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...

Brynlee-isms

Brynlee has turned into a kid over night. And by "kid", I mean no longer a "toddler". She plays in the "big kid" section of the playground, she wakes herself up in the morning and goes potty all by herself, she puts her dishes in the sink without being asked, and she can find music and Netflix on the computer without any help (kinda scary). She's just growing so fast!! Bryn talks non-stop and she totally makes sense! (Up until now we just nod, smile, and say "uh huh".) We have funny little conversations all the time. I wish I was better at recording things, but here are just a few:

Sometimes the kids & I have dance parties when Riley's at work. Most of the songs on our playlist are Disney or kid songs, but there are also a few other songs on there. One of Bryn's favorites is Beyonce's "Single Ladies". Whenever she hears the intro, she jumps up and yells "SINGLETS!"... she's referring to the title of the song. Not the leotards. I think.

The other day Bryn was being extra difficult so I had a stern talk with her and had my hands on my hips. When I asked her if she was listening she said, "Mom, you have two triangles." (My arms were making triangles when my hands were on my hips). She's a great listener!

Brynlee was playing on the couch when her arm got "stuck" between two cushions. From the kitchen, I hear a little voice yell "Ayudan me!" ("help me" in spanish). Again, thanks Diego. Not sure what life at our house would be like without you.

The cutest thing she does is sit on your lap and say "let's talk for a minute". Then she'll proceed to make a list of all the things she likes (usually starts out with "I like animals, I like giraffes, they have long necks, I like zebras...")

Oh, and Brody fell all the way down the stairs last week. Yup. "Great Mom Award" right here!

This is the best picture I got of his battered face. This was several days later...

Poor kid. Even with bruises he's still the cutest little guy I know!

Potty Party!

Brynlee has been back in diapers for a couple months now. It has been so frustrating because I know she knows what to do. But as I've researched what to do, I've found that it's kinda normal-- especially after a vacation or something.

One of the main problems with potty training at our house is that our dumb apartment doesn't have a bathroom downstairs--they are both upstairs. It's the worst floor plan ever! Anyway, Riley had the great idea to clear out our coat closet and turn it into a downstairs bathroom for Brynlee. (We already have NO storage space, so clearing out that closet was a huge sacrifice.) It turned out pretty well. She certainly seems to think she's pretty special with her own bathroom!

So, we went out and got a new toilet-- Bryn got to choose which one she wanted. Of course she would choose the one that sings to her when she goes potty! And new panties! She's always telling us how "beshal" (special) they are. We made a HUGE deal about it. Made it SO exciting (probably a little over the top), but it seems to be working!

Whenever she needs to use the toilet, she tells me she has to sit on her "potty train". I think she's heard me say that a few too many times.

The girl has quite the little set-up. Complete with reading material and all.

So far so good...

Halloween

The kids got to dress up several times this year for various Trunk-or-Treats and ward parties. Brynlee was supposed to be a monkey or a turkey, but she couldn't handle having a hood around her face. She gets a little claustrophobic. So, she ended up being a hula girl... and she loved it!

Brody was the cutest little Nemo on the planet. He (and his costume) were quite a hit. Everyone kept saying "hey look! I found Nemo". Yeah, it wasn't funny after the 10th time!

Showing off her moves!

Bryn & her Dora pumpkin

This was the best picture we could get of the kids before they went Trick-or-Treating. They had waited patiently (with costumes on) all day long!