Highlights of Hawaii

Some of the highlights of our trip:
Driving around in the blue party van.
Electric Beach - like snorkeling in a giant aquarium with a jacuzzi
Renting our own boat for free diving (thanks Jeff!)
Molosadas (the first day)
Walking the beautiful beach at Lanakai
Watching the guys take part in an illegal financial transaction with Morey in Kailua
Seeing the Carpenters and Greenes launch their kayaks
A perfect day on the beach in Waikiki
For me, two good meals (Roys and Dukes) lots more for Chris
Swimming with a sea turtle
Cruising in our 'stang
A giant shave ice (next time it's Matsumotos!)
Getting upgraded to business class on the way home because we were late
Having our kids be thrilled with tacky souveniers we brought home from Hilo Hatties

The lowlights:
Coming down with the flu on our second full day
Throwing up in the room
Throwing up on the beach and having a guy give me post hangover advice
Losing a whole roll of pictures from the underwater camera of the most amazing snorkeling
Molosadas (Sadly, I may never be able to eat them again.)

It has been a cathartic experience going through these pictures, as I have been in a post vacation slump. I'm still having a hard time believing that I spent a whole day in bed while in Hawaii. Looking through the pictures makes me realize that we really did have an awesome time. Thanks Mom and Sorensons for taking such good care of our kids! Now I am just plotting a way to get back with the whole family!

We answered the call of the Islands

This blog is dedicated to my wonderfully patient and loving husband and to good friends who stand behind you even when you are throwing up in a towel on the beach, you know who you are ...

We drove away to the airport early Tuesday morning with a view of a fire just starting in the mountains in front of us in DeLuz. It was hard leaving the kids with practically all of So. Calif. on fire and so much uncertainty. After a few phone calls home to reassure us that everything was okay, and after we settled into the amazingly beautiful KoOlina Beach Club - we got over it. We had the most amazing view from our room (thanks Scott and TeDD!) We ran right down to the lagoon and met up with our friends in their rented cabana, drinking lava flows on the beach. I was giddy with excitement. Could life be any better than that? We snorkeled a little in the lagoon. Then finished the day with an incredible dinner at Roy's.

Giving in to Disney once again...

A while ago, Owen and I were in Home Depot. You know how they have the Disney line of paints. We always have to go over and check out the paints and pick out a few hundred sample cards that then get left all over the car. Well, little did I know that they had added a new "Cars" themed room to their display. Owen was in awe, totally speechless. He thought it was the coolest room he had ever seen. He had been bugging us for over a year to paint his room. He had even drawn up some sketches of what he would like his room to look like (we may watch too much HGTV around here). As soon as he saw that room there was no putting him off any longer. He wanted that room - the lightning mcqueen bed, the red, yellow and blue color theme that hurt your eyes -- disney in its full glory. Well, we made a few compromises .. the room turned out a little more Disneyesque than I had promised myself I would allow in the house. But really how can you resist buying that cheesy $5o Cars lamp when your son thinks he has died and gone to heaven when he sees it?? I couldn't. We aren't quite finished with the room, but I have a feeling it may be like this for a while!

Blog Envy

I have blog envy. I look at other people's blogs and they are so cute. They have music and cool fonts and all of their posts aren't squished to one side like mine are. They don't have cheesy titles either. Why can't mine be cool like that? I have tried, but not been able to figure any of it out. I wanted to add a picture of the Jonas Brothers from the web to my last post. I couldn't do it. I feel really lame.

Rockin' with the JoBros

I took the girls with some friends to see the Jonas Brothers this week. If you don't know who they are just turn on the Disney Channel and it will take about five minutes to figure it out.

The picture is blurry for two reasons 1) I was using Lindsay's camera which may not be of the highest quality, plus it was too dark to figure out how to use her flash, 2) the bleachers we were sitting in were actually bouncing because thousands of girls were screaming and jumping up and down. It was impossible to hold the camera still. We waited in line for four hours to get into the concert at the lovely Perris fairgrounds. But it was worth it ... the girls had a blast and rocked out with lots of friends. I must admit those boys are cute!

Activity Time for Owen, Shopping Time for Mom

First of all, I am a bad blogger. I announced from the get go that I would be. Here's a picture of Owen on his first day of school at Activity Time preschool. Cute, huh? This was taken over a month ago. I had every intention of coming home that day to add these cute pictures to our blog - - instead I went shopping. Don't tell Chris, but I think I have gone shopping most of the days that Owen has gone to preschool. And when I'm not shopping, I'm returning which then leads to more shopping. When I get home I can't spend time blogging, no, I have to run around doing stuff like cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping (not as fun as the other shopping) to make it look like I filled my day with respectable and productive activities. So that is my excuse for being a bad blogger. I am really trying to stay home more because even Lindsay says I have a problem.

Another cute picture I was supposed to add that day...