Relationships

As you get older you get busy with work, family, keeping up a house and everything else under the sun.  These commitments make it very hard to keep up relationships with friends.  It takes extra work to maintain friendships or those friendships will sizzle away and once you find good friends you want to keep them.  As everyone knows, good friends are very hard to find.  If you are anything like me, good friends are definitely very hard to find. 

I have found a group of amazing friends and I don't want those friendships to sizzle so I do my part (or at least I try...very hard) to maintain these friendships.  I am not the best phone person, OK, I suck at phone calls, so I utilize social media, emails and text messages.  I may not be the best at that either, but I certainly try.  There are also some friendships that will outlast any length of separation, but those can be even harder to find.

With that said, we don't get to see our good friends the Reitz's much.  Ok, not at all anymore since they live in Mexico (aka Tempe) and that is quite the drive from our house.  Plus, they have priorities, like Ella, their toddler...who is adorable by the way.  Anyway, they decided to have us over this past Saturday night for tacos and drinks.  I was looking forward to this since I never see them and I would consider them good friends.  We had such a nice night with them and another couple, the Smiths, eating Kim's fabulous pork tacos and drinking homemade margaritas.  Since they live in Mexico I only had one margarita so I could drive Andy home.  Kim's shredded pork tacos were so yummy that I definitely need that recipe.  The Smith's also have a toddler and to see Ella and Brady play together was absolutely adorable.  Surprisingly it did not scare me away from wanting to be a mother, like it always has in the past.  Maybe that is because both kids were very well behaved and played really well together, or maybe it's because I am getting older...and wiser.  :) 

Anyway, we had an awesome night with our friends and it's very important to maintain your friendships because it's hard to come by good friends these days!

Doggie Photo Shoot

This is the first year we (aka I) will be sending out Christmas cards.  I have never done this before because we were not married and now that we are I am ready to participate in the joys of sending out holiday cards to many family and friends to get lost amongst the rest of the holiday cards they have received.  It sounds interesting because it's almost like what's the point of sending out holiday cards in December when you are one card in 100 cards that your family and friends receive?  I am more of a non-traditionalist at heart and would normally send out cards at a different time of year, like ground hogs day or St. Patty's day.  With that said, I decided to jump on the band wagon this year because I can, and I am, so when you get our card you can tell me that it was a great card and it really stood out in the masses of cards you have received.

In the spirit of card giving I want our whole family involved and that means Madison, Izzy and of course Captain.  I also thought it would be fun to get Santa hats from PetSmart for the girls to wear while I took their photo.  Andy was not on board with this idea as he was being very negative about it.  He was saying that it would be impossible with our dogs because (A) they are too hyper, (B) they do not listen and (C) they barely sit now for two seconds as it is.  Disregarding Andy's negativity (or realistic thinking, whichever way you want to put it) I went to PetSmart to get the hats and an arsenal of backup.  My arsenal included plenty of treats that they will sit for and the treat of all treats; the mega treat of them all; the treat that they will do anything for: a chicken coated thingy ma-bob!  While I did all of this I decided not to dress up Captain and just take a photo of him without holiday garb on.  I made this decision because I was being realistic on getting the cat to take a photo.  I was also challenged enough by trying to get the dogs to sit still that I just didn't want to struggle with the cat as well.

On Saturday I was all ready for the photo shoot and it was nice that Andy helped me, despite his negativity.  Izzy sat perfectly well, and I am not just saying that because she is so sweet, but she actually did sit nicely.  We were not surprised that Izzy sat there nicely because she is a treat whore and will do just about anything if you hold a treat in front of her face.  Madison on the other hand is smarter than that and you have to be more tricky about getting her to do things.  A simple treat won't suffice for Madison as she sees right through you.  We attempted on Saturday and then again on Sunday...but so far, no photo.  As of right now I have not captured the photo for the card...yet...and I am not giving up either!  Here are the outtakes from the photo shoot though!  Kind of funny if I might say so myself.

Somebody left the back door open and they both took off as fast as they could.

With the door shut we brought them both back in the house.  Notice Madison's snarl and Izzy already sitting nicely...just not facing me though.

Oops!

Madison was just not interested!

No Madison, but Izzy is sitting pretty for the treat she is staring at.

Nope, this won't work either.

Izzy is losing her hat.

Nope, not going to work.

No hats mom!

Hats are now back on, but no photo yet.

So close!  I could Photoshop my arm out of this picture, but Izzy had to close her eyes.  Who has ever heard of a dog closing their eyes in a photo? 

Well, I am not giving up yet.  Keep an eye out for our holiday card (in December) to find out if the dogs made the card, if they wearing their hats or did we give up on the hat idea?

Aloha! - Day 7: Final Day

This was our last day in Maui.  Such a sad day.  I loved Maui and didn't want to return to reality.  I did want to see our animals as I missed them, but did not want to come back to the mainland. 

We talked a lot about options for this day.  I wanted to beach hop to the various beaches in south Maui, snorkel the rock, or hike...but, we did none of that.  We were tired and decided another lazy day on the beach was in the cards for us.  This time if we were going to spend all day being beach bums I at least wanted chairs and an umbrella, so we rented one through the resort.  It didn't cost too much, but it was definitely well worth the expense.  The chairs were definitely more comfortable to lay on and I could get under the umbrella when I felt like I had too much sun.  For lunch time I made our lunch in the room and brought it out for the both of us to eat on the beach.

Andy lounging in the sun with his kindle.  He loves getting his picture taken!

This is to remind me of what serenity looks like.

Fun in the sun...this might make the Christmas cards this year!

Following our last lazy beach day we went to the best sushi restaurant...Sansei.  It was not that far from our resort as it was probably a 10 minute drive.  This was a nice change from the drive to dinner the night prior.  We had some of the best sushi we have ever eaten.  It was so good.  If you ever make it to Maui I would highly recommend this place.  This is the one restaurant where we did not take a couples picture as the place was small and where we were seated really did not allow for a picture.

On our way back to the resort it was raining.  This was the first time it rained while we were there.  It was actually kind of nice...maybe that is because we live in Phoenix and never see rain anymore.

The following morning we woke up to head to the airport so we can get home to see our animals.  We spent pretty much all of Friday traveling.  We arrived back in Phoenix at midnight, which really sucked.  With the time change we couldn't fall asleep until 2am and then we had to get up at 6am to pick up the girls.  When we got home just after midnight Captain was screaming at us for leaving him all week. This cat does not like to be left alone.  He likes people and the dogs.  Tom did come to our house a few times to check on Captain and he got a scolding as well from Tom.  Too funny!

It was good to pick up the dogs as they were extremely tired.  They just kind of sauntered out of doggie daycare as they could barely keep their eyes open.  They slept for the next 24 hours straight and that was great for Andy and I because we were tired too.

It's good to be home, but I am now in love with Hawaii and can't wait to go back!

Aloha! - Day 6

After a full day of activities on Tuesday we decided just to chill in the sun all day.  We started at the pool and then ventured to the beach.  We managed to swim a bit in the ocean, but other than that we lounged like two lazy newlyweds with our kindles in hand.  It was a nice day.

Following a lazy day we washed up and went to dinner at Mama's Fish House.  I have heard so much about this restaurant that I told Andy we were definitely going there to check it out.  We made our reservations and couldn't get in until 6:45.  That sounds normal, but I wished we could have eaten while watching the sunset because the views and place were amazing.  It was about an hour drive from our resort and definitely worth it.  The restaurant was facing the beach and was pretty much open, or at least where we were sitting.  Once we arrived we should have taken some pictures by the beach as there was still a bit of light left in the night; however, Andy and I were anxious to get to the bar.  We did get pictures on our way out...oh well.  We shared a drink together in the bar before we got seated.  We started with some raw fish for an appetizer and then I had the snapper while Andy had the seared Ahi Tuna.  Both of our meals were fabulous and definitely lived up to all the hype I was hearing about this place.  So far, all the food in Maui had been fabulous and this just topped off the evening.  Once our waiter found out it was our honeymoon he brought back a lei for me.  It smelled great and it was fun to wear and now I can say I got "laid" in Hawaii!  :)  Here are some photos we took at Mama's Fish House.

After dinner deciding if we wanted desert.

Outside of the restaurant with the ocean in the background.  This would have been a better picture if it was earlier in the evening.  Notice the lei!

There was this boat on the beach that was obviously a prop for the restaurant.  So, why not get in it for a photo op?  Andy opted out of the photo shoot.

I though this palm tree was neat.  Another photo that would have been neat if it was lighter outside.

We headed back to the resort for lounging and beverages.  That apparently seemed to be the theme for us this week.

Aloah! - Day 5: Part 2

After the hike we got back in the Jeep to head back to Kaanapalli and hit some of the sights on the way back down the Hana highway.  Our first stop was black sand beach or the technical name is Wai'anapanapa Beach. This was absolutely beautiful to see.  We started with our picnic lunch that we had packed. 

View from our picnic lunch.

We then headed out to explore the sights and there was another blow hole here.  The sign said not to get too close, but since the water was not shooting up I got close to get a good picture.

Sign that I ignored.

 

 

 

Entrance to the blow hole that was not shooting out water...another fail for us to see a blow hole.

Here are some pictures I took of the area.

View of the "bridge".

View of the beach from the blow hole and bridge area.

Waves crashing against the coast line.

We walked along the beach and onto the other side to get some more pictures.  The tide was high so we did not swim at the beach and it was loud as the waves came crashing against the coast.

Black sand beach.

The black rocks on the beach.

Picture of the "bridge" from across the way.

Standing on the coast line.  What a view.

After the breathtaking views we headed back to the beach and walked into a "cave" area.  The waves have carved out this cave.  Good thing the tide wasn't too high that we could walk in and take photos.

The "cave" where the waves came crashing in.

An attempt to get a picture of me with the waves in the background.  Too much back light to make this happen.

The entrance to the cave.  Andy basically had to crawl to get in there.

We then got back in the Jeep to head down the Hana highway and make more stops that are mentioned in the Maui Revealed book.  We quickly learned why you make the stops on the way to the national park and not on the way back. After seeing the 400 foot waterfall all the smaller ones were disappointing.  If we would have done what the book suggested and stopped on the way there it would have been a nice build up to the giant waterfall.  Here is a photo of one of the "sad" waterfalls.

This would have been neat on the way up, but was definitely a disappointment after the huge waterfall.  Needless to say we didn't do many more stops after this.

Once we arrived back in Kaanapalli we were exhausted from a full day of activities so instead of getting ready for dinner we decided to pickup takeout at Honokowai Okazuya Deli. It was mentioned in the book as being good and the Campbell's had it highlighted so we decided to go for it.  I got the Mahi Mahi saute and it was fabulous.  Andy loved his meal too.  I was really impressed how good the takeout food was.  One thing Maui did not disappoint on was the food.  Rather it was takeout or an expensive dinner the food was fabulous.  We had our dinner in the room and then headed to the beach, cocktails in hand, to watch the sun set.

Cocktails on the beach are always a plus!

Watching the sunset with my husband.

After the beautiful sunset we shared a few more cocktails and hit the hay since we were exhausted.

Aloha! - Day 5: Part 1

This was a fun day as we spent the whole day doing the famous "Road to Hana" trip.  We started our day leaving the resort just after 6 in the morning to get a head start.  This road was very tight with switch backs and then many one lane sections and bridges.  Once you got to the one lane areas you hit a yield sign to see if another car was coming and there were many times where you couldn't see if another car was coming, so you just went for it.  There were many other times where the car on the other side never yield to us and we already went, but then had to be careful because the other car didn't yield.  It was insane driving and may times Andy wasn't going over 20mph because he just couldn't.  I was just glad that it wasn't me driving because I couldn't handle it as it seemed stressful.  I have heard many people get sick doing this drive, but I never did.  I have never had a problem with car sickness.  On the way back though I was now on the edge of the coast and there were numerous times where Andy had to pull tight to the edge of the road and I was right on the edge looking down over the cliffs and straight to the ocean.  It was kind of scary.  That is when the drive bothered me, but not on the way to Hana.  It took us just over two hours to get to Hana and then about another half an hour to get to the national park.

We had our trusty Maui Revealed book the whole way.  In the book it talks about numerous stops to see waterfalls and many other beautiful sights; however, Andy and I decided just to ignore all the stops and head straight to the park to see the 400 foot waterfall as we decided we would hit the stops on the way back from Hana. 

Once we arrived at the National Park we were informed there was no swimming in the sacred seven pools that day because of high tide.  No problem I thought as I really just wanted to see the seven pools and then hike on to the giant waterfall.  Needless to say they blocked off the "swimming" area, so we couldn't even see the "seven" waterfalls either.  We could see a "tiny" bit and not even enough for a picture.  Oh well, we were then off to our 2 mile hike to the giant waterfall.

Neat looking tree as we started our hike.

Only just the beginning.  Notice Andy's "Keens"

Fun "Danger" signs throughout the hike.

First waterfall.

Beautiful scenery.

This waterfall was pretty neat as it went into the "cave" (pool) of water below.

Pool of water from the above falls.

This two part waterfall was very beautiful as we took pictures from a bridge.

Funny, as we were trying to get the double waterfalls behind us...totally missed on that one.

Entering the bamboo forest.

The bamboo forest was really interesting and made fun sounds when a breeze would come through and the bamboo would knock into each other.

Andy loves getting his picture taken.

More of the bamboo forest.

And here is the giant 400 foot waterfall that we hiked two miles to see.

Absolutely beautiful!

Loved it!

The bottom of the waterfall.

This picture of my Keens is for my friend, Pam, as she suggested we buy them.  They worked great!  Thanks Pam!

Trying to look semi-decent while taking the photo of us and the bottom of the waterfall in the background.

We found a nice couple that took our picture with the waterfall!

This was another kick ass tree on the hike!

This is the trunk of the tree...very cool!

The view from the National Park before we took off to head back down the road.

Following the amazing hike we started our way back down the curvy road and made some scenic stops on the way.