Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Hawaii


So back in August my wonderful parents took all of their children and spouses and grandchildren to Hawaii. I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you Mom and Dad! We had such a good time. This house we stayed at was right across the street from the beach. Our beach had a great cove for snorkling. So many of mornings began with an hour of snorkling in the warm ocean. The fish were beautiful.


Here is the whole crew right before heading home.




We were a little scared of how the kids would handle the 6 1/2 hour plane ride but surprisingly they did great. Those little DVD players are fantastic and it helps to have a lap to pass your kid onto occasionally.


We spent a day looking at waterfalls. Hawaii is so beautiful. While there we were like "why do we live in the desert?"







Some of the waterfalls and beaches required a little off roading to get to. The view was amazing and made the crazy ride worth it.








Look at my cute husband and sleepy girl.


Looking at a dead crab.


Megan and her crazy hair. Megan actually left for PA school in North Carolina just a couple of days after we got home. We miss her so much. Every night when Elliot says her prayers she makes sure that we don't forget Megy.


Landon and I were able to go bogey boarding a couple of days. We had so much fun. There was a couple of times where you rolled in a wave and got ocean water up your nose but the rides in between made it worth it. There was a small beach with great waves but it had a lot of people. So sometimes you would knock people over as you came in and sometimes you would get knocked off your board by another bogey boarder. It just made it even more fun.



Kristin, Landon and Aaron waiting for a wave.


Elliot loved the beach. She liked playing in the sand. She would give the ocean a chance until a little wave would knock her over and then she was done with that. After we got home for weeks, everyday she would ask to go to the beach. I wish we could just step out our front door and walk to the beach.




Our beach house. It had 2 kitchens, 4 bathrooms and 4 bedrooms. It was a great choice for vacationing with 12 people. We never felt crowded.


The view from our balcony. Jealous anyone???



Elliot and Jacob. Monkey see, monkey do. Elliot loves her cousin Jacob. She mimics everything her does.



We saw big sea turtles at almost every beach we went to. They will swim right next to you or even near large groups of people.


We spent a day seeing the volcanoes.



Elliot with Grandma and Papa. Thanks again Mom and Dad. We had a wonderful time!

Eldorado Mine and Kayaking


We went to the Eldorado Mine with Shana, Stewart and Ella and Stewart's family. Stewart's Mom is really nice and she planned this day for everyone. We went on a tour of one of the mines and got to hear some of the stories of a lawless time. It was fun and the mine was actually a cool 60 degrees inside. After the tour we went kayaking at the river.

Elliot and Ella pounding some strawberries. Elliot had no problem digging into all of the food Stewart's Mom brought.
Here is my little family in the kayak. Don't be fooled by the oar in my hand. With Elliot on my lap I was not able to do any of the rowing. Good thing I have a strong husband.

I can't remember exactly what was going on here but it does look like Elliot was trying to jump ship. It is a possibility.

Haircut



Elliot has had many hair trims at home done by mom to remove her mullet but this was her first professional haircut. She did really good. She was so excited to have Shana cut her hair. She held really still and even let Shana blow dry her hair. It is so nice to have a friend that cuts hair. Elliot has such stranger anxiety that I am pretty sure she would cry if a stranger came near her with scissors. Elliot even made Ella jealous the next day when she told her that Shana had cut her hair. Ella looked at her Mom, grabbed her hair and gave a little whine.




The finished bob. When we got home Landon asked if I purposely had Elliot's hair cut like mine. I told him no and that I just told Shana to make it cute. Which I think she did a great job. Besides there is not alot of hair cut options when the hair on the top of your head still hasnt caught up with bottom.

San Diego


In July we took a little 3 day trip to San Diego with the Christensens. We decided that Sea World would be the best attraction for toddlers. Ella ended up falling asleep about 15minutes after we arrived and took a pretty long nap but once she woke up the girls had a good time.





I just think this picture is funny. Landon was taking a picture of us looking at the dolphins and happened to get the girl picking her wedgie.


Elliot and Dad on the elmo ride. Sea World has a whole Sesame Street area which the girls were drawn to. Elliot would point to it every time she looked at the map.

Elliot and I took a 3 hour nap when we got back to the hotel. She was so tired that Landon and I could not get her to wake up for dinner. She finally woke up when Ella came in the room. I guess she figured it was worth it to play. While asleep Elliot turned onto her back and started clapping and then stopped and turned back on her side. I think she was dreaming about one of the shows she had seen that day. It was pretty cute.


The next day we went to the beach. Landon and Stewart went boggy boarding while Shana and I tried to keep the girls happy. When Elliot and Ella first got to the beach they wanted nothing to do with the sand. They would complain about the sand sticking to their feet and hands. Elliot gave the water a chance but once she was knocked over by a wave she wanted nothing to do with the ocean.

Shana and I convinced Landon and Stewart to take the girls for a swim so we could just lay on the beach and relax. We definitely enjoyed our 15 minutes of rest. Once the girls went in the water with their dads they realized the ocean wasn't too bad.