Lost

We discovered it was wiggly when we were on vacation. Even after finding out his cousin pulled out his own tooth, he let nature take it's course. We were having a lazy Sunday morning in bed when Dylan came tearing upstairs tooth in hand. He was excited and proud - ready to be on the tooth chart at school and to get some money from the tooth fairy.

We had a near tragedy when the tooth was dropped in the carpet. Which happens to be kind of tooth colored.

Somehow we found it and today Dylan is $2 richer and a whole lot more grown-up.

The Aftermath

It's so depressing to unpack after vacation, don't you think? Especially five people's stuff. I'm taking my sweet time. Maybe the longer I take to unpack, the less real it is that we're home already. We're all still in vacation mode. Patrick didn't make it to the gym this morning and I think the boys woke up 20 minutes before we had to leave for school.

Hawaii this year was very relaxing. In trip's past, we've ventured out a little more - seen some sights, hiked some trails. We had so much family there, family we don't get to see very often, so we stuck close and enjoyed each other's company instead. It was perfect. We spent one afternoon at the beach and a day at the Hilton resort where you could swim in the many pools or rent a kayak and snorkels for the ocean lagoon. Jake and his cousin D.J. followed a honu (turtle in Hawaiian) around until he got tired of being followed.

We took lots of beautiful walks along the ocean checking out tidepools and looking for turtles or whales. This is the cousins and Pa at Buddha Point which is a great spot to watch for whales or see the sunset.

There was lots of golf for the boys and a spa day at the Mauna Lani for the girls. Best massage of my life - all by myself, outside in a little grass hut feeling the wind and hearing the birds. And an shower outside? Heavenly. After massages, it was lunch at the Tommy Bahama restaurant. The food is delicious and I'm totally excited there's a restaurant here in Scottsdale. I can go get me an island fix.

We also had a girl's only shopping trip and I got some lovely things that will remind me of Hawaii every time I wear them. And of course, lots and lots of pool time, pina colada smoothies (way too many!!) and staying up late talking and laughing.

Kim, Austin and Andrew are enjoying the pool at the Hilton. Our kids get along with their cousins so well and I loved seeing them together. They are old enough now that they really can do a lot of fun things together. I got a kick out of watching their games in the pool and seeing their impromtu football or baseball games they put together outside on the grass in back of our condo. It was also so nice to see Fay and Vince (Peg's cousins) and their daughter Tiffany and her family. We hadn't seen Tiffany and Arusha since their wedding and it was fun to get to know them better and play with their kids. My boys had fun playing nanny to their little "Reid-y" who is 18 months.

No trip to Hawaii would be complete without a luau. I love this picture of Patrick with his sisters Kim and Sara. Great food and great entertainment. And absolutely wonderful to take boys who are old enough to enjoy the food and entertainment as much as the grown-ups. Also, is it weird that I totally want to learn to do the hulu?

Grandma and Grandpa, thanks so much for everything. We had a wonderful vacation and so much wonderful together time. You are so generous and we love getting to go to Hawaii together. Until next time, we have lots of great memories to tide us over.

Aloha

There is too much to say about our amazing vacation to the Big Island with Patrick's family. It was also our first experience with our new camera. Enjoy!

Jake is 9!

Seriously. It should be against the law for a child of mine to get this old. Look how quickly he changed in the four short years between said pictures!

It would be a complete travesty if he wasn't such an awesome kid. Nine years old looks good on him. I couldn't ask for a better one to live in my house.

Jake had a great birthday but one that was extremely difficult to document (due to lack of a camera) and extremely difficult to schedule (due to the craziness that is life.) We had a family birthday party (and celebrated at school) on the Friday before his birthday. Jake requested doughnuts in class just like his brother Dylan. They were a hit again! I don't think I will ever feel pressure to buy expensive store-bought cupcakes again. If I could make them at home, that would be one thing but since you can't... I think doughnuts are a delicious birthday treat. He requested Taco Bell for his lunch and was the talk of the lunch table who all wished for a bite.

After basketball practice, we came home for presents and cake. Jake got a Sports Chalet gift card, birthday money, a digital video camera and some Bakugan stuff from his brothers. Then he had a treasure hunt to find his present from mom and dad. A set of real golf clubs - some Ping Moxies!!

Then on to cake and ice cream. I believe he forgot to make a wish which Dylan found absolutely unacceptable.Dad was off to Sri Lanka the next day so we had to wait 2 weeks to do his birthday party. We probably couldn't have done it any sooner even still what with all the sports and other activities Jake has had going on. He decided he wanted to take 4 of his closest friends golfing and then come back to our house for pizza and hanging out.

Jake McGee, Caleb Mumford, Brandon Bouchard, Connor Lunsford and our own Jake Watson

Carter loves to be out there with the big boys!!

The boys did really well and had a lot of fun. Patrick had them play best ball so that each shot was taken off of that team's best ball - rather than having the kids running all over trying to hit from their own ball. Todd McGee was able to come help out the second threesome which was awesome. That way I was free to watch Carter and dole out water bottles - a la cart girl style. Both teams shot a 40 on the 9-hole course. Jake made 2 par's off of his "best ball" so we think his clubs work. They are quite a bit longer than his old clubs so they will take some getting used to.

Brandon, Jake and Connor enjoying strawberry cupcakes and mocha chocka latta lah ice cream. That's neopolitan for those of you not familiar with Grandpa Motley-ese.
Present time! Legos and more Bakugan. What more could a 9-yr. old want?!

I am so happy to have Jake as my eldest son. It's funny how the oldest can set the tone for the family - if Jake is having fun, then everyone else is too. I couldn't have asked for a more easy-going guy to be my family's peace keeper. So many days I thank my lucky stars that he has so much of his dad's temperment. He keeps us on an even keel, is patient with me and his brothers and is always ready to invite anyone into the fun. As he gets older, I worry a little about putting too much pressure on him or that he has emotions that he is holding close that he won't let me see. Patrick assures me that he is fine - I suppose like father, like son.

Jake is one of those kids that is good at everything - smart as a whip, physically coordinated, a great friend, lots of fun to be around - and yet he is nothing but humble and kind. I enjoy watching him try new things - he has a healthy self-confidence and knows that if he goes for it, he can do it. He actually said this just the other day when we were at Legoland and he was trying to decide if he was going to ride this one roller coaster. He watched it a few times and said, "It looks kinda crazy but I'm going for it!" That was something I would have never said at his age and I am glad that he is different than me in this way. I can't wait to watch him "go for it" so many times throughout his life.

My reflections of Jake feel so different this year. It's almost as if he's crossed the threshold and I can see him on his way out of his childhood, almost a "tween". Jake has taught me so many things on my motherhood journey. He was the one that started us on the road to being a family, my first born. When I look back to that time, Patrick and I were so giddy and happy. We had this beautiful new baby and a glimpse of what our future as parents would be like. So much of the time we felt like we were playing house and we would look at each other and exclaim, "Can you believe he's ours?" He is not a baby anymore but I still can't believe he's ours. I love you Jake-man! Happy Birthday babe!