life's a beach

it's 8 am saturday morning and coen just woke up. the sun is shining (which makes it kinda bright for morning cartoons).

despite what you may think, we do not wake up each day on the beach with a frozen drink in hand. i can't tell you how good that sounds though. however, life is pretty much as usual. our environment is a little (okay, a lot) different, but our routine is pretty much the same. we get a lot of rain, just like back home. but it's 80 degrees, and i can't remember the last time i didn't wear sandals. in fact, come to think of it i don't think coen has worn pants since we have been on the island....that would explain the bruised and scraped knees i guess.

a typical week for coen and i = play group/music class/fruit market/laundry. for wes = lava chasing. when the weekend arrives we do our best to get out and explore. this might mean exploring our new property, heading into town, or if we are really lucky hitting the beach (or should i say lava rocks).

we are still in the search for the "perfect" local beach. don't worry, we will have that figured out before your visit.

happy weekend!

hello, monday.

on monday mornings coen and i head up the hill to volcano to meet with a play/mom's group. today was our 4th time going. not bad, considering we are just starting our 5th week on the island. even though we aren't living up in the town of volcano, we are eager to be a part of the community there. it is a small town with a great spirit about it. at this point we are planning to have coen attend the volcano charter school of arts and sciences (k-8). yes i know, school days are still a ways off, but he will probably be going to school with the kiddos from play group someday. and who knows, there may be some life long buddies in the group.

each week miss anne has different activities planned for us. it is geared for birth-age 5, and she dose a wonderful job at planning activities that are interesting for the little guys, and the big ones too! last week, we traced their little bodies on kraft paper, (took some MAJOR negotiating to get coen to actually cooperate) and then they painted the tracing...with their FEET! coen had purple toes the rest of the week. we had to leave our art to dry, and we picked it up today and took it to daddy's office. it is sure to add some color to his workspace.

today we went outside and played with bubble wands. of course coen just kept saying, "i can do it. i can do it. i can do it." he is soooo independent these days. it was fun to watch the wonder of bubbles consume him.

after all the bubble fun was over, (or should i say all over the kiddos), we headed inside and coen tried out the water colors. this is the first experience he has had with using a paint brush to paint. he was totally mesmerized by the water when he rinsed his brush. he liked the way the paint swirled in the water.

sweet coen's finished water color sea turtle!

after our great play date, we always head into the national park to have lunch with daddy. when we drive past the steam vents coen yells, "it's the volcano!" how cool is it that we get to eat lunch on a volcano every monday? pretty darn cool.

biggest birthday gift....ever.

this year for coen's birthday we wanted to get him something really special. turning TWO, that's a milestone to never be forgotten. after debating back and forth we finally settled on the perfect thing. a new house.

okay okay, it just so happened to be that we got the keys to the new house on his birthday. it is sure to be a birthday gift we can never-ever top. i will add, he is such a handsome 2 year old.

we finally got our internet working, and i wanted to post some pics i have taken on my phone the past couple weeks.

it rains a lot here. anybody who knows me, will know that this is probably a good thing. if you are going to stick me on an island in the middle of the pacific, it best be the rainiest island you can find. it's still really warm, like a perfect 80. rain. sundresses. iced coffee. sunbreaks. i'm pretty much okay with all of those.

our new house has amazing views, and a large lanai that wraps around the house. one morning i found coen sitting out on the step watching it rain. he is sure to report the weather to me all day long. it's nice to have a live in weather man (boy).

we can't stay inside all day. so when the rain breaks, we head out for some puddle jumping. this is a toddler on a mission...puddles!

my little dish washer. he is so so so helpful, you should all wish for a coen to come help you do the dishes (i kid, i kid).

pants are now optional. well, for the 2 year old :) we had a beautiful and warm sunny day last weekend and we spent all morning in the "yard" (we have 2 acres, so yard is kinda an understatement). again, he is so helpful.

in case any of you were wondering, our new furniture has been tested (and tested, and tested) to be toddler approved. coen thinks this ottoman is the coolest jungle gym toy we have ever bought him.

every morning through the sliding glass door in our bedroom, we watch the sun rise over the ocean. it is breathtaking, and perfect.

on the day you were born

on the day you were born, my sweet boy...

it was march 24 & so many people gathered to cheer you into the world.

you were loved so much before anyone had met you.

we had everything planned and prepped for you,

yet you turned our world upside down.

it was a tuesday

at 10:59 in the morning,

all 8 pounds 10 ounces of you

decided to show up, and say hello.

(boy, are we glad you did!)

we have yet to stop looking at you in amazement.

you make us laugh everyday.

also, you test our patience everyday,

but when you aren't looking we usually laugh about.

happy birthday sweet coen!

your presents are wrapped and waiting.

a birthday "breakfast cupcake" awaits you.

on this, your magic night...you'll turn 2 before our eyes!

goodbye goodbye (the finale)

our final stop on this tour was in sacramento. we had an early morning flight to the island, so we headed to sac the day before to have a visit with grandpa thelen. coen had a hay-day with all the cool "toys" gramps had in his room. he also enjoyed some silly play time with uncle george and of course he charmed all the ladies...yet again.

a very rare occurrence...a family photo.

grandpa with his grandson and great grandson.

after our wonderful visit with gramps, we headed over to pompa and ba-ba's house for the night. coen looooved their house and all the fun stuff they had for him to play with. pompa showed him all kinds of cool pictures and ba-ba cooked us a delicious meal.

so much fun, so many special people. the end.

goodbye goodbye (part three)

during our stay in truckee we knew we HAD to head out the the ranch. it is so beautiful, and there is so much for coen to see and explore. uncle bubs and aunty shelly live in one of the most beautiful places. we seem to always visit them in the frozen months of winter...what's up with that? even though we have to bundle up, it's totally worth it. the views are breathtaking.

coen's first exploration was checking out a big tractor with uncle bubs. it took some major convincing to get him out of there. good thing the next thing was waaaay better than tractors...

a sweet baby calf! such a cute and curious little calf. coen and i really enjoyed our visit with him.

holding on to uncle bubs hand, ready to check out the next thing.

such a great visit to the ranch. can't wait to go back!

during our week in truckee coen and i had an opportunity to head to reno for a date. we met up at cruz's house for dinner. cruz's mama, kara is a very dear friend from college. she organized a get-together with some of our sorority sisters. it just so happens that 3 of the ladies also have little boys, and they had a wonderful time playing with each other (despite a few 'sharing' issues).

i couldn't get both coen and cruz to look at the camera at the same time, so this was the best i could do.

run, run, run and then...run some more!

i absolutely love this picture of coen and tahlik.

i wish we had gotten a picture of the whole group, but this is a shot of the mama's and their boys. it was so fun to see everyone, i hope we can do it again next time we visit!

you should know that this ongoing post of our farewell tour isn't over yet. i had no idea we were taking so many great pictures, and i don't want to cram them all into one post. with that said, there will be one more final part to this ongoing tale...our visit with pompa and ba-ba and grandpa thelen. be patient, it will be posted soon enough.