In early December we headed to Maui for a relaxing family vacation. Of course we had a fabulous time and enjoyed every second of it! What’s not to love, it’s Maui?! The timing ended up being great too, as we missed out on the flooding back home and two days of school that the boys would have missed ended up cancelled. December can be an iffy month weather-wise in Maui, but we had sun every day, and we tried to soak up as much of it as we could.

            

Bump shot 13 weeks

Kieron loved getting buried in the sand!

Silas was content to stay on the beach with Mommy while his brothers snorkeled

Back at the pool

Here are some photos I took on my phone. This is the boys waiting to board our flight to Hawaii.

And here we are enjoying some Hula Pie on one of our first nights in Maui.

These two looked so sweet sharing the hide-a-bed

Our morning ritual: donut holes on the balcony

We stopped by Coconuts for dinner a couple of times. Last year Kieron met a waitress there, Ariel, who made quite an impression on him with her wit and quirky sense of humor. We checked, and she has since moved on, but she will not be forgotten. 😉

We had some sleepy boys on the drive back from Coconuts

Avery practicing handstands

Kieron had fun on the big slide this year

The brothers enjoy showing off their strength by lifting one another off the ground

A stop on a nighttime stroll

  

At the Hyatt Luau

We loved snow cone days!

My belly wasn’t that big and impressive yet, but here’s an attempt at a bump selfie with the boys playing in the background

The boys loved playing chess with this set

Tired boys waiting as we load up the car to go back to the airport

We spent Thanksgiving in Pullman with Uncle Scott, Aunt Manivanh, Nicole & Andrew. As always, we had a fun time visiting and feasting. The kids sure had a blast playing together too!

Here we are at the WSU stadium. The kids had fun running around on the field.

Tackle!

     

Ninjas!

Turkey comas

Nicole performed a viola recital for us

On Friday we all went bowling, so much fun!

Sometimes a great Craigslist find justifies an impromptu family trip. In this case, a children’s desk sent us to Port Gamble for a day. The boys love ferry rides, and we had a fun time exploring the Peninsula.

It was a little windy

At Port Gamble

Wonder what he’s wishing…

We found a  big grassy hill perfect for the boys to roll down

Cutie pie!

In mid-October, we took the boys to Fox Hollow Farm to pick out pumpkins. The family farm is a sanctuary for abused or abandoned animals. I’ll let the pictures tell the story, but this farm is full of fun things to see and do. It was our first time there, and we all had a great time. Already looking forward to our next visit!

The first thing we came to at the farm was this adorable miniature neighborhood. It included 4-5 little two-story, four-room houses for the kids to play and run around in. The boys had a blast. I would have loved this as a child!

Inside one kitchen

I had to explore!

The farm was full of free-range roosters, hens, peacocks, and much more.

Our pumpkins!

Silas loved saying hi to all the kittens…

…and the chicks…

…and the cows.

There were train rides…

…and Avery found a giant A to take a picture in front of.

One of the highlights was this “race track” in front of the house. There were about a dozen little Jeeps and ATV’s for the kids to take turns in.

Avery posing for a head-shot

Time to pick out some pumpkins

The boys were hard workers
  

The hay maze and corn pit!

We had a brief scare at the hay maze. All three boys went in one end and Jonathan and I headed to the other side to meet them by the corn pit. What we didn’t realize was that Silas came back out the entrance and wandered off. After a bit of searching we found him with one of the employees behind a concessions counter, just as I was approaching full-blown panic mode. (It’s a decent-sized farm and there is a river just a few yards away from the hay maze.) I’m thankful the staff knew just what to do with a little guy on his own.

Checking out the parrots

Saying hello to the bunnies.

We had another fun trip to Texas this year to see Grammy and Papa. We had a great time and all of the boys made incredible strides with their swimming. There are a ton of pictures here, so I’ll let them speak for themselves!

“We’re here to pump (clap) you up!

At the airport. The boys and I flew out together, and Jonathan joined us a week later.

They were troopers on the airplane. I even got to read for an hour!

Checking out those emergency manuals. I remember reading these thoughtfully as a child.

First stop: LegoLand!

On one of the rides.

Poor Silas was an inch too short to join his brothers in this cool play space

So he kept busy doing other things

Silas was also a year too young to participate in this fun activity (which is such a shame, because he drives his Jeep so well!)

Playing with my old toys

Raising the Jolly Roger

Grammy and the boys

Happy hour

Silas loves Cosette! He is asking for (two) kittens now.

He enjoyed being in charge of her meals

Bedtime

Papa and Avery heading out to the Perot museum of Nature and Science

Meanwhile Grammy and the little boys did some baking

Daddy finally arrived! The boys were (literally)  lining up to be tossed into the pool!

Happy hour!

Photo courtesy of Avery King

Notice Silas saying “suckers!”

Water War 2015

At the park

In the evenings we worked on this 750 piece puzzle (Avery’s choice)

Playing Mille Borne

And we’re off

Highlight of the trip home was not only saving money on a layover, but getting to ride in a prop plane!