MAUI, part 3

 i'm wrapping up our maui trip {finally}

6 months ago while watching "the best thing i ever ate" on the food network

chef curtis stone shared his favorite snack-
fish tacos from the paia fish market in paia, maui. 

since veiwing the episode i have told michael numerous times i was taking him there
to eat the "best fish tacos" curtis stone ever ate.

this is very generous of me because i hate fish...
fish in water, out of water,
fish scent in the air,
fish still on the breath,
the game "go-fish,"
{i'm kidding, who doesn't like to woop some booty with the game "go fish"}

however,  because curtis sang the praises of these tacos  
i decided to find out for myself.

{gag}

they're not
{maybe you shouldn't take my word for it}.

i'd like to suggest that next time chef curtis stone is in paia, maui
he take a few more steps across the street to
milagros

to sample 

the best nachos i ever ate!

they were out of this world DELICIOUS! 
{and no diane, i did not share them}.   

now, to conclude these maui posts i leave you with
a collage of pix which i have not yet shared from our maui adventure

{because i know you want to see them ALL...you're welcome}.

l-r  row 1: blow hole sign, big beach,  a scoop of vanilla ice cream covered in strawberry shaved ice, surf boards 

l-r row 2: bird on a horse, hana church, coconut milk,  lunch. 

l-r row 3:  sharing shaved ice, coconuts, michael trying to find his cup coconut size, itty bitty pineapple. 

l-r row 4: raw ahi ({gag}, bowl,  s.i.l and i on big beach, not sharing the shaved ice. 

ALOHA!

MAUI, part 2 {of most likely 3}

the reason we chose maui as the destination for our honeymooniversary
was because michael's brother, christopher, and his family
moved there a year and a half ago.
we knew maui would be a great destination for us to celebrate our 15th anniversary,
but we also knew this destination would give us the ability to visit his brother too! 

mahalo to christopher & michelle for moving to maui!

christopher & michelle have two terrific boys, luke & nicholas,
who just so happened to be at camp for 2 weeks with our kids
{so cool that the cousins got to go to camp together}. 

needless to say that while the kids were away the parents did play!

enjoy the following photos from our 
day trip together to beautiful hana

The garden of eden? you decide.

 

rainbow eucalyptus trees

 the lava tube and black sand beach at the waianapanapa state park

kaihalulu red sand beach 

hike to the bamboo forest near the seven sacred pools

our day concluded with a rainbow framing the water and a small waterfall
{the waterfall is to the left}. 

i can now say i've seen the end of the rainbow...
awe-some.

i'm sure i do not have to tell you that i was struck with awe a number of times 

throughout this hana day.

at one point during the day, our hana guide, 
and my bro-in-law, christopher said, 

"we have not even begun to scratch the surface of the beauty of maui."

this lead me to think of God...

the brilliant Creator of all, 

and how i {we} haven't even begun to scratch the surface of ALL He is to us.

a hui hou!
{till we meet again}

MAUI, part 1 of 2 {or maybe 3}

aloha friends!

i learned in maui that the meaning for "aloha" is "to share the sacred breath."   at one time the hawaiians would greet each other by standing forehead to forehead, sharing their breath.

wretched morning breath aside, i think this is an intimate and lovely display of hospitality.  it causes me to think of man's beginning, when God breathed life into adam's lungs~ that breath all mankind now shares.  how would our relationships differ if we greeted each other recognizing the Sacred Breath we share {only after you've run a toothbrush over your pearly whites, of course}?  just a thought.

maui was mauivelous! 
what a dream this was for michael and i, to be able to enjoy 9 days, sans kids, on a beautiful hawaiian island.
i am grateful for my little side job, in which every {spare} penny earned for a year went into an envelope designated for maui.  after almost 15 yrs of michael "bringing home the bacon" it was a treat for me to be able to give him an extravagant gift {he deserved it}.
we are also grateful to michael's parents, who gifted us with their timeshare in maui {mahalo, dennis & cindy}!

alright! enough chitchat, wanna see some pix?!?

 view from our room in kahana

kayak/snorkeling expedition at makena beach, 

where we saw giant sea turtles, tropical fish, touched an octupus, AND

where i was BRUTALLY ATTACKED... by our kayak.

{i had an awesome bruised lip for the remainder of the trip}. 
 i think you should know i am not adventurous. 
i dislike water-play {especially the ocean},  
i'm terrified of sharks {i blame steven spielberg}, and i DO NOT like to get my hair wet...
but what i dislike more is not living an adventure.
i had to talk myself into every adventure we took on this trip. i'm glad i did. 

shopping, eating, a movie, 
and taking in the sites in downtown lahaina.

yes, that is a REAL PARROT on the man's bike. 

the banyan tree in lahaina. 

this is one tree with 12 major trunks! 

amazing.

God's creativity has no bounds.

snorkeling at kaanapali beach

snorkeling at honolua bay 
{actually michael snorkeled, i found a cozy seat and read The Help. so good}

hawaiian/polynesian luau...

where yes i did go on stage an learn to hula!

i've wanted to learn to hula at a luau since 1970-something when
i watched the brady bunch  family learn to hula at a luau in hawaii!

we met the sweetest "just maui'd" fellow blogger and her new husband at the luau too!

pop over to her blog, say hi, and tell her denise sent you!

A hui hou! {until we meet again}

hit the ground running

why i've been m.i.a. since returning from maui:

the warning light for our brakes greeted us when we arrived in cali. 

$217.00 later the brakes are fixed!

{thankfully this was relatively cheap}.

while we were in maui we signed and overnighted papers to close escrow on our house

{more news on that later, but what a blessing!}

when we arrived home the papers needed to be redrawn and resigned.

it's official we're no longer home owners!

the kids came home from 12 days at camp,

bringing with them 12 days x 3 kids of laundry. 

even mable {emilie's cow}

had to take a trip though the whirlpool. 

needless to say, the kids have had so much to tell me about their adventures at camp;

josie wore here pink tutu every day, 

noah climbed the high-ropes-course, 

and emilie hiked half-dome {20 mile round trip}! 

i've been a bit consumed by them... and that's a good thing. 

 finally, i was wrapping up the details for

a 50th "we're coming to america" anniversary party.

a party thrown by my cousins and i for  

our grandmother and 5 aunts.

it took place this past sunday.

it's been 50 years since they

{along with my dad and grandfather}

arrived from flores, azores.

the party was THE BEST!

{more on that later, too}

 this week it's more back-to-life-back-to-reality

with work to do for my little job, 

curriculum to plan and order for the new home-school year,
and boxes to pack, 

oh, and just the small detail of finding a home {ahhhh!!!}

oh, how i miss vacation.

view directly outside our room in kahana, maui.  

{lots more on maui still to come}.

what's is your plate full with this week? 

thw world's greatest campers

it's been 12 days since i've seen my 3 wacky, wonderful kids!

they have been at 

"the home of the world's greatest campers" 

and i have missed them!

 one evening during our trip to maui, as michael was praying,
he prayed these words for our kids,

" even though we're missing them we know they're not missing You."

 

i know that just as the time with michael in maui caused me to burst with love for him, 

these 12 days at camp for the kids has greatly expanded their love for jesus

...and in just 1 hour i get to see them bursting at the heart seams!

i can't wait.

here's a little video i had the kids make me as we drove to camp.

the first snippet shows that they are just a little excited for camp. :-)

the second snippet is a song we sing to each other. 

{i watched these videos a handful of times while i was away from them}.

thank you to nana & gramps, who helped make going to camp and maui possible!

fall

i’m sitting on a plane somewhere over the pacific ocean 

between maui~ our honeymooniversary

and cali~ back-to-life-back-to-reality.

the laptop sits blank page before me. 

i'm ready to type i-don’t-know-what, but get words on a page.  

i place the earphones in my sun-kissed ears,
select i-tunes, 

"denise’s reflective songs" list,
and shuffle.  

the song begins.

i smile, think of course.  

it is our song,
our anthem,
“fly” by sara groves. 

it is fitting. 

michael sits beside me, eyes closed.
i inhale and exhale the lyrics... my life.

i  replay it again and again.

"speak in a summer tone

pause in the afterglow

tenderly whisper my name

tell me once again 
why i am your bride

so i can fly

so i can fly..."

i increase with love for him with each word. 

i have increased with love for him so much over the past 9 days  
i think i might burst!

i asked him earlier this week,
“do you think when we go away together we intend to fall in love again?”

with certainty he replied, “ABSOLUTELY.” 

it is unspoken, 

but we both know we are leaving the weight of the world

and

stealing what is rightfully ours

~the other.

living every moment solely to replenish US. 

 we intentionally release our grips on the ordinary,

and fall
into the
EXTRAORDINARY

gift
we are to each other.  

and here on the plane

with maui behind us 

and reality ahead of us,

i look at him

and think,

i miss him already. 

and i'm counting the days until we can steal away and fall for each other again.  

Summer Fun List

i've been inspired by fellow bloggers to create a Summer Fun list for our family!

with one week of summer vacation complete
this list has already helped us to 

avoid the "i'm bored-s"  

(my 8th grader {yikes!} informed me of my sp- it's croquet not crocket). 

 

can you guess which item on the list i am especially looking forward too?!?

8 days with michael in maui  to celebrate our 15 anniversary while the kids are at camp!!!

and the event that is going to cause quiet a SPLASH...

"dive-in movie" night at the roger's pool!

i'm dreading this one, but yet am SO excited about it too.

 ( MOVE! to where and when we don't know yet) 

what's on your Summer Fun list this summer?

Maycation 2011

"Maycation all I ever wanted,

Maycation had to get away"

{Maycation: Vacation at the Bass Lake house 
which begins in May but is not limited to May, 
when blog friend turned real life friend, Kristen,  
travels from Idaho to Cali. to be with me!}

We kicked off Mayaction with a meet up in Central Ca.
of the "Snow-Cheney's" and the "Pepper-Cheney's."  

Kristen's husband Lance and Lindsey's husband Sean are second cousins
{you can totally see it in the upper lip}. 
When Sean's g-parents moved to Cali they changed the pronunciation of their last name from {pepper) Cheney to {snow} Cheney, hence the nicknames.

If you have been following my blog for a bit then you know that I love Kristen for her cookies...

she is okay with that.

The weather for Maycation was HORRIBLE.

Instead of basking in the sun, we spent our days curled up by the fire.

The few moments of sunshine we had were spent kayaking and 

fudge-bucketing.

{yes, fudge-bucketing is a verb}.

Our  local friends Ginger & Spinner popped by for an evening to meet Kristen

and her family.

Ginger & Spinner  are awesome.

They think I'm awesome because S'more Egg-rolls were on the menu for desert.

Spinner {who likes to toss things} is tossing marshmallows to my mother-in-love.  

My m.i.l. is awesome.   

Michael Landon.
'nough said.

Regardless of the weather  "Maycation" was WONDERFUL.  

I am grateful to have a friend {who I made blogging} that wants to be with me rain or shine.
Kristen's friendship has become invaluable to me.

I feel blessed to have a friend who wants to share her life, her family, and...

her cookies

with me.

where i've been, and what i'm up to...

for easter break i took the kids to visit my mother and her husband at their new home in the desert, then traveled solo to san diego to visit friends. 

my kids had never been to the desert before.  seeing salt plains, joshua trees, and red rock park for the first time had them in awe.

 (pictures from web)  

we discussed how diverse and beautiful california is (coastal and mountain ranges, agricultural valley, and desert land), and how fortunate we are to live in a state with such glorious creation. 


before i left my mothers to head to s.d we all spent a day together. we visited the trona pinnacles.  the trona pinnacles are prehistoric mineral columns rising up from an ancient lake bed (which noah thought was awesome once he discovered star wars had been filmed there).

the best thing about visiting my mom is that she makes my favorite foods!  however, biscuits & gravy for breakfast followed by fried chicken & mashed potatoes for dinner are the enemy of this 37 yr old digestive system (oh, to be 16 again and have the ability to inhale all the greasiness my pallet desires).

my kids were thrilled to stay at their grammie's house for a few days minus the "eat your fruits and vegetables police," so they could indulge in all the junk my mom "forced" them to eat.

in san diego i visited my favorite little family.  imogen and i had a lot of catching up to do.
her mommy and i played catch up too, but come on, we all knew i was really there to see this sweet girl.
(she is so yummy).

after traveling 931 miles the kids and i arrived home late thursday evening.

i was exhausted by all my travel, but had one more leg of fun left on my easter break adventure...
a date with this guy. 

seeing steven curtis chapman in  concert on good friday night was AWESOME!
it was everything i'd want from scc-all his oldies, acoustic, simple, stories, joined by his 2 sons, caleb and will franklin. walking down memory lane of my christian journey through scc's music on good friday was a blessing (thanks for my early mother's day gift michael).

so that's where i've been.

as for what i'm up to...
well, "back to life, back to reality."
taxi'n the girls everyday, 50 min. each way, to drama practice for a dinner theater they are part of this weekend, catching up on neglected work from my little part time job, dealing with a broken septic pump, and finally holding back the tears as i finalize details for many surprises for my boy whose turning 13 this coming monday.

 

Noah, practicing to be 13. 

what have you been up to?