So much going on!

Wow, have we been busy the last few weeks.

After finding out about Marc's dad, the four of us booked tickets on a plane to Belgium. Let me tell you, I was not excited to spend 14 + hours on a plane with a 5 year old and a 7 year old. What was I going to do with them? I wanted to sleep, relax, take it easy before dealing with the trials of the family and a funeral! Well, we packed books, games, cards, crayons, markers, stuffed toys, everything we could think of to keep them busy. But my friend, Lori, offered up her kids Leapsters and a ton of games. So, we took those, too....We should have left the other things at home and saved ourselves the hassle of an extra suitcase! The Leapsters are GREAT for planes! Did I say GREAT! Yes, I mean they are GREAT!

Emma was entertained the entire time. Gracie slept, ate, drank, and played with the Leapster! It was awesome. Thank you Lori!!!

Belgium was as we expected, except the weather. It was hot and humid the whole time we were there. On the day of the funeral, I think it was 90 degrees. I opted to not put tights on the girls, who were going in black dresses, but white ankle socks. It was still dang hot, though. But we got through it and the girls were great. Gracie asked a ton of questions at the funeral like, "Is Papa in the box? Is he by himself? Did the angels come down and take his soul? Is she scared?" Emma didn't say a word and still hasn't talked about it.

The rest of the week was spent with aunts, uncles, and cousins. We all went to dinner one night at a local brasserie (I got mussels and fries, my favorite meal!) in the forest that had a playground and some domestic deer. 

The girls had a nice time with their cousins, Tui, Sally, Pauline, and Leander.

 

It was so nice for them to have a few days to spend with them and get to know them. The girls never see cousins or any relatives very often. I kind of regret living so far away....

The second vacation we took was to Hawaii's Big Island. I often wondered what the big deal was about going to Hawaii. It's boring. Nothing to do but lay at the beach, blah, blah, blah. NOT on this island! We couldn't fit in all the things we wanted to do. The first couple of days was spent doing absolutely nothing as we were all jet-lagged. But we did go to a nearby beach that was beautiful.

The girls loved looking for shells as I tried to hone my photography skills!

After a couple of days, we were ready to go, go, go! We drove around the north part of the island, went horseback riding, saw some waterfalls, and on the last day went on a snorkel trip! 

We also saw killer pygmy whales, spinner dolphins, sea turtles, and tons of colored fish. It was so much fun! Oh, and did I mention the water slides at the hotel? I think Gracie is our next X-games star as she went down the big slide about  a zillion times in every position imaginable! 

Last, but not the least, we saw a lot of sunsets, being on the West coast of the big island. I have about 200 shots, but will only share a few. Mahalo!