Monday, May 30, 2011

Paradise Without the Kids

In April, Blake and I headed back to Hawaii...just the two of us. Left the kids in Utah with my sister. Blake was asked to be a speaker at a conference in Oahu, so part was work but the rest was playtime. We celebrated our 14 years anniversary in paradise...I met with Blake in Hawaii and we went straight to Hanauma Bay for some snorkeling.
 It was a great way to spend our anniversary.

 We headed to Waikiki, where we stay two days...this was the view from our balcony
 We did head back to Laie, where we had lunch with friends and I danced hula with my old hula troupe
 The Laie Temple has been remodeled and it truly breathtaking.
 We decided that we should island hop...so we headed to the Big Island...where we rented a cottage in the jungle...the shower was definitely an experience...it was open to the elements!!!
 We did run one morning and enjoyed the sights.
 Then we headed for the beaches and these are some that we went to....
 The drive to some the beaches were breathtaking!
 Don't recall the name of this beautiful place but the best snorkeling I have ever done...the water was crystal clear and warm!

 The sand of this beach was so amazing...BLACK!
 The best part that we got to see sea turtles sunning on the beach!
 We also saw some sea turtle in the water... over 10 of them!
We even saw a mermaid!
Then we headed to Volcanoes National Park....truly Amazing!
These are some paintings of the goddness Pele

Walking through this lave tube was a great experience!
Here are some of the sights we saw in the park!
 I truly love how lush and green Hawaii is!
 We also decided to see the some waterfalls!

 PeePee Falls

 We Headed to Puako Petroglyph Archaeological Site that had over 1000 rock drawings.
 It was a hot and dusting hike...so we heading for the beach again for some snorkeling.
 Then we headed to Mauna Kea Observatories...which is a 14,000-foot summit...it was 32 degrees...I couldn't believe that we left 88 degrees weather at the bottom of the summit....good thing I brought some jeans, a long sleeve shirt and a sweater but I still froze!



 I was truly in Awe of the view!
 Blake also took the opportunity to go Surfing!
 I had fun sunning myself and taking pictures of Blake attempts on the surfboard.
 So Blake really wanted to go to this place called Champagne Ponds but the road to get there was called gray lava road which means, the only way to get here is to drive a 4 wheel drive and we had focus sedan...we did make but I had several heart attacks on the way.
 But it was so worth it!

 Because as soon as we got in the warm water we saw these....
 It was truly a awesome experience to swim with this graceful creatures!
 We had a blast reconnecting with each other without our kids(even though, we missed them like crazy!)


Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Blessed Years

Fourteen year ago on April 18th, I married my bestfriend and I'm eternally grateful for him everyday!
So I'm stealing the lyrics of Shania Twain from the song,"When you Kiss Me"...everytime I hear this song...it reminds me what I have with Blake.
This could be it, I think I'm in love
It's love this time
It just seems to fit, I think I'm in love
This love is mine

I can see you with me when I'm older
All my lonely night are finally over
You took the weight of the world off my
shoulders (the world just goes away)


Oh, when you kiss me

I know you miss me--
and when you're with me
The world just goes away
The way you hold me
The way you show me that you
adore me--oh, when you kiss me
Oh, yeah

Thank you Blake for being such a wonderful friend, husband and father....thank you for giving me the best years of my life!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

My Sister...My Friend!

 Clelia is my baby sister and I'm constantly amazed that she has grown up and to such an intelligent and sweet person...The age difference between her and myself is 15 years but our relationship is one of the closest and I'm blessed to have her as my friend and sister! She came for her Spring Break to spend time with me and my family and I wanted to do some portrait photos of her and also celebrate the landmark of her becoming 21 years old! So here are some of my favorites:


I thank Heavenly Father for having her for my sister...love you Clay!!!