Family Picture! Sort of...

Six Months Old!

Well, these are a little late...but then again, so was she.

Updates From Paradise!

I haven't got much in the way of updates but wanted to post the (belated) Valentine's Day pictures I took of Ryah and Mikey.  The big boys were at school so I didn't get pictures of them, but I'm hoping to get a nice one of everyone this weekend.

Mike leaves in about two-ish weeks for Landstuhl, Germany.  He's been assigned to be the injury/casualty assistance officer for the Brigade while they're deployed to Afghanistan.  This is a pretty esteemed position to be in, however he worked very hard to ready his troop for deployment, and enjoyed being the Plt. Sgt.  Everything being changed at the last moment was really upsetting for him and his platoon, who've gotten to know him as their leader.

Oh well, not much we can do about it.  Just persevere as usual.

The kids are doing well.  Ryah now has two bottom teeth!  She can scoot around a bit on her tummy, and she loves her toys.  Mikey is still enjoying being a big brother, and the older boys are just getting so big I can hardly stand it!

Mike and I are doing fine, too.  Adjusting to the sudden change in dates as best we can.  He is taking some leave so we can spend time together as a family before he goes.

Well, not much more to add...so here are some pictures!
 

 

Hiking Hawaii: Manoa Falls

Today I took the boys on a hike to Manoa Falls, a small but neat waterfall near the University of Hawaii.  The hike was a decent one, but treacherous in places with wet, moss-covered rocks and mosquitos!  Despite covering up with bug spray, if you stayed still too long you were eaten alive in a matter on minutes!  Luckily, we kept moving and Ryah had a bug net to protect her.

This trail is about 3.0 miles roundtrip, and is completely jungle in scenery.  The waterfall wasn't what I expected (or was hoping for) but it was still a pleasant end to our hike before we had to turn around and go back.

I didn't get many pictures, but here are a few:

 

More Ryah Pictures!

I'm really having fun with my camera this week...I don't know why, but I'm getting such a vintage vibe from these pictures I took of Ryah.  I feel like I'm looking right into a 1950's photograph!  I love it!

5 Months Old!

Ryah's First Time At The Beach!

I decided to bite the bullet and pack up the kids for Ryah's first trip to the beach.  I was a little intimidated without Mike, because hauling four kids out to the sand and sun and then getting them all home again is no small task.  In fact, I probably brought a little too much stuff.

I got my friend Yanette on board and off we went to the North Shore.  It was a bit of a pain in the butt to get all packed, then as soon as we left Ryah needed to eat, so I had to pull over for a bit to feed her.  As we approached North Shore I could see the brown water warning I had heard about earlier in the week was still in effect.  Great.  The storms had churned up the water and caused mudslides into the ocean, making the water a mucky yucky brown.  Blah.

Still, we pushed on, and got to the beach, only to find most of the beach had been washed away by winter waves!  Gah!  Well, we were already all the way up at the North Shore, no turning back now.  We got everything unloaded and we attempted to get to the beach.  Not even a few steps in and my beach cart turned over, spilling everything all over the sand!  The lifeguard on duty must have seen us, two measly women with five kids and everything but the kitchen sink trying to get to the beach, and he offered to help.  He loaded our stuff onto his 4-wheeler and drove it out to a great spot.

Whew!  Once we got settled everything fell into place and the rest of the day was awesome!  Yanette and I sat in a little beach tent with Ryah and chatted while the kids played.  They played almost the whole day in the ocean!  They had a lot of fun, and I felt accomplished!

We stayed for a good 6-7 hours...and we were all tired at the end of the day but in a good, beachy, warm sun and sand kind of way :)