We're back!!!!!

We are finally back! It's taken some time to get back into the groove but here we are! We've been pretty busy since the last time I posted anything and we have lots of pictures!

In April, as most of you know, my grandparents passed away. It was sudden and tragic and our family is trying to heal! It's been tough but I can say as each day passes and with the help of god, family and friends, we are getting through it the best we can! Thanks to everyone for their comfort and support!

Well, school is almost out for me. My last day is June 6th. I love my class but I am sure glad summer is almost here. I have had this class for 2 years now. I started with them in 2nd grade and then went up with the same kids to 3rd grade. I have the summer off until July 24th. It's such nice timing since we have Caleb during the summers. We also have some visitors coming this summer so it's nice to be off.

Caleb will be here this coming Saturday, May 31st. We are so excited to see him and spend the summer together. Tyler keeps looking at his pictures and saying "broder"! It's too cute! They will have so much fun together. Tyler is older now and can play more. We have plans to spend a lot of time at the beach! We all love to play in the sand and be in the water! Doesn't everyone?! :)

Tyler is starting a little bit of the "no" thing. He gets this look on his face and says it with such force and likes he really means it! We make him say "sorry" back to us and that is all it takes for him to stop. We also use time-outs when he's really in a "no" mood. Overall, he's a very good boy and listens! They all have their times don't they? Tyler is into smiling for the camera. He likes to scrunch up his face and show his teeth....he thinks that's smiling! It's pretty cute!

We hope you all had a nice long weekend!! We did...now it's back to work! :)

Love, Tom, Kari, Caleb and Tyler

Back to work and the beach

I had to go back to work this week after my 2-week spring break. My kids were really good this week as we studied hard for our state test coming up this week. I also have report cards going out soon so my days were pretty busy! I am all done with those though....thank goodness! Tom had nothing new at work. Just getting back into the swing of things after being gone for a month. So the week was pretty much just work and sleep for Tom and I.

Tyler cut another new tooth (finally). We have been waiting patiently for him to get new teeth. He didn't get his first one until he was almost a year and they have been coming slowly since then. He now has 8 teeth total! He's not a very good eater to begin with so now as this tooth has been coming in it's even worse (except for breakfast). I'm sure he's like a lot of kids who say they are all done, get out of their high chair and then want to eat off your plate. His favorite foods are scrambled eggs with cheese, cheerios, chocolate milk and juice. He just LOVES his juice. Really it's not even much juice, mostly water but he loves it so much.

We had an awesome day at the beach yesterday. We went to Ko'Olina lagoon on the southwest coast of the island. It's just gorgeous!! It's great for Tyler because there aren't big waves. He just loves to play in the sand and he especially likes the water. We hold him and he just kicks and splashes everywhere! Tyler also loves to play outside and to help daddy or mommny rake the leaves and pods. We bought him his own rake but he still loves the big one more.

Tyler was trying to help get a bug one day! We get small bugs on our kitchen floor and usually pick them up with a bit of toilet paper or napkin. Tyler saw a bug and decided to get the toilet paper himself. Well, we found him in the bathroom with a TON of it! We did end up getting the bug but we didn't need quite that much paper!! :)

We love you! Have a great week!

March 2008

Hello Family and Friends,

We wanted to find a way to keep everyone up to date on what we have been up to over here in Hawaii. A friend of mine had started this blog a couple of months ago and I really look forward to Monday morning when she has posted news about she and her family. I thought...what the heck...I'll try that! It's been really fun setting up the site and posting pictures of our family. I hope you all enjoy getting the news on our family. I will update the site on Sunday so you'll be able to hear new stuff at least by Monday morning!!

Tom just got back from a 3 1/2 week TDY to San Antonio, Texas. Tyler and I missed him terribly. Tyler woke up most mornings and said, "Where's Daddy?". I explained to him that daddy went on a plane to go to work. So everytime we heard a plane go over he would say, "Daddy plane?!". Oh, I just felt so bad! When we went to the airport to get him he could barely stand still when he saw his daddy. We are both so glad to have him home with us!!!! While Tom was traveling back to Hawaii his flight took him through Atlanta so he took a few days leave and spent a weekend with Caleb. They went fishing, four-wheeling, cooked over the campfire and mainly just spent time together!

While Daddy was gone, Tyler and I spent Easter together by going on an Easter Egg Hunt here at Hickam. He went with the kids who could walk up to age 2. He was really good about collecting eggs and was VERY excited to open them....especially when he realized there was candy in there. There was an easter bunny but he would NOT get near the bunny!! I even offered to sit with him....it was still a NO!! :) Tyler and I also spent some time at the beach together. He loves the water and playing in the sand. Lots of digging holes and filling buckets with water!!

Tyler has surprised us and has taken such an interest in potty training. I have been on Spring Break for 2 weeks now and I've been giving him the opportunity to go without his diaper when we are just in the house. He has been going on the potty all by himself for almost a week...when he's not wearing a diaper. Today he pooped on the potty!!! How cool!!!! I have tried putting his training pants on instead of the diaper to see if he could get used to knowing he can't go in them but it hasn't worked as of yet. Does anyone have any suggestions as what to do next? We know he's still so young (19 months) so we aren't pushing it but if he's interested and ready we want to help him along!

Keep checking back for new pictures and stories!!
Love, Tom, Kari, Caleb and Tyler