Hawaii Two Ways

Did you miss me?
Hawaii was amazing and heart rendering all at once. We spent some quality time with family and had some wonderful food; memories to last a lifetime. During this trip, however, my Grandma Bev passed away the second day we were there and for my mom who was with us it was rough. Life is precious and her passing only made me appreciate the small moments on this trip even more. A memory post to follow on my late Grandma, but for now I'll fill you in on Hawaii Bell-Birky-Jones clan vaca 2011.
It started with a 6 hour plane ride, a 14 month old, and a mountain of snacks. After generally bribing, praying, and pleading with Harper to cooperate I got her to sleep for about an hour, but after that it was game-on. I lost.
Touching down in Maui I was never so glad to see my parents and in-laws! We spent most days swimming and lounging by the pool and ocean where Pearson showed off her new swim skills. The big girls probably swam 4-6 hours a day and were mostly exhausted by nightfall! After they went to bed, we would go out or play ipad monopoly or talk. I loved every minute even the hard ones. There were some meltdowns, no doubt, but my favorite memories include all 16 of us together:
The Magic Show.
Fishy crackers and sun screen.
Running Races & Simon Says.
The shark picture.
Matching.
Sitting together at sunset.
The Hula Girl show...
Our Hula girls.
Folks, I did not take one single picture of my own. So to metaphorically show the dual perspective I had of of this special vacation. I'll do two posts of pictures. This first one is from Ty and the second will be from Andi...















Now Andi's...

Hula Grrrrl Party!

Pearson and Heidi's Hula girl birthday party was quite the success! All the little ones had a great time. Highlights of the party?
Definitely The Hula Girl Pinata! It was a hit (pun intended).
Ty's Beach Boy soundtrack.
Drink cupcakes on the floor
Pin the coconut on the palm tree
Harper's Hula Girl outfit...a classic for sure.
And TWO twin cousins who will always have each other and birthday fun!
For more birthday fun, go here...

Happy Father's Day

xoxo,
H & P
p.s. Happy Father's Day to my dad and Papa Steve!

Just in Case...

you're wondering what a Seattle summer looks like right about now; Harper's got you covered:

Prep Time: One Week...

or if my sanity gives way, whichever comes first.
It's a Busy (with a Capital "B") week here at this Bell house (and I suspect for the one up the hill from us...). We are preparing to leave bound for the island of Maui next Tuesday while at the same time preparing to throw Pearson and Heidi a birthday party on Saturday. Since we're going to Hawaii and since they turn 4 three weeks apart and since my July is Crazy with a Capital "C" they get to have a birthday party together again...what's the theme this time, you ask?
Hula Girl!

Should be a breeze right? However, to make that and our trip actually occur, we have quite the list to complete:
Paint life-size palm trees
Make tropical "drink" cupcakes
Pack by tomorrow since we have so many children, we have to send a bag across the Pacific early...
Get water wings
Laundry
Did I mention this week we also have:
Mother-in-law's birthday lunch
Father's day
A dentist appointment
Friends for dinner
Carpet/window cleaning
Laundry (it deserved a Capital "L"...)
My my...reading that kind of made me panic. I'll keep you posted on our week and the status of my whits-I just need to keep them about me, safe to say if I lose them I'm sure to run across them in the Laundry room...

Budding Photog

Pearson has, as of late, been very interested in taking pictures. She asks for my camera (which sucks so I do not REALLY care if she drops it) and I let her go. This is one she took at the Crossfit games.
I think she has talent. Nod your head in agreement with me.
I'm also biased. But it does run in the family (wink wink, Andi)
And I also now have a perfect idea for her 4th birthday present...

Weekend Roundup

This weekend has been eventful! On Friday and Saturday we attended the Northwest Regional Crossfit Games at the Puyallup Fairgrounds where Tyler competed in the team division. Might I add that he did exceptionally well and we are very proud of his accomplishments! After some blood, sweat, and tears (and by tears I mean tears as in blisters on both palms) he came through a champ. At least in our eyes! There was some tough competition and Ty thinks he'll do it as an individual next year. Shout out to our cousins Blake, Tim, and Shan for competing too; they were incredible! Also huge Lang turn out there too...impressive! Here are some pictures from the competition:








After it was all over, we went to pizza where Tyler had pizza for the first time in almost a year and his first beer since February. He was a happy camper, fun family outing!

Also of note: I had drinks with some girlfriends on Friday night to celebrate our own Jenna and her pregnancy! I don't have pictures of that night, but I'm satisfied with the memories of baked cheese and laughter and we also saw great grandma Bell (Ty's grandma) here she is with Molly...

A wonderful weekend. Life is good...