I can't believe our little guy is one. It has been such a fun year and I love watching his little personality develop more each day. We had a birthday party with my family on Sunday and then Monday we had some of our neighborhood friends over. Audrik loved it and ate lots and lots of cake.
I am a little behind on posting (surprise, surprise). Plus, I dropped my camera in the lake last Thursday so that kind of put a damper on my picture taking capabilities but my amazing hubby found my camera and I was able to get the pictures off my memory card.
Draven and his cousin, Dylan
Audrik and DreThis last week has been one filled with raw emotion. Our sweet little neighbor, Cole Larson, returned to be with his Father in Heaven on May 4th. I have never been good at expressing my thoughts or feelings but I am going to try because this last week has made me reflect on a multitude of things. It has made me realize how precious each day is. We never know what each and every day is going to have in store for us. This morning at the services someone said, "make each day your best." I think that is a great reminder to live each day so that if it is your last you won't have any regrets. As both my neighbors, Katie and Alicia, have mentioned on their blogs, it has reminded us to slow down. To slow down and enjoy the things that are truly important in our lives, slowdown and savor the little things because it is truly the little things that make life big. I am a "fixer" by nature and it is very hard for me when I can't step in and do something to make someone's trials easier or to take away their pain. I have learned through multiple experiences in the last year or two that I can't always "fix" it. I still have a hard time with that but I am learning that sometimes all you can do is be there, love them and pray to our Father in Heaven to give them some peace and comfort. I am so grateful to be living in such a wonderful neighborhood. It has been a true blessing to watch everyone come together with love and support. I am grateful for the example that the Larsen's have been to us. The faith, grace and love that they have shown during this week has been truly amazing and inspiring to me. Thank you to everyone who has called and offered support. Please remember the Larson family in you thoughts and prayers as they still have a long hard road ahead of them.
On April 25th my wonderful cousin, Chris, passed away. I have been so blessed to have Chris in my life. Our family is small and so we have always had the opportunity to be close with our extended family. Chris was the one cousin that was my age, and we had so many fun filled adventures growing up! Him and his wife, Jen, have been an amazing example to me. Their strength, faith and never ending positive attitudes have made me strive harder to become a better person. They are two of the most amazing people I have been blessed to know.
There is a beautiful tribute to both Jen and Chris on Jen's blog. Click here to read it http://gijenandchris.blogspot.com/2009/04/tribute.html
Kolton, Dylan and Draven
Ducks, Ducks and more Ducks
Drave and I
Grandpa Richard, Grandma Carol, Draven and Audrik
Grandma Carol with the grandkids (L-R: Draven, Audrik, Melinee, Kolton and Dylan)
Kurt's family left Saturday morning and that afternoon Kurt had his first football game at Wood's Cross. My sister, Barb, was awesome and came and watched with me. It was great, the weather was warm and Kurt looked hot!
Kurt is number 63. The second white guy from the right or the one making that awesome tackle :).
I decided to surprise Kurt with a trip to Maui for his Birthday. We had so much fun! We left on Sunday, March 8th and got back on Saturday the 13th. My family kept the kids which was so awesome of them. The weather was pretty nice. It was a little overcast with a slight breeze but I thought it was perfect. The breeze kept it from being overly muggy or humid. Kurt and I have been to Oahu a few times but this was our first time to Maui and we loved it. So, here are the details.
Sunday we arrived, got our rental car (a super cute green jeep), checked into our hotel (The Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resorts), went to the grocery store, ate dinner and then checked out the grounds at our hotel. It was great. The beach was right behind our condo and they had a great pool that even had a slide.
Monday we ate at the Gazebo which has the world's best breakfast (next to the Maltby Cafe in Washington). Then drove around part of the island stopping to check out a blow hole, Dragon's Teeth (which is a place on the ocean where the lava has been thrust up to look like teeth), and Honolua Bay which had a ton of surfers and a good place to snorkel. We also found a roadside stand with the best banana bread and coconut candy.
Tuesday we got up at 2:00 in the morning to ride up to the top of the Haleakala volcano so we could watch the sunrise. Unfortunately, there was no sunrise because there were too many clouds. So, we drove down about 8 miles and geared up to mountain bike down the volcano. It was about 31 miles and was a blast. After our bike ride we went to eat at the Haliimaile General Store, which I had read about. It was very yummy and had killer crab pizza.
Wednesday we drove the Hana highway. I got a little sick because the road was so
curvy, but it was a beautiful drive. There were a lot of waterfalls and a really cool black sand beach that we stopped and checked out. There were a lot of hikes but we didn't have time to do any because we were so late getting up. My favorite thing about the drive was when we saw a wild boar piglet. He was so stinking cute, unfortunately I couldn't get my camera out in time to get a picture.
Thursday we went snorkeling, laid on the beach, bought yummy food to bring home and just had a relaxing day.
Friday we packed up and checked out of the hotel. Then we just went and hung out on the beach for most of the day. We had to catch our flight at 8:00 that night so we just had a nice relaxing day.
 |
 |
| Make a Smilebox scrapbook |
