Maui in May!!!!!

Jon & I were finally able to take part in a Dell sales trip. It was suppose to be to The Fairmont in Mexico (which would have been very nice), but thanks to the swine flu outbreak, we were rerouted to The Fairmont Kealani in Maui!!!!! What a fantastic vacation. Thanks to Jon's Mom, Richard (her husband) and James (my step-dad), our kids were in good hands so that we could relax & have a lot of fun for 6 full days. We went 11 years ago for our Honeymoon & have always wanted to go back. This trip took care of the '10 year trip' we weren't able to take last year.The view from our suite on day 1.

We had 3 half-days of group activities while the rest of the days we spent scouting the island & hanging on the beach. We also had 2 evening dinners planned leaving the other nights open. The 1st half-day we did some team building events. I honestly wasn't looking too forward to it, but it turned out to be fun - I haven't used my brain for such adult conversations in a long time.

Headed to dinner at Tommy Bahama's on day 1. Good food, but too much wine w/the jetlag.
On days 2, we did a zip-line adventure on Haleakala. What fun! I definitely want to do this again sometime. Here is Jon harnessed up and going on the 1st of 5 zip-lines. It was short & perfect for beginners like us.

On day 3, we kayaked on the south Maui shore to snorkel with turtles. It was fun & interesting, but not as exciting as some of our friends who snorkeled around Molikini and saw an eel eat an octopus - then a shark finished it off! Sorry, no pics of this adventure.

The rest of the days were spent shopping & hanging at the beach. Ahh.
The seafood in Hawaii was absolutely fantastic. Many suggested we go to Mama's Fish House which is on the Road To Hana. So, after a little shopping in Kahului, we headed to the north shore. First of all, the beach and water on this side of the island is absolutely beautiful. The food at Mama's was equally fantastic. Jonathan doesn't like fish, and they had very few things to choose from that did not involve seafood of some sort so he had a beef appetizer. It was very very good (thank goodness, it was $18 and this was at lunchtime.) My fish - I think it was Opakapaka - was awesome. The other fish I had in Wailea was called Monchong. It was perfect. Even Jon said it was good and asked for a 2nd bite!!!! Here are our pics from Mama's & the beach.

Mother's Day

We went to one of our favorite places to eat for Mother's Day - Japanese Steakhouse! Although taking Hudson to any restraunt these days isn't fun, we made the most of it (at least the leftovers were good :) And, I got a new camera - Nikon Coolpix - took these photos with it. Not sure if I recommend it yet.

Karys as a Dolphin

Karys played T-Ball for the 1st time this spring. Her team name was the Dolphins. As a lefty, it was a little hard to figure out how to catch, throw and bat since she was the only one. During one of the 1st few games, she accidentally ran to the pitcher's mound instead of 3rd. It was very cute - she still made it to 3rd in time though. She, along with many of her teammates, preferred to play in the dirt while on the field - I think I did the same :)

Karys in flight

As we drove back to our beach house from Longboat Key, we rolled the windows down to enjoy the salty air. We got a fun picture of Karys taking it all in.

Garrett's 8th Birthday

Backing up a few months, we celebrated Garrett's 8th Birthday at Greatwolf Lodge in Grapevine (even tho he holding up only 7 fingers...) What a fun place - the kids enjoyed every bit of it. Hard to believe we are at a waterpark in January when the temp outside was 27 degrees.

Garrett & Jon, his handsome Daddy, at the Rainforest Cafe on G's b/day.

Easter in Florida

After 2 days at Disney, we went to Anna Marie Island to spend Easter at the beachouse. Kids had a great time with Grandma Susan and we enjoyed relaxing (a bit.)

Garrett didn't like the smell of vinegar while decorating Easter eggs so Susan fixed the problem - tape over the boy's nose (as seen below.)We went to a nice Easter Brunch in Longboat and *tried* to get some family photos. It is just about impossible to get everyone to look and halfway smile at the same time.

Disney in April

We took a week in April and went to Florida to see Jon's Mom - Grandma Susan. Of course, we can't fly into Orlando (where it's cheapest to fly into) w/out going to a Disney park. This year, we went to Hollywood Studios this year b/c Garrett is into Star Wars. Garrett's view of Jedi Training from Jon's shoulders. To our surprise, he did not want to take a chance at fighting the Clone Troopers and Darth Vadar. I just love how they so cleverly have you come into the Star Wars store as you get off the ride... Karys & Yoda and Garrett & an Ewok
We took Garrett & Karys on the Tower of Terror. It was not one of our best parenting decisions. Garrett said it was scary, but he liked it. He would ride it again, but not for at least 2-3 months. lol Karys on the otherhand cried & cried & cried. We had to let her get a tattoo & ice cream to make it all better. Surprisingly, Hudson was quite a trooper at the park (unlike the flight to Orlando - which he screamed thoughout). He finally gave out and crashed for about 30 minutes in his stroller.