A Trip to the Sunshine State!

Whew!!! Brandon and I need vacation after all our vacations!!! After returning from Hawaii, we immediately left for a trip to Florida with Brandon's family. We had such a great time!!!

Our first family picture was taken from the porch of our condo. 14th floor - directly over the ocean. It was BEAUTIFUL!


My eyes are always scanning the horizon for fins, whether they be sharks, dolphins, or whales. And guess what??? On the very first day of the trip, my eyes spotted this pod of dolphins! (I'm pretty sure this was 2 adults and 1 baby - as I later found out that this is mating season and lots of baby dolphins are being spotted!)


My sweet, sweet baby nephew, Elliott, liked taking naps at the beach. The waves lulled him to sleep!


And, to my delight, he LOVED the water!!! The little guy even took a few lessons from Aunt Brooke and learned to go underwater, lay on his back, and reach up for the side. He was so comfortable with the water and will be a great swimmer soon!


LOVE HIM!!! How can this picture not make you smile???


We tanned at the beach, relaxed at the pool, and enjoyed an afternoon on wave-runners.

One evening we went to eat at a restaurant called Hammerheads. Not only was the name awesome, but the views were awesome too! What a great sunset!



On the last evening, we took some family photos. And, for a camera stuck on a tripod, I think these turned out awesome!!!


I LOVE my hubby and his family!


We had such a great time on vacation!!! Thanks Doug, Sue, Tony, Shane, Michelle, and Elliott for making such sweet memories with us!

***Once we got home, it was so nice to see this sweet face too! We love our dog, Wrigley!***

Hawaii Sept 2011

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Aloha from Hawai'i!!!

Brandon and I have been having the most wonderful time in Hawaii! We were so lucky that Brandon was asked to go on a job in North Shore, Hawaii - and it just so happened to coincide with my vacation time!

We are very fortunate to be staying at Turtle Bay Resort ... the same resort where the movie "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was filmed!


The day we arrived to Oahu was also Brandon's 30th Birthday!!! So, the car rental place upgraded us to a Jeep Wrangler! What a great way to tour the island! (It even convinced Brandon that this should be the next car we own! My FAVORITE!)


We were lucky enough to be here on Sunday, September 11, 2011 - which happened to be the 10 year anniversary of 9/11/01. What better way to spend the morning than visit the historic Pearl Harbor site? It was such a special day there. Many uniformed service men and women were present - and there was a memorial run going on nearby. We could see a group of marines carrying the American Flag across a bridge. It was a sight that brought tears to my eyes. Brandon has long wanted to go to Pearl Harbor - and he says this was the highlight of his entire trip!




My favorite part of Pearl Harbor was visiting the USS Arizona Memorial. This special memorial was built directly on top of the USS Arizona, just one of the ships that was sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor. From inside the memorial, you can look into the water and see the ship below. It was built to honor the lives lost that day - as many as 2,400 people lost their lives during that attack. (Notice the American Flag flying at half mass that day...)



After visiting Pearl Harbor and a quick stop by the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, we met up with good friends of mine, the Irvine's. They live in the beautiful town of Kailua and made the perfect tour guides for the day! I have known the Irvine's since my college days and they have always been so kind! They drove us all around Kailua to show Brandon both Kailua Beach and Lanikai Beach, then took us out to a great lunch.


The great thing about hanging out in Hawaii with "locals" is that they take you beyond the "no trespassing" signs to places that only they know about.


Places where wild ginger grows...... Our hotel room never smelled so good!!!


Thank you SO MUCH Aunty Nona and Uncle Bo for showing us around and also for the beautiful fresh leis!

Since we were on the North Shore, we had to take a special trip to historic Haleiwa town. We had a great time seeing all the surf shops and stores.



And I had to take Brandon to the famous Matsumoto's Hawaiian shave ice store! For a guy that can eat Fla-Vor-Ice pops with the best of them, Brandon was in shave ice heaven!



On the way home from Haleiwa, we stopped at this picturesque spot. If I wasn't there for myself, I wouldn't have believed a place like this existed!


On the last day of our trip, we stopped at La'ie Point - and WOW is all that can be said!


In the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, there is a scene where they jump off the cliffs. This is that location. I felt famous. (Hard to tell from the picture, but that cliff is probably a 25-35 ft jump. I'm kicking myself for not taking cliff jumping clothes! Guess we'll have to come back here again!)



We have had such a GREAT TIME in Hawaii! We are already counting down until the next time we visit - hopefully for a longer trip!


We leave tomorrow afternoon - and in 2 more days, head down to Florida for a week with Brandon's family! Can't wait for another relaxing week on the beach!

ALOHA!!!