Beach Time

The first couple days in Hawaii, Finley played on the beach by our hotel.  We built sandcastles and did some kayaking.  Finley was much more brave in the sand here than she was in Nevis last year.  Yesterday we visited the beach at Kikaua Point.  Clifton did some snorkeling while Finley and I played in the water and the sand. The best thing about beaches in Hawaii is that they are all public. Even in the fanciest of resorts, there is still access to the beach. This means you aren't tied to your hotel and you can really explore. I think we found our perfect beach today at Mauna Kea, pictures to come of that soon. Finley has really been enjoying the ocean this trip.  She has also really loved swimming in the pool (without noodles!)  She is finally ready to show off her swimming skills, it has been amazing to watch her gain the confidence to swim.

Early Morning

Because we all fell asleep by 9 pm (2 am our time) our first night in Hawaii, we woke before 6 am and headed out for breakfast.  Here are some cute pictures of Finley in her Pineapple-tails.

Aloha!

Yesterday morning, we woke Finley up just after 5 am to head to the airport for our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii.  We flew to Denver, had a two hour layover and then it was direct to Kona.  Finley had her first experience in the United Club during the layover, she was a big fan of the blueberry muffins.  Finley did great on the two hour flight to Denver, but I was nervous about the 7 hour flight to Kona.  Finley was fantastic!  She has become a pro at travelling and even took a nice nap on the flight.  We played the halfway to Hawaii game, colored, stickered and watched a couple episodes of Dora the rest of the time.  Finley didn't even watch a movie!  At the airport, a gentleman gave Finley an orchid lei. We got our rental Jeep and headed over to the resort for some swimming.  Those pictures are on our waterproof camera, so I will post them later.  Finley was full of energy and so very excited to be in Hawaii.  We headed out to dinner  after some beach time, with the time change it was nearly midnight in Finley's world.  She ended up eating one grape and was carried back to our room, she had hit her limit!

Chuck-E-Cheese

Finley made her first visit to Chuck-E-Cheese last week with her friends Max and Patrick.  Finley had so much fun on all the rides and playing the games.  She and Max both got grasshoppers as prizes.  Fun!

Go Texans!

On Sunday, we had tickets to watch the Texans defeat the Miami Dolphins. We had suite tickets for one of the large endzone party suites, which much to Finley's dismay, doesn't include the helmet sundae ice cream cart. Daddy saved the day and got her a dish of cookies and cream from the concession stand outside. It really helps to have a never ending stream of snacks for the game. She feasted on fruit, flautas, chips, tortillas, popcorn and more. But her most favorite snack was actually cracking the peanuts for Clifton, even though she didn't eat any of the peanuts. She cracked the peanuts for a least a quarter. She did really great during the game and made it until the end. She was very happy to get a program and a foam finger. It's football time in Houston!

Return to Dance

There is a fantastic dance program at Finley's school. So we finally abandoned Kings (yay!) and now Finley gets to dance with her friends from school. There are 12 girls in her class with three teachers, which is just amazing. Finley has had two classes so far and she is loving it (more than swim and gymnastics!) She especially loves tap. All the little girls are to wear their hair in buns, which I am still trying to master with her crying and her fine hair. Finley didn't want to wear her new skirt for the first class, but after she saw that most little girls we wearing skirts, she asked to wear hers for the second class.

Swim "Fin"ley, Swim!

Finley's Second Wedding

Our family friends (they are cousins of some sort, I think) got married this past weekend.  Finley was so excited to attend another wedding.  Finley was most excited for the cake and the dancing.  She even got her daddy to do the chicken dance with her.  There were tons of kids at the wedding, which made things so much fun.  They each got favor bags full of fun stuff for kids: a feather boa, a light up wand, glowing bracelets and rings.  Congratulations to Becky and Larry, we were so happy to share this special day with you.

Galveston

On Saturday, we headed down to Galveston for lunch at the Black Pearl. We were all sad to hear that they are no longer serving hushpuppies, but Finley made up for it by eating a ton of shrimp and red beand & rice. Since she ate such a good lunch, we headed over to La Kings sweet shop. Finley had her choice of candy or ice cream, of course she picked pink ice cream. Last time we were there, she picked candy.

Fire Museum

We were supposed to have playgroup at the Fire Museum last week, but it turned out we were the only people who could make it, so we invited Grandad out to spend the morning with us there. Finley absolutely loved the Fire Museum. There was a whole children's room in the back area with a fire pole, truck, house and even a fireman's uniform to wear. Finley loved wearing the uniform. She was shy about it at first, but once we found boots that fit her, she was a happy camper.  Finley did not want to leave!  She must take after Grandad.

Happy Labor Day!

I hope everyone is having a fun Labor Day.  We spent the day on the boat, we met up with Grammy and Grandad in Kemah for some splash pad fun.  We took the boat out to Galveston Bay to see if we could spot dolphins, but we were not lucky enough to see any today. We thought we might get some tubing in, but the pump got left at home on accident...whoops. Miss F is now napping away after a fun weekend with Daddy home for three days straight!

Children's Museum Visit

Finley actually took a nap at school, though it was only 30 minutes, a nap is a nap. And so I rewarded her with a visit to the Children's Museum. I hope that makes this school year better than the last as far as naps go. I promised her rewards of fun if she actually naps at school. Finley had a blast at the grocery store and we even ran into Coach Courtney from gymnastics. He said it was his second day working at CMH and I cannot imagine anyone more perfect for the job, though I will be sad he if he is no longer at HGA.I don't think Finley recognized him without his gymnastics gear on. After the grocery, we made some shape artwork and worked in the vet's office for a bit. Finley thought one dog was a raccoon, which was quite adorable. She would use the stethoscope to listen to the animal hearts and put her ear up to them as well, what a cutie! Finally, we visited the commodities exchange where Finley became a commodity trader. She made $116 in sugar in three minutes...wonder if there are any openings at her dad's office...

First Day of Dance Class

After two years of dance with Kings, it was time for a change.  There is a fantastic dance program right at Finley's school, so I was excited to sign Finley up for it.  There are 12 little girls in the class, including a few girls from Finley's class last year.  Finley had a great time at dance, she did amazingly well.  In a couple weeks, I will grab more pictures of her actually in class. I am still trying to get used to moving from our lazy summer to fall with school, gymnastics, swim lessons and dance.

First Day of School

Finley is back in school today, I cannot believe it is already time for her second year of school! She has a new teacher, Miss Madison, and Miss Jackie is assisting her class again, so there is a familiar face as well. Finley was so excited to go to school, her daddy and I dropped her off this morning and there wasn't a single tear. She really loves school, I hope that love continues. Here is a look back at last year's first day of school. I think it is really cute that she wanted Meerkat in her pictures again with her this morning.

Playdate with Max

Max came over today to play with Finley. The two of them are absolutely hysterical together. The games they come up with are so fascinating. Finley and Max were wrapping presents for each other, serving each other food from the grill and sending each other to time out. They really have a special relationship. We have Thursday as our new set playdate day since Max and Finley will no longer be in school together. 

Happy Birthday Grandad!

On Monday we headed to Clear Lake for swimming, pulled pork sandwiches, cake, ice cream and to celebrate Grandad's birthday. Finley was quite proud of the card she had made for Grandad. Finley has gotten very good at writing her own name, but she had a bit of trouble trying to copy Grandad.

At the Ranch

Grandma sent over a few pictures of Finley at the ranch. Finley was too scared to ride the tractor because it was too loud, but she was very happy to hang out in the chicken coop.

A Family Trip to the Museum

On Friday we met up with Uncle Walter, Aunt Sidnoye, Grandma, Aunt Rose and cousin Faith at the Museum of Natural Science to check out the dinosaurs.  Aunt Rose and Faith had to head home before I was able to snap a picture of the whole family.  Finley was super excited to take everyone to the temple upstairs, it is still her favorite place to visit.  Finley's favorite part of the new Paleontology Hall is the petrified wood displays, she ran around in circles in there for a bit.

Happy Birthday, Samantha!

Last weekend we went over to Samantha's house to celebrate her fourth birthday party. I cannot believe Finley's friends are turning four! They are all growing up so fast. There was a bouncy house, Chick-fil-a nuggets and snow cones. Finley was a very happy party goer. Ariel, The Little Mermaid, came to sing at the party with Prince Eric.

Finley's First Musical

The Lion King is playing at Hobby Center this summer. Neither Clifton nor I had seen it, but his co-workers said it was great for kids. I was a bit nervous about Finley making it through the nearly three hour show, but she did great. The opening song with all the animals parading through the theater had Finley entranced. She sat on my lap the entire time so she could see everything. We had great seats in the first row of the mezzanine, so she was able to see very well. I think she may have nodded off a bit towards the end, but once all the animals were out again, she was wide awake. During intermission she selected a Zazu bird to take home. At the start of the second act, there were women all over the theater flying birds on sticks, Finley flew her Zazu too! Finley did so well that we went ahead and ordered tickets for Beauty and the Beast in September.

Is it Halloween Yet?