Hays Family Adventures

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Yesterday morning we woke up to this!

Our first snow came on the 3rd day of Spring!

Micah made Snow Friends

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Dreadlocks

BEFORE

We have wanted to get dreadlocks in Naomi's hair for awhile. The biggest thing that was stopping us was that we could not find anyone to do it. Naomi has been a Hays for 4 years now. When we adopted her, her head was shaved. We let it grow, and it got pretty long. Naomi has the kinkiest hair type possible. It is very hard to work with and comb through. So we had it professionally relaxed, thinking that was the way to go to make it more manageable. It looked great at the time, but as the new growth came in at the roots we were not sure we wanted to commit to putting chemicals on her head every eight weeks for who knows how many years. Plus it cost a lot! We decided that if that was a look she liked, she could make that choice for herself when she is much older.

So we cut of the relaxed part leaving her with a really cute style that was all short with some long in front (think Willow Smith). As soon as those roots got really grown out, we cut that part off too and she just had a short cut and we have been letting it grow. Since we could not find anyone to do it, I decided that I would learn to do it! So while I have been resting, letting my body heal, I watched countless you tube videos and read lots of blogs. I finally felt confident enough to go for it. In the BEFORE pics she has some loose twists in her hair.

STEP ONE

STEP ONE: we want really thin dreadlocks so I sectioned off a thin strip of hair at the bottom of her neck. I sprayed some water on it and then combed it out.

This is the product I chose to use. It smells great and is available at Sally's.


STEP TWO

STEP TWO: section off little pieces and clip them. Then apply some locking gel to the piece you are working with. Work it through and comb it again.

STEP THREE

STEP THREE: place you comb near the base of the scalp.

STEP FOUR

STEP FOUR: Twist the comb in a clockwise motion until you have a tight twist.

Baby Locks- they are about 1 inch long

Back and one side done


Front View

It took us 2 days to get her whole head done. We spent 10 hours doing it, 5 hours each day. We did take some breaks and she did amazing. It can take up to 6 months for the hair to actually lock but her hair seems to be keeping the style in really great.

Presenting the Start of Naomi's Dreadlocks

Northwest Trek

If you live in WA and have not been to Northwest Trek, you should definitely go. This was our second time going but it had been a couple of years. We also wanted to take my parents. I love this picture of the kids and the fake moose. First of all, Micah is almost as tall as the nose, Jake wanted it to look like the moose was kicking him and Naomi is there in all her fashion glory. She has been wearing this pair of black 3D glasses, with the lenses pushed out, for a few weeks. There are only two places we do not allow her to wear them: school and church. Other than that we let her express her own style!

For awhile Micah had the camera. He was so happy with this picture he captured while we were passing a herd of buffalo on the Tram ride.

Another highlight of our visit was the wheelchair. We knew that there was no way that I was going to have the strength and energy to walk around Northwest Trek for a day. My sweet husband came up with the idea of borrowing a wheelchair from church and pushing me around in it all day. I was hesitant about the idea, but I wanted to get out of the house so badly, I finally agreed.

Everything went great until lunch time. We had packed our lunches and so we found a great area with tables in the sun. To get to the tables you had to leave the paved walkway and walk on the wood chips. As soon as my wheelchair left the pavement the front wheels got stuck in the wood chips. I flew out of the chair and ended up in a crumpled pile on the ground. I was in shock...Darrick was in shock...the people at the picnic area were in shock. Can you imagine seeing a person fly out of their wheelchair and land on the ground?

It was humiliating and hilarious all at the same time. I was crying and laughing at the same time. Darrick was still in shock. But he was able to come help me up. It was definitely something we will never forget!

Mulkilteo Beach Park

My parents came to visit us for 3 weeks. Truth be told, they actually came to help us out because I have been so sick. They are amazing and really helped Darrick out so I could spend all of my time resting, sleeping and letting my body heal. But we did get out a few times.

One Sunday afternoon we went to Mulkilteo Beach Park. The sun was out, which draws most people in WA out of their houses to soak up some much needed Vitamin D. I sat on the bench most of time but we did get in a short walk to the lighthouse. Naomi had a blast on the playground and the boys had fun beach combing.

Our Girl is a Rock Star

At the beginning of March we all attended Naomi's first school concert. It was the Kindergarten and First Grade students. They sang a bunch of songs about Spring. Before each song a student came to the front, held the microphone and introduced the song. Naomi was chosen as one of the students to have a speaking part. We practiced a lot at home...by the night of the concert we ALL knew it by heart. I think I was more nervous then she was. She did so great. She spoke very clearly and remembered every single word. We were so proud of her.

Besides our family, Naomi invited our family friends, Donna and Quinlan. They brought her a beautiful rose plant which made her very happy. My parents were also visiting so it was such a treat that they were able to attend.

Where has the time gone?

I have really been missing our blog...maybe you have been too...

The last time I posted was in June 2012. Right after that my husband deployed. From that time until December my health started to go downhill. In January it hit really hard and I could not do very much except lie in bed and sleep while my body was in terrible pain. The Red Cross sent a message to bring my husband home. After months of tests, the specialists have come to the conclusion that I am gluten intolerant. Maybe I will tell the whole story on here sometime. But for now I am slowly getting better and getting back to doing the things I like to do!

I am glad to be back!

Sunday, June 17, 2012

End of the Year Open House

Jacob's Pottery

Last Thursday we went to the Boys Open House at Port Gardner. This semester the classes they took were: Pottery, Environmental Science, Environmental Art and Lewis & Clark. It was fun seeing all the hard work they had done. We also had a table displaying some of the work we have done at home.