Mele Kalikimaka

We had the UH-MAZ-ING opportunity to cruise the islands of Hawaii with my parents and my sister Janette and her husband Brian from Dec 12-19. Here are a few highlights!! I have to say that cruising is the absolute BEST way to see all the islands..basically a floating hotel with food and entertainment. Each day we spent on one of the beautiful islands seeing the sights.

Steve had a slight cold.....actually this picture is taken on the Big Island at Akaka Falls:)

Here we are on Kauai..we had just kayaked 2 miles up the Wailua river and then hiked a mile through the jungle to get to these beautiful falls, named Ulu Vea, meaning life giving. We swam in this pool and renewed our "bowl of light" before hiking/kayaking back.

On Maui we saw this ship on our way to church and had to stop and take a pic for Mamo and Poppa who so graciously watched our kids while we were away. We love you guys!! Thank you!

Here we are at Iao state park on the island of Maui. You can see some of the beautiful scenery we were able to enjoy behind us. We learned lots of Hawaiian history to.

We spent a day on Maui snorkeling at the Molokini crater. We were lucky enough to see 1/2 a dozen whales including a mom and her baby while cruising to our destination. We also ended the trip with a visit to turtle bay....lots of beautiful sea turtles..this was quite a memorable time. Mom even won the raffle on the Four Winds excursion that day!!

On the Big Island we spent a day touring the Kilahuea Volcano national park. We walked through the lava tubes, saw the steam vents and craters and drove down to the ocean to see where the most recent lava flow closed the road.

This picture is on Kauai where we rented a paddle board and did some body surfing. You can see our ship in the background...The Pride of America.

Too many pictures to share all of our happenings...suffice it to say that it was a trip we will remember FOREVER! It was like an early Christmas present/anniversary present combined. Thanks to both our parents for making this trip possible.

Mele Kalikimaka!!

Memories...

Shay found this at Walmart today and I couldn't resist buying it. This candy reminds me of my Great Grandma Amy (yes, she's my namesake) Everytime we visited her home we could have a piece of this kind of candy. I've eaten like 10 pieces already...

Some of my favorite Peeps!!

What a crew we've become! Just a few days previous we were all out running/biking our own home-made turkey trot....4.5 miles! We didn't look or smell as nice then....

This is Halloween...this is Halloween

Marie: this post is for you!!!:) Here is #1 nerd-bomber in her AWESOME dress she and Marie made...isn't she cute???

#2 nerd-bomber as Hermione Granger...she even let me put some curls in her hair...

#3 nerd-bomber I'm bumbed that I didn't get a better picture than this. It's hard to see, but we shaved the top of #3's head so that he matched his Dad. It looked pretty funny.

#4 nerd-bomber is a Sith Lord with his double bladed saber...

BOO!

It's cool when...

One of the dentists I work for happens to be an 11 yr old scout leader AND is planning an activity that my boy needs to pass off. Why? Because we only have 2 more months before he turns 12!(I know, I can't believe it myself) Anyhow, sounds like it was a killer hike up the Superstitions...thanks Doc!!

Why We LOVE Quincy!!!

Quincy is a quaint little town in Northern California where Steve grew up. His parents, Mamo and Poppa, still live there. We love visiting for many reasons!! Here are just a few.
We get to bring Sinbad along and he and their little Dachsund (Tootsie) play like long lost friends.

Sometimes we get to make a fun stop along the way. This time we surprised the kids with the trip to Universal Studios. They didn't even know what it was when we first pulled up. They quickly learned-and we had a blast going to shows and riding the rides.

Poppa and the kids made lots of yummy blackberry jam from the handpicked fruit Poppa picked and stored. MMMMMMMM good

We almost always get in a puzzle(which we did-no picture) and a few card games. This year we decided that Derek was old enough to learn the fine art of Pinochle. He didn't even get "beetle-bombed" Unless you count the bowling trip we took:)

Some of our other favorites things are: the traditional Mickey Mouse waffles we eat for breakfast, our trip to the fish hatchery to see Poppa's babies-he's the one that started the hatchery many years ago. Our drive to see the peacocks, the museum and many other fun things.

We had a wonderful visit and are so thankful for Mamo and Poppa-we love you guys!

It's like Easter!!

Well....sort of. Our fine laying hens have become official "egg layers." Yesterday we woke to a fun surprise of an egg in the coop. Later that day Shay found another egg under the ping pong table. Today we found 2 eggs on top of our outdoor table-yes the chickens can jump on top of the table. Kind of gross. So, it's anybodys guess as to where we're going to find the eggs tomorrow. See what I mean? EASTER!

On another note...my cute 13 year old has started a little hair accessory business-she has even put a few things on a blog called http://littlebowspeep.blogspot.com -She's actually done a pretty cute job. So, I thought I would give her a shout out on my blog-if you have daughters, nieces, sisters, etc., these would make cute gifts. Here are a couple pics of how we've used a few of her creations. She also has bows and yoyo barrettes.