35 years old... well... close enough!

If you look closely the cake says "Happy A." They started writing Happy Birthday but they were using this nasty (who knows how long it had been in the cupboard) gel, and decided to abort the mission after we all agreed the gel looked a little strange as they were writing "happy" so they added the "A" and called it good enough.

So I have officially decided that my birthday comes at a really terrible time of year. The last few years it has been back to school night for my kids and this year is no different. Not to mention, we have about 1,000 other things going on this coming week, and I was kind of grumping about this to Tim and the girls this weekend. T. and A. even gave me permission to skip the open house at school - AS IF?? But I thought the gesture was a sweet one and to be honest there is no where I would rather be than spending time with one of my girls. They surprised me tonight by making me a cake - I have always been a sucker for the cherry chip cake mix with the nasty cream cheese frosting from the can. Even though it is not the real day and our week is so crazy we literally won't even have time to make a cake on the actual date I was very touched by their sweetness. They did make me pose with the cake - in my sweats, no make up, and ratty hair - so not exactly how I want to be remembered at 35! But I am so thankful for this amazing little family God has blessed me with that I really could not ask for any better way to bring on another year!

Back to the grindstone

This is the face they made when I asked them how they felt about the first day of school.

This is the face they made when I asked them how they felt about their summer.

So stinking tall these days. T. is up to my shoulder and A. is not too far behind her. There will come a day when I believe I will be the runt in the family. T. is almost the same size shoes as me as well.

T. and Charlie who always likes to try and sneak in their backpacks as he misses his girls so much.

Loaded down with 4th grade supplies!

Loaded down with 2nd grade supplies.

Our NINE year old girl...

My cousin and her adorable son helped us celebrate this milestone day!

T. and A. with their cousin who they adore!!!

So if you have ever been to one of our bday parties then you know typically a Costco cake is involved as I am not a baker by trade and I LOVE CAKE! However, T. has some sort of genetic mutation that leaves her not loving cake (she announced this to my great dismay a couple of years ago). She requested a HOMEMADE cheesecake - does she not know me at all? So I did my best and made a pretty amazing cheesecake if I do say so myself. The real topper was I decided to get a little gourmet (and I had 17 lbs of blackberries needing to be used in various ways) so I made this really yummy blackberry sauce to go on top. It looked like a blackberry bomb went off in my kitchen, and now I have a feeling I will be making this a lot in our house.

To honor T.'s big day this year we opted against the typical 30 kid backyard bash which typically leaves me done in for a while afterwards. Instead, T. was allowed to invite 3 special friends to go to POJO's. I will take a moment to brag on her and say that she invited as one of her friends one of her sister's special friends (so her little sis would have someone to hang with as well). It is in those moments, that I think ok I am doing some of this parenting thing ok. It was a great day that we ended with a small family dinner and I am pretty sure we showered her in the love and joy she deserves!

Her individual style is most definitely showing these days. She refuses to wear anything that looks even remotely "girlie," and often complains at how awful girl fashion is. I told her she could shop in the boy department - I think she seriously is going to take me up on it. Sigh....

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!!