Hawaii

So, this is a little late...but we need to document this. We took a fabulous trip to Hawaii at the beginning of March with our friends the Reeses. The first few days were spent on Oahu and jam-packed with sightseeing and all the touristy things you can do on the island. Then we headed off to Maui to get the relaxation and rest we needed. We actually extended our trip twice!! Caryn and Ryan loved it so much they didn't want to come home...on the way to the airport to come home they were planning how they would make it work to move to the islands. They caught the island fever!

There are WAY TOO many pictures to even mention...so sorry for the obscene amount that are below. Caryn and Sally together taking pictures is not a good combo. But at least we didn't miss documenting every minute of this trip.

Oahu= Pearl harbor, Dole Plantation, Laie Temple, Ko'Olina, Polynesian Cultural Center, Hot Malasadas, Swap meet, Waimea Bay, Matsumoto Shaved Ice...and lots of food!

Pearl Harbor

Dole - We enjoyed the pineapple whip and the barbecued sweet corn

Laie Temple - its under renovation, so its not as pretty as usual but still a must see!

Polynesian Cultural Center

Luau at the PCC. Those random guys in the pictures are some Australians that sat with us at dinner. They were super nice guys, and Caryn wasn't hiding the fact she felt they weren't too terrible looking either. They loved the girls and the girls loved them! Hope to see them soon in Utah!

Hawaii's lost treasure - Hot Malasadas! Basically deep fried dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar, some had chocolate or custard in them. It was hard to remember the exact combo of the different kinds everyone wanted. Hawaii's not so lost treasure - the swap meet at Aloha stadium. Caryn was in Heaven! It was fun to watch the first-timers buy everything in sight!

A trip to the North Shore isn't complete without hitting Matsumotos shaved ice and the shrimp shacks. (We ate WAY TOO much on this trip!!!) Waimea Bay is a great place to watch people get taken out by the ginormous waves! Oh and its a pretty nice view too.

Maui= Haleakala Volcano, Caryn and Ryan's first snorkeling experience (hilarious to watch), Big Beach/Little Beach, Fire dancers (wink, wink), hot tub, beach, hot tub, water slide, pool, hot tub, Bachelor Finale...and lots of food!

It was super early and super cold, but so AMAZING! We had to leave the hotel at 4:30 AM and poor KC had to drive through all the dark and fog while everyone else in the car slept, but Haleakala was well worth the pain. It was fun for KC and I to re-visit the place we got engaged, five years ago! After the chilly frozen tundra we stopped off at Kihei Cafe for a super yummy breakfast (banana macadamia nut pancakes and eggs benedict).

After a power nap we headed to Big Beach/Little Beach. The girls loved playing in the sand and Ryan and KC took a dip in the ocean. When the sun set we all headed over the hill from Big Beach to Little Beach (nude beach) for an experience that is hard to describe - a show full of nude fire dancers (sorry no pics, this is a family blog!).

This is how Izzy felt about the sand...

This is how Maycee felt about the sand. Loved seeing it but didn't enjoy the diaper rash it gave her!

Relaxing at the pool at Marriott Vacation Club (the best pools on Maui). We spent most of our time in the hot tubs because the pools were a little chilly for the girls.

Isn't my baby beautiful??!!

Hanging out in Lahina. We sure love Cheeseburgers in Paradise! Of the three nights we were on Maui we ate there two of them. The first night we met a cute family while we waited for a table and ended up eating with them. They had two little girls that LOVED Maycee and Izzy - they even fed them for us so we could enjoy our dinner. We liked it so much that first night, there was no question where we would eat our final meal in Hawaii. Izzy especially loved the fries!

There are SO many other pictures and stories to tell, but I won't bore the two of you that actually read our blog with anything else. It was such a great trip and one that will not soon be forgotten! Thanks for all the fun Caryn and Ryan!!

Maycee waving goodbye to Hawaii...Until next time, hope its not too long!!

Spring = Flowers and Baseball

Last week we went with K.C.'s Dad and Sister to Seattle for a day on our yearly spring excursion to see the tulips and daffodils and a baseball game. We all had a lot of fun, and although Maycee was really sick the whole time with a cold, she still loved seeing all of the fields of flowers!



After visiting the flower fields and spending some time at Pikes Place Market, it was off to Safeco Field for the Angels vs. Mariners game! We had some great seats right behind the Angels dugout. Maycee had a blast at her first Angels game....sucking on garlic fries and catching balls (we got 3 balls, including one that Chone Figgins gave Maycee). Our Angels won, and we had a great time!

Happy Easter!!

Hope you all had a great day! We were so happy the day ended up being so nice for Maycee's first Easter. The day started pretty early and was pretty much non stop. Needless to say with so many different people around and all the kids, Maycee didn't have much of a nap and was ready for bed by 7:30.

We started the day by giving Maycee her treats from the Easter Bunny. She is on the verge of taking her first steps, so she got a little toy to push and practice her walking and a few eggs filled with her favorite : goldfish and fruit snacks.

We got into our easter outfits and headed to have with brunch with Sally's family. Super yummy food and even better company. Maycee is always so excited to see her cousins and grandpa is always excited to see his girls!

Our family Easter picture

Such happy little girls!!

Happy Birthday Uncle Rob! Hope it was fun sharing your birthday with Easter!

The whole Burdette gang (minus a few, we missed all who couldn't make it)

Grandpa and his girls

After filling our bellys we went listen to KC's parents speak in church. Tami and Chuck did amazing, guess that is where KC gets his great speaking skills. After church we came home for a little rest and to let Maycee play with her new toy.

Our afternoon and evening was speant with KC's family. We had a super yummy dinner, watched the older kids hunt for some eggs and took some pictures. It was a pretty long day, but so fun to see family and watch Maycee enjoy her first easter!

The best cousins picture we could get...at least Jack is smiling!

Grandma Tami with her grandkids

I got a little picture happy...couldn't decide which one I liked best. So, here is a bunch!

April Fools

For April Fools Day, K.C. made us "Green Eggs and Ham Benedict" for breakfast and "Cupcakes and Skittles" for dinner. To make the cupcakes, he baked meatloaf in cupcake tins to look like chocolate cake, then topped it with mashed potatoes dyed to look like frosting. He even dyed minced garlic flakes to look like sugar sprinkles ontop of the cupcakes! He then dyed corn also to look like Skittles. Fun meals!

Sushi Chef

Here is K.C.'s first attempt at making Sushi. The seaweed wraps he bought were too small to wrap all the way around everything he packed in them, so they were more like open-faced Sushi sandwiches. Looked funny, but tasted AWESOME! He did redeem himself and followed it up with more eye pleasing stir fry....

Who needs toys...

When you have junk mail!!!

Why is it, no matter how many fun toys you buy for your litttle one, they ALWAYS want to play with the simplest things??? Notice how close all her great toys are to her, but the dumb advertisements that come every tuesday in the mail are way more entertaining than the toys!!

Just had to post a face shot...her cute little two front teeth and ponytail sticking straight up in the air, SO cute!

The Golden state

You can't take a trip to California and not make it to In-N-Out. I think this was the first stop after we left the airport...Can you tell how much we enjoyed the food?!!

So, this little trip was about a month ago...but we had to make sure to get record of Maycee's first trip to Disneyland. We headed to California with our friends the Taits, excited for warm weather, yummy food and fun with the little girls. On Saturday we hit up Santa Monica Pier...

Gracie found some new friends...I think she became the main attraction on the pier.

Maycee wasn't so sure about the sun in her eyes, but I thought it was a cute family pic...

That night we had some great mexican food at Mexi Casa-an old favorite of the Anderson family. KC is constantly craving the "chips with cheese and sauce".

On Sunday we mostly hung out at the really nice resort we stayed at down in Newport. That night we headed up to KC's cousin's house for some home cookin' (prime rib baby!!). Thanks again Jennifer and Taylor!

The view from our balcony...not too shabby.

Maycee loves seeing Bailey and Lindsey...they are always so excited to play with her!!

Bailey and Lindsey tried to sneak away with our shoes...

On Monday we hit the main attraction in southern California-Disneyland! It ended up being the day with the WORST weather! Maycee's first Disneyland experience ended up as the "Wettest Day on Earth", but I'm pretty sure she still loved it.

One of the few moments of sunshine during the day...the girls found the ducks. Probably one of the highlights of their day!

click pictures above to enlarge

The classic photo at the front of the park...Too bad you can barely see Mickey.

We ended our trip with a visit to Balboa Pier and Newport Beach. You can't go to Balboa and not have a balboa bar or frozen banana. Brittany and I chose the chocolate covered banana....

SO GOOD!!

She's a natural beach bum...

Newport Beach - Perfect way to end our trip!