We have continued our non stop summer of 2010 fun! I am so behind on videos. There are videos from the zoo, the beach, the park, Grandma and Grandpa's house. We've been constantly on the move. These last two weeks have been particularly interesting. You see, Ben and I were all packed up to go to the cottage for a day with the aunts and cousins. The car was packed, I was going to pick Ben and Abby up right after work and off we go. Until we got the phone call. Yes, our house was robbed last Wednesday after we left for work! The kicker of the whole thing? It was the kid across the street and his girlfriend. Also, there were roofers watching to whole thing, called the cops and the kids were caught. They broke into 3 houses, attempted a 4th and we were one of the successful ones. They took whatever they could grab! We got most of it back and they are going to jail. He is 17 and she is 19. Both being tried as adults. The only problem is that they are out on bail so we have to look at him until the trial. Always something.
So, we cleaned up what we could and Brian and I agreed Ben and I could still go to the beach for Thursday. We had so much fun! Ben continues to be our little beach boy. As you can see it was a bit rough, but it calmed down later and he was able to swim. Him swimming continues to test my back strength more than my job as a therapist! He loves it, though.
The videos of the kids (Lianna, Devin, and Meghan) are plays they worked really hard on. I'm still trying to analyze them to find their true meaning. They were very excited about them getting on the internet so see for yourself!
We spent the weekend recovering at home from our adventures and finishing our police report. And yes, Ben has made two trips to the Oak Forest Police Department already in his young life. At least we were on the right side of the law.
After working the beginning of the week, Ben, Abby and I headed to Kalamazoo to see Grandma and Grandpa Huling for an over-niter. We had perfect weather and a nice visit. Grandma even taught me how to can tomatoes!
Ben loved running down the ramp from Grandpa's building! He raced anyone who would take him on! So, while Grandpa was re arranging (including finally getting rid of that freezer!) Grandma and Ben raced!
The last video is apparently what happens when Mom decides to work a Saturday and leaves Dad in charge. I had asked him to maybe take some time and clean up a bit. To Brian, this means jamming Rhianna with our 21month old. I came home to Ben dancing around with the Swiffer wet jet upstairs and Brian no where to be found. He was down in the downstairs bathroom cleaning it! Can't complain, I mean they were cleaning!
Aug 29, 2010
Aug 17, 2010
Ben Swimming!
Ben enjoys tucking various toys into his fold out bed then snuggling up with them! SUPER CUTE!
Ben has really enjoyed pretending his bathtub is a pool! It's hard for me to even get him out of it!
A few quick updates then I'm off to pack again. Ben and I are heading up to the cottage with my sisters and their kids for a couple days. The summer fun just keeps going!
Back to the updates:
Talking A LOT! Ben's trying to combine more than one word now. It's cute. During our walks he just points at everything and names them (car, boat, sky, tree, house). We're working on animal sounds. Right now everything Moo's. "Ben, what does a horse say?" Ben answers "Moo." A month ago everything roared so if it's not one thing it's another.
Another big adjustment we've made is Ben has quit his pacifier. He was never a real heavy user. He generally only used when he was tired before naps and bedtime. He did get it a bit more on our trips. Our thought was to get through most of our travels and then give quitting a shot. He's such a good boy! His babysitter claimed he hasn't used it there since we got back from Hawaii (including naps). We started this past weekend not giving it to him. He asks for it and whines a little bit but then we distract him and he's over it. He's gone to bed the last 2 nights without it and without complaint. This morning when I went in to get him he was pretending he was picking it up and putting it in his mouth. He then took his "pretend" pacifier out of his mouth and "handed" it to me and said "there ya go!" And that was the last time he mentioned it today. WAY easier than I thought it was going to be!
Ok, off to finish packing and wrap my nephews present. I can't believe my nephew, Blake, turned 3 years old last week! Can't wait to see him in the next couple days and spoil him rotten!
Aug 14, 2010
Hawaii, post #4...and final?!?....
I don't want it to seem like I'm ramming this Hawaii stuff down your throats. But I mean, really, how many times can someone say they did all this!? Unless you're rich and famous, or the Lucchesi/Trice clan? I know this was my third trip, but my first with my husband and son and very likely our last big trip like this for a while. Poor us will just have to settle for the many cottages scattered across the mid west and east coast that our families share! Poor, poor us!
So, after this I will move on to other fun summer adventures we've participated in! But, enjoy a few more quick videos that I hope convey how beautiful those islands are and how much fun we really had.
(fixed it, now this is the right video of dolphins!)
This was our second day on Maui. Brian, Jim, and Scott went on the bike ride down the volcano that day. So, the girls and little boys ventured to a different beach. It was a short drive from our condo. It was beautiful but the break water onto shore was a little rough at times. This was an amazing 10minutes when we saw dolphins! Wild dolphins! For a brief moment we were told that they were reef sharks and decided I'm never taking my son into the water again. But then, a man who was swimming among them said they were definitely dolphins. If you look close at the video you can see snorkelers among them and several of the dolphins jumping from the water. Can you imagine being one of those swimmers?! What a story that would make. I thought it was cool enough seeing it from shore. The other thing I like from this video and I wished I would have slowed it down a bit, but you can see how beautiful the other island is in the distance.
This was our first real venture to a waterfall. Ben stayed back with his Aunt Jenny, but we got a few minutes here. It was just after this that we nearly lost Ben's blanket not knowing he threw it out the window during the stop. It was later retrieved and soaked in OxyClean overnight.
Me holding Ben and Brian making our way to a beautiful waterfall!
This was at the Seven Sacred Pools (even though there are more than 7 and they are not sacred, that is what they are called). It's a sequence of fresh waterfalls that lead out to the ocean and it's a nice place to swim. And we did! The Bishops and Scott ventured down and Ben LOVED it! The water was a little on the cool side, but fresh so we soaked it up! There were plenty of shallow areas that were perfect for toddlers. Wished we had more time there, but the day was long already and we still had a long drive back to the condo. We decided to drive all the way around the island instead of driving back the way we came and it was amazing! So much beautiful scenery that pictures just can't capture.
I was telling Brian how my mother ventured out onto this rock for a photo op and how she was nearly taken out to sea by a rogue wave. Brian took this as a challenge to venture out to same rock. Idiot...
Although it pains me to put a video of me in a bathing suit on the blog I will. Ben and I were taking turns burying each other in the sand. He was super cute! He wanted to do just like Mommy did, including shaking his legs out of the sand, too! What we didn't catch was him RUNNING into the water to rinse off after wards. He's definitely a beach boy!
With all the beautiful things we saw, I thought I'd save this for last. We had a few long car rides getting to these gorgeous places and we got a little crazy trying to keep the kids entertained. Jackson just stayed stunned. Ben was horrified at first, you can then hear him chiming in! I thought we were pretty good! Scott coming in with the base was the best.
So, after this I will move on to other fun summer adventures we've participated in! But, enjoy a few more quick videos that I hope convey how beautiful those islands are and how much fun we really had.
(fixed it, now this is the right video of dolphins!)
This was our second day on Maui. Brian, Jim, and Scott went on the bike ride down the volcano that day. So, the girls and little boys ventured to a different beach. It was a short drive from our condo. It was beautiful but the break water onto shore was a little rough at times. This was an amazing 10minutes when we saw dolphins! Wild dolphins! For a brief moment we were told that they were reef sharks and decided I'm never taking my son into the water again. But then, a man who was swimming among them said they were definitely dolphins. If you look close at the video you can see snorkelers among them and several of the dolphins jumping from the water. Can you imagine being one of those swimmers?! What a story that would make. I thought it was cool enough seeing it from shore. The other thing I like from this video and I wished I would have slowed it down a bit, but you can see how beautiful the other island is in the distance.
This was our first real venture to a waterfall. Ben stayed back with his Aunt Jenny, but we got a few minutes here. It was just after this that we nearly lost Ben's blanket not knowing he threw it out the window during the stop. It was later retrieved and soaked in OxyClean overnight.
Me holding Ben and Brian making our way to a beautiful waterfall!
This was at the Seven Sacred Pools (even though there are more than 7 and they are not sacred, that is what they are called). It's a sequence of fresh waterfalls that lead out to the ocean and it's a nice place to swim. And we did! The Bishops and Scott ventured down and Ben LOVED it! The water was a little on the cool side, but fresh so we soaked it up! There were plenty of shallow areas that were perfect for toddlers. Wished we had more time there, but the day was long already and we still had a long drive back to the condo. We decided to drive all the way around the island instead of driving back the way we came and it was amazing! So much beautiful scenery that pictures just can't capture.
I was telling Brian how my mother ventured out onto this rock for a photo op and how she was nearly taken out to sea by a rogue wave. Brian took this as a challenge to venture out to same rock. Idiot...
Although it pains me to put a video of me in a bathing suit on the blog I will. Ben and I were taking turns burying each other in the sand. He was super cute! He wanted to do just like Mommy did, including shaking his legs out of the sand, too! What we didn't catch was him RUNNING into the water to rinse off after wards. He's definitely a beach boy!
With all the beautiful things we saw, I thought I'd save this for last. We had a few long car rides getting to these gorgeous places and we got a little crazy trying to keep the kids entertained. Jackson just stayed stunned. Ben was horrified at first, you can then hear him chiming in! I thought we were pretty good! Scott coming in with the base was the best.
Aug 10, 2010
Hawaii, post #3
Here are just a few videos from Hawaii. I'm starting to make my way through. We've been BUSY since getting back. The Durham friends came up just 18hours after we landed. Then we worked all week. Then my sister and her family came to stay with us this past weekend and we ventured to the zoo with all the kids. So, VERY busy with lots of summer fun. I am working my normal schedule this week and have decided not to work this weekend so we can regroup and there will possibly be time to go through more pictures and videos to share of our amazing last 3 weeks! Enjoy!
This was our first morning on Maui. A beautiful place. You can see we had a lovely view of two other Hawaiian Islands (Lanai and Molokai). This was the most reserved Ben was the entire time at the beach.
This was on the black sand beach on the road to Hana. Brian, Jim, and I ventured into this cave where there is only one way back out. Brian got a little adventurous in here and it made me a little nervous. I didn't catch any of that on video as I was too busy yelling at him to get away from the water! It was pretty cool, though.
This was on the Big Island, Ben was very interested in all the snorkel gear and had to try it. Too many cute videos to pick from. He had the entire little beach we were on in stitches they were laughing so hard.
This was our first morning on Maui. A beautiful place. You can see we had a lovely view of two other Hawaiian Islands (Lanai and Molokai). This was the most reserved Ben was the entire time at the beach.
This was on the black sand beach on the road to Hana. Brian, Jim, and I ventured into this cave where there is only one way back out. Brian got a little adventurous in here and it made me a little nervous. I didn't catch any of that on video as I was too busy yelling at him to get away from the water! It was pretty cool, though.
This was on the Big Island, Ben was very interested in all the snorkel gear and had to try it. Too many cute videos to pick from. He had the entire little beach we were on in stitches they were laughing so hard.
Aug 4, 2010
Hawaii, post #2
As you can imagine, there are so many pictures to pick from. We had an amazing time on our 7 days on Maui, and 3 days on the Big Island of Hawaii that I could barely pick. Not to mention, pictures do not do it justice. We also have hours of video that I will work my way through and share only a few highlights of, don't worry.
We have mostly recovered. Our exhaustion wasn't helped by the fact that we had roughly 14 people in our house less than 24 hours after our return for a two night stay. Boy, the fun continued, though! So much to share!
For now, enjoy just a handful of pictures from our Hawaiian vacation. More to come along with our Durham reunion weekend following this amazing journey.
Ben's first day on the beach! In front of our condo on Maui. He dug right in, of course. You can see the Trice family frolicking in the background.
Brian took this picture of the sunrise on top of Haleakala. Haleakala is the volcano on Maui. He then rode a bike down the volcano, more than 25miles before breakfast.
The Bishop Family in Lahaina, Maui
Looking out while sipping my Mai Tai at the Old Lahaina Luau.
Brian and I both getting our kicks with the Hula Dancers following the show!
On the road to Hana, Ben and I take in the sights at one of our stops.
Pictures just do not do this place justice!
One of the many water falls we saw on the Road to Hana.
This is considered one of the most photographed water falls in the world. You can see why.
The Bishop family at Mama's Fish House. A VERY good meal!
Ben and Dad swimming on our last day on Maui.
The sunset from our porch at our new condo on the Big Island.
Ben knew we weren't supposed to be going in here. We were visiting Volcano National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. We hit 2/4 of those disqualifications (young children and respiratory problems). We went in anyway!
Again, Ben knew we weren't supposed to be sitting this close to an active, erupting volcano!
The whole group we traveled with. From left: Jennifer Trice, Scott Trice, Jackson Trice (my Godson), Brian Bishop, Patti Bishop (me), Benjamin Bishop (tired), Carole Lucchesi, Jim Lucchesi.
Ben and Dad checking out the sea turtle that crawled right up to bask next to our beach site at Kahalu'u, Hawaii (big island)
Ben needed to try snorkling, too. He had the entire beach laughing their tails off by putting on the equipment, reaching back while waving and yelling "BYE BYEEEEE!"
More to come, we can't help but want to share it.
We have mostly recovered. Our exhaustion wasn't helped by the fact that we had roughly 14 people in our house less than 24 hours after our return for a two night stay. Boy, the fun continued, though! So much to share!
For now, enjoy just a handful of pictures from our Hawaiian vacation. More to come along with our Durham reunion weekend following this amazing journey.
Ben's first day on the beach! In front of our condo on Maui. He dug right in, of course. You can see the Trice family frolicking in the background.
Brian took this picture of the sunrise on top of Haleakala. Haleakala is the volcano on Maui. He then rode a bike down the volcano, more than 25miles before breakfast.
The Bishop Family in Lahaina, Maui
Looking out while sipping my Mai Tai at the Old Lahaina Luau.
Brian and I both getting our kicks with the Hula Dancers following the show!
On the road to Hana, Ben and I take in the sights at one of our stops.
Pictures just do not do this place justice!
One of the many water falls we saw on the Road to Hana.
This is considered one of the most photographed water falls in the world. You can see why.
The Bishop family at Mama's Fish House. A VERY good meal!
Ben and Dad swimming on our last day on Maui.
The sunset from our porch at our new condo on the Big Island.
Ben knew we weren't supposed to be going in here. We were visiting Volcano National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. We hit 2/4 of those disqualifications (young children and respiratory problems). We went in anyway!
Again, Ben knew we weren't supposed to be sitting this close to an active, erupting volcano!
The whole group we traveled with. From left: Jennifer Trice, Scott Trice, Jackson Trice (my Godson), Brian Bishop, Patti Bishop (me), Benjamin Bishop (tired), Carole Lucchesi, Jim Lucchesi.
Ben and Dad checking out the sea turtle that crawled right up to bask next to our beach site at Kahalu'u, Hawaii (big island)
Ben needed to try snorkling, too. He had the entire beach laughing their tails off by putting on the equipment, reaching back while waving and yelling "BYE BYEEEEE!"More to come, we can't help but want to share it.
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