Hawaii Trip 2015

Dad approached me a couple months ago and asked if he should surprise Mom with a trip to Hawaii for their 40th wedding anniversary. Of course I said yes and that I wanted to come too.  Well, that's exactly what happened. We surprised Mom with not only a trip to Hawaii but having it be a girls trips (Dad and Jack don't count). When I was recanting the trip to Nick when I arrived home I just started bawling. It was truly one of the most memorable, relaxing, and once in a life time trips I have ever taken. To have all my sisters with me, husband free (!), and parents on a tropical island is unforgettable. 

The play by play:

Saturday: I surprised  Mom at the airport by sitting next to her at our departing gate. I sat behind her and asked "excuse me but do you have the time?" She screamed and then we laughed. I loved that moment and seeing the look of excitement on her face. We later surprised her with Caity and Kim arriving once we landed in Hawaii. Emily drove with them to the airport so she was surprised with her earlier. My dad told her the night before we left to "pack like going to California and to wake up early for an adventure." The surprise was truly one of the best parts. Then we flew to Hawaii and Jack wiggled the entire 6 hours. Oh boy that was crazy. We got to Hawaii in the mid afternoon and just relaxed in our beautiful beach house the rest of the day. Jack woke up early every morning due to the time change so I got see the sunrise while hearing the waves and eating eggs on toast (made my only the best..my dad). It made getting up at 5:30 enjoyable!

View from our house

Sunday: We went to church and then drove to get Hawaiian ice because I could not wait another second! It was quite possibly the best thing I have ever eaten and had about 10 on the trip. It was SO good. We once again hung around the house, laid outside, walked along the ocean and enjoyed a peaceful Sunday. That night we went to Kaanapali coast to walk along the board walk and get a more touristy feel. Our house was very local and always had local surfers riding the waves so it was nice to get the typical tourist/tiki torches/lava flow feel that you typically think of. 

Monday: Due to babies we were up and at it early. We rented snorkel gear, an underwater camera, and headed to Black Rock at Kaanapali. It was great snorkeling and so fun to swim in the warm water. The best part was trying to get in and out of the ocean. It had to be timed perfectly or the hard crashing waves toppled you. I fell victim as did almost every tourist trying to get in. It made for great people watching...seeing people tumble around getting super sandy. We hit the hotel pools along the board walk and laid out by their pools (it was 10x more fun because we were not supposed to and we did it anyway:) We ate lunch at a fantastic fish place right on the beach and I had the most amazing "island fish". That literally was what it was called...no idea what I ate but I would eat it every day if I could. We took naps under our cabana with the babies and then of course ate more Hawaiian ice. We ended the night cooking burgers on the grill, chatting while watching the sunset, and watching a movie. It as was sunny, hot, bright, wet, and one of the most amazing days of my life. I fell asleep that night with sun kissed skin and sand/salt in my hair...the most perfect feeling in the world!!

Tuesday: My dad rode up the volcano Haleakala this morning and spent half the day climbing 36 miles on a bike. He is quite the intense biker these days. We laid around and watched a movie at 8 in the morning...because we could! When Mom returned from dropping my dad off we headed out to go on a gorgeous hike along the coast. The hike ended with cliffs that you could jump off into the ocean. The view was breath taking and Emily and I concluded that the view went in our "top ten sights of our life". We took another short hike through jungle and then headed back home. Before the luau we took a dip in our pool and drove to the luau still wet and salty (seems to be the theme of the trip). It was a gorgeous luau with live music and delicious food. They did dances from all the Polynesian islands including my favorite...Tahiti. 

Wednesday: It is tradition to eat breakfast at the Maui Prince while in Maui and we stuck to that tradition. They have a great breakfast buffet with coconut, macadaiam nut french toast. It was beyond delicious and something I looked forward too all week. After breakfast we rented a cabana on the lawn and enjoyed another day of relaxing on the beach. We spent most of the day in their pool, sleeping, and swimming the the ocean (minus big waves). On the way home I ate 2, yes 2, Hawaiian ice and loved every second. When we got back to the house we all swam in the pool while watching the sunset and surfers catch their last wave. After babies went to bed the girls went back to Kaanapali coast and swam in the beautiful Hyatt pool. It has water falls, slides and multiple cave jacuzzis. It was a perfect evening enjoying a warm Hawaiian night. I loved sitting in the pool, chatting, and having the night lit up by hundreds of tiki torches. I just love Hawaii and especially love being with my family. 

Just sleeping...dad, jack and caity

Thursday: I enjoyed a last breakfast of eggs on toast by the ocean and then relaxed. I made sure to walk along the beach and collect rocks to take home and enjoy my last moments of Hawaii. Right as we were about to get in the car Dad came home with paddle boards. Well of course I had to try it! I

threw on a swim suit, got bashed around by the waves and loved it. It was quite terrifying trying to go over huge waves with a paddle board but i would do it again in a second. In true fashion I arrived at the airport salty with wet hair dripping down my back. Then I flew home and Jack slept the ENTIRE time. We just cozied up and got excited about seeing our people!

Little things I don't want to forget

-how it was supposed to rain and storm everyday but then was beyond perfect

- how warm the water was. the air and water temp were the same so you never felt cold or needed a towel. 

- the waves would wash up along rocks by our house. When the water went back into the ocean the rocks would clink together making the sound of rain

- how my skin always felt warm and salty. I always had salt in my eyebrows from the super salty air

-the random smell of gardenia and plumeria in the air

- picking pink plumeria and sleeping with the flowers next to my pillow so i could smell it all night

- quotes "land mermaid...you mean human" and "burn day" 

view from our Maui Prince cabana 

beach infront of our house

Products of the beach. 

California Trip

Just the 5 of us headed down to the beach last weekend. It was a complete dream and totally renewed my love for Cali. I am always at odds with beach weather, it can be windy and cold. I hate having to put on a sweat in the middle of summer. But this trip, oh this trip, we did not wear one sweater! It was  sunny and perfectly warm. We ran around in out swim suits till we crashed into bed! I loved getting into the car after the beach and feeling the sand in my hair and on my skin. I loved having the cool air conditioning hitting my sun kissed skin. Oh it was so perfect. We stayed close to Newport and spent all day Friday and Saturday at the beach. We walked along the pier at Huntington beach, ate at Stacks Pancake House in Dana Point, visited the Newport temple and of course explored the tide pools at Crystal Cove. Scarlett loved looking for hermit crabs at the tide pools with me. She would pick them up and let them crawl all over her arm. I loved watching her "treasure hunt" and do what she loves so much.  The girls favorite activity was jumping over the waves and I of course loved walking the beach putting Jack to sleep. I so enjoyed spending time with just my little family and getting to know my kiddos better!

Just two sisters discussing the wonders of the ocean. This is my favorite picture of summer. 

First Day Of School

Alice started mom school this week and loves it. We sing songs, play number games, and color. I like to keep it short and simple and she loves anything that involves just me and her. While we were playing with flower beads (making patterns) she just sang and talked to me about her favorite colors, it was a tender moment. I am so glad I get to be with just her while Scarlett is at school/Jack naps and witness first hand her little mind grow. I just love the age of three and am over joyed she gets to stay home with me. I do not want to miss one minute of adorable three year old Alice...seriously she melts my heart! Just now she saw her picture on the computer and said "Oh mom thats me. Give me a big kiss on the lips." Haha, yes sir!

I have treaded sending Scarlett to school for 3 years! She is my biggest support and fan. All day she looks out for me, entertains Alice, holds Jack, and gets snacks/drinks for her and Alice.  Not to mention she is adorable to talk to and keeps me laughing. I love my little side kick! She was zoned for a school I did not feel good about and started praying in January that somehow things would work out. Sure enough they started building a charter school next to our house in February and I shouted for joy!! It is not the perfect situation (it starts at 8...yikes) but it is super close to our house (30 second drive), is half day kinder, and not year round. Which is all pretty awesome in my book!! Best of all... she gets to wear adorable uniforms! 

We woke up bright and early on Monday and Scarlett picked out which uniform she wanted to wear. She quickly ate breakfast and off we went. Just her and I walked to school to avoid the first day of school traffic. She held my hand the whole way and just hopped up and down with excitement. I loved talking to her about making friends, raising her hand, and being kind to everyone while we walked to school. She said "Mom, I will make sure that I am friends with everyone. I will even be friends with kids that are younger than me". Scarlett has a heart of gold. She is sweet, caring, mild, quick to smile, and very forgiving! When we got to school she ran to her teacher, followed her class into the school and did not look back. She did this all was hopping up and down in her classic Scarlett walk. This girl is pure joy and I love it!!

Jackson 9 Months

                              

This boy is on the go!! He crawls, pulls himself up, climbed stairs, and gets into everything. He is so happy and content roaming around checking everything out. I have so many baby toys that are going unused because his favorite thing to do is chase after his sisters and join in all their fun. I followed him as he climbed up all two flights of our stairs to get to his sisters upstairs. He could hear them laughing and playing and he did not want to miss out. When he finally found them in there room he smiled and started to clap his hands. We have a lot of sibling love in this house. My favorite thing is that while I get ready in the morning they take him into my closet and play house. They make his a "play room" and have him be the "dad". It melts my heart.  

      We have struggled with his sleep a lot this month! He was waking up very every couple of hours at night and then not taking naps. I let it slide because he was just so happy despite no sleep. Then I realized that I was a walking zombie and completely exhausted so I set out to try and remedy his bad sleep habits. All I really had to do was start feeding him more and the problems resolved itself. He eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner in his high chair and LOVES it. He loves food and eats anything, of course. We are still trying to get him napping better but I bet when summer ends and a routine starts that he will fall in line. But through all this lack of sleep he was still the happiest baby and content as ever! Thank you Jack for being so adaptable, patient, and energetic.