'the fat guy in heaven'

 There was a huge piece of driftwood that washed up on the beach and I had to get their pictures on it.  However, I never did get one with all of them looking at me.

 Crew is lecturing Carson on why there should not be sand on his popsicle.
Camden repeatedly asks us to play the song by 'the fat guy in heaven'...Over the Rainbow.  I just put it on our blog so he can hear it over and over.

 and this is what typically is going on throughout the day

 We went to the fun center and miniature golfed, bumper boat cars (we got drenched) and Carson did the bungy Trampoline.

Extend to me the hand of conversation...twirl me with laughter...embrace me with kindness

...and that he does.

(not sure where I am going but I look determined - which means I was probably dragging a paddleboard behind me)

Aloha...

 So, this is the picture John took of me paddle surfing - seriously?  Anyway, it was a great morning out there - tons of turtles!

 Carson and Cam were chasing bubbles on the beach...(John doesn't know what this means so let me explain) there was a woman on the beach that had a bottle of bubbles.  She was letting the wind blow them all over and kids were trying to chase them down.

 Scuba Dave - he has John's dream job

 So, we met these really great people, Tom, Rebecca and Jack...at first everyone was a little hesitant as Carson immediately invited Jack up for Wii and his mother very nicely declined, at first.  However, by the next day we all became fast friends...went to dinner at Duke's (so yummy and on the beach with a little band), BBQ'd some yummy fish and chicken, Boys played Wii, ate 'yucky charms' (as Cam calls them), football, baseball, soccer and 2 SLEEPOVERS!  Carson stayed at Jack's one of the nights and Jack stayed with us, on his last night in Maui...it was so much fun.  Hopefully, we will see them next year and next time we are in Napa (since they live in Sacramento).

 CrewCrew

This is Rebecca...Rebecca and I went paddle surfing but turned into Knee surfing as it was one of the windiest days since I have been here.

Egg hunting Maui style...

Water for Elephants...

Just finished reading this book and I really enjoyed it...can't wait to see the movie!

'Shit Howdy" (as my dad likes to say)

Palm Springs 2011

...an unforgettable 'vacation'

We met up with John's parents, brother, wife and daughter in Palm Springs.  John and I bought a little 4x6 trailer - loaded up and hit the road (if only I could start this sentence over).  We stopped in Vegas and stayed on the strip at a Hilton Grand Vacation Club that was awesome!  No casino, no smoking, no half nude people (that is to come), great pool, workout room, little grocery...lets just say FAMILY PERFECT!  We met up with the Ackley's for a night of debacle - which was great fun and I am thrilled that I don't have pics of it.

Then, we hit the road AGAIN for Palm Springs.  We rented a great house, great pool, found the perfect retirement community and house for g-parents and so it was a huge success.  We ate dinner at this great Mexican restaurant downtown PS that had live music that the kids loved, really good food and just a great vibe.

 Cruiser before the sickness began...and then the shit hit the fan or maybe the shit and the throw-up hit the fan or me or the floor or the table or the tub.  Eventually, I just put them all in the tub or the shower for at least an hour every hour or so:)  Not to mention we still had a 12 hour drive home.  Carson was so sick we had to put a diaper on him (if poop, more poop and vomit and more vomit gross you out don't read my blog cause seriously people I have been up to my EYEBALLS in poop and vomit).  Needless to say - we will NEVER NEVER EVER NEVER drive to California AGAIN...NEVER!  I/We are so happy that John's parents will be moving out there but we need a bigger plane or better airport service - so I gotta work that out.

Okay, so the last night in Palm Springs John, Lisa and I (cause Lisa and I had had it with sick kids plus Scott was now sick at this point) went to a bar called Hunter's that was recommended by our friends.  This is their uniform (yes up above) - I left the image small just in case young children haven't seen men in underwear (it could be worse as my husband likes to 'feel the air' so at least I didn't post a pic of him in his 'underwear').  Anyway, it was a gay bar and to be honest they played the BEST music, great drinks, it was clean, and for once John was groped.

Birthday in Napa...

We went with our friends Adam and Suzanne (Suz and I both have Birthdays in April) to celebrate.  We stayed at the Avia Hotel the first night (which was PERFECT - modern, understated, terrace with fire pits, private wine tasting, etc).  The next 2 nights we stayed at the the Silverado Resort and Spa - Adam and Suzanne did a tennis clinic one of the mornings and then John and I kicked their butts (hahaha just kidding).  Suzanne and I had treatments at the spa one of the days...ahhhh!  We hired a limo for wine tasting which was SUCH a good idea.  (It was April Fool's...need I say more?)  

Our first stop was Opus One which was beautiful but definitely stuffy.  Our next stop was Silveroak and our tour guide was 90+ with very funny sense of humor and a 'no empty glass policy.'  Doug and Lorissa met up with us and I think they enjoyed themselves at well.  We stopped at a few more wineries but nothing topped Silveroak. We ate at Mustards that night which was great - I ordered the ribs and as the waiter put it...'you gotta be committed.' 

 This is the only picture I have of us...so I will be purchasing a small camera.

 Opus One

Silveroak

The next day we went to a wine tasting 'off the beaten track'.  It was nothing short of fantastic.  Doug and Lorissa introduced us to not only a great wine but some very nice people.  Tulocay.

We ended our wine journey at O'Brien which is also a little smaller of a winery but has a truly unique and great story as well as superb wine (in our opinion).  If any of you journey out our way we will have plenty to share!