The Lost and Found Vacation

Why are vacations almost never long enough? Darn work, makes you come back to reality much sooner than you want to!!!

Overall the trip was wonderful and very much needed! Poor Josh is still studying his heart out so we see him like twice a week and at bedtime. No bueno! So Hawaii came at a good time and was very relaxing! But not without a few bumps in the road . . .

We left on a Saturday morning. At the airport our initial flight to Portland was cancelled due to a mechanical problem with the plane (eek!) so we ended up getting moved to the direct flight from SLC to Honolulu. Oh darn. :S Delta was also nice enough to give us some vouchers for food at the airport since we would now have to wait a couple of extra hours. So of course we hit the Cinnabon! (Is it smart to eat well and exercise for two months before going on vacation only to sit down and have a 5,000 calorie cinnamon roll on your first day? Hmmm, maybe not but it was GOOD!)

We spent the first four days on Maui in Wailea. Mandi and Colin came in on Sunday so we didn't meet up with them until Monday. So Sunday was a very relaxing day for us. Our hotel was great and even had a pool just for the kids with slides and things to climb and play on. Sasha loved it!!!

Tuesday we did the Road to Hana with Colin and Mandi. It was a beautiful drive but don't do it without the dramamine. I'm serious! I have been car sick one other time in my life and I'm somewhat proud of that fact, but this trip marked #2

We went through the Lava Tube that is on some guys property. It's a really cool cave-like structure that was formed naturally by the lava. Of course we took a few pictures . . The walls of the cave looked like there was melted chocolate running down them. Mmmmm . . . chocolate . . . .

Despite the look on her face in this picture, Sasha did have fun walking through the dark and playing with the flashlights.

The landowner had also created a maze next to the tube. It was kind of fun finding our way through . . . we only hit a few dead ends. :)

Josh and Sasha looking Oh So Cool in their sunglasses

For some reason when I squat to take a picture of Sasha she thinks she needs to squat too. It's kind of funny. But I love this face!

CHEESE!

Chocolate cake makeup, courtesy of Aunty Sparkle (aka Mandi)

Sasha in her cute little Hawaiin dress. I couldn't get her to turn around and look at me. Oh well.

This was Tuesday morning . . . we stopped at McD's to get breakfast before we hit the Road to Hana. I think she's digging for gold . . . that or she didn't like the smell of Josh's sausage breakfast. (Not sure why this is underlined, or in a different color.)

Some nice scenery on the Road to Hana

This was a 'hale' near the Seven Sacred Pools we stopped at.

Oh baby girl . . .

On Wednesday we hopped over to Kauai to finish out the week. That was a small adventure in itself. On Monday Mandi and I did a little shopping and I had her hold my credit cards and ID since I didn't have any pockets or a purse. Well I remembered to get the credit cards out, but didn't grab my ID! So when we were getting ready to leave at 4 am Wednesday morning I started to panic because I couldn't find my license! I didn't there was any way I was going to make it on the plane! Mandi didn't have cell service in Hawaii and Colin's phone was turned off. So I made a frantic phone call to Rachel back in Utah who, fortunately, at least remembered the name of the hotel Mandi and Colin were at. I felt horrible waking them up at 5:45 am on their vacation, but thankfully Mandi did have my license! The only problem here was that they were about 30 minutes away and our flight was boarding in ten minutes! We explained our dilemma to the girl who checked us in and she told me that I could get through security without my ID but with some additional screening. Huh? I've been traveling a lot for 6 years and NEVER seen anyone get through without ID. I figure it was because we were only changing islands, but they did let me through (Thanks to my photo debit card from America First and my trusty Costco card!). So I ended up having Mandi Fedex my license to me because I knew there was no way the would let me fly back to the mainland with no ID. So it all worked out.

At Duke's for my birthday dinner. We had one of the best desserts ever! It is definitely on my top 5 favorite desserts . . . it was creme brulee in half a hollowed out pineapple with pineapple chunks in it . . . I should have taken a picture, it was so cool looking and it tasted so yummy! I'm not normally a huge creme brulee fan, but this one was delish!

Sunglasses are always good for a few minutes of entertainment . . .

This picture almost looks like we're at that revolving restaurant in Seattle and everything is moving except for me. But really we were sitting still. I just look cuter in this one than the second one that Josh took of me. :)

"Give me that camera! Stop taking a gazillion pictures of me mom!!!"

A gorgeous light house near Lihue on Kauai. I'm thinking of having this one blown up to hang on the wall in my office. We were too late in the afternoon to actually go down to the lighthouse, but we still got a pretty good view.
Playing in a cave near Hanalei Bay
On the beach at Hanalei Bay . . .

The first day Sasha was not a big fan of the waves, but by the time we hit the beach in Kauai she loved them!!! Good thing she has a big, strong daddy to keep her safe in the water.

Still at Hanalei . . .

Or I could blow this one up for my office . . . too many pretty pictures to choose from!

Somewhere over the rainbow . . .

A friendly little toad in the hall on the way to our hotel room . . . maybe it's Prince Naveen waiting for Tiana ?

There were these two elephant statues we would pass coming and going from our hotel room and every single time we walked past them Sasha had to give them both a hug, then she would wave bye bye to them. It was hilarious!

Friday I went off to do a little shopping while Josh and Sasha took a nap. At the airport on Wednesday I had given Josh my credit cards to put in his wallet so that I didn't lose them as they were just randomly floating around my bag or my pockets. When I got out of the car on Friday to go shopping I couldn't find my credit cards . . . anywhere! But rather than panic I just violated a few Visa and Amex regulations and used my hubby's cards. :) I got a little bit of hassle, but was still able to buy everything I wanted. . . well okay not EVERYTHING. I had to limit myself a little. ;) Fortunately we found the cards in Josh's jacket pocket on Saturday morning as we were getting packed.

Mmmm, dessert at Mariachi's! This dessert makes the top ten for sure! It was apple burrito with ice cream and whip cream. Kind of a clever twist on Apple pie, I loved it! And you can see that Sasha did, too!

Spoons? We don't need no stinking spoons!

Going for a ride on the elephant . . .

Taking a break from swimming on our last day. She had to have been starving because otherwise you can't get her out of the water without a fight!

Saturday afternoon, as we were leaving the hotel we realized that I didn't get Josh's sunglasses out of the rental care before we returned it on Friday. That is the only item that remains lost from this vacation. :(

On the interterminal bus on Honolulu. Seriously everytime a shuttle or bus passed us she got upset and wanted to get on it! I think next year we'll just buy a couple of UTA passes and take a ride to the Bubble . . . .

Oh, the fun's not over yet! Sasha did great on all the plane rides. I couldn't have asked for a better kid for all that travel! However when we got off the plane in SLC Josh was in such a rush to get off the plane that he left his PSP behind. Fortunately a very nice man saw it and caught up to us in the jetway. Whew! Then when we got down to baggage claim I reached in my pocket for my phone . . . not there. Not in the diaper or treat bag . . . not anywhere! I realized it must have fallen out of my pocket on the plane ( I was carrying a 20 lb. sack of flour in the form of a sleeping child so no wonder I didn't notice). So I waited for Josh to get our bags then figured I would go to baggage services and see if they could call the gate and get my phone to me. I'd already made it through security once without a vital piece of information, I didn't want to press my luck again and try to get through without a boarding pass. As Josh was getting our bags a guy I recognized from the plane walked up to him, holding my phone!!! He said he had to turn back after getting halfway to baggage claim and get something he left on the plane and saw my phone on the seat. Fortunately he remembered who was sitting there and saw us getting our bags. Otherwise who knows what we would have done!!!

So now you know why I am calling this the "Lost and Found" vacation!

Family Memories

That was the theme for the 24th of July for us this year. It's all about the kids and the family memories.

I had to work Friday so Josh took Sasha with his Sister Pam and her daughter Mcartny and his parents to the carnival in Bountiful. I met up with them later for the parade then we hit the fireworks. I think Sasha had a lot of fun at the carnival but since I wasn't there then there is no photographic proof. :) But I did get a few at the parade and the fireworks. It was a pretty good show that Bountiful put on this year, I must say. At least I can say that now after accepting that once you see a fireworks show in DisneyWorld there is simply no other fireworks display that can even come close to matching that. Once you accept that, you are able to once again be impressed by other fireworks shows.

At the parade, waiting for the fun to begin . . .

Still waiting . . .

And now waiting for the fireworks . . . .
Hanging out with Big Dog!

Sowell Family Reunion

Over the 4th of July weekend we had a Sowell Family Reunion at my grandparent's cabin in Island Park. It was great to see everyone and spend some good, quality family time together. Some fun pics from the weekend . . .


Anthony and Grandma Ruby (this was Anthony's last weekend as a free man for two years. He left on his mission to England on the 9th!)
Sasha and Uncle Chris. Good ol' Uncle Chris!
Todd and Liz by the campfire

Grandma and Grandpa by the fire. Grandpa's lovin' on that S'more!

Dad, Joni and Chris . . . through a haze of smoke. ;)

Sasha after a much-needed bath in her cute new jammies from Grandma Joni!

Watching the fireworks with dad. That was her expression pretty much the whole time! Hilarious! I thought she might get scared, but she was fascinated by the fireworks. A girl after my own heart. We love things that sparkle!

Getting ready for the fireworks.

A small group of us drove to West Yellowstone for a few hours of shopping. This is the bear we saw right off the side of the road on our 120 mile journey back to the cabin. For those of you in the know, West Yellowstone is really only about 3o minutes from Island Park, but when your cousin distracts you with a street race (Touareg vs. Suburban- who do you think won?) you kind of forget that ever-important left turn that takes you back to Island Park instead of to Montana. But if we hadn't missed the turn we never would have seen the bear!

I took Sasha for a ride on the 4-wheeler. She insisted on wearing the helmet! I love that it is twice her size. But safety first!

It's been a while since I rode a wheeler, so my dad sort of had to teach me how to put the thing in reverse. After that we were good to go!

Apparently Sasha likes to golf. Not sure where she got it from since neither Josh or I are big golfers, but she had fun playing with the clubs and even hit the balls a few times. It's especially funny because no one showed her what to do with them, she just started swinging the club at the ball. Perhaps it was that weekend spent with Uncle Rich . . . Such a sweet little thing . . .

Other than that I can't say that July has been too eventful. Work is going really well. I'm already at 55% of my quota which is awesome, I think! I really love it there. I love the people I work with and my boss is great.

Josh took exam 2 of 4 yesterday for the CPA. We won't know for 6 weeks if he passed or not, but we're keeping our fingers crossed. He takes exam #3 next month. If all goes well and he passes the rest of them on the first try then he should be done by the end of the year. If not then most likely by next June, depending on how many he has to retake. Throwing tax season in there doesn't help things go any quicker, but we're just taking it one test at a time.

Sasha is turning in to quite the jabber mouth. Not that we're surprised by this given who her mother is. :) Her list of words include: shoe, cheese, juice, Ma, Da, kitty, fish, more (pronounced mo-ah) and oh pretty.

Ever her mother's daughter, she loves shoes! We got her a new pair this week and when Josh pulled them out of the box she got all excited, starting clapping and saying "Shoe! Shoe!" and once we got them on it was "Oh pretty!" I just love it!

Where did June go?

I can't believe it's already July. This is nuts! But we are doing our best to enjoy every minute. Well, I'm not sure I can say the same for Josh . . . he pretty much hates studying and if I were him, I would be miserable too. But I guess that's why I'm not an accountant! :)


A couple of weeks ago my company had a summer party at Hogle Zoo. This was Sasha's second trip to the zoo and she loved it!
She loved riding the train! She didn't want to sit on my lap, she had to sit by herself. She's such a big girl.

On the carousel. She did not want to get off! She would have ridden for hours if she could!
I've trained her well to be ready for the camera. That's her CHEESE face.

One of my oldest friends Rich also works for my company so his family got to come to zoo day too! Which was good because otherwise I would have been a total loner that day! (Rich, Emma and Melissa)

I love how Sasha is almost too long for this stroller, yet the straps still hang on her because she's so skinny.

She also could have sat and watch the elephants for hours. I'm not sure what it was about them, but she was absolutely fascinated! She screamed when I pulled her away from the fence.

This is a video I took of us on the carousel. Not too bad for one handed photography when I couldn't even see what the camera was pointing at! Sasha's laugh is so contagious, I just love it!