Hawaii

At the beginning of June Ryan and I were able to take our very first real trip together since our honeymoon (which was only to San Diego). We were lucky to get to go to Hawaii thanks to my very generous Father-in-law and to my wonderful mom and sister-in-law Ashley who took care of the kids for us. Ryan had been to Hawaii twice before but I had never been. When we arrived at our beautiful hotel we were greeted with these leis and a great view of the ocean.

Our hotel was awesome and was just right across from the beach. We had a nice kitchen, a fantastic bathroom, a comfy bed, and a spectacular view. Every day the hotel staff would clean our room and leave us delicious treats and then later in the day they would come and turn on beautiful music, set out bathrobes and slippers, and turn down our bed. I really enjoyed every minute of it. Since we had a kitchen with everything you could possibly need I was able to eat delicious pineapple and kiwi every morning for breakfast and we could save whatever leftovers we had from eating out and eat it later. I would definitely stay there again.





Now to what we did while we were there. We hiked up to a lighthouse and had a spectacular view and an enjoyable time looking at the ocean during the whole hike.

Here we are at the top. Isn't the view beautiful.

We were able to visit a few food places Ryan had seen on the food network and travel channel.

We did a session at the Laie Temple. It was so fun to see how different this temple is inside compared to other temples I have been in.

After the temple we went to another food destination. The Shrimp Shack food truck was so delicious and probably my favorite meal in Hawaii.

We went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation and I learned a lot about how pineapples grow.

The pineapple plants were so beautiful and I loved all of the different varieties of pineapple they had growing.

We went to Pearl Harbor to see a part of our American and World History.

I enjoyed walking through the museum and reading all of the accounts of what happened that day. I can't even imagine what is was like to be there. I really appreciated this quote and it really made me think about how I take our freedom for granted sometimes.

We didn't take the boat out to the U.S.S. Arizona but we did look at the pictures.

While we were in Hawaii they were having the Pan Pacific Festival right by our hotel. During the whole weekend they had tons of celebrations, performances, and a parade. Here are a few pictures from the parade. I loved seeing the different cultures all in one parade.

We went to BYU-Hawaii to check out their campus and bookstore. It was beautiful and hard to imagine going to college right next to the beach. I learned a lot about the history of BYU-Hawaii and about the students who go there.

Then we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. This was the highlight of my trip. We spent all day there and I was amazed at the talent of the students and other people who work there. I am definitely going back when we return to Hawaii someday.

Here are some dancers from Tahiti. I loved the dancing from this Island.

Here I am learning to do the hula. Dancing is definitely not my strong point.

Here is Ryan learning to do a Tahitian dance. So fun to watch.

Here we are before the luau. I loved the beautiful leis they gave us.

Here is the pig that we ate. It was tasty.

We also went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I had never been and am a bit afraid of going too far out in the ocean (I almost drown in the ocean when I was 8) but I still enjoyed it. Ryan wished he had a more adventurous partner but he was so nice to stay with me the whole time.

It was such a fabulous trip and I am so glad we were able to go. I can't wait to go back and take my girls to see all of the beautiful things Hawaii has to offer (when they are older that is!).

I'm Still Here

Well I promise I am going to blog about our fun filled summer, the start of a new school year and everything else I haven't blogged about over the past couple of months. I did just finally get all of the pictures off my camera and on to my computer so that is no longer a valid excuse (thank you Ryan). But until I get the mental energy to catch up on all that has happened I will just leave you with this one last announcement. We are expecting baby #4 in February 2012. This one was a big leap of faith for me especially because Alexis and the baby will only be 2 years and 9 months apart which is really close in my mind. The girls have had mixed emotions about the news (especially Peyton who isn't quite sure she wants another baby around so soon) but we are excited to add another little one to our family. So don't give up on our blog just yet. I promise you will enjoy seeing what we did this summer.

Happy Anniversary!

I know I have not blogged in 2 months. Far too long and I have so many posts to do but I can't get my pictures off my camera and I am hoping Ryan can fix it SOON (hint, hint). But I just wanted to say "Happy 13th Anniversary" to my wonderful husband. I can't believe we have been married that long and I can't believe we actually chose to get married in Arizona in August. Ryan, thanks for always being so supportive of everything I have ever done in my life and for allowing me to be myself and still loving me despite all of my faults. You are such a wonderful person, so giving and generous, so patient, and very forgiving. Life would be boring without you. I love you so much. Happy Anniversary.

St. Louis

After Nauvoo we drove back to St. Louis (that is the closest airport to Nauvoo). We stayed a few days in St. Louis to enjoy some of the great things they have there. On our first day we went to The Magic House. This is a children's museum we had been to before when my sister Christin lived in St. Louis. It was a blast.

They had a new Alice in Wonderland exhibit that the girls wanted to start with. Here is Lexi playing the caterpillars back.
The girls looking through the key holes.
This was a fun toy to play with. You put a ball or handkerchief in the tube and the air would make it go through the tubes and then shoot them out.
They had a huge exhibit on the American government. You could stand behind the podium and pretend you were giving a Presidential address. Here is President Peyton Ferrell.
President Hailey Ferrell in the oval office at the President's desk.
President Alexis Ferrell.
The also had a court room where you could pretend to be a lawyer, a witness, or the judge. Here is judge Peyton.
Judge Hailey.
Judge Alexis.
This is the point where my camera battery died and I didn't have another one or the charger so I have no more pictures from our trip to St. Louis. I was so sad. We went to Six Flags the next day and had such a great time. Peyton loved all of the rides and said that this was her favorite theme park (which is saying something since she has been obsessed with Disneyland for a long time). We had a great vacation and loved spending so much time together. I can't wait for our next trip this summer.

Nauvoo-The last post

While we were in Nauvoo they were having a BBQ contest at the park by the temple. We decided to go and enjoy the BBQ and other booths they had. There was a miniature horse there and the girls really wanted to pet it and take it for a ride.

On another day we had our own BBQ at a park. The girls loved swinging together and just playing on the equipment. This is Peyton's favorite way to swing with Lexi.

Another great thing about Nauvoo is all of the fun entertainment. The Nauvoo Brass Band rides around and plays music and they also perform in a lot of the plays.
We all enjoyed dancing to the music together.
The plays that the senior missionaries and the performing missionaries put on are so awesome. They are all so talented and the girls loved watching them. You really have to see them for yourself to know what you are missing out on.

We went to a dress rehearsal for one of the plays and the band was playing and invited our girls to come on stage and dance with them. Hailey was embarrassed so she just kind of hid in the corner.
On the morning we were leaving it was so dark and there were warnings of flooding and lots of rain. We had not taken any pictures of our family in front of the temple so we went and this is the best we could get before it started pouring rain. Just goes to show us not to wait until the end to take an important picture.
Nauvoo is one of our families favorite places to go and the girls are already asking when we can go again. We had such a great time and we can't wait to go back. Thanks AnnaMarie and Tyler for vacationing with us.

Nauvoo-Pioneer Pastimes

The girls favorite thing in Nauvoo had to be Pioneer Pastimes. It is a place that we went every day because they loved it so much. They had fun games the pioneers played, clothes the pioneers would wear, and 2 playhouses with stuff for the kids to play with inside. Here is one of the buildings. I wish I could have one of these in my backyard.

Here are my beautiful girls dressed up in their pioneer clothes.
Lexi didn't want to get all dressed up but wore this hat for a few minutes so I could get a quick picture.
Here is Hailey in the school writing on her chalkboard.
Another pioneer outfit for Peyton.
Lexi loved playing with all of the dishes in the kitchen. She really enjoyed playing with Jane and Katie at the table.

Hailey also loved to cook in the kitchen. Doesn't she look so cute.
Lexi also loved playing with the baby dolls they had there. They had beds for the babies and clothes to dress them in. They also had a place you could pretend to wash their clothes and hang them to dry.
Outside of the houses they had horses and sheep the kids could sit on and pretend to ride.

One of Ryan's favorite things were the stilts. He was a natural and Peyton and I were not. Here he is trying to teach Peyton how to do it.
And I only lasted a second before I fell off of them.
Another fun game was the teddy bear pull. You had to pull on the strings to make the teddy bear go up to the top of the roof. Peyton gave it a try.
Lexi even gave it a try.
Then it was Hailey's turn to try.
Ryan and Tyler loved this place because they could be super competitive with each other. Here they are racing the bears. It looks like Tyler won this race.
Next was this. I have no idea what this was called but they raced each other to see who could finish first.
Of course they had to race each other on the stilts. It was quite hilarious.
And of course it wouldn't be a true pioneer competition without the stick pull. Look at the concentration and effort on their faces.
I think you know who won this one. They were laughing so hard it was great.
There were so many other things to do there that I haven't covered. It was so much fun but you will just have to go there and see for yourself.