Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day

With our big trip just two days away, Kevin and I wanted to stay close to home for the weekend. Sunday night we drove down to San Clemente to spend the night at the Bank's house. We were planning on going to San Onofre early for Memorial Day. We woke up at 4:00am! Got in line to park by 4:45am. At 6am when the beach opened, there was a HUGE line of cars waiting. Getting up super early really paid off because we got our favorite spot. Fire pit, picnic table, close to the bathrooms and showers!
Hannah and Gavin at 6:00am ready to play in the sand.They literally played in the sand for about two straight hours. Around 8:45 I got Hannah's wetsuit on and we walked to the water and waited for Kevin. Hannah is really getting the hang of surfing.
Gavin was dying to go too. He could not contain his excitement while I put the wetsuit on him. This was his first time out. He looked so little out there.
We are in the middle of potty-training Gavin... Somehow he figured out he could just pee anywhere at the beach. He would drop his shorts to his ankles and fire away. I was so embarrassed. Kevin taught him to pee on the plant. Stinkin' little boys.
More playing....

And a bonfire to cook our food!
Around 2:00pm, Kevin was out for his 3rd session and the kids were cranky. I made a "beach bed" and laid down with them. In about 5 minutes they were both totally out. They slept there until 4:00 when it was time to go.

They got a drink of water and a snack in the car and went back to sleep until we got home at 6:00.
Felt good to take a shower and get our PJ's on, we are going to bed early!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Our Amazing Hawaiian Vacation

Kevin went deep sea fishing. He had a good time, but didn't catch too many fish. He caught a yellow fin tuna and what I consider a "cute" Mahi Mahi.

I decided to not go fishing and get a facial instead.
That night we attended the awards dinner.
Fliet mignon, lobster and Polynesian dancers...
The next morning we ordered room service. Can you believe it was my first time ordering room service? It was so fancy!
Kevin and I went on a helicopter ride that morning. We were pretty excited. Oahu is beautiful, but from a helicopter... it is breathtaking.
Hanama Bay
Sacred Falls-can only be seen from a helicopter
North Shore
Pear Harbor Memorial
The "Utah"-a battleship that was destroyed during the attack on Pearl Harbor
Unfortunately, I got sick and needed a "comfort bag." That was not pleasant. I was so embarrassed, but no one knew I threw up because we all had headphones on.

Kevin and I went to Waikiki for dinner. We ate at the coolest hotel. The Moana is one of the oldest hotels.
We were stealing decorating ideas for our new house. It's just beautiful.
The next day was the most anticipated day for me. It was the day of our shark excursion! I've wanted to go shark cage diving for a LONG time. It was only a 15 minute boat ride and the water was glass. I was a bit nervous because I didn't want to repeat what happened the day before. On our way out to the dive site we saw two humpback whales, a mommy and a baby. I just finished saying that I had never seen a whale jump out of the water (except for Shamu) when the mommy whale breached, followed by her baby. The baby was so cute, it just kept mimicking it's mommy.
When the boat stopped, the sharks immediately started to circle. There were some pretty big ones!
Kevin jumped in the shark cage first. It looks a little pathetic to have so many people in a little cage. Kind of like we were the animals in a cage the sharks were looking at.
It was amazing to see the sharks swimming around us. They are such beautiful animals. I felt completely safe in the cage. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Maybe next time I'll dive with great white sharks off the coast of South Africa.
We were so close to Matsumoto's, the best shaved ice in Hawaii the bus driver was nice enough to stop so we could get one... just as good as I remember!
I can't wait until Kevin wins another trip. This was the most amazing vacation I've ever been on. I think we only spent $100 the whole time we were there, and that was on souvenirs. Everything was covered, we even got gifts every night! My favorite were the Maui Jim sunglasses. To sum up this trip in one word... AMAZING!
Thank you Kevin for working hard!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Welcome to the Aloha State-Day 1

Hawaii is just how we left it. The sweet smell of plumerias still fill Honolulu airport, the trade winds are still refreshing, and the sounds of the waves are still relaxing. Being in Hawaii reminds me of a phase of my life, the phase when I started my life with Kevin. Carefree and kid-free.
The hotel is amazing, this is the view from our room.
I've heard of fish ponds, but when I saw this I was shocked. The hotel has a hammerhead shark pond. The sharks are about 3 feet long, and beautiful to watch.
Kevin and I laid out and met some friends. The beach is awesome and the water is warm.
Luckily his friend Cory is here and they can be A.D.D. together while I can lay out with Cory's wife Jonelle. They are a lot of fun.
We had the "Aloha Welcome Dinner" last night. With a "Contemporary Luau" menu. Sounds too fancy right? It was just a luau dinner. I got my Hui Hui chicken and Kevin got his kalua pig.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Father & Son Camp Out

Kevin and Gavin went on a Father & Son's Camp Out last weekend. I was so excited for Gavin to go camping and talked about it all week. Hannah and I made plans to go to Disneyland, just Hannah and Mommy!
Gavin loved camping. He ran around with sticks "shooting" birds and trying to stab gofers in the gofer holes.
He loved the campfire and made s'mores with daddy.
Gavin said he was tired and wanted to go to sleep, so Kevin set up their bed in the back of my car (no tent, chance of rain).
Gavin had a really good time camping with Kevin. I'm excited for our beach camping trip in July!