Aloha!

We recently returned from a heavenly week in Maui, Hawaii. We were privileged to be able to take the boys with us and to spend some quality time with Scott's parents, who have a timeshare. It was incredibly generous of them to invite us and the boys soaked up every possible minute of Grandma and Grandpa time. Scott told me I took enough pictures to put together a doctoral dissertation, and I am afraid he is right. But shamelessly, I will post a ton of pictures anyway, because it's my blog, and I will post if I want to.:)

Feel free to skim if it all seems like too much, but everything was so beautiful and we did so many fun things that I just had to put it all out there.

The View from our Lanai

We ate breakfast out here every morning and who could blame us? What a view!

Sunday Services
We took a little time Sunday morning to attend church, wanting to enjoy the Hawaiian spin on it. Miles loved how everyone always said "aloha" and really got into it throughout the trip.

Beach Bums and Babes
Our very first morning in Maui we went for a walk along the ocean, where Miles and Tate chased birds and spotted geckos. It didn't take the boys long to get wet and sandy. Fortunately, the rest of the times we hit the beach, we came prepared with swimsuits.

Scott let Miles try a small part of snorkeling and then later took me out for my very first experience. It was really peaceful and beautiful. Always fun to learn new things. I loved snorkeling!

Family Bonding Time
During any down time the boys watched DVD's and played games on Scott's iphone. Scott and I got to sneak out for date night one evening and we all caught the tail end of the outdoor movie after a fun night out.

Pool Parties

Whaler's Village

Lahaina

We headed into the cute touristy town a couple of times, mainly to eat at Miles' favorite restaurant, "Cheeseburger in Paradise." Scott even downloaded the song for him and Miles has been learning all of the words. Lucky us!

Koi Fish and Friends
This may have been Miles and Tate's favorite thing of all. Everytime we left the resort and everytime we returned, we had to stop and talk to all of the koi fish. The boys even got to help feed them one morning, which was a real highlight for them. By the end of the trip, they all had been assigned names and designated housing. The boys especially loved the bright yellow one named "Sunny." At night, we would look for toads.

Sugar Cane Train
Tate was expecially excited to ride the "choo choo train," and it did not disappoint. It was a really beautiful ride, and as you can see from the pictures, it successfully managed to take Tate from elated to exhausted.
P.S. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the giant Buddha for sale. For the record, the item nestled in his arms is a football.:)

Maui Ocean Center
This was our activity on our very last day. The boys especially enjoyed seeing all of the sharks. A few of the employees asked Miles what his favorite shark was, to which he replied "Megalodon." The shark expert there loved that Miles was a fan of an extinct species, and so he pulled out a Megalodon tooth from his pocket and let Miles touch it.

Thanks Jon and Kaye for a fabulous trip with so many incredible memories!

What Happens In Vegas . . .

Just got back from our wonderful annual girl's trip to Las Vegas. This time my sister-in-law Dawnelle got to join me, my sis and my Mom for all of the festivities. What can I say? We did all of the things that a group of ladies would do - movies, sightseeing, lounging by the pool, eating fabulous food and endless amounts of shopping. I missed out on a few things due to some pregnancy nausea, but overall, I had an incredible time. Please enjoy our goofy photos.






Barney's department store had these crazy window displays featuring some of the things that you could do with nylons, aside from wearing them on your legs like normal people.










Met Whoopi Goldberg and some other famous faces. Whoopi didn't have too much to say.:)






Spent far too long and far too much in Sephora. Love, love, love that store! I must be converting others, as everyone else spent more time than I did. Don't even get me started on the fabulous shoes in Vegas - just don't mention to Scott how many pairs found their way home.





The M&M store is always a lot of fun. The boys loved the little gifts I brought home.





We had a particularly fun time at the Cheesecake Factory. One of the managers (the man smiling in the picture) had a bit of a crush on my sister. After she told him that he had to impress my mother, he set out to do just that. The manager and our server both told my mom she was a VIP, and then they literally treated her like royalty. Dawnelle and I just enjoyed watching it all - very funny and very entertaining. Plus, the free cheesecake didn't hurt.:)






Miss the girls already!