Hawaii 2014 - Brittney's 30th B-Day Bash

I was very spoiled last week - I spent an entire week in Hawaii with my sister and the other women in my family as an early 30th Birthday celebration for Brittney.  It was fabulous, even though we had a bit of rain!  We enjoyed time at the beach, yummy meals and thanks to Hannah a bit of activity, too.  Some of my favorite pictures were taken by others so they'll live on in Facebook :).

 This was my first full day in Hawaii - we were on the beach from 9-5.  I was a little burned afterwards, Britt was brown.  We definitely have different skin pigmentation!

 This was my favorite beach - way out on the west end of Oahu.  It was nice enough Hannah & I came back another day.  We were going to try boogey boarding but it was too rough & rocky.

And this was one of the lagoons in our resort.  We loved hanging out at these every day, especially in late afternoon.

Braclets

Someone (either my sister or Nana) gave Allison an alphabet bracelet kit.  She had a great time last weekend making bracelets for herself and quite a few of her friends.  We've already mailed a few and have a few more to deliver.

And later that day Allison came down to do a show as the sun, wearing a tutu on her head.  I though it was pretty cute and had to capture a photo!

February Sunshine

 I flew home from Hawaii yesterday (more on that to come) and it appears I brought the sunshine home with me after Oregon had a week of rain.  Mark wanted to make sure we got out to enjoy some sunshine so we took the girls on a walk this afternoon to a local water cooling area.  It was beautiful!

 Pussywillows were out in full force!

 Allison picked up a paper telling her what birds to look for.  She found over half of them!

Marking off the birds she found.  I had a great time in Hawaii but I have to admit I am so thankful to be back with my little family, they are so much fun!

The Great Melt

 Well, temperatures were finally above freezing today and we were a bit relieved.  Mark and Allison spent a lot of time outside clearing snow away.  I took Heidi out for a bit and she was glad to not be pelted by rain/sleet/snow but she still can't do much but be held and watch.  The main roads around here are starting to clear but the neighborhoods are full of snow - we'll see how long it take to thaw out.  

And I have to add - I am SO GLAD I picked up snowsuits for the girls last year on eBay.  Allison has gotten plenty of use out of hers and we still have some trips to the mountains planned.  Mark has not been impressed with her boots, though (they are actually a size to small anyhow) so I'm out shopping for a new pair for her!

Ice Storm & Cabin Fever

 Well, the rain finally arrived early this morning.  Unfortunately it has been freezing rain pretty much all day so things have just gotten a nice thick layer of ice on them.  I took a picture of our patio chairs this morning - the seats were completely buried in snow.  We knew the ice was only going to get worse so Allison & I headed out right after breakfast.  We left Heidi inside and as you can tell, she did NOT want us to forget her.  Eventually Mark did bundle her up and send her out.  And it was not her favorite thing despite her passionate banging on the back door (with a Lego, of course!)

 She looks like she's having fun.  if we kept her sheltered from the pelting rain she'd look like she was enjoying herself.

 We did build a snowman.  And Heidi thought it was pretty exciting....

 but by the time it was done so was she.  This picture fits the moment perfectly!

 Allison insisted we found at least eyes, a nose and a mouth for her snowman (she has a few different snowman books so she is an expert on how to make them).  It was almost as tall as she is!

 Mark's idea for beating cabin fever today was to get one of our small tents out for the girls to play in.  They loved it.  Heidi thought it was one HUGE game of peek-a-boo.  Allison was inside the tent so there was always a surprise if she looked in and we were outside so there was always a surprise if she looked out!

 Oh - and Heidi learned to drink out of a straw today.  Courtesy of Allison's 'camping' bottle.

 She isn't really sleeping but she is cute!  While the girls had rest/nap time I headed out to capture some pictures of the ice....this is the worst ice storm I've been around for in Oregon.  Tonight we are thankful for a warm house, electricity (to watch Olympics!) and a well stocked fridge/pantry.  And we're hopeful the temperatures do actually rise tomorrow and we can venture a little further out!

The Snow that Doesn't Stop

 When we woke up this morning the snow was still coming.  And it hasn't stopped all day.  I'm sure we're well over a foot at this point - I keep finding new items completely covered.

 We bundled the girls up in the morning and went outside.  The Heidi-bug actually does pretty well in her snowsuit even though she couldn't move.

 This was actually a smile - a little hard to tell when she is so bundled up.

 I think it is safe to say Mark needs a snow shovel.  Of course it hasn't snowed like this since around here since something like 1917 so we might have missed our prime opportunity.

Heidi fell asleep on our way back from the park.  I thought the snow in her eyelashes was awfully sweet!

 Nana and Papa gave Heidi this fun new Lego tubes set.  They were the perfect thing to entertain both girls on this snowy day.

 We wrapped up our day with a walk to some friends' house.  The girls rode in the sled together - I couldn't believe Heidi enjoyed it so much but she did!  Allison loved getting to play in their snow fort!  And getting to spend time with friends.  They tell us tomorrow the rain will come - but not until mid day - until then it is supposed to stay snowing continuously!