Aloha Friday - Squalls and Sand

Things are finally starting to feel normal around here.  The kids kind of have a morning and evening routine.  Charlotte is a regular at the playground across the street.  We are meeting the neighbors, signing up for library cards and creating our Hawaii bucket list.  Things are good and here's a snap shot at our lives these past two weeks.

1.  Finding a Routine.  I can't even tell you how awesome it is to feel somewhat "normal" again.  This is our home.  Our furniture.  Our space.  Charlotte constantly says, "tis is our house."  It makes me smile every time I hear it.

Bath time is a sacred ritual in our home.  Charlotte loves her new bathroom.  She actually has a bathtub with a TON of toys.  Justin is usually in charge here.

Charlotte also started ballet two weeks ago.  Before enrolling into the class, Charlotte and I sat in on a session.  Only a few minutes into the class, Charlotte was nearly in tears.  She wanted to wear the little pink skirt so badly.  Needless to say, she now loves ballet (and the clothes that come with it).

Play dates have become a part of our routine.  Here is a photo of Charlotte and her new friend decorating Valentine's Day cookies.  Let's be honest though, there wasn't much decorating going on.  Charlotte dipped her spoon into the frosting, into the sprinkles, and then directly into her mouth.  Can somebody say sweet tooth?

2.  A Growing Benjamin.  Benjamin turned 5 months old last week.  Where has the time go?  He is just the sweetest baby ever.  He loves to talk and coo and smile and drool.  Oh boy does this kid drool.  Niagara Falls!  Here are some photos of my growing baby boy.

3.  Squalls.  To Charlotte's delight, squalls are as quintessentially Hawaiian as those Dole pineapples I talked about the last time.  Out of nowhere, the rain will just come pouring down.  As Justin and I dash around the house to shut all the windows, Charlotte squeals with delight to run in the rain.

4.  Turtle Beach.  We continue to explore as much as we can on the weekends (so long as Justin isn't working).  I wanted to see turtles so badly and Turtle Beach up on the North Shore has a reputation for being a great spot to see them on land.  So on Superbowl Sunday (because we knew no one else would be out and about), we ventured up north.  But there were no turtles.  Oh well.  There was still a beach, right?  Charlotte always loves an excuse to play with her bucket and shovel.

Benjamin even got a little playtime on the beach (under the comfort of this awesome sun shade/ tent thing I bought from Costco before we moved).

5.  Hale'iwa and Shave Ice at Matsumoto's.  After the beach, we wandered into the cute town of Hale'iwa for lunch.

We had some awesome Hawaiian style pulled pork at Kono's.  Here I am with Benjamin inside the restaurant 

We then walked down the road to Matsumoto's for some of their famous shave ice.

Shut up.  It was AMAZING.  Right up there with poke.  OMG.  I seriously can't wait for our next trip there.  SO WORTH IT!  Justin ordered the Green Tea Special (shave ice, green tea ice cream, beans and condensed milk) and I got the Rainbow Combination (with ice cream and condensed milk).  I'm salivating just thinking about it...

And as you can see, Charlotte also enjoyed the shave ice.  :)

On our way out of Hale'iwa, what did we notice while driving past Turtle Beach?  Um...turtles!!!

Shortly after a jam packed morning, both kids passed out in the back seat.  So Justin and I took the scenic route home along the coast and saw some gorgeous sights.  This is one of my favorites.

6.  Hickam Beach.  And finally, we spent one afternoon last weekend just lounging on Hickam Beach.  It's not the best beach on the island, but it's close to home and on base.  This was the first time we put Benjamin's feet in the sand and water.  He actually didn't look like he cared.  Charlotte, however, had a FANTASTIC time.

Oh my...that was a ridiculously long post.  But if you made it this far down, mahalo for stopping by!!! I will have to do a separate post about Valentine's Day.  :)