Almost PhinisheD

I was the last of the three to defend last Tuesday and after all the anticipation and prep it was my turn on the hot seat.  Jenn and Steph were awesome examples and I appreciate them going before me so I could see what was expected.  Although I am convinced you can never be prepared enough for your own defense since you have no way of knowing which questions the committee is going to throw at you.

Matt was so helpful and made me practice the night before and gave me some great feedback.  I woke up to flowers and a little note form Matt and I got ready while Matt took the kids to daycare.  He came back to get me and we headed down to UH early since traffic is so unpredictable.  We got there with plenty of time.  To kill time and divert my attention, we walked over to the bookstore and bought my cap and gown for a little extra pressure to perform!  It was a perfect start to the day.

Jenn and Steph met us down there and we set up Skype for my parents to join in.  It was so awesome to have them part of the day!  In addition to my committee, Kezia and Shelia, two of my colleagues from the Master's program came along with Cherilyn, and old Illimian and doctoral student.


I'll spare you the details but it all went pretty good.  I got great reviews from the committee and left with some minor revisions that are already done and submitted (yay!!!).

Unofficially, Dr Hoffman, Dr. Martin & Dr. Buelow

We were all in celebration mode and headed to Indigo's for martinis and lunch... and more martinis.
Matt took care of us all:).

Cheers!!!

 By the end of lunch we had mapped out our dreams of our future consulting firm :)

It is hard to belief that we started this craziness 5 years ago (Matt and I had just gotten married) and since there have been 6 babies born between the 3 of us: Makaela 4, Gavin 4, Abby 3, Zack 18 mo., Dylan 13 mo., Mia 11mo.  What an adventure!  Of course, this would not have been nearly possible without Matt's support and help and such awesome kiddos!

18 Months

 Zack had his 18 month check-up last week and he is following in his sisters footsteps.  At 21lbs he is at about the 5th percentile for weight and about 50th percentile for height at 33 inches.  He doesn't seem that small to me though.  Like most little ones he is very active and constantly on the move so I guess he just burns off all the food he eats! 

He is beginning to talk much more and learning new words every day.  Some of the cutest expressions are "elp me", which is help me or I want to help you and loves "ice".   He also likes to throw in a WOW! when something is exciting or "ow" when he gets hurt (often).  He is our little comedian and loves to be tickled and giggle. 

Abby and Zack have such a sweet bond.  If one gets a snack or drink they also have to make sure they get something for the other.  Zack begs to wake her up if he gets up first.  It is so fun to see them together (except when they want the same toy).

Pumpkin Patch 2011

It is the holiday season and the we are ready to celebrate!  We headed over to the pumpkin patch today early before it got way too hot.  The kids were very excited to pick out their pumpkins and we even went on a hayride.   They found the ONLY green pumpkins.  Way to be rebels kids:).

 Zack worked very hard to get his own pumpkin and wanted to carry it.

Love my handsome boys!

 A little dirty from wrestling with the pumpkin in the dirt.

 Of course we had to go on some rides...

Cookie Time

Last week, Abby and I went to run errands (shop), and we  found a pumpkin cookie cutter and came home to make cookies.

The kids are such great helpers but we need a bigger kitchen!

Cutting out their cookies

 

Masterpieces.  I made some pink icing so Abby could have 1 pinkalicious pumpkin (just like her new book)

She was in heaven.

Yummy!

More Camping Fun

I took tons of pictures during our weekend of camping.  These are a few of my favorites.

21st century camping includes iPads:(  We don't even know what they were playing but hey were LOVING it.

 Endless hours of beach fun!

 Campfire- roasting marshmallows, snuggling and scary stories:)

 The guys set up the tents for the kids to play in. 

Kayaking...Check out the series.  They capsized just to keep it interesting.  Everyone was just fine but a little excited!

The relaxation station made it out for an afternoon before it started losing air.  Always a good time!

So cute!  Love this little guy:)

Malaekahana

We had a week off of school and camped (with shelter) over the last weekend of the break.  We had 3 families staying in the cabin.  The location was great and the cabin we stayed in had 3 rooms-1 for each family.  With 5 kids under 4 it was busy buy we had a blast and all made it work.

It may have been a little rough around the edges (literally).

 

The views were spectacular and allowed us to hang by the beach all weekend.

The kids were so cute together.  When we got home Abby asked where Gavin was...she was so usedd to having him around.

The guys played Portguese horseshoes while the kids slept and the moms stayd at the beach

We had to improvise for baby gates:)

Spoiled

Monica convinced all of us to take advantage of a deal for massage, facials and some other fun stuff at the Hilton Hawaiian spa.  We got there early to take advantage of the pools, drink mimosas and lounge.

Heidi, Monica, Jenn, Me and Steph

 All ready for our massages

 Monica, Tanya and Heidi

 Ending the spa day with a  soak in the hot tub

 A few more girls met us out for dinner at Kobe.  I love that place!

I feel so lucky to have a great hubby that will take care of the kiddos and not bat an eye when I say I want to go spend the day at the spa (okay, he may laugh and make a few jokes) but he is always supportive and to have great girlfriends that enjoy spending quality time together and are always up for a good time with and without the kids.  We certainly missed the girls who have moved.  There have been a lot lately and sadly, more are leaving pretty soon:(.

Little Picassos

I broke out the finger paint for the kids and they certainly didn't hold back.  They both just love to blend all the colors and make a big mess on paper, themselves and anything in their path!

just getting started!

mmm...yummy finger paint

masterpiece complete