life at random

weekly update for all our loved ones who live so far away:) we love and miss you!

 Brig learned to snorkel! he thinks its the absolute coolest, and that he now is the absolute coolest kid around:) which he is! it has been so fun here with Brig, I think he has really come out of his shell here.  He has always been our picky eater, our mellow and non daring little bug but since we have gotten here it seems like everyday he is wanting to try something new and completely unexpected..example.. he has never eaten an onion, wouldnt touch a happy meal burger if it at one time had an onion on it and the other day he randomly says mom i think im going to like onions now..and since then he hasnt complained once when dinner has onions! awesome:)  he was scared to ride his bike with out us right next to him and now he is snorkeling, boogie boarding and wanting to go into a cage while sharks swim around him..

I dont know what brought about all this change but it sure has been fun for us watching him bloom and enjoy life!

 Gravy- pushing trucks, anytime, anywhere..you can find him with at least one car in hand, if not five or six:)

 huge whale sand sculpture we watched a bunch of kids make

 Our boys new pets! two jackson chameleons. ( he is holding CRAB..named by gray) I have never been a fan AT ALL of reptiles but our boys get so stinking excited to see a gecko and not being in the country we just dont see them as much as they would like so Seth thought it would be fun to get a pet for them..all fine and dandy until you have bought them and realize.. um.. sick these eat CRICKETS!...I HATE CRICKETS! eewwee!  so for the past few days the boys have been on cloud nine while I never stop itching because i swear i have those dang bugs crawlng on me..not so fun but im glad my boys are having so much fun watching them.

 "mom.. I am the REAL ironman mom..I am.. Im serious." typical Brig Quote

 Brig holding REX (the male)

 Brig is the slowest eater of all time..not joking. A bowl of cereal can take him well over an hour!  needless to say a full plate of dinner has gotten beyond ridiculous.  on evenings when seth is actually home we are always trying to eat, clean up, and get out the door quick so we can go out and do something but getting brig to finish in under 1 1/2 or 2 hrs is not easy..it usually doesnt happen.  haha so a few days ago as seth was washing dishes, he in an attempt to get Brig to eat at a normal pace said "ok Brig, if your not done eating by the time i finish washing dishes then you have to wash your own plate" thinking that would do the trick because who likes to wash dishes? ..well Brig of course didnt finish and low and behold..He loved washing dishes..

nice try babe:)

 Brig @ Our favorite "Burger joint"  so far anyway:)

 Gray getting right to business!

This smile= watch out mom, I am about to go crazy..literally (picture the Tasmanian devil)

more of lately..

 when all you can hear from the other room is giggles its always a good idea to go check out the level of disaster the boys are making..this day however i was a bit surprised to find them laughing at each other as they were both trying to walk in my heels!  both rolling ankles and tumbling both dying of laughter..i was right along with them because i had to admit they walk in them about as good as I do:)

 rainy day..watching a movie on the computer..

 ALL SMILES! the boys hadnt seen seth for a few days and he had a couple hr break between his day shift and night shift so rather than sleeping (BEST DAD IN THE WORLD AWARD) he took us out for a night of fun! dinner and train ride at the mall followed by CARS2..super fun, the boys were in COMPLETE heaven!

 posing for momma during their train ride

 stealing a picture with my Gravy Gray the 4th of july

p.s.  best 4th of july hands down! Kailua parade was amazing, i almost teared up during it even! seth worked the night before and had the entire day OFF( we are still a bit amazed!) played at the pool all day then headed to beach for the evening for more sun and water and FIREWORKS..awesome:)

 Gray getting swung by Daddy..I love that stinking smile!

 My cuties

 He is ALWAYS digging..and throwing:)

Getting Settled In..

well so far Hawaii has been good to us:) the first couple of weeks were a complete blur. moving is always stressful and the bigger our family gets the more stressed out i seem to get.  For some reason or another though this one has taken the cake.. by far! maybe its leaving the majority of our belongings and the things that have made home feel like home behind, maybe its going overseas homeless praying housing is not impossible to find..or maybe just maybe its bumping up our rent to triple what we pay in Omaha..yep that might be it:) either way to say the least by the time we found our place here and found things randomly to furnish it we were all completely drained emotionally, mentally and physically. 
This last week seth has started work and things have finally slowed down enough that I feel like I can enjoy all the beauty here and really soak it in..let me tell ya..Its been GREAT!
I havent taken any pics of our place yet besides on my phone so ill have to do that still but for all the family and friends wanting to see some pictures here you all go.. 

 Gravy Bug all ready for his first plane ride ever..he giggled so hard during take off:)

 Briggy Boy and his get "the camera out of my face smile":)

 we stayed in waikiki while we looked for housing, (this was in the condo we rented) we went for a walk through the shopping strip and got the cheapest thing we could find..ice cream! This is gray after eating his ice cream and of course he is this messy because in the words of  Graysen.." no my do it!" and no one is ever allowed to help..thank heavens for spray n wash..

 Our handsome boy seeing all the city lights and happy to finally see the infamous Honolulu, its been the talk of our house for months:)

 Parade in Waikiki, Gray was NOT keen on these jumping, dancing dragons..

 Rather than saying," look at mommy and smile" I must have said," hey boys show me your gommer faces" cause not one of there smiles is real..turds:)

 Kailua Beach park just down the road from our house..

 Brig swimming at our pool

 Seth and Briggy body surfing

 this picture basically sums up this hike.. where do i even begin? It all starts I guess with the simple fact that i heart mountains, and everything that comes with growing up surrounded by them..so needless to say living in the Nebraska has killed this side of me! (not that i dont love NE for all sorts of reasons, but a girl goes a bit crazy with out her favorite hobbies!) anywho.. so as soon as we get settled me and Seth started trail hunting. This was the first one we set out for, its a mild hike to a small waterfall and known to be muddy.  long story short, we forgot bug repellant..I was literally devoured and the boys each had maybe one, it rained on and off the entire hike so we were covered from head to toe in mud and it was so crazy slick me and Brig fell a billion times, Seth didnt thankfully because he had Gravy in the backpack but  he gave Gray whip lash several times when he would loose his footing..it was hilarious watching us im sure!  the best part by far was on our way out Brig was exhausted  and starting to get whinny.  We were about to pass some people coming the opposite direction when he started and I confidently told him to be tough and just hold on to mommy, that he would be ok we were almost done..sure enough just in time for the strangers to see he slipped taking my feet out from under me and we both went down in a giant sludge of mud..me landing on top of him smashing his face into the mud..im dying typing this reliving it all:)  He was furious, especially at the fact that even though we both hurt like crazy i could not stop laughing for the life of me..oh good times.. (P.S. the picture above is AFTER we had gotten to the swimming hole and rinsed off!)

 these hikes went much much much better..