Falling into Avila

Avila is one of our favorite places to go at anytime and definitely one of our favorite parts of living on this part of the golden coast. Now the seasons aren't really as pronounced in our section of Cali as they are in other parts of the country. Okay I'll admit it, I really don't know anything about seasons or weather... But it's good to fake it. So we go about 15 minutes northwest and we're at a barn 5 minutes from the ocean. They have some trees that are kind of changing colors, too many pumkins to count and yummy apples. Avila barn is great at anytime but it's the best in the fall. Warm cider, roasted corn and fresh baked apple pies...that's fall, right?
They have homemade ice cream and although it's autumn, it's still 75 degrees out, so ice cream is acceptable. Luckily my boys don't particularly care for the cold treats as much as they do the rock candy. And believe me, I enjoy not having to clean up messy chocolate drippings off of clothes.

So it was again another good trip to the barn filled with friends, food and fun... and lot's of good photos.

Adventures in Cutting Hair

We took Kainoa to get his hair cut at a kid's salon, when he was 1 year old. He didn't do quite well. He cried almost the whole time, so we didn't do that again. So after almost 3 years of myself having the privilege of cutting Kainoa's hair, we've been trying to convince him to go to the kid's hair salon in the mall. The place is called Whipper Snippers. It's decorated super cute with colorful polka dot walls, fun car and airplane chairs and videos on cute furry TVs. So much fun, you'd think any kid would be excited, but not Kainoa. He's been turning down our suggestions to go for months now. So today while visiting the mall, again we were prodding Kainoa to go. We were layering on the "You'll look so good"... "It's so much fun"... "You'll get a lolipop". Yes, we resulted to bribes and finally he gave in. He hopped up in the airplane and his eyes ere glued to Toy Story 2. He actually did great, not a fuss or peep out of him. Not a peep... even when asked polite questions by the hairstylist. Yeah he's a shy guy, but we survived the professional haircuts and it was worth the money. It looks better than anything I've ever done. So good day until we got home... With one haircut down and one to go, I figured we might as well cut the other one's hair. I'm sure the ladies at Whipper Snippers were wondering why clearly both my kids were in need of a haircut, but only one was actuallly getting it done. So we decided to bite the second bullet and just cut Keoni's hair too. Um good idea in theory... Not that Keoni ever really enjoyed haircuts, but he never put up much of a fight.... until today. That kid screamed from beggining to end, even with a lollipop in his hand. Ugh! It was a nightmare and couldn't be over faster. We were both relieved and now both boys look sharp and no more haircuts at least for a couple months :P

BEFORE

and

AFTER

Today's the Day

Today is the day that I will start posting on this blog I created a while ago. My goal is to post on a regular basis... We'll see how that goes.



The focus in our little lives right now is POTTY TRAINING everyone's favorite two year old of the house... ONI!!! So Keoni is in a clothes and diaper revolt. He refuses to wear anything but underwear (we call them 'chones'). So my patience is being tried, dealing with accidents two seconds after asking "Do you have to go potty?"... Lots of laundry... but the end result will be worth it. The extra effort now will pay off in the end, literally, this will save us money (diapers are expensive). Meanwhile we're handing out the encouraging high fives, cheers and occasional congratulations treats. Keoni is on his way to being a big boy. Wish us luck!