Aloha!

Land Ho! I can't tell you how nice it was to fly out of the clouds and land where it was warm and sunny. Jim and I were able to go on a Hawaii get away to the island of O'ahu. Here is a taste of the fun we had.

First of all, we must pay homage to the AMAZING sunsets. It is hard to decide which of the 700 pictures to share. I am sure there are more to come.
If you are a LOST fan (which we are), then you, too, would appreciate this beach.

Laie Temple

Jim looking for sneaker waves:

There was a lot of this going on:

We splurged and stayed at the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. Very nice and secluded.

Our package came with buffet breakfast... everyday.

Hanging out in the WWII bunker.

View of my sexy man:

Ocean view room:

Driving around the island in the Mustang Convertible:

And one hilarious bathroom sign: Love it!

Thank you Jim for this late anniversary, early birthday, babymoon trip! (More Hawaii to come!)

It's always fun...

Actual conversation (or a version thereof):
"Hi Melanie, I want to come out for a visit."
"That would be great Mom! We would love to have you out!"
...A few days later...
"Hi Mom, we have been thinking, and Jim and I would like to go to Hawaii before baby #3 comes. Since you will be here, do you mind watching our kids for us?"
A slight pause..."Of course, dear."
And THAT is just one of the many reasons why she is the best Mom (and Grandma) ever!
So my mom came and we left. The kids got to play with her, laugh with her, and be fascinated by hail with her. Apparently it rained a little, and then hailed a lot!

My mom was a trooper - we are so grateful and relieved for her willingness to be with our kids while we had the trip of a lifetime. I mean, look at her- how could you not be happy around this?

I think they all had a great time, and didn't miss us one bit!

It's always fun when Grandma comes!

The Lodge

Still catching up on March activities here... We went to The Great Wolf Lodge in Washington to escape from the last bit of Winter rain. It was an awesome indoor water park - complete with animal story times and appearances from wolf caricatures, wizarding adventures and magic wands.

You can't tell very well on the screen, but here are the boys defeating the dragon. It took a lot of scavenging around the hotel to find all the clues to do this. Not bad for a 4 year old (and 31 year old) :).

It was such a fun family get away. We were in our swim suits most of the time, despite it being pouring rain and 40 degrees outside.

We all had a great time! Bridger keeps asking to go back whenever we mention anything to do with water, magic, swim suits, pools or vacation. It is hard to say no when it was so much fun and it is only 2 1/2 hours away!

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery...

However, I am still not too sure how I feel about this...

It didn't take them long before they were running at each other, bouncing backwards from the impact on each other's bellies.

At least we can be entertained by small things (such as balloons) for a very long time.