Simple Summer Pleasures #4

Slip-n-Slides!

Simple Summer Pleasures #3

Playing in the rain!

Simple Summer Pleasures #2

WALKING to the pool.

Catch Up!!

The looooong ride home from Hawaii.

Happy Father's Day! Firing up the wood-burning pizza oven. He loves for me to take his picture...

Casey's "I'm chubby" face.

The best salad- Rachel Ray's Mexican Chunk Salad. Click the link to get the recipe!

Casey's "innocent" face.

Pizza oven in action.

Thanks Ateam Ministries for a fun art workshop for the girls!

Day 1 of Summer's Simple Pleasures: peach crisp made with Chilton County Peaches!

In the interest of catching up- I have posted all photos from the last week with a brief comment ! Taking pictures of day to day life after returning from a place as beautiful as Hawaii is not easy. In order to inspire myself, I have given myself a theme for the upcoming week(starting today): simple pleasures of summer. Stay tuned!

Last Day in Hawaii

We were told that lei's are very special in Hawaii- used for celebrations as well as a sign of welcome. We were also told not to throw the lei's away- but instead to take them to the ocean, cut the strings, and release them into the surf while saying prayers. Emily, Anna, and I gathered all of our lei's for the week and stopped on a beach on the way to the airport. We released all of the flowers into the ocean and prayed not only for our continued good health, but for specific children and families that we have met in our journey with pediatric cancer. Emily especially wanted to pray for McKenzie, (she asked if she could still pray for her) that she was right where we knew she was, in heaven, and that her Mom, Hope, would be able to find some comfort and happiness.
It was a wonderful trip to Hawaii, and we were sad to leave. We came home a happier, closer family with some beautiful new memories.

Our condo and last sunset...

The first picture is of Emily and Ryan racing back to our condo- it is the one on the bottom floor with the large tree with white flowers in front. (we were on a golf course with a view of the ocean) We would pick up the flowers that had fallen to the ground and wear them in our hair. (except Ryan!!) The second pic is our last sunset. It is the view from our patio- you can see the flowers that had fallen. Every day someone would come and rake those flowers- they were so beautiful and smelled so good! We were very sad to leave the perfect vacation. I have some very special ones to share tomorrow from our last day before we got on the airplane.

Boogey-boarding and luau!

Emily had a blast boogey-boarding, and the luau was an amazing experience.

Submarine Trip

We got to ride in a submarine down to 127ft under water! Saw a shipwreck and lots of fish.

Helicopter Ride

Beautiful. Pardon the glare from the helicopter window. Also, take my advice and take a Dramamine if you are ever going to go on a helicopter ride throughout a Hawaiian island!

Having fun!

Even the kids' drinks come with little umbrellas- I'm starting to like it here.

Hawaii!!!

The look on Emily's face shows it all after a long day of travel- it was 6pm local Hawaii time, 10pm Birmingham time- we had been travelling for 14.5 hours. We went to the condo and went straight to bed! I am going to try to catch up with 2 or 3 pictures per day.

Ready for Hawaii!

We spent the evening getting the girls ready for Hawaii- complete with fresh toenail polish! (our neighbor Daisy's feet were included, too) I will not be posting pictures while I am in Hawaii because I won't have my computer, but I will take plenty of pics while we are gone and catch up when we get back! Aloha!

Mmm...S'mores

Reason number 123 I love our new pizza oven- S'mores!

Quiet Time

This photo may not look like much- but it means so much to me. I found the girls laying like this on the couch watching TV during our daily after-lunch "quiet time" while Casey naps. All the girls have been getting along pretty well since school has gotten out- and I've even seen a special relationship developing between Emily and Anna. (they have actually been playing TOGETHER)

My little mermaids

Heading home after a late-afternoon swim. (taken with my phone)

Little girls

Would love to hear their conversations. Casey and Daisy are really getting along well together- much less tattle-telling and power-struggles, much more sharing and laughing. Funny, funny girls that are going to be T-R-O-U-B-L-E when they get older.

Hmm... not so sure.

152/365

Tonight I had the pleasure of taking my brother and his fiance's engagement pictures! Here is a sneak peek. Emily says, "It looks like they are really, really, REALLY in love!" I said that is the point!

Saturday Mornings..

Yummy blueberry pancakes!

Entertaining the Girls

Since I had two out of three girls have surgery this week, we can't go to the pool on what of course are the hottest days ever recorded at the beginning of June in Alabama. Oh well, at least I knocked them both out at the same time and are out only one week instead of two! Today we went to the mall- when I told Anna last night that if they were good girls this morning I would take them somewhere special (meaning the carousel at the mall), she said, "Do we get to go to the MALL?!"... no mention of the carousel. They get that their love to shop from their Grammy.

Celebrate!

Emily got her port surgically removed today because she doesn't need it anymore! (it is a small device implanted on her chest wall through which she received cancer-fighting medications). She was a trooper- no nerves, no tears, no complaining. Just a little hungry before she went back, and a little tired after. We took her for Mexican to celebrate this milestone!

Sleepy Patient

Casey finally had tubes put in her ears today to prevent further ear infections. She did great but was pretty sleep afterwards from the anesthesia!