Maui, Hawaii!

Here are a few pictures from our Hawaii vacation. This picture was from one of the morning walks I took with friends. Every morning we'd meet at 7am to go walking along the coast. It was beautiful!
Jonathan relaxing in a nearby hammock at our hotel (The Ritz)
The wind was amazing, windy, but wonderful. The water was perfect!
We just took a short walk from our hotel to the beach. Extra long golf carts served as shuttles from the hotel to the beach if you wanted, but we preferred the walk.
The pool was also wonderful, Jonathan jumped in at first chance. This was a picture from our first day...perhaps even the first hour of our arrival.

Here is the view of the pool area from our balcony

Hanging with the girls touring the island a bit...just looking for prettier beach areas. Honestly, I thought every beach was beautiful and just as worth playing in
My handsome man. We went for a short drive with the friends and stopped to walk along the coast to find a blow hole
on the walk we found funny stacked rocks and odd patterns in the ground. I needed a picture by them!
my cute friendie and me...being blown away by the wonderful breeze
traveling rainbow. Every time the water shot up the rainbow would shine through and then as the water floated away the rainbow would go too...it looked like the rainbow was flying across the sky
We got to attend a Luau while there. I loved the story told by the dancers and all the fun costume changes!
The sunshine and leis weren't bad either! Oh, and JB and I got to dance in the moonlight near the end
Snorkeling was an experience I wasn't too sure about. But once we tried it was one of my favorite things! I LOVED it! The coral reef and the colorful fish were amazing!
We had a wonderful time in Maui, Thank you John and Peggy for watching Jade so we could go!!

I'm having a great time in Hawaii!

Hey Everyone,

I'm in HI right now with my hubby. I haven't forgotten the wonderful world of blogging. I'll be back next week with some pictures to post. Mostly, I'm just doing beach time and getting tan...er...burnt to a crisp *hee, hee* but today my hubby and I got to go snorkeling!! I've never been before so I was really excited. We had an amazing time, the fish were brilliant, I didn't want to leave! *sigh*

Well I'm off to dinner with my favorite man!

Last minute ball game

Yesterday afternoon, while hanging with my friendie, she got a call from her husband with free tickets to a Mariners baseball game for that evening. They were going to go and invited us to join them. We didn't have much time to plan or prepare but free tickets to a sporting event is not something we turn down.

I grabbed Jade's sportiest baseball cap and we met them to head over to the field.
This was our first Mariner's game since living in WA so we all were pretty excited. Even though it's mid-June it was still cool out, so most of us brought sweaters.
Here is a super cute pic of my friend and her daughter. They were dancing to the music and singing along. Cheering on their team and eating yummy treats.
Jade had a fabulous time. When she got bored we took walks around the stadium. Even found a play area, but you have to be at least 3. So one more year Jadey girl!
Oh, I also saw two different guys break their bats after hitting the ball. Yes, you heard me right, their bats just broke right in HALF! I couldn't believe that.
Coming up to the 8th inning our team hadn't really done much. Not one score on the board. We all started getting a little bored. My friend bought some cotton candy and gave Jade her first taste of that. Boy did Jade LOVE that!
But, like I said. The game started to wind down and we all thought the Mariners were going to be creamed by the AZ team.
And then, as Ken Grriffey Jr. gets warmed up to bat the whole stadium started going wild.
The opposite team took a LONG time talking with their guys planning their next move.
He got up to the plate, the first pitch was thrown and *BOOM* IT WAS A HOME RUN ON THE FIRST HIT!!! The crowd went WILD!!
It was awesome! The game went from boring to insanely exciting in a matter of seconds. The following batters upped it up a notch as well and got some base hits and soon another home run.

We had to leave by that time, but I was so excited, the energy was awesome. Seeing #24 bat was SO worth the entire game.

Jade did really well too, even though we didn't get home till really late. We are all a bit groggy this morning, but what a fun way to spend a Friday night!

My conversation with Jade this morning

Mommy: *sneaking quietly into Jade's room, only to find her awake* Jade honey, do you want some breakfast?
Jade: No, I reading
Mommy: You can bring your book downstairs, come on
Jade: No, I want my pillow too
Mommy: Your not hungry?
Jade: I'm reading now
Mommy: Okay, let me know when your hungry
Jade: Ah huh

Some pictures from my Family's visit

My Mom and four youngest siblings were visiting family in Sacramento last week. They decided to drive from CA to WA to come and visit JB, Jade and me for a few days. They arrived last Thursday evening. The first day they were visiting I knew they were tired from their long trip over, so we didn't do much. Later in the morning we headed over to Olympia's Farmers Market and walked around the market and then board walk. Here is Jadey girl with two of her Uncles, Travis and Isaac, and Aunt Lalia.
Jade wasn't to sure about her Uncle Tony, so the next morning he tried to win her over by playing jokes with her baby bib and cereal bowl. Hee, hee
Saturday JB took us all to play "glow-in-the dark" mini golf. The kids all had a great time.

Sunday, after church, we girlies headed out to do some shopping. As we were walking out the door I realized we were all in yellows, purples and reds. So we had to take a picture.
Monday I took the family to Seattle. I wanted the younger kids to see Pike Place Market and walk around downtown for awhile. Everyone loved it! We stopped at Red Robin for lunch, and took a few pictures.

Silly pics of my siblings

Jade making funny faces right back at them. lol
Tuesday we went to the park. Jade got to play on the play ground and the boys got to play basketball.

Wednesday was the day before everyone had to leave. So I decided to put everyone to work. Travis did the vacuuming.

Isaac beat out the rugs

Tony has some crazy dusting skills and dusted the whole house (well, I think Mom did upstairs)

Jade supervised and made lots of funny faces

Lalia cleaned the kitchen and washed all the floors. And mom and I tackled the bathrooms. I think we had the house cleaned in under an hour:)
After cleaning all moring, we went to a really pretty park that opens up to the water. Jade liked throwing rocks in the water.
Travis loved this park the most, I think. He is really into wildlife and snakes and such. He turned over every fallen log he could trying to find one.
Tony didn't seem that thrilled...but he didn't complain.
Then we went downtown again to do more shopping and get some coffee. Here we are at Bratdorf and Bronson with little mocha's and hot chocolates and pumpkin spice cake.
They had some car trouble this morning (Thursday) and mom just called realizing she left her purse here (so they'll be back in about 30min) but soon they will be on their way back to Sacremento, and then I think it's off to L.A. to visit more family and go to Disneyland. We had a wonderful trip, thanks for coming and visiting with us!!!

Family is here

Hey all, my family is here visiting. They have been visiting since last Thursday. If you want to see some pictures of our visit so far, check out my Mom's website!

Speedy Jade

Why walk, when you can run?
Jade is going down her baby slide here.
Jade is in no way a crazy kid, but she sure is enjoying being able to run and jump a lot easier (and faster) She loves jumping and loves running. Hmmm...maybe she'll like to play basketball one day;)

Cooking and hanging out...a bit of an update

Today I've spent a lot of my time cooking up some yummy food for my family and for a friend who just had twins!

Since it's been so warm lately, I decided to make this ice-cream sandwhich cake I had made last year. Go to KraftFoods to check out the "how to video" of this super simple, super yummy dessert!

Jade was not happy as she watched me crush up oreos, mix up pudding and layer ice-cream sandwhiches on top of one another without giving her a bite. I finally let her lick the whip cream spoon at the very end.

Now I'm making some easy chicken enchilada's and I have a pre-made bagged salad to join it.

It is very nice out. Not to warm, not to cold. I spent a little bit of time outside today just laying on the grass soaking up the sunshine.

After Jade woke up from her nap (and downed four baby bowls of cereal for lunch) we hopped on our bike and road over to a friends house to chat for a bit and borrow a book. It was SUCH a nice bike ride and didn't last near as long as it should have. I'm so glad Jade loves to bike as much as she does. Especially now that we are a two car family. It's really easy to just opt for the convenience of the car...but I do love biking and I'm glad I haven't stopped just because I have other options.

Tomorrow is my last day meeting with my personal trainer. I hired a personal trainer for 9 sessions. I met just once a week with her so this is week 9 for me. I haven't lost any weight, but I've become A LOT stronger and I can see there has been a difference in my body (toning up a bit maybe) even though the scale refuses to move.

I highly recommend Megan Dahlman if anyone is looking for a personal trainer.

"Mom's in the Park" started last Tuesday. Every Tuesday a bunch of Moms from our church/MOPS meet at various parks around the city from 10-1. Its' lots of fun and any one is welcome to join (even if they don't have kids). If you ever want to join me for some fun park time, give me a call or send me a message and I'll let you know what park we are meeting at!

Wednesday I'm looking forward to hopefully going shopping with a friend and just hanging out again.

Thursday evening my Mom and four of my younger siblings will be visiting us for a week. I can't wait! I want to show them so many places and introduce them to all my friends. I love my life here in Washington so anytime I get to share it with my friends or family I get super excited. Besides...I just like getting to see my family.

After my family leaves my In-Laws will be coming. We get to hang out with them for just two days and then JB and I are off to Hawaii! JB for work, me for pleasure. It will be fantastic!

Anyway...there is an update of sorts. Take care all!

Noggin

Is it just me or is the character "Moose A. Moose" on the show "Noggin" a horrible singer? Seriously, he drives me nuts! lol

Lemonade Cheesecake Recipe

You can find this recipe on KraftFoods.com. I switched the regular lemonade with pink lemonade (because that is what I had on hand), and for the crust, I crushed up my own graham crackers (about a packet worth), mixed in 1/4c sugar and 6 T of melted butter. Then I smashed the cracker mix into a bottom of a pie plate and baked it at 375 for about 9min.

Of course, you can buy the crust pre-made though. I didn't have enough left over whip cream to do the pretty edging they have here, so I just drizzled the remaining whip cream over the top of the pie. It was SO yummy! So light tasting and SO easy!

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)

1-1/2 cups sliced strawberries

2 Tbsp. sugar

BEAT cream cheese in medium bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually add concentrate, beating well after each addition. Stir in 2 cups COOL WHIP. Spoon into crust.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Meanwhile, toss berries with sugar. Refrigerate until ready to use.

SERVE pie topped with berries and remaining COOL WHIP.

Tuesday Morning stuff

Jade didn't wake up until about 8:30 this morning. So I had plenty of time to get things done. Made a pink lemonade cheesecake for tonight's Pampered Chef party, mixed up a batch of cookies, got some work done on the computer and had a bit of quiet time.

When my little angel got up there was only one thing on her mind. Cantalope. She had been begging me for cantaloupe ever since we bought it at the grocery store around 4pm the day before. So, I cut up a bunch of pieces for her and sat her down with her bowl of rice crispies. Jade loves cantaloupe!
Can you see the orange staining around her mouth? lol
After her breakfast, she grabbed her apron to help over see the batches of cookies coming out of the oven.
Those stackable cooling racks are one of my favorite Pampered Chef buys, not to mention the medium sized ice-cream scoop to keep all my cookies the same size.
After baking was over, I went to put on a bit of makeup and brush my hair. Jade decided to do her hair as well. Doesn't she look lovely. When I took this picture she was saying "so pretty, headband!"
That's my girl. Now we are off to the park (after I make up some lunches) and then it's my pampred chef party at 6pm. Come and join us for yummy food, fellowship and shopping!