A Winter Wonderland!!!

As I mentioned in my last post we just spent a little time in Hawaii, my new WINTER WONDERLAND.  I've decided it's a great place to go in the winter, any time of year for that matter. I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting to the cold, but I'm sure after a day or too it will once again become second nature.  It's so hard to believe that somewhere out there people are basking in the sun and the sand. 

OAHU:

We spend a couple days there first. I've always enjoyed the other islands a lot more but for some reason this time I REALLY enjoyed being in Waikiki too. It was fun to see the area all done up for the holidays.

The sunsets there are GORGEOUS!

The food is great! Especially in PARADISE.

The company was great too.

We enjoyed time on our vacation with the Steven's family.

Charlie, Darlene, Kelly, David, Carrie, Shari, Kevin (Kristen & Reggie too)

The first night there we were welcomed with a Christmas light parade.

It was so much fun!

We hiked up Diamond Head and this is the view, complete with a RAINBOW.

MAUI:

We then went to Maui for a few days. I loved everything about it!

We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Club.  It was awesome.

This is the view from our balcony

One of the many pools

Side trip on the road to Hana.

I DID IT! and boy was it COLD!!

George did too.

Our kids would have been so proud!

Speaking of proud kids, we made Karson proud by eating at the GAZEBO (a little out of the way place located on the pool deck of some condominiums) They heard about it from a friend and tried it while on their honeymoon.  Since then our family has benefited because Karson did some research and learned how to recreate their famous Banana Mac Pancakes. Which he makes for our family often.

We ate there two mornings and both time there was a line.  Apparently at certain times of the year it wraps all around the pool.

The view there is as amazing as the food

This here is litte Reggie Freschknect.  He was such a doll and really made me miss my grandkids.

He couldn't remember "Connie" and called me "CORAL". I loved it!

Notice the little spray of water.  There was a whale out there that was entangled in heavy rope. They were trying to get it loose. It was fun to see a whale that close but I felt sad for it too.

A special thanks to Angie, Fred and their Maui family for hooking us up with a great vacation.  We loved every minute of it!

Black and BLUE Friday!!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  It's hard to believe it's already come and gone.  Sadly it's kind of a blur to me now.

We had dinner at my mom's house and I'm feeling bad that I didn't take any pictures of the event.  It was our off year for Kaydee & Launey and Kylee & Conner.  Poor Karson and Linzy are going to try and do duo dinners so that they won't be out of sync with the others every year.

Later in the day we (us girls) met at Kristy and Tony's to plot out our strategy for the big Black Friday sales.

This year we decided to do it up right and head out early, so early in fact that it was actually still Thanksgiving!

RaNae and the young bunch ready for action

We started out at Toys R Us in Murray (it was evident we were not in Happy Valley)  People started literally jumping over this poor policeman's car to get into the store.  We said, "To heck with this!" and left.

From there we went to South Towne Mall.  It wasn't too long after we got there that Kaydee and I heard a familiar sound in the distance.  We immediately recognized it as the voice of one of our favorites, Peter Breinholt.  He was actually doing a concert for all the shoppers and non-shoppers alike.

Well that is where my shopping basically ended!  Kaydee and I sat there until 4:00 in the morning just listening to the music and waiting for our names to be called out in the hourly drawings.  When it was evident that we were losers we finally decided it was time to get serious and do some shopping.

So that's exactly what I did until it was time for my BLUE FRIDAY to began.

George picked me up at Target and we loaded a plane headed for the blue waters and blue skys of Hawaii!

Tis The Season...

For some reason I just haven't been able to put my brain around the fact the Christmas is coming, and coming FAST for that matter.  The idea of dragging out all of my Christmas decorations is weighing me down! I've had to remind myself that it's always that way, and then when I get started and begin to see the house transpired and the feeling of Christmas starts to creep in, I'm always glad that I finally broke down and got it done. I truly do love this time of year and all of the traditions we enjoy as a family!

The Kay Family Party

is the event of the season.

We've been meeting for years,

and for a good reason!

Besides eating and crafting,

which we all do so well.

(the eating part)

We have Santa show up

and the kids start to yell!

HO HO HO

Getting together on a cold snowy night,

to make some treats is sure a

DELIGHT!

 Building a SNOWMAN with Bampa sure is fun,

you won't find another that compares to this one!

A tradition we started many years ago,

is exchanging ornments for the kids as they grow.

Our trees are loaded with these special things

It's fun to see what each year brings.

Luke was a ZOMBIE for Halloween

last year,

so the reason for his ornament was perfectly clear!

As my kids have grown and left the nest

they've thinned the tree but I'm still truly

BLESSED!

The kids love the jammies they get every year,

putting them on always brings lots of cheer!

So it comes down to this as I drag out the mess,

I'm grateful for CHRISTMAS and would want nothing less.

There are so many things that I'm thankful for,

and as I hang up the STOCKINGS I'll be hanging ONE more!

Halloween Ho-Down

Well first of all I've had to set up a new blog.  My original blog was working out well for me and then all of a sudden it quit showing my updates on the few of you who have me on your blog lists.  This meant that my readership of 3-5 went from 0-1. I couldn't have that.  It's important for me to know that someone out there is checking out my cute grandkids from time to time and maybe even leaving a comment here and there.  So that's the reason I've had to start a whole new blog from scratch. (not fun!)  I would however like to encourage you to go back and see my latest posts on the other blog so you don't miss anything

So on with the topic: Halloween Ho-Down!

I have to admit that Halloween has never really been one of my most favorite  holidays, but since the kids all love it I decided to break down and throw a party!  My party was originally going to be a simple affair but Kylee quickly set me straight on that, and added to the MeSs or should I say fun.

We became "creepy cupcake creators"

After the kitchen was cleaned up, I'll have to admit I was quite proud of ourselves!

We used them for our "CUPCAKE WALK"

where everyone came away a winner.

It turned out to be a nice enough day to be able to carve our pumpkins outside.

I just loved the way Tanner described his pumpkin (which he carved completely on his own) "it has two little eyes, a little nose and a BIG mouth."

I'm telling you, Luke has skills! You can tell he's proud, and rightfully so!

No get together would be complete without food and Kylee's Spooky Punch...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE MORGANS!