Trick or Treat!

Halloween was so much fun with Colton this year! We kept it really simple-dropped by Grandma and Grandpa Dalby's and then trick-or-treated to the few houses in our circle. I don't think that will last next year when Colton realizes we can go to more houses but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it...

Pumpkins

Colton, Brent, and I carved pumpkins Sunday night after Alexa went to bed. They took FOREVER but were still really fun and Colton was surprisingly entertained the entire time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXA!!!

This will be just a quickie-I need to go to bed but I HAD to wish my little princess a Happy Birthday since she turned 1 today! I still am amazed at how fast the last year has flown by. We had Lexi's birthday party yesterday and despite her current teething crankiness it was a success. I took one picture right before her party started-I seriously struggle! Next year I will do better. I will post more about her when I have a little more time...she is the sweetest little bear we could have asked for and even though she misses her binkie and her bottle she is being quite the little champ about it!

We went to my grandparents to celebtrated all the October birthdays on my Dad's side of the family tonight. This is my attempt at a cute pumpkin cake. Hopefully next year I will be better at that, too!

GO UTES!

Growing up

My babies are more like kids and less like babies everyday and it is awesome. I hope someday I am able to capture a picture of the two of them both looking at the camera and both smiling.

After a full week of no wet pants and (FINALLY) pooping in the toilet today...I am officially reporting that Colton is potty trained!!! I'm sure all of you are wanting to know how excellent he has been at peeing in the potty (he goes an ENTIRE night=12+ hours; and 3-4 hours during the day without a single accident) and how NOT-excellent he has been at pooping in the potty, but today he finally figured out how much better it is to not have to throw your favorite big boy undies away if you just poop in the toilet. We started potty training him last week and I am so proud of him for getting it down so quick!! He even washes his hands all by himself. Such a stud. I hear horror stories about boys and have my own delightful memories from my little bro trying to figure it out so am very grateful for how easy Colton has been. I don't know if any of you mom's out there want some pointers but I am happy to share our strategy if you want it. I think the best advice we followed was never using pull-ups. Nowadays he is obssessed with Halloween and Utah football just like me and runs around yelling either "Go Utes," "Touchdown Utah," or "Suck your blood!!!" and is great at laughing like a scary witch. He is hilarious!

And on to Alexa-dang I wish she would just walk already! Seriously! I think I am one of few moms who want their kids to walk asap. I think life is just so much easier when they walk. I am not a huge fan of the crawling stage. She is almost there, hopefully (CROSSING MY FINGERS!!) she will be walking in time for her birthday in just a few weeks. I can't believe my baby is almost one! I don't know if I have ever mentioned how this little child growls like a grizzly bear (hence her nickname Lexibear) but one of these days I will get a short little video of it and post it. She is the spotlight of every party with that little growl of hers. Her hair is growing slowly but surely. I hope one of these days I'll be able to actually put a clip in her hair and maybe just maybe by the time she is 2 I will finally be able to do pigtails...maybe. She is blabbering away and her new favorite phrase is "uh-oh." She is adorable!

And how cute is this little baby elephant? I have to add that I totally spaced Colton needing to go potty while we were at the zoo yesterday-he went the entire time plus the drive home. Another proud mom moment for me! :)

Maui Wowi

Brent and I got super lucky and spent an entire week in Maui with just the two of us. Major thanks to both sets of grandparents for taking care of the kids!! This was the first time I had left Lexi overnight, so it was a bit of an adjustment especially because a)I just stopped nursing about a week before we left and b) we were gone for so long! Everyday I wished the kids were there but it was also really nice that they weren't because we actually relaxed, spent time together, and talked about things other than what the kids did that day. Here is a breakdown of our week...

Friday: We arrived in Maui at about 2:30. Stopped at Costco, went to the condo, drove to Lahaina and walked around there, went to the grocery store, and went to bed at like 8. (Can you tell we are parents?)

Saturday: I woke up at like 4 am and couldn't really fall back to sleep (yes, I missed the kids. It was 8 am Utah time and that is usually when I get up with my little Lexi bear). So I went running by the beach. It was awesome; there were so many paddeboarders and surfers out, it was sweet. We went to the beach across the street (Ha'amole II) from our condo, had chips and salsa at Fred's (only the best Mexican Restaurant in Maui! Thanks Kristin and Randy!!) and then played beach volleyball with some very entertaining locals for about 4 hours. One of them had a boxer named Harley Girl who I fell in love with and wanted to take home.

Ha'amole Beach

Brent goofing off :)

Us and Harley Girl...I miss that doggie!!

Sunday we semi-slept in and lounged around, then drove up to Ka'anapali where we stayed last time and walked around at Whaler's Village. We grilled some delicious steaks then headed over to "Little Beach" (yes, the naked beach) where we were told every Sunday they have a big drum and fire-dancing show. I will say most people were dressed thank goodness...but it was a total hippie fest and after having a few "sausages" walk right in front of our faces, we decided to go home and watch a movie! It was a pretty entertaining experience to say the least though...

Monday we headed to Big Beach and had a blast playing and boogie boarding in the huge waves there! (Ok Brent more than me...I got a little absorbed in a book...)

Big Beach-if you climb over the little mountain behind me you are at Little Beach

Tuesday a certain male in the family was suffering from a bit of a sunburn, so we hiked to the Nakalele Blowhole and drove over to the Olivine Pools. We didn't hike down to them, it was pretty far but we got a great view of them and the ocean so next time we are in Maui we might make the journey down to the pools...

View on the hike...yes we hike in flip flops. So what?

The blowhole almost in full force

On my way to check it out...I ended up a little too close and was peeking in the actual hole when it started spraying. It was hilarious.

Wednesday we wanted to go snorkel at the Fishbowl so we rented our gear only to find out the Fishbowl is closed for a couple years and there's a Ranger there who will give you a ticket if you go to them. Lame! So we snorkeled at the very crowded 'Ahihi Cove, which was actually really cool and full of hundreds of crazy looking fish! Then we headed over to Wailea beach and bodysurfed for a few hours. That night we went to the Shops at Wailea and walked around where they supposedly were having live music and a luau but we never found the luau. Oh well, it was really fun to window shop at all the expensive stores and they had a really cool art gallery where you could touch all the paintings. We had to stop at Fred's for more chips and salsa and some super tasty churro's to-go!

The shops at Wailea

Me and we assume the Fred of Fred's Mexican Cafe

Thursday we did the Road to Hana. Seriously-it's beautiful; even though I got the worst headache from the drive...there are over 600 turns in the road. It takes forever; you only go about 35 miles and it takes 2 hours if you don't stop at any of the waterfalls or pools or nice views along the way. Insane, right? But totally worth it. In Hana we went to Hamoa Beach. It was gorgeous. The water was so clear, you could see at least 20 feet below you. And the sand is half black, half white, it looks so cool.

Brent and the view of Hamoa beach from the road

Hamoa Beach

Friday we went to the beach across the street again and tried to not think about having to do laundry or pack later that day...but we were so ready to get home and see the kids already!! That red-eye flight home was a doozy. We left Hawaii at 9:45 pm and luckily had a straight flight to SLC but we both have the hardest time sleeping on a plane! We got home at 7:35 am and were completely elated when Brent's mom picked us up with Colton in the car! We missed those two little buggers every day...I can't wait 'til we can go back and bring them with us! Seriously every little kid we saw at the beach reminded us of our kids and we'd talk about how fun it's going to be when they're a little older and can really enjoy the Hawaiian experience with us. So until next time, ALOHA!

Spoiled and The Daily Colton

Pretty much our dogs are spoiled. Somedays the only reason I haven't sold them is because I know how much Colton loves them; this is especially rough when I look at our beautiful backyard-turned white trash. But they are (typically) good dogs and they put up with a lot between our 2 kids (mostly Colton) and sometimes I love them.

A couple days ago Colton was trying to make Roxy take a nap in his room and it just wasn't working for him...well, he came over to me and said, "Mom, Roxy's driving me bonkers!"


Of all the things I have said about the dogs, I am glad this is the one he remembered...;)