Hawaii Pictures

So I am finally getting around to posting some pictures from our Hawaii trip in March. Of course Hawaii is a photographers paradise as there are so many cool things to take pictures of. (Keep in mind I am no professional photographer)

Of course the sunsets are always so neat to watch.

The flowers and vegetation are so cool and colorful!

And then there is Dad's favorite spot. I think we went to Costco almost every day we were there. What would we do without good old faithful Costco? One day we were there and Dad had run into Costco to get something so us girls pulled out our lunch we had packed for the day and were sitting on a little piece of green lawn eating our lunch. A guy pulled up in his car and said "You know, we have some really nice beaches just down the way that you could take your picnic to." He was dead serious. We told him we were aware of the beaches but we really just loved the Costco parking lot! :)

PINEAPPLES - did you know they grow like this?

Sea Turtles - such neat creatures! We had lots of opportunities to swim with these amazing creatures. We even met a 3 legged turtle one day. This turtle was just hanging out on the beach. It was kind of a windy day but mom and I decided to go snorkelling in that water because there was a bunch more sea turtles out there. All the people stood on the beach watching us swim in the rough waves with the sea turtles. Finally Sonya and Allaina decided to join us and we had a great time snorkelling with these gentle turtles.

Mom, Me, and my sister Sonya.

My sisters and I at the Polynesian Culture Centre.

Taking a break along our hike up Diamond Head!

Happy Birthday Pappy!

The girls just hanging out watching the sunset!

What a great time we had.

Next time maybe we will bring the rest of our families.

March - The Whirlwind Month

This month has flown by for me as I have been jet setting all over the place. The first week and a half of March I was in Hawaii with my sisters and my parents. We had a great time sight seeing, hanging out and relaxing together. When I came home (for 6 days) Sadie had her 9th birthday and of course a party to go with it. Then Darcy and I left for Arizona because we had tickets to the March Madness basketball games. I had gotten sick right before we left and spent my time in Arizona coughing and keeping Darcy up all night long. The warm weather was nice and we had a good time despite the lack of good sleep.

While we were in Arizona the kids were staying at my parents house. Jordan was obsessed with catching a Leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day and he got Grandpa on board. Together they made a leprechaun trap but they didn't manage to catch one. I actually caught one while I was in Arizona and got a picture of him on my phone. I will post it when I get it off my phone.

After we got home Carson had a birthday and turned 14! I can't believe I have a 14-year-old. I am not possibly old enough for that! We finally gave in and bought him a cell phone. He has been the only kid in his grade without a cell phone. So hard done by I know! Just for the records we didn't buy it out or peer pressure but because he is getting to the stage where I need to be able to keep in contact with him with all of his sport activities etc. We came home to a week of snowy weather here in Calgary (why do we live here again?). Hopefully spring is around the corner because after seeing so much sun this month it is hard to be back in the middle of winter.

Basketball Finals

I think next year I might keep track of how much time we spend in gymnasiums watching/playing basketball. It would be an interesting statistic. I couldn't even take a guess at it but I know it consumes a lot of our days and nights. It's a good thing we love the sport. Jordan said to me last Friday "mom, how many basketball games do we have tomorrow?" I told him none -basketball season is over! He cheered, "yes, freedom to do whatever we want all day!" It does get a little tiring for Jordan and Sadie but we remind them that they will have their turn to shine as they get older.


Carson's team had a good season. They kept being beat by Southfore by about 6 points. They ended up loosing to them in the first round of the playoffs but actually out scored them in the first three quarters of the game. They just couldn't hang on to their lead in the last quarter. A few Saturdays later they ended up playing them again battling it out to see who got to play for the silver medals. Again we were up the first three quarters and then it stayed close in the fourth quarter. The game was tied with 20 seconds to go and the other team scored this ridiculous fade away jump shot and I'm not sure how it even went in the hoop. With 9 seconds left our team gets the ball and sets up the play to Carson who gets open, fakes a guy out on the baseline . . . . shoots with 2 seconds left . . . . and misses. It was heartbreaking for them. As always Carson was a good sport and wished the other team luck in the silver medal round. He was disappointed only in himself but we reminded him that you can't make every shot you take! Darcy also reminded him about the game he played the week before where he scored 20 points (12 of those points being 3 pointers) and because of that game, his team won and moved on in the playoffs. Yes it would have been awesome to make the buzzer beater to tie up the game and put your team in overtime but it doesn't always work that way. The season was over for his team! The good news is that his coach has box seats and is taking them all to see the Harlem Globetrotters in a few weeks. Carson is really excited about that.





Kailey's team were like dynamite this year. The only team they couldn't manage to beat was Varsity (and the games were always very close) - that is until the city finals when we aren't sure what team showed up to play for Calwest but it wasn't our usual Dynamite team. They ended up loosing the city finals to South Fish Creek but still got a chance to play Varsity for the silver medal (it's a double knock out tournament style). Of course we couldn't pull off the win and ended up with Bronze but still got to go to Provincials. The weekend of Provincials Darcy and I were in Arizona so we had the parents updating us by texting us as the games were being played. It was killing me not to be there watching as I had also missed the city final game while I was in Hawaii. Kailey's team ended up in the Provincial Finals against - of course - Varsity! Once again we came up with the short end of the stick and got silver in provincials. Can't complain about that! These girls played a lot of basketball this year and had a great season!

Boy we love this game! And now that community ball is over Carson is starting Club Ball and will be playing for Foundation team for the spring. Kailey is taking a break for a few months until September when community ball starts again. She can't wait to play for the Jr. Varsity team at school next year too!

Sadie's 9th Birthday

Sadie turned 9 this month! She decided to have a Hawaiian birthday party this year which was fitting since I had just been in Hawaii the week before her birthday. She just had a handful of friends come over to celebrate the day!

Of course we had to have pinia coladas to drink!

And a Hawaiian beach cake was in order!

Happy Birthday Sadie! You are really growing up fast!

School Awards for JJ

Jordan was so excited when he walked into the Grade 1 Awards assembly and saw me sitting there. I was surprised when Grant's mom walked in as well. These boys seem to do everything together even though they are in different classes. They both got their principal awards on the same day.

The teacher always writes a few paragraphs about the child getting the award and why they are getting the award. Jordan's teacher mentioned about his reading and great with numbers and then goes on and on about his athletic ability and how he is always the ring leader for any football show down at recess. He is always up for any game and is always willing to include anybody in his games. He is very competitive but shows great sportsmanship whenever he is playing. Watching Jordan in grade 1 is a like a repeat of Carson 7 years ago! Sometimes Darcy and I just crack up laughing at some of the things he does because we've seen it done once before. I always love to hear when my kids are good sports because that is the most important thing when competing. I always tell them it is easy to be a good winner but is a lot harder to be a good looser! I hope they remember that!