Hawaii

Mike and I got home from our Hawaii trip yesterday! We were happy to find Grandma and Grandpa and all our kids happy and STILL ALIVE. Here is a little bit about our trip:

Our Hotel
We stayed at the Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa. We managed to get two upgrades to a room on the 19th floor overlooking Waikiki Beach. It was amazing! We would just open up the balcony doors and you could hear the waves and smell the warm Hawaiian air. Here is the view from our room--it doesn't do it justice (and the sun wasn't out when I took the picture).



Waikiki
If I wasn't so white, I would have spent the entire week laying out on the beach! But, since after only an hour in the sun, my skin was red, I couldn't spend as much time laying out as I would have liked. We visited the International Marketplace (where I got my beautiful lei), and ate at a lot of great (but expensive) restaurants in Waikiki.



Polynesian Cultural Center
We had a great time at the PCC (thanks to Selai for our discount tickets!). We went around and learned about all the different Polynisian islands. We then enjoyed a delicious luau and attended the imax movie and night show. My favorite part was the Tahitian dancers. The fire dancers were pretty cool too!



Dole Plantation
This was one of my favorite things that we did in Hawaii (maybe because we finally got a "Dole Whip" that I had been dreaming about). We got to learn all about growing pineapples (I even got to plant one), and all the other plants and fruits that grow in Hawaii. It was really cool!



North Shore
On the way to the PCC we stopped by this famous shaved ice place. It was cool, but not my favorite frozen treat--and boy was it messy to eat.



Honolulu Zoo
Mike practically had to drag me to the zoo, because I insisted it was for kids. But it was actaully one of the best zoos I have been too. We got to see turtles walking around, two huge rhinos, zebras, giraffes, and all the usual animals. The great thing about this zoo was that you could get so close to the animals!





We did a lot of other fun things too. We went snorkling at Hanauma Bay (we usued a disposable water proof camera (thanks Gin), so we haven't developed the film yet), shopping at Aloha stadium, I got my very first real massage at the hotel spa, saw SpiderMan 3. . .

It was a magical week that I will remember my entire life. I am happy to be home with my babies now though--I really did miss them!

It's The Big 3. . . . .0!!

I can't believe yesterday was my 30th birthday! Seriously, how did I get so old?! Mike brought me pizza and a cake home after work--and most importantly he CAME HOME EARLY!! AND my parents arrived from Canada. Who could ask for a better birthday than that?

Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday was a wonderful Mother's Day! I was thinking about how before I had kids I had no idea about anything. Being a mom has taught me about love, sacrafice, service, and of course STRESS--but mostly LOVE. I love my babies! I love my mom too! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful family.

The Perogi Incident

I think of myself as a pretty resonable person, someone who doesn't overreact or lose my temper over trivial things. But this past Sunday made me question my emotional state--or maybe I was justified in my reaction. Here's what happened:

We got up and went to church as usual (9am). I didn't eat breakfast before leaving, so by the time we were in Sunday School Mike and I were discussing what we were going to eat when we got home. I hadn't been grocery shopping in a while so our options were limited. Finally I remembered the perogies in the freezer. (Just a note about perogies--they are quite common in Canada, but I only recently discovered them here in California).

When we got home (12:30), the whole family was starving. Mike got started on frying up the perogies, while I threw something together for the kids to eat and got Jordan ready for her ballet rehersal. By the time the perogies were done, I was headed out the door to take Jordan to her rehersal--without eating anything. Mike said he would save me 4 perogies to eat when I got home.

The whole time I waited for Jordan, I dreamed about those perogies. An hour later we were home and I rushed to the kitchen--no perogies. Maybe Mike had put them in the fridge for me, nope; maybe in a tupperware, nope; maybe in the oven to stay warm, nope. I thought there must be some mistake. I hurried upstairs where Mike was preparing his Seminary lessons (it looked more like sleeping to me). [This is when I lost it] Mike looked at me with a guilty look and said "I tried to call you to see if you would mind." I don't know what came over me, but I got so mad. I ordered Mike downstairs to cook me something else before I started crying--yes, that's right--crying.

A couple hours later I laughed about the whole thing, but I have no idea why I got so upset. Needless to say, when I made it to the grocery store this morning, Perogies were on my list and OH WHAT A DELICIOUS LUNCH I HAD TODAY!!!

Sorry Mike. You didn't marry a crazy woman, I promise!

Goodbye Chris

I was sad to see him go, but I DIDN'T cry. Who am I kidding? My favorite NEVER wins!