The kids relaxing on the couch...

Addi watching some Foxtel with the boys; notice who is in 'control'...?!

Our hectic lives continue with the latest issues being Lincoln's mouth and Mum's car. We booked Linc in to see the dentist as one of his adult teeth (bottom centre) was growing quite twisted and cutting his tongue. Anyway, the dentist wasn't too concerned about that, but did identify that he has a cross-bite; they referred us to an orthodontist (we got in quite quickly as they had a cancellation) who said the cross-bite was not too bad so he wasn't going to do anything about it, aside from putting some drops of glue on a couple of Linc's teeth to try to get his mouth to realign.

And Mum's car: brakes, alternator, tyres and a service will end up costing us thousands... but at least we are looking forward to having a wonderful holiday in Adelaide soon (thanks to the grandparents), so that makes everything better!

Life gets in the way...Addi walks!

For the first time in the blog's history, we missed a month. But that's what happens when life gets in the way, and Dad spent more of February interstate/overseas than he did at home!

Luckily it's not too common an occurrence, as Mum had a tough time. While Dad was O/S both boys got a nasty stomach bug which they shared all over the carpet on multiple nights; and Addi got quite crook with a virus that turned into some type of infection. She's onto her second batch of antibiotics now, and about week three of whatever it is she has. She hasn't been to child care in ages. Oh, and Mum's car decided not to start one morning and, with no Dad to fix it, Mum had to drive Dad's car! She ended up enjoying, by the way...!

Amazingly the weekend before Dad departed O/S, Addi took her first steps. It was on February 15, and we were all so excited (especially that Dad was around to see it!). Unfortunately Dad wasn't around for the 10 year wedding anniversary. But Dad bringing Tiffany home certainly made up for this (in part!).

She has her second tooth now, and says 'up' a lot as she loves being picked up and being part of whatever is going on. She's just beautiful.

The boys continue to grow way too quick; Linc is now so tall, and Carter is not far behind.

We went to Enlighten last night and had a fantastic time. There's something about having a big family to take out to events like that and share all of the fun and frivolity.

Happy birthday you and you!

It's big birthday month, as we tick off two birthdays for two-thirds of our offspring. Not bad really, as it's a fair while now till Carter's birthday, which is handy so we can recover (financially) from spoiling these kids rotten over Christmas and big birthday month!

Addi's birthday was relatively subdued, as a planned morning tea at a local cafe had to be cancelled as Dad was a touch crook; but Addi obviously didn't know any better and enjoyed her special day with all of her new toys. Yep, we feel a bit bad that we didn't have a huge party, but with everything going on right now, (Addi sick, Dad sick, Mum sick, Mum starting back at work, Addi starting childcare, the continual oppressive heat, the continued financial worries as we have to find another $440 a fortnight for childcare) we honestly just did not have the energy. It's almost as though we're corralling the wagons, trying to deal with the issues at the forefront of our life without opening ourselves up to more stress (like spending an entire week deciding on a theme, distributing invites, tracking RSVPs, cooking, cooking, cooking, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning)...

But I digress... Her little grin is as cute as ever, especially now she has a little tooth poking out from her lower gum! It hasn't given her any grief, but just wait till the molars start coming through!

Linc's birthday falls on his first week back at school, so when we asked him what he wanted to do, he chose to have dinner at the local club! And that's what we did tonight, and it was very pleasant (especially being in the cool of the air-conditioning as Canberra experiences a pretty bad heatwave - 39deg today!)...

2017 in full swing...

They say that the busier you are, the more time seems to fly. And for 2016 that could not have been more true. With three kidlets there is always someone wanting something. Always someone requiring attention. And mostly, it's Addi, which has been a challenge as we are well aware of the need to spend quality time with our two fast-growing boys! But we seem to be balancing things about right, and have enjoyed our family time - such as going to Yerrabi pond for a walk and a little picnic and, most recently, splashing about in our NEW POOL!

It's been a tumultuous start to 2017. Mum has started back at work and that means Addi has started childcare. Which has gone as well as can be expected. That is to say it has not gone very well with Addi being clearly distressed during her first few days of orientation. Plus the little rascal caught a virus and brought it back home so everybody got a lovely summer cold... So that has stressed everyone out, but hopefully this week (her third week) she should be a little more settled. Ideally Mum wouldn't have to work, and Addi wouldn't need to go to childcare, but that's modern life for you in a time with huge mortgages and Canberra's extremely high cost of living...

Addi has her first tooth, and she is standing unaided more and more - she currently thinks its so clever that she claps her hand. She's an absolute joy to have around and anyone who meets her is just so taken with her - the big brilliant blue eyes and blonde hair certainly has an effect on people!

Oh, and Happy Australia Day; Mum is working and we're all at home playing iPads, Xbox and watching Moana (a Disney movie we've all fallen in love with - probably cause it reminds us of Hawaii!)...

Christmas in Adelaide

On 19 December the family flew to Adelaide to spend Christmas with family. The 1850 Virgin flight departed slightly behind schedule, but it was the strange fact of Carter being placed three rows in front, separated from the rest of the family, that was most irritating. Luckily a nice woman swapped seats so we could all sit in a row (the Boeing 717 seating configuration is three/two).

One hour fifteen minutes later we arrived at Adelaide, picked up two large suitcases, two smaller bags, two car seats and a stroller. Yep, it was one heck of a load. Nan and Grandad were waiting (in two cars) when we arrived and it was a pleasant trip home watching an overhead storm throw down massive lightning bolts all around us!

We then had a very relaxing and enjoyable time, some days doing nothing, other days heading to the beach (Moana and Glenelg). Mum and Dad (and Addi) even got a night away at the Stamford Grand as a Christmas present.

Christmas day was a huge success - especially for the boys, who each got a new iPad Air 2 64gb. Very generous grandparents! 

All too soon it was December 26 and time to head home. Everything went smoothly (aside from the bumpy flight!), and the mighty SV6 was waiting for us in the long-stay car park to get us home in comfort.

Addi's first christmas

BIG hugs when you give iPads for christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Aloha! Our Hawaii adventure...

Aloha - such a happy sounding word, used when greeting or parting from someone - and it was well used over the past week, with even the boys saying Aloha! and Mahalo!

Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200

Our adventure began last Sunday afternoon, where we jumped into the SV6 and headed for Sydney to catch a 2120 flight to Oahu.

Luckily the flight wasn't full, and we had a row free in front of us; Mum moved there with Addi with the hope of putting Addi to sleep in the seats next to her - but this plan failed, and Mum held Addi for the entire 10 hour journey (luckily Addi slept for most of it). Linc slept in the row with Mum, and Carter took the three seats next to Dad. Nobody got a decent sleep, but the boys fared better than Mum and Dad. All too soon, it was over; okay, it felt like eternity, but that's Economy class for you.

We arrived in Oahu at 1020am Hawaii time, found our bags, passed through Customs and were onto the Shuttle Bus off to the Embassy Suites by Hilton - a beautiful 4.5 star hotel. We checked in, dumped our gear and then headed to have a look at Waikiki beach and have lunch at the local park near the US War Museum.

Waikiki Beach

Monday morning we headed to the beach and, although it was raining, had a wonderful time with the boys learning to tread water. On the way back from the beach we wandered through some of the shops in Waikiki before heading back to the hotel to shower, get changed and catch the Pink Line trolley to Ala Moana Centre (the largest open-air shopping centre in the world, and seventh largest shopping mall in the United States). Linc was thrilled to find the Tesla shop, and we went mad in Macys and the Disney Store.

Linc in a Tesla

Tuesday we hired a Dodge Grand Caravan (minivan) and headed to the North of the Island. We stopped for a crepe lunch in Hale'iwa and had a wander through the galleries, where we fell in love with the volcano photos (mounted on aluminium) by G. Brad Lewis Photography (Volcanoman). We bought two of the lava flow from Mount Kilauea flowing into the sea.

We also stopped at Turtle Beach to see the big waves (although we didn't know it was Turtle Beach at the time!) and also stopped at Waimea Beach where mad people were surfing on the biggest waves we've ever seen. We were in awe of the massive mountain range, lush with greenery and understood why Jurassic Park was filmed there - it truly was prehistoric!

Wednesday after yet another late breakfast (about 10am) we headed to Diamond Head crater to the do the climb to the summit. It wasn't a particularly hot day, but it was definitely hot enough for everyone to work up a really good sweat, and poor Linc got quite crook from the exertion. From there we went to Halona Blowhole and saw our first Green Sea Turtles! We then headed off to find Turtle Beach in the hope of seeing turtles on the beach; after some confusion over where Turtle Beach actually was, we discovered it was where we first stopped on the Tuesday to watch the big waves. And no turtles, given the waves were so huge... Then it was off to the Waikele Outlet Centre to do some lightning fast shopping given the rental car was due back by 1930hrs...! After a pretty successful shop (on Dad's side at least!) we got the rental back with five minutes to spare! Then it was off for our first of two meals at P.F. Changs - a very upmarket chinese restaurant with amazingly good food.

Waimea Beach

Big waves on Waimea Beach

Thursday Mum and Dad were up early (again) and headed to the airport, leaving all three kids with Gran and Pop (thankyou!). We had booked a flight to Hawaii (the big island), landing in Hilo where we had booked a rental car (Toyota Corolla) and a Volcano and Waterfall Extreme flight with Paradise Helicopters. When we arrived to collect the rental we were asked if we wanted an upgrade for $30USD... to a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro V8 convertible! Of course it was accepted and the excitement levels were raised about 500 per cent to think we would spend the day driving around in a Camaro and flying in a helicopter over the Hawaiian volcanos!

2017 Chevrolet Camaro RS (455bhp 8 speed paddle-shift auto)

Puʻu ʻŌʻō vent

61g lava flow entering the ocean (you can just spot the glowing lava)

Fumes mark the path of the lava tube taking lava to the ocean

Puʻu ʻŌʻō vent

Kilauea

Kilauea (cropped)

The helicopter flight was amazing, and we even flew right over the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone, which was filled with boiling lava! We also witnessed the lava flow (called 61g) entering the ocean, resulting in billowing steam and numerous explosive events as the magma made contact with the water.

After the helicopter flight we high-tailed it to Kilauea and the steam vents - again, just amazing. Unfortunately we only had about 15 minutes at Kilauea before we had to head back to the airport on the advice of the rental car people and Hawaiian airlines website which said we had to be at the airport two hours before our flight (which we are still very unsure about, as all we did was wait around till the flight, wasting time we could have spent going to the Lava Tube!) We arrived back home slightly later than scheduled and boy were the kids happy to see us (especially Addi!), and I suspect so were the grandparents!

On Friday were up a little earlier than usual, had a hearty breakfast, and headed to Waikiki beach. The water was beautiful, the weather was perfect and spending time in the sea with the family was one of the highlights of the trip - just so relaxing and so much fun! We then headed back to the hotel, showered and had some golden arches for lunch (at least it was relatively cheap!). After another spot of shopping we headed back to the hotel where the kids hit the hotel swimming pool and the adults enjoyed complimentary drinks and snacks. Then it was back to PF Changs for dinner - such good food! Oh, I should have mentioned Addi had a fever from wednesday night which we were treating with Dymadon; this fever lasted until Saturday morning, but went away just before we boarded the plane! But all in all, she coped quite well.

Diamond Head Summit

Mongoose at Diamond Head

Addi having a well earned drink after the hike up Diamond Head Summit

Saturday morning marked the end of our holiday. After an early breakfast, we got the Roberts Hawaii shuttle to the airport and waited, waited, waited to board our flight. Hard to say which flight was worse - the overnight journey, or the return day journey... try entertaining a 9 month old in a cramped seat for 10.5 hours.... Then it was back in the SV6 for a very wet and very windy drive home (all three kids slept the entire journey - even Mum had a few power naps!), getting in to Canberra just before midnight (about 2.30am Hawaii time). All in all a very successful trip, albeit an exhausting one, with nowhere near enough relaxation time and a general feeling that there was so much that we didn't get to do! Oh well, next time!

All too soon, it was time to hit the road - bye Honolulu!