12 Months

And there is our 1 year old!  So grown up.  I swear I blinked and now we have three big kids.  Where does the time go?  He really thinks he is so big too.  He plays for long periods of time in the backyard with the girls doing whatever they do.  He climbs everything and thinks he is invincible.  If he doesn't like the food you are offering he sticks out his tongue and spit-blows.  He eats most foods, although with him being sick for so long he seems to be kind of picky lately-hopefully that changes.  He acts shy when people talk to him and burrows into my shoulder.   He loves his dad and gets so excited when he gets home from work.  He loves to cause trouble-it makes him so happy. He likes it when we say he is naughty.  He falls asleep in the car easy which is both good and bad.  He is officially sleeping through the night-whoot, whoot!  He needs to do better on naps so I don't loose my sanity.  We love our buddy!

11 Months

I'm so glad my friend got me the monthly milestone pictures because I'm sure I would have been sad if I didn't take the time to take a picture every month of how Bennett has changed.  I am three months past the fact at posting this picture, but there are few things I can mention.  He started walking a little after he hit 11 months.  He was walking a few steps for a few months but he finally mastered it on his own at 11 months.  He says lots of "ma-ma" and "da-da" but I don't think he has connected the meaning.  He loves to tease his sisters by knocking down their block towers, taking toys from them and pulling their hair--it actually makes him laugh.  The girls are thankfully good sports.
He was sick most of his 11th month as we were in Arizona and he pretty much had fevers and a cold for a month.  He loves to be held and hangs on my legs a lot of the day.  He loves balls-kicking and throwing them.  He is such a boy and we love him to pieces!

Doing what we do...

Bennett LOVES birds!

 My friend Ashley had a birthday last week so a few of us mamas went to her place on the other side of the island for a pool party.  It reminded me that I need to get my girls swimming!  They love the hot tubs because they can touch but when it comes to the pool, I make them wear floaties and then they can't ever learn to swim.  One of these days I won't be so paranoid about drowning!

 All three of my kiddos sat down to color-it lasted a whole 60 seconds!

 Preschool field trip to Kualoa Ranch-saw animals and plants mostly.

Running Mamas

 There is something about living in Hawaii that makes you want to run.  I have really enjoyed (yes I just said enjoyed), running with my friends.  I think trying to find time to work out when you are a mom is so hard.  I have loved that there are other moms that want to kick their butts and together we bust out miles while we chat and our kids rock it out in the double stroller.

 Ran a 10K with Kari and Erin- check out the rainbow

 Our 5 mile Monday run-no we did not plan the blue shirt thing but it made for a perfect photo opportunity.

Cousins!

Fun Arizona Activities

 This was the museum portion of the train park in Scottsdale.  It was neat to walk on an old train that was set up for famous people.  They had a little train ride you could take after, a huge park and then some model trains that went around a huge track.  It was another fun cousin day.

 Grandma taking the kids, minus Elli, on a wagon ride

 We went to kids club twice and it sure made me miss it.  Bennett was dancing and having himself a good ole time!  The girls got to go up on stage and they thought that was pretty neat.

Kids club at San Tan had a balloon clown and face painting.  Now that is over the top!

Outside in Arizona

 It was stinkin' cold in Arizona while we were there but we still managed to sneak in some serious park adventures.  The parks in Arizona are AMAZING, especially when compared to the super lame ones in Hawaii.

 Brinlyn and Jade were little buddies most of the time

 Hunter giving Bennett is first lesson on football

 Landon, Elli, Bennett, Elyana, Jade and Brinlyn

DISNEYLAND!!

 The Johnson family reunion took place this year in the happiest place on earth...Disneyland.  It was so fun for all the cousins to run around holding hands, exploring the magic of Disney.  They loved being together and it was definitely a full two days!

 Quinn and Bennett holding hands-they did it on their own, probably more Bennett than Quinn. He's already going for the ladies.

 The three brothers (missing Spencer), but wow, they sure look alike when you get them all together!

 Bennett loved meeting Mickey Mouse.  IT was priceless.  H walked right up to him.

I'm sad that I didn't take more pictures of our trip.  I know other family members took pictures...I just need to track them down.  It was a great weekend!

Sand Sledding

The kids love taking their boogie boards up to the top of the sand hill and sledding down.  You don't need to have snow to have a good time sledding!

The bestest hookup ever!

The Aulani (Disney Hotel in Kapolei, HI)

For a whopping $45 we spent two nights and three days at the Disney hotel here.  The Shaha's have hooked us up once again.  I say so many times to myself, "How would I survive in life without the Shaha's?"  Well, here is yet another fun memory we have.  On Wednesday, Erin called me to tell me she had a free stay at the hotel for the weekend and was wondering if we were interested in joining.  Ummm....YES!  I didn't even have to think, of course we wanted to join the party!  Nate was scheduled for eye surgery (PRK), but we decided he could recover in the luxuries of the hotel, and that he did.  He slept a lot of the weekend while the rest of us soaked up the sun and played hard!  The first night we were there Jimmy showed us a comedian Netflix show that I laughed at SO hard my stomach muscles were sore the next day.  There's nothing better than spending time with friends crying, you are laughing so hard.
We spent a lot of time in the hot tubs (the kids favorite place).  There were water slides, meet and greet with the characters, a lazy river, a kids play house with free babysitting and lots of daily activities.

 

Memories...

Little Man

 I'm two for three in the broken arm department.  :(  It was a sad day when our little man fell out of his crib (horrible mom who forgot to pull up the rail).  He was a good sport and didn't mind having his arm out of commission.  You definitely get comments when you are out in public..."Oh no, he's so little to have a broken arm", and "How did that happen?" (are they wondering if I beat my kid???)  Anyway, Brinlyn is holding out for us and hopefully this is the last on the broken bones.

He ate a cookie on a drive one day and I just wanted to document the mess that really actually happens everyday.  He is such a boy!

Snow Day!

 It snowed in Hawaii!  Thankfully we go to this awesome preschool that funded a mound of snow for the kids to play in.  They had a BLAST!  Brinlyn played on the snow for the entire two hours that it was there.  She LOVED it.  Maybe we should get off the island and let that girl live where it snows?  Na, I'm good with the sun. :)  Hannah and Elli are best of buds!

This smile tells the time she is having!

Live Nativity

What would we do without our besties the Shaha's???  Here are the goofy girls doing what they do best.  We went and saw a live nativity which was actually really neat.  They even had donkeys!  They served hot chocolate and cookies after.  Delish!

Christmas Eve Run

We have decided that it's "fun" to do a run every holiday, so here is the picture from our Christmas Eve run.  We do a short little kid run and then let all the parents loose to bust out the 5K part.  We played games in the park after and hit the beach.  Doesn't that sound fun?...it really was fun.  Only in Hawaii can you call running fun.

Emu

Now that we have lived in Hawaii for three Thanksgivings, I think I can officially say I prefer to make the turkey in the emu.  Who wouldn't want to save themselves 10 hours baking a turkey?  It's so simple..buy your turkey.  Take out the nasty stuff inside the cavity.  Wash it off.  Rub some seasonings on it.  Wrap it is some seriously strong foil.  Drop it off at the emu at 5:00pm.  Pick it up the next morning at 8:00am.  Pretty simple?!?  The turkey falls off the bones and is super moist.  Yum!  It really stinks (no pun intended) when your turkey spills over in the car when you make your first turn after picking it up.  Just for anyone who wants to know, it smells like dead animal in your car for a few months!!  We tried it all and spent hours trying to get that nasty smell out.  Fun memories now...

Christmas...continued

 When it comes to technology I definitely fail.  I just plugged in my phone to download some pictures and here are some pictures from Christmas.  I'm definitely behind the times.  I just figured I would catch up with a few picture.  Here is our Christmas family picture taken outside at church.  I didn't go to festive this year.  Black dresses (repeats from last year but they still fit!), and red ties for Nate and Bennett.  Kind of boring, but super simple. :)