Hawaii for Marci & Tyler's Wedding

Mark and I were so lucky to be able to travel to the Big Island of Hawaii for my dear friend Marci's wedding. I don't even know where to begin with this post. We were there for a week and had well over three hundred pictures when we came home. It was impossible to narrow down but I tried to include MOST of the highlights of our trip.

On the night of our arrival we were treated to dinner at the amazing home of Marci's parents friends Becky & David. If this is what its like to live in Hawaii, I'm in! I wish I would have taken pictures of their house. It was incredible.

Me and Marci sitting on Becky & David's porch.

Tyler and I in Becky's amazing kitchen that opened right out to the back patio. Wow!

This is a view from our hotel balcony.

Night 2 in Hawaii was actually my 31st birthday. We celebrated with dinner at one of Marci & Tyler's favorite places- The Canoehouse in the Mauna Lani hotel.

Sunset on my birthday

Great friends, great meal. Best birthday a girl could ask for !

Birthday pic with Mark.

And even a yummy birthday dessert!

Another view from our hotel balcony. It was a really clear day and you could see the volcano from our window.

One of the best decisions we made was to splurge on a helicopter trip around the island. WOW! I definitely recommend this to anyone traveling to the big island. It was well worth it!

I was the lucky person who got to sit in front next to the pilot. I felt like I was on the bachelor!

A view of the volcano from the helicopter.

The volcano again- up close and personal.

And now even closer. I wish I had taken a video of it because the lava was actually spitting out and splashing in the air. Hard to tell in this picture but it was pretty amazing to see in person.

More shots from the helicopter...

This shot is actually an aerial view of our hotel property. We stated at the Hilton Waikoloa Village. Our room was in the building that looks like three joined circles (on the right).

After our flight

On Thursday nigh, Marci's aunt hosted an amazing welcome reception at a multi-million dollar home. We had such a blast that I didn't take any pictures! This is the only picture I have from the evening. Good thing its a good one!

The rehearsal dinner was at the Fairmont Orchid on the beach in the sand. We got to see a beautiful sunset from the beach.

Finally it's Wedding Day! Marci looked so beautiful and she was so excited and happy that she could hardly catch her breath in the limo on the way to the chapel. The wedding was at a darling chapel on the campus of Marci's high school. Here she is with her twin and maid of honor- Lisa.

Tyler and the groomsmen awaiting Marci's walk down the aisle.

And here I am with all the lovely bridesmaids.

Marci walking down the aisle with her day. Marci was so excited that she was hyperventilating a little bit. A few of us were worried that she might not make it!

The happy couple leaning in for a kiss.

Then we headed off to the reception at Anna Ranch.

Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Pruett!

Me and the beautiful bride.

We had such a blast that night!

Our last day in Hawaii. Mark and I headed to a hidden beach that Marci's dad Bill told us to check out. We had to hike down a little bit to get there but it was so worth it!

Thanks Marci and the entire Jardine family for the trip of a lifetime. I can't wait to go back!

Sean Diego & Sea world Trip Aug2011

We spend the 2nd weekend in August in San Diego with our dear friends Tyler & Marcie (who are soon to be married!). It was a blast, maybe too much fun for Mark and Tyler, and we really enjoyed our weekend in CA.

We went straight from the airport to Coronado for some beach time.

Charlie loved crawling around in the sand.

On Saturday, Marci and I took the kids to Sea World while the boys went to the horse races.

Ella's favorite part was the dolphin show.

It was a fun but LONG day for all of us.

Then on Sunday we headed to the Del Mar beach for lunch before heading to the airport.

Even thought it was overcast and some of us (Mark, Ty) were nursing hangovers... we still managed to have a great time.

It was a wonderful weekend and really just made me miss Marci more than anything. How I wish San Diego and Denver were closer together!!!

Visit from Wisconsin Walkers

We had a visit from Mark's cousin Darcie and her family from Wisconsin this past week. Darcie's husband Dan was participating in a woodworking class outside of Fort Collins, so they decided to fly the whole family in for a visit. It was a blast and it so fun to have them staying with us.

Ella with Darcie's girls Sadie and Kenzie.

We took everyone to Evergreen for the day, it was the closest we could get to the mountains without having to drive over and hour. We did a walk around Evergreen lake and then headed to Beau Jos Pizza for lunch. Yummy!

Ella just loved having Kenzie in town, like the big sister she never had.

A family visit wouldn't be complete without cousin tubbing time.

Charlie = 1 year!

It has been almost a month since Charlie's 1st birthday and I am just getting around to posting about it. LOL! I guess that is my life these days. I cannot seem to catch up!

I cannot believe my little Charlie boy is ONE! It feels like I just had him! He certainly has grown a lot over the past year. Our latest developments... Charlie has 4 teeth- two on bottom that arrived at about 10.5 months and two on top that arrived a couple days after his 1st birthday. Charlie is still moving around a ton- crawling like a madman all over the place, up and down the stairs like a champ, walking along furniture, standing up on his own and he has even taken a few tentative steps when prompted by us. No real walking yet- but its coming soon!

Charlie's verbal development is coming along quickly as well. He is finally starting to TRY to communicate with us. There have been so many times that we swear we hear him say things... but then its still hard to tell. Words we are pretty sure we have heard... Ella, Mama, Dada, Doggie, Woof, Uh oh, All done, Car, Ball. And I'm sure I will have more to add to the list. It seems like he tries to say something new every day. When all else fails, he likes to SCREAM a at the top of his lungs to get our attention. We just love when he does that.

Charlie's 1 year doc appt went great.

Charlie's 1 year stats:

Weight: 23lbs 10oz (60%)

Height: 31in (80%)

Head: 19.25in (97%)

Check out Charlie's 1 year pictures, Lindsay did an awesome job, as always, and you can see some of the pictures on her blog here.

Charlie's Birthday party was a big success! We decided to keep it small this year (I learned my lesson from years past) and had a small 4th of July BBQ with a few neighbors and both sets of grandparents.

Our day started bright and early with the annual neighborhood bike parade. Mark and my Dad took the kids so that Gigi and I could go to yoga and then meet them there. It was fun to be a spectator and get some pics of the kids with Granddaddy and Dad.

We went straight from the parade to the pool and then in the afternoon was the birthday party.

We really enjoying hanging out in the backyard (on our new patio) and enjoying the holiday and Charlie's birthday. It was a long day for Charlie and he had a little meltdown during cake time.

I think he enjoyed sitting on his cake more than he enjoyed eating it.

All in all it was a wonderful day with friends and family.

Also over the 4th of July weekend, we went with Granddaddy and Gigi and the kids to the Colorado Rockies game to see the fireworks. It was Charlie's 1st fireworks show (and 2nd Rockies game). Granddaddy got us some great seats only a few rows back from the field! Wow!

And finally- on July 5th, Charlie's actual birthday, we invited all our friends to meet us at Crescent Park for one of the neighborhood free summer concerts. We had dessert in honor of Charlie and everyone pulled out their picnic blankets for a relaxing evening. It was a great weekend and thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Charlie's big day.

Charlie's 1st haircut

We went to get Charlie's first haircut on July 1st- just in time for his first birthday and our family photos. He did so well. No crying or anything. And Ella was happy to help him eat his lollipop when it was all over.

Here is a picture of him BEFORE-

DURING-

AND AFTER-