back to reality?

Not quite yet. We're home for 24 hours doing laundry and re-packing because our final vacation begins bright and early tomorrow morning. We're flying to Alabama to spend a week on a lake with Wes' family. We will have been in ALOT of time zones in a 24 hour period! Can't wait to see ya, Griffeth clan.

we're back from the islands

I LOVE HAWAII. We had an amazing vacation!

{Most of the pictures of Wes & I are taken by me with my arm out! In case I don't get around to scrapbooking . . . I included a lot of photos!}



The hotel was beautiful. It’s been a long time since I’ve stayed in a hotel like the Kea Lani. It’s right on the beach in Wailea, Maui. I love that side of the island. The hotel had an amazing pool with plants and palm trees everywhere. They even had a water slide (one of my all-time favorite things). The service was phenomenal. Every room is a suite so there’s plenty of room with a great balcony to sit and stare at the ocean and pool area.


{a view of the hotel from the beach}




{the hotel lobby}




{my view from my lounge chair at the pool}



{having fun on the water slide}




{we loved walking down to the beach as the sun set}




{on our balcony with our lei's}



{the hotel grounds looked like this}


We mostly just relaxed at the pool and beach but we managed to get out and do a few things, too. A group of us played tennis, Wes played golf while I did some shopping with Katie, I read Something Borrowed & started The Host, we went canoeing on the ocean where we saw many sea turtles, got massages, ate yummy food, swam in the ocean & enjoyed time relaxing. We had the perfect mix of time with just us as well as some time with Wes’ friends that he works with. Since they’ve been going there for 7+ years in a row, they were able to give us lots of recommendations!


{we went on a canoe ride on the ocean with Parley, Wes' supervisor. We saw a few sea turtles!}







{Wes & Parley jumped out of the canoe to go swimmin'}


{we took many naps poolside}



{swimming in the waterfall}



{We love being on the beach & swimming in the ocean}

We ate great food while we were there. I never knew that I liked the flavor of macadamia nuts since I don't love the actual nut. We had macadamia nut banana pancakes, macadamia nut crusted pork, macadamia coconut fudge icecream from Lapperts (by far the best icecream I’ve
E V E R had. We had this daily!), maui tacos with pineapple salsa, LOTS of pineapple and delicious fruit juices, banana coconut smoothies & MANY shaved ices.

{One of many banana coconut smoothies by the pool}


{I LOVE a Hawaiian shaved ice. I had one just about every day.}


We went with a group to Mama’s Fishhouse . . . a really nice restaurant right on the water. It had great food & a beautiful setting. All of their fish is caught that day so Wes was able to enjoy some tasty seafood. I don’t eat anything in the sea so I stuck with the macadamia nut pork which was delicious.

{a view of the beach from mama's fishhouse}



{Wes & I at Mama's}





{us with our YUMMY coconut, lime & mint smoothie}


{the group at Mama's}



{the actual restaurant}


We had a cloudy/rainy day but other than that we had decent weather. It was actually kinda nice to have a cool day since it’s so darn hot in Vegas. It did feel extra humid this time, though. I definitely had a good case of Hawaii hair!


{I love the torches at night all over the hotel}


I love everything about Hawaii. I love the palm trees. The soft, sandy beaches with bright blue clear water. The marine life you get to see. How laid back everyone is. I’m even OK with the humidity because the island is so beautiful. We definitely enjoyed our “week off” as parents! I highly recommend a kid-free vacation for everyone. I’m grateful Wes works for such generous people. They take quite a crew every year . . . we are very grateful we got an invite this year!



We went to pick Nate up this morning from my parent’s house. I wish I would have had the video camera because he was really confused! He’d look at me. Then look at Wes. Then look back to me. Back to Wes. Trying to figure out who we were! After about 30 seconds of that he pointed to me and started clapping! It was great to see him again. We definitely owe my parent’s big time! They seemed to have a great time with Naters and I’m sure he had a blast.

twenty seven

I don't know why but I specifically remember being 13 or 14 years old when my cousin Courtney turned 27 and I thought, "wow, 27 is O L D." It's a good thing my perspective has changed ~ I can't wait to be in my 30's!

So yes, I turned 27 today. It's been a G R E A T day. Nate slept in. Which means Wes & I got to sleep past 6:30am. Some friends took me to a great lunch. THANKS GIRLS. My family had Metro Pizza, cake/icecream & swimming at my parent's house tonight. THANKS FAM. And thanks to all of you for the many phone calls, emails & F U N birthday packages! You all seriously read my mind with books I've been wanting to read, a bag I can't wait to use, adorable framed photos, home decor I've been eyeing for months and fabulous gift cards. I am so B L E S S E D to have such thoughtful friends and family. I even have nice clients who delivered cupcakes from the cupcakery! YUM.

{abbie after eating cake. she even sang "happy birthday" to me. so cute!}

{my lil' sis eating OUR birthday cake. She didn't get one a few weeks ago so I shared}

And in between all of that I was packing for H A W A I I ! We leave for the airport in one hour! I managed to get Nate all packed and in bed at my parent's house. As of yesterday he had a 102.5 temperature and a double-ear infection. He woke up without a fever so I'm hoping the strong antibiotics are kicking in (the weak ones didn't work) and that my parents can enjoy a healthy baby for a week. We are all packed so we're trying to clean our house as fast as we can. It's amazing what you can accomplish in 2 hours without a baby! I love coming home from vacation to a clean house. I have to say, it's wierd being at home without Nate. I hope he remembers us by the time we see him again. It will be a nice break but I'm sure gonna miss that kid.

And so, we're off on our next Griffeth family summer adventure. I'll be thinking of you all as I read a book on a beach sipping my banana coconut smoothie. See ya in a week!

"my grandpa rocks"

My dad gave Nate and Daisy these t-shirts that say "my grandpa rocks". Nate finally fits in to his so he got to wear it yesterday. I have to say that my dad really does rock. He's probably the most generous person I know. He's a goofball. He's a great boss. A great dad and a great "papa" to his grandkids.

I definitely agree with Nate's shirt. His papa rocks.

Newport Beach

There’s so much to write about our fabulous vacation. Lots of photos!



MY BEACH BUM 10 MONTH OLD





Nate L O V E S the beach. I thought he would but I never anticipated this level of enjoyment. I was a little interested to see if he’d do anything but eat the sand but after the first day he never ate the sand again! He only ate the shells, seaweed & rocks in the sand. He played for hours outside in the sand and also loved being down at the water. He played in the ocean A LOT. He didn’t even mind the frigid water. Even while shivering he wanted more.


He was standing a lot on this trip. It was even easier with his feet buried in the sand!

The first day we were down there I had him down at the water. I let him play in the sand and then when a wave came, I picked him up so he could just splash in it. Wes came down to see what we were up to and we had a little misunderstanding as to who was going to pick him up when the wave came. Neither one of us did and the wave engulfed the poor little dude. It went over his head and knocked him back quite a few feet. My mom was appalled at our parenting skills but he survived and wasn’t even scared of the water. In fact, as we were walking back to the beach house with Nate a guy turned to me and said, “I did that with all five of mine.” Glad to know Nate’s tough.





Nate was such a good kid on our vacation. He rarely cried or whined. He loved being in a new place with never-ending sand and water. He loved having his cousins, aunts/uncle & grandma/grandpa around. For some reason Abbie was scared to death of Nate and ran from him whenever he came near, but Daisy seemed to really like having him around. He frequently visited her while she was eating.




PERFECT SET-UP

We stayed at a beach house right on the beach in Newport. It was perfect for our family with a 6 month old, a 10 month old, a 2 year old, and a 10 year old. You can imagine the different schedules we had going on! It made it so that while the kids were sleeping we could still enjoy the sand and sun. The back patio was probably my favorite part of the house. We sat out there A LOT just enjoying everything. The next best thing was that everyone had their own room . . . even the babies! That made it so Ali and I actually got some sleep at night without the kids in our room. They even had a great playroom full of toys for Abbie and Nate.


Nate eating his dinner on the beach


hanging out on the patio

PLAYING IN THE WATER

I love swimming in the ocean. I can’t go to the beach without jumping through waves. This year the water was exceptionally cold and the waves were quite large but it didn’t stop us from going in. Wes and I went in quite a bit. Cassie (Sam’s roommate) joined us in the ocean once she arrived on Thursday. And by Friday we got Sam, Tripp & my dad to come in the waves with us. I have to say that the waves were a little bigger than I prefer but it was still a blast being tossed around.




Abbie & Kyle loved the water, too. It took Abbie a little bit to want to play in the water but by the end she was loving it, too. Kyle spent almost an entire day in the water!










DISNEYLAND




My family LOVES Disneyland so we couldn’t be that close and not go to the happiest place on earth. Wes had to work a little bit while we were down there so we decided to have him miss Disneyland so he could be around more at the beach. I have to say that Disneyland is always fun but it’s a little different with all of the little kiddos! Thanks mom, dad & Sam for being my fill-in husband for the day and helping me with Nate. I definitely couldn’t have done that without you. Nate loved Disneyland and was such a trooper. I had a feeling he wouldn’t sleep while we were there and he sure didn’t! He dozed for about 20 minutes in the morning but that was it. The look on his face on our first ride (Winnie the Pooh) was priceless. He was just in awe at everything. He was happy all day . . . enjoying the magic of Disneyland, the people everywhere & yummy food. The only downfall of the day was how hot it was! I think I lost 5 pounds just in sweat! Luckily it cooled off that evening.




Wes met us all at Downtown Disney for dinner and then he took Nate home & my parent’s took Daisy home so the rest of us could enjoy the evening without the babies. Sam, Kyle & I went on all the “big” rides while Ali & Tripp enjoyed a night with Abbie. It was great! I love that place and can’t wait to take Nate back when he’s a little older and knows who the characters are.


Nate crawling through a watermelon at Goofy's Playhouse


Nate loved playing this piano at Goofy's House.







JUST HANGING OUT

The entire trip was relaxing and fun. I love being able to ride your bike so easily! Sam, Wes & I had some fun bike rides together. It made me wish I lived in a town that was bike friendly.
I had a good mix of being able to play with Nate when he was awake but he took some great naps because he played so hard so Wes and I had time to enjoy the sun and some time to relax. Here are some photos of all of us just having fun.


Abbie loves her papa.


We let Nate try a Sour Patch Kid.


The Thompson kiddos playing on the porch


Sam & I doing one of our absolutely favorite things: laying on the beach!





Wes entertaining the kiddos. :)

Even though my entire family lives in Las Vegas, I feel like I don’t see them that often & nothing compares to the memories we have on our annual family vacations. It’s great to spend that much time with everyone having fun! Thanks mom and dad for another great one!