5 days was not nearly long enough. Last week Morris and I decided to take advantage of some free flights and a condo in Waikiki and take a last minute vacation to Hawaii. We booked our tickets on Saturday and by Wednesday we were sun bathing in Oahu. We met up with two of Morris's sisters and their husbands our second day there and had the best vacation.
Our second day on the island we explored the North Shore and the beautiful beaches. The waves were huge and incredible to watch. Morris and Lance got taken out a few times while they were body surfing at Waimea Bay.
On the way home we stopped for lunch in the cutest little surf town called Haleiwa. After lunch we stopped at a local favorite--Matsumotos, for the best Hawaiian shaved ice. This is my kind of treat, shaved ice with ice cream in the bottom--there really is nothing better.
The next day we got up early to hike Diamond Head. The trail takes you through the inside of the extinct volcanic crater. When you reach the top of the crater there is a beautiful view of the island and the Pacific Ocean. Behind us is Waikiki and downtown Honolulu.
Morris decided he would braves the waves again but this time with a boogie board in hand. We spent the afternoon at Lanikai beach. Morris even convinced me to take a turn on the boogie board.
I caught a few waves and then went back to my book on the sand. This is how the ladies spent our time in the sun.
Then it was my BIRTHDAY--the big 26! We celebrated over dinner at Dukes. The restaurant is right on the beach with beautiful views of the sunset. Jason and Lance even arranged for a birthday song and a huge piece of Hula Pie. It was delicious!
We had one rainy day during our vacation so we decided to spend the day visiting Pearl Harbor. There is a very nice, peaceful spirit at the USS Arizona Memorial. It was great to visit and remember this day in American history.
The rain cleared up for a few hours so we took advantage of the rays and spent some time on the beaches of Ko Olina at the JW Marriott. This was my favorite part of the island, it was beautiful and the beaches were very calm and very few people.
Just before we were heading home for the day the rains picked up again and we watched the storm clouds move in. We stopped for a few shots with the waves, Mindy and Lance almost got washed away. Just as we were finishing up our photos a huge wave crashed onto the shore and we all got drenched including the cameras we were all holding. 
Mindy and Melanie spent the day at the JW spa while the rest of us hiked through a beautiful rain forest to Moana Falls just a few minutes north of downtown Honolulu. 
Our last night in Hawaii we went to dinner at the Kahala Hotel. The grounds of the hotel were beautiful and the dinner was delicious. Before our dinner arrived we took advantage of the photo op. I thought this photo of Melanie and Jason turned out best.
This was just a few hours before getting on the plane. We are smiling but I was very sad to go back to real life so soon. 
Thank you Rices and Ponds for letting us tag along on your vacation, we had a wonderful time with you. We will be sure to invite ourselves on your next vacation as well--he he.For those of you who did not catch the Ellen show yesterday here is your second chance.
Morris and I spent Saturday in Carlsbad at Legoland with our friends the Shamos and my sister Brooke and her kids. It has been so rainy here for the last two weeks we were really hoping the weather would be nice for our day at the park. The rain held off and we had a great day.
Tate gave us a few heart attacks when he wander off out of sight, thankfully we found him both times. He is such a cutie and had a great time on every ride. 
The boys were the only ones who wanted to ride the water rides since it was so cold. 
Janae and I took a ride on the crazy "claw" thing ride. You can decide how intense you want your ride to be 1-5. We chose to go with level 5 and I think both of us suffered from a head rush for the rest of the day. I think level 5 just meant you spent more than half the time upside down with all the blood rushing to your head.
Rick teaching Wyatt a few things about flying a plane.
Thanks Shamos and Camps for spending the day with us at Legoland.
I know Christmas is now a distant memory for many of you but I am just now finding time to post about our wonderful vacation spent with family over the holiday. Now that we are home in California it seems very weird to be posting pictures of us all bundled up in snow gear when it is a warm 75 degrees outside. We were able to spend time with both my family as well as Morris's family on our Christmas break. We spent the first part of our vacation with the Poole's and had a great time visiting with family, puzzling, and eating crepes and other delicious treats. We spent a week there and I managed to not take any pictures the whole time.
Next we were off to Idaho to spend some time with my family. With my family growing at such a rapid rate it is difficult for us to all get together anymore. All of my siblings were able to make it to Idaho for a quick visit with the exception of two--6 out of 8 is not bad. We had so much fun with my family. First activity on the agenda was some sledding at Bogus Basin Ski Resort.
Group shot of all of the sledders.
Addie was such a good sport in these frigid temps. She had a grin on her face the whole time. I love this little Addie Cakes.
Morris and I waiting to get on the lift for another run.
After everyone arrived in Boise we headed to the mountains and more SNOW! We had a cabin with a beautiful lake view and plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained. Isaac was a master of the ping pong defeating all of his opponents while Reagan kept the Air Hockey table warm. The men spent most of their time watching movies in the theatre and way too much football and the ladies worked together to complete newborn baby kits for charity. I also face planted into the ice while attempting to show my nieces and nephews how to take the hill, it didn't work out quite like I planned--sorry no picture of the damage done. I was so happy finally got to meet baby Claire, she is a treat and to see Heidi's baby bump.
We had so much fun with our families, we wish every visit could be longer. Can't wait until our next trip.
Over the Christmas holiday my good friend Bridget, from high school got married. I am still very close to my friends from high school so it was fun to see all of them and to spend some time catching up on each others lives. We had lunch at our favorite restaurant--The Beanery, the day before the wedding and then got together that evening at my parents house and chatted and laughed until way to early in the morning. This was the first time in a very long time that all of us were able to get together. We are all living in various parts of the country and between school, kids and careers we don't get to see each other as often as we would like. 
Bridget was a beautiful bride and the day was perfect. I am so happy for her and Casey. I hope that it is not so long until we can all get together again. We missed you Talane, it was not the same without your cute face.
It seemed like months that I had been waiting for the Dali exhibit to arrive at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Saturday night Morris and I finally made it down to check out the exhibit. It was so neat. The exhibit was not only many of his art pieces but also film. The films were crazy Dali paintings come to life and very interesting to watch.
After the museum we headed to our favorite LA eatery--Farmer's Market. We had no idea what kind of a treat we were in for when we decided to grab a quick bite to eat. After dinner we decided to walk around The Grove for a while. The Grove was so magical and the Christmas spirit was everywhere you looked.
There was a Dicken's esque quartet.
Rockettes dancers--well not the real Rockettes, but these ladies were quite entertaining.
And a HUGE Christmas tree. This tree was so big and so beautiful. 
It was such a fun magical Christmas night.
On Saturday night Morris and I went to the Nutcracker. I have wanted to see the Nutcracker each Christmas but this was the first year I have gone. I found some seats at a small theatre near our house for a great price so I decided to go for it. It was put on by a small young company but I loved it. 
Morris and I have been so busy the last couple weeks we have not been able to go out and celebrate his acceptance to his residency program. Although going to the ballet was not Morris's idea of a celebration for him we did have a fun night together. I love this time of year.
I have been trying to come up with a post for the last week and as you can see I have not come up with anything. I was tagged by Heidi yesterday so here it goes.
Little known and not so little known facts about me...
1. I like to brush my teeth with warm water, I think it kills more germs. My husband, the dentist tells me this is not true but I still do it, I like the frothiness from my tooth paste.
2. Water is my beverage of choice but I can not drink it in the morning. I have to first have a small sip of OJ or other juice before I can drink water. And I prefer the taste of water from a plastic cup over glass. I also don't drink milk but that is all day every day. I have a problem with liquids that are so thick they coat a glass, even skim milk is too thick for me.
3. I hold the record for the flexed arm hang from my elementary school. I used to practice at recess. When word got out I could hold myself there for over 2 minutes I started to draw crowds when I was practicing.
4. I have 2 different thumbs. I have one that curves back like a hitch hiker thumb thanks to my dad and one that goes straight up that matches the thumbs of my mom.
5. I owned my wedding dress for about 4 years before I got married. When my wedding day came, I didn't love the dress like I once did so I had some major alterations made so I didn't dislike it as much.
6. I wanted to change the way my name was spelled in middle school. I wanted to spell Ashley like this Ashleigh. I could never get my y's to look right and I thought Ashley looked prettier this way. After 10 years my family will still not drop it. They still call me Ashsleigh pronounced like sleigh. I also practiced my signature changing my last name with every guy I ever dated or ever thought was cute. When the time came for me to give up my last name it was very hard to let go so I decided to keep it as my middle name.
I tag anyone who has been tagged several times and has not done this.
