Where did June go?

Here we are almost at the end of June! I haven't been updating the blog as much as I'd like. Such is life.

June was Ry's birthday month and we had so much fun surprising her with an overnight trip to Wailea Marriott where they have a really great kids pool. We told her that we were going to Grandma and Papa's house and when we pulled into the hotel she was so excited.

Unfortunately, that particular evening Peter got a gout attack and he hobbled to the pool - but I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked.

Ryenne's birthday lunch request - Ruby's! Where they sing Happy Birthday. They all had so much fun!

Kid water slide was a hit!

Peter got in on the water slide action too.

Ry's birthday cake - we ate it at the hotel with fingers. It was hilarious. In total Mariah fashion we get to the hotel and pull out the cake and didn't remember to bring along any utensils. Kids thought it was awesome.

Someone is super happy snuggling in a hotel bed.

And of course hotel beds are made for jumping on!

A few days after her birthday, we went on a tour of Leilani Farm Sanctuary in Haiku. There was a pig that really had it out for Cruz so I ended up carrying him most of the time. Couldn't take pictures and hold Cruz at the same time.

We also had a little birthday celebration in Napili and Aunty Jean made Ryenne this cupcake tower! It was so much fun celebrating in Napili too. Ry is one lucky girl!

Meet Lightning and Seven. There was a wadded up grocery bag at the end of the street and we thought it was just rubbish, but then the dogs were sniffing it and Peter looked inside and these two were inside cold and hungry. We brought them home to feed them. Of course the kids fell in love. The kittens love each other immensely - they sleep curled up together. They are very sweet. Emmy Dog loves them but Dexter isn't so sure yet. They are growing and getting healthy. They both had severe respiratory infections and they are on the mend with lots of love from Ryenne!

We also had a couple of really neat opportunities to have family photos done. It's such a trip to be on the other side of the camera. A photographer friend was visiting from Oahu and got these:

And then I met this girl on Tumblr who knows Jean Marie and they go to UH together. She's home on Maui for the summer and we got to meet up in the pineapple field for some fun. It was really awesome. Turns out she's the niece of Nui, the lady we buy all our veggies from. Always trips me out how small the island is!

 

Business has been a little slower this month, which has allowed us a lot of family time. We've been hitting up the pool and the beach frequently. Kiddos are becoming such good swimmers! Cruz is still over confident, but we're working on it!

Ryenne did this watercolor at school and we had it framed. (note the adorable curtains handmade by Gams!)

Cruz swimming at Camp One Beach

Picnic at Hookipa

Hello turtle! At Hookipa

Fishing on a flat day

I'm such a dork!

Taking the monkeys through Hamakuapoko

 We're working on another big thing - will share when we hear what's happening :)

#16

Happy 16th you Buggah! 

Love you Babe!!!!!

Seven

Wow. Seven.

Happy Birthday my princess. I always sit down to write these yearly and I always cry. Happy tears of course.

It has been an amazing year for my baby girl. It's been so wonderful to watch her grow into being her own person with opinions, insight, questions, and even answers. Her wisdom is beyond her years. She wrote this poem the other day (by the way, for those on Instagram, I quoted it wrong and she let me know!)

"What is Love?"

 What is Love?

Is Love Magic?

Is Love Power?

No.

Love is Love.

It's so interesting to watch her as she mirrors me in so many ways - she is so much like me that it blows my mind sometimes. 

I feel like she's one of my closest friends - that we were meant to be in each others lives because we have a closeness that is pretty incredible. 

Her toothless smile has been pretty awesome this past year. Her laugh is infectious. When they're not fighting, as all siblings do, her brothers proclaim their love for their big sister. Cruz often says, "She's my best friend."

And while she is wise beyond her years, I love that she believes in magic and fairy tales. She believes that fairies bring the morning dew and the seasons. Butterflies are their best friends. She reminds me to see magic in everything. 

I love you with all my heart Ry. I had so much fun taking these 7 year old pictures of you! 

Side note: Pepper Dog was made by Gams when Monkey was just a baby. She loves her Pepper Dog and thought it would be the perfect prop for her shoot!