Hawaii

Dave has a client in Hawaii, and had a business trip planned for 10 days. My in-laws were so generous (as usual) to stay with the kids, so I could go out for some of that time. I was mostly excited about the trip, but there was a little lingering nervousness about how Dorothy would do. My fears were put to rest as soon as we picked up Grandma and Papa: Dorothy wanted nothing to do with me! She even wanted grandma to put her to sleep!!

I flew out early Tuesday morning, and was greeted at the hotel room by beautiful rainbow.

Dave was still working, so I did plan on going out exploring, but after a long day of travel, finishing my book in bed was what I ended up doing. I read a whole big girl book in one day! 

That night I had some delicious Korean food for dinner. Dave and I loved all the International food choices we had over there.

Dave had to work on Friday, so I beached it the whole day! The hotel we stayed out was a 10 minute walk to a huge public beach. At first I didn't think I would be able to swim by myself, but the water was super calm and there were lifeguards.

On Saturday, Dave and I headed up to the North Shore to visit some of our favorite spots. First, we had coconut pancakes at the Hukilau Cafe.

Dave was so sad that he couldn't finish his pancakes!

I lived right across from this beach, 11 years ago.

Next, we picked up some Sour Sap and Dragon fruit from a fruit stand.

We always loved the Waimai Falls Reserve when we were at school, so it was fun to visit there again. The water is freezing cold, but after fighting the current, you start to warm up.

Before we headed back to Honolulu, we stopped at a beach, so we could body surf. The waves were so strong in this one spot, we only lasted for a few minutes. It's amazing I'm that time, we ended up covered in sand! We couldn't pass up Ted's bakery. Instead of slices, we bought an entire Chocolate Haupia Cream Pie and ate it over the course of a few days.

We had a short walk to church the next day. The building was beautiful!

We took an evening dip at the beach. Here we are 11 years apart.

Dave had to leave early the next morning for another island, so I was beach bound for as long as I had before I had to fly out.

It was a wonderful, beautiful, fantastic trip, but I was getting anxious to see my babies. I flew in time to see the sun rise in the Queen City.

Lincoln was the first one awake. I asked him if he missed me, and he said, "Well, kinda." When I said, "Will Drake be excited to see me?" He said, "Yeah, but he'll be sad grandma is gone." You know what, that makes me so happy that they felt so loved and comfortable when I was gone!

Staycation Continued

Wednesday morning, Dave and he boys had some shop time. They created a light saber that actually lights up!

We met BB, Carson and Penny at Twetsie later that day. We had a couple hours before it rained on us. The rain didn't stop us from going on rides. I got major mom points for going on spinny rides, where the water was sloshing back and forth on our behinds! Dorothy has a fascination with trains right now, so she was in heaven. Actually, the boys said This was their favorite day of the staycation.

I had a change of clothes for the kids, but Dave and I were pretty soggy. Our hungry outweighed our being wet, so we stopped at Woodlands BBQ for dinner. I always loved going there when my high school friends were in college.

The next day we drove about an hour away to Dan Nicholas Park. We will definitely be going back: there was so much to do there! We played on the playground equipment, rode the train and carousel, played in the splash pad and saw some rescued animals. We didn't even get to the gem mining or putt putt!

Our good friends, the Moores, moved away a few years ago, but live close to the park, so they met us there. Lincoln and Tristan have been friends since they were in Sunbeams.

I forgot we have this family picture besides the one at the aquarium!

We drove straight to our favorite Mexican restaurant from the park for dinner. The kids enjoyed watching Olympic archery while eating their food.

Man, we were beat Friday morning, but I was most looking forward to Hiddenite. Digging in their creek, had to be one of my favorite field trip ever. I knew the kids would have a blast, and they did! We spent about 2 hours, sluicing for gems. We found some really pretty gems to remind us of this fun day! 

Dave and I feel like it is so important to have good, quality time together as a family. It's amazing to see how much closer the kids get to Dave when he is off work. We made a point to only do laundry and dishes during the week. So we could really enjoy each others company. Drake is already asking when we can have another staycation!

Staycation

There is always so much to do on the weekends, sometimes it's hard to do the fun stuff around our own town. We sat down as a family and decided what we wanted to do with Dave off for a week. They had a ton of great ideas, and this is what we did...

The week started off with a mini Williams family reunion. My dad's brother came down from New Jersey and my dad's sister and her family came down from Tennessee. We met at a lovely park in Asheville. The weather was nice and overcast, so we weren't too hot. We played Bocce ball, cornhole, washers, and nok hockey. The kids had a fun time running around with cousins and second cousins. 

Monday, poor Dave had a tooth problem, so he had to get some dental work in the morning. We still managed to get to Chuck E Cheese that afternoon. 

After Dorothy's nap, we took off to the aquarium at Concord Mills. I was impressed by this little aquarium, and the kids loved it! The bigger fish scared Dorothy, so we had to look at those from a distance. She wanted nothing to do with the "touch tank" where you could pick up sea urchins and star fish. 

This is the only family picture we took the whole week; I hate that Dave looks slightly like a ghost! 

After the aquarium, we spent some time at the Lego store. I'm not sure if Dave or the boys had more fun there?

Tuesday was another rainy day, so we went to Discovery Place in Downtown Charlotte. I ended up buying a membership, because the kids enjoyed it so much!

Dorothy was a little nervous about the IMAX, but she ended up doing really well. We saw a fabulous movie on national parks, and now we all want to go to Yosemite and see the redwood forest! Every time I look at this picture, I crack up.

The boys have been wanting to see the angry birds movie, so we rented it that night. We had movie-style boxes of candy that we all shared. Dorothy got a little bored, so she brought her baby out and was helping her baby "see."

I was mommying so hard...

In one day, the kids and I made refrigerator pickles with cucumbers from mom's garden. Drake and I both really like them, but everyone else thinks they are a little too spicy. They look so beautiful in the jars!

Later, we sewed pillow cases from fabric that we have had since winter. The boys helped iron, thread the bobbin and press the accelerator. Lincoln took this picture.

Later that day, we ended up at our neighbor's house.

I love summertime, when there's time to teach the kids new things! It makes me feel as happy as when Dorothy dresses up.