Exhaaale

I have always loved the ocean. Something about the smell, sight and sound of it is therapeutic for me. My mind clears and I can strip things down to what matters most.

Today is our last day on Oahu and we're spending it at Kailua Beach park. As I type this on my iPhone I'm laying on a beach mat next to Lucas, under a shady tree, listening to the ocean steps away and a light breeze cooling us. I am so grateful to be here, right now, with the people I love most in this world.

Family vacation time!

In celebration of Randy's completion of residency and our annual family vacation, we arrived in Oahu, Hawaii yesterday. We haven't been here in 7 years so we are looking forward to seeing the island's development as well as revisit old favorites.

We arrived late afternoon and after checking in to our hotel, we headed out to scope the main drag of downtown Waikiki, Kalakau Avenue. We ate a casual dinner at the famous International Marketplace, followed by a delicious Hawaiian treat - Dole Whip! It's a soft serve pineapple ice cream and is ridiculously good. After strolling around Waikiki for a bit we decided to hit the pool to cool down. It was a great way to unwind after a long day of traveling. Can't wait to really kick off vacation tomorrow!

Rub a dub dub, brothers in a tub

Over the weekend I let both boys share a bubble bath. Lucas loves taking baths in general, but put him in a tub with his big brother, and he is over the moon! Cruz too enjoys having a playmate during bathtime and even helps scrub Lucas with a washcloth. My favorite pictures are the ones of our every day life, because those are the images I'd like to preserve in my memory, to look back on and remind me of a particular moment in time. One day I'll look back on these photos and remember when my sons were small enough to fit in a tub together.

Lucas about to get poked in the face on accident

Silly face

Cruz making Lucas laugh

Seeing them interact happily with each other is priceless!

Crawling or Yoga?

At 9 months of age, Lucas has become very mobile. He scoots, inches, shimmies and army crawls all over the house. He is still working on proper crawling, and from our observation, it looks like he'd rather just get up on his own little padded feet and start running! I caught some photos of him attempting to crawl, and when I looked back at them, I laughed because they look like he's doing yoga or pilates! His tiny little body in the various positions are a sight to see, see for yourself!

Man, this crawling business is harder than it looks.

A gummy smile for the effort!

Independence Day

This Fourth of July was a low-key affair since the holiday fell smack dab in the middle of a work week on a Wednesday. Tito Bing and company came over for a barbecue lunch, followed by friendly/competitive family bowling! We watched the fireworks display here in Vacaville, and it was the first year that Cruz truly appreciated them. Happy birthday America!

Berry Picking

Yesterday I took Cruz and Lucas on their very first berry picking trip! My friend Caroleen recommended Impossible Acres, in Davis. It's a small, family owned farm that has raspberries, a wide variety of blackberries (marionberry, ollalieberry and early) and even peach, plum and apricot trees. I've never gone berry picking myself so I was pretty excited! Dad, Ate and the two girls came along too. It was a beautiful summer day, with clear blue skies and warm June sunshine.

Jessie and Cruz begin the hunt.

Pretty blackberries, still ripening.

Dad and Lucas enjoying the sunshine.

The gal at the register told us when we checked in that there were less berries due to the warmer, drier winter we had this year. In addition, I think we may be late to the fruit harvesting party - the fruit was few and far between, so we definitely had to work for what we found. It even turned into something akin to an Easter egg hunt - the kids would shout out "I found one!" whenever they spotted some elusive fruit!

Berry picking is serious business.

Success!

Taking a break in the cool shade.

The fruits of our labor - literally!

Since it was our first fruit picking experience, the kids didn't have anything for comparison so the lack of fruit didn't seem to faze them. All that matters is we had a great time enjoying the gorgeous summer weather, laughing and talking. Another good family bonding moment for the books.