Monday, December 24, 2007

Merry Christmas 2007, Everybody!!!

At this very merry time of year, Steven and I want to say how grateful we are for all the dear friends and family with which we've been so richly blessed. From California to Washington to those scattered all over, you are true gifts in our lives and we love you! Our wish for you in all the busy-ness of this season is that you are able to truly enjoy this time with your families, soak up the moments that pass by too quickly and cherish the memories you'll take away from this Christmas Season. It seems that the hustle and bustle can get crazier with each passing year, but the true "reason for the season" is the gift of a little baby boy who would change the course of the world and our lives. What a generous heart our Father God has that he would lavish so much love on us by sending his only son, Jesus, born in a humble manger for the sole purpose of restoring relationship between God and mankind. We are amazed and overwhelmed with that love and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Catch Up on Fall!

Just a quick catch up on what was going on in our lives during the Fall while I was still blogging about Maui... Fall was busy! Full of Family, Friends and activities like our first annual Young Adult Pumpkin Carving Party! And now Fall is gone and it's FREEZING up here in the Northwest. I promise to post snow pictures next to prove how cold this California girl is... my teeth are chattering as I type... Enjoy the pics!

We watched our Seahawks get crushed by New Orleans on Steven's Birthday, Oct 14th... what a sad birthday present... :)

We all played with Eowyn at Steven's family Birthday Party... She's getting so big!

Eowyn came over to hang out at our house (her parents tagged along as well)... Eowyn had too much to drink...

We took Mav to the Pumpkin Patch...



Mav learned how to drive

At our church's Wild West Fall Fest, I was a cowgirl and Mav was an Indian... :) (That's what happens when your husband won't dress up with you...)

Steven found time to kill ducks with Matt and Ben... apparently this is fun...

I got to visit my family and my sister's growing belly in October (just because) and in November when my mom and I threw her a baby shower (check out Nat's blog for all the cute pics!)





And we celebrated Thanksgiving Day with Steven's family (we'll be in Yuba City with mine for Christmas). Steven loves his niece so much...

Thanksgiving with the whole fam... including the dogs...

Saturday, December 1, 2007

The End

Sunday was our day to head back home to Washington and leave beautiful Maui. Not wanting to waste a minute of our final moments in Maui, Steven and I got up early and Shawn and Natalie joined us for some early morning coffee and a final trip to one of our favorite beaches, Makena. We got there so early that we were literally the only people on the beach. I think we saw maybe 3 people the entire time we were there. We sat on the beach and watched the waves come in and out and just soaked in the beauty one last time. We took a walk down the beach and Natalie spotted a sting ray off the coast. After our morning visit to the ocean, we all went to breakfast at the Grand Wailea one more time before Steven and I said our "goodbyes" and headed to the airport and back to reality. Maui was such a happy wonderful vacation and we truly loved it. We are so grateful to God for the opportunity to have such a memorable vacation and to have sharedwith my family. We have memories to last a lifetime!

Sad Starbucks
Vacation Feet
Early Morning at Makena
Trying to delay leaving...
Our footprints
The picture speaks for itself

Hubby
Checking out of our Condo. D-104
Last breakfast at the Grand Wailea before we headed to the airport
Always the baby brother... Always the big sister...
I love this family so much!
At the airport
Mohalo? Mahalo?

Goodbye, Maui! We'll be back!

Turning 21 in Maui...

Sunday was Steven and my last full day in Maui, but it was also Natalie's 21st birthday! How fun to celebrate your 21st birthday in Maui!!! We started out the day by snorkeling at the North end of the island that we had never been to (near Hunama Bay). While we were snorkeling I finally saw my first sea turtles! 2 of them!!! It was so much fun because I had been hoping to see one the whole time I was in Maui. On top of that, as I was snorkeling along, I looked up ahead of me and right near the top of the water about 50 feet away were some very large "animals" of some kind in the water. At first, I got really scared and thought that I might be seeing sharks, but then I realized that is was a school of dolphins! It was completely unbelievable! I pulled my head out of the water and hollered for anyone who could hear me, but everyone's heads were under the water. By the time my family knew I had seen something, the school was heading out into the ocean, but they did see the dolphins dorsile fins coming up out of the water! It was an amazing experience... After snorkeling we headed down to Ka'anapali to have lunch at Hula Grill. Natalie and Shawn went parasailing for the first time and had a blast. On the way back in to shore, their boat driver took them to a place where a huge school of dolphins were and they swam with their boat for a while. That was a highlight for Natalie. After some shopping at the Shops at Ka'anapali Beach, we headed home for some relaxation at the pool at our condos. For dinner, we headed to Lahaina to eat at Pacifico Restaurant right on the beach. It was a breathtaking view and we got there just in time to see the sunset. After dinner it was back to our condos for cake and ice cream. My mom had decorated the condo so cute for Nat's birthday! We even had a limbo stick! We stayed up late laughing and talking and celebrating my sister's 21 years... It was a wonderful last full day in Maui.

This is a tradition in my family for the girls. We always right Happy Birthday messages on the mirror with lipstick... My mom started this when we were younger and now we are carrying it on as well. Nat had a message from me at our condo on the mirror and a message from mom at their condo.

The boys heading out of the water after snorkeling at Hunama Bay.

Lunch at Hula Grill on Ka'anapali Beach.

Ka'anapali Beach

Nat and Shawn after parasailing and boating with the school of dolphins.

Shawn bought Natalie a necklace she had been wanting at Tiffany's. Not bad, Shawn! Girls love little blue boxes... :)

The Fam on the beach at Pacifico Restaurant.

Hubby and me at sunset.

The big 2-1!!

That's right... pregnant girl doing the limbo!

Hooray!

Happy Birthday, Baby Sister!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Some Pampering & $8.00 Virgin Pina Coladas

On Saturday the guys woke up extremely early to catch a 6:45am tee time at one of the Grand Wailea golf courses. Well, most of them did. Ian decided he'd rather catch some Z's, so Steven, Dad and Shawn enjoyed a round of 18. The day was just gorgeous and they had a wonderful time. (Steven somehow managed to not get one picture of himself playing golf in Maui.) While the boys had fun playing golf, I took my mom and my sister for some much needed pampering at the Grand Wailea Spa. We all got to be in the same room and enjoy an 80 minute massage after an hour of soaking in their tubs, steam rooms and pools. It was my mom's first professional massage! Can you believe that? She was so relaxed afterwards. I don't think she had ever felt that way before. It was incredibly fun for me to see her so happy. Natty got a special pre-natal massage as well. We all had a wonderful time. Afterwards we met up with the boys at Wailea Beach for some sun-soaking before our Luau that evening in Lahaina. The Luau was very traditional with a lot of interesting dances and an authentic dinner. They pulled the pig out of the sand oven they had dug and everything... It was very... interesting... The Luau itself was a very neat experience and I would recommend it to anyone as something you have to do once in the islands. My favorite part was the live band. They were fun!

Daddy swinging away
FORE!
Not a bad view...

Breakfast at the Grand Wailea before our spa treatments
Anticipation

After our treatments... Pure relaxation!
Wailea Beach
Drinking our $8.00 VIRGIN pina coladas... that's right, $8.00 EACH... No alcohol, people!
If you are going to pay $8.00 for ice and syrup, then do something with the garnish! :)
"Weeeeeeeeee wanna soak up the suuuuuun... We wanna tell everyoooone to lighten uuuuuup..."
Dad and Daughter

Ian and His Madre at the Old Lahaina Luau

Cute Couples :)
My Handsome Man
My brother, Mowgli
My Hubby Flirting with Me
Elijah's Parents
Ben and Glade always take interesting sun pictures on their trips, so this is my attempt at "holding" the sun. Hope it makes 'em proud...
Another beautiful sunset
After some of the Luau dances, they invited any couples out to dance under the stars while the live band played and serrenaded us with beautiful Hawaiian music. My hubby was a good man and took me out on the floor.