A little bit of Paradise....

We took about 200 pictures and I feel like we didn't take enough; sometimes I get so caught up in enjoying the moments I forget to capture them on film.
We were greeted with fresh flower leis when we got off the airplane. Hawaii was much more beautiful than I imagined. It was so green and lush with vegetation and beautiful flowers, and the ocean was amazing. There is something about being at the ocean that bring such peace to me. Our week was filled with sight-seeing, sandcastle building, morning walks along the ocean shore, admiring the fish, snails, frogs, and chickens, swimming in the pools, and afternoon naps. We were up at 4:30 or should I say Clayton; and were the first ones in line at starbucks across the street in the morning. Clayton loved walking in the sand and after the first time he would say "off" to take his shoes off when he hit the beach. He also didn't mind tasting it and even enjoyed sand covered strawberries.

The waterslides were lots of fun, and after we went down once, it was "more,more" even if his mouth was chattering because he was cold.Brody and I would both say that the luau we attended was the highlight of our trip. It was complete with a pig roast and all the fixings, bottomless mai tai's, and hawaiian dancing. Clayton was highly entertained by the dancers and at the end (the guy that he is looking at in the picture) did a hawaiian dance with fire. I wished I would have got a picture of Clayton's face because he was just facinated with the guy. Brody took him up to talk to him afterwards. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to capture him high fiving the guy and giving him nuckles. We had such a wonderful time and I really enjoyed every moment. It was great to disconnect from our everyday life. I even took time off from some of my everyday roles, Brody grocery shopped and cooked most of our meals. I felt very pampered! It was a great way to celebrate the beginning of my last year of 20s.

Easter fun

We had a busy week full of Easter tradition; we made cookies, decorated easter eggs, did an easter egg hunt and went to church. I am now exhausted and have a head cold. It was so exciting to get to do all these fun things with Clayton for the first time and watch his reactions. Clayton enjoyed the Easter egg dying. By the end of it his hands were green and he was a bit distraught that they weren't coming clean when we wiped them with a towel.Our street has an Easter egg hunt for the kids every year and this was the first year Clayton got to particpate. He is the youngest of all the kids. He had fun picking up the eggs and was more interested in seeing what was in them than collecting them. He likes instant gratification I guess. Today we went to church and celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Although Clayton doesn't understand what Easter is all about I found a cute book that we have been reading to him called My Easter Basket and the True Story of Easter by Mary Manz Simon. When we ask him where Jesus is, he will point to the man in the book. This will be a great book that I look forward to using next year to put together an Easter basket for him and teach him the Easter story.

The Easter basket Clayton is holding was mine when I was little that my great grandmother made. Our neighbor was so kind to come over and take a family photo. Notice Brody has a tie on, he was the only one at church wearing one. Not a big deal but it is just crazy to me how casual dressed we have become, growing up I always remember my dad wearing slacks, a dress shirt and tie to church. Times have changed!

7 day and counting.....

On tax day (how appropriate) we leave for Hawaii for a week! I am so excited I can hardly sleep at night. Our vacations since we moved to California have been to visit family. The bonus to this trip is that it is all expenses paid through Brody's work. He won the trip and I am going to enjoy every bit of it because he says it is unlikely that we will get one again. He also planned this trip over my birthday, how sweet it that, what a great beginning to my last year of 20s. We are staying at the Outrigger Resort & Spa. Clayton is going with us so we will probably be building lots of sand castles, playing in the pools and taking lots of naps. Whatever we do will be fun just me and my boys.

My Favorite Day of the Week

Fellowship and worship is such a wonderful way to start off the day; followed by a catnap while soaking up the sunshine. The day couldn't get much better. After Clayton's nap the day is complete with some family fun. Today we took a bike ride and even took Farrah along (I think we figured a way to burn some of her energy in the off season of hunting). Our ride was followed by dinner on our new patio set watching the hummingbirds. I love Sundays! My serious faced boy.