Catching Up

The summer seems to be gone already. Back in June (12th through 18th) we spent the week in Maui with my momma, my brother, and my brother's wife. We all had so much fun. I was going to post LOTS of pictures from the trip, but somehow that just hasn't happened, lol. I figure I better type some of the highlights here while they are still fresh on my mind...and before another busy school year begins! :)

We stayed at Aston's Kaanapali Shores on Maui. It was fabulous! We had two bedrooms, a full kitchen and living areas, and two full bathrooms. We enjoyed a view of the pool, gardens, and Pacific ocean! Amazing. Maui is windy most all of the time. The rain forests on Maui are among the wettest on earth, receiving tons of rain per year. We drove part of the Road to Hana and stopped at Twin Falls for a hike, complete with splashing underneath the falls themselves! That made for some great pictures.

Another highlight of the trip was getting to eat at Mama's Fish House. Thanks to my mom, we enjoyed a meal that is beyond description. It was THAT good, folks. Extremely expensive, but totally wonderful! What a neat memory. We loved walking around the grounds at Mama's Fish House, too. Maui is simply gorgeous. Love the tropical beach areas!

Josiah loved hunting for hermit crabs, catching them, storing him in his bucket, and then releasing them. He still says, at least once per day, that we will be moving to Maui someday. He LOVED it, and he bawled when we loaded our luggage to head home on the last day of our trip. He could not stand to leave. He also loved getting to drink Coconut Milk from a real Coconut!

Mackenzie enjoyed all the swimming, and seeing a real Sea Turtle. She is a fish herself, and enjoyed the ocean with boogie boards, the pool with goggles, and our snorkeling tour to Molokini and Turtle Town. She says going on the boat ride was her favorite thing. A giant Sea Turtle swam up to the shore during our professional portrait session. It was amazing! We all loved seeing the turtle. Mackenzie also enjoyed the shopping in Lahaina and playing in the Banyon tree in Lahaina. Josiah loved climbing on the Banyon tree and all the swimming, too! He has learned to swim without floaties this summer.

Thanks to Evan (my brother) and Mia (his wife), we all enjoyed the Old Lahaina Luau and a professional photo shoot. The photographer was Mariah Milan, and she was amazing. Mia did a fabulous job of researching photographers on Maui and choosing the perfect one for our family. This was Mia and Evan's gift to my mom for completion of her doctorate in nursing this past December. They surprised my mom with the photo session. We got such great pics! What a neat gift for us all. Thanks, Evan and Mia! And the Luau was neat, too. Great food!

I am sure there is much more that I could type about the Maui trip, but for now, this will do! Maui is 6 hours behind us in time zones, so we all had quite the adjustment to make going and coming from that trip! Totally worth it, though. Thanks to my grandparents and my mom for making this trip happen, from airline tickets to lodging, for all of us. Wow. What a gift.

Other things to remember from this summer...Mackenzie lost her 2nd on July 24th, 2011. Our friend, Bill, pulled it just like he pulled the first one. Perfect!

On Tuesday, as in this coming Tuesday, August 16th, BOTH of my kids will start to school. Wow. Mackenzie will be in 2nd grade. How is that possible? And, Josiah will be in Kindergarten! I always thought it would be sad to see my "baby" start Kindergarten. Somehow, I think we are ready for this step! Mackenzie says she is a little nervous about starting back to school. Josiah says he is worried that no one will like him. I assured him that he will make lots of new friends and they will like him. He already knows one child, Lexi, in his class. He told Lexi yesterday, "You're gonna get to see me every day!" It was very funny. Mackenzie knows 11 of the 19 kids in her class this year already. Josiah has Mrs. Haluska and Mackenzie has Mrs. Scott. I am very pleased. School year, here we come!!!! :)

Just wanted to get those updates recorded before the school does start. I am sure there is much, much more that I should type, but for now, that will do.

David and I got to take a two night get-a-way, just the two of us, for the first time ever (since the kids were born) last week while his parents watched our kids. What a gift! Thank you, Zearl and Betty, for staying here with our kids while we enjoyed some one-on-one time.

Oh, and on June 11, 2011, Mackenzie was a flower girl and Josiah was a ring bearer in Aunt Mallory's wedding to Tom in Arkansas. What an honor for the two of them to be included in Mallory's wedding! How neat!!! We have some great pictures from the wedding, too, but for the sake of time I am just typing this post without pictures. Sorry.