It's a boy!

Please help us welcome our newest addition, Max Powers. We just picked up our new little puppy yesterday. He was born 6/1/06 and he is another black scottish terrier. He is really cute and a little shy right now. I am sure we will be posting pictures shortly.
In other news, we are back in Buffalo. the kids did well on the flight home, although I wish I had gotten more sleep. Mia just couldn't get comfortable and was restless the entire flight which kept me up.
We are taking the kids for a trip to NYC in December to see Bill's dad (who is moving to Long ISland) and to see the tree and go shopping in the city. I want tickets for Regis and Kelly and the View, so I better get working on that.
We are planning on moving Mia into a big girl bed soon. I will start looking for her new bedroom set and we will move her in once we get it. She did really well in her twin bed in Hawaii, so I imagine the transition will be easy (I hope.)

packing it in

I just yelled at bill to post our pictures becasue it is obvious that he is lagging on that. We are busy packing our stuff up for the long flight home. We went to the Luau on Thursday night and had a great time. Mia was up on stage hula dancing (bailey realy wanted to learn too, but we were gone for a bathroom break). Yesterday we kept it low key and spent the day running around looking at things, and EATING. It seems like we ate so much this week. We feasted on maui onions yesterday at The Maui Onion Restaurant. Then we went for our goodbye dinner at Sarentos. It was a great day (and filling). Our flight heads out of here at 4:30 this evening and we land in Buffalo around around 10am. So as soon as bill gets back on his computer, I am sure he will post more pictures....

time is flying by...

Yesterday we took a day trip to Oahu to see Pearl Harbor. Our flight was at 7am and literally took 30 minutes. We went straight to Pearl Harbor and the line was OUTRAGEOUS! We were told by the line guards that if we had to catch a flight before 3:30 to forget about it becuase the line was at the minimum, 6 hours long. So we cut our losses, went to the other battleships and submarines and took some nice pictures. We then went to lunch near Waikiki Beach and walked the beach. Our flight back was at 5:00 and we ordered a pizza and crashed.
Today we went on the Atlantis Submarine Tour. We went 135 feet underwater and saw all the fish. It was really cool! We had a great time and Bill's dad and friend Chris joined us on the trip. Mia was so wiped out that she fell asleep while the ride was going on.
The kids have really been worked to their limits, so we came back and stayed at the beach for like an hour and we have been spending the past 2 hours in our house. The kids are watching tv, and Bill is napping. Yes, I realize we are on vacation and tv should be the last thing we do in Hawaii, but the kids seriously needed a break from running. Tonight we are heading to a Kobe Japanese restaurant. We went a couple years back with my friends Melanie and Jason in Orlando and Bailey had a ball, so we are going to do that for dinner and head back after some shopping.
Tomorrow is our first day to sleep in and we have the luau tomorrow night, so more pictures will be posted tonight and tomorrow...

adjusting...

Well, I am trying to get used to getting up like this time, this morning, the kids got up at 5am. Now in Buffalo, that would be 11 am, but here, it's way early. We went to The Maui Ocean Center today and saw all the fish. It was nice, but really not worth the entry price. Speaking of big prices, everything is super expensive here. Now I realize it is Hawaii, but really. At the super market, a 12 pack of coke was $6.29. I can get 5 for $10 at home. Bread is like $5 a loaf. Amazingly expensive. Today we also wnt to the Maui plantation and learned many interesting facts about the crops grown here. Like: Coconut water should be clear and have no taste. And it does wonders for all types of diseases and skin ailments including exzema.
Tonight we are going to a town called Pa'ia and having dinner there. We have noticed that just about every street begins with a K or H or P.
Yesterday we took the "scenic route" in North Maui. There were 7 of us in a mini van, Bill's father drove, and we went through the winding roads of the mountains. These were one lane highways. If you were coming one way an another car was coming the other, one would have to back up to a safer area. And this was a no guard rail, dirt road. We have pictures.
So Bill has been uploading pictures daily, so keep checking back if you are interested.

Happy Birthday Mia

We had Mia's 2nd birthday this weekend and it was a great success. She rec'd a ton of clothes and a lot of toys, so I am sure we are good until Christmas. Actually I have no idea what the kids would need for Christmas as the state of our house right now would prove that toys are not a necessity.
Mia wore her princess outfit and tiara and danced around the rooms. We decided last minute to move the party inside because it was really windy outside. It was warm, about 80 degrees, but very windy.
We leave for Hawaii next weekend. I have begun compiling the packing lists and we just bought new luggage. So far, on the airplane we will have each a carryon, two carseats and I am sure a couple other randomosities. Besides watching the 2 kids while pushing them in the strollers. We should be a sight. Anne and Jeremy are coming into Buffalo on Friday night to stay with us as our flight is at like 7am so we need to get to the airport early. And thank goodness for Anne. I swear she will prove to be my sanity that plane ride and that week. What better person to have on the trip than a professional nanny?
And since we are on the topic of Hawaii, we have planned many adventures for our trip. We plan on taking the kids on the Sugar cane train, to the aquarium, horseback riding, to the volcano, shopping, to a petting farm and a few more things. We can't really spend much time on the beach since the kids are little so we will be taking mini adventures. Maui here we come!
Bailey starts art classes next week. We are doing them through the town and I know Bailey will be very excited as he loves doing art projects.
I will probably update after my trip...