Look What I Can Do!!!

We can't believe how quickly Chase is growing!!!! He is speed crawling all over the place (he started crawling right before he turned 7 months old) and a few days after that he started pulling himself up on the furniture. If he follows the pattern of his brother, Josh, he may be walking in a matter of 2 months- yikes!!!!! He's so fun!

Too much pink to handle

Chrissy has had that pink background up on our blog for too long now. I let it slide for as long as I could. I had to take action. I hope everybody likes the new soft blue, instead of that bright pink attacking your retinas. Anyway, that's all I have. We'll post more soon. Bye!

I'm an Aunt!

Okay- so I was already an Aunt by marriage on the Barnum side- but I am so excited to announce for those of you who know them: Ryan and Meagan just welcomed Brinley Kaethe (pronounced Kay Tuh- Meagan's grandma's name). She was born on Halloween Night and is just precious! Check out their link on our blog to see how beautiful she is! We are so excited for them- and know they will be amazing parents! Brinley is one lucky girl!

Pumpkins, Pirates, Lions and ...Roseola?

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year, probably because my parents made it so fun for us as kids! The only thing missing this year was the cool and beautiful North Carolina fall weather. (yes- I know we live in Hawaii- but we really miss the East Coast and seasons!!!) We had the boys costumes ready to go a few weeks before, sang songs about Halloween, baked cookies, and cupcakes, taught Joshua how to Trick or Treat, and then the week of Halloween- Joshua came down with a fever, then a rash, and the same symptoms repeated themselves with Chase, and Mommy! We thought Daddy had escaped but unfortunately as I write this he is up in bed with the fever and chills. We suspect Roseola? Adults don't usually get it- but we had all the classic symptoms. So Joshua was feeling better in time to Trick or Treat, but Chase was still under the weather, so our night was cut short. We had a great time watching Joshua though! Next year will be even more fun as Chase will be toddling around!

Halloween Chili

Halloween this year was fun, but interesting! We started off the festivities with a ward party including a chili cook-off and trunk or treat. I decided to cook a pot of chili not really for the contest, but just so we didn't come to eat empty handed. To my surprise they awarded my pot of chili 2nd place out of about 20! The funniest part was Mike had carried it in and so they called his name as the winner and wrote his name on the certificate. Oh well- I know who the real winner was:P (Thanks Mom for the recipe!)

China Town

Chase just hangin' out!
Joshua trying to get Daddy to try the Dragon Fruit!
A peek at the crabs


Mike took a field trip with his Chinese class to China Town. He had such a great experience he wanted to take us to eat and see the open markets so we took off a few Saturdays ago and had a blast. We ate at an authentic Chinese restaurant, where Mike ordered in Chinese, and ate lots of things that I probably would have never tried- that were really good! Joshua wouldn't touch even the noodles- we later found out he was getting sick. We walked around the outdoor markets where they sold everything from fresh fish to pigs intestines and blood. Does anyone know why someone would want to buy pigs' blood? Anyway- a very interesting and cultural experience for anyone who comes to visit!

Tree House

I've been meaning to blog about Joshua's cool tree house for months now! Our awesome neighbors, who have since moved away, saw this on the curb with the trash and thought Joshua would really like it- which he does! It's unbelievable the things military people just throw/give away. I let him have lunch in the tree house with his friend Savannah not to long ago- it was so cute to watch! Joshua LOVES Savannah and constantly talks/asks about her and her house! We're glad she and her parents live so close!

More Cute Footage of our Chase

Seriously Cute Boys!

Joshua had some friends come over and ask if he could play for the first time!

Haircuts!!!

Before (you can't tell from this picture but he had a SERIOUS comb-over)

After

Chase had his first haircut the other night and he looks like a different kid! I had noticed that underneath the last bit of his shiny black hair, was light blonde hair- and had wondered if his brown hair would grow back in- Nope don't think so! Maybe one of our kids will look like Mike! So far they seem to be favoring my side of the gene pool! I'm so grateful for Mike and his barber skills- he saves us so much money and does a great job!

Halloween Fun!

Each Monday night we have Family Night and this week we decided to bring in some Halloween Spirit! We started off the night by allowing Joshua to help "make" some pumpkin cookies for the neighbors, we then sang some songs and put together a cute plastic pumpkin that Grandma Briggs sent. Joshua was so much fun! He even took cookies next door to our neighbors all by himself. We decided to have him take some to the neighbors on the other side of us as well, however, he dropped the cookies before he made it to the door. Oh well, those neighbors are the ones who have woken us up with music and laughter at all hours of the night. I don't feel too bad that they didn't get cookies:P

More "Joshua-Isms"

I have been terrible as a mother at writing the cute things down that Joshua has said. I am quick to call my mom and tell her- but then I forget to record them- so here are some of the latest, and not so latest things Joshua has done or said that have made us giggle:

A few months before Chase was born, Joshua was flipping through the TV channels and somehow stopped on a Rowdy Hawaiian Church Sermon. Anytime the preacher mentioned Jesus Christ Joshua yelled, "Amen! Amen!"

I came down for church a few weeks ago in my dress and as soon as Joshua saw me he said: "Nice Momma!" (We always tell him he looks nice on Sundays!)

One morning we were out of milk and I told Joshua that it was all gone and we were going to have to go to the store to get more, he ran in the direction of the closet to get his shoes and yelled, "Let's Go" (Mind you it was 7 AM!)

Another morning, Joshua walked up to the fridge and said, "HMMMMM, juice or milk?"

Joshua is very good at calling out any kind of nakedness now- for himself and us. So we have to be extra modest around here now!

I told Joshua we needed to go to the store to which he replied, "Store, More Pop!" (Smart little stinker remembered he had eaten the last bag of popcorn last night- so we added popcorn to the list!)

A few days ago, Joshua had a little girlfriend over to play. I followed after them as they ran up to his bedroom and when I got there, he slammed the door in my face and said, "Bye Momma!". (Hmmm isn't he a little young for this to be starting!)

That's all I can think of right now- but I will try and be better at recording these so that we have record of them in the years to come!

Apple Pie...Barnum Style!

Tonight for dinner I made a yummy quiche with bacon, spinach, and mushrooms in it. I wasn't sure how Josh would react to what was being served, but when we put it on the table he exclaimed, "Apple Pie!" We didn't correct him! He proceeded to eat bites of spinach and mushrooms throughout the rest of dinner and we even heard a "yum" or two. We will have to have Apple Pie for dinner more often!

Too Cute!

Chase

As promised to grandparents long ago..... Videos of Josh and Chase

Judd Trail

We recently hiked a cool trail through bamboo and rainforest to a pool of water where you slide down the rocks into the water- yet another fun thing to do in Hawaii!

Just Some Cute Ones!

AIR SHOW

We were able to attend the annual Air Show featuring the USAF Thunderbirds this last weekend- it was awesome! We heard the planes practicing on base toward the end of the week when they arrived and it was so loud it made Joshua run into the kitchen screaming thinking they were going to get him! The show was filled with cool tricks done by the F-16's and lots of patriotic music- you definitely left the show pumped up and grateful to be living in such a wonderful country!

Camping Hawaiian Style

This is how Joshua fell asleep in the tent- notice the dirt and matshmallow on his legs.

Joshua and Jimmy messing with the firepit (boys will be boys!)
Our new 6 person tent!
Campsite with palm trees- need I say more?!


We went camping a few weeks ago at Bellows Air Force Station - it has one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen on the island so far! It was also great camping in a place where you have overnight guards (one can't be too careful these days!) We have only been camping one other time since Joshua was born and he was too young to remember- he really had a blast! We went with our good friends the Fillmores who have 5 kids and one on the way! Yeah- Valerie is a trooper to go camping while pregnant! We got to the campsite later than we had planned and ended up setting our tent up in the dark- but Mike got to roast marshmallows with Joshua while I put the baby to sleep- we played cards with the adults and just enjoyed some adult conversation! Joshua ran all over the campsite and enjoyed the beach and park the next day! We will have to go again soon! Thanks Fillmores for inviting us!

Tuesday Night Date!

Mike and I really NEEDED a date last week- and since we hadn't planned ahead and gotten a babysitter Mike had the idea to grill out and eat a candlelight dinner on the patio! He set everything up including our battery powered radio playing Oldies while we ate some delicious grilled chicken, homemade mashed potatoes , and topped it off with S'mores and a game of SCRABBLE! What a fun night! (As you can see I totally dressed for the occasion)

A Boy and his Fruit!

This kid LOVES fruit! It's especially amazing to us when we place a cookie and some grapes in front of him and he eats the grapes!!!!! Now if we can just get him to eat meat and vegetables!

On the Move

Chase rolls to wherever he wants to go now! Gone are the days of putting him down and finding him in the same place! In this particular instance he started out on the blanket!

Rogaine Anyone?

Chase's hair is falling out like crazy! He has bald spots on the back and side of his head now! Every morning I look in his crib and he has rubbed more hair onto his sheets! Poor little guy- at this rate he'll be bald by 6 months!

The Rollover Pro!

Chase has now mastered rolling over onto his tummy and has lots of tummy time! It's especially funny to go in when he wakes up from a nap to find him in the most interesting positions! He's such a sweet baby! He has his 4 month check up tomorrow- so I'm sure we'll be updating with his statistics again!

72 Hour Kit ---Finally

So, I'm embarassed to admit that Mike and I have been married for 4 years now and we just barely put together our 72 hour emergency kit! Better Late than Never! We thought we might be hit with a hurricane here in Hawaii, so we figured now was the time- so we are prepared! Joshua kept trying to get in it to steal the cookies!

Anniversary Fun - Year 4!!!!!

Mike and I were married on August 5----- 4 years ago!!! Time certainly does fly! As we thought back to our wedding day- we are so happy and blessed to have found each other and to have the 2 sweet busy boys that now grace our home with their spirits! Life is grand! To celebrate we spent the afternoon snorkeling at Hanauma Bay with our new snorkel equipment! Then it was to dinner at the Outback and a movie! Thanks so much to our friends who watched our kids for us so we could enjoy some precious alone time!!! I think this is the most beautiful place we have been in Hawaii so far ( I keep saying that when we go somewhere new!) We saw so many different types of fish, coral, etc! It was awesome!