We are back! We had an extraordinary time in Hawaii last week. We started out the vacation on Sunday attending church in Laei. The temple was next door to the meeting house so of course, we spent some time on the temple grounds. It was SO beautiful. It was an overcast day but it was still so stunning! The sister missionaries let us write on the leaves so of course I had to write something mushy. It was super original, it said, Michelle loves Spencer. Catchy right?

These were taken at the site of the USS Arizona, one of the navy ships that sunk at Pearl Harbor. I didn't know much about this besides what Ben Afleck taught me in the movie. It was a surreal experience being on over the ship knowing that is is the resting place for all of those men. As soon as we got to the memorial, Ethan started crying and I was so annoyed and embarrassed. I could only imagine how everyone else felt. A lady came up to me and said, "His feet are uncovered, they are probably cold, that is why he is crying." OK lady, that must be it. I will just cover his feet in this 85 degree weather and he will stop. I know that I am a brat but it annoyed me.
Spencer took the picture of this flag. I was very impressed with his "eye" for the picture. He is learning how to shoot my camera in Manual which makes me VERY happy. He is so crafty.

Before we spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center, we were able to do a session at the temple. Katelyn and Devon were willing to watch Ethan so I could do this. It was SO nice and so fun to be in the temple with my love.

At the PCC, I felt like a silly teenager who was trying to sneak pictures of the hot Polys. It was tons of fun to get to be in a place where their were lots of Polynesian men in their traditional dress. That is my polite way of saying topless. It may be my favorite part of the vacation.

We decided to go on a "gentle hike" (so says the brochure) to go whale watching. Um kay, I was so not impressed! I don't think I would do this again unless I lost 70 pounds. It was a mile up and an mile down. On the way down, I wanted to scream to all of the people on the way up, "don't do it! you will thank me!" The one thing that was horrible was they didn't have water or bathrooms at the top. To make a long story short, I wet my pants on the way down. It was horrible and embarrassing. I couldn't have done a thing about it! I had a baby two months ago and those muscles just weren't workin' for me. It was beautiful and I was able to get some great pics but my word, it was not gentle at all. Stupid brochure writers.

Our last night we went to the pipeline on the North Shore. It was fun to watch everyone try to boogie board. I didn't take my swim suit on purpose. After my snorkeling adventure (that story gets its own post) I was NOT going in the water again. I was happy to sit with the baby and take pictures. Katelyn was the only one to successfully boogie board. She is an incredible young woman and I was so thankful to get to be with her. I love her so much. Sorry, I can't help it, she ROCKS!

We ate dinner at the top of the beach with the life guard and homeless people. It was a weird night but we had fun.

I am going to be posting more soon so beware!

Here is what I have been working on for the last few weeks. I am starting to get into making my boutique crafts to earn some extra money. Thanks to my friends for letting me do this! I will have to post my tutu's soon cause they are pretty stinkin' cute!

So, last Saturday was ultra mega cleaning day. The sad thing is, the only room that got completely clean was the laundry room, yeah, my house is THAT bad. I told Carson and Mady that they needed to help me with the other chores while I finished. Carson was very happy to put the dishes away. When he got finished he came and got me and told me that I HAD to come and look at his job. Being the mindful caring mother that I am, I totally ignored him cause the baby was crying. After I got Ethan, Carson finally drug me into the kitchen. When we got there the cupboard door was open and he opened his arms and said, "Look mom, I kinda organized it for you." Indeed you did, my love!

Here is a sneak peak for Sarah. I felt like a little kid excited for my birthday waiting to do these pictures. It has been a long time since I have been able to do children outside and I have been anxious to go to BoDo. It was funny cause we drove around looking for the perfect ally and we found it. Magic happened in this ally! Thanks for letting me do this for your family Sarah! It was a blast!