The Isabelles

Isabelle loves being with Isabelle Grandma, and Isabelle Grandma loves being with Isabelle.

Sparkle!

After everyone left the party we did sparklers and poppers. Alekisio got to do the booby traps which was really funny. One of them was a dud and his face was hilarious while he was trying to make it pop.


Isabelle and Braylen weren't so sure about the sparklers since the sparks were hitting their hands but they kept doing them anyway.

Isabelle was absolutely determined to get a dud popper to pop.

She kept yelling HOT but wouldn't put it down.

Alekisio like the sparklers but trying to smash an ant with a hot burnt sparkler was more,

except when holding a sparkler and dancing!

Fun filled family Fourth!

This year I wanted to make the fourth a great one. The kids miss their dad(me too honey) so I want to do as much for them as I can. Naomi and I were dogsitting my aunt's dog so we invited Isabelle grandma (Grandma Levenhagen) and Uncle Danny to lunch. I wanted to make it as festive as possible. It was really fun but I did learn not to procrastinate when planning a party. I didn't get the table all the way set before lunch and the "fireworks" on the table were all white because I couldn't find the colored vellum I needed last minute. The outcome was still cute, the food was tasty, and the company was great!
That's us enjoying our lunch with my mom's mac salad, homemade mac and cheese, mango salsa...that was homemade too, hamburgers, hotdogs, and ambrosia salad that Naomi made.

I had to put that shot of mom since she hates pics.

The terrible twosome spent their time sneaking food people left out like the berries from decorating the cake,

and someone's unguarded ambrosia salad.

While Alekisio spent his time in the pool and....in the pool.

We decorated with stars the kids painted,

a table cover the kids painted,

and finished lunch with a yummy patriotic cake.
And see the candies in the pails, the twosome stole those whenever possible too.

And that's me

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. One of my goals when I moved back to my parents with the kids was to take advantage of the time we'll be here (which is hopefully not too long)and start doing things I've always wanted to do. Learning to sew is one goal I started. Fourth of July is the perfect opportunity to make some really cute clothes for the kids. The dress wasn't hard, it was just frustrating having to redo things. Like when I sewed the skirt together so the back half was the wrong side out. Luckily nothing was too hard to fix. I sewed pleats, piping, a zipper, and shirred(I think that's what it's called)the bottom of the skirt, all for the first time. I can see the flaws but it was my first time so I'm really happy with it. The boys looked so dapper at church in their bow ties. Those took forever since I had to hand stitch them but they were so worth it!

Isabelle's tights were supposed to be leggings but they were a size too big. Still cute though!

Fireworks!

Naomi and I are dogsitting for my aunt. In her town they had the fireworks on friday this year. After the rainforest we loaded the kids up and headed off to the park. It was quite a walk but we ended up spending about three hours there before the fireworks started. It's a huge park where everything for the city is centrally located. The City Hall, firestation, public pool(with an awesome kiddie area, slides, and diving boards), a pond, baseball fields, and a ton of other areas. We played at the park, got food from the little stands for the drill teams and boyscouts, and then watched a great fireworks show. Alekisio is definitely a boy because I handed him his hotdog and before we even got to the ketchup it was half gone and I had to get him another one. I don't know what I'm going to do when he's a teenager. We found a spot to sit far enough back behind the ball fields that our ears weren't hurting during the fireworks display. Alekisio and Braylen spent their time climbing the fence like monkeys. Alekisio was a great big brother and was helping Braylen climb or get down when he was stuck. Isabelle was so tired that she just laid on the blanket with me. I don't mind, I love cuddles.
We got to the park around 7 and the fireworks didn't start until 10. It's so strange to be in Ohio where it doesn't get dark until after nine. Independence always has a great show with a long and full finale. This was the kids first real fireworks show since in hawaii you have to pretty much get to wherever you're watching the fireworks in the morning, and it always felt like more work than fun. The kids loved it.

The twins in their wagon

trying to get three kids to smile and look at the same time is near impossible

the only thing Alekisio wanted to do was pull the wagon

she loves cotton candy!

he's always been a monkey, he went higher and then jumped down

he tells other little kids Braylen is his little brother, he's a great big brother

Isabelle lounging

Silly faces

On the walk to the park we walked by a little hill next to the sidewalk. Alekisio jumped up on it and said, "that's why I'm tongan." I laughed a little and said," oh you're tongan so you can jump and walk on the hill." "Yep,"he said. He makes me smile.
On the way home at almost 11 I pretty much pulled Alekisio by the hand because he was so tired and the kids fell asleep sitting up in the wagon. That was pretty much how we all felt!

The Rainforest

We took the kids to the Rainforest at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo on friday. The kids love it because it's not the ordinary set up where you walk through and look at animals in cages. Well it is like that but for example there was a waterfall in the front near some monkey exhibits, and then a path through trees like we were walking through a rainforest, there was even mist coming down. There was an observation area to walk through that was setup like a camp in the rainforest with a kitchen area and radios and things that looked into the orangutans exhibit. Rain also randomly turns on around the perimeter of some of the exhibits. The kids love it. The really loved the turtles that had noses, and all the reptiles. The funniest part was the monkey cleaning it's friends rear. Although I was a little glad Isabelle didn't get what was going on because she's loud and thinks stuff like that is hilarious.

Alekisio loved this toy on the playground. He showed the kids how to make circles with sticks and turned into a pro at spinning it and then jumping on. He spent the whole time on it.