Hawaii....I love Hawaii!!!

The Really Big Waterfall... We ran all over the island looking for this waterfall. By the waterfall there were signs all over telling us not to jump and a man selling hats in the bushes. Yep you got me! Got to love Hawaii!

The Really Big Waterfall!

I hope this sign wasn't important! Rikki and I taking the leap!

The Best Food Comes out of a Dirty Truck... I am one of those people who love to eat food from the street vendors. Hawaii is the best because people sell SHRIMP from trucks!

Someone was a little too excited to get her 'TRUCK SHRIMP"

Our Friend on the Beach... When we went to the beach we met a new friend. The Hawaii Monk Seal comes and sleeps on their beaches during the day. Since they are on the endangered species list they get their own little beach roped off. He reminded me of a Mastiff, occasionally he would make a loud noise and then scratch himself. In the next life I am coming back as a Hawaiian Monk Seal.

Hawaii Boat Rides are Not FUN!!!

A Humpback Whale breaching!

The Na Pali Coast Line

My Dad wedged in between the table
so he didn't fall overboard!

Rikki and I soaking WET!

In the brochure it said see the Na Pali Coast on a sunset dinner cruise. After reading this we were sold! The cruise started out walking along a 5 foot plank to the roof of the ship...yep the roof. After walking the plank you crawled down a 5 foot ladder to the seating in the boat while being barefoot. To a normal height person this would be no problem, but to a little person this was going to be interesting. During the safety briefing they told us to look around and get to know the other passengers on the boat just encase you throw up on their feet. After hearing that warning my Mom was ready to jump ship and swim back to shore. The boat ride started out awesome we saw Humpbacks Whales everywhere breaching along the coast, but as soon as we hit the Na Pali Coast it was all down hill. The waves where huge and the rain started to poor! I looked over to the older woman setting beside me clinching onto a blue bucket and knew I was in for the ride of my life! The coast and the whales were beautiful, but the boat ride was not as such! But hey we were in Hawaii and that was good enough for me!

Menehunes Are Cool

Rikki and Stan

Rikki with a "Real" Menehune

According to Legend the Menehune Ponds
were Built in One Night.

This week when I was in Hawaii I found my long lost heritage. In Hawaiian mythology a Menehune is a small dwarf who live in the deep forests and hidden valleys of the Hawaiian Islands. After reading the definition I thought to myself hey...that's me I am a Menehune! Maybe I am one of those rebel Menehunes that was kicked out of the tribe because according to legend they were night people who liked to build things like fish ponds. Well everyone who knows me knows I like to sleep and I can't build anything, so I must have been kicked out.

Pirate Birthday Cakes are Fun!

Pirate Marley and Me! Arrgh!

Well...it's been a week since I turned 25 and according to the news your brain starts shrinking! I have already started to feel the affects of having a smaller brain. It's been a rough week! I am now officially a quarter century dead!

My Amazing Awesome Cake!

Might Just Be the Closet Thing to a Wedding Cake

So We Took The Moment and Ran With It!

The other day I mentioned in passing to my roommate Megan that I wanted a Pirate Cake for my birthday. When I got home today from work Megan had surprised me with my cake! It was awesome and supplied us with hours of fun! Who knew a cake could be so much fun and tasty at the same time. Thanks Megan for the AMAZING cake!!!

What! My teacher is an ELF?

Santa did not put me on the NICE list this year!
Just ask them!!!

Amanda gave me a dollar to take her picture with me!
Because she is a good friend I gave her a 10% discount!
I think I am going to change careers!

Santa and His Elf

So I know this is a little old but it's funny and worth the wait... On the last day of school before Christmas break Santa stops by for the Christmas sing along. Santa just happens to be a close personal friend of mine, so he said he would only stop by if I would accompany him as his elf. I thought to myself...this sounds like BLACKMAIL! I agreed to dress up as long as it was cleared by the principal. Well... I mentioned it to the principal and she thought it would be hilarious and gave me the thumbs up! This ELF had eaten a few to many of Santa's cookies and needed a new costume, so my wonderful paraeducator Kalei came to the rescue. When I entered the gym the kids where screaming for Santa, but they just stared at me in confusion! The older grades all had this stumped look on their face. Their expressions were like should we laugh or will we get in trouble. The younger grades where even more confused because I already confuse them when I am not dressed up. So here are a few pictures from the holiday fun!

Nathan and Natalie's Wedding

Since I haven't posted since Halloween I though that I would post my friends wedding I took pictures at. Ever since Junior High I have toyed around with photography, so occasionally I will do wedding photography for close friends and family. Nathan and I have known each other since we were both in 'Pampers', so he is more like a brother to me. Congrats Nathan and Natalie on your new life together! Here are a few of my favorite pixs!

Halloween Cherry Hill Style!

Today was Halloween and as always it becomes one big party at my school. Cherry Hill has adopted Halloween as their favorite holiday starting the week with the Ghost Chase and ending with the Halloween parade and hunted house.

This year my wonderful paraprofessional made my costume! Since the beginning of the year we have been discussing what we wanted to be for Halloween. I love Diet Coke!!! To show everyone my love for the "BELOVED DRINK" it was only fitting I was Diet Coke for Halloween. I would have to say this was my favorite costume of all time! My costume was complete with a pull tab hat, bar codes, and the nutrition facts. How Cool! My friend and co-worker Trish loves M&Ms as much as I love Diet Coke, so Kalei made her costume too.

Here are some photos of the people who are in charge of educating the children of the world. SCARY!!!

The Cherry Hill Special Education Team

The School Principal and Secretaries Needing A Diet Coke!

Myself with Amanda the School Psychologist

David the 5th Grade Teacher Trying to Drink Me

Carving Authentic Roloff Pumpkins

I don't care much about Halloween except for the pumpkin carving. During our visit to Roloff Farms we bought pumpkins. In all my years of carving pumpkins I have never encountered a pumpkin as thick and with so many seeds as the Roloff pumpkins. It must be a Matt think! I carved a pirate head and Kristine had this great idea to carve the world. Yep you heard me a world! I am here to say that pumpkins should never be carved into an actual globe! Here is a few fun pics of my pumpkin and Kristin as a human pumpkin.

Portland's Saturday's Market

On my last day in Portland Kristine felt that I needed to experience Portland's Saturday's Market. She described it like a Seattle Pike's Place on crack...and she was right! Where else can you eat an elephant ear, buy an organic hemp cotton t-shirt with a dinosaur on it, get your palm read by an old lady, get a henna tattoo, make a drunk guy's day, and have your picture taken with a Jimmy Hendrix look alike? You can do all this in one day at the Saturday's Market.Our day started out riding the Max into down town to avoid parking. Once we where there I ate and shopped from the moment I stepped off the Max until I got back on hours later. I was able to have my palm read for $5.00 by a lady that told me all about my future and life! According to her reading I have good things to come! She was like a talking fortune cookie! Jimmy Hendrix was walking around the market, so I paid him a $1.00 to have my picture taken with him. For the rest of the day when he passed me he screamed out hey "FOXY LADY". Saturday's Market was amazing!

A Park Just For Me!

While I was in Portland on vacation I discovered that they have parks just for little people. Who would have known? I was so excited I had to see this park with my own two eyes. Sure enough it was a park just for me...a little person!