Vacation in Paradise

Mark and I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Maui in November with some wonderful friends of ours, John & Alison Bennett. They were our very first married friends as newlyweds at BYU. We were so excited to be able to spend time with them again. We had as much fun as ever!

We stayed at the Westin in Kanapali, Maui. This was view from our room of the awesome pool.

 Mark on the lanai after a long 2 days of traveling. We dropped the kids off in Prescott, Arizona to stay with my parents and sister, Amanda, while we were gone. (Thank you is not enough! I'll post pictures of their adventures later.)

 We had some wonderful meals. This was at David Paul's Island Grill, celebrating John & Alison's anniversary and Mark's promotion. The food was great.

 Another wonderful meal - breakfast at the Sea House Restaurant, overlooking Kapalua Bay. Amazing!

 The view from the restaurant.

There was a darling little resort here that seemed like it would be great to bring the kids too. The beach was a little quieter and less sloped than at our hotel.

 

Sunday we tried to go to church but were turned away because they were showing a broadcast of the Laei Temple dedication. We unknowingly arrived too late and they had already shut the doors. So listened to some of General Conference while we drove the road to Hana. We hiked up to this waterfall.

 Mark couldn't resist taking a swim under the falls. He said the water hurt it was coming down so hard.

 More gorgeous views from our drive.

 We stopped and got banana bread at this little stand. It was good, better than the other banana bread we tried, but still nothing too exciting -- no chocolate chips!

 We took this treacherous hike down along a cliff to find this little cove/bay. We went snorkeling while poor Mark conducted business on the phone. (Sometimes it's impossible to actually leave the office. At least he had a really good view.)

 That's my head out in the water.

One day we went on a fabulous zip line. -- Flyin' Hawaiian. I highly recommend it if you are there. We only took one camera with us, the Bennett's. And I don't have those photos yet. But I'll post them when I do. It was fabulous.

 Sunset on our last evening there.

 A couple had gotten married there and were getting their photo taken. Very romantic.

Our last breakfast before heading for the airport. Fabulous Eggs Benedict and more incredible views. Soaking in as much relaxation as possible.

Thanks, John & Alison. We had a fabulous time and we can't wait to do it again!

Cute Boy

My mom asked me to send her some childhood photos of Mark for a project she is working on, so I scanned the few that I have. They are so cute that I had to share a few. :)

About Jackson's age or a little older.

Senior year, serious soccer player.

Just before he left on his mission. Any wonder why I waited for him?

Happy Halloween!

We carved these pumpkins back when my parents were in town several weeks ago. I finally had to throw them out last week because the fruit flies were so bad. Luckily the kids understood. It was gross!

We went to our ward Halloween party last night. Always a good time. Ever since Mark was in the bishopric, we have tried to be good sports and dress up. We resurrected our old people costumes this year.

 I did not realize how badly my wrinkles turned out until I saw the pictures. I looked more like a dead old lady, then an old lady with wrinkly skin. I'll have to try a different technique next time.

Covered in frosting and loving it! 

(Of course, she didn't actually eat the cupcake after the good stuff was gone!)

Today was much quieter. Choir practice, church, missionaries & some friends over for dinner. Lovely Sabbath. We didn't even really miss the holiday.

Happy Birthday, Katherine!

Happy third birthday to my vivacious, lovely little niece, Katherine! We miss you so much and we can't wait to see you in a few weeks. Katherine is full of love and zest for life. She does everything 100% and we love it. Unfortunately for her, dogs don't always love it, and she had an awful run-in with one on Friday, just in time for her birthday. It has been quite an ordeal for both her and her parents. We send you our love and support, and wish there was more we could do from far away. We pray for a speedy and thorough recovery, both physically and emotionally.

We love you, sweet girl!

We can't wait to give you big hugs and kisses very soon!

Pumpkin Patch

Caden & Bailey's preschool had another field trip -- this time to Bauman Farms Pumpkin Patch. And all the other cousins went along. Only Jackson was missing, who didn't want to miss class at Village. It was a LONG drive, and kept wondering why we were going so far away, and then when we got there, we immediately remembered that it is so worth the drive. What a great place! Hay bales to climb. Enormous slides. A "ball pit" full of hazelnuts. So much fun, even for the adults. We all had a blast. Plus it was raining almost the whole day and most of the areas were covered so it didn't slow us down at all. Getting a pumpkin was an afterthought. Thanks for planning such a great day, Emily!