Our New House Part 1

I am sure you have heard the amazing God story about our house. So these are photos of the house we are buying. We are excited to soon be in a home of our own again.

NANA & PAPA Came to Visit!

One day we decided to take Brandon's parents up country. Because they have been to Maui so many times, we thought we would show them some places they had not seen. Little did we know our trip to up -country would be such a long adventure! We began the day by stopping by the sugar cane museum....thinking it would be a free educational moment about Maui. Nope, our education cost $7 dollars per person to walk through three little rooms. But boy did we learn about Maui! We each walked out with a little packet of raw sugar like you get at Starbucks, hardly worth $7....pricey sugar uh? After the museum we headed on our way to up-country, but suddenly we were heard a really loud noise coming from under the car.... a flat tire! However, nothing would stop the Smiths! On the side of a country road, the boys replaced the flat with our spare and we were off once more! (I wish we had taken a photo of that!) In up-country we stopped at a cute store where we had elk buggers and hot dogs for lunch. (Brody's fav) It really is beautiful up there...another world. I think Brandon stopped the car every ten minutes and he and Laura got out to take photos. (Like mother like son...the whole photography thing runs in the family genes.) They got some great shots. I wish I had more room to post them here. We ended up going to the Lavender Farm were just Laura and I walked around the beautiful gardens, while the men stayed in the car with sleeping children. It was a nice quiet moment for us! The view was beautiful - we could see the other half of Maui. We ended the day,where else?, other then at good old Costco for new tires! There is nobody else we would have rather spent the day with, because we laugh so much when we are all together. Nana and Papa are such a joy to us! Beside, we love our adventures with them because we always end up having such funny stories to tell later!

Nap Time with Brody

One of the most specialfmoments I get to share with Brody, being a stay at home mom, is nap time. It is just us. Sissy is always asleep first, so Brody and I read, talk and just cuddle a bit before he nap. He always asks, "Mommy, can you stay with me a while...just a few minutes?" It is hard to say no to that....one day we were just cuddling and talking and I was just staring at Brody thinking...."take a mental picture, he isn't going to be this little forever!" So i jumped up and took a real photo. He is the coolest & cutest little buddy ever! I am overwhelmed how blessed I am to share these moments. Thanks, God ,and thank you, Brandon!

Amy's Family Visits

In July my parents and Grandparents came to visit. It was so much fun! We went swimming at the pool every day and Brody got jelly beans from his Gigi everyday, too! We all went to Flat Bread up on the north shore. It is one of our favorite places for pizza, but it turned out to be a bit too organic for my dad! Ha! It was very special to have my grandparents here from Texas and my parents from California.

Snow in Maui?

One day, as many, the kids are playing down stairs and I am cleaning up stairs. I hear this very loud giggling.... and I see a it- snow in Maui! As I peer into Brookie's room, baby powder EVERY WHERE! I asked, "Hey what are you two monkeys doing?"....Brody replies-"Mama, we are just making it snow. It's OK, don't worry about it!" Brooklyn puts her arms in the air and shouts, "Yeah!" Oh, my, how my monkeys love to make mischief together! I note to myself these are the moments that make everything else worth it. Remember this Amy! "Don't worry about it, Mama! It's just snow!"-Brody 3 years old!

Brooklyn & Shoes

"Shoe Mama...shoe Mama!" she says holding up my running shoes. Brooklyn and her SHOES!!!!She loves them...her own, mine, Brody's slippers or Dada's flip flops-she is always trying to move in them. As if she doesn't have a hard enough time walking by herself without tripping! But, hey, you can't keep a girl from her shoe fetish!

Brody's Fish

Brody's best buddy Logan gave him this fish tank for his birthday! It was the hit! Needless to say it was all he has talk about for months, because we told him he would have to wait until we moved to Maui to get a fish. Once we arrived, he had to set it up asap. So ,we did and we went to Walmart as soon as we could to buy fish....unfortunately, they died soon after. Brody had to learn the hard way that you can't hold fish like you can a kitty, turtle, gecko, or even dog. So, it was a very sad day for Brody. Need you folks worry, it wasn't long that we were back at Walmart buying another fish! He was so excited that he fell asleep next to the tank and his new fish....oh, Buddy! He now has learned fish NEED water to live.