Summer Fun

Aloha!

Though it is the middle of July, "summer" will be ending soon for us as Cory starts back at work again in a week. None the less, it has been a great summer with celebrations, traveling, and our all too treasured time at the beach.

Summer began with trips to the North Shore to hang out and play in the water. We also went with our friends to see Sesame Street Live--a real hit but the ultimate stimulation overload for Leif.

Leif loves to play on rocks and splash in the water!


Playing with best friend Sophia

This was followed up with a looooooooong flight from Honolulu to Fremont (via Minneapolis and Omaha) Nebraska to visit family, some of whom we haven't seen in nearly four years. We spent nearly three weeks in Nebraska and were able to do many great things.Leif was able to meet a couple of his wonderful grandmas, Aunties, Uncle, and cousins for the first time. Hanging out at Grandmas was great because we had many books to read, a little backyard "paradise" that was a close as one could get to feeling in paradise while being land-locked in the middle of the country, and water balloon fights with cousins.


Leif and Grandma reading together.


Chilling with a graham cracker in Grandmas backyard paradise.


Yeah!! Water balloon fight.


Cousin Jordan and his big muscles show Leif how to make a water balloon.

When we weren't hanging out at our home-base with Grandma and Grandpa or hanging with Grandma in her backyard paradise we had a lot of fun going to the local splash pad (perhaps the best thing in Fremont), the zoo in Omaha, the Omaha Children's museum, or to a local park that Cory also played at when he was growing up.


Grandma, Grandma, Cory, and Leif ready to roll.


Mama and Leif at the zoo


Mama and Leif playing at the splash pad


Leif loving the water

Frequently when Leif was asked where he wanted to go he would reply in that sweet voice of his, "beach." So, one day Grandpa and Grandma accompanied us to the local "beach" so that Leif could play in the sand. It worked but is not quite the same as Hawaii.


Grandpa and Leif playing in the sand.


The Bennett's at the "beach"


Leif and Mama on the swings at Clemmen's Park

The Omaha Children's museum must have felt like nirvana to Leif. One of their attractions included a ball room (literally) with many clear suctioned tubes that sucked and whisked balls to and fro, shooting them out in different areas, and then collecting many of them in a big holding bin in the ceiling that would proceed to dump the balls on the floor--like manna from heaven!


Ball heaven at the Omaha Children's museum
While we were there we also witnessed what was considered the storm of the decade. Amanda had never seen anything like this before and it had certainly been over a decade since Cory had either. There were in excess of 90 mile and hour winds, one inch hail, and rain so thick you couldn't see more than twenty yards from the tip of your nose. Entire fields with corn, knee to chest high, were stripped to barren soil. Many of homes in our area had damage in the tens of thousands of dollars and some communities and farms near by had their houses, barns, or grain silos destroyed. Some areas were without power for a week; we were only without power for a day and a half.


Watching the storm approach.


Playing "tall-tall tower" with Grandma


Hanging with cousin Nate was a blast!


What more can we say than..."DING!"

Near the end of vacation Cory's Dad challenged him to a round of golf even though it had been thirteen years since Cory touched a club. Needless to say "Grandpa" won, though not by much. Perhaps this is pay back for making Grandpa learn to surf.


Father and son golf tournament; we're the only participants, thus we won!!

Just yesterday we went to the 31st annual Prince Lot Hula festival at the Moanalua Gardens. This is a non-competitive festival showcasing different hula halaus across the islands. Amanda and Cory went their first year in Hawaii and have tried to get to it every year since. It is simply amazing and it held in one of the most beautiful places on the island. The enormous Monkey pod trees are worth seeing in and of themselves. Leif especially loved playing by these "tall, tall, trees."


Leif beneath the giant Monkey Pod trees.


Leif waiting as Kumu Hula Cazimero introduces his halau.

It has been a really great summer and Leif has been changing in so many ways. But, one thing remains. He is still the greatest joy in our lives and he continues to make us proud and bring smiles to our hearts.


So until we see you all again...aloha!

Cory, Amanda, and Leif

Hey..It's May

Aloha to you all!

It has been a while since our last post. Our visiting family have come and gone, Amanda and Leif have been busy playing with friends, and Cory has finished courses at UH for the semester (never mind that summer courses start in just a few days). We have finally settled into our new house (the last box was unpacked about a week ago) and we are loving it. We are so close to parks, friends, the beach, and Cory is just under three miles from work so he can still ride his bike most days. Amanda has finally gotten her sewing room up and going and is working hard on completing "baby" Kennon's quilt. Other big news, Cory was officially accepted into the University of Hawaii, College of Education, Curriculum and Instruction Doctoral program. Assuming all goes as planned he plans on having earned his PhD in a few years (yes he will have been in school as long as he has been married).


Leif and his friend Sophia at Ko Olina


Leif and his "cousin" dancing and playing in the back yard


The view from our back lanai--it doesn't get much better.


Playing in his own private pool


A smile and a star

Leif sure seems to be growing up; he is learning so much each day. We counted the number of words he can say the other day and were surprised to find that it was twenty! Some of these are: book, ball, daddy, mama, baby, bubbles, dog, cat, shoe, ding-ding (yup, that ding-ding), duck, turtle, hi, hello, cheese, teeth, and eyes. He is beginning to become more frustrated, too, as he wants to tell us things but struggles to say them. If we ask him to point to what he needs he does real well, though, and we are able to help him better. Leif is also learning many animal sounds, though some are extinct. The ones he does the best are dinosaur, cow, monkey, snake, and bunny.


Leif discovering the joys of sour cream


Listen to this

The other big news is that Leif is not only sleeping in his own room, but is doing it in a "big boy" bed, too. Add to this the fact that he now only wakes up once or twice a night--usually going down at 7:30 and having his first wake up around 3:00 to 4:00. Amanda and I are both quite pleased that he is having a good seven hour stretch of sleep.


Leif and Mom reading in his big boy bed

We have booked our flights to Nebraska and will be there for a couple of weeks at the end of June through the beginning of July. Some friends of ours will be moving out of their house and relocating back to the mainland but will need a place to stay until their flights leave. Coincidentally, these dates fall exactly on our travel dates so they will be house sitting for us while we are gone.

We still like to go to the beach as much as we can and it really is quite nice to have one within an eight minute walk of our front door. Sometimes we have even had a picnic dinner there. Often after dinner we end up on the beach playing and just watching the waves crash against the shore as the sun sets. If it sounds like paradise it is because, well...it is. We got a new bike wagon, thanks to Will and Kristy, and we can now ride our bikes if we like.


Enjoying a picnic dinner at our beach


How cool it must be to grow up at the beach


.
A boy. A bike. A ball.


Going for a ride

So until we see you again...aloha!!!

Cory, Amanda, and Leif

Da Big Move

Aloha mai kakou!

It didn't take long for 480 square feet, the size of our old apartment, to feel like the walls were closing in on us as each day passed. After many hours looking for new places to live we finally settled on the community of Iroquois Point in Ewa Beach right at the mouth of Pearl Harbor. We are now in a three bedroom duplex but the only thing we share with our neighbor is the carport that is between each unit. In essence, it feels and looks like a single family home (finally). We have a nice yard and are a block away from a nice lagoon with a walking path around it, three parks, a private gym, and a pre-school cooperative which will be nice when Leif is older.


The new and improved living room




Our lanai

Leif's room

Perhaps one of the nicest amenities is the long beach with cabanas, palapas, and playground equipment less than a ten minute walk from our front door (8 minutes and 30 seconds...I timed it at a regular walking pace). Our evening walks frequently include a stroll to the beach; it doesn't get much better than this.




Fun at our beach


Only 8.5 minutes away

This was also Leif's second Easter. For his first Easter grandma Mary got him some beach toys which he has been playing with for quite some time now. This year the Easter Bunny brought Leif a few books, jumbo crayons, a coloring book, a toolkit and pouch, a small chocolate bunny, and a package of pink Peep bunnies. Leif also participated in a couple of egg hunts at the local park and beach. He loved running around and finding the colorful eggs.



What fun!!!




Spiderman the builder

Peeps...oh so yummy


He certainly seems to changing so fast and in so many ways--it is amazing to see how much children change in such a short time. Leif has also begun to learn different body parts. He can point out his ears and Mom and Dad's (Amanda and I) nose and ears, give high-five, and is learning more words all the time. Perhaps his all time favorite thing is still his books. We had to put his "big boy" books on the top shelf in his closet, but he knows where they are and sometimes throws a fit if he can't look at them. It is so cool to see him have such an appreciation for books; we hope it always stays this way.


Wanna read?


Leif at his first modeling photo shoot

April will be a very busy month for us as we are hosting three sets of guests for the entire month. Cousins Jenny and Steve and their little girl will becoming shortly for a little more than a week, followed up with Amanda's brother for a week, and then cousin Laurel for about two weeks. Then in June we are planning on visiting family in Nebraska for a couple of weeks. We will certainly be very busy over the next few months (as Cory is also finishing up his Master's program) but we look forward to visiting with so much of our family.


So until we see you next a big aloha to you all.

Cory, Amanda, and Leif

Marhing into March

It has been a very busy beginning to the new year. Leif and Amanda have been going to many play dates with other mommies and their keiki--beaches, train rides, children's museum, parks, hikes, and parties. Leif loves playing with the older kids and does pretty well with them considering he is just barely one year old.


Mom and Leif hiking to Makapuu light house--Mommy
club rules state that mommies must wear the designated
uniform and have a toe-head blond as a child.


Hanging with friends and enjoying some ono food at the Valentines Day party


I'm not so sure about this train ride.

Leif also loves to read his "big boy" books. These are picture books with regular paper pages (instead of board books) and has had many fits or tantrums if he can not read them. Putting these book up on a high shelf doesn't work as he then tries to climb up the furniture to get to them. He simply loves to read. Often he will be sitting by himself reading out loud. This consists of making a variety of babbling sounds as he looks at the pictures and turns the pages.


I love my "big boy" books!


Some times I just need to relax

Leif has also begun to make a new babbling sound using the back of his hand and his mouth. He loves doing this (check out the video below) and ends up cracking himself up as a result.



We will also be moving to a new house in a couple of weeks. It is located on former military housing but the houses are managed by a single rental agency. This is the largest house Amanda and I have had with over 1200 square feet of living space and a nice wrap-around lanai. It has three bedrooms, a nice back yard for Leif to run and play in, and is walking distance to some nice parks and the beach! We are all very excited to have more space. Technically it is called a duplex because it shares a roof line with another house but the only part of our house that will be next to our neighbors is our carport (which is between the two houses). Call it coincidence, but it is like the movie Field of Dreams--"build it and they will come." Now that we have a bigger place we have family coming to visit for the month of April (they can help unpack, yeah!!!). Thank goodness for the added space as it would have been tight in our little one bedroom apartment.


Our soon to be new house


Aloha for now. We hope to see or hear from you soon!

Cory, Amanda, and Leif