Summer fun...

We finally got some nice weather over the weekend so I was able to get out the bike trailer I purchased awhile ago and put it together. Ethan watched in anticipation while I built it and then was very eager to get inside. Once he was in and we rode around the neighborhood a few times it was hard to get him out since he was having so much fun. I had installed it on my beach cruiser that has no gears so I could only go on the flat parts. I think the next step is to hook it to my mountain bike and go for a long ride and a picnic at the park in the near future when the sun decides to come back. Below is a photo of our test run. Ignore the boots since I had been mowing the lawn before we did this. :)

House Projects...

We are FINALLY done with our major house project that had been going on for the past four days. We had all new trim installed, doors painted, new slats put in on the stairs, and a bunch of other misc. stuff. Ethan loved being without doors for the past week but was really happy that the doors were finally fixed this afternoon. Here are a few photos. Enjoy!

Memorial Day Weekend - Long Beach Washington

Over Memorial Day weekend we visited Long Beach Washington with Jeff's family. We stayed at a great place called the Akari Bungalow's that were very close to the main downtown and the beach. Even though the weather was raining almost the entire time we still enjoyed ourselves and enjoyed getting away for a short time. Ethan really enjoyed the arcade, eating icecream, and the go-karts. We will definitely be back again.

Home Improvement...

(Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Home improvements are full steam ahead at the Kalles household today. After an initial attempt by me and not enough time on our hands we decided to hire people to come in and replace all of the trim and paint all of our doors to give our house an updated look along with a few other small projects as well. We are hoping to put our house on the market in the coming months and needed to do some cosmetic improvements before this could occur. For those of you that have seen our house we have definitely outgrown it and our looking to get into a bigger one. Not sure where yet but we will keep you all posted on that as well I am sure.

For the next few days our house will be in shambles but I cannot wait to share with all of you the finished product. Thankfully Jeff decided to work from home and oversee the process since I know I would be having a complete heart attack. Wish us luck!

Leavenworth, Washington

Last weekend Jeff, Ethan, and I headed to Leavenworth Washington with Jeff's co-workers. We ended up staying at Brunner's Lodge, specifically the Oma Lodge. We lucked out on the weather for the majority of the weekend with blue skies and sunshine. We headed into town a few times for food and some shopping but most of the time was spent enjoying the great outdoors.

Aloha from Hawaii!

We made it back safely from our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. It was definitely an adventure to be had but I guess that traveling with a two year old that is somewhat expected. We left on a Saturday and surprisingly Ethan was fantastic on the plane ride over. We were a little nervous about this and packed accordingly but ended up not bringing out any of the toys we had purchased prior. He slept almost the entire five plus hours over there and when we arrived we knew something was amiss. He ended up coming down with a viral flu so we spent three days of our six days cooped up in our hotel room. We even had to venture twice to the E.R. because his temperature was up to 107 degrees which was extremely frightening. While we were frantically trying to get him there he was excited that we got to ride in the security golf cart to our car and go underground the hotel through the staff areas. After an x-ray and some blood work they found out it was a viral infection so we had to wait it out. Luckily on the fourth day things were finally looking up and the fever had passed so we were able to enjoy the last three days of our vacation.


The hotel that we stayed at, the Hilton Waikoloa Village, was amazing, especially the expanse of the property. On the first day that Ethan was back to normal we spent several hours swimming in the salt water lagoon at the resort. He really enjoyed it once we got his SpongeBob water wings on him. Jeff and I were able to take turns and go snorkeling and we saw a ton of eels and a turtle which was very cool. That evening we drove to Kona and went to our favorite spot “Bubba Gumps”. In case you ever get to go there you have to order the Shrimp Dippin’ Broth. Yummy!

The second good day Ethan, Jeff, and I got to swim with the dolphins at the resort we were staying. This was a highlight of the trip and I recommend this for anyone visiting this resort. That evening we walked to the Queen’s Shops and we got to watch a local Hula Dance company perform that Ethan enjoyed.

The third good day we ventured to one of our favorite beaches at the Mana Lani Resort. Ethan help build sandcastles on the shore while Jeff and I took turns snorkeling. This is a great beach to go to for snorkeling and for little kids since it is very protected. After snorkeling we headed back to get ready to go to a luau at the resort. The luau was a bit of a disappointment since the MC was very much Love Boat meets Don Ho esque. I would say to skip this one if you visit the resort.

Other than the sick incident we had a great time and if you ask Ethan the highlight of the trip would be the tram at the resort. Since the hotel property is so huge they have trams and boats to take you to the different areas of the property and Ethan absolutely LOVED the tram.

We are glad to be home however I could of used another week there in the sun and sand.

Here are some pictures from our travels, enjoy!

(Hotel Swimming Pool)

(Another swimming pool)

(Palace Tower Lobby)

(Ethan and Jeff walking near the Ocean Tower)

(Ethan on the tram, his favorite thing to do there)

(Buddah point at the hotel)

Easter Egg Decorating...

After dinner last night we decided to pull out the hard boiled eggs for a Easter egg decorating extravaganza. This year Ethan got to pick the colors to dip the eggs into and then he got to paint the eggs with sparkle paint. He really enjoyed painting the eggs, especially telling us what color he wanted to paint them and what color egg he wanted to paint. As you can see from the pictures he had to go shirtless since he likes to make a big mess. He REALLY gets into the coloring.

Plus, Ethan got a new balloon when we went grocery shopping. It's name is funny and he really liked it.

What Easter activities are you doing? We have a couple of egg hunts to go to and our visiting family for Easter dinners.

Here are a few pictures from our neighborhood Easter egg hunt that we had. Luckily they had a seperate area for the little kids and with only three little kids being there Ethan made out like a bandit. He even got a huge tube of play-doh. It was definitely a lot more fun watching him this year since he now knows how to do an Easter egg hunt.