life keeps on passing by

So here I am, writing a post. The first post in a loooong time it seems, and I admit I'm doing it largely because my sister-in-law requested it. :) That, and I have a free moment to think creatively.

SO, life is certainly rolling along here. We now have three wild monkeys (otherwise known as daughters) on our hands.

Plava is 6.5 and is full of confidence and funkiness (which she is very proud of). She can often be found around the house with her nose stuck in a book, or putting on dance performances with Pito, or making art of various kinds. She has recently been seen with a purple streak in her hair, wearing 6 different patterns on her multi-layered outfit that she proudly put together herself. I like this kid.

Pito is 4 and insists that we not call her any nicknames anymore (the one we had for her sounds too baby-ish in her mind), and that we not refer to her as "little". She wants to be taken seriously, gets very upset with us when we laugh about something she said or did, but she has a hilarious sense of humour that she brings out alongside a cut-throat honesty and sincerity. She is, for some reason, the talk of the kids at preschool ("Mommy! There's PITO!"), and we regularly ponder how on earth she has lived a full four years without being seriously hurt by one of her many falls and foibles.

Pony is 10 months old and is on the brink of developing quite the personality. She is crawling around very quickly, walking along furniture, has tried standing independently a few times, has just (today) learned how to climb the stairs, and has also just (yesterday) figured out that drawers and cupboards open when you pull them. WOAH MAN. She is very sweet, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye and a funny fake laugh that she brings out at the most hilarious moments. She loves to eat things off the floor, so I try and litter it with food to stop her from eating the dirt out of the plant pots. :) For the record, that doesn't work.

We just got back from an amazingly fun and warm holiday in Hawaii, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa (who were also there, as well as Ryan's sister and family). As you can imagine, Pony ate a good bellyful of sand, Pito the fish figured out how to swim under the water without goggles, lifejacket, or holding her nose (which presented a challenge since she doesn't know how to tread water yet - or get her face up out of the water!!!), and Plava took a major step in shedding the life jacket and doning the goggles for hours of swimming around at the bottom of the pool. I love seeing what they teach themselves!

Ryan and I enjoyed ourselves immensely too, by the way. The warmth, the beach, the pool, the DELICIOUS ICE CREAM SHOP WE FOUND, the humpback whales in the bay (which we could see if we looked out beyond the waves), the scenery, all left us in a state of total bliss!!! We came home to chilly Canada, but are thankful that the sun has been out every day since our return. Our beach here at home was a beautiful spot for a Sunday morning walk today, and it was fun chatting with the girls about the difference between the two beaches we've been at over the past week.

So life is good! As always, Ryan and I are looking for adventure, and as always, seem to be in a time of waiting. Hmmm. Waiting for what? Motivation? Heck no. Money? No, I think we could work that out. A vision? YES. A reason to go adventuring? HECK YES. So we're waiting, and hoping, and praying, and expecting that one day we will discover what we're going to go do. Where, for how long, and when. Questions I'd like answers to right now. Waiting is not easy.

I hope your winter is going wonderfully! Enjoy the photos!

The girls love sleeping side-by-side on their floor. This is how I found them one of the last nights before we left for Hawaii.

Trying out the snorkel gear!

Enjoying our first Hawaiian sunset.

The monkeys.

First day at the beach!

Mmmmm sandy cucumber....

Who needs the cucumber???

Fun with cousin J in the waves!

Ryan rides in on a boogie board.

Pito tries out boogie boarding herself.

Cousin C and Pony at the pool.

Lunch back at the condo.

Luau time!!

Touristy bun fun!!

Another beach day - Ryan helps the girls dig out a "hot tub" for Pony.

Guess what her first word is? "Dada" of course!

An early morning at the beach.

Drawing the sunrise.

A trip to the big waves on the other side of the island. Windy!

Pony avoiding the wind. :)

On the way back, we spot a waterfall hike. We were amazed at the size of this leaf!

Waterfall!!

Sunset art.

The real thing.

An evening walk with the cousins at a local bird sanctuary.

Posing in the condo. It was a nice place!!

That's all, folks! Happy February!!