Brock and I just got back from a week in Hawaii. We had such a good time. We went with his parents and sister and her husband. We met up with his Aunt and Uncle, Grandma and some cousins. We left the girls with friends and family. (Thanks so much to those who helped us out) This was the longest I have ever been away from my children, once I got past the first 2 days I did fine. It think it was harder for me then them. :)
We did a lot of stuff in one week. We went to Pearl Harbor, the Poly center, the temple and vistors center, swam under a water fall, went to a big surf competition, went to lots of different beaches, ate lots and lots of awesome pineapple, and lots more. I wish I could post all of my pictures and write about everything we did but that would get a little long so here are just some highlights, so you can get a glimpse into our wonderful vacation.
Me, Rexanne, Arriann enjoying some awesome shaved ice. I could of eaten some every day it was SO Yum!!
This was the USS Arizona that got bombed in Pearl Harbor. This ship had over 1100 people that died that day, the most on any ship. We went out to the memorial that they have built over this ship. It was really interesting to go and learn more about this event in history. A real tragedy for sure.
Just a nice scenic picture near a beach where we went swimming.
Here is the waterfall we hiked to and then went swimming under. It was pretty fun but pretty cold. We were the only group that actually got in and swam.
Just a cool picture, I don't know that surfer dude but I thought it made a better picture. :)
Brock and I got tattoos at the Poly center in one of the villages. Behind us is a canoe that they built without using one single nail.
Brock and I at the Poly center right before the night show started. We really enjoyed ourselves there, it is so fun to learn about all of the different cultures, I really enjoyed trying to learn each of the different island dances. :)
Brock and I in front the the temple, I think it is such a beautiful temple.
Rexanne, me, Brock, Barry, Arriann, and Wade in front of the Outrigger Catamaran. We took this out on our last day. It was so fun, we got to see a whale which was a bonus. The ride was so relaxing, you get to sit on netting in the front of the boat which I thought was pretty cool because you can look right below you and see the water underneath.
After our Catamaran trip we ate dinner at this really good restaurant, which was outside and as we ate, we got watch this beautiful sunset. Hawaii is very beautiful and we loved every minute of it.
All week it has been dumping snow. In the 4 years we have lived here this is by far the most snow we have gotten. It just keeps coming. Today school was cancelled which doesn't happen often here. We have had a little bit of wind with a ton of snow so it gets really hard to see where you are driving. We have probably gotten between 12 and 14 inches just today added to our 4 feet we already had on the ground. The crazy thing is, the snow isn't letting up until Tuesday. So needless to say the pictures I was going to get of the snow sculptures are useless now because they are so covered you can't even tell what they were supposed to be. I should of taken the pictures the first day they were finished. So sorry about that, there were some cool ones too this year. Below are a few pictures we took today of our crazy amount of snow. If any of you love to skii or board this would be the time to come visit us. We have LOTS of powder.
Kamden riding in her hummer about to start the parade.
She and some friends from class about to start throwing their candy to the crowd. 
Brock and Aspen standing out in the snow, look how many bead necklaces Aspen has gotten. She thought it was pretty neat.
This is just a puppy that was sitting with its owners right next to us. He was a little bit like Aspen and didn't like how loud they were so they put some ear muffs on him. He didn't seem to mind either. I thought it was pretty funny.
Hawaii is known for their really big waves in the winter on the northshore. There is a beach called Pipeline where surfers from all over come and compete. I was lucky enough to go and watch a competition. This picture is really blurry but kind of cool. If I can figure out how to do movie clips I will post a pretty cool video I got of a surfer in the barrel. This was one huge highlight of my trip. Partly because I was there getting as many pictures and videos for my brother as I could, my brother is very into surfing and knows all the surfers, growing up with him has made me understand the sport better and appreciate it more. But really I always tell Brock I am a wanna be surfer girl. I love it, the water, the sun, the beach, just the atmosphere in general but mainly the excitment and challenge of catching the wave. So for me to be able to see some of the best surfers around surf these huge waves was pretty amazing. Something I will never forget. Now you all know something new about me that I am sure you didn't know before!! :0)
Here is Kamden and her friends Preslee, Kimberly, and Jessica at the christmas eve dinner. My friend told me to grab my camera which I actually had, because these girls were having the best time. They were laughing and just talking away. It was really cute.
My girls on Christmas morning in their christmas jammies, don't mind the brownish tint on the teeth and the brown drool coming out of the mouth. They had already found some christmas chocolate in the stockings and helped themselves!
The girls in their beautiful Christmas dresses ready for church. Thanks Grammy! They got lots of compliments on the dresses!
Kamden and her daddy with their masterpiece. She had so much fun.
Aspen really liked the outcome as well. I had to keep a close eye on her at the party because she was going around to everyones different gingerbread houses and taking candy off. She loves to join Kamden at her school parties.
Kamdens music teacher sang Christmas songs with them. Kamden was still in her mood that she just was not ready to be happy yet. Aspen loved it though, she was shaking bells and dancing in the middle of the circle.
Here is the best picture. This captures my Kamden. This is her face of I am shy and I don't want to do what everyone is telling me to do. They had a gift exchange and she just opened her gift. So I thought for sure every kid would get over their bad mood. NOPE not my Kamden. She can be stubborn. Once we got home that face was totally gone. She was smiling and couldn't stop talking about her party and how much fun she had. So I guess it was all a front because since the spilled juice she sure fooled me that she was having a good time. All in all, fun memories at the school christmas party.
