They really wanted Katrina in the back with them. They had a sleepover party with her the night before.
Saying goodbye to Oma until the next time!
Sarah was afraid of this poodle puppy nipping her. Don't let his adorable puppy face fool you! haha
Sarah had gotten hurt in this one. First time she really hurt herself falling off a bike.
On the train at Arrundel Mills Mall with Wyatt. Grace and I rode behind them because we were cool like that.
Mr.Bigglesworth doing his kitty thing. The girls were sure to give him lots of love.
On the way back to Hawaii from a nice long trip.
We've really had a fun summer. Sarah had a great birthday party to start it off at Papa & Tutu's house with about 12 kids running around and her Tiana Cake that she's been asking for since the movie came out. It was nice and relaxing at home for the first few weeks of winding down from school.
Next the real fun started when my Mother in Law sent us to MD and we stayed with her at Dann's old house for a few days, we went to Chick Fillet; a must every time we are in town and next "The Puppy Store"; we got to play with 3 different puppies and each one was adorable. We saw my sister in law Katrina who took us to see the girl's great grandma Oma on our way to Papa and Granny T's house. We had dinner later on with both the great Grandma's Oma and Grandma (the only Grandma out of all of them) and then went to Grandma's house. We played in her basement where she keeps every toy you could possibly imagine and more. There were all sorts of little instruments so Papa, Granny T, Grandma,me and the girls all formed a band. Who needs tv when you got a basement full of toys? We spent the weekend with Granny T and Papa so I got a chance to sneak away to see some friends.
There was some pretty cool thunder storms while at my inlaws, we got to spend quality time with them and their Yorkipoos; Janice and Jimmy and met their new kitty Winter. I also got to have my first night out with one of my best buds Sarah who I haven't had a night out alone with in about 9 years and hadn't seen in 3. I met her in down town Silver Spring and my shoes were killing me so we went shoe shopping and I got an excellent pair of comfortable shoes. Then we went to this place called Eggspectation and got rum smoothies, salad and ribs; amazing! The next day the girls got to go to The Puppy Store again and also caught lightening bugs with nets while I went to Angie's, it was a lot of fun to see most of the people from last year, some people I hadn't seen in a long time and there was also some new faces. When I got back to my inlaws we watched Spy Kids in 3D. Once we were all ready we went to visit Grace and Wyatt at the mall. We ate some tasty food and then Mike and Trish were off to do some shopping. First I let the girls burn off some energy in these cool beach ball things. The guy in charge let them go as long as they wanted since it was a slow day. First he deflated the ball, unzipped it, mostly zipped it up once the kid was in and then filled it up with air. Sarah was so sweaty after she got out her head was soaked. Julia relaxed a little more and laid down when she got tired but Sarah didn't know the meaning of rest. They had so much fun doing that and then the girls and Wyatt rode the train carousel, went to outdoor world to look at fish, rode another train carousel and then rode the mall train. The three of them seemed to have a lot of fun and Wyatt led the way for us while he marched. He has grown up so much since we last saw him and that was really neat to see. We went to the Disney store after all that to look at all the cool stuff and then said our goodbyes. Trish and Mike drove us back to their house and we saw their goodies that they had found at the mall. They got really cute decor for their new beach house. They had shown us earlier what it's going to look like through pictures of models that they had been through, the materials they chose and the colors; it's going to be so cute. We'll be visiting them in that house next year in Delaware; until next time Granny T and Papa!
Lots of fun in one week. Then we went to Nana's Splash Magic Campground http://www.riverandfun.com/ and jumped in the pool as soon as possible. This was after all one of the hottest summers; we were very lucky to have that pool and this year they had huge slides that Sarah was brave enough to try out. They did ceramics every day, got new bikes from Nana to ride everyday, swam every day, ate lots of icecream, Julia discovered Root Beer floats, saw The ZOO Keeper down the street with Nana at a drive in movie theatre, bought goodies from the Amish both Saturdays we were there, caught lightening bugs, played candy bar bingo, hooked worms with my Mother in law Betty and it was gross for both of us, shamefully watched to much tv; with the heatwave it was all we could do sometimes, finished a book; more than anything the whole trip was very restful and a lot of fun. My phone wasn't working either so I couldn't check my e-mail, facebook or make calls; but I was great-full for that. It seemed to make the time more enjoyable just being in the present moment.
We drove back to MD and I got a chance to visit Dan, Ruth, Eve, Paul and Scarlett in DC. I'd never met Scarlett before but she was all smiles and even let me pick her up. Eve was still sleeping when we got there but was up after a while. The girls all played so well together; it was so sweet and heartwarming. Mary had came just in time for lunch and then we all decided on the pool instead of the Zoo because it was so hot. Walking there was a little tricky because Eve would want to run with Sarah and Julia and then she'd fall, cry, and then repeat. Dan had it right when he said it was like herding cats. It took a while for Eve to get used to the water once we were there. She was fine as long as no one touched her and she could walk on her own; I completely understand :). Scarlett was all over the place which was really cool. The only thing is my girls wouldn't leave her alone and that made me so nervous. After a while they got that it was safer for me to do the holding. The pool was the perfect activity for the kids and there were only a few other people there. Once the life gaurd blew the whistle we were ready to go home. Same thing pretty much with the herding on the way back but the nice thing about kids is that they are way cuter then cats! The girls and I stayed a little longer at Dan and Ruth's while our towels dried but the grownups were tired and my kids seem to get more rambunctious when they are tired, so it was time to head out. It was a quiet ride home because the kids were asleep, love when that happens on long rides.
The next morning we rode to the airport and Sarah had the craziest tantrum on the plane. As soon as we sat down she was screaming and hitting me. This probably lasted a half hour until I told her that hitting your parents is illegal and then she cried saying it wasn't fair and fell asleep. Poptarts and donuts are never good to start your morning.
I'm so excited to move back to Maryland; just driving around on the highway and back roads just made me feel like I was home. We will be so lucky to see so much family and friends. I can't wait to see the changing seasons and the festivities that come with them. Really looking forward to going back!
It was so good to see Dann when we got back. It felt like it was such a long time even though it was only 3 weeks. My sister in law's Erin and Katrina just got to Hawaii last week and we're dropping them off today. The second night we had a huge dinner at the house when my brother got here after. It was a nice celebratory dinner; ribs, corn, shrimp, salad, cherries, box of red wine, juice and cream puffs for desert; my mom got too much food; sort of a running joke but leftovers are always great. My brother was pretty busy because he was here for his best friend's wedding as the best man but we went out to BC Burrito for breakfast one day and went hiking up Mariners Ridge another with our mom and dad; some really nice quality time. It was Erin's first time here and Katrina's second; the girl and I went to eat breakfast with them at Dukes http://www.dukeswaikiki.com/ in the Outrigger Surf Waikiki hotel they were staying in; we all had a breakfast buffet that was delicious with the best coffee I ever tasted, scrumptious biscuits with sausage gravy and lots of yummy fruit and after eating the girls and I took them to Kaimana Beach (not the best beach but Sarah really wanted to take them there), Erin and I went hiking on Mariners Ridge and lots of good conversation, Dann took them on an Island Tour and the next day Erin & Katrina rented a jeep and went off roading on the north shore, the girls and I took them to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling; Erin & Katrina saw a turtle when they swam out further, Sarah really loved swimming and seeing the fish with Katrina; she's such a strong swimmer and has so much fun. Julia let me carry her further out so she could see the fish; she got a little worried about the bigger ones at one point but then got over it, Dann and his sisters went on a booze cruise while I saw my mom in Tony & Tina's Wedding again; they brought back some funny stories and that night my Dad babysat the girls so the Burdette Grownups could eat at the Cheese Cake Factory; we had an hour in traffic then an hour wait and then Erin got sick so she had to leave early but we sat,chatted with Katrina and ate so much food that we took half home for leftovers. The last spot Dan and I took them to was Sandy Beach; Julia came with us but Sarah went shopping with my mom. Sandy Beach has some strong waves, current and a stronger undertow. Marathon training Erin seemed fine but the rest of us were wiped out from fighting the waves and current; it was a lot of fun and Katrina didn't get a chance to try that beach out last time so she got to experience some crazy Hawaiian Surf. Erin took turns with me watching Julia because there is no way a little kid should be out there. We had so much fun with them here! Dan is leaving today too so we went hiking up Mariners Ridge with our Mom and Dad. Really a great Summer and I know the girls and I are ready for the Fall!
