Snow Day(s)

It snowed last Friday night. Which we were all really excited for. It it gorgeous here when it snows. It's even been cold enough to stay on the ground (and on the trees...my FAVORITE part) until today. Supposedly we are getting more tonight as well.

All this equals: snow days/late starts!

So Sam, Alli, and I have been out of school the whole week and Kimber has had 2 hour late starts both Monday and Tuesday. If it snows more tonight, I'm guessing there will be no school tomorrow (for anyone) and most likely a late start again on Thursday. It's fun to have a break from "work" but I miss my preschoolers and this interferes with making Christmas gifts for their parents as well as having Holiday parties (both at my school and at the girls' school). So sorry to all those parents...I guess you'll get an extra present in Janurary :)

Here are a few pictures of the girls in the snow:

It's funny how in Washington our kids are excited to play in this much snow:

But with this much snow it was TOO cold so they didn't last as long:I'm not sure we're cut out for Rexburg in the winter (or the summer for that matter)! :) Good thing we love our family!

Merry Early Christmas!

We had Christmas early this year with the Riding side. All of us were in town last night (well except for my brother in law, Richard) so we had dinner and then opened presents.

The kids were so excited to open presents early this year. They have been busy playing with their new toys and they are wearing their new outfits.

Funny story about Grinch pants my dad is wearing. Last night the kids (Alli, Jack, and Kenna) were running around calling my dad Mrs. Grinch. It was hilarious. Not sure where they got that, but we all enjoyed it.

It will be weird to be away from my family this Christmas, it's my first Christmas not at "home" for either Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Hopefully I'll survive. :) Thanks for all the wonderful presents!


We are really excited to see everyone from the Crabtree side for real Christmas. We just hope we can get there...seriously who GOES to Rexburg for Christmas???? Looks like there is snow the whole way there, wish us luck! Any recommendations on whether to go through Oregon or Montana???

Dear Santa,

I hope that you have a Merry Christmas! I wish I could have...a 2 wheeler scooter, i-pod, camara, littlest pet shop stuff, real live puppy, makeup, 3 webkinz, webkinz clouths, jewlery, hair things (for short hair), purses, fighting free family, NO COAL!

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Kimberlynn Crabtree

Imagine a picture of Samantha on Santa's lap...still wouldn't/couldn't do it.... :(

I hope that you have a happy Christmas! I wish I could have...an Icecream play dough maker, a DS, a horse DS game, baby doll (not ALIVE!), a barbie set, castle set, and clay, NO COAL PLEASE!

Sincerely,

Samantha Crabtree

I would like lip glass, a loose tooth, a vacuum, a baby with binkies, and nail polish.

Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Allison Crabtree

*spelling and wording copied directly from their lists

Catch Up

So it's been awhile...we could say I've been a little bit busy these last few weeks. My house is falling apart, my blogging isn't happening, and I've got loads of laundry to do today. Luckily my kids are happy and we are warm and safe, I guess that is what matters.

A few weeks ago I survived a weekend with 5 kids by myself. I didn't post about it during the weekend b/c I'm always a little nervous to announce to the world that my husband is out of town...but he was in Florida and I had my nephews Jack and Jordan for two nights.

During that weekend I also had a Christmas party at my house, a Primary Activity, attended a Christmas Party, and did Sharing Time. I was crazy busy, but we all survived.

All the kids at the end of the weekend...everyone was happy (well except for Kimber but that's almost a given lately!)

Christmas Party

Konrad was gone for 5 nights/6 days that trip....I was very glad when he finally came home.

After that adventure I began transferring my families VHS home videos into DVD's. That was a very time consuming activity...which is why my house is in the state it's in and why it seems as though I'm falling apart. It was so much fun to watch all the video's though, what a flash back. Right now I'm currently in my senior year of high school...oh, the memories.

Konrad really thinks I should start a business transferring VHS's to DVD's...maybe if I didn't have a family to run, a preschool to teach, and a calling to do. :)

A Fun Thanksgiving Weekend

Thursday:
-Shopping at Kmart (yes, I'm that crazy, I shop at Kmart on Thanksgiving)
-Yummy dinner at my Mom's...thanks Mom!
-Searching the ads for all the good deals that were happening on Friday
-Playing games with my family
-Very full tummy

Friday:
-Up at 4:30
-Standing in line at Walmart at 4:55 a.m., then on to Toys R Us, JcPenny, F.Y.E. (BTW...if going to Southcenter on Black Friday I suggest going at 6:30ish in the morning, busy but not CRAZY BUSY), back to Toys R Us (the line wasn't worth the wait the first time...or this time actually), Half Priced Books, Kohls (where I waited in line for 1 1/2 hours...seriously, I'm crazy!), back to Toys R Us (actually purchased things this time), then on to the final stop...Walgreens.
-Went to Snowflake Lane in Bellevue to see the Santa Parade and watch the "snow" fall from the buildings...so much fun. My girls are still talking about it
-started reading Goose Girl

Saturday:
-did random chores at home
-planned my Sharing Time
-finished reading Goose Girl (anyone have the book that follows it???)
-Went into Seattle to do some fun Christmasy stuff: looked at the Gingerbread houses (at the Sheraton), visited the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmount, dinner at Johnny Rockets while we waited for the "snow" to fall at Pacific Place, and a ride on the Carousel at West Lake. So much fun!

Sunday:
-Sharing time planning
-Put up my Christmas decorations
-Church
-Decorated the Christmas trees (4 total....1 big, 3 little-girl-sized-ones)
-dinner at Steph's...thanks!
-Played "Hear Me Out" (I think that's what it was called) for the first time. Fun game.

I love holiday weekends!

New Kids on the Block

That's right....they're back! Tami and I had so much fun at their concert last night. (I'm pretty sure our moms had fun too, but we wouldn't know b/c they ditched us to find seats where they didn't have to stand up the whole time. :) I know my mom was rocking out, she had bought a CD recently to brush up on the words, so I'm sure she was doing pretty good singing along with the rest of us 30 year olds!)

Mom's in the sit-down-seats

The concert was full of 30 year olds and 16 year olds. I couldn't figure out why the 16 year olds were there, but once they started singing their new stuff, I realized they are fans of the 'new' New Kids. The rest of us were re-living our past. Man I loved those years. :)

We also saw Lady Ga Ga...she's a very spastic lady. Natasha Bedingfield (sp) was also there, she was pretty good. Tami and I decided Kimber and Hallie would have loved to see her. They both love a couple of her songs.

As you can see we were dressed up in New Kids style. Tami did it best though...the button, the shirt, the hair, as well as a jean jacket, jean skirt, and leggings. The only thing she was missing was a pair of Keds and some layered socks. We weren't the only ones "dressed up'. We saw lots of leg warmers, some neon, more buttons, and more old school shirts.

Tami's mom wanted to buy us a poster that we could put on our ceilings...we didn't think Konrad or Darin would go for that. :)

I keep wondering when my ears will stop ringing though. Man was it LOUD. The music. The singing. The SCREAMING. Jooooeeeeyyyy! Jooooorrrrrddddannn! Doooonnnnyyyy! (we didn't hear much for Danny or Jonathon, they still aren't getting any love! :( ) How fun!

So for all you who missed it, you should have went. We had a blast. It's amazing how all those words come back to you, even songs you haven't heard in almost 20 years...(WOW, I'm old. I can actually say I haven't heard something in 20 years!!!!! that's scary.

New Kids Rock!!!!!!!
Thanks for taking me, Mom!!!!!!!!!
Also a quick shout out to Tami... "You make all my dreams come true, oh oh oh o-oh, oh oh o-oh, oh oh oh o-oh THE RIGHT STUFF"!
(dreams fulfilled b/c Tami instigated it: Price is Right and New Kids on the Block, what's next???)

(click on Tami's name above to see NKOTB in action)

(thanks for letting me steal your pic's Tami!)

Can Every Saturday Be Like Today????

So I know I said a few Saturday's that I had had a good day. Well I think today tops it!

I got to play volleyball this morning (unfortunately we lost, so we are done for the season) but it was a great game...meaning we didn't get slaughtered! :)

Konrad and I went with the Baumgartners to see Twilight this afternoon. I thought it was pretty good. Tami said it best..."Can't we just sit here for another 3 hours and see all 4 books???", I would've preferred that as well. Guess we have a few years until that happens!

My day will end with me decked out in a Jordan Knight pin and with crimped hair....yep you guessed it. New Kids are in town and I CAN'T WAIT! Tami and I have been waiting for this for months. I didn't snag a cool Step By Step shirt like she did, but we can't all be so lucky! We've been blasting New Kids at our house all day. The girls love it...even Konrad admitted he owned the Hangin' Tough cassette back in the day.

I love Saturdays!

Family Pictures

The whole fam:

My family:
Kimber and Konrad (this was the day she got baptized so they took a few pictures together)

All 3 girls:

Kimber:

Alli:

Sam:

The cousins (notice Alli - we wouldn't let her hold Natalie (whom Kimber is holding))
Aunt Michelle gave in...now she's all smiles

Once a cheerleader ALWAYS a cheerleader!

*pictures by Jason and Courtney Teeples

What Do You Think????

So Konrad and I were having a discussion during lunch today about the fact that we won't be having any more children. He was with some friends the other night that were surprised by the fact that we weren't going to have another child. The friends "warned" Konrad that we were going to be those people that had a baby when our youngest was in high school...Konrad said that made him a tad nervous.

Today he said maybe it would be better if he had a little surgery done. Following that comment he said "But that would be so permanent, what if you die and I get remarried and want to have a baby with my new wife?" Notice he didn't say "What if WE change our minds and want another baby...he's basing this decision on the fact that I may die, he'll marry some 25 year old and have kids with her! Seriously?????

So my question is...does anyone else think like that? Make big decisions based on whether your spouse dies or not? I can't help but laugh while typing this, it was the most random/odd conversation. I told him no one else thinks that way. So if you do/don't let us know!

P.S. I'm not saying Konrad would really ever have the surgery done. I agree that it is too permanent. The purpose for this blog is just to see if anyone else would base a decision on the possibility of a spouse dying. Not to discuss the pros/cons of permanent birth control. Also, I'm not saying I wouldn't want him to remarry, etc. I just thought it was a weird way to think.

Konrad's 6 Quirks

1. Though generally not a fastidious person, I am very particular about how my shirts are hung in my closet. I like all of the t-shirts and long-sleeve shirts grouped together and I can't stand wire hangers - they have to be plastic. The wire ones get all tangled up and they are noisy when they clank on each other. I've only had this quirk for about a year and Ashlee loves to put my shirts in the wrong place so that I have to rearrange them. And when I complain about it I end up having to do the laundry myself so I've learned to keep my mouth shut and just rearrange once a week.

2. If there is a pen nearby it will find its way to my fingers so that I can spin it.

3. I can't stand it when electricity is being wasted. This is also a recent quirk that I acquired about a year ago. I am constantly turning off lights that don't need to be on (do you really need to see anything when you are showering?), if you visit our house in the evening you can expect to walk up to a dark house unless we know you are coming and we remember to turn on the outside light for you, computers are set to hibernate after 10 minutes (did you know that leaving your computer on all the time is the equivalent of leaving a 60-watt light bulb on 24/7?) and you may notice that half of the bulbs in the bathroom over the mirrors are not lit up - its not because they burnt out, its because I unscrewed them - who needs 6 40-watt bulbs to see what they look like in the mirror? Ashlee is a very good sport about it for the most part, one thing we can't agree on is the fan in Alli's room which Ashlee likes to turn on for white noise so that she sleeps better and longer. A worthy goal, but is it really worth the extra 215,350 watt-hours per year that it consumes (I'm not making that number up, by the way - I researched it thoroughly)? We could play a CD of fan noise instead, and it would consume 1/30 of the energy! Let me know if you'd like to borrow my Kill-A-Watt meter, which measures how much energy your appliances use.

4. This is really probably the same as the last one, but I also don't like wasting hot water. I rinse dishes and wash my hands in cold water and we run the dishwasher on the short cycle which not only saves water but cuts out the heat dry so it drastically reduces electricity used. If you just crack the dishwasher open after its done, the dishes will be just as dry in the morning. The short cycle only takes 31 minutes instead of 81. When washing your hands, often even if you turn on the hot water it doesn't have time to warm up as it moves through the pipes before you're done so you are draining water from the hot water tank which needs to be reheated, but you are getting cold water anyway. Might as well just use cold water and not waste the hot water!

5. I always play with my rings - I can't just leave them on my fingers (plural because I have a Japanese CTR ring as well as a wedding band). I often drop them when I am playing with them but have never lost them - though I always worry that I will... but not enough to stop playing with them.

6. I can't go number 2 without having something to read.

Thankful Wednesday - just to be different -

(Crystal...just so you know I thought of doing this BEFORE I read you blog...I'm not a poser! (wow, it's been a long time since I've used that word))
I am thankful for:

Mornings when Alli sleeps until after 8 AND doesn't wake up crying. Isn't she too old to be crying when she wakes up? Seriously, it drives me crazy.

Preschool. I really love my job!

A husband who flew all the way to Texas and once he landed found out his appointment canceled for tomorrow, so he jumped on the next flight home and will be home tonight instead of tomorrow. And instead of being frustrated at the situation, like I would have been, he just said "that means when I reschedule in a few weeks, and fly back down, I'll have enough miles to make MVP Gold" (for those of you who don't know, Konrad is obsessed with credit card points and frequent flier miles...but hey that's why we get to go on all our vacations!)

My great desk I got yesterday at St. Vincents for $10!!!! Love it!

That we have extended family living near by. I don't think we'd survive if we didn't.

That I still get to play volleyball...hopefully I'll be thankful tomorrow that we win!

That I get to go to NKOTB (you guys all know what that means, right???) in 1 week and 3 days! My BIG Jordan pin is on it's way to my house. Thank you eBay! Yes I'm a dork, but I don't care.

Primary. I love my calling. I just need to figure out how to be better at it. I am thankful for the training we had last night and the inspiring messages we heard.

Days when it POURS down rain. I prefer the crazy rain to the sprinkling kind for some reason. All though if it was just sprinkling today I could have went on a walk...

My girls. Sure they drive me crazy at times, but those times are getting further apart.

Why Grandpa's Make the BEST Babysitter's

1. They can drive to your house.
2. They bring popcorn, cinnamon rolls, and hot chocolate
3. They let them play all the silly made up games they can think of (something about shoes in the middle of the circle, if yours gets picked you have to run around the circle singing a song. I think Kimber might play something like it at school).
4. They are free :)
5. The kids get so excited to have them over that they don't even think about you leaving (not that my kids normally care when I leave. Alli has been freaking out lately though, EVERYTIME, I leave...even when Konrad's here, so it was nice to walk out of the house and have her perfectly content!)

Thanks Grandpa Crabtree!

A Great Day

I started off my day by drinking my favorite cup of hot chocolate (white hot chocolate with peppermint in it) down at Kent Station.

Following the hot chocolate the girls and I went and saw HSM 3 with some friends. The movie was great. I highly recommend it. Definitely better than number 2. A contender for being better than number 1.

I then dropped off Kimber and Sam at a friends house. Came home and put Alli, Jack, and Jordan down for naps.

After picking up downstairs I grabbed Kimber's new Nintendo DS and made myself smarter (Brainage) while watching Iron Chef of America.

Tonight I get to go to House Party with Tami. (any ideas on what to wear whilst jammin to Sugar Hill Gang, Tone-Loc, Kardinal Offishall, and Nelly????).

Could it get any better???? :)

Six Quirks

I was tagged and now I have to list 6 quirks about me.

1. I can not stand to have more than 3 or 4 emails in my inbox (actually having one drives me crazy, but doesn't lead to stress). I read each email as it comes in, answer it, then archive or delete it. I feel major stress if I have any "undone" business sitting in there. I really love a completely empty inbox...not meaning I don't love getting emails, but I love knowing I've taken care of anything. So, if you've emailed me and didn't hear back with in a couple hours I'm either on vacation or I didn't get your email. :)

2. The top rack of my dishwasher needs to be loaded just right or it drives me crazy (certain bowls in certain places mainly). I don't really mind if some random person puts them in wrong (like a sister or a friend) but it drives me crazy that Konrad doesn't know where things go! Seriously, it like that 95% of the time, is it that hard to remember? The bottom rack isn't as important, but I do like all my plates to face the same direction.

3. My morning routine very very very rarely changes. Get up, go to the bathroom, turn on shower, brush teeth, take medicine, shower, put in contacts, get dressed, put on mascara, read scriptures, read email, get girls up and dressed and hair done, then we make our way downstairs to eat. I/we never eat before all of that is done. If on vacation and staying with someone else, I never make an appearance until I'm showered. Not that I'm embarrassed by how I look, but I can't start my day until I'm clean :)

4. I eat Reese's Peanut Butter cups a certain way....first ALL the chocolate, leaving the yummy peanut butter for afterwards. Same with Hostess cupcakes, which I prefer frozen (thanks gpa Carlson for teaching us that trick), eat all the frosting off then you can eat the cake part. Neither of those treats taste the same if I just open it up and take a normal bite...it's just not as yummy.

5. I absolutely cannot touch a mattress without a sheet on it. The thought makes me cringe.

6. When I got out to eat I have regular menu items that I get pretty much EVERY TIME AND EVERYWHERE. Wendy's: Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger; Taco del Mar/Q'doba/Chipotle/Cafe Rio: bean burrito with rice and salsa and hot sauce; McDonalds: Grilled ranch snack wrap and a yogurt parfait; Red Robin: now it's the spicy chicken sandwich...used to be the Caesar wrap; Applebee's: fajita chicken roll up; Cheesecake factory: Tex Mex Egg rolls; Panda Express: orange chicken and chowmein; California Pizza Kitchen: Chipotle pizza (or whatever it's called); ColdStone: cake batter ice cream with Oreos; Thai Chef: the Palace Special...just to name a few. It takes a lot of courage for me to try something new. I mean, what if I try something new and it's not as good as my "normal"? What a waste of money and a waste of the possibility of good food. I've been dying to try Wendy's new chicken sandwiches they have...have I been able to do it? No! I'm going there tomorrow, maybe tomorrow will be the day! :)

There you go...all (okay just some of) the weird facts about me!
I tag my sisters (Steph, Shell, Tiff, Macie, and Britt), Carrie, Ashley S., Wendy D., Crystal, and Konrad.

8 is Great!

Yesterday was a special day for us. Kimberlynn was baptized and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It was a fun day full of family and friends.

We started the morning by doing family pictures with my family. I can't wait to see the pictures Jason and Cortney! Thanks for dealing with all of us! :)

Kimber's baptism wasn't until 4 so we came home and got the house ready for the "after party".

For journaling purposes here is a list of who attended:

Gma and Gpa Riding, Gma and Gpa Crabtree, great-gma Crabtree, the Boice's, Dance's, Kenyon's, Hicks', Mattson's, Schonlau's, Liechty's, Meldrum's, Stave's, and Dixon's. I really hope I didn't miss anyone!

It was a very spiritual baptism. I of course cried every time we sang a song. Kimber was so excited to be baptized, she's been waiting for years. We had two great talks by Darcy and Gma Crabtree. Both used great visuals that really explained the purpose of baptism and how wonderful the gift of the Holy Ghost is. Thank you both for making this day for Kimber perfect!

I think my favorite part of the day, other than seeing her make a really great decision, was the look on her face as she walked towards the font. I opened the door for her and she took a deep breath and said "okay". I could tell she was a little nervous but was trying so hard to be brave about it. Afterwards she looked at me and said "I did it Mom!".

In Konrad's family, they would ask a grandpa to do the confirmation. So he encouraged Kimber to ask one of her grandpas to do it. She asked my Dad, and he did a great job. It was something special that I think both of them will remember.

It's a great thing to see your child taking a step in the right direction. I'm so grateful to know that she was ready and willing to make the promises she did to her Heavenly Father. It also eases some of the worry I have of her growing up and facing a crazy world. I know she has the Holy Ghost now and that she will be watched over and have the guidance she'll need.

a little photo shoot before the Baptism started

I'm pretty bummed that we didn't take any other pictures. I wish I would have gotten one with her and each of the grandparents and with all her friends that came. Next time I'm getting a photographer :)

We had a bunch of people over for dinner afterwards. Here are most the kids (this is when preschool tables really come in handy!)

(Tiff...Kimber is wearing the dress you gave her. She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it. I meant to take a picture of it so we can show everyone how cut it is. I'll try and remember next time she wears it!)

We did learn two lessons on her baptism day, two things that will be useful later on down the road. First, whomever is performing the baptism needs to pull the plug before exiting the water so the font can drain...but hanger's hooked together will work if needed. Secondly, but maybe this should really be the first thing to learn: make sure there isn't another baptism scheduled for that day. Because if you let the water out...it takes a LONG time to fill back up! Oops. I have never felt so bad!!!!! We typically have the last time slot, but I guess someone scheduled a later one. The Bishopric member in charge of Kimber's baptism didn't know about it, so we drained the font and rearranged the chairs. So, so, so, so sorry!

Halloween --better late then never!

I know, we're a little slow, but we've had a very busy few days!

Alli and I had our preschool Halloween Party on Thursday. The kids actually got to dress up and seemed to have a great time. About 1/2 the moms came in as well, it was nice to have so many extra hands!

Friday, both Kimber and Sam had "Harvest" parties...no dressing up allowed. They did go in "halloween colors" though.

before the girls caught the bus

Alli and I both went to Sam's class in the morning and then just Sam and I went to Kimber's in the afternoon. For Kimber's class we brought "poisen apples". I sliced up some apples, poked a hole in them and slid a gummy worm through the hole. Placed the apple and worm combo in a cupcake liner and topped it off with some carmel...the kids seemed to enjoy them. I should have taken an picture....what a bad blogger!


Halloween night we met up with my sister Michelle and her family and my mom at a new pizza place in Auburn, that someone Konrad knows recently opened (actually the grand opening was on Halloween). It was pretty good.


Then we headed back to our house for the trick-or-treating. We started out in a pretty big group, consisting of Kimber, Sam, Alli, Aleigha, Lauren, and Makenna (notice no boys, that just seems to be how we roll). Richard (my bro-in-law) and I ended up heading back earlier with Alli and Kenna...their little legs were a little slower than the big girls. They all came home with pumpkins bursting with candy. I think they've each had like 5 pieces...I think the candy will be along for quite awhile. My kids enjoy their candy, but they don't ask for in non-stop. They will typically have one piece after lunch and one piece after dinner. Of course, I will gain 5 pounds b/c I'll eat it after they go to bed. :)

Alli the "mariposa"

Kimber the witch dancer...whatever that means :)

Sam the super-hero angel (she kept posing like this...)

All 3 cute girls

Makenna the skunk...soooo cute!

Grandpa Clay and Alli the pumpkins

Halloween was different this year. We didn't carve pumpkins until Thursday night and we didn't do it as a "family". Konrad, Sam, and Alli started while I took Kimber to get her haircut. When we got home, Sam and Alli went to bed and Konrad started on Kimber's. None of the girls saw Konrad actually carving the pumpkins, they just saw the finished product in the morning. Then on real Halloween we didn't do any make-up or anything...nothing fancy with their hair, just put on costumes and out they went. Plus b/c Konrad and I were in Hawaii we missed the church party, so we only did one dress up event with the girls.

The pumpkins. Alli's is the teeny one, the skeleton pirate is Sam's, and the witch lady is Kimbers, the other two on the ends are the ones we made at preschool. Thanks Grandpa Crabtree for all the pumpkins!

Kimber got a hair cut...

we LOVE vacations!!!!!

Konrad and I had a great time on the Big Island of Hawaii this past week. We enjoyed spending time with each other, soaking up some sun (all though not as much as we had planned on), and playing in the ocean.

We stayed in Kona, with our friends Aaron and Melody and their daughter Kaya. The condo was great and had plenty of room for us all. It had a kitchen, a big dining/family room as well. Plus two bedrooms and two bathrooms. It even had a washer and dryer...perfect for those swimsuits you wear almost all day long in the salt water and/or chlorine!

Wednesday

Our first morning there we did some snorkeling. We saw some pretty fish and some really big sea turtles.

We then did some touristy shopping and had some shaved ice. I bought a nice "vacation" purse/bag that will hold all those things you need while on vacation (sunscreen, books, camera, water bottle, etc) but that has a shoulder strap...for some reason I never want to use my normal purses while on vacation, so this is perfect. I'm sure it will be pictured at some point in this post.

We also taught Aaron and Melody how to play Settlers...oh how I like that game. We hadn't played it in forever.

Thursday
Thursday morning we rented kayaks and kayaked to the spot where Captain Cook was killed. On the way over we saw a dolphin...seriously! The dolphin was just swimming around. We knew that they typically hung out in that area of the ocean, but I really didn't think we'd see any. I was absolutely amazed. See I'm the kind of person that while watching Survivor (they are in Africa this season) freaks out when they show an elephant...I'm just so amazed to see "zoo-type" animals in real life! We had an underwater camera with us, so I'm hoping I at least got a picture or two of the dolphin.



Once we reached the shore we put on our snorkel gear (thanks again Dad for letting us borrow your stuff) and headed out. Talk about amazing. We saw so many fish...it's amazing how many different colors and types there are. And to think they all have different names...Heavenly Father is amazing! We also saw another sea turtle, which was almost as exciting to me as the dolphin...as long as he stayed more than 2 or 3 feet from me, when he started floating closer I'd get a little nervous.



I got pretty tired snorkeling...I must need more air than the snorkel allows me. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, but Konrad ended up snorkeling for at least an hour longer than I did...and he wasn't even tired. Crazy! So anyways I got tired of snorkeling and decided to sit on the shore for awhile and take a break. While sitting near the Captain Cook monument I realized I should go back to the spot where we "docked" our kayaks b/c Melody and Kaya were over there. So I started walking on a little trail in that direction. I'm not a huge fan of walking in the woods (is that what you call groups of palm trees???) by myself, I could hear the crazy ferrets running around (they are like squirrels in the Northwest...everywhere!), so I decided to head out onto the shore and walk on the rocks instead...BAD CHOICE. That decision effected the rest of my (our) trip. While walking on the very slippery rocks...without shoes...I sliced my foot open. I felt it when it happened, but just kept going, and forgot about it. Eventually I made it back to Melody and Kaya and was there for a few minutes before Mel noticed blood pouring out of my foot. Pretty nasty cut. I went to the doctor the next morning and they just cleaned it up a little and gave me a bunch of iodine swabs, ointment, and band aids. I also got an antibiotic prescription as well, so I don't get a staff infection from the rock/corral that I stepped on. The guys from the kayak place had dumped iodine on it for me when we returned the kayaks, the nurse and doctor both said that was the best thing we could have done.

So, for the rest of the vacation I was limping. I couldn't put any pressure on it at all until our last hour or so in Hawaii. We had plans to hike to waterfalls, play tennis, and just spend time walking through town or on the beach. I could only walk so far before my calf would totally cramp up...oh well...we still had a great time!




Back to the kayaking trip...

We saw the dolphin again on the way back. Konrad tried to jump in and "swim" with it, but it took him too long to make that decision, plus put on his snorkel gear. The dolphin was gone by the time he got in. He did swim around for awhile hoping it would come back. That would have been even more exciting!

Us at a cute little cafe

Friday

We drove up north Friday morning to go to a beach that claims to be one of the top 5 in the world. I'm not sure it was worthy of that title, but it was nice. It didn't have big waves like we were hoping (Konrad wanted to boogie board), but it wasn't very crowded, the water was gorgeous, but most importantly there was SUN.

One the way up we noticed names "written" all over the lava fields...we decided to stop and add some "graffiti" of our own...

Back to the beach...

My second complaint about this trip (the first being that I hurt my foot) was the lack of sun. It was warm all day everyday, but the sun was only there until 11 or 12 in the morning, if at all. Then it was completely overcast. How was I supposed to work on my tan if there wasn't any sun. I'd been to Hawaii 3 times before and it was ALWAYS sunny (as far as I can remember). I was not expecting all the clouds. See for me, the swimming pool is for laying in the sun and maybe sticking my foot in to cool off...the ocean is more for swimming in just b/c it's more fun than a pool with the waves and all, but still the main reason I go to the beach is to tan. We did realize that we still had a great time, and though I'm not sure we'll go back to Kona, we survived without the sun. In fact, on Sunday, our last day there, it was sunny the whole day...and since we weren't in the water in the afternoon, we were wishing for some clouds...go figure! :)

Back to the sunny beach...see while it was sunny up where we were, Aaron said it was cloudy in Kona....interesting, huh?

Konrad reading on the beach, we had interested sunburn/tan lines from how we were holding our books.

That afternoon we hung out by the pool, reading our books while the Molens (Aaron and Mel and Kaya) swam in the pool.



That night we went into Kona and had dinner at a fun restaurant right by the ocean. I love that kind of atmosphere!

Saturday
On Saturday the Molens headed back to Washington, so we were on our own. We checked out of the condo that we "really-weren't-staying-in" (only Aaron's dad is supposed to use the condo, so Aaron had to pretend to be him and we had to pretend to "visit"...we "visited" often :) )

It was cloudy when we woke up, not a good sign, so we decided to drive up north and see if it was better up there. We also had plans to drive to Hilo (on the opposite side of the island) to see waterfalls and then down to the active volcano as well. Since we were heading up north, we decided to just drive the entire island...what an adventure. The Big Island has so many different parts to it...the lava fields, the pasture land, the rain forest, the volcano, pine trees, cliffs, valley's. beaches, etc...each turn you were seeing something different. It ended up being a long day, but it was really fun in the end. I think we left at 9:45ish and got to our new condo that night at 8:00 or so. But we can say we drove the whole island. We saw some amazing waves. One of the big-wave-beaches had local teenagers out there riding the waves. Konrad would have loved to try it out, but there were way to many rocks and unless you know what you are doing, I'm pretty sure you'd die. The boys were riding along the top of the wave, sideways like you do if you are surfing...it must take time to learn that skill.

Me soaking up the only sun we saw throughout the day...

We saw some waves that were happening in teal blue water...normally the waves are with dark blue water and have white caps...not these ones...it was so cool.


We saw two very lame waterfalls...we'll blame it on my foot that we couldn't see any amazing ones. We went to the volcano and saw the steam coming out...really weird and slightly scary. We didn't see any actual lava flow, but Aaron and Melody did on their helicopter tour...they saw the lava overtake a tree and then the tree burst into flames...amazing!

Lost fans: Do you think the "others" live here???

By this time it was getting dark, but we still had one more spot to stop...the black sand beach. By the time we go there it was pretty much dark, so it wasn't as cool as if we could see the beach and see that the sand really was black. We did steal some in a bag (don't tell the black-sand-beach-police) so that we could see what it really looked like. The black sand is made from lava somehow, but still feels like normal sand..maybe a little 'sharper'.

Sunday
Our last day in paradise was great. We spent time on White Sands Beach where some good sized waves were coming in. The kind that throw you around and tear off your swimsuit...Konrad had something running out of his nose for hours afterwards...way too much water up the nose for me! I got tossed a couple times, both time almost losing the bottom piece of my suit. One time I grabbed it just before it was pulled off my feet...how do you deal with that? "Um, excuse me all you swimmers...can you help me find the bottom of my swimsuit???" I would have died! Plus I'm sure with the water rushing in and out like it does, it would all rush out and I'd be sitting there with nothing on! Scary! :)

riding the wave...

Konrad getting tossed...you can see the blue boogie board popping upWe then headed back to shower before we had to check out of our condo at 12. Since it was still sunny we headed out to spend a few more hours in the sun by the pool. Boy was it hot!!! So much for showering, we were sweating like crazy.

I was reading by the edge of the pool when I heard a plop...this little guy, well not really little, decided he needed a swim

We lasted about an hour and then headed back into town for lunch and last minute vacation enjoying.

The Kona Temple

We ended up at the airport WAAAAYYY too early...note to self 'the Kona airport is tiny, it will not take anytime at all to check in---spend your extra time on the beach'...but we pulled out Settlers and played a couple of games (yes I said a couple, we were very early!)
I find walking on/off the plane this way sooo exciting! if only they handed out leis like they do on TV!

All in all it was a wonderful trip. We had a great time with each other and with the Molens. Thanks guys, for letting us crash your vacation!

one of my favorite parts of Hawaii...beautiful flowers!