Hyatt Dreams

Besides walking to the beach at Poipu, our other favorite hang out is the Hyatt.  We love walking over there and admiring the pool, always saying that one day we will either sneak in or just stay a night so we can hang out at their lagoons.  Even though we haven't done any of those, we still have a great time on morning walks there, checking out the views, having coffee, visiting with the parrots, and playing at Shipwreck Beach.

Sunset at the Beach

We love staying in Poipu so we can walk to the calm beach and play in the water.  The beach there is perfect for families, has huge sea turtles, and lots of grass to play.  Sunset is the best--love the golden light and views. 

Sleeper

We wiped Gray out!  He was having so much fun exploring all the new things in Hawaii that he crashed hard when he had the chance.  Crawling everywhere, keeping up with everyone, and trying to walk takes a lot of energy. 

 

11 Month Mover

Gray turned 11 months on the trip and he was just starting to get his footing.  He was standing and pulling himself up on everything.  He walked around all the furniture and holding on to the kitchen cabinets.  His crawling was super fast as he chased Mayson and Jaxon around.  He was funny about the grass and beach though.  For a long time, he didn't want to be put down.  It took a lot of touching and coaching to get him to crawl around in the grass, and we took the beach step by step until finally he was loving grabbing on to the sand. 

 

Beach Beauty

It's so hard to get pictures of Mayson standing still these days, so we have to try to capture her on the move.  She is such a fan of the beach, and loves getting into the sand and running into the water.  Every time we went to the beach it was almost impossible to try to get her to leave. (That's the nice way of saying that three year olds sometimes throw tantrums when they don't get what they want).

Waimea Canyon

One of my favorite places in the world is Waimea Canyon.  It is like visiting the Grand Canyon in certain parts, while the other section shows green hills rolling down to the ocean.  Amazing.  I think it was my third or fourth trip there and I will always want to come back again and again.

Pool time

Thankfully the other Stephens clan had a way better pool than we did at our condo.  One of my favorite parts of the trip was swimming with Mayson and Gray.  Gray was cute splashing around in the water, and Mayson gained a ton of confidence swimming across the pool in her water wings. 

Mayson + Jaxon

A few days into our trip, I went outside for my normal morning whale watching, and I looked down at the next patio to find an adorable three year old boy.  I knew right away that Mayson would be thrilled and they would be best friends in no time.  It was so fun to have Jaxon and his parents next door.  Mayson and Jaxon were inseparable.  From the moment they woke up, they ran outside and played on the lawn or darted in and out of our two condos.  When we could get them to actually sit down they had breakfast on the lanai every morning together. It was like they were on their honeymoon. We had a great time with his parents, Travis and Cori, and did some outings together to the beach.  The kids swam, played, and had a blast together.  Mayson was so sad to see Jaxon leave, and since we have been home, she has loved wearing the bracelet he gave her before he left. 

Hawaii Family Time

 We were so glad we could spend our vacation with our family.  It was great to have a big group of Stephens together.  From dinner out, dinners in, pool time, beach visits, and just hanging out, we had a fun time watching the cousins play and getting to spend time with everyone.

 

 

 

Holidays in Hawaii-The Views

We had a blast in Kauai.  It was amazing to spend almost two weeks relaxing and spending time together as a family. We were so lucky to have a place with an incredible sweeping view of the ocean. I woke up every morning and headed outside with my coffee to watch the whales, dolphins, and turtles swimming outside the lanai.  The kids could play right outside on the lawn, and the weather was gorgeous every single day we were there. We were so fortunate to be together in such a beautiful place.

 

 

 

Island Hop

"Baby, baby, baby, goin' to Hawaii" I had to quote our favorite Casper Baby Pants song of course as we set off for Kauai. Mayson and Gray were rock star fliers. Gray slept and ate crackers, and Mayson plugged into her Curious George video, and pulled fun coloring and sticker books out of her shiny new pink backpack.

Arctic Blast 2013

We had some cold and snowy days in the end of December!  There was a full week that was below freezing.  It was beautiful with clear, sunny skies, but way too cold to be outside (for us weak Seattle folks anyway).  We braved the cold one Saturday to visit the zoo, and I believe we were one of five families in the whole place.  We spend quite a bit of time with the penguins before hitting the indoor play space.  Then, on the last day of school before winter break we had a snowy storm and traded school for some fun sledding at our new Maple Leaf Park. 

Tiny Dancer

Mayson took her first Ballet class in November and loved learning the Nutcracker dances and dressing up for class.  The classes were held behind closed doors for six weeks; a top secret affair as the teacher molded them into shape.  Then for the last class the parents were allowed to enter for an amazing performance.  The first number was pretty hilarious as Mayson decided pretty quickly into the dance that her shoe needed attending.  The dance teacher was very considerate and let the girls try it a second time so Mayson could perform.  Once she got the hang of it she was all about the dancing. 

 

Ever Tried to get a Photo?

One day I will get the perfect photo of both children. They will be holding hands and smiling.  They will both be looking at the camera. It will be perfectly in focus. They will both have clean faces.  Until then, I will have fun trying.

Presents for a 3 Year Old Birthday Princess

I don't know if I have mentioned lately how much Mayson is devoted to princesses?  Or maybe she  just gotten worse--I mean more passionate.  We usually have to leave the house dressed as Belle, Aurora, Sofia, or Cinderella.  If she isn't wearing one of their dresses, then she grabs some fairy wings and calls herself Tink.  She loves Jasmine too, and even though we don't have her outfit, I often am addressed as Aladdin, and Gray is called Abu.  I always get to be the main sidekick, so I am flattered.  When I got her the Belle dress for her birthday, along with the accompanying tea set, I didn't think ahead to the fact that I would probably be called "Beast."  And indeed, that is what I am.  It hasn't been so bad out in public when she calls me "Prince" or "Terrance" (Tinkerbell's best friend), but it sounds a little out of place when she yells, "Beast" across the street to get my attention.  Anyway, you can imagine the items on her birthday wish list.  Along with the Belle dress/tea set, she got a Doc McStuffin's medical kit (I've had lots of checkups), a tiara, a Sofia nightgown (she insisted on wearing her other night "dress" every night so we had to get a backup), Barbie,  a Pinkalicious set complete with book, picnic basket, and game, Sofia purse, and an airplane/airport figure set (That was the only non-girly exception). 

Happy Birthday to Mayson!  We love how smart and beautiful she is.  She is the life of the party; loves to laugh and dance and sing.  She loves books and listening to stories on CD.  I adore how she does a wonderful job making friends and engaging kids to play with her, act out stories, and run around.  She is a leader.  She is good at sharing with other kids, loves to close her eyes and sway to the music, and has a blast dressing up and pretending to be different characters.  She is amazing at role playing with little figurines, and has the best discussions with them.  I love how she really stops and thinks when you ask her a question before she responds.  I love how she looks at the world and makes comparisons between things. I like how she always wants to come up with a plan that fits her needs.  I adore when she says things like, "Thanks, Dad." or "Let's get that for extra case" instead of "Just in case." She runs really fast, and loves to make her brother laugh every night before bed by rolling around with him in his crib and making silly sounds.  She is amazing, and I am thankful for her every day.