One on one

Storytime

Our friend, Rob, has had two skin cancer scares in the last couple months. He had a big chunk removed from his scalp...and that one made him pass out in the doctor's office. 

This time he's had a section removed from his nose. He had to have an incision from between his eyes, all the way down to his upper lip. And he's in a ton of pain. He's going a little stir crazy and asked if the girls might be able to come read to him to help give him something else to think about. 

Anna rose to the challenge.

Garagefit...looking good

Things have come a long way around here.

Garagefit addition to coolness

I do believe our garage will soon have a peg board. 

Recipe Box...we have banned the orange

I need a recipe box.

My recipe folder is a total mess and all the little hole punches have ripped through. It's not organized and I am completely over it.

I want a recipe box.

Only I can't find the exact one I like.

So I'm going to start with this....orange monstrosity!! (but it's got the right shape)

A little sanding and some walnut stain and I'm pretty happy with it!  And now to rewrite all my favorites onto these cute recipe cards...I love a good project!

Color Run!

Well, I'm not sure how colorful it ended up being, but we did have a good time and we participated.

That's pretty much our only parameters for success these days.

Mark turns 14x3

Forty-two!!

What happens when you turn forty two and you just went on an epic trip to Maui?  Your wife forgets to buy candles for the occasion. So there are always a few leftover from each package and that will have to do for now...we have 14 random candles...we will make this work.

The streamer placement was spot on this year.

After all that eating out we did on our trip, Mark was ready for a simple homecooked meal. Ham and potatoes, rolls and watermelon.

We lit the candles three times and sang three different songs...just to make up for the candle snafu.

It's got to be our best performance yet.

Anna knows what he truly wants for his birthday. And she delivers!

He didn't hesitate in diving in to his favorite present...his own cake.

Happy Birthday, Mark! We love you more than we can express!

Goodbye Maui

Goodbye, Kihei Cafe. You're banana mac french toast will always live on in our memories. 

We hit up the Costco for macadamia nut chocolate and some travel essentials for Mark.

We experienced the most painful and never ending massage chair known to man in the Maui airport. 

Ow.

And that was it.  Time to fly home.

Goodbye, Maui!

Maui: Aloha Crossfit and Nakalele Blowhole

Do you have any idea how many times we have had the banana mac french toast at the Kihei Cafe?? 

So many times. 

To Aloha Crossfit we must go! Definitely a cool gym. They had a great local membership and weren't really used to tourists dropping in. We like the vibe there and we got in a good workout. Mark had fun practicing his handstand walks with one of the more experienced athletes there. 

We thought we'd like to drive out a see the Nakalele Blowhole before we head home tomorrow. 

We got there and I realized that I may have underestimated the hike.

Well, watcha gonna do? Just go slowly and hold up your skirt!

We read about how dangerous it can be if you get to close to the opening of the blowhole.

It's hard to imagine the force that it takes to make the water shoot up that high. And then you hear it and it definitely instills a sense of respect for what nature can do.

Still, the beauty of this place is so inspiring.

We grabbed some fresh pineapple juice and banana bread from a roadside stand.  Yum!

We had lunch at Aloha Mixed Plate, another of Alisa's recommendations. The meal was healthy and light...

So, we couldn't resist following it up with one of the best desserts we've had to date.

I mean...come on!

We took another stroll around Lahaina and listened in on this group singing beautiful island songs.

We watched the black crabs climb on the rocks and a group of kids go out for sunset surf.

It was perfect and relaxed. We have loved this time we've had to spend together.

Maui: Laundry day and Old Lahaina Luau

Having a fabulous, magical time is a lot of pressure. And, hey, this is our 20th anniversary trip. It has to be epic, right? 

So, we were sitting at the Cool Cat Cafe, sharing fries and a chocolate shake...and we were having the time-honored conversation: 

What do you want to do?

I'm up for anything...what do you want to do?

We were getting nowhere, fast.  So we decided to type what we wanted to do...and then send it to each other over text and the exact same time. 

Results? 

Nothing....please, for the love....can we do NOTHING? 

We both laughed and we went to pick up our dirty clothes and hung out at the laundromat. 

Then we went and saw a movie. Yes, we can watch a movie whenever we want in Kansas...but we just needed to chill a bit. The Road to Hana took a lot out of us.

And besides...tonight was the Old Lahaina Luau!

With cute ladies playing string bass and ukulele

Free tropical drinks (kid's version, please)

Beautiful fresh flower leis

Gorgeous beachside location

An authentic roasted pig!

And SOOOO much dancing. Maybe too much dancing. After 15 or so numbers, we snuck out early. That's one of the nice things about being married for 20 years. We don't feel the need to stick it out when we're both ready to go.

The food was fun and the experience was one I am glad we didn't miss, but I don' think we'd go again. We'd rather pick a yummy meal at Nalu's, grab some shave ice at Ululani's and go dig in to our cinnamon roll we wisely purchased and Kihei Cafe.

Besides....the sunsets are the real show.

And they are completely free!