My Big Star

I wanted to have this done by our anniversary but we've been a little busy with moving into our house (that's another post I've been meaning to do!). I have also been waiting for us to get ilife '09 since I played with it on Erin's computer. We just got it last week so I couldn't wait to do something with the new imovie. It has a few new fun features! Well, I get a little excited about it anyways, Will says I'm weird... So, since my favorite little stars were not with us on this trip, I only got footage of my favorite big star, it's kind of his debut. He doesn't usually get this much face time with the camera (he's such a good sport, hehe).

Hawaii Vacation

**Our anniversary is not actually until the end of July, we just thought it would be easier for everyone else while kids were in school**

To celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary Will and I went for a week vacation to Kauai, "The Garden Island" of Hawaii. I really didn't know anything about Hawaii before this trip. Will wanted to go, but we didn't have a clue which island to go to. My dad could get us a timeshare on Kauai so we just went with that. Well, it turned out to be the perfect island for us. It wasn't crowded with a ton of other tourists, and it wasn't overly commercialized. I say that because while their main industry is tourism, it wasn't too obvious, and we didn't have to rely on tourist attractions to enjoy ourselves. We absolutely loved it! I think we explored this island in every possible way we could!!

Will hangin' loose with the Jeep...I think to rent a Jeep is to say "I'm a tourist", but we had fun! :)

Sunday

The first thing we wanted to do when we got there was the helicopter ride! Neither of us had ever been in a helicopter and that was the best way to see a lot of the island. The 360's were awesome, and the scenery was breathtaking!!! I just kept thinking "Wow, we have such an incredibly creative Creator". We had church in a helicopter :) It only made me want to see more, more of His creation, more of His people!! I can't get enough of visiting different places and cultures!!! We tried to take pictures while in the helicopter, but when I looked through them they were just disappointing. So here we are in front of the helicopter.

We also found Wailua Falls...they said it was in the opening of "Fantasy Island"?

Monday

We woke up early, thanks to the "eastern standard time roosters", and went for a run. Here are some views from the trail!







We scheduled a catamaran ride in the afternoon and on our way down we stopped by the Kauai coffee plantation.

Will: Mmm, I like this one, nice balance, not very acidic...
Saleslady: Wow, you know your coffee!
:)

"This is a coffee bush"

These are coffee beans :)

Okay, if you ever get to Kauai, the best way to see the Na Pali coast is from the water!! It was again AMAZING, some of the mountains are a mile above Pacific Ocean! If we had to pick either the boat or the helicopter, I would vote for the boat! We snorkeled off the boat, but I wouldn't do that again. We saw a better place for it (and it was free)!

Some friends swimming along with us. No, we did not get to snorkel with the dolphins :(

Not sure how we got the best seat to view this:

Na Pali Coast



Why can't we have water like this on the east coast??

Tuesday

In the morning, we sat through a timeshare presentation so that we could get discounts for the helicopter, catamaran, and the Luau. We were like steel and did not cave under the pressure, yes! We went to the Luau that night and we were not really impressed. It was very theatrical. I guess I was thinking it would be more authentic? I don't know, but we did eat pi pi's, pu pu's and poi! :)


Wednesday

When we were on the boat, we talked to some people that were staying with some "local's" (lucky). They told us that we had to go to this place called Queen's Baths. The resorts don't tell you about this place because they are not allowed to...

Scare tactics?

Stopped to take a self portrait on the treacherous path

There were a few baths, but this was by far the biggest and cleanest one. Many of them were shallow and had a lot of algae and big crabs scurrying around. At high tide the water washes into the bath, and apparently washes away people sometimes, this make me sad...we made sure to go early in the morning!!

I'm thankful we didn't get frightened away! This was one of my favorite things!!

After the baths we decided to drive down to Waimea Canyon, often called "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific", I think Mark Twain said that. Anyways, we stopped by Subway and brought lunch with us.

Sorry, it was definitely more spectacular than this!

Will eating his $5 foot long and thinking "I need a panoramic lens"

Thursday

We needed a little break. I took a class about how to make a basket out of coconut tree leaves at the resort and then we went to the beach.



Friday

We were torn between surf lessons and hiking up the Na Pali coast. We ended up choosing the hiking. I was a little scared because we don't hike a lot, and this seemed kind of "treacherous"! The Kalalau Trail goes for 11 miles along the Na Pali coast, but you need a permit to go beyond 2 miles. Once you get 2 miles, there is a trail that branches off from the main trail and goes to a waterfall, it's another 2 miles. Unfortunately, we were not prepared. We didn't have a back pack to put lunch and a ton of water in, so we just did the first 2 miles. My feet were thankful!

This was on our way, I thought it was a pretty beach with a neat tree

Up we go, can you see the people?

I feel like singing "Bali Ha'i may call you, any night, any day..."
(from South Pacific)

Will said "lean against that tree!" You can not tell how high up we are...very!!

More scare tactics...this time we listened, but only because we had to hike back and didn't want to be all wet and sandy! :)

The reward for hiking two treacherous miles? Another beautiful beach!

Saturday

We hung out at Hanalei Bay and read and swam...


That's about it, you know, in a nutshell! I just wanted to record this somewhere before I forgot! Oh, I forgot to mention my favorite thing about HI...NO SNAKES, except at the zoo in Honolulu! Least favorite thing...it takes way to long to get there and even longer to get back = major jet lag! And I'm not really done...there is obviously something missing from this post, but it will have to wait for now.

Ben 6

Here is Ben's 6th year video...I have had this mommy guilt feeling all week, his birthday was actually last Saturday! And I don't have a lot of time right now, but I NEED to post this!! I love this song by Sara Groves, I have adopted it as my song for my son (and daughter) as well. I love this little guy so much...he can always put a smile on my face!

Orlando trip

We got home from our Orlando vacation about a month ago and Hannah said "Mom, can I see the video?" As if video's just create themselves when we go on a trip, hehe. Well I can't say that I wasn't excited to do it, I love creating and capturing memories!!

The purpose of the trip was to celebrate my Dad's big 5-OH! My sister surprised him and flew in from California! Yeah, she flew across the U.S. with a two year old, and a 6 month old by herself, and she had to make one stop. Crazy or brave, I'm not sure, but I do know that when she really wants to do something, there is no stopping her!! My aunt Gin, a couple of my cousins, and their two sons from Indiana came too. There were some people that couldn't make it, and that was sad, and they were missed (Jason, Charles, Odette, Jermz, and Erin...you know who you are).

On my Dad's actual birthday he wanted to go in a hot air balloon!! My family got to go with him!! It was a very cool experience, as long as I didn't think too much!! Have you ever thought about how a hot air balloon lands? I never did, and it's not quite as graceful as I would have thought. My dad has a great picture of us after the landing, very funny. I don't have it though :( I think everyone who cares about my little blog has facebook and can see the pictures on there, so I'm just posting the video...what laziness.

Forth Foto

About nine years ago at our friends cabin, we found the tree that Will had carved our initials
in even longer ago. He's so handsome, still is.

I saw this on Jodie and Katie's blogs, and I was curious...if you are reading consider yourself tagged!

• Go to the fourth folder of your pictures.
• Select the fourth picture.
• Write something about it.
• Tag four people.

Survey by Hannah

(Cute idea from my friend Maria)

Ask your kid the questions and write them down exactly how they respond.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Clean up your room.

2. What makes mom happy?
When we clean our rooms.

3. What makes mom sad?
When you give us spankin's, and when we hit each other.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
When you make up the song from the library book.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Always happy.

6. How old is your mom?
31

7. How tall is your mom?
Very big

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Read books

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?
go on dates

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
be a President.

11. What is your mom really good at?
hang gliding

12. What is your mom not very good at?
skateboarding

13. What does your mom do for her job?
I don't know what you do.

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?
ice cream

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
she wins games sometimes

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
a princess

17. What do you and your mom do together?
eat breakfast at Bob Evans

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We have red hair.

19. How are you and your mom different?
We don't have the same clothes.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because I'm funny sometimes.

22. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
the melting pot.

Go Cardinals!

We aren't big football fans usually, but my dad is. One of the house rules is, Thou shalt watch football and like it! Just kidding, it is fun to watch with him because he actually knows what is going on, not to mention he is VERY passionate about it!! We are the typical bandwagon fans..."Oh, the Ravens are doing well this year? We better start watching!" Sadly, they didn't make it to the Superbowl :( So now we're naturally rooting for the Cardinals, of course! Well, everyone but this guy...

He didn't get the memo.