So Many Costume Changes!

We had a busy Halloween. On Friday October 30th, we had a Primary Halloween Party and since I'm serving as the Primary President, I guess that put me in charge of the festivities. We kept it simple. Dinner, A Game of Fear Factor which seemed to be a hit, a costume parade and trick or treating. It was a fun night. I wish I had pictures from our fear factor. It was funny. I made them do some pretty gross things. Kenji said it was disgusting but it was my secret revenge on the kids! Hahahaha.

For Halloween, Karly was a fairy. Technically, she was Tinkerbell--as a fairy--before she changed into her green costume.

Originally, Kaelyn was supposed to be Cinderella. A step up from last year's costume as Gus Gus! She wore her costume to the party, but complained of it being itchy...

So on Halloween night, we threw on an previous costume of Karly's. She became Minnie Mouse...

Kasen was set to be an elephant. It was the same costume that Karly and Kaelyn wore for their 1st Halloween. I figured since both the girls wore it, he would too! But we had 1 problem...

He absolutely HATED it! :(

So for Halloween, with no costume for him, we just changed our baby into a old man...we put mascara on his eyebrows and drew on a mustache.

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween...and now it's on to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years!!! Yay!!

Cousins Re-United!

It's always fun when the Tanji cousins come to visit. Now that Rylan has started kindergarten, their visits are more confined. But during October, they had fall break and so they came up to visit us! It was a very busy but fun week. They were here from October 5-10. It was a fun week filled with laughs, smiles and priceless memories...Also, we had 5 kids 5 years and younger so you can only imagine what the house was like...CHAOS! :)

Here are some fun thing we did:

Swim and catch fish at Old Airport

Have a Halloween Party with food, fun, games and dessert

Place the mouth on the Jack-O-Lantern...Kaelyn won!

The kids playing in the slime. They each had to take turns looking for eyeballs.

Pinata

We spent 2 days at the Keauhou Sheraton! Thanks to my mom and dad, we stayed at the Keauhou Sheraton because the kids LOVE swimming there. They spent all day Thursday and Friday swimming and playing and eating by the pool! They thought they were in HEAVEN!

We also took the kids night fishing...
And to the Higashihara Park...

Because we were so busy everyday, their time with us went by so fast. We miss them lots! The girls LOVE their cousins a lot. They are the best of friends and even though we live on separate islands, when the COUSINS get together, it's like not a second went by that they weren;t together...they always pick up right where they last left off!

We ♥ Oahu!!

Although Kona is where I reside, Kaneohe will always be "home" and when I visit there, I am reminded just how much I love it there! But Kona is not so bad either!

Here are some pictures from our trip August 14-23:

Rylan's 5th Birthday Party

Feeding the baby koi fish

Swimming, playing bubbles and luch at Aunty Summer and Uncle Shane's house

Dinner with my family at Pagoda

Fun lunch at Chuck-E-Cheese

Leaving back to Kona

We had a fun time there. My parents treated us to lots of yummy food...and we ate so much there! We tried to eat all the foods we can't find in Kona. I also got to meet up and catch up with so many friends...like Angela and Ashley! I miss my friends there! I love and miss my family so much but I'm glad they take the time to visit and I always find the time to visit them! Next trip: 10 days in November! Can't wait!!

Finally, Baby Food...

You think he likes his baby food??!!

Okay...maybe NOT! I was looking forward to starting Kasen on baby food so that when we go out, I wouldn't have to nurse him. Instead, I could pop open a jar of baby food and feed him without feeling like 10 billion people are watching me.

I didn't think I would have any problems with him eating food since I had no problems with the girls and especially because he's my FAT BOY that LOVES to eat. Well, one taste of his food and then he started crying as if I were torturing him. Since then, he's gotten better at eating solids, but he is by far my pickiest eater! He shivers if the food is sweet, like sweet potatoes and cries if it tastes gross...like green beans. I'm also trying to wean him off nursing because I can feel teeth coming in and let's just say, I've never ever nursed a baby with teeth and don't plan to start now. But he doesn't like a bottle and doesn't care for food! What is a mom to do with such a picky eater? And I thought he was going to be a breeze! :(

Last Minute Surprise!

Last month, our family got a last minute surprise! My sister called me asking if it would be okay if she and her family came up to visit us for a few days! Of course, I was so excited and happy! 2 weeks after that phone call, they were here with us! It was very busy with 5 kids in the house 4 years and younger, but it was so much fun at the same time! And being away from my family, I'm just happy to spend any time I can with them!!

We took the kids to the beach, went shopping around Kailua, went to the Higashihara park, ate at Big Island Grill and most excitingly, went on an overnight stay at the Sheraton Keauhou Resort and Spa. There we relaxed all day by the pool, ordered food that is delivered straight to your cabana, swam and rode the slide over and over again. No lines!! It was so much fun! Karly said, "This is the best house I ever had!" We spent 4 hours in the pool the first day and 4 hours in the pool the second day. Even Kasen loved the pool and just cruised the whole time. When it was nap time, we just laid him down on the sofa chairs by the pool and he knocked out and woke up ready to go back swimming.

Karly and Kaelyn eating breakfast on the patio:

Kasen knocked out after "swimming":

Pool time with the kids:

Karly getting ready to go down the slide:

Cousins make the best of friends:

Despite the cost, we will definitely be making more memories here in the years to come. After all, memories like these are priceless, right?!

4th of July Weekend

Kenji's sisters, Summer and Tina came up for the 4th of July weekend. Because they came, we decided to take a mini "vacation" to Hilo to hit up Big Island Candies and J & R Lollipops. I was worried about the drive because driving to Hilo can be a LONG ride when you have a 3 year old, 2 year old and 4 month old. Luckily, we have a DVD system in our van, so between DVDs and snacks they were happy...and when they weren't eating and watching DVDs, this is what they did...

Sweet! I worried for nothing! They all did great on the ride over. Kasen basically slept the whole ride over and the whole ride home! In Hilo, we were able to do some shopping and lots of eating! Kenji spoiled the girls with toys and clothes...we spent some big $$ on them but it's only once in a great while that they get spoiled the way we did this past weekend. I also went on a shopping spree, and Kenji even surprised me with a itouch ipod! Besides shopping and eating yummy food, the girls got to enjoy some pool time at the hotel and loved to play in the hotel rooms.

In the hotel room...

We had a nice time with the family...and we were all spoiled by Kenji's parents who funded the whole trip...hotel and meals etc. :)