9 Years Later....

Driving to Electric Beach on the morning of our 9th anniversary, (thanks Diane for watching the kids!) Derek suggested I take the camera out to document our anniversary. I promptly obeyed.

Please enjoy the first picture taken on May 2, 2011. It will always hold a special place in our hearts. 

It was shortly followed up by this one:

Since I knew it was unlikely I'd outdo those on the ride I decided to stop while I was ahead. 

We went, as stated before, to Electric Beach. It's across from this electrical plant that has these vents that run out into the water. They're these giant pipes that have coral growing all over them and fish LOVE it there. Which means so do snorkelers, scuba divers, and snorkel tour boats. We saw several of each-- and some spinner dolphins out performing for some tour boats. We considered swimming out to them, but didn't know if we'd have time. 

It's crazy, because the water just shoots out of these vents and it's so warm that even though you didn't think you were cold before when you get back into the normal water you have to readjust! It was crazy how many fish were there, especially how many different kinds of fish and they'd swim right up next to you. We both agreed afterward that it's the best snorkeling we've ever experienced. 

This is how happy good snorkeling makes us:

Me being something like 23 weeks pregnant:

Seriously, though... how many husbands can say they still look like this after nine years of marriage, a medical degree and 3 1/2 kids? 

For some reason, obviously next to the good-looking guy in the picture, I really like the boat in the background here. Not sure why. 

I love you, hon. It's been a crazy nine years, with many ups and downs-- but mostly ups. I'm looking forward to every day of the rest of our lives together- to growing old and growing better with you. I can't wait to see what life brings us, but at the same time I enjoy savoring each and every one of these moments with you. We've made so many wonderful memories together and I know we have many more ahead of us. Thank you for loving me, for overlooking and forgiving my quirks and faults, for helping me grow into a better version of myself. Thank you for being my husband, my support, my lover, my provider, my companion, my partner, my best friend, my other half. When I'm with you I know we can conquer the world (if you're into that sort of thing).

Happy 9th Anniversary love!

Kayak Attempt #2

Went kayaking again with Shane and Maggie. About halfway through the girls wanted to change kayaks. Yeah. Surprisingly no one got dunked!

"Don't worry you guys, I got this one." 

For some reason the paddles were pretty much the funnest thing to play with that day. A little hard to keep a hold of and to wade with, but you gotta do what your sisters do.

Quick family pic after the ride. This was a tricky one to catch since we were all so hyper from the fun kayaks. I mean, Derek and I could barely hold still, much less look at the camera with a normal face long enough to get a picture. The kids were perfect angels, though and reined us in. 

Kayak Attempt #1 Slash Hickam Beach with Maggie

We've been eyeing up the kayaks and paddle boards available to rent for cheap at Hickam from some time now. So when we went with Maggie yesterday, we were ready.

Unfortunately, they weren't ready to rent to us. Apparently it was "too windy" that day and they weren't renting anymore for the day. 

I told the guy who apologized to me about to go ahead and inform my two year old boy about the turn of events and he opted instead to let us paddle around close to the shore. Ha. 

The kids loved it, of course, definitely didn't complain about not going out farther!

Roman was a bit nervous about the whole affair and spent the entire time flanked securely by Mom's legs.

Afterward I relaxed on my beach towel and soaked up some rays while Maggie made sandballs with the kids.

Cold and thirsty and back on the towel. Family photo op!

Shane showed up a little later and he and Maggie played with the kids in the water. The girls took turns clamoring for Shane to throw them into the water.

Meanwhile, Roman got chilly and came back in for a warm-up snuggle. All in all, a great day at the beach!

Sleepin On the Couch

What could possibly be more fun than your very own bunkbed to sleep on every night?

The living room couch, of course!

Or in Roman's case, this ultra comfortable antique school desk. That fits him perfectly. Except for a couple inches up top. And maybe a couple at the bottom. 

And it makes sense that the littlest girl sleep on the biggest couch,

while the biggest girl curl up cozily on the chair. 

Doesn't her neck look so comfortable?

Phantom Baby

Phantom Baby came back.

And turned into Real Baby.

That's right, I'm pregnant with our fourth little keiki!

Oh, and if Phantom Baby doesn't make sense to you... allow me to explain real quick. A while after each kid has been born, a "phantom baby" shows up in my head. Phantom Baby makes appearances when I'm somewhere and both/all kids are accounted for and I begin wondering where/how the baby is- when I realize all at once that the baby is right here with me. All my babies are. 

Now, Phantom Baby could just be a result of being a mom with more than one kid. You're constantly doing a head count with three and up. 

But my theory (which coincidentally has a lot to do with my religious beliefs) is that Phantom Baby is really the spirit of our next child hanging around reminding me that it's his/her turn to come to earth to join our family. That there is another to for whom to feel concern or to whom to give attention. So Phantom Baby showed up a couple months before I got pregnant. 

And now Phantom Baby is Real Baby. 

Who will be here September 3rd.

And who I think is a girl- but I'm basing that on scientific data like the intensity of my morning sickness. So we'll see soon I guess. Baby Zickgraf is on the way in any case!

Avril Loses a Tooth

She's finally crossed the threshold from baby to big girl--- or at least begun the process! Yeah, she'll always be my baby. Every mom out there knows that. 

What's funny is her adult teeth began growing in behind her baby teeth before they fell out. We call them her shark teeth. Hello Tooth Fairy!

Derek Turns 31 and We Go to Makaha

Yup, you get a two-for-one deal in this post. Derek's birthday coincided with the Family Practice Retreat this year which took place at Makaha Resort on the north west side of the island. I got him some semi-lame presents and we pretty much just did the retreat. We'll try harder next year.

We only got a few photos at the retreat. It was fun, Makaha Resort was actually quite beautiful, although our room was somewhat run-down and the buffet wound up being rather ridiculously overpriced. The retreat included a bbq, a bounce house, a hike we missed but sounded fun, pool time and some golf and basketball we also missed.

My favorite part was pool time, for obvious reasons:

Yes, that's right, it's a monofin, folks. And that's me giving tutorials on how to use it. I would definitely say it was quite a hit!