I guess 35 must be old, because suddenly yesterday the urge to quilt something seized me, and I did this:

Add to that the knitting, my love for old movies, my tendency to fall asleep on the couch, and the fact that the pharmacist knows me by name....yup, call me Grandma.

p.s. honey, I really like my new sewing machine!

Daddy is about to turn on the sod cutter we rented for the weekend.  Kate is totally fascinated.

Daddy:  Kate, this thing is pretty noisy.  You should probably cover your ears or go in the house.

Katelyn:  It's okay, Daddy.  My ears are very good at not listening to things.

*     *     *     *     *

Mommy is changing Audrey's diaper and talking to her to keep her from wiggling around.

Mommy:  Audrey, how old are you now?

Audrey (holding up three fingers): I two.

Mommy:  You are a big girl now.

Audrey:  Yes, I big girl.  (cocks her head funny)  Mommy, how much fingers you?

Mommy flashes fingers at her -- 10, 10, 10, and 4.

Audrey, eyes wide:  Whoa.

So here's the update on my minor surgical procedure:  I am FrankenBeans (sounds like dinner-in-a-can).  I have some twisty black stitches on my right arm to prove it.  I would post a picture but it will totally gross my mother out.  Bet Kari wants to see it though.  It's really not that bad.  It hurts when I move my wrist, so if I keep it still I can type.  I didn't sleep all that well last night, due to pain, but that should get better every night.  Or with some Benadryl to knock me out.

It turns out that this is just more fall out from the Great Tumble of 2007, when a leaky Sonic slush dripped onto my kitchen floor, sending my 8-month pregnant Shamu body flying up in the air to land on my right elbow, breaking it just below the joint.  What I had removed was a lipoma and an unexpected hematoma, probably from the trauma of the break.  Google them if you want the accurate medical description.  I am not responsible for what pictures you may see.  I do know that a lipoma is a "fat tumor" that is 99.9% of the time benign, and a hematoma is sort of like a blood clot thing.  Or at least that's what it looked like when they took it out.  It was pretty cool although somewhat painful.  But - this is the best part - I CAN TAKE ADVIL THIS TIME!  (allergic to Tylenol + broken bone + pregnant = out of luck)

Katelyn thinks it is pretty cool, too.  "Mommy, you have a big boo-boo like I did!  Were you brave?"  I am hoping this will help her through some of her residual fears of doctors and bandages based on her rough experience with her birthmark removal.  Yes, I was brave, although I did ask for more shots during the procedure, since they did a little more digging around than originally expected.  I didn't go to a plastic surgeon because I don't really care about the scar.  I was actually hoping for kind of a big scar, so Kate will feel better about hers, but mine will probably top out at 1.5 inches.

And technically, this was a fat-removal procedure.  Too bad I didn't get a flat tummy out of the deal...but at least I can avoid doing dishes and ironing for a few days.  :)

We had Audrey's party on Monday.  It had been postponed a week because of rain, but worth the wait.  It was cool that morning and clear, and just perfect for playing outside.  Jen came and took pictures and they are awesome!  To see them all, click here.  But here are a couple of highlights:

The next few are from my camera, and haven't been photoshopped, so they are definitely more amateur-looking.

Audrey even got a birthday smooch from Luke!  Paul was totally alarmed of course.

They grow up so fast!!

Can you believe she is 2 years old already?  How the time flies!

As you know, Audrey has such a giant, vibrant personailty she almost defies description.  Her zest for life and adventure reminds us so much of the Nash family (Amy's mom's side) and Kari.   The curly blonde hair and the grin look like Paul at this age (yes, he was blonde!) and her eyes look like Amy's mom's.  I won't tell you who she gets the drooling from.

Audrey's favorite things to do are: play the drum or other instruments, play with baby dolls, color, dance to music, play ball, climb, read books, and sing.  She is quite the jokester and will do practically anything for a laugh. 

She is eager to please but sometimes a little slow to obey because she is trying to make us laugh or chase her down (it is so hard to stay serious when she does this!)  She loves her sister and hardly knows what to do without Kate around.  She can say just about anything she wants to say now, although we still struggle to understand her at times.  Her favorite type of music is rock or anything with a hard beat, but her favorite songs to sing by herself are "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Oh Happy Day" (a song we did at church on Easter). 

She struggles with fear of bugs, Elmo (although less now than in the past), and robots.  Other than that, she is fearless and will try just about anything. 

She does throw 2-year-old-style tantrums now, but they seem related to teething pain, dining preferences, and bedtime more than anything else, so that makes her totally normal in my book.  She is having a really hard time giving up that paci (which is probably not a shock to anyone).

She is a joy and delight, and brings sunshine and smiles to everyone she knows.  We had no idea what we were in store for back when she was born! 

Happy birthday, little munchkin!  We love you beyond words!

Audrey is throwing a fit at the kitchen table because Mommy took her paci away.  Mommy attempts to stop the fit by changing the subject.

Mommy:  Audrey, are you thirsty?  What do you want to drink?

Audrey (stops crying immediately and grins really big): Dr. Pepper!!

Deep spiritual thoughts regarding Easter:

"Judas thought 'moneys' were more importanter than Jesus.  That's SO not good!"

"Is God cool?  Like Audrey when she wears her sunglasses?"

And commentary on Mommy's singing practice:

"Mommy, those were some nice noises you were making!"

I know you have been anxiously awaiting part 2 of our Hawaii blog post.  So here it is at last!  Here we have the major activities we did on the trip, other than laying around the pool and beach at the resort.

1.  Scuba diving. 

Kari is a certified diver, this was Paul's first time.  He took a crash course in the pool and then they went out and dove about 20 feet down.  He saw amazing fish and got inked by an octopus.  I wish we had pictures of the underwater stuff.  This will not be his last scuba experience and his excited descriptions of it have convinced me to try it next time.  Kari went out a second time and dove the wall of Molokini, which is a crescent shaped rock between Maui and Kahoolawe.  You could see it from our villa.

2.  Road to Hana.

Hana is a little town on the northeast corner of Maui.  The road along the northern shore of the island has become a tourist attraction in itself.  It's long, winding, and the scenery is incredible.  Waterfalls, rugged beaches, black sand, wildlife, and some of the most amazing views on the planet.  Paul and I left the kids with the grandparents and made a day of it.  We hiked away from the road a couple of times to see some waterfalls (although there were spectacular ones right up against the roadway as well).

One of my favorite things on that trip was this blowhole in a lava formation at Waianapanapa State Park.  The water would come whistling out the top like a geyser.

3.  Aquarium

On a very windy day we decided to go to the Maui Ocean Center to do a non-swimming activity.  The kids loved it, Kate especially because a sea turtle waved at her.  We also went to a truly memorable "Mexican" restaurant nearby.  The food was not good but there was a guy with a guitar singing very loudly.  Good times.

Kate touched a starfish, that was cool too.  She was scared at first, but after Mommy touched it and described it, she gave it a try.  It was pretty bumpy.

4.  Golf

Paul and Marc played the Wailea Old Blue golf course.  They had a blast.  They did not hit any cars.

5.  Ate at restaurants.

This is us at Mama's Fish House for the big anniversary dinner.  Spectacular food.  They could even tell you who caught the fish that day that you were eating.  Kari even ate some fish!  Katelyn had fish and chips and loved it; she wondered why the fish she had tried before wasn't as good.  Umm, because, darling 4 year old, the other fish you had before was Gorton's Fish Sticks, not mahi-mahi caught that very morning.  Other restaurants we visited during the week were:  Ko at the resort, Nick's Fish Market at the resort, and Sarento's.  We also grilled out on the patio a couple of nights, which was nice.

6.  Helicopter ride.

This is a spot on the northwestern coast of Maui as seen from our helicopter.  We took a tour of the remote northwest shore and the 'Iao Valley and then over to Molokai.  My mouth hung open pretty much the whole time.  It's just so wild and rugged and unspoiled.

I wanted to climb out and go for a swim in this mountaintop oasis.  The pilot said that sometimes when they come by there are actually people up there.  There must be a secret passage or something, because this is on top of a huge mountain with no roads or obvious trails.  No one is really sure how the Hawaiian tribesmen would get up on top of the mountains, they are so rough, but apparently they used to bury their royalty up there.

Elephant Rock, just off the coast of Molokai. 

The steepest sea cliffs in the world, Kalaupapa Historic National Park.

The coral reef was clearly visible, and the old fishing pond walls from long ago.  The colors of the reef were vibrant and the water was sparkling.  These pictures don't even come close to representing that.

7.  Whale watching

Just hours before we left, we went on a whale watching tour.  Audrey slept through the whole thing in someone's arms either on the deck or down below, we took turns.  Kate, however, was totally in her element.  She loves boats.

A whale waved at her.  She's pretty popular with those marine animals.

We saw some sea turtles ("Honu" in Hawaiian) in their natural habitat.

And a happy little dolphin that played chase with us.  It was a really fun trip and a great way to wrap up a spectacular vacation.

Be sure to look at our flickr site to see all of the pictures!  If you can't access them, just remind me and I'll re-invite you.

I am finally posting about our trip to Hawaii!  Sorry it has taken me so long.  As you know I went to OK right before and right after going to Maui, so I've been doing a lot of catching up on basic life maintenance around here.  Now that we finally have clean clothes and some food in the house, I guess you would all like to know some of the details.  This will be a multi-post series!

We stayed at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea, Maui, on the beautiful shores of Polo beach.  It was a wonderful family resort, full of other families just like ours, with great restaurants and amenities.  I'll give you the photo tour:

The beach at the resort.

Our villa - 3 bedrooms and a beautiful ocean view.  See the island of Kahoolawe in the distance.

The view from the back porch.  There was even a little pool so you could get the sand off of yourself after some beach time.

This was the main pool.  There were usually lots of people there; I am not sure when Paul got this nice calm picture.

This is pretty much Katelyn's idea of heaven.  She could not get enough swimming!

Audrey preferred the baby pool.  She focused on pouring and splashing.

The tannest we will ever be.

Sigh.  Can I go back there yet?

(Reality calls:  "Mommy!  Audrey is poopy!")

Part 2 coming soon!

They were at the kitchen table eating breakfast, and I went to the bathroom so of course all you-know broke loose. 

Katelyn (yell-tattling to me):  Mommy, Audrey's trying to get me in trouble!

Katelyn (yelling at Audrey, who was probably only about a foot away):  Audrey, STOP BOSSING ME!