An Anniversary Shout Out!!

I know I promised no more Maui shots, but I had to do one last post about our time there. Tim and I were able to celebrate our 13th anniversary while we were in Maui. We walked down the beach to the great Waterfront Restaurant. I was able to try for the first time Mahi Mahi and Tim had another kind that I can't remember but it was a long string of vowels like all Hawaiian names. It was the best fish I have ever had, and we enjoyed coconut cream pie for dessert. I could not have asked for a better way to celebrate with Tim. I won't get too gooey here but I have to admit I am one lucky person to have such an amazing partner in life!! I think back to that day 13 years ago and realize we were young and dumb, but boy did I pick right!

Final shots of Maui - I promise...

Favorite view to wake up to every morning while we were there. Coffee on the lanai was something else.

Favorite picture of T. on the ocean.

Favorie self-portrait by Tim and I.

Favorite pic of A. swimming in the ocean.

Favorite shot of T's favorite fish the yellow tang. These were in an aquarium but we saw so many of these in the wild as well. The view underwater was this amazing but we did not have an underwater camera so this will have to suffice.

Favorite sting ray shot - the girls and I laughed every time it came by us at the aquarium as it looks as if it is smiling at us.

Favorite hammerhead shot. Glad there was a wall of glass separating us from these guys.

The girls most favorite thing we did in Maui was visit the aquarium and learn all about the ocean creatures we had spent the week diving with. They are little marine biologists in the making I think.

Favorite jellyfish shot. I saw one of these guys when I was swimming in the ocean - glad I did not get stung by it. Not sure who would have peed on me if I did. Isn't that the rumored fix for sting??

I posted quite a few pics from our trip. I guess I am trying to make up for lost time on the blog from these last few months. Hopefully, they aren't too boring and give you a taste of all the fun we had on the island.

More and More from Maui

Favorite pic of the girls with their grandparents and their rabbits that travel everywhere with us!

Favorite view 10,000 feet above sea level in Maui. This was the top of the volcano that we drove up to one day. It was pretty spectacular.

Favorite flower on the island (there are too many to pick from for sure) but this one cracked me up as we called it the rooster flower. Can you tell why? Not sure of its real name though.

Favorite walk along the coast we took. It was the most amazing paved trail in the heart of Maui and we spent a wonderful afternoon walking along the ocean on it.

Favorite hike we went on Twin Falls (not Idaho) to find some great waterfalls.

Tim and I even were brave and got in the murky waterfall water for this picture.

Favorite family shot getting into the COLD waterfall.

Favorite sister shot on the sailboat. These two girls were just goofing around and I thought they looked so sweet.

More from Maui

Favorite snorkel spot on the island - Honolua Bay this pic does not do the water justice. We saw literally 1,000's of fish. It was unbelievable.

Favorite Hawaiian treat - Shave (not shaved) Ice. I think A. could be their new poster child.

Favorite pic of the goofy girls in snorkel gear! That would be me lounging in the back with my favorite adult beverage a Mai Tai!

Favorite goofy family with their snorkel gear on.

Best snorkel picture we took the entire trip right here!!

Maui Trip

Favorite pic with my parents (photo credits go to T.)!!

Favorite pic of Tim's sister and her hubby who live in Hawaii!!

Favorite picture sailing on a boat headed out to snorkel around a crater in the middle of the ocean.

Favorite family picture as we caught the perfect sunset!

We just returned home from my favorite vacation of all time (thus far). We had the best family time on Maui and I feel so blessed to have been able to share it with Tim and the girls and my parents. We took over 300 pics which I won't overwhelm people with so I am just going to hit my favorites and even then it is hard to pick from those. Here is a glimpse into all the fun and beauty we took part in!

Back to blogging!

I am not sure how it happened but I almost tossed in the towel on blogging. Life just got a little hectic, and the more I got behind the less I wanted to do it. BUT through the encouragement of a few friends,I decided to get back into it again. I am not going to try and catch up I will just start from this summer and give a little preview of some of the fun we have had so far. The girls and I have had way too much fun playing this summer. I feel bad for Tim having to work, but he keeps reminding me of the days I had two kids in diapers and our life was a lot more crazy and a LOT LESS laid back and that helps assuage the guilt a little bit. The girls are the perfect age for a really amazing time of fun in the summer we sleep late, go to bed late, swim, and even sneak a yard project in here and there (we painted our shed and fixed up their playhouse which I was pretty proud of our accomplishment on)! Here are a few pics and highlights from our 17 hour drive to AZ that we kicked off our summer with. I promise to try and not wait so long between posts from now on.

A few shots from AZ!

What can be more fun than a sleepover with your cousins? Nothing I tell you!!!

Look very closely at the bag A. is holding up and you will see it says "I just got my ears pierced." This is what she wanted for her 7th bday! Her big sis did the same thing at this age. My mom wanted a second whole in her ear - so A. and Grandma did it together. Is she a hip G-Ma or what??

Our little girl turns 7!

I had to take a quick picture with the bday girl!

The four cousins all seated, smiling, and together - the stars had aligned!

A. turned 7 while we were in AZ! It was a special treat to spend a bday with our AZ family and we had a great pool party - another treat we don't get in ID! I can hardly believe she is 7 but in so many ways she seems older than that too. It makes me sad how far away from the baby stage we have come, but this new stage of life is pretty amazing. I love the toothless smile she is sporting for all these - those teeth have taken forever to come in! I am scared how gorgeous she is going to be at 17 if she is this cute at 7 - I know I am slightly biased.

AZ Trip 2010

If it looks like T. is all legs in this picture it is because she is just that!! She is quickly going to catch me in height!

A. is our glamour girl all the way!

Surprising to Tim and I, we had never seen the Hoover Dam this is a picture taken on the dam of the new bypass they are building since 9/11. We thought it was kind of cool that we will be some of the last people to actually drive on the dam once the bypass is complete.

I tried a self-portait while we were driving! Ok I will say we were stuck in "dam" traffic so it was not as unsafe as it sounded. And yes, the "dam" jokes were kind of funny - especially as we were a little loopy at this point in the drive!