While visiting our family in January we had lots of fun playing with our
cousins. With the weather being so nice we even got to play a little
outside. The boys love riding bikes so this was definitely a treat.
Thanks Aunt Konnie for letting us come play.
We have also had the great opportunity to play a lot with our cousins Gavin and Gaige since they live only about an hour away from us. These boys are super adventurous when they are together and I love how much they look forward to playing with each other.
My Birthday was fun this year. Probably because I was able to share it
with my family and I got to
go do one of my favorite things...BOWLING! We also celebrated by having dinner at my Grandma Dee's house eating my favorite meal of sloppy joes, seven layer salad, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Kam spoiled with a new Digital
SLR Camera which I took with me to capture all the fun moments of my
birthday but when went to upload them I was having trouble and
asked Kam to help me and as it turns out, he deleted all the pictures
off the memory card. Sadness. Luckily my brother Dane had
brought his new DSLR to play with so I got a few shots from him. I had a really fun time and as I shared before, I am so grateful I got
to share my day with the ones I love. Which certainly
made turning 32 that much easier.
The boys had a great time while Kam and I were in Hawaii. They love spending time with Grammy Bo and Pappy. Along with helping Grammy and Pappy selling tickets at the ball game the boys went to the library every day, read lots of stories and made a big mess of Grammy's house!
The boys also loved playing their doggies. When we got home they begged
and begged for us to take one home...maybe one day...when we have a house...
Just a glimpse of their mess.
Grammy said the boys were angels so when she would comb
their hair she put the mousse on their heads to look like little halos.
They also got to have a play-date with cousin Coen.
Thanks for taking such great care of our little boys. You guys are the best!
Yesterday Kam and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary! My mind is still boggled that that much time has really past. It seems only yesterday I was getting in the car to drive to the temple and be married.
We were able to celebrate with the help of Kam's sister who came to watch the boys in the afternoon so we could share lunch together and then go to the temple to do sealings. Later in the day we had the boys join us and we went out to dinner as a family. I didn't mind sharing part of our day with our boys because they are what help complete the promises of family that we made in the temple 10 years ago. I am looking forward, however, to the boys going to go stay at Gramma's for a couple days so Kam and I can have a stay-cation getaway in a couple weeks!
Dear Him,
Our little love story isn't anything out of
a story book but it is
definitely something
spectacular to me. Each moment together, good
and
bad, has been a blessing with more love than
I thought humanly
possible. I am so grateful you
loved me from the start. I'm so glad I finally let
Let me just start out by sharing that this was one of the best if not the best vacation ever. It wasn't necessarily because we did extraordinary things but because for 8 days I didn't have to think, worry, or really do anything. It was so relaxing and wonderful to spend a week with Kameron and my family without the kids. Yup, you heard right, Braden and Carter were not invited. Instead they got to spend the week with Grammy Bo and to them that was a Vacation in and of itself.
We dropped the boys off Tuesday evening (the 17th) at the High School where my mom works. She was taking tickets at the ball game and they boys were excited to not just watch the game but to help out. The boys had so much fun taking and changing money and stamping the kids hands as they entered the gym. They were having so much fun that they didn't even really say goodbye to us. I was sad, but in the end was happy knowing that they were going to have a great time without us.
Day 1
Early Wednesday Morning (the 18th) we left for Hawaii. We arrived in
Honolulu around noon and after getting the rental cars headed towards
the North Shore where my dad had rented a house for the week. We
couldn't have asked for a better place to
stay. We were close but just far enough away from town, Hale'iwa, and near some incredible
beaches and our back yard was the ocean...WOW!
Looking out from the back of the house.
The house from the back.
Some of us playing on the beach behind our house.
Dane, Me, Abi, Heidi, Mish & Parker
After we unloaded our stuff and looked around, a few of us went grocery shopping and the rest went to Hukilau beach to surf, boogie board and snorkel.
Ryan was rarely seen without his surf board
I would promise you that they were not skinny dipping, but I wasn't there.
Abi
Ryan and Dane
Day 2
Thursday we went to Waikiki. We went shopping at Ala Moana, ate lunch at "the
Yard House", then rented a couple long boards and headed to Queen's beach where Ryan taught everyone how to surf. I did not get to learn as I forgot to pack my swimsuit that day but most everyone else did.
Mish, Abi, my Dad, Me, Kam, Peter & Heather
Hawaii didn't look too good on me.
We finished the night with dinner at PF Chang's and a surprise cake to celebrate my Birthday. I was not expecting it at all.
Day 3
On Friday we went to the Hale'iwa harbor to "swim with the sharks". The boat took us out about 3 miles to a place where they had secured a cage in which we would get into to see the sharks. On the way we saw whales playing near the surface.
Abi, Kris, Heidi, Megan and Ashley
Dane, Kam, Zane and Ryan
When we got to the cage we split into two groups. Kam and I were in the second group. The waves were really big and the boat was rocking all over the place. I was even surprised at how much movement there was once in the water in the cage.
View of the Sharks from the Boat.
The first Group in the Shark Cage
View of the Sharks Under the Water.
Because of the rocky waters some of us got sick. I felt very nauseous near the end of my time in the water and was very ready to make it back to land. Luckily I didn't lose my lunch like a nameless two in our group.
After our shark adventure we had lunch and headed to one of our favorite spots, Waimea Bay! We spent so much time here because the waves were really big and super fun to boogie board and body surf on. We were nearly killed by the force of the waves but we were having so much fun it didn't really matter.
The next 5 pictures I captured on burst mode to try and get a moving picture of the
force of these waves. If you notice, in the first picture, Kam is on the bottom right and
the second one in from the right is my brother, Dane. By the last picture you can see
that Dane ended up on top of Kam as the wave began pulling back towards the ocean.
Kam, Kris, Megan, Me and my Dad watching the action.
The waves were big enough that they usually reached or came up past us.
This is a video just as the wave crashed. My sister, Ashley is the one holding the boogie boards and the person washed up next to her is my dad. If you are having trouble seeing the video click here.
Day 4
Saturday we drove down to Kawela Bay, near Turtle Bay, and went swinging from the trees.
Then we continued on to Kailua to Manawili's, which is an hour hike
up to a waterfall. The views up near the top were amazing. It was so pretty and lush.
Heather, Abi, Ashely, Me and Peter
Two of my brothers jumped from up high down in to the tiny pool of water. The first video is of Peter and the second is of Zane. When Zane jumped we didn't realize that the countdown was for the girl on the other side of the pool and they ended up jumping at the same time. Luckily they didn't hit. If you're having trouble viewing the video's click here for Peter's jump and here for Zane.
Day 5
Sunday we started the day early by driving into Honolulu to Peal Harbor. We first
did a tour of the submarine and then took a boat out to the USS Arizona.
My dad, Heidi, Abi and Ryan
Dane and Me
After the tour and some lunch we we drove east to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling. I only saw a few fish but was very excited to see a few sea turtles swimming around. My sister, Megan and her hubby Kris said they saw a blow-fish!
Me and my Dad
Heather, Peter, Me, Abi and my Dad
Mish and Parker under the Water
Day 6
Monday we decided not to have any set plans. We did do some shopping, played pickle ball, went back to Waimea Bay and ate lots and lots of Matsumoto's shave
ice and MELONA bars.
While at the store getting the Melona Bars I found these SPAM flavored macadamia nuts. Yuck!
We also saw several sea turtles on the beach right behind the house.
Day 7
Tuesday we had family pictures taken. It was the funnest photo shoot I've ever been a part of. Mark, our photographer, was amazing and I am so excited to see all of the pictures he took.
Mish, Parker, Kris, Megan, Kam, Me, Dane, Abi, my Dad, Heidi, Zane, Ashley, Ryan, Peter & Heather
Just after taking this picture Hedi stepped in poop! We're not sure if it was dog or other as
there was a homeless man sleeping just to the left of where we took this on the beach.
At first we were apprehensive about getting in the water with our clothes on...
...but taking the plunge was well worth the end result.
Abi
Since we were wet and it was our last day in Hawaii we did what we loved best: body Surfing at Waimea Bay and ate more Shave Ice at Matsumoto's.
Day 8
Was
a sad, sad day. None of us were ready to say goodbye to out little
paradise, but alas, we had too. On our way to the airport we did stop
for a few minutes at the Dole Pineapple Plantation and got pineapple ice
cream.
Goodbye Hawaii, I will miss you!
Thank you so much Dad and Heidi for this wonderful vacation. You completely spoiled us, but I am so thankful you did 'cause I know Kam and I really needed this time together with each of you and our family. We really do have the BEST family in the whole wide world. Love you!
