A blanket story..

Let's just say that last week while in Walmart, June and I misplaced her beloved blanket in which she lovingly refers to as "Bizz." Bizz is somewhat famous at our house. Given to us from Dave and Lilly, Bizz serves many purposes. Mostly Bizz acts as a sort of ambassador between June and the rest of the family. We use Bizz to smooth things over and break things easily to our most emotional and feared June bug. What can we say... it is our saving grace... and also a crutch. This is good and bad, but as you can tell it has gotten to the point where Bizz accompanies us on trips to Walmart. (not a good sign!)

Now, when I realized that we had lost Bizz at Walmart I saw it as a sign that it was time to let go of the obsession that is Bizz. I told Ben there was  no way I was going all the way back to Walmart to see if someone had turned it in. For all I knew it could have been another child's obsession. Ben, the more sentimental of the two of us, decided that Bizz was a part of the family and therefore could not abandon him/her or it... whatever! He has a very strict, no blankies left behind policy. So, upon returning home that afternoon, Ben comes home with a surprise. Luckily I was already taking pictures of June naked on the plasma car, so I was there to document the entire reunion. I'll stop writing now so you can see for yourself. Follow the pictures top to bottom...left to right...

and so June was reunited with the 2 loves of her life. Daddy and Bizz. Then she went outside in her bare glory and had some special time with blankie. Just imagine "Endless Love" playing in the background. It was comical yet inappropriate.

there is a lot of love for that thing. at what age does it start getting weird? 3? 4? 16? We'll cross that bridge when we get to it...

Poppies...

What better way to spend mother's day morning than taking pictures in a field of perfect pink poppies!? Breakfast in bed is overrated anyway right? We headed out in the early morning to take some pictures of Ashley and her beautiful kids. Then I was lucky enough to capture some moments with my friend Elaine and her husband. They turned out well. Whitney was my right hand and the light was just right, I think!

 

Elaine and her husband

 

 

and then it was baby r's turn! she is 1 year!

Hawaii: Kauai loves you

"Kauai loves you"... at least that is what the button said that the old man gave me when we arrived. I found out the hard way that he was right.

Our first day in Kauai we took a van out to a very desolate part of the island where an old sugar cane factory once had operated. We signed up for an adventure to say the least. Here are the before pictures...

we look so clueless... here are the after shots!

here is what happened in between...

gretch and jeff.

jason jumping

me and ben, about to head into the ultimate mud puddle.

last but not least, my parents heading into the finale puddle with my mom covering her face! love it!

Hawaii: part... bare with me

Hilo. Day 4. So far we have eaten more than our share and are starting to feel it. Not that we slowed down at all. We went sea kayaking in the early morning and then found a flea market in town. The guys pooped out from all the rowing/snorkeling. P.S. that night I went to sleep at 5:00 pm and woke up at 7:00 am! That's right! 14 hrs! It felt so good. I could have kept going too.

The guys after kayaking. They didn't have the stamina for shopping like we did. Notice the ATM sign behind them. Basically they just stayed in the shade and were our own personal ATM machines.

farmers market pics. they had avocados the size of cantaloupe!

This was taken at a church in Hilo. I just wanted to say thank you to my dad for making this trip possible for all of us. You have done nothing but provide and love each one of us our whole lives. Thanks Papa!

random, I know, but we found this little guy on our way out. He had the most amazing eyes. Never seen a gecko so green before.

summer

what are the first signs of summer...?

1) It is finally hot enough to have a WATER FIGHT!

2) new hair accessories

3) Sidewalk chalk-

4) blossoms

from and this place...

where this was taken... (more to come...scary!!)

5) sundresses are peeking their little heads out of our wardrobes!

(I took this Sun morning... more to come!) want to eat her!

can't wait for more signs of summer to arrive! everyday it is feeling closer!

Hawaii- Part 3

Didn't take my camera this day so the pics aren't unusually clear, but that doesn't take away from the comedic extravaganza this day entailed. First we started out with a hike in the mountains that had a misty/jungle-esque quality to it. Although it wasn't sunny it turned out to make the towering green peaks look more mysterious and beautiful.

On a more interesting note, we found this snail that I was obsessed/intrigued by! I mean what? Look at this thing. It was huge! This may have been the highlight...

the guys.

and this outing wouldn't be complete without Jeff with his shirt off in the river, even though is was freezing cold. He can't help himself and I can't help but take pictures.

Then we headed to Kaanapali, our old stomping grounds. Growing up we always came to this beach in Maui and stayed at the Kaanapali Alii. We went to wailers village and ate rock star fish tacos. The weather was windy and cloudy, but that didn't stop the guys from tempting death with back flips off black rock! I was on the beach yelling to ben that if he didn't stop I might have to divorce him! He didn't get the message and even pulled a gaynor! WHAT!!

The most entertaining aspect was seeing mike stand up on the rock and talk himself into jumping for about 15 min (give or take!) Apparently it was more hilarious on the rock. Lets just say he overcame his fears!

Jeff doing a back flip... not cool!

 

I wish I could say this was Mike's only near death experience of the day. After black rock we continued down the beach and Jeff and Jason were body surfing. Mike decided it looked easy and gave it a try. Thanks to an unruly undertow he got worked by the waves and ended up straggling from the sea with a bloody nose running down his face. Old people on the beach were in the process of calling 911 when he collapsed yelling, "HELP ME." Needless to say, he was a little winded. I think after this day he did a double take on his adventurous decisions for the rest of the trip. I don't think he regrets any of it for a second. Love that guy!

The day wouldn't have been complete without a run to Savers (my favorite part of the day... scored a sweet vintage coke shirt and a camo fanny pack for William!) and getting a speeding ticket. Gotta love Hawaii.

Hawaii: Part Maui

Dude. Nothing compares to this island. It's lush, there are beautiful beaches and amazing snorkeling. The first day on Maui we were lucky enough to have sun. And of course, Jeff took his shirt off a lot which none of us minded. Including my mom. You will see that Jeff with his shirt off is the ongoing theme of my Hawaii pictures. Needless to say, Mike got sunburned within an inch of his life! He had serious lobster face for the rest of the trip. He claims it was all part of his plan. I'm not sure what that plan entails  besides skin cancer in 10, maybe 15 years. He is 1/2 Native American so maybe he'll come out okay.

The set-up from the front...

Set-up from the back

(notice mike in the first picture... he has no clue what is coming to him! He fell asleep just like that with very little spf on the first day!!)

my parents have the best set up with the umbrella! they always know how to make the best of the good life! They taught me well.

 

Then we pulled out the football and my dad played qb. Which of course led to...(see next picture)

    

Jeff with his shirt off!!!

love this shot!

Then Ben met this cute little family of kids who had never boogie boarded before and he taught them all, one by one. It was so cute.

 

Again, Mike after his nap with no idea that he is going to look like this (see next picture...) tomorrow!

umpaloopa much?

(this is a preview of our rainy day on the big island!)