Maui Honeymoon - Day 5

So I have decided that Hawaiians develop exhaustion from swimming and sun bathing... tough life they have!

We started the day by getting up early to meet at the Lahaina Harbor for our snorkeling adventure. We boarded the Pride of Maui, and headed out for our 1 hour boat ride to Turtle Town - our first stop was supposed to be the Molokini crater, but the trade winds were too strong for the boat to make it in the morning. As soon as we anchored in the cove, everyone jumped out to see some turtles. These turtles are 300 pounds, green, and are endangered species, so I had to tell Nathan that he would go to jail if he attempted to ride one (which I almost believed he would, we all know how he gets around animals, and if you don't know, ask him about the jaguar in the Phoenix wild life park).

Nate and I were snorkeling around, and out one popped a mere 15 feet from us. It was cool! After about 30 minutes of snorkeling, I decided that I felt odd, so I went back onto the boat - was that a mistake! My sea sickness kicked in like crazy! The crew even made me a drink that contained whole pieces of ginger in it. Needless to say, I was out of commission for the next 3 hours - and I'm not talking 'oh I feel a little ill', I'm talking that I couldn't even lift my head up. Pure misery. On the plus side for Nathan, he didn't need me to go snorkeling, so when we did make it to the Molokini crater, he hopped right out and snorkeled around, taking pictures all the while. During this area of snorkeling, eels and sharks were found, so I'm actually kind of glad I missed it!

After snorkeling we came back to the Westin beach, and read/cat napped to rejuvenate.. that did nothing but further wear us out! We got ready, and ate dinner at yet another beach restaurant called Cane & Taro.

Time for some sunless relaxation!

Click on the below link to view today's snorkeling pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/WillandJake08/PrideofMauiSnorkelAdventure

Maui Honeymoon - Day 4

We survived the Road to Hana!... just thought I would let you know since we didn't buy the Tshirt :)

On Monday we got up early and made the incredible drive up to Hana, which is on the East Coast of Maui. The Road to Hana is a rainforest, so it was pretty rainy on the drive up. We drove over 25 one-way bridges, and passed half a dozen waterfalls on this 32 mile drive. It was so beautiful there, words cannot even describe. The road is completely winds up and down and around, as they tried to fit the road naturally into the side of a mountain. There was every shade of green that you can imagine! We also visited the Garden of Eden which overlooked this incredible gorge, which held the famous rock in Jurassic Park (where the helicopter is flying, the rock is in the background, apparently its a big deal). When we finally made it up to Hana, we ate lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the water. There were some serious waves up there! On the way back down (at this point, 3 hours in the car was enough for us, we wanted the Hawai'i sun back!), there were fallen rocks and trees, and we couldn't stop to see some of the waterfalls like we planned because the trails had been washed away. It was an amazing day trip, and we totally recommend it!

When we got back to the condo, we were so beat, so we grilled up some steaks, and put on a movie. It was a relaxing end to such an adventurous day!


Aloha,
Us


Click on the below link to view some pictures from our Road to Hana trip:
http://picasaweb.google.com/WillandJake08/RoadtoHana

Maui Honeymoon - Day 3

It's a bird!
It's a plane!
Nope, its just Nathan and Sheryl parasailing!

Yesterday was a really fun, active day! We started our day off parasailing, which was AWESOME! I was super scared, whilst my hubby is making comments like "whoa there is a huge whole in the parachute" "Sher if the line breaks, just pencil dive into the water" "Sher look how high up we are". As scared as I was, it was really cool being up that high (we were on a 1200' line, longest line you can be on), but it was quiet in the sky and everything we looked at was just beautiful. One thing that was neat was that as high up as we were, we could see big fish swimming below us. And the end of the flight before us, the captain dunked the people's feet, but on our turn, he dunked the entire lower half of our bodies... it was funny :)

For the rest of the day we hung out at the Westin. Apparently the reefs in front of our hotel are some of the best snorkeling spots, so we rented some gear, and snorkeled or laid out in the sun for the remainder of the day. The fish down there are so colorful! And I saw an eel. And yes, it scared the you-know-what out of me; so much so that I left Nathan to fend for himself, and I got out of the water. But no worries, I got back in.

Then last night we ate at Leilani's in Whaler's Village. We had an outdoor seat that had the sun been out, would have had a great view. But then again, nothing beats the sound of the waves and the stars at night!


Click on the below link to check out some of the pictures from our parasailing adventure (once the website opens, click on the pictures to enlarge, and then click the NEXT button to proceed forward):
http://picasaweb.google.com/WillandJake08/UFOParasail

Maui Honeymoon - Day 2

Aloha again!

Day 2 was packed pretty full!
We started the day early by going on a hike on one of the beach side trails. It was nice to just walk and be in no hurry to get anywhere. After about a mile or so of walking away from civilization, we thought we should head back and maybe find another trail that has more greenery to it. On our way back we asked one of the locals about hiking, and they told us to go to the Kapalua Golf Course.

The Kapalua golf course is no longer in business. The owner put in walking trails, and everything is overgrown. It's actually really neat! So Nathan and I decide to take the Lake Loop, which is about 3.6 miles... if you don't get lost. I know you are wondering how we could have gotten lost, but I'm telling you, everything is over grown, and toward the end, the trail branched out into 4 other trails! Luckily we ran into some locals who pointed us in the right direction.

After the golf course hike, to which I could no longer feel my legs, we drove to the Lahaina Center where we ate lunch at a beach front Hard Rock Cafe. We walked around Old Lahaina before deciding to go back to the Westin and lay out on the beach and read our books. After an hour of Nathan sleeping and me reading, we got up to get ready for dinner.

What a small world this is - Nate's great aunt, Sister Jeri (aka Grandma Squeaker), and Nate's second (or third) cousins from his dad's side, Jerry and Pam, were visiting from Seattle and staying a few towns away from us! So we met at The Waterfront restaurant in Ma'alea. We had amazing food, a wonderful bottle of wine, and great conversation! I didn't know this until we got back to our place, but the Boldrins so kindly picked up the tab - thank you very much Jerry and Pam!!!! Afterwards we went to see the condo they were staying at in Kehei. Afterwards Nathan and I made the 45 minute drive back north to Ka'anapali where we called it an early night.


Our first hike of the day






On the Kapalua golf course trail


We found a clearing where apparently someone still keeps up the green

Alooooooha!

Shipwreck! Don't worry, its fake

Nathan and Grandma Squeaker

Jerry, Pam and I

Newlyweds!

Hang loose Grandma Squeaker!

The gang

Maui Honeymoon - Day 1

Aloha!

Back in the day (which was a Wednesday [that was for you Aunt Teri]), I updated our blog quite frequently. Since I haven't lately, I would like to start up again... by blogging our honeymoon! This will be a great way for Nathan and I to remember what we did day by day, and this will be especially great for our boys to check up on us and see what Mommy and Daddy are up to while we are here in Maui. So here we go!

We landed in Kahului on Friday morning. My husband, you all know him as Nathan, decided that a red eye flight is the way to go because this way we won't lose an entire day to traveling. The only thing my husband forgot is that I HATE flying, so I only dozed off here and there, while he so peacefully slept :) By the time we landed, I'm pretty sure I was delirious. But on the flip side, we were in Hawai'i! We got our rental Jeep and drove North to the Westin Ocean Resort Villas in Ka'anapali (shout out to cousins Miranda and David Patton - this place is amazing, thank you so much for giving up a week of your timeshare for us). The Westin let us check in early, thank goodness because it was only 10am!

We unpacked our things, hopped into some swim suits, and went down to the bar and grill by the Westin poolside. We ate a yummy lunch and talked about our plans for the trip. Then we grabbed our drinks of the day, and walked the 50 feet to the beach. The sand feels great here! We walked at the edge of the water, thinking that it was low tide since we hadn't noticed the water coming up too far, when all of a sudden we got attacked by a monstrous wave! Since I was unsure of our plans for the rest of the day, we went back to the condo to change. After we were in less sandy, salty, wet clothing, wegot in the Jeep and drove south to Whalers Village in Lahaina. We did a little souvenir shopping, and hit up a couple outdoor beach restaurants.

After we were all filled up, we went grocery shopping. I honestly do not know how people afford to live here. A gallon of milk was $10! Although we did get our weird brand on sale for $5. So after grocery shopping, we went back to the condo, walked over to the beach, me with my $4 drumstick ice cream, and watched the sunset. It was very gorgeous! And yes, of course I forgot my camera. But I'm sure I'll be able to get a picture in the next week that we are here!

After the sunset, we hung out in the jacuzzi. Mr. Maier was getting antsy sitting in there, so we grabbed a couple beach towels and took the few steps to the beach, spread out the towels and laid at the water's edge - and by 'water's edge', I made absolute certain that we were not going to have a replay of earlier in the day. We laid under the stars, with the ocean right there at our feet, nothing by the sound of the waves... sounds romantic right? Well too bad for Nathan that he showed me the little crabs on the beach earlier in the day, because as he was relaxing, I'm sitting up going "oh my gosh did you feel that" "Nate get up the crabs are out". Needless to say, I got reprimanded for not relaxing... hee hee!

Day 1 was a nice day to get ajusted to Hawai'i... can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds!

Nate driving the Jeep

The view right when we walked into the Westin lobby... gorgeous huh?!


Kitchen

Bedroom

View from our balcony - right there between all the trees is the ocean

Living room

View walking from the Westin to the beach

Nathan checking out the beach. You can see the the island of Lana'i behind Nathan

In Whalers Village

A lizard for you Will!

View from our table at a beach bar

Mommy's a slacker...

Things have been non-stop the last 7/8 months, and I truly have not had the time to update our blog! Not that I have any reason to be busy with 2 very active children! Ha ha! I now know that our blog is quite a hit, because 2 people every (I could even be under exaggerating here) week inform me that our blog has not been updated, and that I am a huge slacker.

So because I definitely don't want the reputation of a slacker, I started uploading our pictures to Picasa (a cool google tool that will allow you to view any picture/picture album that I upload). Once I am done uploading some pictures from the last 8 months of our lives, I will update this post with our Picasa link and some fun facts! :)

Stay tuned...

Spring Break & Easter

Hello all and happy (late) Easter!
We had an amazing Spring Break week... we spent 5 days soaking up the California sun! We left on Wednesday, and stayed with Nathan's cousins in Camarillo overnight. The rest of the time we stayed at a hotel in Manhattan Beach with our friends (Chris, Brit, Kylie, and baby on the way!).

Some of the things we did...:
~Visited with David (Miranda was unfortunately gone for work) and stayed in their beautiful home
~Ate at a delicious fish'n'chips place on Ventura Beach
~Walked around downtown Ventura
~Checked out some of Camarillo, including a cute state park
~Nathan and Chris golfed
~Shopped on the 3rd St. Promenade in Santa Monica and let the kids play on the beach
~Ate dinner with David and Miranda at an adorable beach cafe in Malibu
~Went to the Long Beach Aquarium
~Toured the Queen Mary
~Rode some rides on the Santa Monica pier
~Watched Will brave some Santa Monica waves
~Celebrated Brit's bday dinner at Bubba Gump's in Universal City Walk
~Hung out on Redondo Beach

And when we came home, the boys found that the Easter bunny had stopped by! We had a great time in California and can't wait to do it again soon!

**Check out the slideshow in the below blog to view pictures from this vacation!**

We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter season, and we are always thinking of you...

Much love,
Sher and fam

Where's Jakey?

**Press the play button!**

Nathan's Garden

Nathan, along with some helpers, had a busy weekend putting his planter box together. There was a ton of dirt to move from the street (where it was dropped off) to the backyard. And there is still a huge pile in the front... we should have a notice in the mail from the HOA at any minute now...

Packin down the dirt

Break time! **Press the play button!**

Na na na na boo boo

As we were waiting for Bubba at basketball practice, this little monkey was being silly!

When Daddy and Bubba are away...

Mommy and Jakey will play! (**Press the play button!**)

BBQ day

This past Saturday my dad's company had a BBQ at the park down the street from us, and we were summoned to go. So, like good kids, we went. And had a great time! The sun was out, it was warm, and there was lots to do. We played basketball, laid around in the grass, rolled down the hill, tossed the frisbee, and played on the park. Jakey even sat in the park swing for the first time, but Daddy was too slow with the camera to capture it (slow poke Daddy!).

Jakey loungin'


Will's action shot


Grandpa Bill's action shot.. I'm pretty sure he made it

Congrats Aunt Diane & Uncle Jan!

Congratulations you two, on 30 years of marriage... 30 years is a LONG LONG LONG (I'll stop now) time, and its amazing that you have hit that mark so gracefully, and with smiles on your faces. You are definitely a couple that Nate and I look to for inspiration.

We love you and congratulations again!

Love,
Sher, Nathan, & the monkey boys

Happy Birthday... to me!

We've had yet another couple weeks of busy-ness!
A couple Saturdays ago I had some girl friends over for scrapbooking and mimosas... that was definitely relaxing. Although I could have done a bit more scrapping, a 'lil less mimosa drinking! After scrapbooking, my sister Michelle had a Wind Symphony Concert at UNLV, so we watched that. Well, Nate and my dad watched it, I stood in the lobby with Jake b/c he thought it would be fun to keep distracting people by yelling.

The next day we headed over to Jocelyn's house to celebrate her moms, Cherie, birthday. Cherie has been like a mom to me for the past 8 years, and we are always involved with their family functions. It was a beautiful day out, so Will and Joce took a spin around neighborhood on Joce's ATV.

The following Monday I took Jakey baby in for his 4 month appt - height = 24 inches (10.25%) and weight = 15 pounds (50%). If you remember from a recent blog of mine, I had mentioned that Will was sick with a virus - I ended up getting sick that week, and by the end of the week, poor Jake had a bad cough too. (Jake still has a tiny cough lingering, but other than that, the 3 of us are great. Nathan didn't get sick... does he ever??)

On Tuesday, my mom called me and said that she wanted to Skype (for those of you who aren't familiar, its a program that allows you to video chat with people - its free, and totally awesome!), so we did. My mom hasn't met Jake yet, and she really enjoys being able to see Will and Jake.

The following Saturday was my birthday (Happy Birthday to me!), and we took the 45 minutes drive out to Pahrump for some hardcore paintballing! Besides the fact that I was completely congested and the drive up a mountain didn't help, it was totally fun! There was 10 of us, and we played for a few hours. Afterwards we bbq'd some food, relaxed, and made the drive back home. That night our families and close friends got together, and we had the Annual Sher's BBQ at Dan and Carol's - it is the one thing about my birthday that I look forward to every year. The food was amazing, and I was happy to have all my loved ones there.

Sunday was a big day for Jakey - he had rice cereal for the first time! Daddy got to feed it to him, while I held him in my lap. Its quite the milestone for a baby, so emotional as I am about my kids, I managed to hold it together. Ever since then, he has had rice cereal every morning, and already is eating like a champ. A messy champ, but a champ nonetheless!

On Monday, the next day, Nathan had convinced me to take Jake in to the doctor being that he still had a pretty bad cough. [If anyone is keeping count, that was my third time to the doctor in a week and a half]. The doctor said exactly what I knew he would - put a humidifier next to him when he sleeps, which we had already been doing. Though I did feel better having ruled out an ear infection, or a respiratory infection. But like I said, other than booger galore, Jake is doing better!

Tuesday was St. Patty's day, and because of scheduling differences, Carol wasn't making her special corn beef and cabbage until Wednesday night. My cousin Pete and his friends were in town, so Nate and I met up with them at pub on the Strip, and I watched the boys drink some green beer. We hung out with them for a bit, then headed home to pick up our little Irishmen. So last night we finally had the year awaited corn beef and cabbage, and it was delicious as usual! Sarah took an adorable picture of the boys with Dan and Carol... I'll have to post it as soon as I can steal it from Sarah!

So that's it from the Head of Sheryl! More later!!


Randi w/ Jakey and her daughter Lucy

Brit w/ her daughter Kylie

Brit, Amy and Joce

Joce and Will

Anjanette, Austin, and mom Joy... in Seattle!

Why I am the only serious one??

Joce, me and Steph at my bday bbq

Getting some help from the master candle blower


First taste of cereal goodness!

Ah, now I remember how messy it is!!

Me & my cousin Pete (on my right) and his kilted friends on St. Patty's Day

Engagement photo shoot

Hello!
On Valentine's Day we had a photo shoot at the Monte Lago @ Lake Las Vegas. The weather was gorgeous, and it was very relaxing. Our photographer (who lives in PA) was kind enough to take a few family shots, and they came out amazing. Here is a preview of the shoot...

Love love love,
Sher