Princess Sarah

One of the best nights ever!  Couldn't be a more proud mom.  Sarah...the rock star that she always is...did not disappoint.  She worked SO hard and learned about an hour and a half of choreography to perform a lead role as a princess in Spokane Youth Ballet's performance of "The Dancing Princesses."  (Kind of like the Nutcracker...but a different plot).   It was a sold out crowd at the breathtakingly gorgeous Fox Theater.  She shined and glowed all night long.  I was in Heaven too.  The amount of hours and work that went into this night is hard to grasp...but it all paid off.  23 hours of dancing in one week alone plus the many many other weeks of rehearsal.  They flew in pros from across the country to be the leads.  Loved it...but the shiny white tights on the lead male were a little much!  Ava said, "Mom...the guy with the invisible cape had no pants on!!!!"

 4 Costume Changes!  One time I caught her taking her costume off as she was leaving the stage!  They only have seconds.

I didn't get any pics of the multiple back drops, but they were amazing.

 Her head is the really blurry one bent wayyy back.

 All of my pics were super blurry unless she was standing absolutely still.  So no cool action shots.

 Even Russ liked it!!!  What?!  Well, his daughter was on stage all night.

 3 sets of flowers from family and friends!

 Friends.

 Very ornate theatre with gorgeous ceilings!

Her friends were hilarious...they especially couldn't get over the pro ballerino's tights and I think the words "ballerino bum crack" will be an inside joke with them for years.

And now we're glad to get our life back!  Especially Saturdays!!!  We need to hit the slopes.

Mo Maui

So here are more Maui pics.  I can't wait to get back to HI.  I don't know when though because we got there this time for free (frequent flier miles) and got screaming deals on hotels.  Maybe I'll have to retire there.  I mean the smells, the sounds, the air, the colors, the textures....there is NOTHING like it in the world.  Heaven.  After a few days in Heavenly Hana we stayed on the west side...

Oops, this is actually in Hana by our condo on the beach.  Anyway, staying in Hana is a must for a few days.  Yes, we did have to buy $9 a gallon milk, but the quiet, the beauty, the peace, the sounds, the color...all worth it.  We hiked a lot, swam a lot, ate a lot, and ran into Cameron Diaz, A Rod, and Naomi Campbell (her twice).  And Stephen King.

 Russ won a dinner at work so we chose the famous Mama's Fish House.  The bill came to...gulp...$220!  For two!  And was paid for by his boss.  Yikes.  It was gorgeous.  Right on the beach, flowers everywhere...even on the TP!

 This is our attire to a super fancy dinner...hiking boots included (on Russ at least).  What can we say...we're always hiking in Hawaii?!

 View from the table.

 "The Black Pearl"  Amazing.

 A Random Dude riding with a parrot on his bike.

 Orchids in our drinks.

 One day we went up to hike in the moonscape of the volcano...but it was SO windy, we had to hide behind rocks to keep our ears from freezing off.

 We're so high up the clouds are WAY below us.

 Church by the beach.

 Russ studying the sunday school lesson on the beach.

 Too lazy to fix this crooked picture.

 Last Day was a snorkel and sailing cruise to Lanai.  The humpback whales were everywhere!  Even under our boat, beside our boat, behind our boat.  About 70 spinner dolphins hung out with us for a while.  The snorkeling was so clear, water warm and calm, and the variety of bright fish and coral was something I'll never forget.

 The Westin Villas.  Time Share presentation was a waste of time... but poured rain all day anyway.  We did come away with $175 to spend at the resort.  So not a total waste! 

 And I have to put these pics in of Ava and a friend.  They played with paper towels and cardboard boxes for 4 hours straight!  Who needs fancy hotels and fine dining to have fun anyway? :)

 So we've been back from vacay for a bit now, and the biggest shock to my system was having to cook again. It was really really weird. Almost like I forgot how and just didn't want to do it anymore. And homework! Ouch. Just last night I spent 5 hours helping Chad edit (yes, just edit) his 5 paragraph essay. Craziness.


I also hosted the RS Lunch Bunch at my house for 20 ladies. That was a LOT of cooking and cleaning. It turned out really well, food delish, house spotless, and was a fun time, but getting ready for it took hours upon hours. At one point I'm scrubbing my floor and say, "Only stupid people do this kind of stuff because smart people would never do this!" (A bit stressed maybe?) I only hosted it because I'm afraid of it so I do it like exposure therapy. I still hate it. I don't think my exposure therapy is working. I LOVE a good party...it's just the cooking and cleaning part all by myself for 30 hours (no joke) that seems a bit excessive. Put me in charge of games or just the cleaning part...I'm all over it.

I still can't believe the generosity of Mom and Dad in taking care of the kids and more while we were gone. It's unbelievable all that they did. The kids are still complaining that I don't put loads of butter in the corn like Grandpa does!  It's so good to be back and my heart is FULL of gratitude.



To My Kids...

Hey, guys!  I miss you so much!  I think about you all the time but know you are in good hands.  I'll see you so soon.  Before you know it, we'll be hugging each other and laughing and you'll be getting time outs too.  So enjoy this time with Grandma and Grandpa because I don't give out as much candy and soda as they do!   That's what grandparents are for.  They're good at spoiling you guys.

This is on our way to Red Sand Beach in Hana area of Maui.  Daddy's favorite.  Probably mine too.  It is hidden and not many people know about it.  You have to climb through a fence and hike a steep, eroding path to get here.  And as you round this corner, the royal blue water against the red sand and cliffs is surreal! 

 Daddy's favorite thing was snorkeling here.  And sadly, because this beach is so secluded, some people prefer to sunbathe without their suits!  We were glad you guys weren't with us!  We left soon after that.  But it was funny.

 The view from our condo in Hana. Pictures really can't capture the beauty.  It was pouring rain here only in the mornings, but we loved that place. We had our windows open all night and could hear the waves crashing. Hana is a small small town that takes a lot of patience to get to. 600+ curves on a narrow windy road along the ocean cliffs that takes a few hours. Again...we were glad you weren't with us because we know you'd be car sick and throwing up!  But the drive is worth it because you are in the middle of nowhere with beauty, quiet, and jungle all around.

 Another hike to Venus Pool.  See the lava flow right behind Daddy?  The ocean is right in front of him.

They have trees and plants here we don't have in Washington!

Straight below me is a sheer 200 foot drop!!!  Daddy wouldn't even go here, but I felt safer scooting on my tummy.  This picture was taken on the very top of this waterfall...

You can't tell from the picture, but it is HUGE!  Sky scraper tall.

Another picture on our hike from the top of the same waterfall.  It was a workout getting to the top!

I jumped off that 20 foot rock where that guys is standing.  The first and last time I'll ever do that.  It hurt!  And you should never do that ever ever ever for reasons I'll explain when I get home.

 A fancy dinner at Hotel Hana Maui.  A wild kitty kept running past our table!  It was so cute.  This is a super fancy expensive restaurant, but they can't help it if wild animals come in because some walls are open to the outside air.

These waterfall pools are much colder than the ocean!

This is just from day 2 of our trip.  I have more to share but I'm getting sleepy.  I love you guys!!!  Miss you lots!  Be good and nice to each other!  Aloha, my ohana!