Blast from the past Friday: 2005 trip to Hawaii

Glad you're back again this week! Hope you've come over to join the fun!

Please remember the rules: just add your comment at the bottom to let us know you are joining in (I'm trying something new with Mr. Linky, so he will hopefully be back next week), post your own Blast from the Past story (click for guidelines if you're new), pictures, or video on your blog, and then link your blog back here so others can join in the fun as well. Can't wait to read all of your stories!!

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In the summer of 2001, I was newly married and worked full-time as a legal secretary at the State's Attorney's office of our county. Then one July night, I went to a PartyLite party--and, by the end of the evening, I had decided to start selling candles as a way of earning some great "extra money" on the side.


One of the things that drew me to the opportunity to become a consultant was the fact that PartyLite offered "free vacations". In fact, the consultant that was doing that night's party had just returned from the Moon Palace in Cancun--a place that I had gone to on my honeymoon just a few short months before.


The thing was: she went for free. I had not.


I was intrigued.


Then, she mentioned that there were these incentive vacations offered by PartyLite every year. That year's destination?


Hawaii.


I'd always wanted to go there, and from that night on, I was determined to go on PartyLite's dime. I had no idea what that entailed....I just knew I wanted to go!


Well, I ended up earning {you earned these trips, by the way--they were not won} not only my trip, but also a trip for a guest. After sacrificing, ahem, a bit so that I could be out doing lots of shows and earning said trip, I felt that Shane certainly deserved that guest spot! *grin*


Shane and I actually went on four wonderful vacations during my years with PartyLite. We went that first year to Hawaii--Oahu to be specific; the next year on a seven-day Caribbean cruise, then to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, and finally back to Hawaii again--the Big Island this time, to a resort called the Hilton Waikaloa Village. The trip was five days, with an opportunity to earn an extra two days....so we were at this amazing destination for an entire week.


These are the pictures from that trip. Well, some of them anyway....I only took like 400. Ah, the days of digital cameras.

Right off the plane--they really do "lei" everyone!

Parylite had gone to quite a bit of effort in welcoming all of us--they used crushed white limestone and formed our welcome in the lava!

"Aloha PartyLite"
Everything with PL was always first class. Our room was wonderful!
The Hilton Waikaloa Village....a beautiful resort with even more gorgeous scenery
There was a river that ran the length of the resort...instead of taking a tram, you took a boat ride to get where ever you wanted to go!

The first day, Shane and I took off by ourselves and actually went to another resort with an incredible beach. We had a great lunch with the Pacific Ocean right behind us!
Then we did some swimming. I don't know that I have ever, ever seen more beautiful water.
The sunset from our balcony that evening
The next night we had a fancy dinner provided by PartyLite. It was always so fun getting a chance to dress up on those trips.
After dinner, we headed back to our room, and caught this sunset. Yes, this is real....yes, this is straight out of the camera with no editing.....and yes, it was this beautiful.

Picture perfect, no?

My new camera had a pretty wicked zoom.

This is the same sailboat as in the picture before.

It was so pretty that we decided to snap one of ourselves. Ever take a good look at my profile picture? This is it. And now you know the story behind it. *grin*

The next night was known as "Dine Around" night. That just meant that PL gave each person $100 to go out and eat at a place of our choosing on the island. {Most of the other nights dinner was provided for us by PL at the resort.}
We chose Roy's, a very popular place with everyone we asked.
It. Was. Delish.

Our resort had several waterfalls, and you could walk behind some of them.

Shane snapped this shot of me after dinner that night. And, if you're wondering....no, I am not actually (for once) carrying any 'holiday weight';

rather, that's Cameron Douglas there--along on the trip with us!

We enjoyed most breakfasts with some great friends of ours, Tom and Gloria

The resort had its own lagoon. We definitely took advantage of that for swimming and snorkeling! We saw some interesting things.....
....like eels....
....and sea turtles. There were tons and tons of these guys.

Everywhere you looked there were beautiful and unique flowers.

The next morning, Shane went on an all-day adventure.

He and the guys headed out for a deep-sea fishing excursion on the Pacific.
They did NOT catch one of these. *grin*

I, however, stayed back at the pool and caught a few rays. Oh, the days where I hadn't yet realized just how bad the sun actually was for me.

Another night out

The next day was another lounge-by-the-pool day. Shane turned into a five-year-old when he got around Tom and Greg. It was very entertaining, let me tell you.
Case in point:

Another dinner out with our friends....this restaurant's name escapes me, but it was good

I added this picture just to be able to show the enormity and grandeur of the resort.

This was the front outdoor lobby, right as you came in.

*sniff, sniff* Our last morning on the Island. Someone was kind enough to snap this for us. It's under the same waterfall as the last picture was.

It was so beautiful there....it was hard to leave!

But we got to come home to sweet little Colin, and that made things much, much better.

{He had stayed the entire week with Grandma 'Nette and Grandpa,

making the entire trip possible for me and Shane!}

Daddy and Colin, out to eat at Chili's the afternoon we got home Such a precious kid. Love that picture.

So, that was our trip in a nutshell. Though I am now glad to be a full-time Mommy to my littles, I will forever be grateful for the fun and the friends I had when I was with PartyLite--and the once-in-a-lifetime trips!

Why God made Moms**

This was on the back of our church bulletin this past Sunday....and I just thought it was hilarious. Enjoy!!

**answers submitted by 2nd grade children

Why did God make Mothers?

• She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
• Mostly, to clean the house.
• To help us get out of there when we were getting born. (HA!)

How did God make Mothers?

• He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
• Magic, plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
• God made her just like me, except He used bigger parts.

What ingredients are Mothers made of?

• God makes Mothers out of clouds, and angel hair, and everything nice in the world...and one dab of mean.
• They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they use string.
  

Why did God give you your Mother and not some other Mom?

• We're related.
• God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your Mom?

• My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
• I don't know, I wasn't there....but my guess would be pretty bossy.
• They say she used to be nice.

What did Mom need to know about Dad before she married him?

• His last name.
• She had to know his background. Like, is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
• Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your Mom marry your Dad?

• My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. My mom eats a lot.
• She got too old to do anything else with him.
• My Grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

What would it take to make your Mom perfect?

• On the inside, she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
• Diet. You know. Her hair.....I'd diet. Maybe blue.

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday: An attempt at sharing

Colin, attempting to be kind, says to me.....

"I saved you some Mommy. I didn't drink it all."


Thanks buddy. I appreciate your looking out for your momma by saving her that one swallow. *smirk*

My special day

I had the most wonderful Mother's Day.


The day started out with gifts from my boys and Shane: two great cards {very, very important in my book}; a very spiffy top which I immediately put on and wore to church, the sweetest book ever, and some new jewelry. I loved everything! We headed off to church and after the service, just when I was trying to figure out what in the world I could throw together planning for lunch at home, Shane surprised me by saying he had reservations at 1 o'clock at a very fancy, special restaurant!


We had a few minutes before it was time to leave, so we headed over to my mom's house and snapped a few pictures:

Mom and the boys

Me and My Mommy--so appreciative of her and all that she does!

You know this guy! What a wonderful, special day he provided me with.

Love. him.

Then, it was off to the restaurant. We threatened the boys with major repercussions if they didn't behave like angels here talked to the boys about what it means to eat at a fancy restaurant, and told them all about being on their best behavior. Which, I am so excited to say--THEY WERE! They all behaved so, so well, and that made a wonderful meal even better!

Sweet E Ry, whose meal consisted mostly of oyster crackers, croutons from Daddy's salad, freshly baked bread (yum), and french fries. Look how happy it made him.

They say that with children, you "pick your battles".

Ethan was happy--and quiet. We decided that this was not the day to fight him over food.

The kid loves carbs. I can't say that I blame him....he ate, loved it, and today we are right back on track trying to force those proteins and veggies down him. *giggle*

Colin is a chip off the ol' block when it comes to food. He didn't want any of those 'cheap' kids meals....we gave him his choice, and he selected "Shrimp, please!"

Certainly. The most expensive kids meal they had.

Just like his Momma.

Bloomingdale's taste on a Big Lots budget.

The story of my life.
Cameron did so well. I don't know what it is about Cameron, but it really is a struggle for him to just be still. He just constantly wants to be on the move! Especially in a restaurant...but he did great! He read, played with cars....oh, and ate. That kid can eat.

{Also, just like his Momma. Ahem.}

Grandma MJ and Cam

Ethan and Daddy snuggling.

Ethan, I suspect, was crashing from a carb/sugar high about this time.
He perked up for one more photo, though. Maybe two more.

What a very special, meaningful day. I loved every single minute of it! Hope your day was great as well--Happy Monday everyone!

The three greatest things about being a Mommy...

....are right here!!

Colin, Cameron, and Ethan--

I love you so very, very much!

It is such a wonderful joy to be your Mommy.

Thank you Lord, for these blessings you have bestowed me with.

Please help me....

To never take them for granted

To be more patient than I ever thought I could be

To always put their needs ahead of my own

To bathe them every day in prayer

To have wisdom in every situation so I can guide them in the right decisions

To love them like no one on this earth will ever love them

To be a Godly example they can follow

To live everyday the way You would want me to, and

To keep You always at the center of our home.

A thankful heart

This Mother's Day, I am thankful for many things, and the many special mothers in my life...and I wanted to share it publicly.

For Shelly--whose love for her girls and her family inspires me on a daily basis.

For Kathy--who listens patiently and seems to always know exactly what I need to hear to move in the direction that I need to go....and is willing to invest the time necessary to get me there.

For Kara--who shares so much in common with me that it's almost surreal, and can empathize like none other on 'those days' because she's living almost the same daily life as I am.

For Julie--who is always there to make me smile, listen to my rants, rejoice with me, and encourage me like most people can not. You keep me going on many, many occasions.

For those Titus 2 women at my church--who, weekly, set an example of grace and dignity that I hope to attain someday.

For Sarah--who is younger than I am by quite a few years, but has been a wonderful example and friend to me in so many, many ways. We've walked the mountains and the valleys together, and I am so grateful for your friendship.

For Jen and Laura--who are my closest girlfriends, both geographically and emotionally. I can count on you two for anything, and I hope our bond continues to strengthen and deepen as we 'grow old(er)' together. *grin*

For Karie and Aimee--who are related only by marriage, but could be no more of a sister to me even if they shared my same gene pool. I love you both. Dearly.

For Lynette--who has shown herself to be the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful mother-in-law that I could have imagined. Thank you for all you have done for me, and for accepting me and treating me as your very own daughter.

For Grandma Franzi--who I love more than life, and sits in the most special of places in my heart. I am so grateful for the time the Lord has given me with you.

For Amy--who accepted me and treated me like I was your own, from the very, very beginning. Thank you for always working so hard at keeping me close, even though I was so far, far away from you.

And--

For my Mom--who could be no better. I thank God everyday that He chose to put me in your care. Thank you for the countless sacrifices you have made over the years for me, and for the sacrifices you continue to make now for the good of my marriage and my family. I love you with every fiber of my being.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you very special women, whom I will forever be grateful for. Through knowing you, I have become a better person.

Blast from the past Friday: 1st picture as a family of four

Glad you're back this week, and I hope you came to join in the fun! Remember the rules: just add your link at the bottom in Mr. Linky (please keep the links short, as longer names/URLs will not work properly), post your own Blast from the Past story (click for guidelines if you're new), pictures, or video on your blog, and then link your blog back here so others can join in the fun as well. Can't wait to read all of your stories!!

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Cameron's birth experience was, in one word, a whirlwind.

The hospital where I had him was in the middle of a renovation--a "Birthing Suite" addition. YAY!! for all the later babies who would be coming after 2006, but, for me, this meant the horror of all horrors: a roommate in my makeshift 'postpartum' room.

*shudder*

As if the whole labor and delivery thing was not exhausting enough--I had to spend the next 16 hours (the rest of the evening, the whole felt like an eternity that was never going to end night, and 1/2 of the next morning) with a noisy roommate and--and you know I love babies, and all, but geesh, I was beyond exhausted--an even noisier baby.

Now, I was doing my best to try to be considerate. I was, or course, up at 2 a.m. to nurse Cameron, and I tried to be super quiet. I didn't even turn my light on, just used the little lamp next to my bed.

{There most certainly was fumbling involved.}

About 1/2 hour later, we finished, and I sent Cameron back to the nursery so I could get (hopefully) a couple hours of sleep until he was ready to eat again.

Oh....but no.

My lovely roommate was soon ready to feed her baby--and it was an all-the-lights-in-the-room-blaring, nurse-standing-over-the-top-trying-to-direct-the-activity, two-hours-worth-of-screaming ordeal--and, you guessed it: about 30 minutes after the room was finally quiet and dark again....here they came with Cameron.

*sigh*

{Repeat scenario above here for the 5 a.m. feeding.}

Oh, and did I mention that no visitors were allowed to stay in the room, either, since we were sharing and all? Apparently, that included fathers. So, that meant no Shane.

Needless to say, by 9 a.m. the next morning, I was ready to go. There had been no complications with the delivery for either of us, and so my doctor agreed to let me out of prison of the hospital that day.

Exactly 25 hours after Cameron was born, we were walking in our back door.

Whirlwind.

Shane's mom and my sister-in-law Aimee came down to visit us and meet Cameron, and a little while later, Aimee snapped this shot on the stair leading into my family room:

I love everything about this picture. The hospital bracelet still on both of our arms. Cameron being not only awake, but almost appearing to be studying his Daddy! Shane, just looking soooooo handsome, and so proud. The half-exhausted but joy-filled look on my face. The true, all-out-laughing grin on little Colin's.

Perfect or not. I love it.

Our first picture as a family of four.

You know you're from a small town when....

Colin, out of the clear blue, as we were passing a small field of grazing cattle today on our way home:

"I know, Mom! If everyone just had their own cow, we wouldn't need mowers anymore! All the grass would just....just get 'ate' up!"

Wordless Wednesday: More fun in our tree

Common sense prevention of the Swine Flu:

You probably shouldn't do this.
HA!
Happy Tuesday everyone!

Colin's always right

Colin is in this stage right now where things always need to be phrased in his way. In his terms.

Case in point:

Friday, I was shopping with the boys (a feat in itself) and my mom {Grandma MJ}. There was an *accident*, in which Colin, who was hanging off the end of the shopping cart, was *injured* a bit on his ankle. Let's just say that he came off of the cart; it kept going; he did not.

It looked pretty bad. Pretty scraped up. A good-sized scrape across the front surrounded by some road rash. But, he really was fine.

You know. Typical 'boy injury'.

So, last night, before bed, Colin showed his injury to Daddy. I think he was pretty much 1. stalling before bed and 2. looking for sympathy from Shane.....and he won on both of those fronts. Shane decided to doctor up the wound a bit, and put a band-aid on it.

To look cool, of course. Oh, yeah....and for the healing process. I'm sure that was a factor in there somewhere.

They were having a pretty spirited discussion about the injury, in which with Shane said,

"We need to cover up that cut, buddy."

To which, Colin replied:

"No Daddy. It's not a cut....

I like to call it, "cart damage"."

Blast from the past Friday: Colin eating tomato soup

I've been blogging for a while now.

Well.....at least it feels like that. When I actually went back and looked, it seems that I started this blog only a little over two years ago with this post. Just looking at that first post and seeing the size of my littles almost made me tear up. *sniff sniff*

I said almost.

However, going back and actually wading through some old pictures and videos did it. It sent me right over the edge. It wasn't quite the ugly cry....but it could have easily gotten to that point, had I not stopped viewing for the night.

Ahem.

Anyway, as I was thinking about it today, I realized that there is so much that happened in our family before my entry into the blog world. {I've blogged a thing or two, but not many of those things.} Events that I love to think back on. Things I love to remember. Things I don't ever want to forget.

So, in that spirit, I am going to start my own little blog carnival here on Fridays--Blast from the Past Friday--where I will be posting either pictures, a story, or a video of something that happened long before I even knew what in the world a blog was.

I'd love it if you would jump on the wagon! If you'd like, feel free to leave a comment below and let me and other readers know that you are joining in the fun (so we can come and see yours too!). Then, post your blast from the past moment on your blog, and kindly link back here to let your readers know where they can find more of the same!

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So, today, you will be transported back to October of 2005, and treated to the likes of sweet little Colin. This video was shot as I was about to pop with Cameron--I was very pregnant, and enjoying the last few days of having 'only one' child. Colin was 23 months at the time.

Things I remember about that day:

• It was a Sunday afternoon
• We were having grilled cheeses and tomato soup for lunch
• Colin, we found out that day, apparently loved tomato soup
• More than that, he loved slurping said soup off of the spoon--as you will witness
• He started making that 'aaaaaaaaaah' sound after bites, and realized that it made us laugh too--so he did it after every bite for the rest of the meal

Things I don't ever want to forget:

• How cute Colin was
• How well he talked so early
• His depth of understanding at that age--"all done Mommy, down"
• His laugh, and how his smile just lit up his whole teeny face
• How he loved to make us laugh
• His little lisp when he said "yes" {yeth!}
• How careful he was--like putting his hands under the spoon when it went to his mouth

Oh, and slurping soup causes babies to take in lots of air. It has to come out at some point, right?

So, after a bit of slurping and 'aaaaaaaahing', Daddy turned on the camera.....and we caught this. Turn up your volume, and enjoy.

{And, no, I am no longer cryi--waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!}

Local storms bring cool clouds....

....and have given way to lots....
and lots.....



and lots.....

of cool pictures**--right out our back door!

**No photoshopping here, by the way! Don't even own it. That's just how cool the sky was.

Daddy teaches us the coolest things....

.....like new places to keep our swords.

Aaarrrgh!

I think he might have meant roses, but his version is way funnier**.....

**post does contain potty humor--however, it is mild, and it was tooooooo funny not to post.

Today, Cam was, ahem, "taking care of some business" in the bathroom.

I went in when he declared he was all done; I gave him a smirky smile and said,

"Peeeee-chew!"

To which, he replied,

"I know, I know. It does NOT smell like lemons in here, does it?"

Just more proof that more is caught than taught

I apparently talk to myself too much, because Cameron picked up this phrase from someone.

Ahem.

Must be me? Just guessing.

After muttering something in the back of the van yesterday, I questioned Cameron:

"What did you say, honey?"

And this was his response:

"Oh, it's okay baby.....I'm just talking to myself!"

Hmph. I'll have to work on that, I guess.

Wordless Wednesday: No, I do not own pink sunglasses, and yes, I do always have bruises on my head, thank you....