Spring Break 2015 - Days 8 & 9 - Family

Friday & Saturday, April 3 & 4, 2015

We spent these days with Jenrie and the kids -- Spidey, Princess P, C-Man, and Miss M. We didn't do a lot, just hung out and visited. The kids all jumped on the trampoline. We walked to a playground by the school on Friday and the older boys played soccer while Princess P and C-Man climbed around on the playground stuff. Hubby stayed home with Miss M. We just ordered pizza for dinner, and Hubby and the three older boys when ice skating after dinner. Jenrie dropped them off as Hubby wouldn't have been able to get on base without her. I stayed at home with the three youngest. I got them all in the bathtub and clean, and then got them all in bed. I felt very accomplished! ;)

 

Saturday morning we went to IHOP -- Jenrie's request. She doesn't go out to eat because it would be a major ordeal to do so alone with all four kids. We had a nice late breakfast with no incidents and then headed home. We gave the kids their Easter baskets from us and then we blew bubbles in the backyard for awhile. Hubby and I stayed with all of the kids while Jenrie went to get the oil changed in her car and ran to the store. When she got home, we took a bunch of pictures of all of the kids together and thenwe made dinner and Skyped with Uncle Hooter. That was really nice!! He will be home in about three weeks. WOO HOO!! After dinner, we packed up and headed home. :(  We wanted a day to recover before Hubby and I had to go back to work.

It was a great vacation, and a bonus to be able to spend some time with family at the end of it. :)

Keeper Boy's Hawaiian Adventure, Day 33

I don't have a lot to update because I don't get a lot of updates. I know the kids love having Keeper Boy there, and Gma Geri says she thinks Jenrie is going to miss having Keeper Boy there, too. But Keeper Boy himself has not been the best at keeping in touch by phone, by text, by email, or by Facebook. Sigh. I guess this is what I have to look forward to when he goes off to college... information blackout!

I do know that they spent five days on the Big Island over Hubby's and my birthday weekend and that they saw and did a lot in those five days. Uncle Hooter posted a lot of awesome photos on Facebook from that mini-vacation.


And, I got a video over the weekend of Keeper Boy and Spidey at some sort of water park running around inside what looked like giant hamster wheels in the water. Very amusing, and very tiring for them, I'm sure. Looked like they were having a blast!

I know Keeper Boy has taken surfing lessons twice, learned to use a push lawn mower, learned to change diapers (though I don't know that he's yet actually changed one), not gotten any better about using deodorant, is still lying about using soap/shampoo in the shower, and bought everyone pizza for dinner last Friday  night.

I guess that's something...

Keeper Boy's Hawaiian Adventure - Day 7

Day 7 - 6/26/12

We talked to Keeper Boy on FaceTime last night for a little while. It was quite an adventure with Spidey and CJ reaching for the iPod and such. We got disconnected a few times during the conversation. :)

But Keeper Boy looks good. He says he's wearing his retainer, showering, taking his meds, and keeping his room picked up. Jenrie concurred. ;-P He's watched the kids a few times already while Jenrie has run out to the commissary, and he keeps them entertained while she makes dinner. He's also serving as an able partner for Uncle Hooter to play X-box games that he normally has no one to play with. ;-P

Hubby's uncle, aunt, and two of their grandchildren are currently in Hawaii and Keeper Boy is going to go hang with them for the next couple of days, I guess. The grandchildren are around Keeper Boy's age. They are going to do the Remembrance Tour at Pearl Harbor tomorrow morning and then do all the war monuments and memorials that we did last summer when we were there. He is going to stay with them at their condo tomorrow night.

Other than that, nothing new. He seemed totally comfortable there and the kids seemed completely comfortable with him. Spidey was hanging all over him, just like a little brother. :) Keeper Boy and Spidey are the same age spread at Hubby and Uncle Hooter, so I think it's been funny for Uncle Hooter to watch the interaction from the perspective of an adult.

Christmas

This year, we had Christmas in four parts...

Part I, Early Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa
Two weekends before Christmas, Mom and Dad came down for a quick visit. They arrived on Friday, we had "Christmas" on Friday night, and then basically spent the rest of the weekend in hockey rinks. It was a lovely Christmas with very nice and very generous gifts. The boys really liked the toques brought to them from Alaska. They have worn them almost non-stop ever since. Hubby and I have worn our scarves brought from Scotland. Hubby's is black watch plaid, and mine is some plaid that has both the red of my coat and some orange (my favorite color) in it. Love it!

I'm not sure who was more excited about Keeper Boy getting Risk... Keeper Boy or Hubby! And J-Mav got Parcheesi, a favorite from my childhood. Keeper Boy got a new hockey bag -- one made specifically for goalie equipment. ALL of his equipment fits in the bag (as does J-Mav as we found out).

There were lots of awesome gifts... Star Wars Legos for J-Mav, a USB turntable for Hubby, a purse and some plates for my Christmas set for me, the bag for Keeper Boy. And Mom and Dad seemed to really like their gifts, too. I keep hearing that the train puzzle we gave my dad is giving him fits (but that as of this morning he is about 2/3 done with it). Mom loves her Mukluks and the hockey Santa we gave her.

A very good start to our Christmas celebration!

Part II, Christmas with BFF and kids
The night before we left for Ohio, we got together with BFF and her kids N. and V. The kids opened their gifts at BFF's house and we had pizza, and then we all piled into the truck and headed across the river to National Harbor and ICE! It was really cool... tons of ice sculptures, all in the theme of the Grinch!

Highlights of this part of Christmas included a 5-foot goalie fathead for Keeper Boy and a new set of knee hockey nets for J-Mav.

Part III, Christmas Day
Christmas morning was chaotic. With nine people, it took more than two hours to open gifts. We were in Ohio at Gma G's house. Also there (from Hawaii!) were Uncle Hooter (Hubby's brother), Jenrie, and the kids -- J. and P. It was the first time we'd met P. and she was ADORABLE. She wasn't shy around us at all, even though she's almost a year old and had never met us.

Highlights included learning a new game (Blockus), that the kids had learned over the summer when they visited Gma G. And Keeper Boy got the game for Christmas, so we can play here, too. Other highlights were a Kindle for Keeper Boy, an iTouch for J-Mav, and plane tickets for our family to travel to Hawaii this summer to visit Uncle Hooter, Jenrie, and the kids. Can't wait!!

We also celebrated P.'s baptism and 1st birthday (a month early) the day after Christmas. Hubby and I are honored to be her Godparents. :) The following day, we celebrated Gma G's birthday. The guys took the kids sledding one afternoon. And one afternoon Gma G took the boys to see Gulliver's Travels while Hubby and Uncle Hooter saw The Fighter and Jenrie, P., and I went shopping. (No Kohl's on Oahu, so we spent some time there.)

The night before we came home, we all went to Dayton and stayed in a hotel as Uncle Hooter and family had an early flight out of Dayton to go home to Hawaii. Their flight ended up being cancelled. :-( So we all went to brunch and then they went to Cincinnati, where they were able to get a flight out the following day, and we headed home. A long trip home for everyone, but everyone got home safely.

Part IV, Santa
J-Mav had sent Santa a note early in December asking him to leave his and Keeper Boy's gifts at our house rather than delivering them to Ohio. This was because J. and P. wouldn't have room to take their stuff home on the plane and J-Mav didn't think it was fair for he and Keeper Boy to get their gifts and not their cousins. Very empathetic on J-Mav's part. :)

By the time we got home from Dayton, it was after 10pm, so the boys opened their Santa gifts the following morning. They were very excited... Keeper Boy got a new Caps jersey (Neuvirth); J-Mav got a new Cowboys throw-back jersey (Romo), a Star Wars action figure set, and a couple games for his DS. Excitement all around. :)

So I think Christmas is officially over. As I type, we are watching the Winter Classic and the Caps are up 2-1. Hopefully that lead will hold and we will be a happy family tonight! Luckily, the kids don't have school tomorrow, so we are letting them stay up. I guess tomorrow I'll start taking the Christmas decorations down. Today the kids asked if we could just leave the tree up all year. I'd love to!! But I fear that would be a little weird.

In conclusion... Happy New Year!! And remember: only 358 shopping days left until Christmas!!

Heard...

We called Uncle Hooter, Jenrie, and Spidey last night as this morning they boarded a plane to their new home (for the next three years) in Hawaii. While J-Mav was talking to Spidey, Spidey said something along the lines of:

"You can come over and play with me if your mom and dad say it's okay. We can go on the beach and make sand castles."

As though Hawaii is right down the street. I wish!!

Cast of thousands

OK... maybe not THOUSANDS, but I have talked about a lot of people on here since I started, and in some cases, I've referred to the same person by different "code names." Oops. Anyway, here's the a primer... immediate family first, then alphabetical order.

• Hubby -- Obvious, I hope
  
• Keeper Boy -- Eldest son
  
• J-Mav -- Younger son
  
• K-Dog -- Four-legged daughter
  

• BFF -- My best friend
  
• BFF's Hubby -- BFF's husband
  
• Bro -- My brother
  
• D&G -- My youngest cousin on my mom's side and her husband
  
• Dad -- My dad
  
• GmaG -- My mother-in-law (also referred to as MIL in earlier posts)
  
• Jenrie -- My sister-in-law/Uncle Hooter's wife (also referred to as SIL in earlier posts)
  
• Mom -- My mom
  
• N -- My Godson
  
• Nanya -- BFF's mom
  
• RDM -- My eldest cousin on my dad's side of the family
  
• S-Dog -- Uncle Hooter and Jenrie's dog
  
• Spidey -- My nephew (Uncle Hooter/Jenrie's son)... also referred to as JGS in earlier posts
  
• Uncle Hooter -- Hubby's younger brother (also referred to as BIL in earlier posts)
  
• V -- My Goddaughter