ALOHA

We went to Hawaii with Craig's whole family October 10th thru the 16th. It was an amazing vacation and totally worth it. The only one's who weren't able to make it were Jana's husband Brad due to Medical school and Tyler because he is working with the BYU football team this season. We even had Craig's grandparents come with us.

Friday October 10th

We spent most of Friday traveling and arrived in Honolulu at 6:00 pm. We went straight to the Marriott resort called Ko Olina and checked in, relaxed for the evening and got settled in.

Saturday October 11th

Saturday morning we all woke up super early because of the time change. Craig was probably the earliest waking up at 4:30 am and enjoyed watching the Texas-Oklahoma game with a 6:00 am kickoff. Texas won which made Craig an extra happy person that day. After the game we went to the swap meet where we picked up some nice gifts at a cheap price. We then went to Costco to get food for the week, and finished the day just chilling at the resort in the private laguna and pools they had on site.

Sunday October 12th

Sunday we woke up and went to church in Makakilo and came back to the condo and just relaxed, swam and celebrated Craig's dads birthday. It was a relaxing day and was needed once the jet lag finally hit us.

Monday October 13th

We explored the North Shore most of the day. We started out at Waimea Bay where the waves were incredible!!! We then went to eat a local bakery that serves some of the best food. It is called Ted's Bakery and it was delicious. We then went over to Laie and saw the temple and the BYU-Hawaii campus. On our way back we stopped and watched surfers at pipeline and then went to one of our favorite places on the North Shore called Matsumoto grocery store but they serve the best shaved ice in Hawaii (at least Craig thinks so). We went back to the condo to eat dinner and relax in the hot tubs for the evening.

Tuesday October 14th

We started the day at Pearl Harbor and exploring the cool history they have on site. We also toured a submarine that is still in operation. The military took this submarine to Iraq. After touring Pearl Harbor and this submarine we all gained greater respect for our military and the things they go through. Thank you to all who serve!!! We then went to Waikiki and had a early dinner at Cheesecake Factory, delicious food as always. We started the evening off by renting mo-peds for $20. The place was closing down so they told us we could keep them for as long as we wanted as long as we returned them by 9:00 am the following morning. We got our money's worth, they were a blast. We concluded the evening by walking the famous street on Waikiki with all the street vendors and all the other guys who try and make a quick buck on the sidewalks. See pictures attached for more details.

Wednesday October 15th

We ate breakfast at a place called the Hukilau Cafe, Craig's brother Andy lived over in Laie for a semester and knew of all the good places to eat and tour which made things extra fun. They had Hawaiian stuff and normal stuff. Craig was courageous and got the Macadamia Nut Pancakes. I stayed safe with good 'ole french toast but this wasn't your mama's french toast it was on sweet bread. We then went to the temple and did a session. We had 13 people in the session, 10 of which were Craig's family. It was nice to do a session over there. We ended the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center where we were provided great Polynesian culture and food. The guy from Samoa is hilarious and is definitely worth the price of admission.

Thursday October 16th

This was our last full day in Hawaii so we were going to take full advantage of it. We went on a hike in the morning called the Maunawili Falls Hike. It was adventurous. We had a few things go wrong like Craig falling in the river with our camera and broke it. Becky getting knocked down a hill, spraining her ankle and hitting her head and Andy breaking his and Beka's camera by accidentally dropping it. We then went and ate lunch and went to a gorgeous beach called Kailua. We then went back to the condo to get showered up and eat dinner because we had a red eye to catch that evening. The only thing to put a dent in the whole trip was when we got back to the condo to hear that BYU had gotten manhandled by TCU and the BCS hopes were pretty much gone.

MAHALO TO THE ONE'S THAT MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE!!!

Chicago & Milwaukee

I had the opportunity this past week to go on a business trip with Craig. He actually only had work a couple of days and then we started our 5 day vacation in Chicago and Milwaukee. It was so nice to be able to spend time with one another without any children or interruptions. THANKS MOM for sittin the kido's. It was so needed. I got in on Tuesday evening so we just treated our selves to some room service. Loved it!!!

The next day was full of fun. We we're able to go see Wicked. Those of you that haven't seen it have got to go. It is an amazing musical. Well worth every $$$$. Then we went to get deep dish pizza. Chicago is famous for their Pizza so I'm told by Craig.

On the Hotel Shuttle being taken to the El so we could get downtown

Eating dinner at Gino's East PizzeriaThursday was full of festivities. We went to one of the seven wonders of Chicago, the SEARS TOWER. The is a must see . It is the tallest building in the west hemisphere. Here are some views. It looks over Chicago. We also took a Chicago River Architectural Tour down the Chicago River and saw all the cool buildings. We ended the day at Navy Pier having some fun and with a bite to eat at the Good 'Ole Cheesecake Factory. Last but not least was a relaxing half hour in the hot tub to rest our achey bodies.

Sears Tower

Downtown Chicago

Solider Field--Da Bears

Tour of Chicago--We must have stunk, no one wanted to sit down wind of us (I guess)
The Beautiful Chicago Skyline

Shedd Acquarium--Cool place!!!

Architectural Tour--The Dark Night was filmed at one of these

buildings, I can't remember which one.
Cool big buildings and they are like 200 + years old
Riverfront Condo's--Could be yours for the cool price of just over $2 Million
Having Fun at a Hat Store on Navy Pier
Dinner at The Cheesecake Factory
Hot Tubbin after a long day
Friday was somewhat relaxing, we slept in and then went to eat a late breakfast at a place called Pancakes Eggcetera. It was delicious and a ton a food. We took the El downtown to get to Union Station where we caught an Amtrak train headed up to Milwaukee where we were staying with Craig's sister and her husband Brad for the weekend. We went to dinner in celebration of Brad's birthday at Outback and came home and had movie night and at a ton of junk food.

Craig waiting at Union Station to head up to Milwaukee

Movie and Junk Food night at Brad and Jana's
Saturday, Jana took us to downtown Milwaukee where we saw a few places (mainly places Craig wanted to see). We went to the Bradley Center where the Milwaukee Bucks play and then went down to the Lakefront of Lake Michigan which was cool. There were some cool things happening down there. We then went and walked Marquette University and saw a cool cathedral and Craig was able to pick up a shirt from the bookstore. We then went to the BREWERS-CUBS GAME. The Cubs won but the Brewers clinched the wildcard the very next day. It was crazy in the Milwaukee airport on Sunday when we flew home. Everyone was watching the Mets game because the Brewers had already won and everyone was hoping the Mets would lose so the Brewers could clinch the wildcard and that is exactly how things played out.

Bradley Center
Lake Michigan

Exterior of Cathedral at Marquette University
Interior of Cathedral at Marquette University
Brewers-Cubs Game

Miller Ballpark
World Famous Sausage Race in betwen the 6th inning

Updates

I FINALLY DID IT!

I cut it...I can't believe it... can you. All 10 inches WOWSERS. I didn't tell Craig I was going to do it and surprised him when he got home from work. He was SHOCKED! He likes it alot. I haven't missed any of it yet and I hope I never do. Besides, now that I have been looking at it for a couple of days I decided to go back and get MORE cut off. It's a good change though. It finally kicked in when I went to wash it and I went to grab it...and woopsie nothing there. It feels good and fresh. Thanks to everyone that was a part of the voting. Your comments really motivated me even more. I think I might put some high lights in soon...what do you say??

BEFORE

AFTER

Our Baby girl turned 2!!

I guess I can't say baby any more. She is getting so big. She's talkin and doing so many big girl things. We love her energetic spirit in our home. I can't imagine life without this beautiful angel of ours. Lexi was never the cuddling type and she is our little cuddle bug so we can enjoy it with her. I just love her so much. I think I kiss her...um...probably 80 times a day. But so what, in a blink of an eye she will be grown up and pretty soon I won't be able to love on her. She is definitely full of energy and our little dare devil. We always tell our selves she will be our challenge child. But for now she is our lovable, cuddlier, smiley, happy, whinny, little precious 2 year old. Happy Birthday sweet heart, We love you!!

Party #1

Not so sure of the candles

Halle's birthday Tutu that I made-

it was so fun and very easy




Me and my cousins

Being chased by mommy to take my picture


Matching bow that I made with the Tutu

Party # 2

Halle posing with her presents

the birthday dance

Has an obsession with kittens- loved the present