Magic in the Air

We survived our red eye flight from Hawaii (barely-Asher didn't sleep a wink hence neither did us parents). Joel's parents met us in LA for 3 fun-filled days at Disneyland. It truly was magical. I will never forget the looks on the kids' faces. We tried to capture some of those moments in pictures.

Anna and Asher in the "A" outside California Adventure Park.

Jesse's favorite ride was the flying rockets (and the carasoul). He would put his hands in the air and say "I flying". He marched onto every ride without looking back-that boy has no fear.

Joel and I celebrate our 9th anniversary there. Grandma and Grandpa kept the kids and we enjoyed a night in the park by ourselves! We felt guilty but it was oh so fun.

Anna was one pooped princess after 1 day. It is hard having all your dreams come true!

Anna was in princess heaven. Her face glowed every time she saw a princess and she got all their autographs. She could have sat in the "Princess Fantasy Fair" all day and forgotten about the rest of the park. This is one of those faces I will never forget.

Asher rode EVERY ride and EVERY roller coaster. He was SO brave! Here he is driving cars with Grandpa. After each ride he would yell, "That was totally AWESOME!". His favorites were the Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain. and he NEVER took those Mickey Mouse ears off.

However Splash Mountain was the one he rode 3 times. This is actually his "log" going over the hill and by this time he was even putting his hands in the air!

Jesse loved seeing all the characters but wanted nothing to do with them...until he saw Minnie Mouse. He tried climbing a fence to get to her, hugged and kissed her. I couldn't get him away from her. It was love at first sight. After that he would just randomly shout "Minnie! Minnie!"

Asher and Anna loved seeing the characters. Well Anna just wanted to see the girls: Minnie, Daisy, and Jessie from Toy Story. This is my favorite "character" picture.

and no trip is complete without the family photo in front of the castle!

We are now on our cross country journey. The kids are doing awesome. We have so enjoyed seeing the West and friends we haven't seen in 5 years. We have been to Cedar Breaks National Monument and Yellowstone Park (pics to follow in next post). We are presently in Great Falls, Montana visiting dear friends from college. Next are the bad lands and black hills of South Dakota, and Mt. Rushmore here we come!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Today is our last day in Hawaii. We can't believe how fast our last week has gone. We have had such a wonderful time with friends over these past few weeks-we truly feel like we got special time with everyone! I just wanted to share an update in pictures before we disappear on the road again.

An evening at the North Shore watching the sunset.

A July 4th photo of the kids at Hickam Harbor. We LOVE July 4th here...filled with rides, dancing, sailing, good friends, BBQ, and great fireworks.

My dear friend Melissa and I raced together on the 4th and walked away with 1st for the day! It was my last time racing in Hawaii and my first time with an overall win for the day-so great to end on a high note! Melissa and I learned how to sail together, then started teaching together, and what made the day even better was our 3rd team member was our awesome teacher Sandy (probably the reason why we won!). I just love the sailboats behind us sporting their 4th of July wind socks.

My boys.

Anna showing off her 4th of July tattoo.

Happy Birthday to me! My neighborhood girlfriends took me out to dinner for my birthday/farewell at one of my favorite restaurants "Schooners" which overlooks the saiboats at Pearl Harbor. It certainly was a special evening.

The last thing on our bucket list was taking a plantoon boat to the sandbar at Kaneohe Bay. We enjoyed the day with some of our neighborhood friends. It was so much fun! We enjoyed jet skiing, tubing, cannonballs off the back of the boat, cruising the harbor, and splashing around.

Asher helping Mr. Dave drive the plantoon boat.

A photo of my last sail in Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. It was an absolutely perfect day-hardly a cloud in the sky, the mountains were crystal clear, the company amazing. I couldn't keep the tears from eyes! One of the most amazing things about Hawaii is the vibrancy of the colors around you. I know it sounds cheesy but the sky is soooo blue, the mountains soooo green, the water sparkles with colors you can't find in a crayon box. I can only imagine anywhere else seeming dull after this.

But dear Lord, I know you have many blessings in store for us on our journey and in Ohio.

Watch out Disneyland, here we come.

We ARE alive

My blogs may be far and few between for a little while. As of now our temporary home is Embassy Suites in Waikiki. I can keep in touch via Joel's iphone but I find it annoying to type anything with depth on it...I keep punching the wrong letters and lose patience. I am sad to say I have 300 pictures on my computer of a wonderful 4th of July, sailing, birthday celebrations, and sunset pictures on the north shore but no way to share them with you at the present time....boy will there be a doozy of a post in the future! We have 6 days left in paradise. Then we fly to LA where we will spend 3 days in Disneyland. Anna talks nonstop about the princesses-it will be such a magical time for her, and Asher just can't wait for the rollercoasters. Then we will be driving cross country on an almost 3 week adventure. This is a dream of Joel's and I am excited to help him make it happen. However I am secretly wishing for a plane ticket from LA to Dayton for myself...I hate long car trips! However, I know there will be glorious moments along with the bad. We are super excited to see friends and family that we haven't seen in years, and are looking forward to spending time in Yellowstone Park and Mt. Rushmore. Pray for our sanity! I will keep updating as much as I can through the transition...maybe I can find a way to share some pictures too.