My 4 Year Old

i'm not sure how it happened, but it did.  my sweet girl turned 4!  it's hard to imagine that it has been that long.  but, at the same time, it seems like it's gone by in the blink of an eye.  (okay, maybe not that fast...but still).

what's a birthday without a happy meal, right?  that's where mae chose to go to eat.  so, of course we took her.

that afternoon she wanted to go to the culture center, so we headed over there to see some shows.  she has learned a lot about so many cultures. her favorite thing she's learned is the "shaka" (the hang 10 hand symbol).  she can tell you the story behind it as well.

we got lots of birthday calls, texts, facetimes, and emails.  she is so blessed to have so many people that love her!  she enjoyed opening her presents from her grandparents over FaceTime.  modern technology is amazing.

since we didn't know very many people, we decided not to go the big old birthday party route.  we let mae pick a few people that she wanted to invite over for cake and ice cream.  we are so blessed to know some wonderful people here already, that helped to make her day super special.  she was very specific about her cake.  she wanted a chocolate cake with blue icing (like the ocean because she has a thing for mermaids right now). 

i'm so grateful to my heavenly father for blessing me with this sweet girl.  she is smart, sassy, caring, gentle and kind.  she is a wonderful big sister, and is always looking out for izzy and others.  she has an amazing imagination, and never ceases to amaze me. 

aloha

wow, i'm totally stinking at keeping this thing updated.  in my defense, it's been crazy. and because stuff can go bad quickly here, we've been keeping the computer at cody's office where there is AC.

we've been getting used to the island life. still trying to get settled and figure everything out.  our stuff finally arrived last week! it was so wonderful to sleep in my own bed.  I cried a little as I was unpacking our very few things that we brought.  it made me homesick.  but, I continue to receive confirmation that this is where our little family is supposed to be right now.

when we go into town to go to the store, we try to make a day of it.  i needed to go to Costco, so i took the girls to the Ko'olina lagoons that are near Costco.  when you have to drive almost an hour to get to the store, you have to try and do something fun too!

 these girls LOVE to swim.  i have been so surprised with how quickly they learned to love the ocean.

izzy always puts on a show for the neighbors.  if she could be naked all the time, she would.  i'm pretty sure the neighbors don't even know what she looks like with clothes on.

there was a little fair at the hotel near us, and we decided to check it out one Saturday afternoon.  there were some little rides, and mae wanted to go on one.  i wasn't sure she would enjoy it, but i was wrong.  she was in heaven.  i'm hoping she grows up to be a roller coaster rider with me!

the Polynesian Culture Center has quickly become a favorite for the girls.  we bought yearly passes, and i'm pretty sure they've lost money on us with how many times we have gone.  they love to watch all of the shows and see all the different islands that are there.  it really is amazing.  one thing i knew i wanted when we came here was for them to be exposed to all different cultures and people, and they really have.

there are payphones everywhere here.  and no matter how many times we've seen one, we always have to stop so the girls can play with them.

we had our first jellyfish sting a couple weeks ago.  it was pretty bad.  i had to pull the tentacles out of her.  it wrapped around her belly her arm and her leg.  she screamed like there was no tomorrow.  this girl has always been a tad dramatic, but wow.  i could not believe how loud and long she screamed.  it was awful.  and she just kept saying "mom it hurts me so bad, help me".  luckily our friend that we met there lived close and we got some white vinegar and Vaseline on it.  now she can say she's a local.

kids are so resilient.  she was back in the water a few days later.  we haven't gone back to that beach, she points it out every time we drive past.  but, she hasn't let that stop her. 

island life

the flight here...ugh. I survived...by the skin of my teeth.  never again do I want to make that flight by myself with and 18 month old and a three year old. never again.

so, for any of you who want to know, or have never lived in Hawaii, here are some things I've learned thus far...

1. no AC means fans out the wazoo, mae frequently takes breaks to "get the sweat off"

2. it also means open windows.  which means lots of noise from the highway, as well as hopes that the neighbors don't hear your screaming kids...or you screaming at your kids

3. roosters...EVERYWHERE.  yes. and they don't crow just in the morning. oh no.  it's all night long.

4. tiny tiny houses.  so, lots of outdoor activities.  and a bonus, those nets on the trampolines are not as silly as I once thought them to be.

5. lizards and bugs. lizards=good, bugs=bad

6. things are expensive.  don't take for granted the price of food at your local grocery store!  or, how easy it is for you to just run to target or Walmart.

7. our washer and dryer are outside...yep. 

8. lots and lots of salt air, which means stuff rusts pretty fast.  like, my razor that I opened right when I got here, yeah, rusted already.

that's what I've learned so far.  I've also learned how beautiful it is.  I have not yet gotten used to or tired of the beauty that surrounds me.

or the adventures that we get to have while we're here.

our crazy summer

summer went by in a blur for us.  when we decided to take the offer at BYU-H, we had 6 weeks until the semester started...6 weeks!! so, a majority of our time was spent going through everything we own multiple times, making more trips to goodwill and food pantries than I can to count, buying boxes, packing things up, selling things we knew we wouldn't take, getting our house ready to list and show, keeping our house clean for all the showings, shipping cars, buying Hawaiian shirts, sending my hubby off and being by myself for three weeks and who knows what else. 

we knew we wouldn't need our winter clothes, so, my parents (and coleman) offered to let us store them at their house for the time being.  so, cody and mae took an impromptu road trip to Virginia to take our stuff.  mae is a good little traveler, and had such a great time with cody.  and was so lucky to be able to spend time with grandma and grandpa Baldwin and grandma neely.

I was really sad about this move.  and I cried more than I care to admit.  as I've thought about it, I think its because I had to suck it up and be a grown up without my parents to rely on all the time. because this place is where I really found who I was and what I was made of.  and even though we were a happy family before we moved to Austin, I feel like we truly became a stronger more bonded family because of our time there. 

aaannnnd we (I say we, but I really mean I) dealt with a whole lotta this....

and not just from the 18 month old monster, but the threenager as well.  and those meltdowns resulted in the following....

our last trip to bucees was a sad one.  if you live in texas or visit texas you HAVE to go.  you will not regret it, and you're welcome in advance.

one last photo op with our fave beaver.

miss iz became miss independent over the summer. she turned 18 months at the beginning of august, and has become a terror. she no longer wants us to feed her, which means there is always a mess to clean, or the mess just travels with her.  she learns lots of things from watching her sister, and has even taught mae a thing or two.  she cries/whines/screams a lot.  a lot.  she's saying a lot more now, her vocab includes pee-pee and poo-poo, which she will sometimes climb onto the toilet and tell you.  she loves to eat, loves books, and especially loves her sister.  you can win her over by giving her an electronic device to play with.

mae wanted to see secret life of pets, so we went with a bunch of friends to see it.  mae loved it, and izzy loved the popcorn.  she especially loved putting her whole head inside the popcorn bag to eat the popcorn.

and we had to say bye to some wonderful people.  mae has some pretty amazing friends, who all have some really amazing mamas. i'm so grateful for the people who loved her while we were there.  I am a better mom because of the friendships that I made while I was there.  it was really hard to watch mae say goodbye.  lots of hugs were involved.  and even some "you're my best friend", "i'll miss you""s were said.  so sad, but so wonderful.
we are so blessed for the time that we had in Austin!!

4th of July

this year we weren't able to have the big party like we did last year, but we still had a blast with our friends who were wonderful enough to invite us to their party!

my aunt got the girls some cute patriotic gear, and mae especially was excited to wear hers.

getting kids to smile and look nice simultaneously is ridiculous.

and this was the best that we got...

oh well. on to the party. 

inflatable water slides for the win! these kids played for so long on these water slides.  even izzy went down!

you will win over this little girls heart if you have food.  I really feel like she eats all day long.  I guess she needs to fill out those little stick legs?

mae is so blessed to have some really amazing friends.  (and i'm even more blessed because I love their moms!) she has so much fun with all the girls in our ward that are her age.  she has made so many wonderful memories with them.  i'm so glad that she has been able to have such great experiences with them! 

these three danced for a while before getting back on the slides.

izzy was ready for bed, so we had to leave the party and head back to our house.  cody still had some black cats from last years fire works, so we set off some of those.  and if you can tell from her expression, mae did not like those at all!

so we just stuck to regular sparklers, and she was in heaven.

they always set off fireworks from the lake by our house, so we got great seats for those!  this was mae's fireworks face.  I know ive said it a million times, but I love being able to experience things again through my kids eyes.  its so much fun, and so special to be able to share these memories with them.

Scholz Reunion in Utah

we decided to have a scholz reunion in Utah when my parents were getting set apart for their mission.  I am so grateful that we were all able to be together and share such a wonderful experience together!

erich and mattie were so gracious to open their home to us...and i'm sure they were so glad when we left and they had some peace.

first up was mae meeting chloe for the first time face to face.  and it was love at first sight.  she was so excited that we were going to Chloe's house, and she wanted to know where she was and what she was doing the whole time we were there.

right when we got there we went straight to park city...we don't mess around. the fun started right then!  I was worried that mae wouldn't want to do anything, or that she would get all the way to the top on the ski lift and not want to ride down.  but I was very mistaken.

this girl had such a blast.  she went down the alpine slide first with gram, and gram couldn't go fast enough!  and then she loved it so much, she went down a second time with her dad.  she also did the roller coaster with me, and we had so much fun!  love her

mae was so great with chloe, and very helpful.  we were all smitten by this adorable baby girl!!

 this was the first time gram had all of her granddaughters together! so special.

 my girls also discovered a love of longboarding down the hills in mattie and Erich's neighborhood.  so much fun.

we were only able to go on one hike while we were there, but it was beautiful.  and mae loved it.

 even if my kids don't remember these experiences, i'm grateful that they've been able to have them.  and that I was able to document them so they can look back on them later in life.

next up was family pictures.  the girls all did surprisingly well!  and we got some super cute shots.  although, I have to say I'm a little disappointed that some of the best pictures are of just uncle coleman with the girls.  what the heck.

and we found some really awesome playgrounds near erich and mattie's house.  mae was in heaven.

we made a trip to the splash pad while we were there and the girls had a great time there as well.  I love that I could go outside at 3pm in Utah and not bake like a toasted cheeser and sweat to death within 5 minutes of being outside. 

um I love this girl

and izzy loved chloe too. 

 this was the face she made when I told her to say cheese...

uncle buck is one of our favorite movies.  it is a gardineer/scholz family classic.  it was on tv while we were there, and I got a shot of mae watching it.  this is why I never have the tv on in our house.  because even if its something she would never like or care about (like a presidential debate or the news) she will sit and watch it if it's on. 

these two.  on Tuesday while we were there.  we were able to go to salt lake with them and meet elder christofferson who set them apart as mission presidents of the Ribeirao Preto Brasil mission.  what a special experience it was.  an amazing spirit was present, and I am so grateful that we were able to be apart of it.

Wednesday we dropped them off at the mtc!  (first off, that place was like a well oiled machine), we didn't have much time at all to say goodbye, but I think that was the point.  hugs and 'I love yous' and 'good lucks' and they were on their merry little way. 

lots of feelings that day.  if I could use every emoji I probably would.  but, the main feelings that I had were love, gratefulness and pride.  proud to have such wonderful people as my parents, grateful that I was blessed to be raised by them in a home of love and honor.  and love because how could you not love these two?

life goes on. and with three littles we had plenty to keep us busy.  mae was originally in the back row, but needed to sit next to chloe. 

we also got to experience uncle Erich's favorite store, scheels.  I was skeptical at first, I mean how great could a sporting goods store be, they're all the same right?  wrong.  this place was pretty awesome.

there are different places around the whole store for photo ops, so, erich and mae won some soccer games.

but, the coolest was the ferris wheel. again, I underestimated my child thinking she wouldn't go on, but I was wrong.  she went on and loved it. next up...roller coasters!!