The pumpkin patch

 It was Ella's first trip to the pumpkin patch!

She is always up for any adventure, so I wasn't surprised to see that she loved it!!

 It was a little muddy, but everyone was happy to jump in the puddles with their rain boots.  ;)

 I don't think we can squeeze any more kids into this picture??

 Carrying pumpkins is hard work!

Picking out my annual weird pumpkin

 The corn maze is always the boys' favorite part!

 They love punching their card and getting a prize at the end.  :)

 Their daddy is an AWESOME leader too!  He navigated us through the corn maze in no time!

 The theme this year was a circus.

 I love that I have a picture of every kiddo on daddy's shoulders in the corn maze!

 Kisses for daddy!

 Looking at the baby chicks

 All tuckered out!

NW Trek

The boys all had free passes to NW Trek from the public library's reading incentive this summer, so we decided to go when my mom was in town!  It was raining, but we got out our rain boots and umbrellas and went for it!

 I love this picture... mostly because when I taught first grade, we had an art project that looked exactly like it!  A little kid holding a huge umbrella, so all you could see was their pants and rain boots!  Too funny!

 Grammy and Ella

 Walking single file (in birth order even ;) along the log!

 It was fun to see so many animals up close, even in the chilly rain!

Things they say that I never want to forget!

Jacob - Jacob: Mom, four kids is a lot of work. I think I'll just have two. Did you want four kids?
Me: Actually, we didn't think we would have four. But when we found out how many kids are in orphanages because their mommy and daddy couldn't take care of them, we decided to adopt Ella... so she could have a family too.
Jacob: Oh. I love Ella so much. I want to adopt someday too, mommy!

He always says to me after we pray, "Good night my love!"

One night when I was making dinner, he said, "Mommy, you take such good care of us.  You must love us so much.  Thank you for making dinner and working so hard."

Jacob always says, "This was the BEST DAY EVER!  Actually, my three best days were the day I went to Legoland, the day I won rings, and the day I won gum."

"When I grow up, people will call me Dr. Jacob."

Me:  Daddy had to take a test today.  
Jacob:  An AR test?  
Me:  No, a flying test.  
Jacob:  Does he get a free dinner?  
Adam:  No, I get to keep my job.  :)


Gavin -  He needed a rubber band for a craft he was making and said, "Mom, can you put a sling shot on this?"  Me:  "You mean a rubber band??"

The boys were talking about getting married someday and Gavin said, "I will play rock, paper, scissors to pick a wife... and then I will let my wife pick all the names of our babies."

"Mommy, what do I have to do to be on a dollar bill?  Be good for ten days?  Do a really cool trick?"

He came home with bath salts from school for Mother's Day.  As he handed them to me, he said, "What are these mommy?"  I said that they were bath salts.  He said, "Ohhhh!  That's why they tasted so good!"

When I ask Gavin why, he says, "B'cause, b'cause."

Gavin had just lost his tooth and there was still a little blood... so when he bit into a banana (that I told him was perfect), there was a red dot in the middle.  He pointed and said, "See?  Blood.  I told ya this wasn't the perfect banana."


Casey - "Momma, I want to kiss you on the cheek because I love you SO MUCH!"
"I love it when you're huggin' me."
"Come snuggle on the couch with me.  You're so warm and comfy!"
"My heart loves YOU mama!"

I was telling Casey that it was going to be his special day on the first day of preschool.  He answered, "Mommy, I already had my special day when you took me to Thomas!"

As we're picking out a shirt for preschool one day, "Is this my new preschool shirt?  The one that got too small for Jacob and now it's just my size??"

We were driving in the car one day when Casey said, "How do you spell ass?"  (It really sounded like he said it anyway!)  Gavin:  "Casey, ass is not a word.  Do you mean Ash, like in Pokeman?"  Casey:  "No, I mean ass."  Gavin:  "Ass is NOT a word."  I was totally cracking up at the innocence of it all!

Mommy, God says you don't sleep in heaven.  He doesn't have any beds or sleeping bags.  I will bring my sleeping bag to heaven... and my monster truck.  You can take an airplane to heaven.  Jesus will lift up the wall and Jesus walks with you to God.  Jesus has strong muscles!

Casey started saying, "Pretty PRETTY please?" when he wants something.  He also sings the word "Okaaaaay" in the cutest way!

Whenever I change Ella's diaper, he always runs upstairs to watch for some reason.  Then he always comments with, "Ooooo you are a stinky, stinky girl!  You went poo-poo in your diaper.  STINK-Y girl!  You need a new diaper!"

Casey says sink instead of think.  When I say, "Do you want a peach or a pear?"  Casey will say, "I sink... peach!"

Casey:  Mommy, who made that mountain? 
Me:  God.
Casey:  God AND Jesus.  Jesus helped.  He came down from the clouds and made that mountain.

"I spelled C-A-S-E-Y!"

I told Casey that I had a sun burn and he said, "Don't touch the sun mommy!  You must have reached and reached and reached to get the sun!!"

Casey:  Mommy, what are you doing??!?
Me:  (Going out to mow the lawn, thinking it will actually be a break ;)
Casey:  No mommy!  Only daddies mow the lawns!!
Me:  (Grabbing my shoes)
Casey:  (practically in tears) Mommy, put the shoes down!  Daddy has to do it!
Me:  Buddy, it's okay... mommy knows how to mow the lawn too.
Casey:  (Reaching up to hug me)  No mommy, I have to take care of you!
(Ummm, apparently we've already set gender roles in this family?  ;)

"Mommy, I haven't had McDonald's yet today."  (I promise, I rarely take them to McDonald's!)

He gives a deep sigh after dinner and says, "I'm just all done eating.  I'm so tired of eating."

Whenever I ask Casey a question and he doesn't know, he shrugs and says, "I can't know."

"Daddy, are you going to work today.  I'm out of work."

"Mommy, I don't want to get married again."

"I don't want Ella to get bigger.  She's gonna stomp us."

Maui

We got to go to Maui a few weeks ago!  By ourselves!  Adam never knows his schedule more than a few weeks ahead of time, so we always have to be pretty spontaneous about getting away.  The trickiest part is finding care for our four kiddos... thank goodness for grandparents! 

 When we were on the flight, the pilot announced that there was a very special guest on board... Chuck Yaeger!  Okay, so admittedly, I didn't exactly know who Chuck Yaeger was at first.  After seeing my husband's eyes get huge, I knew he was somebody important though.  Adam was speechless at first, but I finally got it out of him that Chuck Yaeger was the first pilot to ever break the speed of sound!  That if there was anyone he would want to meet someday, it would be him.  After that, I was on a mission... determined to get their picture together.  After getting up to the cruising altitude and waiting for the cart to roll by with drinks, I walked up the aisle only to find that he was asleep.  (He is 87 after all!)  I was surprised being as old as he was and the legend that he is, that he wasn't in first class!  Finally, Adam got up to use the bathroom and saw that he was awake.  They started a conversation, while I played paparazzi in the background.

 I think his wife knew that I wasn't able to get the best picture, so she offered to take one for us after we walked off of the airplane too! 

Chuck Yaeger started off our whole bucket list conversation.  How it would be fun to write down the things we've always wanted to do and check off as many as we can together!  So then we were going to rent a car (always getting the cheapest one possible).  This time though, the agent saw Adam's military ID, thanked him for his service, and gave us a cherry red convertible.  Woohoo!  Check another thing off of our bucket list!

  So fun!!

 We made it to my dad's condo! 

The next morning we got coffee, cinnamon rolls, and took a walk along the beach...

All of a sudden, it started pouring!  Ironically, it was really sunny back in Washington and locals kept telling us how it NEVER rained here.  We were determined to make the best of anything though... we were alone, without kids! 

Later that night, we got to go to the luau that my sister has been telling us about forever.  The Feast of Lele is more of an intimate setting for couples, and we've never been to Maui without our kiddos! 

Despite the rain, it was a gorgeous night!

They bring yummy tropical drinks to your table, along with FOUR courses of food from islands around the world. 

Meanwhile, they entertain you!

At one point, Adam and I walked down to the water and the next performers were walking toward us on the beach.  One girl looked really nervous and was practicing her routine by the water and the rest of them were all casually talking.  Adam and I were just sitting in the sand... I don't even think they knew we were there!  Beautiful setting, but it looks a bit like it's going to rain right??

Yep, as soon as the first raindrop hit, they immediately began passing out
"emergency ponchos".  You could tell we weren't in Washington anymore!  Everybody immediately tore open their packages as if it truly was an emergency.  Hilarious!

The fire dancers!

Loved having this time to make memories with my hubby!

The next day, we went back to Iao Valley to go for a real hike.  The last time we were here, we stayed on all of the tourist pathways... but this time, we dove in to explore this lush, tropical jungle!

There was fruit that looked and tasted like pomegranite everywhere!

At one point, the trails disappeared and you had to travel by stream if you wanted to continue.  

So we kept going and eventually found a waterfall!

Then, we drove to my favorite beach in Kaanipali to watch the sunset!

There was a man who was taking pictures of his girlfriend on the beach.  Then another girl came down and he took pictures of her.  Then another.  I don't know if he was a professional photographer, or just taking pictures of his girlfriend's friends?  People watching = never a dull moment!

The next morning we went snorkeling right outside my dad's condo and I saw a sea turtle!  After following him a little bit deeper into the ocean, he led us to another sea turtle!  Last time Adam went snorkeling there, he saw a sea turtle and was describing how massive he was.  I have always wanted to see one... another check off of my bucket list!

We went to Wailea for breakfast. 

We finally got the gorgeous, sunny day we were hoping for!!

Adam showed me the hotel he stays in when he is flying for his airline.  Ummm... I had no idea he was set up so well?!  One of these days I'm going to jump on the flight with him!

The boardwalk that seems to go on forever...

We didn't want to leave and it went by way too fast, but we were so thankful for the time we got to spend together!