Pro Bowl 2008

Brian and I went to the Pro Bowl this year...the second year in a row. We sat in almost the same area that we sat in last year, so the view wasn't much different. Our friends Randy and Leslie had gotten the tickets for us, so we sat next to them and had a great time watching the game (as well as all the beach balls bouncing around the fans!)

Pre Game events...

The National Anthem with the flag being formed on the field.

A picture of the fully formed flag and the stadium.

The flyover...CH-47 Chinooks from the Hawaii National Guard.

A random extra point....at some point in the game.

I'm sure the mascots love the Pro-Bowl...it's the only time they get to interact with each other and not be rivals. They were pretty funny at times....

We just happen to sit in front of some people who are orginally from Arkansas....the lady right behind the sign is from Benton but lives in Kailua, HI now.

Here's Randy and Leslie....Brian decided to take a TON of continous pictures of them coming back up to their seats...he did the same thing with me and then did the same thing with a play on the field. Guess he was bored?!?!

Austin's Birthday Party

For Austin's birthday party, Daddy and Mommy had rented a bouncer and invited a couple of Austin's friends over to play.

A few weeks back, Austin was with me at Wal-Mart. As we were walking down an aisle, he ran over to something and picked it up off the shelf....and said that he wanted it. It turned out to be a tractor cake pan. For those of you who don't know...Austin is just obsessed with tractors! His Papa has a tractor and when he sees ANY tractor, he says, "Look! Papa's tractor!" So, I ask him if he wants a tractor cake for his birthday and he thinks that is just a GREAT idea. So, I buy this cake pan and plan on a tractor cake. Here's a picture of it after I was finished with it....

We had Austin's b-day celebration at 2pm and the kids bounced away in the bouncer, or ran around the yard as the adults talked. After a while, Austin said he wanted to do the cake, so we lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday. This year, Austin was pretty good at blowing out the candles...not sure if he stopped and made a wish though!

Here's a look inside the bouncer...not the greatest picture, but you can tell they were all having fun! After playing a little more, Austin opened his gifts....he got a lot of great things and even paused to read some cards! Here's a few of the kids that were with him...
Don't be jealous Hope....Catherine is just a friend! ;-)

Austin Turns THREE!!!

For Austin's 3rd birthday, Daddy and Mommy planned a day just for him! The living room and dining room was decorated with streamers and balloons and Austin got to wake up to a present waiting for him! After opening his present, he got to have mickey pancakes and watch some TV.

After breakfast, we went to playgroup with a friend of Austins, Catherine, and her Mommy. After playgroup, it was almost lunchtime, so we asked Austin wanted he wanted to do for lunch. He said he wanted to eat outside. So, we had planned on heading up to Haleiwa and get some pizza and eat out on the patio of the pizzeria. On the way up there, Austin decided he wanted to eat at the beach, so we changed our plans a bit and grabbed some McDonalds and headed to a little park that was right on the water and had a playground.

Austin ate his lunch and then played on the playground with Daddy and Mommy. After a little while, we headed home to have some strawberry cupcakes and for Austin to open one more gift.


That night, we went out to eat at Chilis and everyone sang Happy Birthday to Austin. From the looks on his face, he LOVED it! It was a great day and Austin went to bed a very happy, and tired 3 year old!

Our Loss

I'm sure most of you already know, but I know there are others that haven't heard yet. Our family suffered a miscarriage today....here's what happened for those of you who want to know:

(I am writing this almost 2 weeks later....and I'm leaving a lot of emotion out since I don't want it to be any longer than it has to be...plus, I don't want to get all weepy while typing this!)

I went in for a regular OB appt at 10am...I was 13 weeks and 2 days pregnant and Austin and I were waiting to hear the heartbeat. The last appt was at 9 weeks, 2 days, so we didn't get to hear it because it was too early. The CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife) took the doppler and tried to find the heartbeat....which, after about 5 minutes said she would go and get the portable ultrasound machine to see if she can see what is causing her to not find it. She wheels it in and warns me that she's not the best at u/s, so that if she can't find anything that it doesn't mean much. Well, she doesn't find anything, so she sends me up to Ultrasound. I call Brian on the way up there, but we loose the call while I'm in the elevator.

So, Austin and I get to Ultrasound and are told that it's going to be about 30 minutes. I call Brian back and tell him to leave work and come to Tripler. After 10 minutes they call me back to the room...no, Brian had not gotten there yet since it's about a 20-30 minute drive. They show Austin where to sit and then the tech starts the ultrasound. Little do they know that sitting an almost-3-year-old next to a panel full of buttons is a bad idea....before she can do any measurements or anything, Austin has pushed some buttons and someone comes rushing in telling us that we just called a Code Blue through the entire hospital. The tech tells her to meet the doctors at the door and tell them that there's no emergency.

She starts the ultrasound again....I'm no tech, but know that there's supposed to be heartbeat and that a 13 week fetus doesn't look like the one on the screen. I take a few pictures on my camera phone for Brian to see and then watch as she turns the screen where you can see the bloodflow (that's what I'm guessing the different screen was for....it showed blue and red and I just assumed that it was showing arteries and veins?). There wasn't any flow to the baby and she proceeded to tell me that she's only measuring the baby to be at 8 weeks, 2 days. A doctor comes in and says he's sorry and that when I'm ready, to come and they'll tell me what my options are....while he's saying this, Austin pushes more buttons and calls some other kind of emergency which didn't seem as bad as the Code Blue. I think they've had enough of him, so another doctor comes in a little later and brings me to her office to tell me what we can do from here. I talk with her about 5 minutes and then Brian called to say he was there. I meet him in the hall and tell him....we go back to her office and she tells Brian what she told me. Basically, we decided on a D&C that day because it had already been 5 weeks since the baby had died and Austin's birthday was right around the corner....I didn't want to do this any closer to his day than I had to.

So, we go to the pre-surgery dept and I start in-processing there. Brian takes Austin home to get him fed and drop him off at some friends' house so he can come back to be with me. I had eaten that morning, so we couldn't do the surgery until after 4pm, so when Brian go there, we still had a little bit longer to wait. Right around 4pm, they came to get me...the nurses and staff where all really nice (other than the anesthesiologist who talked to me during the in-processing...good thing he wasn't the one doing my meds during the surgery!). After the procedure, we ate and waited a bit before they would let me come home...when we finally left, it was about 8:00pm. Our friends dropped Austin off at the house and I put him to bed...tried to explain to him that he would have to wait for a sibling for a little bit longer. He seems to have understood that since he hasn't talked about the baby since that night.

Physically, I am doing much better. It's going to take a little longer, mentally and spiritually to heal.

We want to thank everyone who has called or e-mailed....and those who sent flowers. Brian, Austin and I appreciate everyone's prayers and kind words.

Two Cute Pictures

I just had to include these on our blog....

The First picture is of Austin taking his nap....with Daddy! Every now and then, when Austin doesn't want to take his nap, and Daddy is home, Daddy will lay down with Austin to get him to sleep. It has to be Daddy though...Austin won't go to sleep if it's Mommy! Well, this day, Brian fell asleep as well and I just had to take the picture!

This second picture is just Austin and Daddy playing around....there was lots of giggles and laughs and I had to grab the camera to get some pics!

Ko'Olina Beach

We went to Ko'Olina, a resort on the Leeward side (west) side of Oahu. They have some man-made lagoons that are great for kids since there's hardly any waves. Well, our scared little boy still didn't want anything to do with the water, so we just played in the sand. Maybe someday, he'll like the water....and then he'll wish he was back here to enjoy it more!

Bowling

Austin and I are with a group from post that does a couple of children's activites a month. It's called Keiki Would Go and in January, we went bowling! Austin had fun and actually was bowling better than his momma! Daddy met us for lunch afterwards...it was a great day!