MOVING

The time has come to begin our moving phase.  Well, technically the time to begin has come and gone so now we're down to the wire.  I keep putting it off because it doesn't feel real.  We have spent over two wonderful years here in Hawaii.  Laie has been our first real home; we've never lived anywhere as long as we have lived here. In our almost five years of marriage we've lived in five places and while that may not seem like much to some, it seems like a lot to us.  I'm ready to settle down; to buy (or rent!) a house, find a good school for my children, fix up the yard, get an annual pass to a museum, etc. - you know what I'm talking about.  But that seems so far away.

I took this picture of Bannock right after this story:

During nap time yesterday I was going through books to keep and give away and got a little weepy.  I couldn't bare to get rid of ANY of them (hence the multiple large "keep" piles on the left).  Each one has a special memory... even the 'How to draw Cars and Trucks' book made it into the keep pile because of the hours Bannock spent just looking at the pictures. This little library is a treasure to me that I want to keep forever.  So the tears fell as I recalled special moments with each one; Bannock reciting the words of 'Goodnight Kiss for little Fish' when he was two, explaining to everyone and their mom the functions of all the construction trucks in his 'My Big Truck Book', quietly reading 'Moon Plane' all on his own, Brecken babbling at the pictures of animals - if I gave away these books it would be like giving away the memories. 
So as I quietly cried Bannock slipped out of his room and silently put his arm around me.
I said: "I'm sad Bannock."
B: "Why are you sad mommy?"
Me: "Because we're moving and I'll miss it"
B: "It's not sad"
Me: "Why is it not sad?"
B: "Because we're moving to Caaaalifooooorniaaaaa!"
He sang the word California like game show announcer, like I had won an amazing prize.  Leave it to children to look on the bright side of things.  I have spent so much time and energy focusing on the sentimental things, the things I'll miss, all the memories and friends we've made, how life will never be like this again. But his perky little demeanor quickly showed me that it's no fun focusing on the past.  We have endured a lot here - we might have lived in paradise but we've struggled more than I thought we would.  We have so much to look forward to and while I might get a little teary during this bittersweet time of transition, I know that my outlook on what is to come will ultimately decide my happiness.  So here's to lessons learned, wonderful friends made and a beautiful bright future.

Embrace the Camera

Build a Fort.
Bannock has been sick all week.  We've been stuck inside most of the time and with two boys in such a small space for three days I've started questioning my sanity.  So today between the nasaly requests for apple juice and the incessant shouts of "No! No! No!", I somehow managed to build a fort. So behold my masterpiece.  Did you know masking tape can be transformed into support beams? Me either. I thought about chronicling my progress through a little DIY but that seemed excessive. 

One last thing, OK two actually; Bannock's little voice when he's sick just tugs at my heartstrings, does anyone else ever feel that when they hear a little person with a cold? And Brecken has 2 new words! His first is (of course) No, and it's quite adorable to see him walking around with things he's not supposed to while saying "No! No! No!".  We're working on that.  And while I fully assumed his second word would be "stop" because it's only fitting, he chose "ball".  I had forgotten how tender it is to hear a baby turn their thoughts into words, to finally understand what's going on in their little, fuzzy heads.  So precious. 

 

Ode to Summer

My what a summer it's been.  I promised myself when I started this blog that I wouldn't go more than one or two weeks without posting (even on my TWO MONTH vacation) well, oops.  So here's a peek into my summer. 

Lots of Family time

  Lots of cousin time

 Lots of bro time (my wonderful husband is on the left)

 Lots of baking (no-bake nutella cheesecake)

 A little bit of country

 A whole lot of adorableness

 and even more adorableness

 Even more baking (I actually tried the pie and potatoes from this post and they were both amazing) This pie was hands-down the fanciest and most delicious thing I've ever made

 More family time (these are my cute parents)

 an entire MONTH without my handsome husband (in which I passed the time by watching two whole seasons of Gossip Girl. Yikes.)

 

and spent lots of quality time with my cute boys (Fairy Tale Town, anyone?)

It was a splendid break, but it feels so good to be reunited with my hubby and back home in Hawaii.  I now promise to be much better at updates that will hold your interest in the future.

XOXO AshOfiction

Boys

I snapped this picture of all my happy boys while eating Impossible's Pizza on the beach with friends. A beautiful evening with great food and great people. There's nothing better. And I love my family.