Nicholas 7th Grade, Emily 1st grade,
Michael 9th Grade.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Good to be home!
We arrived home on Saturday , and boy is it good to be home. To sleep in your own bed, cook in my kitchen. Its all wonderful. Don has returned back to Oregon for the next 6 weeks. So the kids and I are trying to get back into the swing of things here. Michael starts band camp on Monday, so we are busy getting sports physicals, and papers in line to register him for that.
Emily is so excited to be home, she is sleeping downstairs in her room. For Emily this is big. She hates to sleep in her room. She does not like to be downstairs, while the rest of us are upstairs. Hopefully this will last and she wont come up stairs at night and sleep on the floor, like the last two years.
Nick has been enjoying his video games, and wii games. Its all he wants to do. He is not looking forward to school. But hopefully he will change his mind over the next three weeks. Because ready or not.... Yippee!!! school starts in three weeks. Can you guess that mom is excited???
Emily is so excited to be home, she is sleeping downstairs in her room. For Emily this is big. She hates to sleep in her room. She does not like to be downstairs, while the rest of us are upstairs. Hopefully this will last and she wont come up stairs at night and sleep on the floor, like the last two years.
Nick has been enjoying his video games, and wii games. Its all he wants to do. He is not looking forward to school. But hopefully he will change his mind over the next three weeks. Because ready or not.... Yippee!!! school starts in three weeks. Can you guess that mom is excited???
Friday, July 17, 2009
Going Home!!!
Well our summer trip has finally come to an end. We are leaving in the morning for Arizona. I couldn't be happier. We have done some amazing trips this summer. It has been a long 6 weeks in Oregon. We saw Mount St. Helen's, The Colombia river gorge and waterfalls, Tillamook cheese factory and Beach. We went to the Oregon Science Museum and Zoo. I will miss Don who has to stay in Oregon until Sept 1st, but with school starting in a few weeks, the time will fly by.
Arizona here we come!!!
Arizona here we come!!!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Twilight
It has been a long three weeks since Maui. We are in Oregon visiting Don for the summer. Our apartment is tiny, two bedroom/two bath. One TV, but it is nice. The weather has been in the high 60's but the humidity is about 200%, so we are all hot. Trying to come up with things to do with the kids is getting rough. We have been to the zoo twice, the science museum and the movies.
Fathers Day, we slept in. Sleeping-in in Oregon is really easy. The sun sets at about 10pm so we all have been going to bed at midnight or later. Even Nick sleeps in till about 9am. The other two kids sleep in later, 10-11am. It has been really nice. After lunch we decided to drive around to all the twilight locations. We got the list of addresses from a friend of Don's who daughter came up here to stay with Don while she tried out to be an extra in the new movie. She didn't get the part but gave us the list of sites. Don and I had a great time driving all over Oregon and Washington looking for the sites. The kids were a little bored. We spent 5 1/2 hours in the car and drove 218 miles round trip.
Forks High School
La Push Beach
Charlie & Bella Swan's Home
We saw five locations, and plan on this weekend seeing another two, The water fall at the end of the movie and the baseball field. Some of my friends say that I need professional help and other agree with me that this was the coolest road trip ever. I guess it depends on if you have ever read the books or not.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Maui Holiday Day 6 and 7
Day 6
We decided not to head to the beach first thing in the morning, but to sleep in and relax. But when I woke up about 10am Don and nick and Emily were at the beach. Michael was still asleep on the couch.I headed out to the beach leaving Michael sleeping off and on watching tv. When I got to the beach Emily was in the water with Nick. She was up to her waist and jumping over all of the waves. YA HOO...
Don and I even got Emily on the boogie board riding the waves. She rode about 4-5 waves before a big wave knocked her off and that was the end of the boogie board. She stuck with just playing in the water. At least she didn't stop getting in.
About noon we left and decided to head out to Twin Falls and Jaws beach. From what the locals had to say about Jaws, in the winter the waves can be 60 feet tall. Its where all the big surf contest are. We found the twin falls and walked to the smaller of the falls. There was a group of kids cliff jumping into the pool below the falls. The boys did not want to do this, Thank goodness.
Day 7 Our final day in Maui.
Emily had been quite upset that when we went to the blowhole nothing was happening. So we decided that we would head back up the road to see what was going on. The waves at our beach were much larger than they had been, so we figured if they were big here, they might be big on the other side of the island. And boy were we right. We found the correct pull off for the blowhole this time and walked down to it. The water was shooting out of it about 20 feet up in the air. It was amazing. We spent about an hour playing in the water, watching it.
After we left the blowhole we headed back in to Lahaina for dinner at Bubba Gumps. We had a great time sitting outside watching the sun set eating great food. After dinner we headed home to pack up and get ready to check out in the morning. Our flight was to leave at 11am. However, when we got back to the timeshare, Nick was sad that we didn't get any beach time in today, so we headed back to the beach and let all three kids play in the water till way after dark. In the morning we finished packing and returned the lawn chairs and boogie board we had rented and headed to the airport. We had a wonderful time in Maui and can not wait to go back again soon. We have taken many family vacations and we all agree that this holiday was the best we have ever had.
Maui Holiday Day 3, 4, 5
Day three in Maui started really early, about 5 am. We had to check out of our hotel, because our time share was ready to be check in to. However we could not check in till 3pm. We packed up everything, checked out of the hotel and headed to the harbor to catch our snorkel ferry. We had to check in at the harbor at 630, and the boat left at 7. We spent the day snorkeling with "Dorie" fish, as Emily called them ( from the movie Nemo) and sea turtles. We had lunch on the boat and returned to shore about 1pm.Emily who is still afraid of the water did great. She laid on top of a boogie board and floated around Don and I and only used goggles. She did not like the mask because it "Crushed her nose". All I can say is Drama Queen...
After we finished at the harbor we drove to our time share, which was a block away from the hotel and unpacked and settled in. Our timeshare was an older place in major need of a makeover. But Don kept telling me to get over it, we were in Maui and just be happy. After we settled in a bit, we headed to the beach, across the street and stayed until sunset. We had dinner at a fancy steak and seafood restaurant that was recommended to us, by someone at the hotel front desk. Nick ate is first sushi and liked it. Michael of course turned his nose up at it.
We were in bed exhausted by 845pm.
DAY 4
We slept in and went to the beach around 9am and stayed until 11am. Went back to the hotel and got cleaned up. After talking to my dad on the phone, we decided to head up to the 7 sacred pools. It was about a 3 hour drive on a bad road. Emily ended up getting car sick on the way up. The road was one lane and very curvy on the side of a cliff. When we got to the pools, the ranger suggested that we not swim. So we walked the 3/4 mile down to the pools and with the little rain fall this spring the 7 pools were now only 2. We saw lots of people swimming, but the water was green and we didn't get in. We only stayed about 1hour. On the way home, I was the one who got carsick. Once we got back to the timeshare we swam in the pool and made dinner and headed out to the beach for a walk at sunset and went to bed. It had been another long day in paradise.
Day 5
Once again we were one the beach by 10am, well most of us. Don and Michael stayed back at the timeshare to sleep in and relax. Nick who could not get enough of the ocean and Emily who was just starting to play in the water. She would get up to her knees then run back to shore when a wave came. Hopefully she would get in the water before we left. About noon Don came down to the beach and said it was time to go. Today was our helicopter ride. All the kids and Don were excited about this. Me not so much, but didn't complain. We drove over to the airport and got in the heliccopter. I was fine until it lifted off the ground. Thanks goodness Don was sitting next to me to hold my hand. I am afraid of heights and get motion sickness very easy. I was terrified. Emily fell asleep. The boys loved it. We saw about 50 different waterfalls and went to an island that was nearby. I could not wait for it to be over. I felt awful, I could not decied if I was going to throw up or pass out. So after the 45 minute ride we went back to the timeshare and I took a nap while Don took the kids to the beach and we all enjoyed a sunset walk along the beach and again we were all in bed by 8pm.
After we finished at the harbor we drove to our time share, which was a block away from the hotel and unpacked and settled in. Our timeshare was an older place in major need of a makeover. But Don kept telling me to get over it, we were in Maui and just be happy. After we settled in a bit, we headed to the beach, across the street and stayed until sunset. We had dinner at a fancy steak and seafood restaurant that was recommended to us, by someone at the hotel front desk. Nick ate is first sushi and liked it. Michael of course turned his nose up at it.
We were in bed exhausted by 845pm.
DAY 4
We slept in and went to the beach around 9am and stayed until 11am. Went back to the hotel and got cleaned up. After talking to my dad on the phone, we decided to head up to the 7 sacred pools. It was about a 3 hour drive on a bad road. Emily ended up getting car sick on the way up. The road was one lane and very curvy on the side of a cliff. When we got to the pools, the ranger suggested that we not swim. So we walked the 3/4 mile down to the pools and with the little rain fall this spring the 7 pools were now only 2. We saw lots of people swimming, but the water was green and we didn't get in. We only stayed about 1hour. On the way home, I was the one who got carsick. Once we got back to the timeshare we swam in the pool and made dinner and headed out to the beach for a walk at sunset and went to bed. It had been another long day in paradise.
Day 5
Once again we were one the beach by 10am, well most of us. Don and Michael stayed back at the timeshare to sleep in and relax. Nick who could not get enough of the ocean and Emily who was just starting to play in the water. She would get up to her knees then run back to shore when a wave came. Hopefully she would get in the water before we left. About noon Don came down to the beach and said it was time to go. Today was our helicopter ride. All the kids and Don were excited about this. Me not so much, but didn't complain. We drove over to the airport and got in the heliccopter. I was fine until it lifted off the ground. Thanks goodness Don was sitting next to me to hold my hand. I am afraid of heights and get motion sickness very easy. I was terrified. Emily fell asleep. The boys loved it. We saw about 50 different waterfalls and went to an island that was nearby. I could not wait for it to be over. I felt awful, I could not decied if I was going to throw up or pass out. So after the 45 minute ride we went back to the timeshare and I took a nap while Don took the kids to the beach and we all enjoyed a sunset walk along the beach and again we were all in bed by 8pm.
Maui Holiday Day 2
Friday it was supposed to be cloudy and rainy so we choose to go to the Maui Ocean Center for the day. It was a huge indoor aquarium. We saw every type of Hawaiian fish there is. After about 2 1/2 hours we had seen it all and decided to head out to west Maui to check out a blowhole someone had recommended. We didn't know much about the blow hole, except that we were to stop driving at mile marker 38 and hike down to it. We we stopped at mile marker 38. There were stones stacked in piles from visitors who believe there is some significance. There is none, however we stacked out pile of stones overlooking the ocean.
We saw a couple of hikers following a path, so we thought they were going to the blow hole, which they were. However they were taking the long way. 2 hour long way. We hiked over lava rocks and boulders down a side of a cliff. Emily did great on this hike. She was so excited to see the blowhole. She had bought a postcard at the Ocean Center of the blow hole and was carrying it, so we made sure we knew what to look for. After this long and hot hike we found the blowhole. However it was low tide and nothing was happening. Feeling sad that we would have to make this long trip again at high tide we headed back 2 more hours back up to the car.
By the time we got back to the car we were starving and tired and decided to head back to the hotel. But Don wanted to drive just a few more miles down the road. Not 1/2 mile down the road was a big pull off and tons of cars. Don pulled over to see what everyone was looking at. Maybe another blowhole? The kids and I stayed in the car, while Don ran down to look and guess what he found??? He found the same blowhole we had been at with only about 5 minute easy hike. We laughed and laughed. How silly of us, to walk all the way around the cliff. Oh well at least we knew it would be easier the next time.
After leaving the blow hole we decided to stop in Lahaina for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Lahaina has a great wharf village full of fun shops and restaurants. We parked our car at the largest baynon tree we had ever seen. It took up a hole block.
After walking around some of the shops, we stopped to watch someone wood carving . Don loved this. So we bought one. We had the guy carve our names in the back of ours. And the one we bought stands for family protection.
We had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, where Emily, Michael and myself all bought tee shirts. After dinner we walked over to Bubba Gumps restaurant and looked thur their gift shop. They have some of the cutest tee shirts. After we finished shopping we headed back to the hotel to swim in the pool again and go to bed early. We had had a busy day, but tomorrow was going to be even longer. We had a snorkel trip planned and had to get up at 530am to make a 630 boat. Yikes that's early when your on holiday.
Maui Holiday day 1
Well we have just returned from a week in Maui. It was the best family vacation we have ever taken. We left on Thursday morning and fly from Phoenix to Honolulu, a 6 hour flight, and had about a 2 hour layover. But by the time we landed and got to the gate it ended up being a little more than an hour wait. We grabbed something to eat and ran to the next gate to catch our next flight to Maui. Our next flight was only 35 minutes long. As soon as the plane took off, I started feeling sick and before the plane was even level I was running for the back of the plane sick. Let me tell you that throwing up in an airplane bathroom has got to be the worst place to get sick in the world.
Once our flight landed we grabbed our luggage and rental car and headed to our hotel. It was only about 2:30pm which was nice, that we had the after noon still to do stuff. After checking in to our hotel we went to the front desk and inquired about tours and stuff to do the rest of the week. We already knew what we wanted to do, but it was just about money. We did not want to go broke this week. We booked our three big items, one every other day and we headed out in our car to take a drive down the coast.
We found this cute cove and we stopped to take pictures and watch the sunset. As we are climbing around on the rocks, Don yells that there was something in the water. It was a giant sea turtle. We watched him for quite a bit and looked for others. We found about 2-3. The kids found black crabs climbing on the rocks as well.
We found this cute cove and we stopped to take pictures and watch the sunset. As we are climbing around on the rocks, Don yells that there was something in the water. It was a giant sea turtle. We watched him for quite a bit and looked for others. We found about 2-3. The kids found black crabs climbing on the rocks as well.
Did I mention that is was rainy and cloudy the first day. But that did not dampen any ones spirits. After spending about an hour watching the sea turtles we drove back to the hotel to check out the beach that was across the street from our hotel. Emily who is still afraid of the beach wanted nothing to do with it. She pouted on a blanket for several hours while the rest of us played in the water.
That night after the sun set we grabbed a bit to eat at McDonald's and headed to the pool at our hotel. The kids enjoyed swimming. About 8pm we headed back upstairs to our hotel room and went to bed. It had been a long first day in Maui and this was only the beginning.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Kindergarten Graduation
Last night was Emily's Kindergarten Graduation. The kids sang songs from performances they had done throughout the year and then in groups of 4-5 the kids read books for us. After the readings we watched a slide show from all the activities for the year then had cake and punch. Emily's teacher was so stressed that she forgot to give out the certificates to the kids last night, so she handed them out in class today. OOPS, but that is ok.
Tuesday night we joined Michael at school for his academic award ceremony. He received two awards. One for having a 4.0gpa all year long and the other was for a good citizenship, with that award he received a $50.00 savings bond from the school.
Since April we still have been fighting with Emily on her hair color. Well she won. I have decided that this is not the fight I want to waste. I am saving that fight for the dating and clothing fights. But hair is just hair. So on Friday I picked up Emily from school and took her to the gal who does my hair and we had red highlights added to her hair. However with Emily's hair being as dark as it is, the highlights did not show up like Emily wanted. You could see them in the sunlight, but inside they were very subtle. Emily was very upset by this. So after talking with friends, they suggested that we head to a store in the mall called Hot Topic for temporary hair color in bright colors. So Sunday we headed out to the mall and bought her flaming red and hot pink. Don and I redid the highlights in her hair and she loves them. Again they look great in the sunlight, and not to bad inside. Emily is very happy and in 4-6 weeks after they wash out maybe she will not want them redone, But again we are talking about Emily and I don't think this will be the last time for highlights.
Tuesday night we joined Michael at school for his academic award ceremony. He received two awards. One for having a 4.0gpa all year long and the other was for a good citizenship, with that award he received a $50.00 savings bond from the school.
Since April we still have been fighting with Emily on her hair color. Well she won. I have decided that this is not the fight I want to waste. I am saving that fight for the dating and clothing fights. But hair is just hair. So on Friday I picked up Emily from school and took her to the gal who does my hair and we had red highlights added to her hair. However with Emily's hair being as dark as it is, the highlights did not show up like Emily wanted. You could see them in the sunlight, but inside they were very subtle. Emily was very upset by this. So after talking with friends, they suggested that we head to a store in the mall called Hot Topic for temporary hair color in bright colors. So Sunday we headed out to the mall and bought her flaming red and hot pink. Don and I redid the highlights in her hair and she loves them. Again they look great in the sunlight, and not to bad inside. Emily is very happy and in 4-6 weeks after they wash out maybe she will not want them redone, But again we are talking about Emily and I don't think this will be the last time for highlights.
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