Hawaii, July 2013

Mom and Dad took our entire family (brothers, sisters, grand kids and all) to Maui for our family reunion this year. Dave had to come a couple days later than everyone else, and he had to leave a day earlier. Somehow he got out of traveling with our crazy kids. Thank goodness I had Grandma and Grandpa and aunts and uncles to step in and help me out on the plane! We left at 4am, and Cole didn't sleep a wink the whole flight but fell asleep literally as we were landing in Maui. Fortunately, Grandpa didn't mind giving him a ride through the airport. ;-) 

 

 

We had lots of fun adventures, including snorkeling. Here are a few pictures of Dave underwater with the SEA TURTLES we swam with. Lizi even got a picture touching one!

 

 

This was Cole's first time playing at the beach and in the waves, and he loved it. I think Aunt Shantae loved it just as much.

Digging in the sand with his cousins was also a highlight for Cole (he's the one in the hole).

 



 

Peekaboo!

 

Another fun adventure was power hang gliding in Hana. This is Aubrey in the air.

 

And this is Dave.

 

 

Cole even got to hang out in the pilot's airplane with uncle Russell while he was waiting for us.

 

 

Cole loves his uncle Russ!

 

The tractors at the sugar museum were a big highlight for Cole as well. Look at those tires!

 

Shave Ice at the flea market - thank you Grandpa!

 

Family photos on the beach. Look at that cute family of four!

 

Cole was less than thrilled about the ice water at the waterfall. He was like a cat climbing up Dave the whole time - good thing he's a good swimmer.

 

Another fun adventure was the Luau. Here is Grandma and Grandpa with their grand kids in front of the totem pole.

 

The handsome Blacker (and Beutler) men:

 

The beautiful Blacker (and Beutler) women:

 

This is Cole with one of the dancers after the performance - he couldn't stop talking about the war dance where the men stuck out their tongues.

 

Cole also love his hike with the family to the 7 sacred pools. Check out those trees and the bamboo forest!

 

One of his very favorite things had to have been throwing rocks into the water - he could not stop.

 

Hiking to some waterfalls on the road to Hana through the bamboo forest.

 

The entire Blacker family, July 2013

Cuddles and Creations

I set Lexi on the couch next to Cole for a minute while he was watching a movie and turned around to find this gem of a picture. I know neither are smiling, but I love the casual cuddle between what I hope will be good friends. They truly do enjoy just being around each other.

 

 

That being said, Cole still gets a little jealous of Lexi and her toys sometimes. One particular day last week he only wanted to play with her toys. I was making lunch when he started getting really upset, and I found him totally stuck in Lexi's saucer. As you can see, he wasn't too happy about me taking a picture of him being stuck, but I couldn't resist. ;-)

We have had quite a few struggles getting Cole to eat all sorts of foods, but just this past month he has made some real progress. He definitely likes to be involved in choosing his own food and this was one of his creations for dinner that we had to document. In case you can't tell what it is, it's black beans, corn, blueberries and avocados all mixed together, and of course a little bit of "spicy" (salt) on top. A super food medley, and he loved it!





Photo Op Fun

I tried to get a cute picture of Cole holding Lexi this afternoon and I just have to post the whole reel. The photos are in chronological order...notice how Lexi's face varies from a look of sheer terror to sheer delight and everything in between. I think we were both feeling the same way!

 

This picture is when Cole decided he was done holding Lexi and in an attempt to give her back to me almost threw her off the couch. Gotta love my gentle giant.

More fun in St. George

Here are a few more gems from our St. George trip. Grandpa and Grandma definitely spoil these two! This was Lexi's first time meeting Grandpa. :)