Hawaii 2011

Phil and I had the chance to go to Maui again this year with the Coca-Cola group. It is always a lot of fun being a part of these trips and we feel blessed to have these incentives. We spent 5 days on the beautiful Ka'anapali shores and loved every minute of it!




The views were absolutely breathtaking!





We stayed at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Maui . It was an absolutely gorgeous resort!



They had the most beautiful gardens filled with all kinds of animals. I loved the flamingos, swans, and penguins.








We loved spending time at the pools just relaxing, reading, and visiting with friends.






These next two pictures were taken from our hotel room. We had a corner room with windows that looked out on one side to the golf course, and the other to the pools. The views were just amazing.




Phil had an opportunity to play golf at the Ka'anapali North course and the Kapalua course that was on the pro tour this year. I tagged along when he played Ka'anapali and loved the beautiful, lush course and just enjoyed taking pics of the scenery. I loved jogging along the golf course while we were there just to enjoy the beauty. It was amazing!






One morning we just sat on the beach watching these guys surf. They would run straight from the beach and ride a wave back in. They were really entertaining and fun to watch. How would it be to be a local and do that everyday? That would be the life!




We enjoyed a Hawaiian luau one evening. The food was delicious and the hula dancers were really fun to watch. I couldn't get a good picture of the fire dancer, but he was fantastic!



It was such a fun and relaxing trip! We loved every minute of it!

19 Years and Counting!!

Phil and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. I can't believe I've been married for half of my life. If doesn't seem like that long, but at the same time, it's so normal and comfortable that it's like we've been together forever. I'm so grateful for him in my life and the love and support he gives me. We have a great family together and I can't imagine my life any other way!
We went out to celebrate on our anniversary and had dinner at Happy Sumo and went to a movie. As we were on our way home, we were in the mood for something sweet, so we stopped at the bakery and brought home cake to celebrate with our kids. Because what better way to celebrate a wedding anniversary than with wedding cake??

The Big 4-0!

Happy Birthday, Phil!
I spent 6 weeks trying to put together a Surprise 40th Birthday party for Phil and the morning of the party, my 5 year old niece, Kate, spilled the beans. She is so cute and just couldn't keep it a secret, but Phil didn't know when or where the party was to happen and swears he would have known anyway because I just couldn't let this one pass without a party!
Jenny's parents offered their home to have the party and they were so good to us. Marilyn and Jenny did their famous ribs and we had a delicious dinner with great food from great friends and cakes/cupcakes to finish it off. Lauren was so excited to make a cake for her dad, and Janae made a fantastic German Chocolate cake (Phil's favorite!)

Even though it may not have been a true surprise, Phil seemed very happy about it and constantly hugged me and said thanks all night. It certainly made all the work worthwhile!






We had a great turnout with family and friends and a true surprise to Phil when the Clarks, our best friends from Boise, rang the doorbell to join the celebration. I was glad I was able to pull that one off and I was so glad they could be here with us. It was a fun night that we enjoyed so much with our friends.
Happy Birthday, Hon! Somehow we really are that old!

The Obsession Continues...

Phil started golfing again last summer after giving it up for years. Not only is he interested in playing, he is OBSESSED! He has golfed at least 3-4 days all winter long and spends most evenings out in the yard hitting balls and having Goldie retrieve them.
When we were visiting the Moore's the other night, Ethan got out a golf club and ball and was playing with them in the yard. Of course this gave Phil the perfect opportunity to teach Ethan some fundamentals. At one point when Phil was hitting a ball and showing Ethan how, Ethan yelled "FORE" right on cue. It was pretty funny! Maybe someday they will both become pros!

Goodbye, Red Sox!

Phil and I were really sad tonight to watch our Boston Red Sox lose to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS tournament. We are avid Red Sox fans, thanks to Lyn and Randy! We have really enjoyed getting to know the players and cheering on our team over the last few years and look forward to every game we can watch.

We had the opportunity back in March to fly to LA with Lyn and Randy and watch the Dodgers/Red Sox pregame series just before the regular season started. It was so fun to see our team live and watch some fun games in the ambiance of the stadium. We even had our first "Dodger Dog" (which wasn't very good). It was such a fun weekend and I loved seeing "Big Papi", Manny (the traitor), Pedroia, Ellsbury, Youk, and Lowell, to name a few.

Tonight ended the year as we lost 3 to 1 in game 7 of the series. Boston was down 3 games to 1 last week and had an amazing comeback Thursday night to win game 5. Saturday they won game 6 to tie the series and the momentum was in the Red Sox dugout. However, after a 1st inning homer by Dustin Pedroia, the Sox just couldn't get it done. We will sure miss watching them for the next few months and look forward to spring training and next season! Go Sox!