September 2023

Claire LOVES Baby Shark.  She has loved baby shark for a long time.  They play it all the time for her at daycare and she loves listening to it and dancing to it.

We have Miss Jess come babysit our kids every Tuesday so Greg and I can have a date night.  One night was beautiful so we went mini golfing.  I got a hole in one on the first hole!!!  That has never happened to me before. Greg killed me the rest of the time but at least I beat him at that one hole!

Claire went poop in the potty!!!  I could tell she had to go and I put her on the potty and she went!!  She did not know what to think of it and didn't tell me she had to go but hopefully this continues.  She still likes to be naked at home and will go or tell us if she has to go but if she has a diaper or clothes on she will definitely go in there.  She has only had a few accidents when she has been home with us.  Officially potty training will start when we get back from Hawaii in a few weeks.

We have had some beautiful weather lately!  An extension of summer!  The kids love the reusable water balloons and a water gun they have.  Then we have been able to go to the pool a few more times lately and all the kids LOVE the pool! I am sure our neighbors are loving seeing Claire naked out in the backyard.  It is the best spot to potty train because if there is an accident it is no big deal!  We love our new cement also, It makes playing outside so nice.

The boys have gotten into American Ninja Warrior lately!  They love it and want Greg to create their own ninja gym in the back yard.  Here they are doing a push up challenge to see how many they can do. Claire had to get into the fun also.

I switched out our playset and the boys are seeing how long they can hang like the Ninja Warriors. They will be on that show in no time!

Fall sports season has started!  We have busy Saturdays with football and soccer.  It is hard to see Grant playing football and his team lost the first game but that gives them room for improvement over the season!  Greg coached Grant's first soccer game also and 2 games in one day is a lot for Grant.  He was tired by the time soccer came around.  We have learned he will need to rest between games and get some nutrients to have energy for the soccer game.  Blake had an amazing first soccer game!  He scored 4 or 5 goals!  I was hesitant to see how Blake did just because he wasn't very interested last season and I was so impressed this season so far.  It was even hot outside so I was worried he would get too hot and not want to play.  He has the cutest dance after the goals and he always looks over to the sideline and give us a thumbs up. Grant went over to sit by Blake after scoring all this goals and they were walking hand in hand to the car.  So sweet to see them bond over something.

We celebrated Blake's birthday on Sunday! He had his friend party in the morning and his family party in the evening.  He was SO excited for his day he was up at 4:30 and refused a nap.  He could barely wait for his family to get there for his party and had SO much energy!  His friend birthday party was at Pump it up and he had a blast!  And he was so excited for the presents he barely said anything to his family when they arrived.  It was fun to see him so excited for his day to celebrate him.  He is so sweet and deserve some celebrating. 

The next day we had Blake's family party.  He was so excited to get all the attention again.  He wanted a Monster truck/Mario birthday.  It was a good year because he was able to eat normal cake and ice cream.  We still worry about it but luckily we haven't seen any seizures or changes since allowing him to have gluten.

Miss Jess from daycare has been coming over once a week to watch the kids so Greg and I can have an evening out.  She brings her kids and so they play together.  Her youngest is in Claire's room and her oldest is in Blake's room.  The kids enjoy playing together!

Blake got a stay at home day for his actual birthday.  He had a rough day because all he wanted was a robot for his birthday and we just found out the morning of his birthday that is what he wanted.  We brought some monster trucks to the park and ended up watching youtube before nap time.

Grant was able to run across the field before the Waukee football game and he loved it!   We stayed and watched the first half of the football game and Grant was in heaven.  Claire and Blake loved the beginning but got tired the closer it got to half time.

We had Miss Cassie come over to babysit the Saturday before we left for Hawaii so the kids would be familiar and show her Blake's medicine.  She did great and the kids loved it!  Grant said he is excited for her to come back.

Aunt Nicki always sends birthday cards with money for how old they are.  So Blake got $5 in his birthday card and was SO excited.  It was burning a hole in his pocket from the minute he got the money.  Luckily, Nana took him to get a car from Target so he stopped talking about it.

Claire does just a great job of holding a crayon!  We went to Texas Roadhouse and she was holding the crayon so well. And she is so focused!

Greg and I went to Kauai with Aunt Kellie and Barb.  It was a busy and fun trip!  Kauai is such a beautiful island and we had a great time.  Greg and I flew first class for the first time.  We were so excited!  It was a fun thing to do but I am not sure it will be worth it to do on most flights.

The first day we got there we went on a helicopter ride of the island. I was very nervous but once we got up in the air it was so beautiful that the nerves went away!  Such a great way to see the island and so much of it is not able be seen other than the air.  The pictures don't do it justice of how beautiful it really is!  This was Greg and I's favorite excursion.

We went to the restaurant called the Beach House.  It was a beautiful view of the sunset but the food was not the best.  Kellie and I got the filet and it was delicious but the fish was not good per Greg and Barb.

The next day we drove up the Waimea canyon.  Beautiful views but the roads up there were very curvy with a lot of blind, sharp turns. It was a beautiful view but Greg did not like driving on those roads!

That night we went to Poipu beach to watch the sea turtles come up to sleep on the beach.  The sea turtles all come to this beach at sunset to be safe from the sharks at night.

The next day we went on a boat ride to snorkel and see the Napali coast from the water.  We saw a sea turtle snorkeling but that was about it.  The water was the perfect temperature!  We saw dolphins twice while driving around the boat.  They were smaller dolphins that are never in confinement as they will always die if they are in tanks.  The ride to the coast was very cold and wet! It was not enjoyable.  We got so wet that it was hard to open our eyes and burned!  It was a beautiful view of the Napalo coast the few times I was able to open my eyes.

We went on a hike at the canyon the next morning.  We were not sure of our choice at the beginning.  It was cold and rainy and the reviews said to be careful because it can be very slippery when wet.  It ended up not being that bad and a great view at the end.  The way back was mainly uphill and the last mile was rough!

We went to Keoki's paradise the next night and the food was great!  We got a hula pie for dinner and it was delicious!

The waves were strong on the beach with a strong under toe!  Kellie and Barb braved the waves and water!

Kellie really wanted to try a puka dog or a hot sausage hot dog so they all went for one lunch while I stayed back. They said they were really good!

Kelly recommended going to Merriman's for dinner and it was our best meal!  All of the food was delicious and so much flavor!

We rented the Cabana one night and got a great view of the ocean and the waves.

Nana and Papa watched the kids for the majority of the time away.  Miss Cassie watched them over the weekend to give my parent a couple nights break.  The kids did well for both of them! Miss Cassie brought a bunch of art projects and kept the kids busy.  The boys did great but Claire was the hardest.  She didn't want to sleep past 5 any day and got up in the night a few times so everyone was sleep deprived.  The kids were SO excited to see us when we got home.  It was the best welcome home I have ever received.  Greg and I were ready to be home with the kids also.

Claire and Blake had picture day the next day.  I tried to get a picture of them all dressed up but Blake wouldn't take a picture and Claire ended up having a blow out before pictures and ruined her dress.

The next day was Grant's Run for the Hills school fundraiser.  He was so excited to run!  When we got there he would barely acknowledge us because he was so focused.  He did great and ran most of the time which was a big deal because it was HOT!  His friend told him he got first place so that made him happy. He is doing so well in school these days and I love hearing him be excited for school activities.  He was excited to get jobs in his classroom also and told me many times how he couldn't wait to go to school and see what his job was.  He also is very smart and his testing showed he is doing great in math and he is in a special math class for a few weeks.  He loves math and science.

Saturday we went over to the O'holleran's house to grill and have s'mores.  Grant loved the s'mores but Blake and Claire were not into them.  The kids all had a good time and Grant ended up having his first sleepover.  I was very nervous (and barely slept that night myself) about him sleeping over because he has only stayed somewhere other than his bed a few times.  And of those times, only 1 was when Greg and I weren't there.  He did great though and had fun!  He was tired the next day and he told me he likes sleeping in his own bed better.