Whirlwind November

November has been a crazy month! I've been working like a madwoman - I have the flat butt to prove it - lots of editing at the computer and TONS of sessions. So grateful for it all. Have put on a little weight this month and I'm really anxious to start working on that and committing more time for my own health - this "rush rush" mentality is not good for me.

I've been trying to take breaks from working at my desk to snuggle the kids on the couch, hang outside, ect.

Squashy, the giant squash. He was a good horse for a couple days.

Kai is obsessed with our new shovel. He loves to dig in the back yard to look for bugs. He's ready for school and I was trying to herd them when I found him in the backyard - his happy place. The whole backyard is covered in such pretty greens I can't bring myself to cut it yet. It looks straight out of a fairy book.

I was asked by UH Maui to come speak to students about photography as a career option. That was pretty cool! About 10 students showed up and had all kinds of questions for me. Tons of fun.

So with all this business, we hadn't made it to the beach in a while. Sunday we went out to Baby Beach, Lahaina - one of our favorite spots for some much needed beach time!

That salt water was just what we needed!!

Earlier this year I had a client hire me for a photo shoot in Kona for a family reunion. They paid for my airfare, but I thought it would be fun to bring the whole family along as the kids have never been to the Big Island. I should have booked a longer stay - we were there for less than 48 hours - but they still had tons of fun.

We took Mokulele Airlines, a little puddle jumper of a plane. Kai was VERY afraid at first and then he loved it. Ryenne and Cruz were champs all the way.

Sugar in Upcountry/Central Maui

Peter's hotel is right down there!

Ryenne has expressed interest in being an airplane pilot and it was very cool that one of our pilots was a woman! Ry got to meet her and get a picture with her. She told Ryenne that it's a really awesome job.

By the time we got the car and got to our hotel in Waikoloa, it was dark already and the kids were hungry. So we did what any family without a chain restaurant does - we went to Macaroni Grill! haha - everyone slept good and we were up the next day to go to Hapuna Beach to play. After the change in scenery, Kai regressed and I should have expected it. You can see he has his hands in his mouth. When this happens, he is having regression issues and it's best to let him adjust to his surroundings.

Took him about 30 minutes by himself to realize he was okay and he joined us in playing.

I wish I had brought our underwater housing because the water was crystal clear! Peter got a couple cute shots of the kids so I'll have to get those from him. While I was doing my photo shoot that evening, he and the kids got to play on the beach until it was dark.

Next time I think we'll try Hilo side so we can go to the volcano. I am really excited to share the other islands with the kids. Our next trip will be to Oahu in May for Aunty Jean's graduation from UH.

The flight back to Maui left at 6:30am and we were up at 4:30 to get everyone up and out to the airport. The kids were troopers and we dropped them off at school when we got back to Maui.

Oh funny story... this is so MAUI. Peter's car needed a safety and two new front tires. He was calling around for prices and he called Goodyear and said he'd bring the car in on Friday since we were leaving for Kona. They said, "Oh! Why don't you just bring in the car, we'll take you to the airport, and you don't have to pay airport parking." So that's what we did! And they came at 7am and picked us up too! How island style is that... pretty awesome.

We had a great Thanksgiving this morning with Uncle Koa and Aunty Kau'i - we went to a brunch at Maui Tropical Plantation. Peter is off to work as is Koa so it was perfect timing. I'm in a food coma and will be heading to Napili in just a bit.

Happy Turkey Day all!