Week 1 in Hawaii!! Heaven on earth!

Mele Kalikimaka!! What a wonderful way to spend the Christmas season!! We were in Hawaii for 2 weeks with Blake's entire family and we had a blast we didn't want to come home. We came home on Christmas day so we had something fun and exciting to come home to. I do have to say that it doesn't really seem like Christmas there so I was missing all the decorations, the tree, baking cookies, Christmas music, and even the snow falling. But we had so much fun there that I wouldn't trade it for anything. We played on the beach, did a lot of swimming, and snorkeling, and shopping! Before we left, Blake gave me my Christmas present which was a new camera! I LOVED it! So I took tons and tons of pictures! Here is the Rundown -

Thursday Dec. 10 - Drove to Vegas in the middle of the night and boarded our plane. Arrived in Maui in the afternoon got our rental cars went to our condo and got settled in and ate pizza for dinner!

Friday Dec. 11 - Went for a jog on the beach this morning it was beautiful! We did a little morning swimming and then went shopping for food and diapers at Costco, Wal-Mart, and K-Mart. All the usual places. Went for a walk on the beach with Brock and Corbin while the twins had a nap. And then went out to dinner at Moose Magillicuddy's in Kihei. Saw a beautiful sunset!









Saturday Dec. 12 - Jogged down to the harbor this morning and saw all the boats. Then we went to a beach near Kihei Surfside and found out when we got there that they had temporarily closed the beach to swimming due to a shark sighting. It was the rumor on the beach that some surfers encountered a 13 ft. tiger shark. So we sun bathed and played in the sand for a while and then eventually got to play in the waves and boogie board. Brock and Corbin did some boogie boarding and they loved it! Blake even took Brock snorkeling for a little bit, thankfully they didn't encounter the tiger shark! The babies all loved to just play in the sand and get completely covered from head to toe in it. We had packed a lunch and ate lunch then went for a drive down to La Pourouse Bay while all the babies napped in their car seats. The bay was so beautiful and had crystal blue water amongst the lava rock. It is said that there is really good snorkeling there and if you come early enough in the morning you may even see dolphins that like to play in the bay. Maybe we will do that on our next trip to Maui! Then we came home had dinner and all zonked cuz we were soooo tired!










Sunday Dec. 13 - Brock and Corbin went to church with Brianna and Danon and Lorie. They liked how everyone who stood up to speak started with saying ALOHA! And everyone in the congregation said ALOHA back. Then we swam in the pool for a little while. Brock is swimming so well he doesn't ever wear his life jacket anymore and even swims in the deep end and dives down to the bottom for rings. After lunch we drove up to Ioa Valley and did some hiking it was so green and beautiful! There is one mountain that is called the needle that sticks up that you can see in the pictures. Daxton and MaKelle of course fell asleep in the car and so Dana stayed with them while we hiked up all these stairs it was Fun! Aterwards we drove over to the North shore to see if there were any big waves and surfers. There weren't too many but we found a neat place to climb around in the lava rocks and I even caught a crab for the kids to see and play with.














Monday Dec. 14 - Went down to Ahi Ahi cove to snorkel. This is one of our favorite places to snorkel. There are lots of fish and the water is crystal clear, we even see turtles some times. Corbin went snorkeling for his first time and he did so great and was so brave and he absolutely loved it! We saw so many beautiful fish and coral. Then we went to big beach and let the kids play in the sand and the ocean, they just can't get enough of it! Then of course we had to go get a shaved ice in Kihei. They are the best shaved ice you will ever taste and we get them as often as we can when we are here!

Tuesday Dec. 15 - We went on a snorkel cruise today out to the Molokini Crater. We boarded a boat and they fed us breakfast and then we headed out to the crater. When it was time to go snorkeling Blake went out with Brock first and the saw a white tip reef shark!! Brock had an under water camera and said he got a picture of it! He was so excited! I can't wait to get the pictures developed and see if he really got the picture. Corbin and I went snorkeling and all he really wanted to do was slide off the slide that was on the side of the boat into the ocean, then he was done. It was really pretty out there though. We also snorkeled at a place called turtle town and we all got to see sea turtles and there was one with a metal hook in its mouth it was sad. They served us lunch and then we cruzed up the coast and did some sight seeing it was beautiful! After we got back we were all so exhausted so we just chilled at the condo the rest of the day.









Wednesday Dec. 16 - We decided to drive around the west side of the island today. It is like driving alongside a cliff at times with sheer drop offs down to the ocean which was crazy! But it was so beautiful! We stopped and did a little hiking in the hills and then went to a blow hole. The boys loved being sprayed by the blow hole, I think they could have stayed and played there all day! It blows the ocean water up through a hole in the lava rock way high, it was cool! Then we ate lunch in Napili and went to a little beach where we watched a couple sea turtles play in the water right off the shore. The kids absolutely love to just play in the sand and the water they could do that all day every day! Then we went down to Front Street in Lahaina which has a lot of shopping and we shopped around a little, grabbed the kids some McDonalds (they were begging), and went back to the condo.

 

 

 

Thursday Dec. 17 - Went to the Maui Ocean Center today! We all love it here cuz we can see all sorts of sea life without having to get in the water. We loved seeing the sharks and the sting rays as well as a snuba elf that was in the tank feeding all the fish. Grandma DeMille bought all the boys matching shark shirts and they all looked so cute together! The weather has been so perfect and we have loved being outside so much! After that we went back to the condo and went swimming in the pool (of course).

 

 

On with the show

Summer seemed to go by so fast and all of a sudden it was fall! But we tried to keep summer around as long as we could by eating ice cream cones outside! The kids LOVE ice cream! Of course MaKelle and Daxton have to have their own and hold it themselves. They also love banana smoothies with milk and frozen bananas, this is one of the only ways I can get them to drink milk. This one picture is the two of them drinking their banana smoothie together right out of the blender! I entered both of the twins in the cutest baby contest at the Iron County Fair. They did not win but they were sooo cute!! I think the contest was rigged and only babies with outlandish costumes ever win! But I am a biased mother!

 

This was our last camping trip of the season! We have loved our trailer this year and I'm sure we will for years to come. We went up near Panguitch Lake with the DeMille's and some of the Neilsons. Blake took Brock and Corbin for a four-wheeler ride and they found this little log cabin thing and got some cute pictures! It was fun to go out one last time!

 

On Aug. 20th Braxton turned one! Nicole did such a fun cowboy themed birthday party, and all the kids had so much fun! Braxton got spoiled with lots of new toys, but he didn't want to devour his cake like Daxton and MaKelle did to theirs. As a matter of fact Dax and Kelle wanted to get into Brax's cake. Braxton was so cute! Gavin also turned one on Aug. 28th, but I forgot my camera at his birthday party so I don't have any pictures. He had a dump truck themed party and Megan did such a cute job too! Gavin also was spoiled with lots of fun presents, but didn't really care to get into his cake either. So Daxton and MaKelle gladly did it for him! I ended up having to throw them into Brian and Megan's tub! Happy Birthday cute cousins!

 

Brock had his first day of 1st Grade! And Corbin had his first day of preschool at Country Cottage! They both were so excited and I think they looked so handsome! It is crazy to me how fast they are growing up! I can't believe Brock is going to school all day and eating lunch at school! Corbin really missed him for awhile cuz he had nobody to play with. But, he loves going to preschool and is making some friends! Before I know it Daxton and MaKelle will be off to school too!

 

Blake and the kids gave me these beautiful roses for my birthday! I was so surprised when they were delivered - I only wished they could last forever cuz they are so pretty! Thanks for the awesome birthday!



We went to Lake Powell with my family the first part of September. My parents rented a houseboat and we brought our houseboat. All my family was there except David and his family and Rebekah and her family. Both Beca and Lisa were pregnant and close to their due dates so they had every reason not to come, but they were surely missed! We had a good time, swimming, boating, skiing, tubing, playing in the sand, and eating lots of good food! The weather was nice (except a few windy moments that blew away our canopies) and it was very relaxing! Lake Powell is so beautiful and we all love being there every summer! Thanks guys for the memories!

 

 

Brock and Corbin both had fun playing soccer this year! It was Corbin's first year and he had a good coach and learned alot. It is just fun for him to get a chance to kick the ball. He even made a goal - although it was in the other team's goal. Brock got to play on a bigger field this year and learn the positions and even have referees. He really learned alot and played really well. He even got to have his cousin Luke come up and go to one of his games which he was really excited about! We were so proud of both of them! Even Daxton loved to go to the games and kick around a soccer ball - his softie in hand and all!

 

We made the annual trip to the pumpkin patch to pick out the best pumpkins we could find! Of course Brock had to find the biggest one, and Corbin was right behind him. I told them as long as they could pick them up and carry them. I think we found some really good ones and everyone came home happy! Brian, Megan,and Gavin came too and the kids had fun even though it was a bit cold!

 

MaKelle loves to pose sometimes when I get the camera out. But in these pictues I kinda made her pose since i thought she looked so cute sitting in front of my pumpkin decoration! Gotta love her to death!





Hunting season! Blake hunted and hunted and loved every minute of it! We went up to his family cabin one weekend with Jeff and Melina Burgess and their kids. We rode the wheelers had dinner and hung out while Blake and Jeff hunted. Of course they had no luck! He finally went out west with his Dad, Corbin, LaMont and Landon and came upon this big buck, and the poor thing didn't stand a chance. He was excited to get one and Corbin was even more excited to see it and even watch Blake gut it! GROSS! Brock was even excited and had to go with blake to the meat shop to drop it off. Little hunters in the making!

 

On Blake's birthday we had his family over for cake and ice cream as well as a little pumpkin carving. Brock and Corbin were totally into their carving and ended up with some pretty good looking pumpkins! Daxton and MaKelle had to warm up to it especially pulling all the guts out. Braxton and Gavin joined in on the fun and loved using the spoons to scoop out the guts! It was fun and every one joined in and carved some awesome pumpkins! Needless to say I think that Blake had a great birthday!

 

Happy Halloween! For Halloween Brock was Obi Wan Kenobi, Corbin was a skeleton, MaKelle was Zoe, and Daxton was Elmo. Corbin got to dress up for preschool a couple days before Halloween and he had so much fun with the make-up he couldn't wait to do it again! Brock wasn't able to dress up at school but he did have a Halloween party, and I was in charge of it! We made a skeleton craft, played some games, had a cake walk, and frosted and decorated sugar cookies! I think the kids had fun, I know I did! Then on Halloween day we went to Grandma's for her annual Halloween party! When we dressed up Brock wanted make-up too since Corbin loved his so much, so we gave him a beard and mustache. Then he wanted his hair sprayed since MaKelle had her's sprayed. So we sprayed his hair since Obi Wan has red hair. He was having so much fun with it all! It was a blast at the party! We ate a yummy lunch, played games, had a fish pond, made crafts, and of course had a pinata! Then we went home to rest up so we could go trick-or-treating that night. We came home with oodles of candy and lots of fun memories!

The tough guy - Obi Wan Kenobi!


Little miss Zoe - so cute!


Our cuddly Elmo!


The scary skeleton!


So much FUN!

 

We started raking the leaves in the backyard before the snow came, and we had some pretty big piles. But as soon as the kids got into them they were no longer piles and they needed to be raked all over again. But they had so much fun and were so cute playing around in the leaves we didn't mind having to rake all over again! They played forever! One reason to love the fall!