Construction Paper and Glue: A 25th Birthday Card.

I've done my best to not brag about my husband, and how amazing he is.

But after everything he did for me for my birthday, I think he deserves at least a short post, if nothing else.

My birthday was on a Monday this year- not a good day for parties and planning. It also fell in the middle of a couple of weekends that his family would be driving to and from West Virginia.

Originally I was thinking it would be fun to get a few people together to go ice skating. But the ice plex only had a few hours selected for open skating on my birthday, and none would really be possible.. because people work.

So he decided that he would take me out for dinner on Saturday night. We got all dressed up and went down to Cotton Row. The food was amazing and Hubs was SO handsome :)

OK, so that's not the best picture of him ever.

After we ate, we got a random passerby to take a picture of us to prove that we did, indeed, get dressed up.

I had to make this picture larger than all others to really show off

the subject matter. And the wind blew and made my dress poofy.

When we got home after dinner, Hubs set up the VCR (yes, the VCR), while I started making our pillow fort. I still can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the pillow fort! That's so unlike me. Once the fort was up and running, Hubs gave me the first birthday present: Don't Break the Ice! Of course we played a few rounds in the fort, before we watched Hercules.

Sunday was a day of rest.

Then Monday after work, the Corleys and the Harveys came over for dinner! Hubsandwich had crafted a homemade red sauce to go with some spaghetti and delish garlic knots. But the real creme of the crop was the birthday cake he made me.

I'll you what. The creativity that lives inside my husband's brain is astounding. Not only is he a creative thinker, but he can actually follow through with his ideas!

Ladies and gentlemen, the cake:

Why, yes, that IS the Space Shuttle flying over the earth. 

*Note: Earth and Shuttle not to scale

The cake was red velvet. When I asked Sir Hubsalot if the red cake was supposed to symbolize the innards of the Earth (mantle, etc), I was met with a "...of course!" Which told me he had not previously thought of that, but that it worked out, so why not?!

The six of us played Don't Break the Ice while we ate our delicious spaghetti-with-homemade-red-sauce and garlic knots. Then the real games began: Cranium! Except the Corleys destroyed everyone. I told her, jokingly, that she ruined my birthday. We all laughed. (I cried a little on the inside.) (Just kidding.)

Now this was a pretty big birthday. In fact, one might even call it A Birthday of Quarter-Century Proportions. I turned 25.

I had spent a few days trying to figure out what sort of quarter-century crisis to have (Motorcycle? Emotional breakdown?), then I finally figured it out! I would try to convince Hubs to let me go skydiving again! I use the word "convince" because, for some reason, he's not particularly fond of watching his wife plummet to her death strapped to a person who is suddenly responsible for her life.. that we met merely minutes before. I guess he has a point.

Anyways. So then what did Hubs get me for my birthday?

SKYDIVING. He got me a skydiving voucher! Yay me! And since the actual gift card hadn't come in the mail yet, he crafted a special construction-paper-and-glue card to tell me:

Let's not go into the logistics of why the parachute is attached

to my head. The important part is that I get to jump out of a

perfectly good airplane for the fourth time!

That being said, I love my husband. He's so thoughtful and creative. He spends a large amount of time making sure that I am happy and am loved- and that I know I am loved.

I got lucky.

A much better picture of him.

Sun, Sand, and A Lot of Sunscreen

We got back from our trip to Hawaii a day late, in three-day-old clothes (except for our shirts, mind you), and absolutely exhausted.

Here's the skinny on the trip:

We flew there, we enjoyed the scenery and the activities, and flew back.

The end.

OK, OK, just kidding. 

(Warning: this post will have a lot of pictures!)

In all seriousness, the trip was a blast and a half. There were catamaran rides, outriggers, jet skis, parasail rides, driving, lots and lots of food, good drinks, good books, Frisbee, mazes, Escalades, hiking, surfing, naps, a luau, hula classes, shark diving, sea turtles, shrimp, giant shave ice, sunscreen, sun, sand, salt, and fun, with a dash of relaxation. Oh, and then there were casinos and brush fires.

I'll highlight my personal favorite moments of each day, starting with the first full day of the trip.

Day One

The first day, in the morning, Ben and Sydney, Hubs and I made our first trek to the beautiful (rocky!) Hawaiian shore. Glorious. If you've ever wanted to be existential, go sit on a beach there, and look out to the place where the sky kisses the ocean. Amazing. 

I was aiming to get a picture of Diamond Head's Summit,

but got a European man in a Speedo also. 

Shortly after the four of us ventured down the the beach and played some Frisbee, after lathering up in sunscreen, Tom, Diana and Sarah met us for a quick rendezvous before my favorite part of the Day One: The Catamaran.

The Catamaran on Day One was So. Much. Fun. The water was rough enough to jostle us around and get us soaked. The warm sun felt great after getting splashed by the cool (cold?) water. The wind made for some interesting photos.

Here are some pictures of us waiting to get on the catamaran:

And then some pictures where hilarity ensued:

Amputee Hubs.

Only the most attractive pictures of me make it to the blog.

"Ahoy!"

That night we all ate together at the Yard House. The food was amazing, but apparently we all turned into 97-year-olds and we all complained about how loud the music was (which became a recurring problem at nearly every restaurant). 

Day Two

Day Two's big event was the Dole Pineapple Plantation and Maze. We all packed ourselves into the Escalade to go to the plantation and participate in the maze. I'd say Ben, by far, was the best navigator through it. He found 4 of the 8 items! I found 2. I think Hubs found one and we heard another group and followed them to the last one.

The view from the front step of the Plantation,

looking at the mountains behind the Kona coffee fields.

Also included in this day was a relaxing morning spent down on the Lanai reading and and enjoying the sun:

The view straight down from our room. That's the Lanai-

a pool area and the breakfast/Manager's Reception area.

Sydney!

Hubs!

Me!

Day Three

Diamond Head.

Can we do it?

Clearly Husband is not amused.

I love taking pictures of my handsome Hubs.

This photo was taken inside of an old WWII bunker near the top of Diamond Head.

The top? Nope.. not yet!

The top! That's Waikiki in the background

(along with the Pacific Ocean, for the realists out there)!

Honolulu

All of us at the top!

Aaaand we go back down.

Sadly, Hubsandwich didn't make it to the top. His fear of heights caught up with him at the bottom of a particularly steep set of stairs.

Day Four

Day Four's highlight for me was two-fold. In the morning, Sarah and I went surfing. We both actually did really well! Unfortunately there are no pictures of me actually succeeding because I got hurt fairly early into my lesson.

Don't be tricked by the expert stance- I'm actually still on land.

Here's a few pictures of Sarah being a boss and owning the Great Pacific with her surfing skills.

And this last one for good measure.

But Sarah really did do very well. She got up three times!

In the afternoon, Hubs and I, and Ben and Sydney went jet skiing while Tom, Diana and Sarah went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. 

Day Five

Day Five was a relaxing day. It was the Fourth of July! We spent the morning and afternoon slowly eating our lunch, back at the Yard House, enjoying the food, drinks, weather, and people walking by. Tom also took a nap.

You can see my surfing injury/possible cracked rib spot.

I started putting stuff on him, which is why the coaster and napkin are there.

In the evening, we all dressed up and got lei'd! (At the Luau.)

Token fireworks shot. It was the 4th of July, after all.

Day Six
Day Six's highlight for me was definitely parasailing with Sarah, Tom and Sydney.

Love this picture of Sarah! She's so genuinely excited!

Well, crap.

Sydney and I narrowly escape the plane.

 We also saw three sea turtles on our way to the Outrigger Canoe.

They're talking to each other!

Candid shot.

Sunset view from our room.

Day Seven
Day Seven's highlight for me was the morning catamaran ride. The ride was very different this time- much more relaxed. The water wasn't as rough, so there was less splashing. Also, I requested that they play the Beach Boys, so that made me happy that they set their iPod to shuffle their BB songs. Pictures:

We also drove around the island (Oahu) to see the sights and find the shrimp truck. And after that, we went to Turtle Bay.

Finally, after a long day of driving and riding and sight seeing, we all had our final vacation dinner in Hawaii at an amazing Italian restaurant just below our building. Amazing.

Day Eight
Day Eight was a sad, sad day. We packed. We counted our sunscreen bottles. We flew.

We got stuck in Vegas.

Day Nine
Lost in the desert.

The view from mine and Hubs' room at South Point

Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The view from Tom and Diana's room.

Yep. That's the dang desert. Who would have imagined!

The five "kids" have matching shirts!

We also saw brush fire lighting up the night sky behind the strip from the airport.

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It was a long week. We all had fun, but by the end, we are all exhausted and a little stir-crazy from the three days of travelling home.

I read two books on this trip, which might be a one-week record for me. I read Serena by Ron Rash (about to be a movie, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper), and I read Bossypants by none other than Tina Fey. (Fun fact, since I can't sleep on planes, I read Bossypants on the flight from Vegas to Charlotte, NC.)

++

I personally had an amazing time and feel so lucky that Hubs and I were included in this vacation. We're blessed to have family, on both sides, that enjoys travelling (and better yet- enjoys having us travel with them!).

While I may not remember each and every moment of the trip, I definitely made some memories I won't forget.