Just the 3 of us...

Sam had to go on a last minute trip for the week so it is just the 3 girls!

When my whole family is together its hard to find the time to keep this blog updated...but when the hubby is away I have no one to talk to after the girls go to bed, perfect opportunity to keep family, friends and Sam updated.

Today the girls let me sleep in (wonderful gift since we were out late for St. Patty's day last night), but we were up and running in time to watch Daddy's plane taxi away by 9.  I like to treat the girls (and myself) a bit when Sam leaves so we went out to breakfast at a restaurant here on base.  Its just a grille with not great food but the location is awesome.

You can't tell from this picture since that dang sun is always out in Hawaii ruining my pictures ;), but the ocean is right over that grass hill.

Then we fed the fish and waited until it was time for our photo session with a new photographer I found here.  While feeding the fish I received an email that the photog had to cancel because she was sick (sounds to me like she had a case of the "I partied too hard for St. Patty's Day and now I have a hangover".

The girls were already dressed pretty so I decided to take the photos myself :)

Here are a few of my favorites, though these have yet to be photoshopped so they aren't great yet.

Alex is running after the plane saying "that's daddys plane"...its a Hawaiian Airlines jet...I'm sure daddy wishes it was his plane sweetheart.

Hurry home babe :)

Watching Daddy Leave

Daddy was taxiing away from his parking spot at 7pm so I ran the girls outside before scooting them off to bed. Gotta love living on base, we just had to walk across the street!

Aww, let's pretend I didn't have to force them to stand like this. 

They waved goodbye and shouted things like...
"I love you Daddy"-Beau
"I wuv you Danny"-Ali

and...

"Be safe"-Beau
"Don't be safe"-Ali
"No Alex! BE safe!"- Beau
"Ouch! DON HIT ME"-Ali


 It was bed time after all.

Have a fun weekend in Alaska babe! Muah! 

 - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam

Wook Mommy, a Peacwock!

We had a fantastic trip to the zoo yesterday!

...Well, minus the last 15 minutes when Alex broke down from exhaustion and screamed nonstop "NO, I mad at you" and "I dont wanna see the hippows!" followed instantly by "I wanna see the hippows!".  But let's just forget about that for now and remember the good parts.


Alex made a new friend!

This guy was NOT afraid of us!

She had this beaming smile the whole time he was around

Mommy was more scared of this friendship than they were.  I just knew he was going to turn on her and peck at her little toes... he didnt, even when she touched him... I still didnt relax until he left.

This ostrich had so much personality, and he obviously didnt approve, he glared with one eye and squawked a few times

He sure was pretty

Beau just wanted to be left alone to admire her favorite animal.  She just stared without saying a word until I told her it was time to go.

She loves to pose with these hippos.

Photo time with Aunt Corner :)

The girls absolutely LOVE this zoo.  We have been about 6 times since March and they still get so excited to go.  Beau just loves the giraffes and tries to rush past everything else to get there.  Alex is so slow and in her own world that Beau gets frustrated at her and yells "COME. ON. ALEX. You have to WALK!" throwing her arms stiff at her side and stomping one foot.  

Its always an entertaining adventure.

 

Mommy got a new camera!

This year Mother's Day was amazing!  I got to sleep in!  Hubby made breakfast!  We went out to Brunch (Sammy forgot about brunch and made me breakfast so we got both)!  Nap time!!!!  Family Bike ride!  Sushi for dinner!  Baskin Robbins Ice Cream cake for dessert!  I may have to say this was the best Mother's Day yet :)

Now the best part, the gifts...Mommy got a new Camera!

Its beautiful, amazing, high tech, brand new and I have no idea how to use it.  

Seriously.  I took 2 years of photography in high school, and 1 semester in college and I have successfully retained nothing.  I can only assume I never fully understood it in the first place.  

Those pictures I got an A on, Luck.

Those pictures I got a B on, Luck.

Those pictures I got a C on, Luck.

Those pictures I got a D on...probably deserved it.

Those pictures I got an F on, that was completely unfair.  That teacher never liked me.  

I have had my nose in a book trying to refresh my memory on f-stops, ISO, aperture, and what not.  I started to feel comfortable again.  I started thinking, 

"this photography stuff is so easy, maybe I should be a professional.  This job would be so cake, I could chose my own hours!  I could get so much business from the military families!  My neighbor is pregnant, I could shoot her maternity photos!  She would tell her friends how amazing her neighbor is, before I know it I will be referred to as "the belly whisperer"  That's a good idea, maybe I should just trademark it now?  I better start working on my business cards soon, my calendar will be filling up quick! "

After days of reading and feeling comfortable with the terminology and concepts I finally picked up my camera.  I picked up my camera and realized that I have no idea how to transfer my vast new knowledge of f-stops into my real world.  I struggled to remember everything I just learned.  I took photo after photo of blurry over exposed figures with too much noise.  Finally I just turned the camera on the Auto setting and snapped these beauties...

*note: these are all SOOC (straight out of camera), because apparently I flushed the photography knowledge AND the photoshop knowledge immediately after college.

Ali being her adorable self

B feeling the birds

Melt my heart, sisters holding hands!

Hugging in front of the base sign

I may stay here in Auto for a while but at least I can avoid more of this...

**disclaimer: this picture was actually taken by the wonderfully mischievous Beau...of herself...while mommy was in the shower...and Ali was sleeping...and a few cookies may have gone missing during that time, though this face could never be held responsible for such an act

"Hold still, I just want one Easter photo of you girls in your beautiful dresses, Please!"

All I wanted was just 1 little ole pic of my beautiful girls in their beautiful easter dresses BEFORE we headed to brunch and they covered them in juices and crumbs.  What I got instead was 2 girls who will hold still for .5 seconds before turning, tumbling, running, lifting their dresses above their heads, sitting down or crying.  I wont show you any of the first pics because they are awful and if I post them I will have to relive those terrible first few minutes.  So we stopped, wiped the snotty noses, gave kisses and proceeded with cautious determination.

"OK daddy, why dont we try you with them and see if you can calm them down"

"OK, maybe this time calm and looking at the camera"

"Great!  Ok daddy out... stay where you are girls...No, dont move I'm not done ye...."

"This time Beau put your dress down, and stop hiding behind your sister"

"No try standing NEXT to her!  Ali Stand up straight.  Why are you both turning around...fine I will try it from this side"

"Now you smile when I cant see your face?!  Aww forget it, there's always next year"

Happy Eater 2011 from The Ensminger's

Our little adventure around the island

Before sam could get too busy with work we took a family day to travel around the island. I had put plenty to do on our itinerary so we got started early.

Look how excited they are for mandatory family fun.





The first stop was to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. It was great. The girls has a blast running through all the trails, watching the train (that mommy decided was a waste of money to buy tickets for since they got such a kick out of just watching).

Feeding the huge coy,



and trying desperately to not touch the "sharp" pineapple.



(Even though they were adorable and about the size of the palm of your hand or smaller.)

I even got them to hold still long enough to pose for a few pics.


(that dang second toe, it never does what you want!)


Next we made our way around the north shore and weighed in on the epic Shrimp Truck Battles. Our favorite? Macks! (Which is great because its closer :)) I didnt get a picture of the awesome painted truck or the shrimp because I was too busy wiping the drool from my lip but I will be sure to catch a pic next time, and I KNOW there will be a next time!

Check out this gorgeous view of the mountain.



And the shore.



I was told shortly after this pic to put the camera down and pay attention to my children so that was all I captured for a while.

I did manage to sneak this pic of B and daddy playing soccer with a coconut on the beach, shhh.



And this one of my little monkey drawing in the sand.




I love mandatory family fun day!

A moment I don't ever want to forget.

After morning snack my girls are usually quite hyper. Something having to do with a full belly I am guessing, but what ever the cause it is like clock work. As soon as they walk away from the table they are running after each other and laughing. It usually goes something along the lines of this...

B runs away with A trotting quickly behind her as fast as those little legs will allow. I stay in the kitchen to clean the mess for a few minutes. Screams or mischievous laughter or both drag me out to find one of several options.

1. The DVD tower will be completely emptied from its previously alphabetized state.

2. They will be emptying the toy box for no reason other than to have it empty. Seriously, they will have absolutely no interest in playing with anything.

3. The toilet paper roll will be unrolled and all or some will be in the toilet.

4. B will be chasing or running away from A. The child being chased usually is laughing with the other child's cup in hand who in turn is screaming.

5. They have found a way into my bathroom and are under the sink pulling out the millions of products I don't use but feel the need to keep.

I have become OK with these possibilities. I have learned that if I want the DVDs to stay alphabetized they need to be in another room. The toy box is supposed to be empty except at bed time. I should have learned my lesson by now to keep the toilet paper out of reach of little hands, and my bedroom door must remain locked all day long. And sisters fighting over things is part of being siblings, they will work it out and be fine. This is just how it is.

But today was different. Today no screaming alerted me it was time to save someone or something. It was just quiet. And quiet with toddlers is usually not a good thing. I assessed the situation to find the DVDs intact, toys still put away, and the bathroom doors still closed.

I snuck around the hall to find both girls in their bedroom. And I saw something wonderful.

I saw B "reading" her flash cards to A. They were both sitting on the ground facing each other while B showed a card to sissy, asked her what it was, then said "good girl" and gave her the card. All they while my little 1 year old was sitting completely amused in the cards big sister was giving her. They would smile at each other and laugh. They were sharing, and not because I told them to, because they just were. And it wasn't just that they were sharing, or not screaming, it was that in that moment they were completely happy.

I needed a picture of this! It is too easy to miss these moments. Too often I find myself after the fact saying "I wish I had taken a picture". Not this time, I would get my perfect shot now.

As I started to step away I stopped.

Something about the moment made me want to stay and watch and enjoy instead of rushing away for a picture. It seemed too personal for a picture, something just for me to see. The joy of seeing my 2 girls having fun together, being 2 sisters who not only love each other but like each other. And I knew the moment would end too soon, I couldn't just leave, I didn't want to miss a second of it. I don't need a picture, its too precious a moment to ever be properly captured on film. A picture cant possible do it justice. Stepping behind a camera would take me away from the pleasure of just being in the moment. So I just stayed and watched and enjoyed.

And when the moment ended, I thought...

I wish I had taken a picture.

But this other one is sweet too.

Feeling Artsy

I was having fun with my camera over the weekend and decided to post some of the better moments. Sadly I am not a photographer and I dont have a spectacular camera so keep that in mind as you look at these.

Really I was just having fun.

See the beautiful colors. I LOVE RED! Its true, its my favorite color, we have a special bond me and red. I love pink too... but that is just pale red, no wonder I love it.

This little ant was having a field day on here. I got so captivated I ended up watching him for about 5 minutes. All this time my girls were begging for some time on the swings.

"hang on, mommy is watching an ant"

...silence...

"ok, I'm coming"

But only if you will let me sneak a pic, and maybe a squeeze, of those deliciously chubby feet!

Ok, quit showing off your beautiful eyelashes. I think she knows I have a complex about my short stumps that are supposed to be my eyelashes, she does this to taunt me. I know it!

I think she will love this pics when she gets older. I know I love it now :)