Easter 2011

Easter ended up being a beautiful spring day. Colton and Leighton were the only two kids at my Aunt Judy's this year, so they had the whole easter egg hunt to themselves.

Hawaii - Going home

The last day we sailed all around the island and the landscapes literally could take your breath away. At one point, I looked over and thought there was a movie backdrop in the background. We watched the sunset from our balcony and enjoyed our last bottle of wine. In the morning we left the boat and headed the airport. it was that morning that we finally got the rainbow we had been waiting for, we are pretty sure it was my grandfather saying Aloha. Trip of a lifetime that I will never forget. Mahalo and Aloha. :)

Hawaii - Day 8 & 9

The last destination on our cruise was Kauai, we spent two days there. There is a reason people say this is the most beautiful island...well, it is. No picture will do it justice (certainly no picture taken with my iphone) so take my word for it or go visit it yourself.

Heidi and I did the ultimate excursion, the one that I had been dying to do, zip-lining! It was amazing. Neither of us had ever done it and always wanted to, so where better than to make it your first...Hawaii! They took us out to Kipu Ranch which is where they just finished filming Pirates of the Caribbean (yes, we did the same zips as Johnny Depp) and so many other famous movies and shows (Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Hawaii 5-0, Mash). The last run was a tandem line, so Heidi and I went side by side...she even got a little video of our ride. Then we hiked through the rainforest to this little swimming hole where there was this little water line that Heidi did a couple hundred times. It was awesome. That night Kathy, Heidi and I went our for dinner and drinks at a local bar. It was a perfect last night in Kauai.

Hawaii - Day 7

Next morning we woke up in Kona. This was the one port you needed to be tendered into land, so fun! It was interesting that you could see visible damage from the recent tsunami, the visitors building was totaled from the floods, just crazy that it all happened so close to our trip. When Heidi and I walked off the pier a moped went flying by and that was all we needed to plan our next "fly by the seat of our pants" excursion. We found the nearest moped rental place, which gave free snorkeling gear with their rentals, grabbed a map and hit the road. SO MUCH FUN (I want a vespa please). We found so many cool beaches driving along the shore. We stopped at one spot, White Sands Beach, and it was so clear that we had to get in the water and snorkel. As soon as I dove in and looked to my left to find Heidi I was face to face with a huge sea turtle that I swear to God smiled and waved. The clearest water, whitest sand surrounded by black lava rock...breath-taking. I heart Kona. That night we took a mojito making class on the boat...whoa nelly.

Hawaii - Day 5 & 6

Our second day in Maui we decided to take some pointers from the locals and hit a near by surfing town, Paia (http://www.paiamaui.com/). I have no pictures to share, just memories of surfer dudes, awesome frozen lime yogurt and the cutest little downtown. At night we hit the wine bar for a bit and there was a piano man taking request. Well since we were the only ones there, we each chose a surprise song for the group...oh yeah I made the 50+ year old piano man play I Will Survive...hehe.

The next morning we woke up in Hilo! Which is where the National Volcanic Park is and all the cool waterfalls. We did a bus tour excursion and stopped at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory, an orchid farm, waterfalls, and the National Park where we got to walk through the lava tube and rainforest. It was pretty amazing. Next time (yes, I already talk about the next time), I would like to do some serious hiking in this area, the bus was nice but I really wanted my feet to touch more lava. :)

Hawaii - Day 4

We woke up to room service bring us coffee and fruit platters. We also realized that with our room upgrade we got bathrobes...bonus! While we were enjoying our breakfast on the balcony I look up and see whales breaching and playing in the water off the coast of Maui...double bonus! This is the way to start a cruise...wow. Once we got to the dock, we did our first excursion, snorkeling at the Molokini Crater. We took a catameran our to this sunken crater that is one of the top 10 snorkling sites in the world. As soon as we started our bumpy ride out we saw more whales and had to stop so they could pass us. It was all surreal until Heidi and I, along with a few others on the boat realized how rocky the ride was actually getting. Long story short there were lots of pukers, we were one of them but we definitely were in the fetal position and looking for dramamine like crack addicts. Once we got to the crater opted to just dive in the water and it was the best cure for sure! The highlight of this trip was that my aunt doesn't swim, never has been in over her head in fact. Well Heidi has a way with these things and somehow convinced my aunt that she could do it. She hooked her up with a life jacket bubble, two noodles and all the snorkeling gear and she took her all over the place in a tandem snorkel. For someone who has been afraid of water their whole like you have no idea what an accomplishment and life moment this was for her. We were so proud and snorkeling as a group made it that much special. After we were done at Molokini we went to this other place to snorkel with the sea turtles. As we were approaching the site the little guys would swim by and say hi I swear. So stinking cute. Lunch and open bar on the way back to the shore was awesome and this was definitely one of the best excursions we did. A top 10 experience. We do have pictures somewhere of Auntie snorkeling but they are on someone else's camera. Here is a look at us waking up that morning on the balcony and then all dolled up for dinner. :)

Hawaii - Day 3

Saturday morning Heidi and I got up bright and early so we could hike Diamondhead Crater before we boarded the cruise ship. It was a beautiful morning and we were thankful we went early because the sweat factor from hiking this thing was high, seeing as how we practically ran in so we could get back early, also Hawaii can be really humid! It was worth the trip though, the views were awesome and now every time I see that mountain in the background of any photo I think, "wow I was there"! We met the girls after the hike for a quick breakfast, coconut pancakes, does it get any better? Next we boarded the ship for our 7 day cruise to all the islands. Heidi and I wasted no time and got right in the hot tub and ordered the drink of the day. We were really excited when we got to our room and we (Kathy and I) were able to surprise the rest of the girls with our upgrades to large balconies off the back of the boat. These suckers were almost the same size as our rooms. It pays to travel with those that have the AARP discount...we saved almost $1ooo/room with this upgrade! The joke behind this one is that my Aunt refused to admit she was old enough for AARP and months ago told my Uncle she wouldn't be caught dead with one of those cards...that is until I told her how much we could save...lol. Suddenly over 50 isn't so bad now is it Judy? ;)

Hawaii - Day 2

The second day in Honolulu we didn't waste any time. We went to Pearl Harbor, get the chills thinking about it, then we headed to the Punchbowl which is the national cemetary in Hawaii and where my grandfather is buried. He passed away in 1971 and it has taken my mom and aunt many years to get there but they did it, an emotional visit to say the least and our most important stop on this trek through the islands. The Punchbowl had amazing views from this large sort of hidden observation deck located a short hike above the cemetery. I think it is as close to heaven as you can get physically in this life. We ended the day pool side with coconut brown ale beers and then we strolled along the beach and ended up at a popular bar called Dukes. Live music with hula dancers, foo-foo drinks and great food...ahhh vacation. We stayed late night doing some shopping in the international marketplace where literally there are thousands of stores selling the same touristy things...another successful day.

View from the grave at Punchbowl.

I think this is as close to Heaven as you can get on earth.

Reunited over 30 years later with their dad.

Pearl Harbor

Hawaii - Day 1

I can finally check off one of the biggest "to-do's" on my bucket list...Hawaii. I was lucky enough to enjoy the experience with some of my favorite people, my mom, Heidi, my Aunt Judy and our good friend Kathy. We flew into Oahu and did some touristy things for a few days before we boarded a 7 night cruise to all the islands. I can honestly say my pictures do no justice (what do you expect when I am an iphone junkie and it is the only camera I brought...other people had theirs but seriously it will be months before they download them and share so I can't wait!).

Day one we flew into Oahu and checked into our hotel right near Waikki beach. Awesome. I was really surprised to see how touristy and trendy Honolulu was, still nice just way more "city" than I expected. Started the night off with some mai tais, hawaii 5-0's and this amazing dinner at this local hole in the wall called Side Street Inn. Kathy had read in a magazine on the plane that this is where all the local chefs and people go eat and it was suppose to be awesome. Well it is literally a bar that has tables and serves food that will blow your socks off. No joke. We ran into a couple that was visiting and had already eaten there two days in a row because the food was so good and really inexpensive. Go you won't be sorry (grilled mushrooms and the house fried rice is a must).

Notice Diamondhead in the background...yes we hiked it...stay tuned!

Hitting it out of the park...

The Sunday before I left for my vacation to Hawaii I wanted to spend the whole day with Colton and Nick. Colton naturally wanted to play every sport known to man so here is a look at us playing ball. He can hit it over the house and has outgrown our backyard so we now take him and his aluminum bat to the fields across the street. Our windows are relatively new and replacing them so soon would suck. ;)

Surprise Parties & Old Friends...

My good friend Kim threw her husband Mike a surprise 40th birthday party. It was at the Mayflower Brewery in Plymouth and tons of fun with good food, free beer and best friends. The five of us have been friends since the 7th grade!

Kim and Mike

Kim, Me, Colleen, Beth and Christene (horrible picture I know but who cares)

Colleen, Christine and Ben

(Ben was Colleen's high school sweetheart and we did the math and they have been together now for 20 years!!!)