Easter and Spring Break 2016

I get overly sentimental about breaks, holidays, birthdays, vacations, etc., especially when they are over.  This means my blog posts are drippy and rose-colored, and this post is no different.  I loved Spring Break this year.  We had nothing spectacular planned and in fact, many of our plans with friends fell through last minute.  However, every day we did something meaningful and fun together, and all the time at the beach was refreshing, exhausting and completely satisfying.

The best realization I made over spring break was that I could do the beach alone with the kids.  I've been hesitant to drag us all there with all the baby gear, umbrellas, and beach/water toys, but finally realizing that the beach clean up, prep, and actual outing was not that hard with a baby was completely empowering.  Taking pictures while sitting with my baby at the beach, though, is another story, and apparently too much to ask.  

I have a really assertive neighbor who came over one morning and said, "Let's be friends."  She has three boys and knows everyone in Kauai already.  We went to Sheratons several times a week over break.  She pushed Kate into waves, cheered on our boys together surfing, and chatted it up with me on the beach.  I was completely impressed by her friendliness and so disappointed to learn she is moving back to the mainland for a while until her husband's business is sold.

The most exciting part of spring break for me was watching Zachary really get into surfing.  In my dreams, we will be surfing together in the mornings before middle school, and those dreams seem closer to a reality now.  Zac has always been able to jump on his board and take waves, but one afternoon, he was with Rocko (the boy from our neighborhood) and they surfed for 3 hours.  He's begged to go back again and again since that day.  This is the kid I was still bribing to surf a couple weeks ago.  I have a bunch of videos of him on waves, and only a couple really dreadful pictures, like the one below:

Zachary was getting a lot of attention with surfing, and I think that got Kate motivated to get out on her board.  She boogie boarded as many waves as Zachary surfed.  It was a big score for the Edwards Ohana and water sports.  She's generally timid with waves but she seems to be fearless now, even after getting slammed around a few times.  I am so proud of her!

One day, we met up with a new friend, who played with Kate for the entire afternoon.  I hope that Kate will be as nice to 5-year-olds as this 11-year-old was with her.

Baby Owen was a gem at these outings.  Eat, sleep, poop.  Easy.

Hadleys had stomach flu over break, so we only saw them once.  Still fun!

Another day, another Sheraton excursion with our neighbors.

Tongue out means focused.

You can tell that the kid right behind Owen is not Zac only because he's eating Wasabi Ginger chips.

The kids loved the extra time around Owen.  Kate sings her made up songs to him and says that he loves it.

Of course, spring break also means Easter festivities.  We decorated our eggs and did our annual Easter Egg Derby.

The kids with their game faces:

Notice the brackets.  The kids were really into March Madness this year, crossing off every win and loss and yelling at the TV when their teams made bad plays.  It was hysterical.  Brady won.  I selected North California to win.  Yeah, North California.  Can we say baby brain?!?

Kate kissing her egg for good luck.

It worked!  Kate won the first round!

Zac won the second round.

The Easter Bunny hopped on over to Kauai and delivered some goods, like a much needed sun hat for baby O, and pool toys for the kids.

Zachary also got a journal, and the kids were excited to read "Who's Your Hero?" books.

New outfits.  This is the only time in the history of EVER in Zachary's life that he's been excited to dress up.  He was stoked that he and Owen would wear the same clothes to church.

When Kate woke up Easter morning, she asked, "Mom, did the Easter Bunny leave us pee-pee?"  We weren't quite sure what she meant.  She helped us understand a moment later when she said, "Did the Bunny leave us pee-pees to eat?"  Ahhh.  Yes, the Bunny left Peeps.

This child and his expressions!!

If there's a baby and it's Easter morning, the baby will be crying.  This is a law of science that should make it into a textbook.

I love this picture so much.

We did make them go for round two.  If they were good, they could "eat pee-pees."

The three best things about this picture:  Zac's arm wrapped around Kate (hidden), Owen's huge eyes, and Kate's shoes on backwards.  I will cherish this forever.

We think we are hilarious.  Owen did have a poopers.  Kate is giving herself bunny ears.  Brady and Zac have the exact same sense of humor.

That night, it was reunion time with Heidi's family, who came back from Utah after a two month stay.  We all had dinner at Megan's and then our annual Easter Egg hunt at Kukuiolono.

Reefy boy.

Church services were beautiful that day.  There was a recent, sudden death of a 23-year-old in our ward.  The circumstances were painful and the grief felt for this family was tangible.  Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ hopefully provided some peace to their aching hearts.  We also heard from Merv, a man who had a stroke years ago that took him from lively and sharp to wheelchair bound and hardly functioning.  He's made major strides in the last couple months and we hope he continues to improve.  Our friend who lost her sister to pneumonia a month ago also spoke.  There was so much love and warmth and faith in that room.  Kate says Easter is her favorite holiday and I'm so glad we still have huge celebrations of faith.

We're back in the routines again.  I got a little weepy the night before Zac went back to school, but then I saw him bounce out the door in the morning and realized it was time to resume normal life.  I love breaks, but I also love routines.  Can't wait for our vacation in another month.

Kate Turns 5!

Kate counted down her birthday starting with Christmas.  I clearly remember my excitement about turning 5 and it was exciting to relive that with my sweet girl.  Her Tuesday birthday fell during Spring Break, which meant Zachary was around all day, and we planned several fun outings.

First up, Keoki's.  Brady had YM's that night, so we went out for lunch instead of dinner.  Kate talked about ordering a hambaburger a dozen times in the morning.  (Later in the week, we were crunched for time and got a "hambaburger" from McDs.  She was irritated that it wasn't actually a "hambaburger" because "it only had meat and no lettuce and tomato and onion and bread with seeds on it!"

 The server was sweet and brought her a hula pie complete with a birthday candle.

 It was a rainy day, so instead of going to the pool as she originally requested, we went and saw Zootopia.  She was thrilled to get so many phone calls and face time calls that day.

Brady "finally" got home from work so she could open her gifts.  Best gift award goes to her karaoke machine and princess sing-a-long CDs.

 Money from grandparents was another favorite.

 The day her party ended last year, she started asking to have a flower-themed party when she turned 5.  She loves learning the names of flowers.  We invited some of her preschool friends over for her Thursday morning party, and Brady took the morning off to help make the kids giggle.

Lucie:

Daysha:

Evelyn:

During Spring Break, "Rockie" accompanied us everywhere per Zac's homework assignment.  He had lots of adventures to write about, including spectating on a little girl's flower party.

We learned about local flowers and crafted candy flowers.

We went on a garden treasure hunt for caterpillars, lady bugs, geckos, and flowers (in various forms like stamps and toys).

We played bumblebee freeze tag.

We sang karaoke, pinned the bees on a flower, made flower leis, dressed up and played house.  This was the most low key party we've done but also the most fun.

Zachary was a huge helper at this party.

Love Kate's tongue in this picture:

Tate:

Penelope (Zac spelled her name on a cup as Punelipy):

Kate is a gem.  She makes friends easily and begs for playdates daily.  She gets along with everyone, even when it means she has to act as peacemaker over and over again.  (However, she's also not a pushover, especially with her brother...hehe.)  She loves to play "pretend" which is a timeless game that every child everywhere has surely played.  She is almost always a mermaid or a princess, and someone always dies in her scenarios.  And it's no big deal, "because people get resurrected."

Kate has grown up a bit in the shadow of Zachary, but now asserts that she is also a fast runner, an avid boogie boarder, and a "really good swimmer, just like a mermaid."  She insists on turns throwing and catching the football.  When there are neighbor boys playing in the driveway, she joins right in even though she's scared, riding her scooter along in the chaos.

She is determined to be a good reader, and spends time regularly reading to Owen.  She loves to dance, and practices her ballet moves in front of our glass door so she can see her reflection.  She sings made up songs and real songs with made up lyrics.  She sometimes asks us to roll up the windows so her hair doesn't get messed up.

Kate takes pride in trying new foods, and revels in the attention she receives when she asks for spicy peppers on her sandwiches or unique salads for lunch.  When Zac reacts negatively to something we eat, she makes sure to (over)emphasize just how GOOD that food is.  It's hilarious, but also fun that I have a child not intimidated by spicy Thai or Indian dishes.

Kate wants so much to be an older kid with more responsibilities like piano practice, soccer practice and reading, but at the same time requires that I hold her hand all the way into the building for preschool.  The other day, she said, "Mom, I can't wait until I can drive myself to playdates."

I love this little girl.  Happy birthday, little lady.