Deryck has received his Bronze Star!

On the morning of April 28th, Deryck received his Bronze Star from Lt. General Rogers. God provided some really sweet opportunities for Deryck to do some amazing stuff while in Afghanistan. We are especially proud there are 18 less HV individuals and taliban commanders out there to hurt the world. :) The kids got to go to the ceremony with me and it was wonderful to watch Ethan and Rachel share in such a special time for our Dad (plus, they sat really still and were amazingly quiet!) DP, we are so proud of you! Love, S

Sweet pics of the fam

As the months roll by in paradise, the kids are getting so much bigger. I figured I would share some beautiful pics of them from March (that my friend LB took). Rae's rear end picture is probably my most favorite ever. Enjoy!

The Black Family came to visit!

Marc, Leah Beth, Carson, and Nolan made there way to our house in late March. We had a wonderful visit and spent tons of time at the beach. Nolan and Ethan loved to boogie board together (hence the exhaustion pic in the jeep) and Carson spent tons of time on his perch, a boogie board, out of the water and the evil sand. Of course LB and I called it that Carson would LOVE the water and sand the last day and indeed, he did! Us adults even got out for a date night at Duke's down in Waikiki. It was a blast having them here and I can't wait to see their sweet faces again!

When you are tired, you're tired!

Pic #1: Rachel's lunch...but you ask "Where is Rachel?"

Pic #2: Here she is, sleeping on the bench.

We were all done eating lunch, but Rachel the slow poke wasn't. We were talking and getting Ethan down for a nap when we returned and Rae wasn't sitting at the table. Until we walked a little closer and realized that she just fell asleep on the bench with her lunch growing cold. This is proof that children can sleep anywhere!

~Luau time!~

We went to the Paradise Cove Luau with Deryck's Mom and Step-dad this past weekend. Ethan and Rachel got to go on stage and do a hula dance. And as you can tell from the pictures, Rachel LOVED the hula girls. We took a few family pics while we were there...we haven't changed much :)

Some favorite pics of Rae

Note: This last picture she is throwing a huge fit...Deryck took the time to snap a few pics of it. Sure does look like she is sad...but she's not.

Punchbowl Crater

Deryck's mom, Elaine, and her husband, Les, came to visit over the last 9 days. One of the most amazing places we took them was the Punchbowl Crater. It is located just north of Honolulu as you can see from the pic of Rae. It is an old volcanic crater and they made it into the Pacific National Cemetary. It has amazing memorials for all wars/conflicts and beautiful lookouts over the southern part of the island. I can't help but tear up when I come up here. It is probably one of my most favorite places on the whole island.