The Boys are Back

Lyman and Milo made it home from Hawaii on Friday night- which was way too long of a wait for me, but I know it was best for them to maximize their time with Kona Grandpa and family. We all had a great time thanks to Lyman Sr. and Linda's accommodations! We're already looking forward to our next visit.

Paradise Without Mommy?

Carrie had to leave Kona on Monday and fly home to L.A. Poor girl has a real job. We miss her terribly and are managing to have some fun without her. We've been laying low, visiting the park and going to Hilo to see Great-Grandma Elizabeth in the same house Grandpa grew up in.

Milo Said it Best

"YAY OMAMA!!!"

Lazy Sunday

Football, pool, sunshine, and family.

Another Day, Another Beach

Sister Nicole, Carrie, and Nicole's boyfriend Ikaika hangin' loose.

Kona, Day 1

Went to a fantastic beach today. The surf was really high but this beach was tucked away in a little corner so the water was still while 10 ft. waves came crashing down only 40 yards or so away. Sister Leesa's dog swam and swam while Milo enjoyed the sand and water.

End of Break

I know from these pictures it may seem like the end of spring or summer break, but the Santa Ana winds brought us 80 degree weather for our last weekend of the holiday. Milo and I met our friends at the park for some fun in the sun for one last holiday hurrah.

Artist

During the end of Christmas break, we tried out an art class at Gymboree. Milo had a great time doing the crafts and hearing a story. The theme was winter. Here is how he expresses snow.

Finally Home

We are home again from our whirlwind family vacation to Indiana. Milo learned so much while we were away. Before we left, he was saying 1-3 new words a day. With so many captive listeners, his vocabulary exploded. Now he can even put two words together for a very simple sentence like, "Mommy go" or "Baby cry." Amazing.

I always think I'm going to have so much time, but then it's over so quickly. In fact, one day, I exclaimed to my Dad, "We still have seven more days!" That was the kiss of death; the next thing I knew, I was saying goodbye to him.

It seems like two big things always make our trips too quick and a little frantic.
1. A stomach flu. Nothing passes the time like thinking you're going to die and wondering what you did to deserve this. Two years in a row, Lyman and I have gotten sick, and I'm sick of it! Two days of my trip were wasted and I missed tiny Charlie (see post below). The small silver lining was that Milo did not catch it, and we had our family to help nurse us to health and shield Milo from the germs.
2. A lot of people like us! This never surprises Lyman, but it always shocks me how many people we need to see and how happy everyone is when we come. Another big shocker for me was how Milo loved everyone. In LA, he is usually very clingy the first 20 minutes we're anywhere- then he tears the place up. From the first to last visit, he hugged and kissed everyone. My favorite example was the night we first saw my brother Sam. He walked in all tall and loud shouting hello to Milo. Milo looked him up and down with puzzlement, then a big smile spread across his face and he leaped into Sam's arms. It was precious. He loves you Hoosiers!

We love and miss you too. Enjoy the following posts of our visit. I didn't take nearly enough pictures and about half the people we love and visited with are undocumented in this blog, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy visiting with you. It just means I'm going to have to come back soon.

Merry Christmas

Since we were flying on Christmas morning, we treated Christmas Eve as the big day. We woke up and opened wonderful gifts from each other, parted with our best friend Murphy at the kennel, went out for lunch, Christmas Eve service and a early bedtime to gear up for the big travel and party day.

Kring Christmas

We flew into Indianapolis on Christmas Day and went straight over to Lyman's family Christmas. Milo scored a C- on both flights. The extra seat we bought for Milo did not turn out to be the remedy I had hoped for. He was very antsy, irritable and fussy half the time. The other half, he was an angel sleeping, reading or coloring. The people around us were still helping us and smiling at us when the plane landed, so he wasn't that bad I guess.

Charlie!

My longest and best friend Kathy had her first baby, Charles Roger, on Christmas Day. Isn't he perfect? I was so happy to be there to meet him the day after he was born. He's the best and worst of my holiday. I got to be there to hold him as a tiny newborn, but that was it. One day I selfishly took a nap instead of driving up to see him, and then later in the week I caught a stomach virus that made it impossible for me to visit again. Thanks to technology, Kathy and I can Skpe to see our boys, but it was too crummy that I had to get sick when he was one of my main people to see. Kathy is, of course, the great mom we knew she would be. I am so thrilled for her.

Better than High School

One afternoon my sister Kelly and I went over to my friend April's house for a playdate with her little ones. This was my first time meeting her little Eli, and I think we got on quite well. It was too short of a visit, but I'll take what I can get.

Fun with Family

Lyman got to see the Colts at Lucas Oil thanks to Sue Anne.
We managed to see my Grandma without breaking or soiling anything this year!

As I knew he would, Milo LOVES Grandpa Dave. They were the best of playmates and ate Cheerios together each morning. Milo called him something like OmPa.

Aunt Barb and Cousin Connie, who is Sean's (pictured here) mom came to see us twice. It's never enough.

Old Friends and New Friends

One evening, we went to Lyman's buddy Jason's house to see his family and Drew's (Lyman went to high school with both). I regret I don't have enough pictures of this evening. The one of all our kids was impossible, and the others are missing my girl friends.

This is Drew with his baby Delia.

Lyman and Jason thought this would be a fantastic Christmas card, if they were gay.

One look at this picture lets me know I have my hands full enough!

Happy New Year

In the past 10 years that Lyman and I have been a couple, we have only spent two New Year's evenings together. He is usually playing bass at the stroke of midnight, and I am usually already in bed. Thanks to the poor economy, Lyman took lemons and made lemonade with a wonderful night for us. We had a great room, party tickets at the Hyatt downtown and Donna to babysit. There were several bands in many ballrooms, a comedian, a casino room and a big balloon drop at midnight. I highly recommend it. I know we are all hoping for a stronger economy this 2009. So hopefully more people won't consider live music a splurge. So if you need a date next New Year's Eve, give me a call.