Hawaii, Part 1

After a late night packing, cleaning, and organizing travel information, we left early Saturday morning for Maui.  We had not flown out of Manhattan before, but will definitely do so whenever we can in the future.  So easy!  And I'm sure we haven't even experienced the best part--a five-minute drive home. The only downside was paying for a heavy bag and somewhere between Manhattan and Maui, our suitcase met its match.  Oh well, an extra pocket.

We figured we may as well go for the fun car instead of the cheap car.  Who knows if we will ever come to Hawaii again.  It's been fun cruising around in the Mustang, but it does feel like I'm sitting on the ground.

We've had some good food since we've been here.  I'm not a seafood fan in the least, so my choices are more limited, but I feel like I went out on a limb and tried a salad with "hearts of palm."  Yes, from the palm tree.

But when it really comes down to it, I'm a simpleton and these Cheez-Its may have been the best $5 I've spent so far.

Our first hotel in Maui was the Four Seasons in Wailea.  It was amazing--the views, the amenities, the service!  We've never stayed in a hotel where it isn't even an option to park your own car, carry your own bag, or get your own ice, etc.  The workout facility was first rate and open air so you could watch the sunrise (yes, we've been up by 6:00 AM everyday, can't shake the habit).

Lots of beautiful scenery, fancy plants, and weird art :)

We left Wailea yesterday and headed to Hana via the scenic "Road to Hana."  Four hours to cover maybe 50 miles.... actually broke out the good camera so more pictures from that later.  In Hana, we met up with everyone to actually celebrate the wedding of Casey and Liz.  It's much more remote, with no TV's, air conditioning, or wi-fi in the rooms.  Now, on to the beach...

Blue & Silver

Miles has been dying to have a colored mohawk (because Jimmy from school has one).  I managed to talk him out of going to Target with me, but promised I'd call him and let him know what color hair spray they had in the Halloween section.  He chose silver and Owen chose blue.  They both wanted to keep it blue for the field trip on Monday, but Mom and Dad decided it was a weekend thing.  We did make a Dick's run with three blue-mohawked kids in mismatched clothes (and two parents who looked just as bad).  Luckily we didn't see anyone we knew.

Apple to Capital

Catching up.... a couple of weeks ago a few of us girls completed the 73.8 mile relay run from Manhattan to Topeka via Linear Trail, Highway 24, plenty of small towns, and tons of backroads.  It was a lot of fun hanging out between exchange zones and navigating the "car" path to Topeka which included some roads labeled "low maintenance" road.  We ended up 6th out of 21 teams, first for the all-girl teams--even won some stocking hats :)  Now I need to get a fall race picked out... 

View from some from one of the backroads.  Thankfully it wasn't muddy or some of the roads may have been off limits.  Kind of felt like we were in "The Amazing Race."

Out with the Old...

and in with the new...iPhone 5.  Adam has been stalking this phone since it was in the idea stage.  Fortunately he was at AT&T early enough on Friday morning to get one.  Side note--he did get up in the middle of the night to pre-order last week from Apple, but the time he wasted looking up our plan bumped him into the "you'll get your phone next week" group.  So now he has one in hand and one on the way.  Go figure.

KSU

Football seasons (KSU, MHS, and the boys' flag football teams) are in full swing and we are trying to take in as much as we can.  Adam and the big boys went to the KSU vs. North Texas game with cousin Ryan last night and had a great time.  

Graham on his way to the first tailgate of the season.  He spent most of his time pushing around a toy lawn mower that some neighboring tailgaters weren't using.

 The kids and friends enjoying the taco bar.

 Getting ready to head out to the Bill.  Yes, Miles picked out his all purple outfit :)

And this shot is more indicative of their normal behavior.  Ready for a K-State victory!

Pinterest #30

Tasty.  Salty (which is probably why I liked it and the kids thought it was so-so).  Definitely fast and easy.  Threw the meat/mix/sauce together in less than three minutes before running out the door to school.

Crock Pot Sliders

Pinterest #29

Two thumbs up for each of these--fast, easy, tasty.  I'm not a big "make-your-own-granola" kind of person, but this was too easy to pass up (no weird powders or odd organic ingredients).  The kids and Adam loved it!

PB Granola

Taco Casserole

Pinterest #28

Very tasty!  And they actually looked like this too.  Graham asked for seconds.  Try these!

Roasted Mustard Potatoes

1st and 4th

These two freaks started school on Tuesday this week... both were really happy with their teachers (and friends that ended up in same class).  This is as cute as I could get them to dress for the first day--they about gagged when I suggested khaki shorts.  "But Mom, we aren't going to church today!"  

For Graham a backpack = school (the bigs got fancy Under Armour bags, he got the free with purchase bag from Old Navy).  He's back to full days at KSU but always asking if he can get out with Owen and Miles instead.

CBE = Hit

We decided to take the kids on a day trip to KC before I head back to school next week.  It's been a long time since the five of us did something together without having a schedule/having to meet someone/having extra kids or minus a kid.  None of us had ever been to the "College Basketball Experience" so we decided to check it out.  Total hit with the boys!  Since there was hardly anyone there they were able to spend a lot of time shooting, dunking, passing, announcing, etc.  The $9 kid's ticket easily paid for itself with the Pop-A-Shot alone.  

Even Graham had fun.  Since it wasn't crowded we didn't have to keep him glued to our hip; he enjoyed the freedom to pick up balls and throw them, line them up, put them away, repeat.

Poor photo quality, but had to include one of the many dunks.  He and Adam worked a long time trying to get the ally-oop (sp).

I hope Owen's feet stop growing at some point--I don't know if I want a Shaq in the house :)

Pinterest #27

I could live on sandwiches and salads, so I like finding good variations on each.  If you follow the link for the wraps, she has a whole list of possible fillings.  Some sound awful, but most sound really good.  I chose the chicken and avocado...yum...wasn't sure about the sweet chili sauce since I found it in the Asian cooking section (not a fan of Chinese, Thai, etc. food), but it added just the right flavor mixed with the other things.  

 CHICKEN AND AVOCADO

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

Great salad--fresh and light with a great flavor! Owen had three bowls!  I used the prepared grilled chicken, but would be even better with real grilled chicken.  The dressing was made with Greek yogurt which I had never bought.  It worked well in the dressing, although I'm not sure I'd eat it plain.  The kids even liked the dressing as a dip for vegetables/crackers.  

Red Eyes

Miles has been having all kinds of sleep issues lately:  bad/weird dreams (Newman biting him mainly), sleepwalking (which means he has to go to the bathroom), and trouble getting back to sleep (which means he wants to sleep with us).  The funny part is that he worries about getting red eyes if he doesn't fall asleep right away.  And he's very serious.  He came in at 4:00 AM the other night and asked, "If I sleep for half the night and am awake for half the night, will I have red eyes?"  Oh Miles, you are such a silly boy!

Pinterest #26

Hit and miss.... finally tried this crock pot pizza casserole.  It had similar ingredients as another pizza casserole we all really liked, so I was hoping that it would be as good.  Then we could replace the other casserole with this one since this is made without cooking the noodles first (red flag) and cooks in the crockpot.  Very dry, some crusty noodles mixed with a gummy mix of noodles/meat/sauce/cheese, not exactly the kind of leftovers you look forward to the next night.

 Crock Pot Pizza Casserole

On the other hand, this taco pizza was fabulous.  I'm always leery about crescent rolls for crusts since I've had experiences where it doesn't cook through and we end up eating dough.  I left the onions and olives off one half so I didn't have to hear, "Gross, what's that?"  Served it with lettuce and taco sauce, very good.

Taco Pizza

Pinterest #25

Two TASTY recipes...  Neither of these are my pictures, but my versions DID look just like these.  We all loved the casserole.  Owen ate three helpings!  Plus it made enough for two meals.

 Loaded Potato Buffalo Chicken Casserole

Can you really go wrong with cream cheese, dried beef and dill pickles?  Not in my world.

Pickle Dip

"Vacation"

I took the kids to Omaha for a few days (we'll call this their vacation).  It's always a little bittersweet to go back.  Although I love Manhattan, I still miss my Papio teachers.  As usual we stayed with the Boudreau's.  The kids had a blast with Olivia, Ben and Sam.  We swam, went to Orange Leaf, made friendship bracelets, had a French braiding tutorial for Lori, shopped/had a 3+ hour lunch with the girls (while one of my all-time favorite students/cheerleaders baby-sat), stalked the old house, played some intense kickball, lost a tooth, and trashed their house/ate all their food before heading home today.  I think I have three tired boys on my hands.

Pinterest #24

Tasty side dishes!  All five of us like cucumbers (strange for three boys to like cucumbers, isn't it?) so this was a nice way to make a cucumber into a pseudo-side dish.  Cucumbers, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and topped with chili powder.  

The kids don't care for "regular" potato salad, but everyone liked this one.  Adam grilled steaks and this side dish was the only other thing we needed.  I'd consider it a meal in itself, but the pigs in my house expect meat.  Mine wasn't quite this decorative, but very tasty... and of course, you guessed it... EASY!  Adam even said this was as good as my mom's potato salad (although if she made the same one it would probably be better :)

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

T-Ball (2 Down, 1 To Go)

Miles' T-ball team (Astros) wrapped up their season this week.  He really liked playing and is eager to move onto coach pitch next year.  His favorite positions were pitcher and 1st base since you get the most action playing these spots.  All of the grounders he takes in the street in front of our house paid off in the games.  So long T-ball; we'll be back in four years!

Graham spent most of his T-ball time covering/feeding himself with shaved ice that they sell in a little trailer out at Optimist.  Definitely the best $1 spent this summer.  Owen usually watched the games from the sideline, giving Miles "tips."

Wildcat Creek

We have taken complete advantage of our membership at Wildcat Creek this summer.  Owen and Miles are old enough that they can go use the putt-putt course, batting cages, and driving range independently while I work out (or watch them from the sidelines).  I bet we've been through a hundred batting cage tokens!  For $35 per month, it's a GREAT deal for these sports-minded boys!

Pinterest #23

Sharla and I have continued our friendly exchanges.  Recently we both recreated something found on the other's Pinterest boards....  I think these are especially good projects!

Sharla had this jewelry organizer pinned.  Well, I just happened to have an old printer's drawer that I wasn't totally in love with anymore (at least how I was using it) and decided to give it new life.

Before and after:  I went for more turquoise/less aqua and also chose to distress it and leave the old hardware intact.  I didn't include the cheap looking dowel rod across the bottom, but did add some hooks for necklaces.  I don't have any earrings (maybe I should pierce my ears??) or rings (not my thing) so this wouldn't work as well for my million bracelets and necklaces.  I added a few things just to take a low quality "after" photo.  I think it does the same job as the $89 + tax and shipping version on Etsy!

I had pinned these mercury glass lamps, not necessarily for the lamps, but for the tutorial on "fake mercury."  Sharla made me this glass jar (also a candlestick, currently in hiding from Graham) using the Krylon looking glass paint.  Love it!

If I didn't teach, I'd look for a job whose description included:  "researching" and recreating ideas from blogs and Pinterest while your kids trash the house and ask how much longer until swimming/if they can have friends over/eat more snacks/use my phone/download something from iTunes.....

Finally!

Yes, we are the loser only family in Manhattan that had not yet been to City Pool.  We finally took the boys yesterday and they had a great time.  I thought this bouncy hemisphere was the coolest thing there.  Miles bounced off of it over and over.  I so badly wanted to try it out--is there an age cap?