conned me into playing Pretty Pretty Princess (along with dollie) and I had to take their pictures when we were done putting all of our jewelry on.....yes, dollie is dressed up too!

Emerson will be starting preschool on Monday....watch for pics of the big day next week!!!!!

Macie's 10 month tricks

2007-09-07T22:54:00.001-10:00

Much like her sister at this age.....Macie is getting into EVERYTHING! She found a box of Kleenex, LOVES climbing up and into the dishwasher, especially if there is water on the door to splash around in...even better if it's Emerson's chocolate milk dripping from the top rack...I don't actually let her play in the milk, but Macie sure tries hard to get to it before I can move her away!
She's trying to stand up...I swear, she is just going to get up and walk away one day very soon! She started clapping on her own this week (sorry, so pictures yet....maybe soon!) and playing patty-cake when you start saying it....and just like Emerson did, she rushes to the "Throw them in the pan!" part, because throwing your hands up in the air and falling on your back is so much more fun than just clapping! Hopefully there will be pictures to follow (soon) of her new tricks!

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-07T22:22:00.000-10:00

We had a fun-filled Labor Day Weekend this year. We had to make up for the lack of festivities we partook in on the 4th of July, so we planned something for every day of Eric's 4 day weekend. On Friday, we went to a birthday party at Hickam Beach. After the party was over, we all changed into our suits and went for a swim in the ocean. The water was so clear, and the waves aren't very big at all at this beach, so Macie had a blast in her float!

We also ventured to the Honolulu Zoo on Sunday. We thought we weren't going to be able to make it....the zoo is in the middle of Waikiki and it is very very busy on Sundays in Waikiki. Don't all the tourists go to church on Sunday??? Wait... Ha Ha The girls had a great time. There is a really good petting zoo here and the girls both enjoyed petting the goats (yes, we sanitized Macie from head to toe when she was done), and there was a really cool koi pond that you could crawl inside of and see the giant koi swimming all around....Macie loved standing and watching the big orange fish swim by!

Monday we ended up going to a beach near our house. Not our first choice, b/c the surf is pretty rough, and there are a lot of rocks, but the beach is quiet and we got to enjoy the outside! We hope you all had a good weekend.....I know most everyone watched football....we have to get up really early to enjoy the games and Emerson doesn't like it if we cut into her TV time on Saturday morning. We get to catch a few games here and there. Football frenzy isn't quite as enthusiastic here as it is in some places we've lived! Imagine that....how could the fans of the Rainbow Warriors of the University of Hawaii stand up to Sooner Nation? ???? Sorry the pictures ended up out of order....I guess I should upload the pics first, then write my dissertation next time? Anyway, you can get the gist of what went on in Hawaii for the Baronis on Labor Day...Enjoy!!

Emerson at the playground

2007-08-28T13:05:00.001-10:00

We went to one of the playgrounds near our house the other day & Emerson just played and climbed all over the playground. It amazes me sometimes at how strong & determined she can be when she wants to be!

Macie's firsts

2007-08-28T12:47:00.001-10:00

Okay, here's some more about Macie....I know you probably thing Emerson is getting the shaft, but she doesn't do new things every day like Macie does....I do have pictures to post of her too, so don't get mad!
The last couple of weeks have been pretty eventful for Miss Macie....she got her first goose-egg on her head, she woke up from her Sunday nap with some serious bed-head (also a first), and she took her first steps (with the assistance of her little walker). She is a very determined little booger, so we expect she will be walking all by herself pretty soon!

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!

2007-08-23T10:08:00.000-10:00

Just a quick post to say that I passed my Hawaii State licensing exam!!!! It took a lot longer to get the results than any other state I have taken the exam in, so I was getting pretty worried....I really thought I failed! But, Praise the Lord! I passed! Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Pictures of Emerson & Macie

2007-08-14T16:51:00.000-10:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls together that we took after church a couple of weeks ago in the back yard. I thought they were really cute!

Macie's growing up!!

2007-08-14T16:26:00.000-10:00

Macie has really changed in the 2½ months since we left Oklahoma. When we left she was a tiny little thing, just trying to crawl....which really looked more like an inchworm than actual crawling! After we got to Hawaii, and in our house, we didn't have furniture for about 2 weeks after we moved in. She had the whole downstairs to practice her crawling and she got very, very fast....at the inchworm thing! She also discovered pulling up on anything available to pull up on....all we had were the bar stools and the stairs. We figured we be in trouble once our furniture arrived and she has not proven us wrong! She pulls up on everything and tries to stand alone before she comes crashing down! She "cruises" between the furniture and will even take a couple of steps if you hold her hands. She loves being out in the grass in the backyard, and we have to be careful to leave the back door shut, or she will end up in the yard! (This requires her to crawl out the door which has a step, and off the lanai, which also has a step to the ground. She does this very quietly!!!)

Macie still wrinkles her nose, talks, laughs, and smiles all the time. Oh, and she has finally gotten the hang of crawling the "traditional" way. But, if she is in a hurry, inch-worming is much faster for her! She is such an easy going baby. I guess she has to be....what choice does she have? She eats well, and is no longer accused of being tiny....the girl has got her momma's thighs!!! She's got a beer belly too, but I don't know where she got that from!?!?

One milestone Macie has yet to reach since we moved here is.....TEETH!! She is 10 months old already and still NO TEETH. I guess my sisters & I were all late getting teeth, so she is going to show us her Barton genes and be like us!

More Beach Fun!

2007-08-13T10:31:00.000-10:00

We've been to the beach a handful of times since we have arrived. Our resident tour guides, Holly & Ashley, have taken us to some great beaches. The first beach we went to was Bellows Beach on the Windward (east) side of the island in Waimanalo Bay. It was absolutely beautiful! The waves were pretty big, compared to anything we've seen before, but the girls both liked playing along the shore. The next week we went to Sunset Beach on the North Shore, most famously known for it's surfing and huge waves in the winter. In the summer, the waves are almost non-existent and the water is just about like swimming in a swimming pool! What a difference a few months makes! Holly taught Emerson how to body surf, and she had the BEST time! Macie didn't want to get out once we got her in the water, probably because she wanted to get all the sand out of her diaper! (see the bottom pic!).

First days in Hawaii

2007-08-13T10:20:00.000-10:00

Man, were we tired those first few days! We were busy closing on the house, getting our car, and trying to adjust to the new time zone. Oh, and we were staying right on Waikiki Beach, so we're supposed to go to the beach sometime, right?

Our arrival in Hawaii

2007-08-13T09:57:00.000-10:00

We had a pretty long trip getting over here. Between a 6 hour layover at LAX, running out of diapers, and having about as little sleep as we'd had in a long time, we were pretty excited to arrive in Hawaii, even though the pictures don't really look like we're excited!

Our Family

2007-08-13T09:53:00.000-10:00

I figured I should probably jump on the bandwagon and create a site for everyone to see what we're up to here in Hawaii. For those of you who don't know, we have arrived safely and are trying to settle in to a "normal" routine! I will try to update this site regularly and post pictures of the girls, since I know that is all anyone really wants to see! Hope you enjoy!