Category: Adventure

Palm Springs – What I’m Packing

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We are vaxxed waxed and ready to relax y’all!

OK even I am grossed out by the phrase vaxxed and waxed, but it just felt so apropos for our situation. And while I am fine with being slightly basic, I am certainly not comfortable with going full chueg. And while we are on the subject, I for one am delighted to finally have a term for that shiplap, “gather” sign, chevron print aesthetic je ne sais quoi I was never able to put my finger on. But now? I can walk through Hobby Lobby smirking at the cheugiest-of-the-cheug while I myself select my own, slightly less cheugy (?) renditions.

I digress…<- also cheugy.

Ok I’m done.

Well guys, the fam is headed to Palm Springs in a few days! And since it has been, well, forever since we have been anywhere or gone on a plane I thought I would share some highlights of what we are bringing along.

Of course we will start with swimwear, arguably the most important items for this trip.

Infamous Swim – Mini Poppy Bikini Set in Fairy Floss – ON SALE NOW!

Infamous Swim – Gia Bikini Top/Radar Bikini Bottoms in Fairy Floss – ON SALE NOW!

Guys. I am not one to match with my kid. In fact, this is the first mommy+me matching we have ever participated in together. I always thought it a bit cheesy because really, the adult is never going to look as cute as the kid. However, these matching suits have my heart. Clara squealed when she noticed that they matched and THAT – changes everything.

These swimsuits are maybe the nicest I’ve owned. The materials is thick, yet soft, durable, and very comfortable. I was also really impressed with how they come in handy pouches, perfect for throwing in your bag to store your wet suit!

We will also be taking this amazingly soft toddler bamboo bathrobe from Kyte Baby for Miss Clara to warm up in post-pool play.

And if you’ve never ventured over to Kyte Baby – go go go! They really have theee best things and Clara basically lives in her sleep bag walker.

In terms of clothing for myself, I will of course be bringing a few new new summer things I have accumulated. Among those items are these new shorts from Aerie and a couple of cropped tee shirts from Target.

I will also be taking this dazzling tank top from Sparkle City!

(Pardon the Minnie Mouse tattoo on my arm). This tank top is SUPER high-quality! Forget everything you thought you knew about sequined appliques because this is SO SPARKLY. Pageant-worthy, truly. I die for the cut, the band-tee vibe and subtle nod to America. Cannot wait to don this in PS and on July 4th!

One thing I totally dropped the ball on was ordering myself some prescription sunglasses for this trip. Just did not get my act together in time. Luckily I have these adorable new sunglasses from Pixel Eyewear that are both polarized AND offer blue light protection. They feel so high-quality and I love that David can wear them too #unisex.

For the plane ride, I am so excited to wear these new high-waisted, buttery soft leggings from Amazon, by Fenrici for only $20. Also, excuse the body suit cut into a shirt. READ: Body suits are not made for tall people.

Of course no vacation in 2021 is complete without a mask! Since we will have to wear these for several hours in the airport + while on the plane, I am very excited to have two new anti-acne face masks. I am also excited due to the fact that I have been battling some pesky breakouts on my chin recently!

This two-pack comes in light blue and black, offers UV protection, absorbs surface moisture quickly, helps soothe inflamed skin and is super soft!

Now onto the beauty items! I really have not been wearing too much makeup lately (as evidenced in most of these photos), but have been trying out lots of new skin and body care. Here is what I am bringing along:

Of course, sunscreen! I plan to slather it on the whole time we are there and am so happy to have discovered this kind from Earth Baby for Clara.

One thing I hate about so many of those all-natural sunscreens is how white they are, and how it does not rub in! I usually have .0000432 seconds to get sunscreen on her and am so thankful when the task is made easier. This stuff is great because while it is natural, it rubs in SO smoothly and smells really nice.

We are also bringing a vat of hand sanitizer and I plan to throw this bottle of EcoFreaks in my checked bag so we’re well stocked for the week.

This stuff is a nice reprieve from the super scented versions that can leave hands feeling dry. This version is non-scented and contains aloe for added moisture.

Another new item I will be bringing along is this all-natural deodorant I have been trying from mindalt.

First of all, this deodorant smells amazing. Like nothing else I’ve ever smelled before. And I am not going to lie, switching from regular to all-natural deodorant is no task for the faint of heart. There is a definite “detox” period and several moments where extra wetness have become commonplace. What I love about the mindalt deodorant compared to other all-natural versions I have tried, is the strong scent. It seems to really overpower any foul odors and the scent is just so damn nice and calming. They also have a formula to suit any mood – including “more energy” and “more mindful”.

Another item I will be throwing in the ol’ toiletry bag are these self-tanning drops from Tanologist. I love that they mix right in with any lotion and I find that only a couple drops of the “dark” shade provides a nice sun-kissed look, rather than the harshness that a straight-up self-tanner can provide.

I have also been in hot pursuit of some concealer for my face that contains some sort of blemish treatment. I am telling you, these pesky chin zits are driving me crazy. And guys, I think I found my new holy grail.

The August + Monroe 3-in-1 Camouflage is ground-breaking.

I am so thrilled I found this stuff! It is from a clean brand, featuring aloe, arnica, squalane, salicylic acid and vitamin C. The formula is color-adjusting which I have never been a huge fan of, TBH. It starts out white and darkens to skin-tone as you work it in. I was nervous at first, but the coverage is amazing AND it does not feel like concealer at all. See below for some before and afters!

BEFORE
AFTER

No filters! Promise.

In terms of face makeup, I am keeping things pretty simple and bringing along this Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer that I received via Influenster. I love that it provides a nice level of coverage, while also containing SPF.

I swear, I have gotten to try some of the nicest things just by joining Influenster – and it really is totally and completely free. They also do not spam you with a bunch of emails. If you have a ton of Facebook friends, or Instagram followers – sign up here! You fill out a profile with your likes and they send you free stuff. It is amazing. (This is a referral link that I earn “points” for).

And that concludes the most exciting things I will be bringing along with us. What are some of your must-haves for travel?

*Some of the items above were sent to me complimentary for review. All opinions are my own.

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Ghouls, Girls Trips and Great Times

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Oh yes I did!

How about that title eh? Prrretty good.

If I did not use this kind of  title, I would have been forced to go with the truth, which is…I Work Full Time and Have a Baby! Or, I’d Rather Lay in Bed and Watch YouTube Videos than Write a Blog Post!

To anyone out there who works, has a family AND manages to do even a sub-par job at a hobby – GOOD FOR YOU. This sh*t is hard. Now I know why people  who used to have blogs or YouTube channels, or hobbies no longer keep them up…they had a kid haha.

I refuse to let this happen to me because –

  1. It is really important to me. I love writing and this is my self-care time. My therapist along with many Pinterest boards tell me this is okay.
  2. My family and I can look back at this stuff years from now. And that will be cool.
  3. When people tell me they read my blog, it makes me feel good. HONESTY!

So let’s start with Halloweenis. I had real high hopes of being one of those people who has her act together and organizes a cute family costume. Noooope. Didn’t happen.  I did manage to nab Clara something for $3 at Goodwill (which is the amount everyone with a baby should have to spend on a Halloween costume they will wear for approx .342 seconds). And since E stans hard for the Descendants, she was Uma. I don’t really understand the Descendants thing. I am hoping she discovers the glory that is High School Musical.

David and I did manage to make it out of the house for this annual Halloween party we are lucky enough to attend at our friend’s house. It is literally the highlight of our YEAR, this party. In years past, we always dress up as something funny or weird and I never look cute.

EXHIBIT A

So this year, David had one request…”Can you NOT look ugly for Halloween?” HAAhaaaaa.

So we decided to go as Hef and a Playboy bunny due to a long-standing obsession I have with the show The Girls Next Door.

I have to admit that I really loved getting all gussied up in this costume. I had on fake lashes, fake tan and fake hair meaning I felt wonderful about myself. David got a genuwine Playboy robe from Hollywood Vintage and I LOVE IT.

In early November, David, Clara and I ventured north to Seattle for a much needed girls weekend with my BFFs. I did a terrible job of capturing the memz, but I did manage a few.

The whole month of November was just wonderful. The leaves turned colors and we did lots of fun things, such as:

A fancy dinner out at Higgins with our trusty sidekick.

Getting some winter boots.

Visits from Nana.

Trips to Red Robin.

Christmas shopping (in shorts).

And putting up our tree in our new sugarplum fairy jammies.

We also had a lovely weekend visit with Auntie Amy!! We went to the zoo and had theee best time ever despite the fact it was frigid.

We were both not feelin’ a selfie so I snapped this photo for proof of life and also a perfect shot of my snaggle.

Clara was feelin the elephant exhibit.

An amazing couple of months we had! Now it’s time to await the 15 things I bought on Cyber Monday that were in fact, not good deals.

Palm Springs Vacation with Baby

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Greetings rainbow sprinkles!

And please excuse my lack of posts as of late (I mean I know you are all DYING to hear more about my v exciting life). Working 30-ish hours a week and doing all the things is not easy for me. I realize some people work way more, with more kids and more responsibilities and do it all with perfectly clean homes bedecked in lovely autumnal decor and find the time to NOT look slightly homeless. As I have said many times over, that person I am not. I can barely find the time and energy to go to Goodwill and find my daughter a Halloween costume (because I refuse to spend $20 + on something she will wear for a single photo). * I did find said costume. It was $1.50.

So a few weeks ago, David, Clara and I flew to Palm Springs for our first official vacation together. Let’s get to it.

Our flight departed around 9 am which was good timing for baby’s napping situation. We went through TSA with a pre-made bottle and I got a chuckle when I told the agent, “This bag contains breastmilk.” We took the stroller and her car seat all the way to the gate and pre-boarded the with all our sh*t and a cup of hot water from Starbucks to heat up her bottle. She was a little fussy as we sat there while everyone else boarded and was ready to eat. We wanted to hold off on giving it to her until we were literally taking off to ensure her ears would be ok. It was tough but she ended up drinking it through take off and did not seem to have any trouble. After about 30 minutes in the air, David took her to the back of the plane and rocked her to sleep (he is the best) and I held her for the remainder of the flight which is MY FAVORITE THING EVER.

After landing, we took an Uber to Aunt Sandi’s house (our pad for the week) and…immediately jumped in the pool!

I did a bit of research before we left and decided to try this pool floatie for Clara. It ended up being absolutely wonderful! It was a tad big for her, so we just stuffed a towel down in the seat so she was up a bit higher. She loved the toys attached to it, kicking her feet in the water and splashing around.

The next day was David’s birthday! This year I got him a whiskey of the month club membership because I am running out of Blazers jerseys that he does not already own.

That morning, he hit a bucket of balls at the driving range.

Then an afternoon of swimming.

C is sporting her $4 swimsuit from Kohls.

For dinner that night, David’s parents and Aunt Sandi gave us a gift card to a delicious Italian place in Palm Desert called Castelli’s. Highly suggest if you are in the area!

Our reservation was for 5:30 pm because baby and we had a great time.

I was obviously feelin’ myself on the way there but upon closer inspection the baby hair breakage is abundant in this photo.

Dinner dates!

David’s steak was NO JOKE.

Check out the sky behind us!

The next day I made two astonishing discoveries:

  1. Coachella is not just the name of the music festival but also a town (face slap)
  2. We were about 20 minutes away from it

Curiosity got the cat and we decided to check it out and see what all the “fuss was about” (said in grumpy old lady voice).

Turns out Coachella, the music festival, is actually held at a polo club…and when it isn’t “Coachella” it really is just a polo club. And this one in particular was pretty amazing.

First of all, this is in the middle of the DESERT. Everyone’s lawns are rock gardens and cacti. So to see this giant, expansive grass and palm tree oasis in the middle of BROWN is pretty impressive.

The surrounding gardens were beautiful and nobody cared that we were just pushing our big ass stroller err whurr.

I also wanted to get a James Charles-esque picture before we left, so we explored the grounds and finally found a good spot.

We could have hopped the fence you see in the photo of me on the right to get closer to the rainbow windows building. But I wasn’t feelin’ it. You get the idea.

Then we had lunch at a Tavern on the property where Clara spilled a large glass of ice water directly into my lap and it went allll the way up my backside. However, all was redeemed by the saddle seats they had, especially after snapping this photo:

The next morning we were up bright and early with Clara so we went for a walk and happened upon this little gem: (had to take a pic for Nan)

Then we got the baby ready and drove into Palm Springs for some shopping! BB OOTD: (She dazzles in fruits)

We found her a pair of those Baby Hipster sunglasses but she hated even though they were evvverything.

Then I breastfed her in the back alley of sus lunch spot we tried because there was shade. You can take the girl out of Spokane but apparently you can’t take Spokane out of the girl.

I also had to try on the spandex bike shorts that everyone is wearing these days.

Hahahaaa jk I just wanted to take a pic in them as a joke to send to my immediate family. All I need is a pair of those hideous chunky Filas.

The next day we went to the Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert! Baby girl wore her finest jellies.

JK these lasted .002 seconds before being promptly discarded.

The zoo was amazing! Especially…

The giraffes!

The petting zoo portion because GOATS.

And these amazing rainbow chairs that we snapped this adorable pic with:

On one of our last days, we decided to go to J.Tree and the weather was perfection.

Don’t freak, David was holding her in this pic.

And I was holding her in this one…

The flight home also went very well. We did the exact same thing as we did on the way there, except instead of pre-boarding we waited until literally THE LAST second to get on the plane. That way, we did not have to sit for 40 minutes while everyone else found their seat and baby got restless. It worked out way better for us that way and she slept most of the way home once again, in my arms. Bliss.

The whole thing really. Was bliss.

Summer, Sleep Training and Ruffly Swimsuits

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Howdy-doo!

I feel like I have been scarce around these parts as of late. I wish I could say it is due to some big vacation or major home-reno project but truth be told, I’ve just been a lazy SOB. Hats off to anyone (and I do mean ANYONE) who works full-time, has any form of offspring (be it human or other varietal), one or two hobbies, various relationships AND manages to do anything else. Doesn’t matter if it’s a side job, volunteering, or writing about their inner-most thoughts on the internet. Keeping any semblance of a “regular” schedule is tough to do. I do not do it well. I do not do many things well. But I am STELLAR at doing several things at a mediocre level. I win at that.

So in no certain order – here is what has been going on in my life.

CLARA. Clara has been going on. Here we are on the 4th of July.

I bought this outfit for her at Target last year (minus the drool bib) when I was pregnant for like $8. I am a TOTAL sucker for bloomers and I always will be. Poor girl will be wearing them in 8th grade if I have my way.

She is just the best. I am still completely obsessed with her and everything she does and does not do. She could literally kick me in my open eye and I would not care. I would rob a bank if she wanted me to, or clean up a dead body. FIGHT ME.

Also, we did sleep training with her.

*Disclaimer – As I have said from the beginning…I am sharing my experience here guys. Not an expert. Not telling anyone what to do and not looking for criticism. Just your average gal, doin’ her best.

And now we can talk about how SLEEP TRAINING IS THE WORST THING EVERRR. Imagine a hot knife being plunged into your heart. THAT is sleep training my friends. Maybe I am being a taddd dramatic but honestly it was the worst thing I have experienced. And it is worth talking about in case anyone else is going/has gone/will go through it.

My only tip coming out the other side is this: THE ONLY way to get through sleep training is with a partner. There is 100% NO WAY I could have managed it on my own. Here is how it went down:

Girlfriend was a champion sleeper until like 5 months. Then she went through the dreaded sleep regression that everyone warns you about. We could no longer swaddle, because she was rolling over (click here to see what helped us through that) and I was up 4-8 times a night feeding her so she would go back to sleep. Even though they were short little feeds (it was more about soothing than actually eating), it was getting to be a lot. David and I knew we needed to teach her to soothe herself and go back to sleep on her own. The first step was starting to put her to bed while she was still awake and doing “the routine”. We read her books, sing her songs, make a point to show her that we are shutting the curtains, and turn on the white noise. We explain what we are doing, while we are doing it. It is a sight to see. Then we set her down, wide awake.

Then we let her cry.

This is where having a supportive partner comes in. Lucky for me, I have the world’s most supportive partner (seriously, ever). He obviously does not enjoy the sound of her crying, but it does not affect him the way it affects me. I had to go outside, watch YouTube, drink wine and I still SOBBED. I did this every night.

The longest she ever cried for during this period was about 25 minutes. Which, when you are going through it – is a lifetime. And we did not check in on her…we just let her cry. The first couple of nights, I did get up with her when she would cry in the middle of the night, but then quickly decided to stop doing that too. We just felt that it may be confusing to her. So when she cried during the night, I would go to another room (she sleeps in a Pack and Play in our room still).

After about a week or ten days, she FINALLY got the hang of it! She slept through the night, from like 7 pm to 6 am and has been doing that consistently since then. She is WAY happier during the day, still takes 2-3 naps (albeit, sometimes not long ones) and David and I have our evenings back. It really is a win-win for us but I also know it does not work for everyone.

Her tiny eyebrows slaaaay me

At the end of July, David went to Las Vegas to coach basketball for 5 days and my mom, Megan and nephews came to stay. Here is what we did:

We played on the ground a lot with cousin Dean.

We went in the pool with cousin Tornado Tate.

Clara’s swimsuit? Yes it has ruffles on the butt.

We went places.

Like the zoo!

 

Here we are on the little train at the zoo.

Then, Clara got sick for her first official time! I do not know why I am making this sound exciting because it most definitely was not. She caught a little stomach bug and literally emptied her tummy allll over the house while my mom was watching her. I was at my bestie Kelly’s birthday party and had to leave early. It was a whole thing.

I came home to a very pale bb.

It was so sad and so hard. OF COURSE it had to happen when David was out of town. He is really good in situations like this whereas I just cry and panic. She did not have a temp and I called the doctor on call at her pediatrician to figure out what to do. It was quite a night though.

Oh! My let’s give you all an update on the absolute train wreck that is my hair!

Words are not needed here.

Other fun things include our first Thorns game with the baby.

My Grandma’s memorial service (not exactly fun) but it was great to see the fam and Clara wore her Sunday best.

Lots of fun new things have been purchased, such as:

I know the highlighter is shattered but the lip product ALONE is $7 so it is WORTH IT.

Anyone caught up on Season Three? If so, you will love this little tank David found me!

These tiny bb shoes were too irresistible. Had to buy em up.

Lastly, we have gone to the beach and Clara went on her first camping trip. Well, more like glamping (there was a motor home and all) but STILL.

These two ♥

The beach! I love how much David loves wearing her.

And that about wraps it up for today! Thanks for stopping by.

San Juan Islands Vacation

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Hydalee-ho there.

A couple of weeks ago my family embarked on a week long vacation up north. We spent a little time visiting family  in Seattle and also went to the San Juan Islands!

We left bright and early Monday morning with the Jeep packed to the brim. Traveling with a 6 month old baby is no joke. I stan for any parents who can successfully pack for a week with a baby and NOT accidentally fill 7 suitcases. I thought I could get away with a small carry on and maybe a backpack for her but OHYEAHthere’s17thousandoutfitsIneedtobringandthatdoesn’tincludematchinghatsandbows.

Then there’s the feeding of the child (bottles, bottle warmer, bibs and baby spoons, etc), the diapering of the child (wipes, diapers, etc.), the sleeping of the child (pack and play, sleep sack, etc.) the transportation of the child (carseat, stroller, baby carrier). OH DEAR GOD. Then of course E wants to bring an entire stuffed animal family, a small library and a wide variety of fruit leathers. How did I ever think I could possibly ever pull off NOT being the hot mess mom!?

We started the trip in Seattle where we stayed with family in Bellevue. The Dowtown Park is amazing. If you’re ever in Bellevue and have kids, check it out. They have everything.

That night, we had a lovely dinner and enjoyed some absolutely gorgeous Seattle weather on the patio.

The next day we drove to Anacortes to board the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The last time I took a ferry I was drinking champagne and kid-free so  this time things looked a little bit different.

We did not see any whales but I did polish off the rest of a chicken sandwich from my Dad’s lunch that was darn good.

We stayed in Friday Harbor for the duration of our time on the island and completely fell in love with it. Our hotel was a 2 bdrm with a little kitchenette and it ended up working perfect for the four of us.

And the place my cousin got married, Roche Harbor? Aaaamazing. LITERALLY out of a friggen’ movie.

The day before the wedding we putzed around the area, had fish and chips, ice cream – basically touristed hard.

That night was the rehearsal dinner on the beach.

The happy couple

The next day before the wedding we walked around Friday Harbor and saw some alpacas.

Almost bought this book because duh.

Here’s David in a strapping hat made of alpaca fur!

Then it was wedding time!

Glow stick necklaces FTW

Everything was just gorgeous and the weather was perfect.

The next day we boarded the ferry back to Anacortes and headed to Issaquah to hunker down at my aunt and uncle’s house. That night, we took a lovely walk around the neighborhood. The baby was clearly not excited about this at all:

The next day we saw some friends and went to the Issaquah Farmers Market, which was really fun!

Then we scooted over to Seattle to hang with my sisters and celebrate Seattle Pride! I wore a rainbow ribbon in my hair, trying to mask the crazy amount of baby bangs, breakage and brown hair I am currently sporting!

And of course, Clara had to show the love as well.

All in all, such a beautiful little vacay. I love my family.

 

Our Vacation to Maui!

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Hello little macadamia nut pancakes!

I am back on the mainland and tired AF. But here I am, reporting to you live from the couch as I watch The Office reruns and snack on Walmart Fruit Smiles.

Our flight to Maui departed around 7:30 pm on Thursday so of course, we all rushed to the airport early to have dinner and watch the Ducks game. YAY SPORTS.

Here are the #sportysickcute sweats I wore

The flight to Maui was relatively painless. I sat in the middle (wha-whaaa) but was able to sleep for a couple hours or so before tearing into my new bookclub book. Gathering baggage, getting the rental car and driving to our condo in Kihei was also pretty easy and before I knew it, we were all settled in and falling asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks below us.

The next day we woke up and had cinnamon rolls from The Cinnamon Roll Place (genius branding if you ask me) and mimosas.

I then slathered on my Alba 45 SPF Sunblock,  helped cover E with sunblock and we all hit the beach.

David and I took turns playing with E in the waves and hiding under the umbrella I rented in between. David waded out waist-deep in the water with her a few times and the two of them were such an adorable sight. After about an hour and a half, I noticed the tops of my feet (which were buried in the sand, but sticking out from the shade of the umbrella) were starting to turn pink so we packed ‘er up and headed in.

That night, we went to a local event called Kihei Fridays where I bravely took on this romper. #tallgirlproblems

There were food carts, arts & crafts, live music and my favorite – A MERMAID. You know  my ass was jealous of this broad. To make matters worse, she was super pretty AND nice. UGH. The mermaid was all, “Get in the picture!” to me so I wiggled into the makeshift mermaid tail they had for weirdos like me and we paid $5 a pop for the little Polaroid pictures.

Then David hopped in to get his “kissing a mermaid” shot (with her permission, I might add) and I was a sport.

E got to paint a mermaid shell, so whatevs. It was a win. We were all so wiped that night.

The temps were high 80’s while we were there, so we decided to alternate our aquatic adventures between the ocean and the condo pool. It was discovered after that first day on the beach that saltwater obliterated David’s Sport Sunblock and left him with some minor sunburns, so we decided to seek shade whenever possible.

The next day we ventured into Lahaina so David and his Dad could watch the Ducks game, while the rest of us putzed around and bought sh*t we don’t need.

I wore these face-takeover sunglasses from Ebay

First we had lunch at Bubba Gump!

Then Eliana and I strolled around, I bought a gelato and salt-water taffy because duh, while David and his pops stayed at the restaurant to watch basketball. We also discovered this amazing local coconut body butter with really good ingredients and we all got one.

The next day we drove south and made a stop at the Grand Wailea Hotel. We valeted the car and as we walked in, they totally thought we were guests and started putting leis on us and chatting us up and asking to take our photo. So we awkwardly went with it and answered their questions, “Oh yes, we are staying five nights!”, “Oh yes we are BEYOND excited!” and they took our picture and I tried to robot out of that situation.

There were this lady-band in the lobby as we came down the stairs and we told E to go out there and hula. Before we knew it, two of the ladies came down to teach her a little dance and perform a song! It was precious. So then I got out there too and it became not so precious.

The grounds were pretty amazing. And they have this adorable chapel too!

Later that day, we were so hot and sweaty from walking around the grounds that the three of us basically ran-walked into the pool. I fixed David and I a nice strong rum punch and I practiced my doggy-paddling. And on the subject, why is doggy-paddling considered so blase?  I get around JUUUUUST FINE.

The next day we went to the Maui Ocean Center and saw the  following things:

  • 89q2356823479234 fish
  • A tank a’ seahorses
  • GIANT sting rays
  • Small sharks
  • Sea cucumbers

SEAHORSES!

The Maui Ocean Center did not have any dolphins or whales, which I really appreciated. Apparently there is an ordinance in the City of Maui that prohibits the exhibition of cetaceans (whales and dolphins). And while I love dolphins and would love to see one up close from the comfort of  the other side off a  piece of glass…I would MUCH rather them just be exclusive to the ocean. Ya feel me?

Later that day, we grabbed food + bevs at Captain Jacks before heading out to sea on a sunset cruise! Eliana was coloring the whole time and wrote me this note which MADE ME TEAR UP AT THE FRIGGIN’ TABLE:

Translation: Natalie is so beautiful and nice and lovable and cool. I love Nat.

I tell ya, this kid has my heart.

David’s dad and stepmom treated us to this little jaunt on a beautiful boat, complete with snacks and alcohol! I’ve literally never had so much fun in my life and seasickness was not an issue as I was a little snookered.

The last day, we went back to the beach and then had a little pool time. We made friends with a cute Canadian family and E really hit it off with their little girl. By the end of the trip, she was jumping off the edge into the deep-end like nobody’s business! So crazy how fast she progressed with swimming and how I made no progress whatsoever ;).

swoon 😉

That night, we got ready for a nice dinner out. I let E do my makeup…she was a tiny bit excited!

Here’s the before.

And the after.

Not too shabby. Except she left me a fatty mustache.

So I adjusted my makeup juuust a little and we went to the 5 Palms Restaurant in Kihei.

Toasted coconut dranks.

Coconut shrimp!!

Here’s David and E, pretending to sleep while we were waiting for the car. #matchingonvacation

The flights home were all drama-free and comfortable. Portland has greeted us with moderately decent weather and we’re happy to be home.

‘Til next time, Hawaii!

Snowshoeing Suckiness

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I feel like this time of year is just…sucky.

There’s taxes.

The weather.

It’s just the WORST.

And speaking of taxes, I did mine this year all by myself using free Turbo Tax and it was actually really easy. I am pretty sure I messed up a couple times, but like is the IRS really gonna audit little ol’ me? (KNOCK ON WOOD)

But here is another sucky thing…Snowshoeing (and Cross Country Skiing Skiers)

A couple weekends ago, I tried my hand (or should I say feet haha) at snow shoeing with my best buds Kelly and Olga. We were in Bend for a company ski trip and the three of us decided to rent snowshoes and give ‘er a whirl.

Turns out the route we were on was also used for cross country skiers and there also happened to be a cross country race that day.

To anyone who enjoys either of these sports, riddle me this: HOW?

I don’t understand what is remotely “fun” about either of these “sports”. Tromping around in the snow wearing heavy, water-proof snow gear while sweating heavily and fogging up your sunglasses is NOT my idea of fun. If I am going to exercise, I will go for a run or go to the gym or evvven hike if pressured. But to purposely go out in big ol’ ski clothes and attempt even the smallest incline, just heyll nah.

And don’t get me started on cross-country skiers.

“It’d be awesome if you girls could stay to the right and off of the tracks!”, “Can you get off of our tracks?!”, “ON YOUR LEFT! ON YOUR LEEEEEEEFT!”

I could have killed. them. all.

the only reason there are smiles in this picture was because we knew burgers were in our future

So, like yeah. I guess it was a pretty day.

this is my “tolerating it” face. notice kelly all adorbs in the background while I’m in one of David’s 11 year old hangy Old Navy thermals…

So, in conclusion let me be clear about a couple of things. I do not like snowshoeing. And I reallllly don’t like cross-country skiers.