Friday, November 30, 2012

Disneyland 2012

When we got home from Hawaii we were only home for a few days and then it was off to Disneyland.  This was very exciting.....my kids were so excited they were giddy.  This Disneyland trip was with my parents and all of my siblings.  There were 17 of us....a big fun group.

We left really early on Wednesday morning with my parents and Ciara....everyone else was meeting there (different flights/driving).  Here were our seating assignments for the plane.  My parents definitely had it the easiest...Jace played the kindle fire the entire flight haha.

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Our whole group here with Lilo (Brandon apparently was having to much fun with his tower of terror stickers....weirdo)
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Just the kiddos with Minnie Mouse
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We rode lots and lots of rides during our 5 days at Disneyland...although I think this is our only picture on a ride haha.
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We went to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast one of the days we were there...Cora wasn't a big fan of many of the characters at the breakfast, However she loved loved loved the princesses!!
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Here are the boys taking a little rest (in between running from ride to ride to ride).
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Disneyland was all decorated for Christmas! It was fun to see how they decorate and change certain things during the holidays.  One fun thing is that Santa is there.  Here is a picture of our family visiting with Santa!!
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Oh, how we LOVE DISNEYLAND!!!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Hawaii 2012

My Dad and Laura took Skip and I to Hawaii for our graduation presents.....It was a total blast.  We were there for a week and we played a lot!! This was a trip we will never forget!!!! 

We flew all day on Friday and got to Maui really late.  So it was pretty much just off to bed that night.  We woke up the next morning and headed out for zip lining.
     Zip lining was so so so much fun.  We have zipped in Alaska also but we thought this one was a lot better!! Here are a few of our pictures.

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 A picture of my Dad and I
 
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The four of us on the suspension bridge 

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Skip and I after zipping one of the lines 

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This is one of the platforms at a start of one of the lines

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Our guide told me to hang upside down for a picture haha!!
 
 
The next day we went boating all day....This included snorkeling, tubing, parasailing, etc.  It was oh so great. 

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The background is the island of Lanai
 
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We snorkeled at a few different spots over on Lanai
 
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Tubing
 
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Here we go!!

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Wow.....We are high
 
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A little dunk on our way in
 
We had played hard with my parents for the first couple days....On Monday Skip and I decided to bike down the Haleakala Volcano.  My parents decided to pass....
 
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We started the morning off by going to the top of the crater and looking in.  Can you see from the pictures that we are above the clouds.  This volcano is really really tall. 
 
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Then came the biking down the volcano part...I did not think I would be nervous about this but I really was.  People get hurt a lot doing this.....Not to mention my group was hauling down this mountain at top speeds.  Definitely out of my comfort zone!!
 
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I kept thinking at least I have this full face helmet on for when I wreck haha.
 
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Skip and I playing around
 
That night we went to a magic show called Warren and Annabelles....It was really good magic and also funny.  It was a great time.
 
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The next day it was a trip to Hana....This is the most beautiful place ever!!  I think when you think of Hawaii you think of Hana.  It is so green and Lush with lots and lots of waterfalls.  Here are only a few of the many pictures we took.

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At the bottom of the pools!
 

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 A rock on one of the black sand beaches
 
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 This is a huge tree that we climbed while on our hike
 
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Oh how I love Hana!!
 
 
The next day we decided to test our skills at Stand Up Paddle Boarding....One thing I can say is that it is harder than it looks but it is a lot of fun and a great work out.
 
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 Getting all the gear
 
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Both of us paddling out
 
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Yeah!!  We both got the hang of it!
 
That night we went to the 'Ulalena show.  It shows a lot of the history of Hawaii through traditional songs and dancing. I loved it.  Here is a clip. It is so good.
 
The next day Skip and my Dad decided to go golfing....Laura and I decided we would walk the beach and do some shopping.  We were flying the red eye out that night so it was kind of a chill day.  Here are some pictures of the guys.  We didn't take any pictures.
 
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After they finished up golfing....We met up with Laura's brother, Dan and his family.  It has been many many years since I have seen them so it was fun to catch up and meet their cute kiddos.  I wish we would have taken some pictures.  I was obviously slacking with the camera on this last day.

After dinner it was off to the airport (totally in my pjs because we were flying all night haha) and then home.

WOW......What a fantastic trip!!





Monday, October 15, 2012

Halloween 2012

I love the fall!!  There are so many activities going on.  This year was no exception!

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We bought a pass for Cornbelly's again this year.  Here are a couple of  pictures of when Laura and I took our kids one evening.

We went to Cornbelly's several more times...my kids love it.  It was fun that we went with lots of different friends and family each time we went.  Here are the boys riding the bulls on one of our visits.
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Hold on their boys!!
 
We were also able to go on a Witch Hunt at Gardener Village with some of the cousins.  They were very good at locating all of the witches.  I think they had some motivation for the cookie they would get after finding all of the witches haha.
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This year we were going to carve pumpkins with my family one day but then I came down sick.  Sad!!  So Skip ended up just carving the pumpkins with the kiddos...I think they did a good job!!
 
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This year for Halloween we had a skeleton, a ninja, and a little witch.  So much fun!!



Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Casen starts 4th Grade

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Jace starts 1st grade

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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Cora's first day of Preschool

I can not believe how big my baby is getting.  Cora is now 3 years old and is starting preschool.  She has been super excited to start since we registered her back in January.  Cora goes two days a week for two and a half hours.  She is totally loving it!!!

Here is her first day.....

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Friday, August 3, 2012

Jace's 6th Birthday

Jace is now 6 years old.....WOW! Time is just flying bye. 
 

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 Jace wanted an Angry Bird Cake (the same one Casen just had haha)
 
 
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Here is Jace hitting the pinata.

 

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Everyone getting treats from the pinata....note to self do not do the silver stuff next time.  It was in our lawn and a huge mess haha.


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Jace opening his presents....we should have closed the blinds...Jace got totally spoiled.