I have an Aunt Cheryll. Having an Aunt Cheryll is like having a personal shopper, interior decorator, thrift store, therapist, mom, and Ciscoe (a garden-guru) all rolled into one. I wish everyone had an Aunt Cheryll.
Sometimes I go shopping at my Aunt Cheryll's house. Not shopping for food (although my boys do that); I go shopping for cute things to put in my house. Aunt Cheryll bought this cute cabinet at a garage sale for $.75.
I sanded and re-painted it. It looked adorable, but when I went to put the drawers in they wouldn't fit. Seems this cute little cabinet had one too many layers of paint on it. So I started over, this time using paint remover and taking it down to its original coat of paint which happened to be a painting of a cheetah across the front of the doors and a nice cheetah print on the top of the cabinet. I should have taken a picture...
After scraping off at least 7 coats of paint I repainted again and ended up with this. The knobs were brass that I spray painted red to match the kitchen. I also found those at Aunt Cheryll's house.
Aunt Cheryll also found some large plastic planters that she thought would look good on my deck. I spray painted them "summer squash" yellow and she's right; they do look fabulous on my deck! We planted carrots and lettuce (or as Trevor calls it "salad") in them.
And just last weekend Aunt Cheryll and I went to over 20 garage sales in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood in North Seattle. At one of the sales I picked up this kitchen cart originally from IKEA for $15 (retails for $60). It was a great deal.
With a little help from a quart of paint, coconut oil to season the butcher block with, and some random hooks and rods I had laying around the garage; this is how it looks now. I love it and I can't imagine how I ever cooked dinner without the extra space.
My Aunt Cheryll is also a great gardener. Her yard looks like it should be featured in Better Homes and Gardens. No joke. In fact, here are some pictures to prove it.
When she mentioned that she was looking to get rid of a large potting bench that she had I immediately said that I wanted it. After a quick sand and a new coat of green tinted stain I am excited to put it to good use. The cute red, blue and yellow planters also came from my Aunt Cheryll's house.
So thank you Aunt Cheryll for helping to make my house feel a little bit more like home. What would I do if I didn't have an Aunt Cheryll?
My friend Laura has this theory (although she never calls it a theory, I wanted to make sure she got the credit for this idea).
Here's the theory. You can't tell a boy that he cannot spit. That's like telling a bird he cannot sing, or a dolphin he cannot swim. But, what you can do is tell a boy that he can only spit outside.
Rewind to a month ago when Trevor came home from church saying potty words like "stinky butt". I told him that those were potty words and we should not say them unless we are in the potty because that's where potty words belong.
Fast forward to today when while using the bathroom I heard him yell, "stinky butt!!", followed by "I can say those potty words because I am in the potty."
Remember that Savage Garden song, "I Knew I Loved You Before I Met You"... That is exactly how I felt about Austin since I first found out that I was pregnant with him. His birth one year ago proved to me that I am stronger than I ever thought possible.
Austin is quick to smile and his sweet dimples melt my heart. He loves his brother so much and I am excited to watch them grow up to be best friends. Lately, Austin's true colors have been shining through and he is proving to be quite an opinionated little man. Remind me one day to post of video of his amazing temper tantrums. My dad says that Austin is my pay back. :)
Austin loves his dad and lets him know when it's time for his turn to wrestle. Austin's favorite person in the whole wide world is his mommy. He hates it when I leave and clings to me when I come back. He is learning new words and things every day. He can say a hand full of words, like da-da and bye. He's got "no" mastered, along with high-five and clapping. He's crawling all over the place, but not walking yet.
We love you, Austin! You make our home a more wonderful place.
Warning: The following video is a tearjerker and a wonderful tribute to our sweet little Austin.
My cousin's daughter had a Lemon Meringue-themed birthday party and I was asked to help decorate the cake. In the end, I was so pleased with how adorable the cake turned out.
Is anyone else besides my Grandma Kay anxiously awaiting this post with pictures, videos and stories from our trip to Hawaii?
The Airport and the Plane Ride
We got a lot of great pictures of the boys on this trip, but some of my favorites were taken at the airport.
The boys did great on both plane rides, mostly sleeping and snacking. We snapped a quick family pic before landing in Oahu.
Haleiwa, the Northshore, and Shaved Ice
Day one was spent relaxing, unpacking and grocery shopping. On day two we took a drive up the center of the island to Haleiwa and the Northshore.
Austin loved to eat the sand. It was disgusting, but it made him so happy.
This is my favorite picture from the trip.
Before going home we stopped for some shaved ice and the boys loved the cold, sugary goodness!
The Lagoons at Ko Olina Resort
We stayed at my brother-in-law's condo at the Ko Olina Resort. Within the resort they have 4 man-made lagoons that are perfect for the kiddos. So after a much needed nap...we headed off to the lagoons for more fun in the sun.
I made Austin his very own sand Bumbo and got to spend time with Trevor playing and swimming in the ocean.
The Temple and the PCC
Day three was spent in Laie visiting the temple and the Polynesian Cultural Center. At the temple, the boys and I were walking around enjoying the peaceful feeling that is always present on hollowed ground, when all of a sudden we heard a loud wailing sound. My heart stopped; it sounded like a tsunami warning. I immediately grabbed the kids and found shelter within the doors of the temple. The kind man at the recommend desk assured me that because it was the first day of the month, the alarm was only a test.
That experience got me thinking about how grateful I was to be a forever family and for the covenants I had made in the temple.
No trip to Laie would be complete without a stop at Giovanni's Shrimp Shack for lunch. Trevor is just as much of a shrimp lover as Darren and I, so now there are 3 Giovanni fans in the family.
Trevor has a thing for what he calls a "wiki-tiki". (He first learned about them from a Scooby-doo movie he saw at Grandpa Rocky's house.) There were lots of wiki-tikis at the PCC and Trevor wanted his picture taken with all of them.
The Polynesian Cultural Center was just as wonderful as I remember it being 7 years ago when Darren and I visited during our honeymoon. I loved the coconut cake they made at the Tahitian village, Trevor loved the drums at the Tongan village and of course the Samoan village is always a favorite. Trevor wasn't so sure about the angry faces, yelling and tongues in the Aotearoa Village, but that is by far Darren's favorite.
The night show, "Ha: Breath of Life" was wonderfully done and I have thought about the messages in it several times since seeing the show. The main message for me was that "family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."
International Market in Waikiki
Trevor loved the huge koi fish at the International Market Place. He tried to feed them leaves and got offended when they didn't seem to want them.
For posterity I'll record that Darren decided to drop the boys and I off in downtown and then continue driving around looking for a free place to park. Shortly after he dropped us off, Trevor had to pee and Austin was screaming, but that's not even the best part. When it was time to go Darren said he would run ahead and get the car because it was parked a long ways away. So off Darren went running and the boys and I headed in the direction Darren said the car was. After only 3-4 blocks Trevor started having a melt-down begging me to carry him. On top of that, Austin fell asleep in the front pack making him 16 lbs of dead weight. We walked for what seemed like forever (it was actually 11 blocks) when I finally called Darren asking where in the heck he was with the car. His response...I can't find it. Exhausted, hot and totally pissed off we stopped walking and sat down in the shade on the corner of Ala Wai Blvd and Namahana St. A long time passed (at least 20 minutes) before I finally heard from or saw Darren. He had finally found the car and it was 30 feet from where the boys and I were sitting, resting in the shade.
Swimming Pool
Day four was the wedding, but it wasn't until later in the evening so we went for a family swim. Both boys love the water and we all had a lot of fun playing and splashing. It was a hassle trying to get everyone to hold still so that we could take this family picture, but I am so glad that we did because it is a favorite of mine.
Randi and Gabe's Wedding
The wedding ceremony was beautiful, Randi looked amazing and I was honored to be a part of her special day. Besides a disaster with the wedding cake (it wasn't me who made the cake) the day was perfect.
It was wonderful to look up during the ceremony and see my husband and sons looking so dapper.
At the reception, Austin tried poi for the first time. I documented the experience in a series of three photos.
**shudder** **gag** **cough**
"What on earth was that?!?!" "No dad, it's not yummy and it's not funny either."
"Do I want more?!?!" "Are you kidding me?"
"There's no way you're sticking that spoon in my mouth"
Dole Plantation and Goat Island
On our last day in Hawaii, we made a trip to the Dole Plantation. We did the pineapple maze and shared some amazing Dole Whips.
Trevor found the cutest little pineapple and he wanted so badly to pick it and bring it home with us.
After the plantation, we went back to Laie to Malaikahana Recreation Area to play in the sand one last time. We didn't make it out to Goat Island, but we saw it. Darren did some boogie boarding and took Trevor in the ocean while Austin and I sat in the shade watching and taking pictures.
Harry, the Coconut
He tasted delicious! We have tried buying coconuts since we have been home, but none of them have tasted as good as this one we bought on the side of the road in Hawaii.
We had a fabulous time in Hawaii and we were sad to leave. When we got off the plane in Seattle it was 7am (4 am Hawaii time), 40 degrees, and raining. Trevor started to cry as we disembarked and when I asked him what was wrong he sobbed, "I want to go back to Hawaii".
Let's just say, Trevor took my Aunt Shelley's rule about helping yourself very seriously. Afterall, if you're hungry at Aunt Shelley's it's your own fault.
