Muddy!!

Today I thought I would let the puppies play outside all morning. After about two hours, I noticed it was starting to get cold, so I thought they should come inside. I carefully let them all in, one by one, and wiped their feet as they entered. They were still a little wet, so I thought I would leave them in the kitchen until they dried. Well... someone (most likely Duke.. that little....grrrr) decided it would be fun to tip over the water dish. They all then decided to trott through it, making their feet even muddier than they were before, and track it ALL over the kitchen floor!! When I got out of my shower here is what I found:



Needless to say after giving all three dogs baths and mopping the kitchen floor, I am ready for another shower!

Hawaii Pictures

Here are a few of our Hawaii pictures. Mark and I did not take a lot of pictures, mainly because we are really bad at remembering to take our camera with us everywhere. We pretty much relyed on my mom to take most of the pictures with her camera... so when she gets home on Saturday I will post some better ones.

This is Mark chillaxing at Lanikai. Lanikai is on the list of the top 10 undiscovered beaches in the world and has the second best snorkeling on Oahu. It is so beautiful! The sand is so soft and the water is so clear!! I could go back there right now!!

This was the view from our hotel room. We were on the penthouse floor, (which made Mark and I feel really special everytime we got in the elevator with a group of strangers and asked them to press PH for us. ) We could lay on our bed and watch the sunrise or sunset (although we were usually still sound asleep for the sunrise.)

This washed up on shore on our first day at Waikiki beach. It is a dead eel. There was a group of little kids who kept burying it in the sand and waiting for people to step on it as they walked by. Those little kids were so fun to watch. My dad actually picked up the eel and posed with it... but again, thats on my mom's camera.

This is the group (Mark, my dad, my mom, Auntie Wilma and Uncle Bill) enjoying some Dole Whip at the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We didn't take the pineapple tour or anything, since we've all been there before, but we still stopped to enjoy the icecream!

Funniest Day EVER!

I think today definately had to be the funniest day we had. Our abs sure got a work out!!

We started out the day going to the North Shore to see some pretty big waves. There were lots of surfers and Mark got some pretty good footage on our video camera. ("Best video camera ever!" - Says Mark.) We sat there for about 45 minutes, until Uncle Bill got so hungry he couldn't take it anymore. Along with the North Shore was the annual trip to the Dole Plantation for Dole Whips - we couldn't miss that!!

We then went on a search for Jack's on our way back to Lanikai, our new favorite beach. After passing three McDonalds, all Uncle Bill could say was "If you pass one more McDonalds without stopping, I'm going to strangle you!!!" But still... we kept driving... (and dad is still miraculously alive!!) It wasn't until we found every fast food joint BUT Jack's that we pulled over into a Burger King parking lot and asked some random guy for directions. He was in the middle of a cellphone conversation, so to get his attention dad and uncle bill yelled, "HEY! Can you help us? It's an EMERGANCY!!!!" He dropped the phone right away and offered his assistance... when dad asked "Where's the nearest Jack in a Box?" The guy said "Thats not an emergancy!! You guys are killing me!!!" But, even though he was a little ticked.. he gave us directions, and at last, uncle bill had his Jumbo Jacks (three to be precise).

We finally got to Lanikai just in time for the sun to go down behind a mountain, (more like a giant hill). But still, we sat and enjoyed the beautiful view and took naps.

After leaving the beach we headed home via the Pali Highway and stopped off at the Pali lookout. There Mark played Tarzan and swung on some vines (again, we got some GREAT footage of that, thanks to our handy video camera!!) And then my dad tried.... lol... need I say more?? (Don't worry... we got that on video too!!)

We then headed back to the hotel to watch the sunset, play Quiddler and then walk down Kalakuawa to watch people. Mark and I then walked down to the International Market place and now we are heading back to our hotel to call it a night.

To morrow the boys are golfing at Hawaii Kai and us girls will hang out at the pool until the boys come back to meet us on Waikiki Beach.

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Some other funny moments of the day that I don't want to forget:

"You betcha!" = "You bitch ya!"

"...touching me... touching you... SWEET CAROLINE!!"

The army dude popping out of his A.P.C. and saluting us... while dad tried to sign to him that his signal light was still on. (I guess you had to be there).

Rain, rain, go away!

Today is the first day I have EVER seen it rain in Waikiki!! But I actually welcome the rain... my skin needed a break from the sun. Again yesterday I burnt them horribly!

Yesterday we went to a new beach on the other side of the island (can't remember the name). It was BEAUTIFUL!!! The sand was so soft, the water so calm and blue, and it was HOT! The water was so clear you could see straight down to the bottom and from the shore you could see all of the coral. We went and bought snorkels so that we could go snorkeling right there. And it was just as good as Hanuama Bay! We saw Sooooooooo many fish (no turtles or eels though). That beach wasn't half as busy as Waikiki beach either. My parents are talking about just renting a house down there instead next time, thats how perfect it was!

For dinner we went to an all you can eat King Crab buffet at this fancy hotel with a HUGE aquarium in it. It really wasnt worth it for me since I HATE seafood... but Mark sure ate my share. I did enjoy the chocolate fountain and fruit though!

Today the boys decided to golf through the rain. Boy will they be muddy when they come home!! Us girls went to the mall and shopped for a while. I only bought a tiny little baby sweater, that of corse will work for both a boy or a girl. Now we're just waiting for the rain to stop so we can go to the pool, or for the boys to come home so we can go for dinner.

Tomorrow more beach!

hot! Hot! HOT!

So, I have very limited time to update... I just wandered into an internet cafe to see if Jessiya had emailed saying she hated my dog and was going to kill him... she hasn't, yet.

It is BEAUTIFUL here!! Yesterday it was sunny with not a breath of wind or a cloud in the sky. I thought I had covered myself in sunscreen but apparently I forgot my back, and it is now pretty burnt. Mark burnt his stomach (which he also neglected sun screening). We sat at the beach and the pool all day yesterday and then went to Duke's for a salad bar dinner.

Today the guys are golfing at the Koolau, where its all you can golf. They were there at sunup and they will probably be there until sun down. Us girls sat at the beach and the pool again all day. (I made sure I covered EVERYWHERE in sunscreen.)

Tomorrow we may go snorkeling to Hanauma Bay or we may go to the other side of the island to find a different beach scenery.

But Mark and I both love it here and don't want to come home!!

Waikiki, here we come!!

After the hard week of work that Mark has had, he deserves a vacation! So it is a good thing we are leaving for Hawaii tomorrow!! (Hopefully - if standby goes well!) We are going to Waikiki to meet up with my parental unit, Uncle Bill and Aunite Wilma and Uncle Clayton and Auntie Minnie. (Although Uncle Clay and Auntie Minnie leave the day after we get there.) We are going to be there for a week, and then fly standby home.

We are staying at the Pacific Monarch (where else would we stay???) Using my airline employee discount we got our room at 50% off. Granted there were only ocean view rooms left, so our room is still a little more expensive than it would have been if we booked it a few weeks in advance. Our room is supposed to look like this:

But in reality, who knows what it will really look like. The rooms are always clean, but the furniture is sometimes out of date. When we get back I'll post picture of what our room really looked like, just to compare.



The pool really does look like this though:

and thats one of the best part about the Monarch - the roof top pool. In a few days I will be sitting right on that lounge chair in the sun (well, probably in the shade because I burn so easily). Too bad Mike isn't coming this year, otherwise we could have our traditional lounge chair submarine races.

Here is a link to a web cam that is right on Waikiki beach. We pass it everyday, and when we do, we make sure to stop and wave, just incase you are watching! So look for us!!

http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/cameras/waikiki_beach/waikiki.htm

Girl's Night Out

Last night a bunch of us girls got together (for the first time in a long time) to catch up and have some fun. We went to the Seanachie in WestHills, had some drinks (some Sherly temples for us pregnant ladies) and then headed off to Jessiya's to watch Step Up. (Ooo... Tatum Channing!)

Battle Wound

Okay, I admit it... I wasn't paying attention to Mark and Louis's hockey game at all. That's why I was so shocked to get a call from Mark's cell phone mid way through the second period.

"So, I don't really have a front tooth anymore..." - Mark

Thats right, he got a high stick in the face and it broke off part of his front tooth. (Mark blames it all on the half shield). We scrammbled around trying to find a dentist not knowing what to do. Thankfully mom was able to get a hold of Mr. Dubienski (from Mark's dental office) and he met us at the clinic within 45 minutes. There wasn't much he could do at this point in time. Mark has to wait 2-3 weeks to see if the remainder of the tooth will need to be pulled or if it needs a crowne. For now they have capped it and he'll have to walk around looking like a goof (including in Hawaii).

It's kind of hard to see in the picture... I have better ones on my phone, but we're still in the process of figuring out how to get those onto the computer.

WestJet's on Fire!!!

Just a quick funny story for you all...

Tonight, while working at WestJet, midway through a call with a guest ALL of the fire alarms started going off. They made us all evacuate the building ASAP and go and stand at the very far end of the parking lot in the freaking cold wind. About 5 fire trucks, an ambulance and some poilce cruisers showed up very shortly and all piled into the building. We stood outside for about twenty five minutes until we got the okay to go back in.

And it was all for a bag of burnt popcorn.

Bike Show 2007

Last night, Mark and I went to the Bike Show at the Corral with Justin & Jessiya and Louis & Nikki. We watched a neato stunt show (all of the pictures came out too dark, which is really too bad, because they were very good!!) and then we walked around and looked at all the bikes. Mark wanted pretty much every single bike he saw and is very mad at me now because I won't let him have one. (If we weren't poor and expecting a baby, it would be a whole other story.) The only one drooling more than Mark was Justin... who was looking to upgrade to a better bike, but Jessiya won't let him until she gets a ring. (SO GET ON THAT JUSTIN!!) I think Louis looks especially hot in the last picture. Louis, that is DEFINATELY the bike for you!!

The Holiday Season

It's been a while since I've blogged anything recent... Christmas was just way to busy!!

We spent Christmas Eve at the Wienses. We opened up presents, ate pizza buns, went to the Christmas Eve service at Dalhousie and played some games. Mark and I are horrible at remembering our camera... so no pictures of any of that.

That night we came back home and opened up presents just the three of us (even Duke got Christmas presents!!) Duke got right into it and loved shredding the wrapping paper. He didn't even really care about his presents... he was just happy with the paper. After all the presents were unwrapped, I schooled Mark at Connect Four.

Christmas day we got up really early and went to my mom and dad's house for French toast, stockings and presents, and then it was off to the Christmas morning service at Emmanuel. WAY too much church if you ask Mark... but neither of us were ready to give up our traditions yet. After church we went to my grandpa and grandma's to have turkey dinner with all of the Vanderveens. Then spent the rest of the day there playing games and enjoying one another's company.

Crazy Mark and Louis then went and stood in line at Visions at 12:00am for the big boxing day sale (already then at 12:00am they were 18th in line!) Louis bought an Xbox 360 so he could be cool like Mark and Justin (Mark told me to write that) and Mark bought us a dvd camcorder for when the baby comes. Then it was back to the Wienses for games and dinner with the Gambles, the Friesens and the Wienses (Uncle Garhard and Aunt Cindy) and the Wienses (Henry and Netty).


(Crazy Louis)

Last night for New Year's we had TJ and Kelly and Justin and Jessiya over. We had a BLAST playing Cranium and Catch Phrase. We were having so much fun we almost missed the countdown! And this time I am the one who gets to brag... my team won Catch Phrase 4 out of 5 times!! AND us girls also kicked the boys butt in Cranium the first round. We played until about 3:00am, and then everyone went home. Again, Mark and I are horrible with the camera and we have NO pictures of last night.

Today the Brandses left to go back home to Vermont and Grandpa and Grandma also left in their motorhome for down south. Back to normal life I guess.

Lethbridge Pictures

Me and Robyn being our normal dweebie selves.



Uncle John, Uncle Jerry and Auntie Geraldine

Lethbridge Pictures

Brett wanting to be Santa and open EVERYONE'S presents.



Trent opening Clue.

Lethbridge Pictures

The group sitting around in Grandpa and Grandma's room opening presents.



Mom playing with Justin

Lethbridge Pictures

All of the grandkids.... (and grandkids-in-law)


"Santa" handing out presents.