Loving Lanikai

In case you can't tell by the title, we're in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. And we're loving it! I mean, what's not to love about all the tropical, island, blue water, sunshine, 80 degrees and paradise?

Here's the amazing view from our compound. I'm loving my cup of coffee in the mornings and soaking up the view. It's quite relaxing.

Kyah has somewhat-curly hair, but the humidity here really makes it curl up. The spirals she has on the back of her head are incredible.

She's getting pretty good at hamming it up when the camera is in front of her. Takes after her mom.

This was her first time in the salt water and she actually really enjoyed it. She enjoyed the waves splashing into her feet and legs, and she loved being out in the deeper water jumping up and down with the waves. She was a total champ in the water.

Warming up with Mom and Grammie after swimming.

And that was just part of our adventures on day one. More fun stories and adventures are in store for the rest of the week.

Oh baby!

Yup, that's right! Kyah is going to be a big sister. The Lord has blessed us with another baby and we're super excited!

Here are a couple photos from our ultrasound a few weeks ago. If you look closely, you can see our baby's profile. The head is on the right, and there's a hand that appears to be in front of the mouth.

Here's a sweet shot of the foot.

We're about 3 months along, and so far everything appears to be going well for the baby. The last two months have been kind of rough for Abby, though, because she's been pretty sick. Hopefully, as she moves into the second trimester things will get better and she'll have more energy and won't be as sick.

We're due April 19. And no, we don't know whether's is a boy or a girl yet. We won't find that out for another two months.

Celebrating 8 years together

I was dressed in my suit and had Abby's wedding dress laid out waiting for her when she got home from work on our anniversary (July 19). It's Abby's tradition to put her wedding dress on every year. Last year, she wasn't able to because she was 8 months pregnant at the time. But this year the dress fit beautifully!

We had ourselves a fun little photo shoot out in the front yard before I whisked Abby away to several evening surprises. Abby's sister and brother-in-law, Jenn and Dave, were kind enough to watch Kyah for the evening so that we could venture out and celebrate. 

First on the surprise list was a trip to the spa and an hour-long couples' massage. Abby loved, loved, loved it. That was pretty much the highlight of the evening. We had dinner at a local restaurant we'd never been to, the Pepper Sisters, and it was a fun, unique experience. Then, we treated ourselves to some delicious desert at Pure Bliss. I had one more surprise stop on the list, but by the time we finished desert we were so worn out that we just headed home. 

I am truly blessed to be married to such an amazing woman! 

Our first weekend w/o Kyah

Back in July, Abby and I had our first weekend getaway without Kyah. I'm not going to lie, it was little tough to part ways with our daughter for a couple nights. But somehow we managed to get out the door, and we had a blast with our friends at a cabin on Hood Canal.

In previous years, it's only been the guys that have gone to this cabin... mostly because the cabin lacks your typical hotel amenities, like electricity. It's a bit remote. But the girls were up to it this year, so we had a co-ed weekend.

The cabin is surrounded by woods and set just a couple hundred feet off a secluded beach. The beach is loaded with oysters and clams, plus we go fishing and drop crab pots a little ways off shore. We're rollin' in seafood all weekend. It's good stuff.

This picture is just hilarious! I love Brett's face.

Abby and I just got back from taking the rowboat out to pull the crab pots... she's proudly holding up one of several crabs we brought to shore.

M.I.A.

Wow, has it really been three whole months since I last posted? It's amazing how quickly time flies. I'm sorry I've been missing in action all summer. We had some roommates living with us this summer - more on that later - that kept up quite busy.

I have some catching up to do on the blog, for sure. Don't give up on our blog just yet. Expect some new posts real soon.

Apologies again.

Dustin

Where would we be without Dad?!

Happy Fathers Day, Dads!

(Dustin) - Dad, Thank you for the positive influence you've had on my life! Because of you, I have much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to.

1980 - Dad and Dustin


2009


(Abby) - Dad, thanks for being my hero!




(Dustin) - This Fathers Day is a extra special because it's my first as a father. I'm a better son, husband and father because of the influence these men have had on my life.

Me (daddy) and Kyah

Having a great time laughing

In case you can't tell from the video, we manage to have a little fun around the house in the evenings. Ok, a lot of fun. Every time Kyah laughs, we laugh. It's great fun. She's just such a happy girl, it's hard not to have fun with her.