More Hawaii!

We're on our way!


We knew the trip was going to be awesome when we busted out our cameras at the airport!


Hanauma Bay


Snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. We were the only ones that didn't see the sea turtle (I know, you should feel bad for us). My dad even saw an octupus and, with all things, ignored the comment to refrain from touching fish and got a puffer fish to "blow up."
I felt like I was in a giant aquarium.


Pit stop at insta-care for a toe problem. I'll spare you the disgusting details.


Sunburns after the first day: Sarah, Clinton, Chris. These whities just can't handle the sun. Or maybe people like Kevin who used 2 full bottles (for real) were smarter than we thought--he did not get an ounce of sun (which is what he was going for).


The U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor


Catamaran ride


They got soaked! It was quite entertaining. All the little Asian girls on the boat thought it was hilarious. I think I have a crush on Asian girls. So cute.


The group


Getting tatoos at the Paradise Cove luau.


A frog tattoo was very fitting. :)


We saw this a couple times...must not be very hard. ;)


Hawaii is awesome.


It's okay to laugh. Let's just say that I decided not to take the picture of my dad and the Polynesians shortly after.


Pretty beach...sorry, I lost track of all their names.


Polynesian Cultural Center


Tongan island presentation--hilarious!


Laie Temple. You could put the Provo Temple next to this foliage and it would be pretty.


View from Diamondhead Hike


My crazy father braving the waves at Sandy Beach. The rest of us were too scared to get in the water. Shortly after, some professional boogie boarders told us we shouldn't be there and to go to another beach. Apparently, this beach had the highest number of neck injuries in Hawaii.


So we went to Makapu'u Beach down the street. Scary enough waves but manageable to boogie board. Probably my favorite activity we did.


Kevin, Clinton, and Chris played a lot of water football.


While Allie played in the waves.


Sunset at Waikiki Beach.


Hike to Maunawili Falls. It was so pretty, I felt like I was in a jungle. Actually, I think it was. I was waiting to turn the corner and run into the black smoke monster.


Kevin and I


Clinton


One of the billioneth time we crossed a river. Not one particle of Tera likes to hike. Kinda funny to look back on it now.


Okay, so the waterfall was a little disappointing but I thought we'd be able to swim in the little pool of water. We didn't realize until we got there that you could get infected with Leptospirosis. Look it up, it's some nasty stuff. But we did watch one crazy jumping from a cliff 25 ft.+ and landing on his back. He came up bleeding all over himself.


We spent a lot of time looking for this guy. There were a couple more turtles there as well.


Evidence of the amount of sunscreen Chris (and Kevin) put on during this trip.


The Dole Plantation


Aloha!


What an AWESOME, AWESOME, trip!

For those of you wondering, Reed did great with his Oma and Opa. They reassured us that he didn't miss us one bit. Kinda sad. He at least was really excited to see us when we got back. I cried when we left the airport (and when I saw him again). :) But all of us did pretty well at just enjoying our vacation. :) I think I am becoming more and more of a warm weather person. I still love snow, but I could handle maybe a 3 month winter rather than 6 months. Where should we move???

HAWAII

....was awesome. (More pictures to come).

Biggest Loser

My family has been participating in a Biggest Loser competition for the past few months and the guys are kicking butt! The contest officially ends this upcoming Monday, but Kevin reached his personal goal as of this morning. He lost a total of 40 pounds! I am SO proud of him! It looks like he will take 2nd place behind Bob, and Heath will follow (though he said he was going to starve himself this week to win, so we'll see), and then Clinton (who, of course has to gain weight to win). Sarah may sneak in to pass up Clinton too. We're taking a family trip to Hawaii next week (no kids!), so that was our motivation. I just wanted to show off the new "skinny Kevin!"

Kitchen Helper

Just a cute picture of the Frog helping out in the kitchen:

Snowboarding 2010

We finally were able to go snowboarding again, after taking off 2 years a.k.a. pregnant and then breastfeeding. Our fun neighbors, Ann and Brian, went with us too.





So I didn't get the greatest pictures, but I need to document fun things we do in our life if I ever decide to make this blog into a book. Proof that we are still fun.
We did pretty well considering we hadn't been in a couple years and, even so, we've only snowboarded 3-4 times total. We never left the bunny hill/mountain...seriously people outside of UT, skiing/boarding anywhere else and our bunny hill is a black diamond, or at least a blue. Anyway, only a few good bruises and separated ribs. Poor Kevin. At least he didn't break them again. He is getting so old.

Swimsuit shopping

I know it seems a little early, but my family is headed to Hawaii at the end of March (I am so excited I could jump out of my skin!). However, I am having a hard time finding a swimsuit. There are a lot stores that have swimsuits already, but I can't find one that works for me! I am looking for a tankini (easier to go the bathroom) but I want it tight around my stomach so it doesn't fly up when I swim. Seems easy enough, right? No! I think the style for tankinis is generally fly-away type thing which just doesn't work for me. I bought a swimsuit from Shade last year, and I loved it until I went swimming. It flies up and no one wants to see that. I do think that Shade might have some other styles that would work, but there is a big chance their suits won't be in stores on time. So any suggestions of things that worked for you and where to find a suit? I'm also thinking a swim shirt, but don't you have to wear something under it?

I "know" creative people

So I really get all my ideas from other people--not even people I know but blogs I read online. You know those sensory tubs? Reed has a bean tub which he loves, so I decided to try out this "arctic type tub." I colored some ice and gave him some frogs (I didn't have any real arctic animals). He loved playing in the water! He liked just holding the ice and dropping it back in.


The water got nasty pretty quick from the food coloring, so I dumped it out and just added "lily pads" (peas). He mostly just ate the peas. Somebody feed this kid! Jeesh.


So I do try to feed this kid, but the last week or so he has decided that he doesn't really like to eat anymore. He is getting 4 molars right now so that could be the problem or maybe he's just entered that super picky toddler phase. It stresses me out big time! Have you heard of Muffin Tin Monday? See my sidebar to check it out. It's just a creative way to feed your child a meal once a week. They usually have a theme--I thought about doing the letter A as a theme but didn't really have a lot of "A" foods. I really think he liked it! He definitely liked sitting on the floor, and I do think he tried a variety of foods that he wouldn't have otherwise. Nope, he didn't like the avocados though.


My first Muffin Tin: apples, applesauce, avocados, cheese, pretzels, and peas. They always have cutesie muffin tins for Muffin Tin Monday, but you can obviously just use what you have. I recommend giving it a try...to do something different nonetheless.


I threw this together in like 30 min. during Reed's nap (my own idea even!). He loves to take the pegs out of my FHE board, so I thought this would be a good alternative: matching colors! He has enjoyed it so far and I think it will be good to us on Sunday as well! :)