Aloha!

We just got back from a week in Hawaii and had an amazing, relaxing time. We decided that if it weren't for family living on the mainland, we would move there. The girls stayed in Greeley with nana and papa Casseday this time, so we could have a stress-free vacation. Thank God for them!! We were tempted to call nana and papa and ask them to just ship the girls to us because we were staying! :-) We missed the girls a lot, but we had a wonderful time alone. We actually enjoyed some quiet meals together! We stayed on the island of Oahu and were able to do quite a few things. We had a rental car for three days, so we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, hiking at Diamond Head, drove up the coast to several beaches, visited Matt's old college (University of Hawaii), went to a luau, and much more. Our resort was so nice and had so many fun things to do. Matt went sufing on Waikiki a couple of times and went scuba diving once. He's scuba certified, but i'm not and don't plan on it. I'm terrified of that pressure on my ears and I don't really like big fish. They could swallow me whole! The Hawaiian shaved ice is sooo good! They put ice cream at the bottom. We also enjoyed some chicken katsu a couple of times with their "plate lunch" which consists of some sort of meat, rice and macaroni salad. It was so delicious! We had a lot of "favorites" when we were on the island, but dining at Duke's Restaurant right on the beach was definitely at the top of our list. Here's a link to our photos and make sure you read the captions:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/HawaiiVacationSummer2009#

Can Two People Be On the Toilet At the Same Time?

Carli on left, Jillian on right
Jillian on left, Carli on right

The other day, it was so quiet for way too long in our household, so I went to check on the girls and found them both on the toilet. They were standing on the top of the lid! They are little monkeys. This is now one of their favorite things to do, along with climbing up and down on the bay window and going in and out of the patio door. They also LOVE to draw and carry a piece of paper and pen everywhere. They went from coloring books and crayons a couple of weeks ago to plain paper and pens. Carli especially loves the marks the pens leave on her little body, so I think we'll have to go back to crayons. :-)

Carli had pink eye last week, but it wasn't too bad at all and cleared up the next day. Then Jillian got it and hers went from one eye to the other. We have prescription eye drops, but it seems to be viral since Carli's went away so fast and Jillian's is on its way out too. As a result of the pink eye, Carli got ANOTHER ear infection. Poor girl! Matt and I just hope that we don't get pink eye for our Hawaii vacation...beginning this Friday! We will update you when we return. Have a wonderful couple of weeks.

For more pics, including a few of Jillian's pink eye, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/Summer2009#

Turkeys and Chickens and Goats, Oh My!

We took the girls to Belleview Park here in Denver Saturday because we heard that they have a barn area where kids can actually get up close and personal with the animals and we had a blast! The girls got to see turkeys, chickens, a miniature horse, a pig, bunnies, birds, sheep and goats. It was so much fun since they are walking now. Jillian went right up to the animals, but Carli was more interested in playing with the dirt! We took video of Jillian next to the turkey that had to have weighed a lot more than her. That girl has no fear! Jillian and Carli both had so much fun that they didn't want to leave and started "running" back to the barn. So cute!



To see more pictures of our day at the petting zoo, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/PettingZoo#

Carli is a Walker!

Carli started walking last week! She definitely took her time with this little milestone, but we got to really enjoy her time crawling. She is so funny when she walks because she has to have the widest base possible. Jillian doesn't quite understand that Carli is still pretty unbalanced and walks around her all of the time. Carli gets nervous and sits down, but gets right back up and starts over. It is so neat to see them both walking! They are so little that it doesn't seem like they should be able to walk, but they're sure doing it! I'm going to be one busy mom.

Matt ran a half marathon a couple weeks ago and I was able to go watch him while Matt's parents watched the girls. He did great and would like to train for a full marathon now. We got a double jogger stroller for him to take the girls with him every once in a while on his runs since he is gone for so long. The girls love to be outside, so they shouldn't mind. I will be able to get some work done around the house too.


Matt and me after his half marathon

Spring!

We have had a great time so far this Spring with the girls. They love to be outside and get so upset when it is time to go back inside. Matt and I were able to get a little yard work done this past weekend and the girls played on the patio and the grass. Carli climbs up onto things, but hasn't figured out walking yet. She's our little monkey. Jillian has mastered walking and hardly ever crawls. Carli "talks" all day, every day, especially when we go on walks. Jillian's hair is really growing and we are growing out her bangs, so I have to put little rubber bands in her hair to keep her bangs out of her eyes. I have tried using barrettes, but since she has a sister who is very interested in them, we have to use rubber bands instead. She still looks really cute. We go to the gym every week day after breakfast. The girls in the child care center love the girls and the girls love them, so it is a nice break for me. When the girls can walk really well, it will be much easier because I won't have to take the stroller in, but for now, I take their stroller in with me and hope that someone can help hold the doors. :-) I am still working a couple of hours a day from home and love it. I am able to go into the office for a full day every once in a while and am thankful for that as well. Matt is still very busy at work and is able to help with the girls on his Fridays that he has off. We are really looking forward to a vacation to Hawaii in June. The girls will stay home with their Nana and Papa, so we will miss them a lot!

Guess They're Too Big For These

The girls have started climbing on their toys lately instead of pushing the buttons. Carli started it because she is a little monkey and Jillian now does it. They can also climb off of the couch the right way--by turning around and slowly sliding off with their bellies on the couch. They can't quite get up onto the couch on their own yet, but they know how to get off. Jillian is just cruisin' around by walking now and Carli doesn't seem interested yet. It's so cute to see Jillian walking though. She just seems too small to walk, but she does great! Every time we go to the store now Carli says, "Ball!" We always give her a little ball to hold when we are shopping because it distracts her and now she expects us to buy her one every time. Jillian is usually pretty content with just being in the stroller and looking around, but not our ornery Carli. She wants to get into everything.

Cleaning Ladies

Yesterday I was cleaning the floors and I noticed that the girls were "cleaning" the floors with their little blankets. It was so cute, so I gave them both some wet cloths and they went to town cleaning everything in sight! I am so excited that I will have two little helpers when they are older! I'm sure they won't enjoy it as much then, but at least I have this video to show them that back in the day, they actually did help mom with no complaints. :-)