family time is fun time...

I went home for Christmas. Like usual.

It was fantastic. Like always.

You want to know why?

*I played with my nieces and nephews to my heart's content
*I gutted the frozen turkey by myself
(so gross, but still...'twas something new for me)
*I visited my cache valley friends janae, and gramma
*I played Hand and Foot twice
(and lost both times...?)
*I got to watch Janie enjoy all her new toys
as they were unwrapped Christmas morning
*I had a tickle-fight with Seth
(I totally dominated)
*I had a super fun date with my momma
*I watched (and helped) Janie get more wound-up
than I've ever seen any 17 month-old
*I laughed long and hard with my family
for, like, a hundred different reasons
*I watched Janie eat more popcorn
than I ever thought a little girl could eat
(I think it's safe to say that popcorn is her favorite!)
*I dodged reality for more than a week!
*I watched the interaction between Seth and Marshall
at the O-fam Christmas party
(they are cousins, and they are best friends)
*I cuddled with Kaylee J and got her to smile. Several times
*I watched a few good flicks with the fam

There was so much to love about my Christmas break...

Me and my Marshall

Kaylee's first attempt at rice cereal

Seth and Marshall swapping secrets

Holding roughly 30 lbs of baby...

Pretty little Janiebug

Kaylee and her daddy

Me and Seff!!!

My handsome Jackson

Kissing Emmett's exquisite cheeks
(y'all are jealous, I know...)

Jane really was such a little lady,
eating all that popcorn one kernel at a time


Aaaand here's a video of one of Seth's tickle fights...

I love my family, and spending time with them made my Christmas pretty much perfect...

hawaii [part iii]

here's the last installment of my amazing hawaiian vacay...

our last full day in hawaii, we went on a morning hike; half of the group hiked stairway to heaven, and the rest of us hiked lanikai ridge to watch the sunrise. AMAZING. simply beautiful!

my hiking buddies: keri, brooke, cameron

my hawaiian sunrise...

*sigh*

these are the islands we kayaked to
(the one on the left)

also, we had ourselves a good time playing on the beach. there was some playing in the water and lying on the beach...but most of our fun involved taking ridiculous pictures. see for yourself. (brandi had even more pics, but we haven't been able to meet up since she returned from hawaii on december 21. thanks to keri for her contribution!)

funny. i only used the surfboard as a prop
(that's right. i never even attempted to surf)

keri deep in meditation

jeff the beach bum

look how big my arms got in hawaii!
(for reals, those arms belong to cameron. nice, eh?)

there are more pictures that are pretty dang funny, but they're with brandi right now.

anyhoo, our hawaiian adventure was stupendous and i'm so glad i got to go! thanks, brandi, for letting me come! and thanks to the crew for making it so dang fun!

p.s. there sure is a lot of sand in hawaii! i think i wasn't officially sand-free until i'd been back on the "mainland" for something like 4 or 5 days!

hawaii [part ii]

are you ready for more? cameron and keri gave me their pictures to work with, so here goes nothin'...

a few of my favorite things that we did during our trip were sea kayaking and snorkeling. do you even know how cool both of those activities are? SO. AMAZING.

i was not so much a "natural" at the snorkeling thing. we went to hanauma bay and watched their training video about the reef and sea life at the bay, then we hit the beach and gave it a shot.

p.s. let it be said: nobody looks good in snorkel gear. getting the mask to fit just right was a little tricky, and once my face was in the water (initially) it kind of freaked me out. but after a minute or so, i quit being a panty-waste and i really went exploring. it was pretty dang sweet. for realsies.

p.p.s let it also be said: snorkeling without flippers is kind of a workout. it's not a bad thing, just an observation.

hanauma bay...

hello, fish!

a little school of fishies...

brightly colored fish...

proof that i was there

we went sea kayaking at daybreak so we could watch the sunrise from the island. (we may have gotten to the island shortly after sunrise, but i tell you what! seeing the sunrise from a kayak on the ocean wasn't half bad!)

keri, me and brookie

we went to the island on the left...

kayak buddies:
brooke & jeff, me & cameron

GORGEOUS!!!

nate: the birthday boy!

from our island...

just beautiful...

the girls...

keri!

lunch for jeff...?
i did not see this in person
but had no choice but to include it in the post...

hiking on our island

our kayaks

love this picture, but it's misleading!
we're further out to sea than it looks!

can you see why i loved both of these activies? can you? yep, it was a stellar trip...

here's a bonus for you:

cameron likes playing tricks on me. (he's the one who planted the frog, and he's the one holding the camera; it's real shaky 'cause he's laughing so hard. punk face. ha!)

the thing is, i'm not even afraid of frogs! i was just totally unprepared to see that little guy waiting for me in the shower!

hawaii [part i]

there's so much to tell you about my trip to hawaii. it really is a magical place, in so many ways...

i went with a really stellar group of people; i didn't know some of them very well before i left, but i think we got to know each other fairly well while we were there...(there were 8 to 9 people sharing a house and a minivan, doing everything together. yeah...we got to know each other.)

we took a lot of pictures while there. presently, i only have the pictures from my camera, and brooke's. i'm sure i'll get the rest before too long, but i'm just going to go ahead and get started...

first of all, i'll tell you about some of the firsts i experienced on this little trip:

*well, it was my first trip to hawaii (i feel quite certain i need to return one day)
*it was my first time going to a beach without getting scalded by the sun
(it was also my first time going to the beach
without picking up much pigment at all)
*i went sea kayaking for the first time ever. AMAZING!!!
*it was my first time snorkeling
(i drank lots of ocean; not the first time that's happened)
*i had my first near-death experience at the hands of the ocean. twice
(gina vs the pacific? i only just barely won!)
*i tried out boogie boarding for the first time in my life; i loved it
*i was pantsed by the ocean for the first (and hopefully last) time
(because of boogie boarding)
(i stayed in the water til i could remedy the uncomfortable situation)
*i saw my first live surf competition (for, like, 20 minutes)
*i tried a coconut pie and didn't hate it
(i didn't love it either; i think the chocolate cream helped)

there might be more; i made a list, but i can't find it...

anyhoo, it was an incredible trip, i tell you!

i'll give you some visual proof, mm-kay?

hello from diamond head!

we stayed in a house with a pool

we had a lot of fun

i mean a lot of fun
(i was ready to jump; brooke said stop; i stopped,
and then she snapped the pic anyway)

hanauma bay

nate and jeff love the ocean!

pearl harbor (sad...)

at the uss arizona memorial

at the temple in laie

the beauty surrounding the laie temple...

*deep and contented sigh*

tasting the coconut chocolate cream pie
(i love brandi!)

i pretty much love the vegetation in hawaii.

what's not to love?
(in my hair! yay!)

so darn loverly...

take it in, baby...

hawaii seriously smells fantastic

bird of paradise

neato star-cactus-flower-thingy...

the lovely keri...

aaaand we love body language...

ALOHA

OAHU

WAVES
(i was told, after this picture was taken, that i have a nice "s")

there will be at least one more post about this trip, hopefully sooner than later...!