aiden gets his orange belt

Master Lee retires Aiden's yellow belt and ties on his new orange belt.

Aiden is already talking about getting ready for the green belt test.


Thirty seconds of meditation.


Showtime! Aiden showing Master Lee and the panel of judges his moves.


The judges quizzed Aiden on his knowledge of Tae Kwon Do terminology (all in Korean). He was also asked to explain some of the "B" marks on his (home) report card.


Master Lee gives Aiden a friendly hug.


Aiden happily running back to his seat after the judges passed him.



While he plays it cool, I can tell that Aiden really admires some of his older and more advanced classmates.


Aiden reminds his teammate about mind focus before breaking the board.


Aiden proudly holding the board that he had just broken with an ax kick.


Aiden cheering on a classmate to break a board with a drum roll.



Handshakes with the judges.


Concluding comments and a little motivational speech from the judges.


Aiden's whole Tae Kwon Do class - AHH YAAAAH!

daddy's sweet girl

playing in the driveway

Aiden has been practicing on his scooter and his efforts are really paying off. I watched him go half way down the hill without needing to put a foot down.


Upset that Aiden won't join her for a ride on the Gator, Sky decides to take off by herself.

What will Nana Beth say?

Here are Aiden and Sky working on their Mother's Day gift for Nana Beth and Grandma. After a long fifteen minute deliberation, they selected the paint color "sparkling violet" at Micheal's. They were very excited to get to work on Nana Beth's and Grandma's jewelry box.

fun at the office

Aiden entertaining himself at Platinum Solutions.


We keep a small sandbox complete with a tiny shovel, rocks, trucks, plow, and bricks for kids that visit the office. Aiden LOVES to play with the sandbox.

mother's day at aiden's school

Aiden's class put on a show for Mother's Day. It was sooooo cute. Although he was a bit shy, he really enjoyed being in the performance. I was so proud of him.


This is snack time after the show for the mommies.


Aiden is a class helper this week. This is kind of a big deal, people.

flying a boeing 757

The pilot invited Aiden and Sky into the cockpit. They were both so taken back by the experience that the only words they uttered the entire time was a very soft "thank you" at the end.

Aiden was so good on the plane and in the airports. He was busy with his goody bag and iPad videos. He also took a couple of naps. At the airport we read books and snacked. All and all he's a very good traveler.

Sky had a better return flight. She slept probably ten out of the twelve hours of flight time.

a tired surfer rests

A pro surfer needs his rest.

I found Aiden taking a nap without his shirt on after a long, hot day on the beach. A little foreshadowing of his teen years.

BTW - Sky claims she is going to be a "mommy and a surfer" when she grows up.


Aiden resting his bones after the beach and a nice outdoor shower.

fun at ke'e beach

Aiden and Sky enjoyed seeing the fish swim between their feet.


Here's Sky telling Aiden where to look for fish.

Sky enjoying a quiet moment to herself.




Ke'e Beach was probably the best beach for the kids this trip. Last trip the waves were too high for the kids to enjoy.


Aiden made up a game where he'd hide a treasure (rock), market with a small "X" and then Sky and I would have to find the treasure.


It was sort of like play "hot and cold" except he didn't say if we were "hot" or "cold" the smile one his face was a totally giveaway.

Aiden and Daddy making tracks in the sand for the cars.




One of my all time favorite pictures of Adam and Sky.


Adam, Aiden, and Sky playing a little game they've made up called "real doggies".

hanalei school

The kids are now enrolled at Hanalei school...no need to go back to Virginia. ; )

rooster chasing at various beaches

common Sky quotes

"Mommy, you can come to my birthday party and have some cake!" - something she says to me from time to time when she's excited or happy about something. I think she's really looking forward to her third birthday.

Sky loves to sit next to me and rub my bare arm. It's something she's done since she was about nine months old. These days when I first get home from work, she comes upstairs with me while I change from my work clothes to "play clothes". And that's when Sky and I catch up on each others day and it's always a really nice conversation. As soon as I change into something more comfortable and she sees my arms she says "look at your sweet little mommy arms" as she reaches to rub, hug, and kiss my arm.

So we all call the baby (for now) Sh'Aiden as per Aiden's suggestion. However, each time someone refers to the baby as "Sh'Aiden" Sky quickly chimes and and says, "his name is not going to be Sh'Aiden because then someone will think that he took Aiden's name."

And here's a quote we've never been able to figure out "Mommy, remember when you were cooking and then Daddy turned into a girl?" Adam and I are both very perplexed at this one. We've asked her again and again what she means by this but she doesn't really elaborate on it. At this point, we think it was a crazy dream that she had and she thinks it really happened.

And another one she likes to remind me of every time we're in a grocery store - "If a stranger tries to take you, you say - you're not my mommy, you're not my daddy, put me down!"

day trip to poipu

Lovely, lovely, Poipu Beach.


Aiden's plan was to fool Adam into thinking that he was a little blue bird in the tree. You should have heard him doing his bird calls.

the scary wild boar in the woods

Sky was so eager to show Adam the skinned wild boar we found hanging off the tree.


She found the wild boar to be a little scary, kind of interesting, and very exciting.


Here's the wild boar himself...we believe that some of the locals put this carcass up on the tree to deter tourists from wondering into this area of the beach.

chilled coconut

Aiden's new favorite drink.

more fun at tunnels beach