Greetings from the beautiful state of Hawaii!

I keep thinking of our days living in Florida. One of my favorite months of the year was February because I so enjoyed the warm beach when I knew most people were plowing through fog, cold rain, or snow. After four years in Chicago, those memories seem almost make-believe, but here I am again, this time in Hawaii, reliving the bliss.

As soon as we got off the airplane, a few things physically changed for us, besides just the scenery. For one, my feet entered the swelling zone, always a highlight of my pregnancies. The edema is so deep, my feet have a good chance of being mistaken for sausages.

Second, the boys' hair is as curly as ever. Grant's, the curliest, reminds me of my sister's hair when she was a toddler in Arizona. She'd have these perfect ringlets---buoyant from the top of her head but stuck in exact circles around her temples from perspiration. Really adorable. Justin has managed to remain pretty much unaffected.

We are here to reunite with Jared, Matia, Ivy, and Mazzy after not seeing them for six months. Already they can see big changes in the boys and we can see maturity in the girls. Together, the kids are so much fun. The girls love everything about the boys and vice versa. Ivy holds and carries the twins whenever she gets the chance, and Mazzy---while she can't manage carrying either boy, really likes to watch over them and lead them toward new discoveries and toys. One night she ate with them at the "little kids table" for dinner and stayed with them in the playroom so that they could be monitored. Ivy rescued them with sippy cups of milk today and loves to dress them and help them with their shoes.

We've also had the chance to stay close-by the Berkeys, finally meeting their kids and catching up on old times in person once again.

Our first day at the beach was as beautiful and uncrowded as I could have imagined. The ocean was blue-green, and the water was refreshing. The boys were so excited when we got there---even upon feeling the sand on their toes. They went willingly into the water, holding hands with Justin and me. Then, as they got used to the waves hitting their feet and legs, we got further and further into the ocean. They were tickled to be "swimming"; and they kicked and shouted "yea" as we swirled them around in the water. Grant got caught in a wave and swallowed a mouthful of water, so he was gun-shy for a few minutes but got right back in.

We slathered them with SPF 45, and their white skin hardly got touched by the sun. We only reapplied once (we were there about 3 hours) and also had them wearing their shirts for the last little while so that and they wouldn't burn. Later, Justin put Grant and Kellen on the boogie board (individually) and they actually hung on until they got beached. They laughed and laughed and couldn't get enough---even though they were cold and shaking. It's great to be back here. ---SM

DAYS 1-2
DAY 3


DAY 4


DAY 5


DAY 6

In our family, biology is a force to be reckoned with where trains are involved. Go ahead and think that all little boys love trains, but I know a genetic link lingers, registering Kellen as 100% linked to Justin's dad. Both share a dominant strand of locomotive DNA and both display extreme enthusiasm upon seeing trains, trolleys, tracks, and the like.

During his last visit with the boys, Papa Marcucci not only played with the twins at their train table, but he arranged for a ride on the Roaring Camp Railroads in the Santa Cruz mountains. I wish I would have counted how many times I heard the word, "choo-choo" come out of both boys' mouths. They were mesmorized. During the entire two-hour ride, Kellen sat with or stood by his grandpa and neither boy was afraid of the blasts of steam that sprayed hot and shouted loud from the front engine. The forest offered a cool shade from the hot sun, and the whole afternoom proved pleasant and memorable. ---SM

So this blog is typically about the goings-on of our family in terms of our kids, but if there's one thing my mom taught me about Valentine's Day when I was a kid and all my friends were getting flowers and chocolates from their parents, is that Valentine's Day is about your one and only and no one else.

So I was thinking about a way to give Justin a shout-out when I found this cheesy link to the Top 10 Most Romantic Cities to Visit.

I realized that Justin and I have managed to vacation together in four of the 10 cities on the list at least once. Ironically, my recollections of these cities tend to be less than romantic; however, they are, very simply, memorable, endearing, and a little bit humorous because I spent them with my Valentine:

Paris
May 2002, celebrating our anniversary
I can hardly cliam that I've been to Paris except that Justin and I flew into Charles de Gaulle Airport on our way to the Cannes Film Festival. I almost missed seeing the Eiffel Tower, but I caught a glimpse just before it disappeared out of view from our taxi window. I am so glad Justin convinced me to ask my boss for the time off to take that trip---I was almost too afraid to ask (young and naive, I know!). But who needs Paris, anyway, when you've got the very romantic South of France, more than a dozen independent films to watch every day for a full week, and a husband who will negotiate for touristy Provincial treasures in shakey-Spanish with a French-speaker whose Spanish was also a bit on the rocks?!

San Francisco
May 1994, college sweethearts
Ghiradelli Square, absolute bliss, a golden Hawaiian ring, and a bout of flatulence! Enough said.

Vienna
July 1998, backpacking Western Europe
We spent only a few hours here after arriving late and having to leave early, both dicatated by train schedules. I believe it was a Saturday---poor planning on our part, so many of the shops, museums, and events were closing when we arrived. We did have a fancy dinner thanks to my aunt who told us to find a place to splurge a little on our budget-conscious trip. We played cards with my sister on the restaurant's linen table cloth, laughed a lot, then met up with J&M later that evening. Mozart probably would have approved of us passing up all that Vienese hype, I'm sure. I have to be sure of it.

London
Summer 2004, weekend trip
Our claim to fame in this city is having visited every public restroom between The Eye and Buckingham Palace due to food poisoning. On the upside, because we had planned a romantic get-away, we had a very romantic hotel room in which to suffer cold sweats and hug a cold but clean toilet. We also saved loads of cash since we couldn't hold any food down, so our weak U.S. dollar in the face of the strong English pound didn't affect us too negatively.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your (past, present, or future) valentine!---SM

We went outside at least five different times today. The sun was too bright and the weather was too warm to pass up Mother Nature's generous winter indulgence. Kellen enjoyed it so much that while he was running up a storm, he tripped and fell a few times too many. He ended up scraping both his knees and meriting his first super-sized Band-Aid to cover one of his wounds.

Meanwhile, Grant is fascinated by Kellen's scrapes, points to them whenever he sees them, then has a full conversation with himself about them. I do wonder what he is saying. He seems to be very curious and sympathetic to Kellen all at the same time. At least now the boys have learned the term "boo-boo" and have a name for future injuries! ---SM


Above: Enjoying a picnic lunch in the backyard with Dad and Dodo.

We had a date at the mall to see a new store's selection of kids' clothing with Becky and Ben. I was excited to see how the boys would do at a mall, not a place I usually take them since the chance of them getting bored in the stroller is high and the chance of them running off in different directions is higher. But who knew the adventure we'd have waiting for us?

When we arrived, I felt charged and ready to fall into line as a stroller mom: I arrived before the stores opened and was on-time to meet my friend. I managed to pack all I could think of: diapers, snacks, coats, stroller, waters, extra waters, camera, tissues, wipes, extra waters (!), and forgot the only thing I really needed at a mall---my wallet!

After I got myself over my stupidity, Becky was kind enough to cover my costs for the day (with only 20% interest! hee hee). We had a blast---we watched the boys' infatuation with the water fountain come to life as they circled it about 20 times, trying their hardest to reach into the water; we tried on maternity bathing suits in the same dressing room with our two strollers butted up against the room. We alternated handing out snacks to the boys who sat diligently in their seats while we were between fanagaling our bellies inside and out of tankini tops.

Oh, what fanfare. Oh, what a show. ---SM

...There'd Be Days Like This.

Grant had a crummy day. That's all there is to it. He just couldn't get totally in sync with his usually chipper self.

The best part was when I tried to get him into the car seat after a fun morning at Happy Hollow, he threw the biggest tantrum of his little life then went flatter than any board I've ever seen in a lumber yard. I couldn't even strong-arm him into the seat without losing my breath, and then I began to laugh at the situation, which sapped my strength even further. My very favorite---since you asked (!) was when he kicked my stomach. That felt fantastic. You can imagine the pregnant belly already blocking my way then the kick came and it was just magical! ---SM

Rain, rain, go away,
So we can come out and play!

Another drencher of a day outside found us keeping busy inside with a little bit of construction to do. After deciding that I wouldn't burden Justin with assembling the new laundry sorter I bought, the boys and I tackled the project instead.

The crew was quite a help: Kellen served as supervisor of 12 screws, Grant as director of 12 cross support gaskets and the allen wrench, and yours truly as project manager. I could tell the boys felt useful and productive inserting their gizmos into holes and placing gaskets right-side-up; plus they smiled proudly every time they pitched in.

We completed the assignment in less than an hour, even multi-tasking along the way: we loaded and emptied the washer and dryer, changed a few diapers, fielded phone calls, and then voila---our sorter came alive! ---SM

I got my first dose of toddler art class today, called "My First Art" officially, but I prefer calling it "Art Class for Pre-Schoolers 101 and By the Way, I Don't Have to Clean up the Mess."

Worth every penny...

Our community center offers a month of of hour-long classes each week, and I had no idea if the boys would take to it or not. About a dozen other kids and their parents joined the class, too, and the place was a-buzz with apron-wearing two-year-olds running from station to station to try out another project.

At first, the boys thought I was going to leave them, but once they realized I was staying, their apprehensions seemed to clear right up.

I think the flag-making station was the biggest hit for the Marcucci duo. Toddler finger-sized bottles of homemade glue invited the boys to drizzle white, wet, stringy glue all over their flags, then a few hundred sprinkles from a salt-shaker like glitter bottle served as the topping. At first, Kellen wouldn't participate, then the other mother at the table told him, "I won't look at you, don't worry!" He eased up, grabbed the glue, and went crazy on the flag!

From there we visited the:

1. finger painting station (not a hit since the boys don't like goo on their hands)

2. the paint brush station (where Kellen grabbed the brush paint-side then haphazardly rubbed yellow paint on half of his face)

3. the play-dough station (where the boys most enjoyed me rolling the dough into balls before they smashed it flat)

4. the water color station (where the boys dropped small brush strokes of color into coffee filters---great for mixing colors, by the way), and

5. The singing circle, where we took off our aprons and sang songs for 10 minutes to end the class. ---SM


Week 1: Paintings, glittery flags, and water color filters


Week 2: Mardi Gras favors: king crowns, necklaces, and star wands


Week 3: Valentine Day crafts: crowns, hearts, red paintings