Keeping it Real

 I've been on a drippy, gooey emotional kick lately, reflecting on my kids, how much I love my life with our little family, and this piece of paradise we wake up in every day.  Coming off of a nearly-perfect summer with my snuggly baby and constant wind and ocean in my hair, it's been an adjustment to go back to the routines of "real life."  The last two weeks have been full of ups and downs, with some anxiety and several times, feeling completely trapped.  Brady's been traveling more for work, and that combined with church responsibilities has made it tricky to get a few minutes to myself.  We are working that out, figuring out ways to give me a breather from the mommy duties and trying to get more involved with other moms, too.  I also have my favorite sitter back in town, and left Owen with her for an hour while I surfed this week.  Fantastic.

The kids are a month into piano lessons with Ms. Lois.  I love listening to her teach them and see for myself what makes her stand out compared to others.  She's been encouraging better technique with Zachary and pulling out more musicality from him.  She's very patient with Kate and I can't believe what Kate can do already after four lessons.  This is what Zac does during Kate's lesson, while I keep baby O quiet in her studio.  He just finished reading Harry Potter #5.

 The kids playing with their besties...  Kate is so excited to show off her piano.

 She also played house with her friend and read scriptures to her.  Hilarious because her friend is not religious at all, so the dialogue between them had me in stitches.

 We've kept our Friday night beach nights alive, even on days that are less than smooth and when Brady can't make it.  I almost never regret a trip to the beach.

 Soccer Saturdays are in full force.  We love watching both Kate and Zachary participate.  Kate was so excited for her first game last week.  She could barely fall asleep the night before, and had her uniform set carefully by her bed.  Her coaches are adorable and full of enthusiasm.

 Owen keeps himself entertained while we cheer.  Zachary scored the first goal of the season for his team, but we didn't get any pictures!  His team plays together better than any team he's participated with in the past and we love the pace of the game at the U10 level.

I've been trying to get the kids interested in snorkeling for years.  Kate asked if we could get snorkel gear a little over a week ago, and I jumped on it.  We bought them gear, with the promise that it will be used 20 times before Christmas or they owe us a dollar for every time less than that.  We used them in the pool, and then last Saturday tried them in the ocean.  It was not a calm ocean day, and we were concerned it might freak them out, but they were both naturals.

Snorkeling with Zachary was one of my favorite experiences of all time with him.  He's always been anxious about what is under the water, although has basically no fear on top of the water.  However, within minutes of spotting his first few fish, he could not be contained.  He dove down to the reef again and again to explore.  He held my hand as we swam around for ages.  He pointed out the fish he was most excited about, in particular the Hawaii state fish, the humuhumunukukukuapuaa.  He's the only one who can say that fish from memory.  

Kate went out with Brady for her first time.  She was not worried at all and loved the needle fish.  She asked if we saw the angel fish and rainbow fish, and Zachary went out for round 2 to make sure he saw them, too.  I love that her excitement about trying something new led us to find a new way to adventure together as a family.

 Lots of naps on the beach, between the soccer games and snorkel outings.

 We finally ordered furniture for our front lanai and Zachary initiated it within days.  He sat and read Sunday afternoon for hours.

 Owen is a doll, but is also making me a tiny bit crazy (some days a lot crazy).  He has never been a great napper, but he's been especially inconsistent with two 20-30 min naps total for the day.  He wakes up irritable and fussy and that keeps up for hours.  It's gone on long enough that I think I'm going to get tough and see if we can get him into REM sleep in his naps.  I'm a total wuss with his crying, though, so we'll see how this goes.  But you'd be a wuss, too, with this darling little face begging for your attention.  If he looked happy like this regularly, I would let him sleep 20 minutes total every day.

 Kate, practicing her songs on Owen's toy.  Ha!

 Another Friday, another beach night.

 We packed up the car Friday night for our long soccer Saturday and turned it into a beach afternoon.  Brady and O are both sick right now, and spent the afternoon snoozing under the umbrella while the kids and I paddle boarded and build sand castles.  We planned on getting stuck inside all weekend with two hurricanes threatening to hit us, but they both missed our island (although stole our trade winds, so we are cooking hot).

 Looking forward to our Labor Day holiday and the rest of "real life" this week.