Hubinator's Birthday and The DALI Gardens

This year the kids planned Brandon's birthday from the cake all the way down to which party games we played.


They picked out the cake, I wish I could say we had enough energy to make it ourselves, but we didn't!  Sorry Pops!


 

Papi and Grandma joined in the celebration.


The kids helped Daddy blow out the candles.


The girls organized a game of pin the tail on the donkey.


Elle assured us that she was NOT cheating...

We had a fun day thanks to all the live entertainment provided by the kids.  It was sweet to see them take such an interest in planning a party for someone else.  Usually all the birthday talk we hear is about what they want to do for their next birthday.

Earlier this summer my friend Andi took us for a play date to the gardens at the new Dali museum.  It was so beautiful that we decided to take Brandon there for an impromptu birthday treat.


Here we are at the entrance, someone graciously offered to take our photo.


They have an amazing living wall, I need one of these...


You can see the Pier and marina in the distance.  A perfect setting for museum.


In the garden, the kids had fun hopping from one stone to the next following the trail.  Reminds me of the stones in my grandpa's backyard when I was young.


Of course you must have some surreal sculpture, aren't those windows fantastic?  And the bench...


They have a maze for the kids to explore.  Super Fun!


So many details on the grounds...


And the cafe, gardens, view, furniture...I die.


Someday I hope to actually go into the museum and marvel at the collection.  We tried this weekend and the line was like 200+ deep, so we will have to try again another time.

OK, gotta run, next post is about our first day of school this year.  To brush up on last year's account, click here.  Until next time!

Hilton Head Part 3: Vacation Round-up

Sorry we've been gone for a bit, our laptop has been acting up and I haven't had time to play games with it until now.  We went on several different "outings" throughout the week including: Salty Dog, Mini-golf, the Sandbox and the guys squeezed in several rounds of golf.

No trip to Hilton head is complete without a trip to the Salty Dog Cafe.


They have some really exotic birds for the kids to check out.


The girls got their faces painted.
  

 Tommy was too busy running around and people watching. Here he is working up a sweat:

We took the kids for a round of mini-golf one night. It was SO HOT outside...


Tommy practiced his swing...


Daddy tried to correct it, and improve Elle's also.






I think Kher-bear had the best time, she's really taking to golf.


Grandma and Papi relaxed at the house and took in the view.


Several mornings the guys took advantage of the Fazio course.

I'm pretty sure they are stopping for some cold "waters" that they stashed in a cooler in the backyard.


While the guys went golfing one morning, Jena and I took the kids to "the Sandbox", a hands-on children's museum.

Anushka spent some time in the window after she played in the sandbox.


Tommy and Khera had fun in the construction room.

They had a sweet spaceship, and the kids did a pretty good job of taking turns being captain.


This shot confuses me...


They took turns being Ariel (future Tommy blackmail).


Anushka and Elle took it upon themselves to open up a cafe while we were there.  Anushka quickly worked herself up through the ranks.

First she started out as a bus-girl.


Elle was impressed with her sense of urgency and promoted her to cashier.

Someone even tried to break into the cash register, but Anushka handled the difficult situation beautifully.


Elle was impressed with her quick thinking and ability to juggle multiple responsibilities.

They had many satisfied customers.




Elle was busy in the test kitchen dreaming up new recipes.
 
Pretty soon they figured out a name for their cafe, and all those who visited knew this team was a force to be reckoned with.

While Elle and Anushka manned the cafe, Khera, Tommy and I explored the rest of the museum.
    

Alas, Tommy found some trains!

The girls decided to retire from the food business and joined us at the art table.



Anushka hoarded the glitter glue, do you blame her?

After the Sandbox, we met up with pops for a little family lunch. The thing I love most about vacations is that  Brandon is with us and the kids want nothing to do with me.
 
Our vacation went way too fast, but it was perfect.  I think the last time my parents, sister and I went on vacation was over 10 years ago.  How things have changed since then!  I wish Amar and Kris could have joined us, maybe next time guys!