Welcome to my blog! This is all about things important to me... family, friends & everything in between! So pull up a chair, slip off your boots and laugh a little at my simple little country life!
December 7, 2014 ~ Today we would be celebrating a very special birthday.... This sweet little girl turned one year old on December 2nd but today was her actual birthday party! Her momma and daddy wanted to make her first birthday a special one so plans have been in the works for months trying to make sure nothing is forgotten!
Roni wanted to do something a little different and go with pink and green stuff and not any type of theme for Alexis' birthday party. I love how everything turned out!
Alexis and her momma!
Alexis and her daddy!
She was loving her party and was into everything!
She loved this cute little table and chairs!
She kept everyone laughing even when it was time to eat!
She loved opening her presents too!
She was trying to figure out why everyone was singing to her!
Cake time!
We weren't sure if she would tear into her cake or not but she loved it!
All in all I think she had a pretty good birthday and thanks to many friends and family she has enough toys and clothes to last for a long time! She did really good but towards the end she was so over all of this party stuff ! She's a pretty special little girl and it's hard to believe how quickly the year went... I feels like yesterday since she was born.
December 1, 2014 ~ In Columbia, MO we have a tree that is decorated with Christmas lights on each branch that is beautiful and magical. This tree is known as the "Magic Tree". Want to find out more information about the creator of the Magic Tree as well as how long he has been doing this in Columbia by visiting this website: http://www.magic-tree.org/
I have wanted to have professional pictures taken at the Magic Tree but never really found time. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays frankly I didn't think cold weather pictures at night could be good but I was wrong! It's all in the eye behind the camera!
After we found out recently that Bailey had metastatic breast cancer we decided not to do the chemo that the University of Missouri Vet School wanted to try on her then we just figured we would spoil her rotten for the rest of her life. So I got the idea to have family pictures taken.... you know... Brandon, Bailey and I! I contacted someone that could get the job done with a creative eye.... that was Rhiannon Trask of Lollipop Photography and asked if we could do a really quick photo shoot with our Bailey-girl. She was up for the challenge but she only had time this evening so we just made it work!
Rhiannon was sick and her super cute assistant did an awesome job! We only spent about 10-15 minutes but I absolutely love the photos she got of us! Bailey is such a great dog and does pretty good in public (our other two min pins wouldn't have been good dogs to take in public as they were rather hyper babies). I wanted to use a couple of the pictures for our Christmas cards and Rhiannon worked hard squeezing us in and delivering the final pictures in plenty of time to get our cards out!
If you are looking for a fun photographer give Rhiannon a call!
November 26, 2014 ~ Another beautiful morning in Maui! With a view like this it takes all of your cares away.... Seriously how could anyone ever be in a bad mood here?
So Martha had this habit of setting her alarm clock in her room but somehow always woke up before the alarm clock went off and went outside to read. So I heard her alarm clock going off and went to find her.... Busted! Ha!
We had drove by this place many times and figured we would give them a try for breakfast!
This place was fun! You picked what kind of batter you wanted including what sides and they brought it to your table so you could make your own pancakes! (Yes that is chicken fried bacon)
I signed us up to take a pineapple tour with Maui Gold Pineapples...
We arrived here to wait for our tour bus to pick us up!
These are the boxes/crates that they use to take the pineapples from the field
Our tour guide stopped by the newest pineapples. Once they plant a new pineapple it takes 2 years for it to grow. After that it takes a year for it to grow a new pineapple.
Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and taught us a lot about pineapples!
We ended up eating 3 or 4 pineapples!
As long as he was peeling them we were eating them!
Best part of this trip is that everyone got a free pineapple to take home!
You can learn a little more about this company by clicking the link below:
After our pineapple tour they gave us vouchers for free rootbeer floats from this place....
We haven't had lunch yet so it seemed like a perfect spot to grab a bite to eat!
Our seats overlooked the Banyan Tree on Front Street.
(Easier to see this unique tree without all the vendors under it)
This little guy still seems lost.... Isn't he cute!?!?
On our way back towards the condo we spotted a rainbow.
It went away almost as fast as we spotted it.
A few miles down the road we spotted another rainbow!
Another beautiful night in paradise!
November 27, 2014
Today is our last day in Maui. It's certainly bittersweet as we have enjoyed our time here (including the weather) but we are ready to get back home to the rest of our family. I just wish there was a way we could bottle some of this place up to share with everyone else back home. I guess Maui was sad that we were leaving also because there was a beautiful rainbow when we woke up.
(Have no worries.... I did not run into any glass doors trying to get a picture of this one!)
Today is a very special day... It's mom and dad's 43rd wedding anniversary! I am very proud to be their daughter and would do anything in the world for these two wonderful people. Sadly, we took mom away on vacation (my dad doesn't travel unless it's on a Harley Davidson) but have no fear.... she will be back home soon!
We decided to check out the aquarium today!
I love seeing all the different kinds of fish!
This is a rare thing to see...
Male brown Seahorse that is preggers....
He is due any day and was moving around a lot as he couldn't get comfortable.
(They were hard to catch pictures of these fish as they move too darn fast!)
This was the largest stingray I have ever seen!
If you want to watch a video of this diver in the shark tank talking click on the video or link below:
After we were done visiting the aquarium we had lunch at one of the restaurants on location.
It was nice to sit in the shade with the breeze blowing.... (Yes it was very windy today)
We drove by this palm tree nearly everyday and it reminded me of a hula dancer!
The last time we would drive past this sign in the daytime....
(Kahana is the town we stayed in)
A perfect evening for a Hawaiian send off is a luau! Maui Kay set us up to see "Drums of the Pacific" and it was absolutely amazing! The dancers, the food, the drinks... everything was perfect!
This guy was a hoot and would serve as our host for the evening!
Brandon and I!
The entertainment was great!
You can watch a video of these guys in action by clicking the video or link below: http://youtu.be/H3QAJYrEV2M
Time to get some dinner... yep that's a fully cooked pig!
Sadly our time in Maui has come to and end and we aren't really looking forward to the long plane rides back home but we are ready to get back to our family! The first plane ride is only 37 minutes from Maui to Honolulu... piece of cake!
One of the best parts about this trip was the ability to spend some time at Pearl Harbor!
(I got up extra early this morning to try and reserve some of the limited tickets to see Pearl Harbor as we wouldn't be there until after 10:00 AM and most likely the free tickets would be gone. Thankfully I scored 3 tickets to see the USS Arizona and the surrounding memorials!)
How do I get tickets to visit the USS Arizona Memorial?
Arrive Early! The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center has an average of 2,000
first-come/ first-serve tickets available each day. Tickets are free and
the Visitor Center opens at 7:00 a.m. If you arrive early enough to
secure your own tickets, you may have a few hours to wait before your
tour. The tour is 75-minutes long consisting of a 25-minute documentary
film and a boat trip out to the Memorial.
You can also try to secure tickets (for a fee) by visiting this website: http://www.recreation.gov/tourParkDetail.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=72369
Let's get ready to board the USS Bowfin!
The USS Bowfin Submarine
was launched
on December 7, 1942, which was exactly one year after the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor. Its nickname was the
"Pearl Harbor Avenger". The USS Bowfin Submarine Museum
and Park is located right next door to the USS Arizona
Memorial Visitors Center. There are three different attractions in
Bowfin Park. There is a free outdoor museum on both sides of the
indoor museum with missiles, memorials, and gunnery exhibits.
The 10,000 square foot indoor museum is filled with
interesting submarine-related exhibits. Visitors can also walk
through the actual USS Bowfin Submarine, which is docked in the
water just outside the museum.
Pretty amazing listening to the walking tour about how this submarine worked and how many men it housed during that time frame.
It was a beautiful day but super windy!
Sadly about 30 minutes before we were supposed to leave on the boat that would take us to the USS Arizona had to cancel because of the strong winds. I was bummed because I really wanted to see this memorial but I also understood it's for the safety of the vistors.
I did have a chance to get a book signed by the author and by one of the surviving WWII veterans!
I was really excited to see this sculpture and even asked someone at the ticket office at the parks entrance and they said it wasn't here.Well it is most certainly here!
"Unconditional Surrender"
by Seward Johnson
In August, 2011, a life-size version of the statue was unveiled in
Waikiki and later taken to Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor where it
will stay to commemorate the 66th anniversary of WWII’s end.
This 108-foot United States battleship is most famous for being
the site where Japan signed the formal instrument of surrender,
effectively ending World War II in 1945.
The ceremony was conducted by General Douglas MacArthur. The ship was retired
in 1992 and public tours have been offered since 1999.
A view of the USS Arizona as we were boarding the USS Missouri
USS Missouri
"OVER THIS SPOT ON 2 SEPTEMBER 1945 THE INSTRUMENT OF FORMAL SURRENDER OF JAPAN TO THE ALLIED POWERS WAS SIGNED THUS BRINGING TO A CLOSE THE SECOND WORLD WAR - THE SHIP AT THAT TIME WAS AT ANCHOR IN TOKYO BAY"
This is as close as we will get to the USS Arizona.
Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz
We didn't have time to tour the other memorials as we had to head to the airport to get ready for the 8 hour flight to Dallas, TX but I am glad we got to spend several hours here. I brought back an American Flag that was flown over the USS Arizona on December 7th (forgot the year as it's at the frame shop now) at 9:13 AM (Brandon and I were married on 9-13) and can't wait to have it framed.
So what did you think of Hawaii???
I have had a lot of people ask me about our trip to Hawaii and here's the short and sweet version....
Hawaii is somewhere that I have wanted to visit and didn't think we would ever get a chance to go see. It was on my bucket list of seeing every state in the United States and I am so excited that I got to see it with Brandon and my mom. It was beautiful and amazing and I loved every moment while we were there. The sunsets, rainbows and beaches were beautiful! We were constantly on the move and felt like we saw most of the things that Maui had to offer and I feel like everyone needs to see this place at least once in their lifetime.
This trip is one that I can say with confidence that it was a once-in-a-lifetime trip. I can also say with complete confidence that it is not somewhere I would visit again. (Please know that while I say this it's not because of anything wrong with Maui) Honestly, it was very expensive (which we knew it would be expensive before we went) and frankly the flight is what killed it for me. I can't sit still for that long of a time and while the airline staff was good it wasn't worth the $2,500 to upgrade to first class with the recliner style seating which I am not sure would have "sold" me on going again. I can see similar stuff (meaning beach and weather) in Mexico for a fraction of the price and all inclusive.
So to sum it up if you have wanted to go then do it... you only live once.
If you want something similar (on a cheaper scale) then go to Mexico
.jpg)
