Maui, Hawaii {2016}

 

For quite a few years, Kenny and I had tossed around the idea of going to Maui for our 10 year anniversary, which was July 30, 2015. Summer is so beautiful here in the Pacific Northwest and summer isn't the best time to travel to Maui, so we decided to go, but not until February of 2016.

We had taken Shane to Maui when he was 4 years old and left Adalyn home with Mema for that trip. She was only 10 months at the time and we didn't think she'd care much. Turns out she thought to show me up by taking her first steps while we were gone. Anyway, the fact that Adalyn hadn't been to Hawaii yet haunted me a bit so a family anniversary trip it was.

We stayed in a condo at Hale Mahina. This is the view from our 2nd floor master bedroom. Pretty sweet view. We did a lot of turtle and whale watching from our balcony as well. The whale action was amazing! You could just look out at the ocean and with in minutes see whales spouting and jumping. I saw some incredible full body jumps and breeches. One time we saw a whale hit his tail on the water almost 20 times. Over and over again he would slap the water. Every morning while eating breakfast there was the same Mama and baby whale that would hang out in the area in front of the condo. Just spouting and splashing away.

A few of the shots I caught of whale action. I didn't catch anything major, but the fins and splashes are what we saw constantly.

We had what I called the "turtle highway" in front of our place, too. Lots of days you could just look out and see turtles traveling by on their way to something.

The dark spot in the middle of the picture below is a turtle.

This is the beach right in front of our condo. It pretty much just felt like our own private beach. Between the sand, the ocean, the pool and the hot tub...kiddos were entertained nicely for a large part of the day.

One of Shane's favorite places to be is playing in the ocean. He just LOVES the water and waves. I just love seeing him grin ear to grin while playing.

The waves at Kanapali Beach were his Favorite. They were HUGE and he fully taunt them happily. 

 

Adalyn doesn't mind the water, but would prefer to not get wet, or at least the water can NEVER touch her face/eyes! She'd play a lot of "don't let the wave get you". Really her favorite spot was the step in the hot tub. She would happily spend her days hanging out their on the little tiny step, watching the action. Warm and safe from any water touching her face.

Her hot tub spot!!

Or the sand. She loves the sand!

We didn't do a whole lot of adventuring on this trip. Adalyn was really interested in hula dancing. A traditional Luau would have just been to much for her. Instead we found a free hula dance show at the Lahaina Cannery Mall. It was so impressive!! An hour long free show with costume changes and live music. They did different hula dances from different eras. Adalyn LOVED it. Shane was into it for the first half.

 We did take the kids to the Banyon Tree in Lahaina. I've pretty much decided Lahaina Town = melt down for children. We got a couple smiles by the tree though.

We also took them to the blow hole. We took a little hike to get there. That was interesting, but we made it.

 Taking pictures of "Hollywood" kept her happy as we hiked to the blow hole in the heat.

There she blows! One large blow got Shane, Aunt Becky and I really wet. Shane didn't think that was funny at all!!  Kenny actually caught it on video, too.

Mema, Papa, Becky, Adalyn and Shane. Kevin and Kenny ran back to get the cars for us. We voted on not hiking back to them.

Since Shane is currently very much into rocks, Kenny took him up with Kevin and Becky to the Haleakala Volcano. 

 It would't be a trip to Hawaii with out awesome rainbows, beautiful sunsets, amazing flowers and cool fruit trees. 

 

Pool Time! 

Traveling with kids isn't what I call a vacation. I like to term it as a trip. Beyond the constant needs of food, rest, clothing changes, sunscreen, bathroom breaks, etc. We still manged to get a bit of down time in. 

Adalyn's decided all on her own one afternoon she needed some down time. She made a "boat", her baby, and coloring stuff and "locked" herself in for some recharing.

Date lunch with Kevin and Becky at the Lahaina Grill. Along with some amazing Hula Pie. 

I had a shaved ice date with both kiddos seperately. We got to hang out at the coolest ocean front park I've ever been to.

I took my Crossfit gig of twice a week workouts on the rode with me. Super cool to visit a new box while on vacation and get a couple WOD's in.

I also enjoyed a Sunday service at this tiny little local church just a couple blocks from where we stayed. It was an incredible experience. At one point in the service each person stood up and introduced themselves! Half of it was spoken/sung in Hawaiian.

We even got a chance to hang with friends! How cool is it when your neighbors are in Maui at the same time?!? Seeing Avery, Carson and Tyler were the very first thing our kids wanted to do.

We also managed to bump into the kids babysitter! 

And we happened to run into the family that we bought our house from. The kids Loved meeting the kids who used to live in their bedrooms. So cute!

 

A fun story would be our really not so cool rental car. This beast was rented from Kimo's Care Rental. The concept is interesting...you can pick an older car versus a new car and save a few hundred dollars. Well, I didn't quite expect this hooptie, but in the end we learned not all things need to be shiny and new and it's good to save a few bucks.

A big highlight for me was seeing two turtles come up and take a little nap on the beach. This one was missing a front fin. He spent a good couple hours resting in the sand. A bit later another turtle joined him.

 

Hanging with Mema. 

The first morning there we checked out a cool place called Slappy Cakes. You get to make your own pancakes at a griddle in the middle of the table.

Shane went a different route and order some crazy chocolate chocolate pancake and ate the majority of it!

 

We wrapped up our 10 days there with dinner out at the restaurant at the Sands of Kahana resort. We figured we be cool parents and let the kids have dessert for dinner. There weren't any compaints with that plan.

 

 

Despite the 6 hour plane ride there and back. The 2 hour time change. That Adalyn had a fever the first 3 days there and lived on Motrin. That Shane got some crazy cough every night before bed time. That the last three days was Super windy and rainy. We made memories. Lots and lots of memories! Even some good ones. A 10 day trip with two kids is a lot of work and it isn't all full of laughs and smiles. Though all that hard work is worth it when you do get a smile, or a hug or even a thank you about how awesome the trip is and how much they love Hawaii. 

RIP Penny Grandma

Kenny, me and Penny Grandma at our wedding, July 30th, 2005.

Last night my Grandma on my Dad's side passed away at the age of 92. We lovingly called her Penny Grandma since we were kids. Why? Well, she worked at JC Penny's and had a dog named Penny. Somehow that translated to Penny Grandma and it stuck.

She's had a rough couple of years and her passing though expected still has a sting to it.

I have so many memories of my Penny Grandma growing up. Many of them revolve around spending time at her house. We had countless sleep overs and meals at her dining room table. My brother and I would play for hours sliding down the stairs and exploring what seemed like endless bedrooms. We would run around outside in the yard and take walks around the neighborhood. One of the most vivid memories I have of her house was picking fresh carrots out of her garden and dipping them into pink lemonade while sitting on her back steps. When I got older and went to the community college near her, I would stop by and visit during my class breaks. I had a key to her house and would hang out even if she wasn't home.

When it comes down to it, I just remember my Penny Grandma being there. She has just always been there. Someone to visit when we were in town as we became adults and had kids of our own. Someone we talked about and made sure Shane and Adalyn knew how cool it was to have a Great Grandma that they got to visit and hug and entertain briefly with their crazy antics and energy. Though with distance and age they didn't get to have her fully in their lives.

Her passing though a relief, due to her deteriorating health issues, stings because she won't be there any more.

Here's a little picture walk down memory lane with Penny Grandma:

 Penny Grandma and baby me. 

Penny Grandma and toddler me.

My Great "Mushy" Grandma, my Mom, Penny Grandma and me.  

 Christmas at Penny Grandma and Grandpa's house...me and my brother, Kevin.

 

My Penny Grandpa (who passed not long after this picture was taken), my Penny Grandma, my brother, me and our cat KC (which my Penny Grandma disliked, funny they were sitting next to each other!).

Penny Grandpa and Grandma at their house. That was Penny Grandpa's chair. Along with my brother and me.  I think I was in 3rd grade.

Penny Grandma at our house for Adalyn's 1st birthday party. This was the only time she was able to make it to our place. It was just a long drive and a bit to chaotic for her.

  

Adalyn (4) and Shane (7) with Penny Grandma last year.  

Penny Grandma, We love you! Rest in peace now. Give Mushy Grandma and Grandpa and Penny Grandpa our love!

12 Books in 12 Months

At the beginning of this year I set a goal to read a book a month or basically 12 books this year. I love reading and one of the things I miss the most now that I'm a full time parent is not being able to snuggle up with a book and read it cover to cover in one day. Over the past few years I would get a couple books read now and again and often those were parenting books. I also found that I was reaching for books on my bookshelf that I wasn't really enjoying or wanting to read.

The first thing I did was get rid of all the books on the shelf that had been sitting there for years that I wasn't interested in reading. Next, I headed to the bookstore. I don't normally buy the books I read, but I wanted to start out my goal with a freshly purchased book. Finally, I decided I wanted to read something that would make me feel happy. Nothing depressing or sad. Nothing that was a mystery or gory. I wanted a good feeling happy book.

I asked book store worker what would they recommend as a happy book. He looked at me like I was crazy. Not a good start to my process. He then found someone else to help me. She had two recommendations for me. Guess there aren't an abundance of happy books out there. That is how I ended up reading my first book of 2015:

1.  The Rosie Project By Graeme Simsion. This book completely fulfilled by goal of happy. It was lighthearted, thought provoking and a page turner. There is a follow up book called The Rosie Effect, which is on my list for 2016.

2.  Some how I stumbled onto my next book, Moloka'i by Alan Brennert. It's a fiction book based on non-fiction events around leprosy. This was a very interesting read! We are headed to Maui in 2016 and I have on my bucket list a trip to Moloka'i.

3. The Night Circus, By Erin Morgenstern, was an amazing read. I've never read a book written like this before. After finishing it, I instantly wanted to read it again, which I NEVER want to do.

4. At this point, I remember thinking that I was 3 for 3 with great book choices. I then picked up 2 other books, that I just couldn't get into. It was kinda like I didn't want to ruin the streak that I was on. I found The Wife, The Maid and The Mistress by Ariel Lawhon at the library and went with it. I don't remember much about it, but that it was entertaining enough.

5. Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock, had been sitting on my shelf for a couple years. I decided to finally dive into it. The ending of this book blew my mind. It oddly was another book that made me think about reading it again because of how it ended.

6. Another book that had been living on my shelf since before Adalyn was born. Look Again, by Lisa Scottoline, involved a missing child and for some reason I could never bring myself to read it, but couldn't get rid of it either. A heartbreaking story, as well as a page turner.

7. My Mom passed Anie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral, By Kris Radish onto me. This was fun read with a good message to live life.

8. I grew up hearing about Ivan, so when I heard about The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, I jumped on it. This is a youth book, but heartbreaking all the same. Shane's teacher actually read this to his class this year.

9. I stumbled onto If I Stay, by Gayle Forman at the library, later finding out it was a pretty trendy book. I finished it while on vacation this summer. It has a horrible abrupt ending to it, which drove me crazy since I couldn't pick up the 2nd book instantly.

10. While on vacation at Donner Lake in CA, having finished up all the books I brought with me, I grabbed one that my in laws had at their place. Desperate Passage, by Ethan Rarick was a fantastic historical non-fiction book about the Donner Party. Making it even more interesting to read while hanging out around Donner Lake.

11. The Martian by Andy Weir, is completely not my kind of book. Kenny had heard about it from his brother in law and a co-worker lent it to us. Kenny read it first and I decided to give it a shoot. I was really surprised by what a fun read it was. I did skim some of the endless technical jargon. Kenny and I even saw the movie last month. The book was better, but the movie wasn't bad at all.

 
12. I finally got my hands on Where She Went, by Gayle Forman, the sequel to If I Stay. The majority of this book drove me crazy, but it got all wrapped up nicely finally by the end.

13. A friend lent me For the Love by Jen Hatmaker. I devoured this book while in the middle of reading another book. A hilarious light-hearted read full of great life lessons. I yet again, wanted to pick it up and read it all over after finishing it.

14. I joined a book club in September and All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr was my first read for the club. Man, oh, man. I struggled with this book that was something like 500+ pages long. I just couldn't get into it, but wanted to read it so badly. I finally finished which felt like quite a feat. It was a very well written book. Almost a must read, but by no means one of my favorite books.

15. My 2nd book club book was The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins. This book had been catching my eye for awhile and I was excited to read it. Page turner! I couldn't put the book down. Great psychological thriller.

16.  Our current book club book is League of Denial. Read read this wordy book over Thanksgiving. I've never been a football fan, yet I found this book insanely interesting. Amazing behind the scene stuff regarding the NFL, football players and concussions in general. A great read of any parent of kids who play any sport.

17. I'm going to wrap the year up with A Dog Name Christmas by Greg Kincaid. I haven't read it yet, but think I can pull of this easy made into a Hallmark movie book in the next couple weeks.

There you have it. I reach and surpassed my goal of 12 books in  2015! For 2016 I'm going to take on 12 movies in 12 months. I'm not much of a movie watcher, so this may sound easy to some, but a movie a month is a big deal to me. I think it's time to catch up on some tv time I've been missing out on. Bring it on 2016!

Birthday #5

 

 

Our baby girl turned 5 today and she fills those shoes perfectly already. Just in the past month she has increasingly become more independent. Doing tasks all on her own. Problem solving things that she is struggling with. Thinking about other people other then herself. Her interest in the ABC's is slowing increasing. Though she'd prefer to craft or take her "babies" for a stroll then to learn about letters or numbers.

She had a princess tea party birthday bash over the weekend with 11 of her closest friends. They arrived in princess attire and were all giddy to play and eat cake.

Busy crafting their princess crowns while the other half searched for the missing glass slippers. 

 A lot of giggling happened while we played the game "pass the wand".

My favorite game was kiss the frog with real lipstick. A handful of the girls wanted nothing to do with this game while many wanted to play it over and over again. 

 She begged for a princess cake and I pretty much couldn't turn her down. Thanks to Safeway, they whipped one up for us. She picked chocolate with vanilla in the middle. Chocolate is totally not her, but I guess when you are 5 your likes change.

 I let her pick pick the menu. Her must haves included peppers of all colors (though the green were for her friends, 'cause she only likes red, yellow and orange peppers), apples ('cause she is an apple monster), PB and J tea sandwiches. From there we added turkey tea sandwiches, scones, mini popcorn balls and mini brownies.

The little princesses sat so very nicely and ate their snack. 

And they drank their "tea" in fancy tea cups (Adalyn wanted lemonade instead of real tea). 

Time for some cake. Daddy needed to help her blow the candles out. 

Present opening was a hit. Smiles all around.  

Cousin Arli and Adalyn

Korkor and Adalyn

 Sarah and Adalyn

Adalyn and Abby

The party was a hit. The girls had a blast. We feel very blessed that Adalyn has such great friends to share her birthday with and thankful for the people that hoped in to make sure 12 little princesses got everything they needed.

This morning, on her birthday, we spent the first few hours with out power. School was canceled for both kiddos, so the day ended up being quite different then planned. That didn't shake her the least bit. She couldn't believe Brother got her the best stroller in the whole wide world, plus 3 new baby dolls for her birthday equaled one happy little 5 year old girl.