Haunted House coming soon....

Carlos has spent about 40 hours thus far....building our Haunted house for all the kids to enjoy! He's lost about 4-5 lbs in the last few weeks! New pics coming soon...

My kid's

Zak testing out the waterstrip on our window. (Not very good...had some leakage into the house)



Best friends and worst enemies! ha

Bella's Princess Tea Party

Bella definitely in her element.



Do you know how hard it was to round up the princesses for a group picture? They were a rowdy bunch!



Bella enjoying her "tea."



So most of you heard about my burnt cupcakes. Carlos took matters into his own hands (literally.) He helped roll out the cookie dough and did all the cutting. They came out really cute! (and I didn't burn them but my first batch was undercooked...)



Princess Bella, Princess Chaney, and our only prince invited...Prince Carter!

Bella and her friends had a blast. What little girl doesn't like getting their hair curled and dressing up?

Madison's 7th Birthday Wish

Maddie...right after she got her ears pierced!

So all month, we've been asking Maddie what she wanted for her 7th birthday. She tells us, "I WANT MY EARS PIERCED!" Huh? No, you're too young. "BUT ALL MY FRIENDS HAVE IT!" So what, if your friends jump off a cliff, are you going to jump off a cliff too? How many times did our parents tell us that? Ha!

So anyway, Carlos tries to scare her and describes the blood and gore of getting ears pierced (yeah, what does he know...) and that they have to use a shot needle to poke it through. (CRUEL, I KNOW!) For a few days she was scared, but surprised us by deciding that she still wants to go through with it. Her determination impressed us, so we had to backpedal and tell her how it doesn't hurt at all...it's just a little pinch (what do we know?) and we reluctantly agreed to let her get "it" done.

Let me just remind you all that I faint when I get shots (yes, it's called Post Traumatic Syndrome) so I was already feeling lightheaded when we got to Claires at Ala Moana. Incidentally, I scoped out the place the day before and made sure somebody "good" was working on Maddie's birthday. (They were probably making jokes behind my back after I left.)

One, two, three...POKE! It was done in a second. Maddie got both ears done at the same time. Carlos filmed it in a macabre-like fashion. My palms were sweating for her, but she was so brave. She was actually singing to the store music while she sat there! Right after it was done, she was a little shocked, but she had no tears and I could tell that she was trying to be brave in front of daddy by saying, "Mommy, I'm okay. It only hurts a little. I'm fine."

I had a headache afterward.

Carlos our professional photographer!

Carlos took this picture of a gecko in Maui. Isn't a cool pic!?

Maui Trip

Here are a few pix from our Maui Trip!



We spent every waking hour at the sand pool or beach. We went through 2 bottles of sunscreen in 4 days!



More swimming...



Waiting for the Sunday brunch! "We're looking forward to eating all the desserts!"



Met up with Madison's classmate, Anna! They spent the whole day together and even got their hair braided when their mean mommy pulled them out of the pool during the peak sun hours. Literally had to drag them out...



Zak has NO FEAR of water. The little fish was on his own floating and kicking around. He is scary, really.

Maui is our favorite place to go when we want to really kick back and chill! We always stay at The Grand Wailea and literally don't even leave the hotel! I think we spent 25 hours at the pool! Carlos rented a cabana this year so it was nice for the kids to get out of the sun and take naps at the pool. It was such a rare treat to get up and go (yeah, planning took all of 1 week!)

New School Year

The kid's first day of school was exciting! Of course, my accident-prone Bella bumped her face and got a slight cut on the classroom door. Nurse Marianne said, "HI BELLA! So happy that you are officially my first patient of the year!" What's scary...that she was the first student(?) or that she knew Bella by her first name already (?)

Introducing Surfing into our Family

Zak trying to be cool like daddy.



Maddie's turn! She's got skill!

So, Carlos has been bitten by the surfing bug! He started to surf in July and has been going every Sunday morning at 6am! He loves it and is getting much better each time he goes out.

"I'm Sorry, Daddy!"

Zak said, "How did that get in there?!"



Group Hug

4th of July

Zak having fun with sparklers until...



He stepped on a spark and it burned his foot. Ouch! "daddy, it's right here!"



Kid's chillin' in back of car. We stayed home this year (kid's had colds) and Carlos burned fireworks in the street while the kid's did sparklers. Zak was afraid of the loud noises and would hide behind Maddie (while managing to peek over her shoulder at the street!)

Zak Potty Training

He's trying! Ms Rae at Kuaapa said he's doing really well! He started preschool end of May and he loves it! Ms Rae and Ms Gwenie are awesome!

Zak's Mexican Fiesta - 2 years old!

Who's the cool decorator? Looks like we're in Tijuana!



Grampa (Abuelito!) Campos, Tia Rosa, Tia Raquel, Gramma Francis - All flew in from New Mexico! Later, Gramma Francis danced with the Mariachi's!



Mexican Food Bar - Delicioso!



Zak with Grandma Francis and Aunty Marisa! Ole!



Can't get enough of this merry go round! Hmmmm I think I've seen this view before!



and again...



Zak's party favors - these cute little gumball machines!


Zak's fiesta was a blast! He loved the merry-go-round and all the bouncers. The homemade Mexican food was to die for! Thank you Frank and Marisa!

Zak in the groove

My Zak can jam! He loves to dance and sing. Okaaaayyy but sometimes he scares us with all the showtunes he knows (ie: Hairpray, Mamma Mia, High School Musical.) Hmmmmm.

Terrible Ordeal - Zak

Thanks for your prayers. Zak spent 7 days in the hospital due to a terrible virus. He lost 5 lbs and threw up for 5 of the 7 days. IV was impossible after 6 hours(long story and too painful to retell) so the Director of Pediatrics had to come to ER and perform a surgery to insert into Zak's groin. So far, this was one of the scariest times of our lives. I lived at the hospital while Carlos struggled to take care of work, the girls, and the hospital visits.

Zak is doing well now and we are glad to have him home.

Christmas Day 2008

Uncle Skip played Santa this year! He was a great Santa with a local pidgen accent!



Poor Bella had to wear a mask at Nana's house. She had the stomach flu


Nana's present to the kids...a jumper in her playroom! Zak having a ball!

Madison jumped out of bed at 6am and ran downstairs to see if Santa came! The first thing she noticed was the cookies and milk gone! Then, her eyes were so wide when she saw the presents under the tree! Sadly, Bella woke up very sick. We knew something was wrong because she wouldn't get out of bed. Poor thing, she got the stomach flu and threw-up a few times. Of all days!!!! She was a trooper and opened up a few presents. After her stomach was empty, we gave her medicine from the doctor that helps nausea and went to Nana and Granpa's house. She felt so much better but we made her wear a little mask so she didn't get anyone else sick. My poor Bellz!

It was such a nice Christmas! So fun to see all the kids (including my niece and nephew - Chaney and Carter) getting SO excited this year!

Christmas Eve

We baked cookies for Santa and left out one glass of milk! The girl's made their Christmas list for Santa (Maddie helped Bella a little.)


Listening to Christmas stories read by Nana. Nana still upholds tradition and cries every year. Funny!

Sea World and More Disneyland

Mommy and Zak sat out on this ride. Maddie and Bella got so wet, we had to buy them new jackets to wear in the park!




Kid's loved Sea World and the sea life was amazing. We miss San Diego!

Disneyland Trip 2009

Rides...



Rides...



And more rides...!



Bella in her element. Look at how she looks at the princess with such adoration!




Our annual Disney trip was a whirlwind! Whew...5 straight days of Disney turned into one gigantic long day! It was SO much fun and this year, Zak really had such a wonderful time. He was dancing in the courtyard with the Highschool Musical crew and some of the people came up to us to tell us that they enjoyed watching Zak instead of the performance! He doesn't just bob up and down, he shakes his shoulders and wiggles his booty! So cute!

Obama Wins!

Girls had fun participating in the presidential election! We had them vote all week for things that affect them (dinner choices, dessert choices...tv choices....) I don't know if it really worked out since they are so opposite. One night I had to make two different meals. Carlos had to be the tie-breaker vote (saimin) on another night.

Our 3rd Annual Halloween Party

Madison (witch), Bella (Southern Belle), and Zak (Kung Fu Panda)



Carlos got crazy and built a Haunted House(yes construction!) Thanks to Bert, Ben, and Amber for helping with the painting. The party was so much fun and the kid's liked the Witch's Broom Scavenger Hunt.





The brave ones who kept running through the Haunted House!



Helen, Ashley, Hunter eyeing the dessert table. Check out the Haunted House cake made by Cori.

Family Moments

"MY FAVORITE TWO PEOPLE (Okay, besides, mommy, daddy, Bella, Maddie, and Buddy....ha!) Look at Aunty Autumn staring at me...I think she is going to take me home one day..."



"My new little cousin...meet BROWNIE! Hey, is somebody behind me?"



This was Bella on her activity day at school. All the kids were participating, but she stood in the middle of the room looking at her fingers! I asked her, "Bella, how come you didn't want to sing? You love to sing!" She said, "BECAUSE! I was trying to get all the glue off of my fingers!" Okay then.

OCTOBER A BLUR.....

BELLA TURNS FOUR! She asked for a "Princess Belle" cake (of course!)



BELLA AND CHUCK E CHEESE. She's not sure if she's scared or surprised...



Zak is eyeballing Bella's cake...yum...

This month was crazy! It truly was a blur...! Bella turned four on the 10th so we had a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Aunty Amber (my sister) was here from Washington for the month (to spend Halloween with the kids.)



MADDIE MAKING PUMPKINS AT SCHOOL



CHANEY & BELLA AT ALOUN FARMS - Chaney chose the largest pumpkin (she could barely carry it) and Bella chose the smallest pumpkin (see the little one on top!) Ms Kotake said that Bella found the most perfect little round pumpkin!



Zak was overwhelmed! What the heck are all these things on the ground!?

MADDIE TURNS SIX!

MADISON & BELLA - BEST FRIENDS AND WORST ENEMIES! HA!



MADISON'S POKEMON CAKE

It's hard to believe that Maddie is six! She is such a sensitive, sweet girl with the most amazing memory. We celebrated her birthday with a big pool party at the house. It was a crazy weekend because we had her soccer friends come over on Friday to swim, and then on Saturday, nearly 24 kids were swimming or running around the house! Needless to say, she was exhausted! But she had a wonderful weekend!



A LOT OF KIDS...



GETTING A LITTLE HELP FROM BELLA

Labor Day Weekend

"YUM, SAND IS GOOOOD!"

We had a great 4 day vacation and stayed in Waikiki at The Hilton Hawaiian Villages! We had SO much fun! We went with mom, dad, and Autumn/Bert's family. We literally spent 4 days at the beach or in the pool. Maddie was burnt! Maddie finally learned to swim confidently (without her floaties!)



BELLA LOVES THE BEACH!



BEACHED WHALES

Madison's First Soccer Game

Madison with "Team Speed" teammates, Kaitlynn and Alyssa



Check out Maddie in action! She scored the first goal of the game for us when the other team was up (2-0)! Then, we ended up winning 4-3! Autumn, Bert, and Carter came to watch the game and everyone said it was SO EXCITING! We were shocked that the girls at this age actually had strategy and were playing like a real team! ha! I guess I thought they'd be just tossing the ball around and MAYBE heading toward the goal! It was funny though, our team made 2 goals for the other team! We had so much fun and we were a rowdy group. Carlos is the Assistant Coach and I'm the Team Mom (don't know how I got appointed this!) Oh-by the way, the other team we were playing had Raena Santos' daughter on the team (RaeAnn!) So cute!



Zak cruising...watching the game with a spam musubi!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Geez, Carlos and I had anxiety all week about Bella starting Pre-K at Maryknoll. Carlos literally slept only 2 hours the night before!

So the night before their first day of school, Carlos and I did BIG preparations for the kids so they would be super excited. Carlos mounted pink wooden coat hangers downstairs for the girl's to hang their uniforms and backpacks. We brought out their new princess backpacks, new tennis shoes (yup, Bella was excited about this), and their favorite snacks for school. I made picture tags for the girls and covered all of Madison's school books with princess paper (Carlos helped me with the contact paper!) The next morning, the girls ran downstairs...it was like Christmas Day (well, sort of) and they were SO excited! I have to admit, I had total butterflies for Bella (we ALL know she is NOT good with "change!") Of course, I had no qualms about Maddie...she is a veteran and so excited.

Anyway, when we walked Bella to class, she was ALL happy and smiling until the MOMENT we stepped through the door! Yep, you guessed it...she FROZE. I literally had to pull her in! We all gave her lots of hugs and I wanted to linger, but the teacher was saying, "BYE MOMMY, BYE MOMMY!" So our brave little Bella looked at me and tears came flowing as she held her arms out to me....! Ahhhhh, I ran to hug her again and literally rambled that I'd be back to pick her up and never looked back! That was hard!

Madison ran into her new classroom and was greeted by many old friends. She is a little popular girl as she is SO OPPOSITE from Bella and has such a mellow demeanor.

When we walked back to the car, I begged Carlos if we could go peek into Bella's class but decided not to when we ran into Maricar (cousin) who told me that Bella wasn't crying, just sitting quietly on the teacher's lap!

ANYWAY....both teachers (Ms Kotake and Ms Costa) told me later that Bella did great! **PHEW!** Everyone knows, of all my kids, Bella is SUCH "my challenge," but because of this, she is always forefront in my mind and I constantly worry about her. I was just telling some of my friends that every rule book or parenting book out there...I swear I have to throw it out the window! She's breaking new ground, I tell you! My crazy Bellz, how we all LOVE HER!!!!

Family Night

So...we have started this family night thing (well, I guess we've always done it) and we try to come up with fun games for the kids. A few weeks ago we decided to play charades. It was so hilarious that I nearly pee'd my pants - no kidding. The kids were making us laugh so hard. Carlos and I were trying to teach them to act something out and they had to guess what we were. Their answers were so funny! Only a kid would say that you were pretending to be a rock!? But it got funnier (hysterical!) when they started doing their own charades! Bella cracks us up! First, I would pretend I was a bear and then, when it was her turn, she'd be like, "Who am I?" And then...she'd be a bear, too! Then, I'd be a turtle and on Bella's next turn, she'd be a turtle, too. The funny thing was that she honestly thought she was playing the game right and would get so excited when we'd guess correctly. She was like, "Wow mommy/daddy, you guys are SOO good at this game!" I guess you had to be there. It was pure comedy!

So, tonight our game was the freeze dance and again, the kids make me laugh so hard. I'd start the music and they'd start dancing like crazy...then, I'd mute it and they'd freeze until I start the music again. Maddie's expressions were so funny! Bella was her usual hilarious self and every time the music would turn off, she'd take an extra second to put her hand on her face and the other hand on her heart. I dunno why she was doing it, but I had some good laughs... My crazy kids. (Oh, and Zak was getting into it too...he was dancing and shaking his head to the music!)

Zak and Daddy

Zak and Daddy walking at the zoo...they looked like twins! Zak is walking SO much better now! (Okay, so maybe you would have seen how much they looked alike IF I caught Carlos in the picture. Oh well!)

Bella's Big Week

So, this past week was all about Our Bellz. She got a cold at the beginning of the week and had her first bloody nose on Monday (she ran into another girl at school.) Mrs. Ilima said she freaked out over the blood (ahhh...she IS my girl, right? At least she didn't faint like her mommy!) So I kept her home on Tuesday and took her and Zak to the zoo. She was so excited because we got to see the elephant show (yeah, who knew that there was one) and she kept telling everyone, "did you know that an elephant can hop on 3 legs? And they wave good bye like this?" {she is covering her head with her arm and waving it wildly...}




A Fond Farewell to Mrs. Ilima...

Anyway, Bella's last day at Kuapa Preschool was yesterday (Friday.) It was SO sad! I spent the whole week worrying about both Bella AND Mrs. Ilima because they are so close. Bella always tells us how much she LOVES Mrs. Ilima and it's so cute because Bella calls her dolls "Boo" and we all know that it's the nickname that Mrs. Ilima uses for her. Anyway, when I went to pick up Bella on her last day, ahhhh...Mrs. Ilima started to cry and shucks, well, you know how I am...I totally started to cry, too! Poor Bellz...she was looking up at us like we were crazy! Later in the car, she said, "Mommy, where does Mrs. Ilima live? I want to go visit her because I miss her." Ahhh that made my heart melt. Later, she told both my mom and I, "Teachers are not supposed to cry. How come Mrs. Ilima was crying?" So I told her that she misses her and Bella responded quietly, "I miss her, too." I have so much anxiety about her starting at Maryknoll next week (Pre-Kindergarten)...I think that's why I've literally had a headache every day this week! Anyway, although I was sad about Bella's last day with her favorite teacher, we had a great week. I tried to take Maddie/Zak to all her favorite haunts before school starts so we had a lot of fun. A couple days we even took Chaney (and Ashlee) so it was a real treat for Madison.

I'll let you know how their first day of school is next week! I can hardly belive Maddie will be in 1st grade! Bella is still our baby--she'll be entering Pre-K as one of the younger kids since she is still 3 and doesn't turn 4 until October. Say a prayer for her, please! She is my clingy one and hates change! Okay, I'll stop being a worry wart...

Here's a few other pictures of Bella's Teachers:



MS MICKIE (SHE STARTED THE NICKNAME BELLA-BOO AND THE WHOLE SCHOOL CALLED HER THIS ALL YEAR ROUND!)



MS RAE (HER FIRST TEACHER EVER--SHE WAS AWESOME!)

Aquarium

Took Ashlee with us to the Aquarium! They had so much fun! I had to post this because...notice the BIG fish I got in the background!? Those fish freak me out!

Nacho Night

Last week was crazy (as usual!) in the Campos household. The week started with our little Zak getting a high fever of 103 - 104 for 4 days! Yup, you guessed it...he ended up having Roseola (we all figured so...) and he broke out in a rash when his fever finally broke. Incidentally, Zaky boy cracks us up and is still not fully walking at 15 months old. He is trying though and CAN walk...but believe it or not...we think he's just LAZY! Hmmm....The lei shop was crazy, too. We had tons of big weddings this week -- I guess everyone wanted to celebrate on 8-8-08! Of course, we had the normal pandemonium....soccer practice, music lessons, dance lessons (Bella's first...) and, of course, most notably... our Nacho Party! That was so much fun! I forgot to write in my other blog what Carlos bought me for our 11 year anniversary! As some of you have recently discovered...he bought me a NACHO CHEESE DISPENSER! (Oh, and for those of you who don't know...I am obsessed with NACHOS!) He begged and bribed Gehl's to send us a Nacho cheese dispenser (you know, the kind you see at 7-11 or the movie theaters!) The sales rep told him that she could only sell or lease the machine to a licensed food distributor. Well, luckily that did not stop my hubby! Carlos got the address and name of the sales manager and sent her some fresh flower leis (all the way to Wisconsin!) The rest is history...she called Carlos and told him "I love the flowers..whatever you need...I'll do it!" So she sent Carlos a dispenser and lots and lots of cheese! We have hot nacho cheese 24/7...yeah....um...I don't know if that is a good thing. We eat it constantly! Yup...I haven't gotten sick of it yet! Everyone loved it and I can't wait until we have another party. I asked Carlos if I could lug it to Shari's sushi night this coming week but I think it's too big and too hot. bummers.

Pictures of the Kids

These pictures were taken back in May, but I thought I'd post them anyway. In every picture, Bella would NOT smile. She would make fish lips or stick out her tongue. My Crazy Bellz!!!!!! We went to take these pictures when Zak turned 1 years old.

"I want to get wet, too!"

Zak was feeling so left out. He was calling, "Da Da" (Daddy) and tapping his hands on the glass. He was watching his sisters scream and laugh as daddy surprised them with a shot of water from the cold hose!

OUR 11 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

So, I asked Carlos what he wanted to do for our 11 year anniversary. He said, "why don't we do something different and do a daytime activity? We always do the dinner/movie thing!" So I offered to go golfing with him! Yup, I said it. Go GOLFING with him! He was SO EXCITED! I've been with him on the courses (usually I ride in the cart and just keep him company), but I've NEVER golfed on a course...ever. Not in the 13 years we have been together.

I have to say, I had A BLAST! And Carlos was SO proud of me! He was teaching me as we were going from hole to hole (I use to practice with him at the driving range in San Diego about 6-7 years ago, but I've forgotten everything!) By the 15th hole...I was sort of catching on and starting to do kind of good! And then, straight up..on the 17th hole---I made a par! I even beat one of the guys playing with us! I was so excited I was jumping up and down! Carlos told me later that was the best present I ever gave him.

Later...Carlos bought me the best present EVER, too! I'll tell you in another blog because I want to take a picture of it! You'll laugh...

Our San Diego Pal...Kristina!

Shout out to Kristina Avila for actually tracking me down! "Bad friend Sum", still at large....

So, apparently Kristina has been trying to email me for a few months that she was coming to Hawaii in April...yup...I missed her. (I hadn't checked personal email from April thru July--we were so busy with graduation season!)

So she emailed me again that she was coming in July. ALMOST missed her again(she didn't have my personal phone number) ...but luckily, Kristina looked up our website and came to our lei shop! She got LEID and looked so beautiful! Anywhooooo, she came over to our home and hung out all night. We had a blast and it was like old times! Thank God I have Such good friends! I'm terrible, yes, I know!

Putt Putt

Trying to follow in daddy's footprints! Maddie is really good at golf!

The Perfect 4th of July

Zak and Bella at the Beach



Where did Maddie go?



I love da beach!



Me and My Gramps!



Getting a little assistance from Nana

4th of July

Carlos said our 4th of July was the PERFECT day! The kids were SO excited! We all got an early start and went to Sherwood's for the day! Mom and Dad brought tons of food (of course) and we had a great time playing in the sand and water. Surprisingly, Bella could not get enough of the waves. Of course, our little fishes (Maddie and Zak) loved the water. We stayed for about 4 1/2 hours and then went home, took a bath, and slept for about 4 hours! It was greeeeaaat! Then we went to Nana's and had lots of good grub and watched the aerial fireworks in Hawaii Kai.

Purple Walls

So, one day, I told Carlos...let's paint the dining room and the kitchen! So he got all excited (PROJECT!) so we immediately went to Home Depot with the kids. Bad idea. I let Maddie help me with the color choices and she somehow got me to agree on purple. Actually, a dark lavendar...! To offset the brightness, we chose a sage for the kitchen. My mom walked in and said, "Hmmmmm, well, it's definitely purple!" Autumn walked in and well, let's just say she didn't even notice it at first! Huh?

Well, it's sort of grown on me and now I think I like it! (Carlos said good{!} and I'm stuck with it for a while since it ended up being a pain in the butt to do and he had forgotten how much he hates to paint!)

JUSTIN

Every day this summer, Maddie comes home talking about "JUSTIN." We ask her, "Who did you play with today?" Justin. "Who was your field trip partner today?" Justin. "Who gave you that magic rock?" Justin. So one day, she tells us, "Mommy, I need a haircut. I think Justin will like my hair short." Huhhhh? So she got a haircut (yeah, not because we like the idea of "justin...") and the next day we surprised her by showing up on her field trip at Kapiolani Park. Who was she playing with? Yeah, you guessed it...JUSTIN.

Sesame Street Live

Aunty Autumn and Uncle Bert took the 3 yoots to see Sesame Street Live. They had a blast.

A Rare Date Night

Our Patented Pose (Yes, we always take our own picture!)

Here's the thing. I don't know how Carlos and I don't get sick of each other. We spend 24/7 with one another but I'll tell you what....we still love to spend time together. He's always bugging me to go out, so he planned a date night to go see Kathy Griffin's live stand-up show (Yes, I like her.) So I actually spent money to buy a dress and new shoes! (Yes, I had buyer's remorse later...but Carlos made me keep the shoes! There is a story to these shoes....) Anyhooooo...We had such a good time--Kathy Griffin is so obnoxious, but hilarious!

May and June -- What a Blur!

RIDE 'EM HORSEY!



SHAKE THEM BOOTIES!



DAY AT DOLE PLANTATION...DADDY/GIRL'S DAY OUT



DISCOVERY CENTER



"HEY--I CAN'T SEE!" (Zak...)

So, to be honest, the months of May and June were crazy and stressful. Carlos and I (and the gang at our shop) were working day and night. We had time for NOTHING except work and the kids. Many nights, we didn't sleep at all. Not a wink. The thing is, we were so lucky to have had so much help and we couldn't have done it without everyone. Amber (sis) came down for 6 weeks to work full time at our shop and my mom helped so much with Zak and the girls. Actually, our whole family pitched in and we made it through another crazy season!

Toothless Grin

Madison screamed one night and we went running up to her room! She was jumping up and down and was SO excited! Her 3rd tooth came out! This time she didn't swallow it! (The first one she swallowed, the second one the nurse pulled out at school..ouch!) The tooth fairy visited her and she got $1 and a bag full of toys. The grandmother tooth fairy (Nana) also gave her strawberry sparkling toothpaste and a new toothbrush!

May Day Program

Hmmmm...can you spot Bella? Yes, she was the only one who's pareo kept opening when she'd shake that booty. Bella and Carter were so cute at the May Day Program!

Zak's 1st Birthday

Hey, who's eating all my cake? For Zak's first birthday, we kept it low-key and invited just immediate family over. Don't worry, we will keep tradition and still have a big party, but we're going to do it for his 2nd birthday. We did the big 1st for Madison, but she was too young to enjoy all the bouncers and games, so we decided for Bella we would try the 2 year birthday bash. It was a big hit and she loved it. So...stay tuned, we're doing a Mexican-themed Fiesta next year for Zak's big party (of course, what else would we choose! going back to our roots! okay--so i still think i'm Mexican...) ha!

Da Cousins

Posing with the cousins

Zak is such a hilarious baby! He has a joker attitude and is always playing games with us. One morning, he wakes up and starts making his funny noises (when he's sleepy he does this loud monotone "ahhhhhh...") Anyway, imagine this....he still has his eyes closed, so I start calling his name...."Zaaaaakkk...wake up....Zaaak..."

quiet...pause...

He opens his eyes, looks at me, blinks, then says, "BOO!" Big smile!

Madison's Dance Recital

So I have to be the first to admit, Madison tries really hard to be graceful and dance...but hmmmmm...let's just say that she is really good at sports and singing. It is so cute--her dance recital was really impressive. The girls had about a 25 minute dance and Maddie was smiling the whole time. We were cheering her on through her stumbles and all! So cute!

Daddy's Birthday

Daddy's 37th birthday...I guess the older you get, the smaller the cake! Buddy's trying to get in on the action, too! Carlos and I went out to dinner at Assagio's. Later, Carlos and Bert went out to play pool and came home and played...yeah, you guessed it...Guitar Hero.

Guitar Hero Dorks

Need I say more?

Bella goes Private

So we found out on Friday that Bella made it into Maryknoll's Pre-Kindergarten program! We are so excited. The teachers that interviewed/observed Bella last month told us that she was so cute and even gave her hugs when she left! We really love Maryknoll as Maddie has really excelled there in their Kindergarten program. Madison can read stage 2 books and knows how to read/write over 100 words (some words are really impressive...!) The only thing is...I'm wondering how we are going to afford all 3 kids at private school?! Seriously...how do people do it!? Hawaii is already so expensive to live...but the grade school tuition has gotten way out of control. I just heard that Mid Pac went up to $16k for next year. Does that even include the summer program or afterschool programs? Geez! How do people survive here?!? The crazy thing is that tuition doesn't even include lunch for the Kindergarten classes! HUH?!? Okay, I'd better get back to work. I feel very broke.

The "F" Word

So last week, I went to Kahala Urgent care (sadly, the doctor who runs the joint knows my kids on a first name basis.."How's Bella doing!?"...) and I got the long q-tip stuffed in my nose to test for the flu.

Here's Dr. Ruggieri...he says, "Hi Summer, how are you feeling?"

ME: "Bad."

DOCTOR: "Really? Tell me your symptoms..." (talking to me with this sly smile...)

ME: "High fevers for 2 days...chills, sore throat, headache, ears ringing, suicidal tendencies (kidding....)"

DOCTOR:"Well, hmmm interesting. Body aches too I bet."

ME: "Yeah. Every part of my body hurts!"

DOCTOR: "Well Summer...that's because.... drumroll please...You tested positive for the Flu!" (Is this a joke?...like why is he breaking the news to me after 5 minutes of questions and announcing it as if I won the sweepstakes??? I don't like him anymore.)

Anyway, it has been a week and I'm feeling better. The flu wiped me out and I'm still sick but able to function today! This is now called "The Campos Family Medical Blog!" Stay tuned, next week we'll be talking about Carlos' colon! okay, just kidding. Anyway...moral to this story. Get the flu shot! (I didn't.)

Happy Easter!

The kids had a lot of fun searching for eggs at Autumn's egg hunt on Saturday. Zak and I stayed home on Sunday while Carlos took the two girls to Aunty Fuzzy's house for a big Easter lunch. I heard Bella found all the Easter eggs before the hunt even began! Crazy Bellz....

My Poor Baby - Zak Hospitalized

Last Friday 3/14, I was feeding Zak baby food (Gerber's organic oatmeal/applesauce) and he started to gag, then choke. His face and head started turning red so I immediately flipped him over my leg and started swatting. After what seemed like eternity, he started to gasp, breathe, and finally, cry. I started to hug and console him when he started to choke again. We called 911 and rode in the ambulance to ER (you can never be too safe!) Through x-ray, we found out he aspirated some food into his lungs and could get serious if he got an infection.

Sure enough, on Monday 3/17, Zak was admitted into the hospital after major trauma in the ER unit. Because he was dehydrated, they needed to put an IV in asap. So, me being the wuss, I anxiously sat in the waiting room watching sick kids come in and out while poor Carlos was with Zak getting his IV, spinal tap, bloodwork, x-rays, etc. After an hour and a half passed, Jon (the doctor and an old high school friend of mine) came out quickly to tell me, "Summer, we can't get the IV in. We have to go in the jugular..the neck." I ran in the room and Carlos had tears in his eyes and I nearly broke. Carlos was holding Zak and he was so limp that I nearly passed out from stress. For the last two hours, they could not find a decent vein in baby..he was too chubby and dehydrated. It wasn't their fault; the hospital literally had the whole IV unit (best) trying to get the IV in. Carlos lost count...but they poked him over 30 times! Carlos told me that he told Jon (Dr Marr) to do whatever it takes to get baby better--so he approved the throat IV. Of course, I agreed. My poor baby was so dehydrated that he was crying and had no more tears. Hours later, they had the IV in the neck and finished the spinal tap and other tests. We were being admitted immediately to the hospital.That night, we were lucky to have a friend, Trenton, come and bless Zak. We thought the worse was over and that baby would get fluids and antibiotics. (We found out later that night that Zak had Pneumonia and a bad case of dehydration.) At midnight, the doctor came in to hear Zak having trouble breathing. We were very scared (alarmed!) He looked in Zak's throat and had to suction out tons of thick mucas (from the infection) and was alarmed that his tonsils were so swollen that his throat was barely leaving any passage for air. He immediately called the ICU team from downstairs and they were literally waiting outside our door in case they had to put a tube in Zak's throat. Luckily, Zak responded well to the treatments of the nebulizer. His IV was also doing double duty with steriods and two antibiotic treatments. By 3am, Zak was better and oxygen levels were stabilized. Over the course of the next few days, Zak was getting better physically with two different steroids and two different antibiotics, but still refusing to eat. (By Tuesday night he started to let me nurse him, but he wasn't eating any solids.) On Wednesday, the doctors took more x-rays of his throat, but wanted to get a cat scan. You see, the pneumonia and aspiration of the lungs were being treated, but we couldn't figure out what was wrong with his thoat. It was obvious that something was bothering him and that was why he wasn't eating. However, we were trying to avoid the high radiation of the catscan. Luckily, we heard that the only pediatric ENT specialist on the island (Dr. Tran) was going to squeeze us in her schedule on Thursday. So they postponed the cat scan and she put a scope down baby's nose. We found out that he has laringo malaysia (like Madison did!) and that he had a bad case of laringitis (from his screaming on Monday) and Pharingitis (spelling?? from his pneumonia). Either way, he had enlarged and swollen tonsils and a little abrasion past the voice box -- but nothing more serious! Thank God! After more steroid and antibiotic treatments, we got to go home on Friday with one condition...Zak has to eat baby food. If not, we couldn't go home (he had been refusing food every chance we tried.) So, Friday morning, we explained to Zak that he had to eat! We heated up his favorite..."Chicken Vegetable." Zak ate 3/4 the bottle and we went home at 1pm. I have to say that through the stress of it all, Zak was such a trooper. He is such a cutie pie and would wave and smile at the nurses. One of the nurses called him the superstar of the floor because I would take him on walks (IV and all) and each time we'd pass the nurses, he'd wave. We love him sooo much!!!! Thank you to my family (esp Mom) for all the support and for watching Maddie and Bella! (Aunty Amber, thank you for extending your trip to be with them! Madison wanted to live at Nana's house forever. I'd think something was wrong if Bella thought the same..>!) This week was so incredibly stressful and exhausting. But the only thing that mattered was Zak getting better. He is doing much better and by today (Saturday) he was so happy to be home. He was crawling all over the place!

Daddy's Girl

I found this picture of Madison (2 years old) with Carlos. Hard to remember when she was little!

Mi Casa Su Casa

Last November, we were stoked that Julie, Patricia, and Vanessa came to stay with us for almost 3 weeks! We had a blast! We're so proud of Vanessa--she has grown up to be so beautiful and smart! On the day they had to leave, Julie "suddenly" came down with a bad stomach ache and we rushed her to urgent care. She had kidney stones! I said, "if you wanted to stay longer, wow, you sure go to great lengths...this whole "sick" thing! We also had more of the Campos Clan visit us in January! Frank, Marisa, and Szon! Talk about eating good Mexican Food! Frank and Marisa can cook! Madison misses her cousin Szon so much. Check out Frank shaking his booty (hula?)