Peter is surfing!

Peter got a surfboard for Christmas and has been surfing pretty much straight since. He came home from the beach today and said, "Mom I got up 26 times." I am really proud of him and of-course a little scared as well. It is scary to see your little boy wipe-out and for those few seconds while he is under the water you are praying very hard that he is okay. I will post a picture of Peter surfing soon.

Ben received a guitar for Christmas. The boys have been singing and playing songs for us. It is so cute and fun to watch.

We also spent some time out on Kaneohe Bay and got to snorkel with manta rays. We all tried paddleboarding and really enjoyed it. We did many Christmas events and really tried to enjoy this season.

We had a great Christmas and we hope you did too.

Warriors

The boys got to go to their first college sporting event. Peter loved it! Ben enjoyed it.

CANDY-CANDY-CANDY

Our church had a Halloween carnival. Peter guessed the right number of candies and toys in the jar so he won the jar. We sent the majority of the candy with Dirk to work. I think we ended up with 300 pieces of candy. My kids don't even really eat candy so we had to get it out of house before I eat it all.



Peter was a forest ranger(without boots because it is very hard to find boots in Hawaii). Ben was a firefighter. They had a good time doing all the games and winning candy. Annie worked the bowling booth for the third year in the row.

The Big Island

We had a great time on the Big Island! Its nice to take a break from work, school, and all our other activities and just be a family. We are truly blessed!

Peter is now over the hill

Peter got a new big boy bike for his 6th birthday! He can go super fast now, he was going 13 mph around out little loop...scary!

Peter turned the big 6 so we had a pool party for him. It was lots of fun to get to play with our friends, and celebrate Peter's great wisdom he has aquired over his lifetime! Its hard to believe our little boy has grown up so quickly! We are very proud of our big boy!

Peter's first triathlon

We are so proud of Peter! He finished the Werther's Origonal Keike Triathlon first in his age group! He did so good!

Summer Days

Annie and her mom after the Lanikai 2 triathlon.


Being silly.



We had just finished snorkeling except for Peter (back in May).

Big brother and little brother

Ben blowing bubbles with Annie's visior on.


The 4th of July

Smoothies after soccer.

Dirk's CG alumni reception back in May. Summer is fun. I am so happy that I am blessed to be able to be home with my kids. It is hard at times but overall it is great.

Summer Soccer

Sorry- I haven't posted in so long. Dirk is gone to Alabama for the month to help with the clean-up efforts. So I have been busy being the Mom and Dad. Here a few photos that my neighbor took of Peter's soccer game last Saturday. I promise to post more photos in the next few days.

But here is a brief summary of the summer... we spend the days swimming, biking, scooting, playing tennis, and playing every possible imaginary game. Ben loves legos and turning everything into a boat. They both love good guys/bad guys games and being silly. Peter loves to ask me challenging questions like how does a car engine work and what materials are boats built out of and how do the boats float(which I normally instruct him to call his Daddy and he does by himself). I make the boys do chores, read, help with yardwork, etc. which they tend to complain about and call me mean names (especially Peter). But I hope that I am helping them become great men one day. Summer has been really fun. I have really enjoyed playing at the pool and beach and just having time to spend with the boys. Peter starts school in 2 weeks and I am very sad. I will truly miss him. Last year we homeschooled and overall it was a great experience when Peter listened. But this year he is headed across the street to the local elementary school. Ben will not know what to do without his brother to boss him around. But he will adjust. I hope that you are having a wonderful summer. Dirk is home soon and that will be really nice.

Randomness

Peter was so funny in the hospital. After he had his surgery and was recovering in the ICU, he asked "when can I go back to my hotel room?" (he meant hospital room). Very cute. They both are growing up so fast. I am a little bit sad.

Octoberfest in May in Hawaii- what?

Peter has been taking a music class for the last year, Music Makers Around the World. His last unit was about German music culture and so they had an Octoberfest celebration at the end of the unit complete with food, dance, German songs, and drink (juice).

Honolulu Triathlon

Here are the boys cheering their dad on in the Honolulu Triathlon. They were pulled from their comfy beds at 4:30am to come drop dad off before the race. They made this awesome sign (with some help from mom) which was great to see coming in from one of the three legs.

All the support from the family really helped Dirk...so much so that he ended up 3rd in his age group. Ben accompanied Dirk to the stage and accepted the 3rd place plaque on his behalf (note Ben's PJs from the early wake up). Ben really ate up the attention.

Peter's Broken Arm

Peter broke his arm last Sunday climbing a fence at church. He had to have surgery and three pins/screws put into his arm. It was a level three break- the worst. He also spent the night in the hospital so that they could check him for nerve damage during teh night and into the next morning. He had one cast on for the first week until the swelling went down and this morning he got his new cast. It is very cool.

Sparks-A-Rama

Peter competed in Sparks-A-Rama at the end of March. He had a great time and loved it. Sparks-A-Rama is a competition between Awana Sparks teams from different churches who compete in 6 different games for points. Faith Baptist Church (Peter's team) won this year. Peter was very sad when it was over and shocked that it only happen once a year. He thought he got to do it every Saturday.











Here is Peter in his Sparks uniform. He loves going. He has a great memory and has memorized over 50 Bible verses this year. He really enjoys playing the games as well. Dirk participated in Sparks as a child and has very fond memories of his Sparks days.