Mayberry?!?! nope, just Flower Street

After the handshakes were done and all the millions of pieces of paper were signed, we have begun to settle into our new home.

Our little street feels like stepping back to a time when everyone "knows each others names." Neighbors can frequently be seen gathering in their driveways to chat and have a beverage. Everyone watches out for each other and their homes. Its really neat!

A lot of our neighbors are in their 70's and its as if we just inherited new sets of grandparents. Mason has learned all of their names and cracks me up because he will say "Hi Jim, beautiful day!" or whomever he sees. Our kid is a riot.

I am sure part of their warmth is the history and love they have for Grandma and Grandpa. Our closest neighbors are in their 60's and have five grandchildren all around Mason's age. Its great to have kid interaction. Its also funny because Matt use to date one of their daughters when they were in highschool. Its great when she comes to visit her parents because she is really cool and someone I will be friends with...kind of funny how life works.

We have received an adundance of  "welcome to the neighborhood gifts"

From wine

to fresh fried catfish (seriously delicious)

and lots and lots of garden treats and Rocky ford canteloupe (we didn't get Listeria!)

The large yard is great and we even have a gardener that came with the house

Grandma Bert comes up several times a week to do yard work. At first I felt really bad letting her do this but its something she enjoys and misses about her home. I think its a win win situation because she doesn't feel like she has to do all of it, she does what she can and than gets to leave it. I think its good for her mentally and physically.

Which leads me to "how are G and G adjusting to this big change?"......GREAT!!! It has gone so much smoother than we anitcipated. They are literally a few minutes drive from us and come up a couple times a week. And we go down and let Mason delight all the older folks with his crazy antics. We have had Sunday super a few times. Weekday dinners. Afternoon visits with wine.

Grandpa comes up to sit on the back porch like he use too. Grandma comes up and putters around, changing over our laundry and going through the cupboards looking for snacks. It feels like its all of  OUR house and that is exactly what Matt and I had envisioned with this. We feel blessed.

How is Mason doing? Well for the first week it was really tough. He kept saying "I want to go home" and we would say "we are home" to which he would say "my old home, I miss my old home!"

It broke my heart.

I had to go to Golden to pick up some contacts after we got back from our trip and of course had Mason with me...it sent him into a frizy! He kept saying "Can we get our old house back, I really miss it!" 

What can I say change is hard for my guy..... 

but as time passes and we head into the fall months

he is starting to love his surroundings

and knowing our first home is just off in the distance, like an old friend who is right behind you, supporting you

and helping you look into the future at all the wonderful things that lie ahead!

Part 2: A person to celebrate, my Mom

My beautiful mother turned 60 on June 23rd. I waited to do this post because her milestone birthday was the reason for our Hawaii trip.

Maybe this little montage is silly but I know she will read it and its my way of sending a little more birthday love and gratitude to the amazing woman I get to call my Mom.

There are so many pieces that make up my mom. She is a born care taker. She is the only person I want around when I am sick and the person I go to whenever I need advice. She is my rock. Growing up she was a fun but strict Mom. She was creative and always pushed me to work hard. She made learning fun, one of the first presents I can remember was a chemistry set. She never let me quit, if I signed up for it, I had to finish it. There were times I cursed her and she would say "that's fine you feel that way but I will always love you!"

To me she was and is the perfect Mom. 

She (and my Dad) nurtured my love for traveling.

The deep importance of family.

I have never heard my mother speak an ill word about her family or her "in-laws", she doesn't like the word "in-law" because we are all just family. My Grandma June is someone my mom always strives to be like. If my mom has a hero in this lifetime, it is Grandma June. My Grandpa Marv (her dad) is her strength, the person she learned her hard work from. If you ask her "these two went straight to heaven, no questions asked!"

Her love for God and family feed her philosophy of "being there in the moment and supporting your family no matter what" She thanks God every day for the moment she is in....

She has taught me about the patience and devotion of marriage.

I truly believe my Dad is her soul mate but she will be the first to tell you 38 years of marriage doesn't come easy. "The love part is easy. If you have respect for each other and the desire to see each other succeed, you can make it work! Prayer is never a bad thing either"

Those were her words of advice on my wedding day.

My Mom was born and raised in Lake Arrow Head, California. She is one of eight children, two girls and six boys. She is the second oldest. She grew up in a loving and deeply religious family. She is a rule follower, a straight A student, and was Cheer captain in high school. She went to UCLA as a pre-med student and as my dad describes her "she was a flower of innocence in a short skirt who had a drive to succeed stronger than anyone I have ever met."

She is the only girl my Dad ever brought home to meet his family.

In the early 70's my parents packed up there VW van and moved west to Colorado. They lived in a small cabin in Woodland Park. I am pretty sure my mom wore no bra and had flowers in hair...but she was in love and this rule following girl began to move out of her comfort zone.

My Dad suggested they become engineers and they applied and were accepted at the Colorado School of Mines. My Mom is a natural born nerd and I have heard her friends from Mines joke about her always running the curve. She finished her BS in Chemical engineering in 3.5 years and with a 4.00.

Ten years later, she finished her master's in Environmental Engineering while working full time and having two children. How did she do it all? She is a freak of nature:) and put sleep on a back burner. These are traits she did not pass on!

My mom is a HUGE animal lover, another thing she has passed on. I can not tell you how many animals we took in over the years or how she always convinced my dad that "dogs are meant to be inside animals and one more kitten wouldn't hurt."

She loves the outdoors and the Colorado Mountains, the place they still call home.

She is neat freak and one hell of a cook.

She brings a new meaning to the word "hard worker," in my professional years she has taught me so much technically and personally about being a woman in a male dominated business. She is kind and direct and her clients love her.

Some of our family friends (life long friends made at Mines) threw my mom a birthday bash this summer. These are people that I have known my whole life and who's children I have grown up with. It was so awesome to hear their stories and toasts to my Mom. To hear that their love and respect for her is so similar to mine. My mom is so humble and though it is hard for her to be the center of attention I know this dinner meant so much to her.

How cool is it that this woman who is my best friend is also the grandmother to my son? She is the person (along with Matt) who did not leave my side the entire time I labored and had a C-section with Mason.  And hopefully she will be right there again when we have another.

So when we asked her how she wanted to celebrate her 60th we were not surprised to hear she wanted to travel and celebrate with her kids and grand kids. No big celebration, no surprises, just simple....she really didn't want it to be about her but about us...but of course we were having none of that!

So us kids hired a personal chef for the evening!  

Who pampered us with amazing food and service.

The kids laughed and made S'mores well into the evening hours

And we dined on Mahi Mahi and pork tenderloin 

And at the end of the night my selfless mother let Mason blow out her candles....than we ate the most amazing upside down pineapple cake and drank champagne. We gazed at the stars late in the night and just "sat in the moment!"

Happy 60th Mom, We are so blessed to have you in our lives. There is no other that could be my mother:)

We love you!

Part 1: Hale Nani Loa and our Big Island Adventure

The home we rented translates as "House by the Sea" in Hawaiian.

It was hard to tell where the pool ended and the ocean began and we never tired of the view and serenity of this beautiful home...I will add more house pictures on the next post.

Every night gave way to a unique sunset...like this night was the "swirly" night as Matt has dubbed it.

And this night was the "classic" ocean sunset...

We didn't do as much hiking as we would have liked but this Pololu Valley hike was lovely. My Uncle Darrel (Mom's brother), Aunt Annie and the twins, Gianni and Dani, joined us for the vacation.

We are in a hiking dilemma right now. Mason is too heavy for our pack and can hike a good portion himself...BUT when he tires so do our backs (well mostly Matt's back!)

My adorable parents

After we trekked down the 1000-ft elevation change we were greeted by an awesome black sand beach with huge swings in the nearby woods! 

We would venture out during the days and get back to the house around 3 to enjoy the kids favorite part....The pool!

Mason was a prune, spending half of his Hawaii trip in the water.

A fast friendship was formed between Keegan and the twins. It was really cute to watch them buddy around. Keegan spent almost every night over with the twins!

While Mason and Cormic spent most of their time trying to do what the older kids did. After my Dad showed them how to "cannon ball" and "can-opener" into the water it became a non-stop activity.

I also have to say after ten days in a pool with five kids, Thank God for Chlorine!

The Armstead family!

A few days into our trip we took the VERY long car ride south to Volcano National Park. The road was curvy and with four kids in the car, I was a little frazzled when we finally arrived. Oh and Mason threw up all over me, I of course had a change of clothes for him and not myself:) Poor dude gets car sick!

The Park is HUGE and we ventured down to the ocean area. There was no activity going on while we were down there but this sign reassured me that we need not stay long....

but since we were there why not risk our families lives for a quick photo op!

About a half hour after we returned to the vistor center we heard they had closed the road we were just on because of lava flow....thank you god!

I think the Park could be really awesome if you had the time to hike in...i.e. no young kids. The geology nerd in me found the lava fields intriguing...I also thought that amongst the barren lava fields such beauty would spring up.

Of course some of the best memories on family trips are the simple moments! Like stopping in town to eat homemade ice cream on the ocean...

and checking out the local farmer's markets

or passenger window snap shots because your husband won't pull over for you to take a photo of the cute seaside church!

I have officially traveled to all the major Hawaiian islands and I have to say the "Big Island" is the most cultural of the islands.

A deep pride lives amongst the people and their history and pride runs deep!

My favorite part about traveling is getting off the beaten path and seeing how the local people live

Even Mason got into it!

Another part about traveling is the adventure...This is from the lookout at Waipio Valley.

You can drive a one-way cliff down to the huge valley...we didn't do it...but that is a story for another post!

Instead we headed back into rainy Waimea for some Italian food (didn't you know the Hawaiians are famous for it:) and Park time. This park was huge and built of all wood. Very impressive.

Most nights we cooked at the house, each couple taking a turn. If you were at my wedding you know I have a thing for grilled pineapple. So Matt appeased me again by grilling some!

We spent a lot of time just "being" and "enjoying"

No makeup or blow dryers, just laughter and cuddle time!

sharing experiences for the first time with our Mason

It truly is a trip we will never forget.

And the best part is the reason we were there.....