Kekaha Kai State Park

We found a new beach!  It's about 2 miles off the highway, but the road getting there is SO bumpy, so  no one goes.  We pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves.  I finally busted out my REAL camera (not my phone) for some fun shots.

Lately...

Goodness!  I have got to be the WORST blogger on the planet.  I'm sure the few people that actually read this blog have given up on us.  A lot has happened since February... too much to play catch-up. But here are a few highlights and pics:

We've been doing a lot of swimming this summer.  

These kids are fish!

In May my Grandpa passed away.  We love him and miss him everyday.  He's a wonderful man who left behind a great legacy.

Brynlee turned THREE on July 1st.  I can't believe how fast time has gone by.  But oh man, she's cute! 

(Oh yeah, and she pulled the fire alarm in our complex this week.  Did I mention that she has to touch EVERYTHING?!?)

We had a Princess party for her.  She asked me to call Belle (as in Beauty & the Beast) and invite her to the party.  Somehow she was convinced that I had her phone number.  Instead of ONE princess, we had three.  The girls were thrilled.  There were also some pretty adorable boys at the party too, but since I'm such an awesome mom, I took NO pictures at the party.  
*Dear friends who were there: if you happened to take any pics, would you mind sending them to me? Gracias!

And THIS is the reason for the craziness that day:

And finally, on July 4th, our family moved to Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.  We've been here for about 2 weeks now are are slowly adjusting to our new life.  It hasn't been too hard though. ;)

Enjoying the 4th of July festivities:

 How we spend most of our days:

We love living here and feel so blessed, but we already miss friends & family... so come visit!  I'm serious!

P.S.  I do most of my updating on Instagram.  @tarrmcc if you want to follow.

Since Thanksgiving

I've been a little "anti-blogging" lately. But, I figured, why not get three months worth of blogging done at one time. That's not too painful. So, here goes.

We loved celebrating Christmas with family. Brynlee STILL asks about Santa and wonders if Rudolph is still tired from back when it was Christmas time and he had to fly all over the world. Yeah, it's almost March.

We were in the process of packing up to move, so Christmas this year was celebrated on the floor. Bryn & Brody didn't seem to mind.

With a sad little Christmas tree...

But we sure loved having family in town. These two girls are best buddies. So sweet & funny together.

One of the perks of moving:

CARDBOARD BOXES = entertainment for HOURS!!

So, at first I wasn't going to mention the fact that when we MOVED at the end of the year, we moved in with my parents. Yeah, it's a little embarrassing. But, it's been GREAT! Let me count the ways...

1. Brynlee & Brody have 2 acres of backyard to frolic in. And they love it!! (see pictures below)

2. Grandma & Papa don't have to be "empty nesters" (lucky them!)

3. Riley has his own "office" to do his schoolwork in... and we never even bother him!

4. My mom & I split dinners. I LOVE not having to think of something to make every night!

5. FREE tv & internet. Oh what a luxury!

6. And the list goes on...

My parents are awesome! We're so grateful for their willingness to let us live in their basement. It's been such a blessing for our family.

Enjoying the great outdoors.

Then at the end of January, we went to visit Tess, Kyley & Brock in Utah. It was the kids' FIRST SNOW experience. So fun!

Unfortunately, the little snow that had was nearly all melted, so we drove around to find a patch of snow.

Earlier this month my dad & I participated in the TRI Catching Cupid Triathlon. It's been fun to train with him. We've both decided that we want to do more triathlons. They're kinda addicting!

At the end of my run, I had a cute little buddy cheering me on!

If I look like I'm dying, it's because I was!
I din't exactly "catch cupid", but I got third in my age group.

source

And finally,

Brynlee has been really into doing her makeup and hair lately. This lovely pic was taken after she found some old (dark) foundation. Nice mustache!

Oh... and I turned 26 yesterday. My awesome family made it a WONDERFUL day, but that still doesn't change the fact that I'm now closer to 30 than I am to 20. Yikes!

Now that I'm a little more caught up, hopefully I'll be able to stay that way. Maybe...