Spoiled by Mellie!

I love my friends at DML. I really, truly do!!!! We had so much fun with our secret santa exchange during the holidays that we decided to do a May Day Swap.

Mellie got my name and my May Day Package arrived today. I immediately sat down and tore open my package. I can't believe how she possibly managed to stuff that box so full. I guess you're used to packing, huh Mellie??? Anyway, I am beyond thrilled at my assortment of goodies. I want to go inside and scrap right this very moment! She got me such neat gifts: sunflower seeds (the real ones not the eating ones...LOL) Cool, now I can harvest my own sunflower seeds! I'm going to try to find a place to plant them tonight or tomorrow. I love those big happy blooms :) I got candles, foot lotion, candy treats, a planters stake called Ladybug lane (that put a smile on my face because it reminded me of Down Memory Lane) and so many scrapbooking goodies - from rub-ons to mini books. I also got her 31 day online kit. I'm SO excited about that!!! Gotta plan my month...that will be so much fun.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you my dear Mellie! I wish I could rush up to you right now and give you a smooch.

I love my DML friends :)

Say Cheese!!!!

I had to post a pic for our self portrait day. Here ya go DML girlies. xoxox

Goodbye Maui

The skies were on fire last night. It was the most amazing sunset ever!!!!! The sky kept getting brighter and brighter as the night went on. Maui, thanks for the beautiful Goodbye!

Such Beauty!

The grounds of our resort are simply breathtaking. I can't stop taking pictures of the flowers...such amazing colors.

I'm a Tree Hugger!

Love my palm trees. Jess, you're rolling your eyes at me, aren't ya? xoxox

Sunrise from Haleakala

We can finally check this little gem off our "To Do in Maui" list! We always planned on taking this trip, yet the thought of getting up at 3:00am has always put it on the back burner. Well, we did it this time. We should have been there a little earlier. It was much more brilliant before the actual sunrise. We also should have dressed warmer. Although I had my gloves, jeans, 4 shirts and 2 coats on, I was still f-f-f-f-freezing. I must admit that it was pretty cool watching the sunrise above the clouds.

We hiked around for a bit, but it was too cold to enjoy much of the scenery.

I think I like sunsets better....being warm and wide awake are much more appealing to me.

But we did it. Been There, Done That. Check.

At One With Nature

We have new friends. Geckos that want to hitch a ride, and birds that enjoy a bagel or two.

That reminds me...Mike and I had a bet on who would see the first gecko. He owes me a buck.

We really didn't want to see this...

So, Mike decides we should venture down to the South Maui Beaches. There's a stretch of about 3 miles of beach. We visit it often and have stayed on a condo right there on that beach a few times.

We're walking around and notice some "official types" standing along the beach. Saw a few boats patroling the waters. We thought that maybe someone was lost. Mike went into the water to get cooled off and he was called back onto the beach. Seems there was a shark attack about an hour before we got to the beach!!! About 10 minutes later they started to post signs and they closed a 4 mile strip of beach for about 24 hours or so.

A 62 or 63 year old woman was snorkeling and she was attacked. Her ankle and calf were injured. She spent the night in the hospital and was released the next day. Apparently a guy on a surfboard said he felt a thud and saw a tiger shark about an hour before the attack.

We went back to our beach.

Needless to say, I didn't swim that day.

The Road To Hana

We take this drive every time we come to Maui. In my opinion, it's really the only way to experience Hawaii. Waterfalls at every turn, hiking trails, botanical gardens, black sand beach, red sand beach....it's incredible. You can't possibly see everything in one trip. Each time we come to Maui we take the Road to Hana. There are some amazing sites that we must see each time we come, yet we try to experience a few new discoveries on each trip.

We started our day of early this year. Hana is very lush and green so it's common to experience a few showers. It was a gorgeous day, and not a drop of rain.

Someday I'll figure out my camera and I'll get some better shots. Seems I'm always taking pictures at high noon, so many of them didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.

Black Sands Beach is just incredible....lava tubes and caves everywhere. I love the contrast of the colors. The aqua blue waters against the black sand is just beautiful. Add the lush greenery and it makes my heart stop. Truly the most beautiful site I have ever seen.

We also went on our favorite Maui hike, called Pipiwai Trail. It's about 4 miles round trip and it's such a beautiful hike. I love walking through the bamboo forest. The winds were really howling, and it was quite magical to walk amongst the bamboo as they clanked together....it was like being in the center of the worlds largest windchime. The trail ends at a huge waterfall. I really missed Jessica though. When we went as a family, I remember she said this was her favorite part of the trip. It just wasn't the same without her!

As always, we end our trip to Hana at the 'Ohe'o Gulch (also known as the 7 sacred pools) Mike always dives in to cool off. I always stand there and take pictures :)

23 Years

May 5th was our 23rd Wedding Anniversary. It doesn't seem possible....23 years. I can't imagine life without Mike. I can't imagine life without my kids. I'm a lucky girl. Thanks for taking me, Mike :)

We used to have some pretty boring anniversaries, so we decided to spice things up about 10 years ago. We now surprise each other with an anniversary date. I have the even years, and Mike has the odd years. We plan the "big" anniversaries together, but the "little" ones are our own resposibility. This was Mike's year to surprise me.

This was our day:

• a walk along the beach


• breakfast at the Gazebo (they serve AMAZING mac nut pancakes) - we watched a whale while waiting for our table...that was pretty cool!


• explore around the tidepools


• we came back to our room and I found the most beautiful hawaiian floral arrangement waiting for me! xoxox


• spent the afternoon at Napili Beach


• Went to show called 'Ulalena. It's an Hawaiian opera about life in Hawaii before and after western contact. It was pretty good.


• Dinner at David Paul's (quite fancy)

It was a wonderful day. I'm looking forward to the next 23 years...

Dragon's Teeth

We always like to explore an area known as Dragon's Teeth. The lava here is different than most Hawaiian lavas. It's light in color and fine, not nearly as porous as the typical lava. It's been bleached white from the sun and salt spray. The years of wind and salt spray caused interesting shapes and formations known as Dragon's Teeth. It also has a beautiful view of the west shore.

Aloha from Maui

Life. Is. Good.

Here is the view from our room. Napili Kai Beach Resort is huge, and is spread out into several different areas. We're at the very end of the resort and our section includes 15-20 units. There are 5 pools located on the resort. This picture shows the little pool that's located in our complex. We've been known to run down there for a quick dip. It's nice since we usually have the place to ourselves.

Napili Beach is one of our favorite beaches on Maui. It's small, but it's normally not terribly crowded. The sand and water are so clean. You may ask yourself if sand can be clean. I believe that sand can be clean. It's very important to be able to dig your feet into the sand and not feel sticks and rocks. We have clean sand on our beach and I like it! The snorkeling has been great. Mike saw a turtle yesterday. It seems that when I decide not to go snorkeling, that's when the exciting creatures come out of hiding! We also have another beach directly to the north of us (within walking distance) and we saw some beautiful fish while snorkeling there.

Life. Is. Good.