Tom had a great idea to take us to the southern most tip of Africa. Siplings had not been there either so it was quite the adventure. We drove and drove. If I've ever feet like I was in the middle of no where it was driving to Cape Agulhas. There are cows in Africa hanging out in big fields just like home. There were little town specked along the route that were filled with charming town squares and colorful houses. All the ladies in the car were less than excited about the length of the 2 hr car ride to get there. It was quite comical to watch Tom and Kory with the African map try to keep us on track. Never lost, Right?


Cape Agulhas is also the point at which the Indian ocean meets the Atlantic ocean. I am not sure how in the world you could pin point the place that two oceans meet and mingle, but apparently its here.
The girls got a change to play on the beach too. They had been waiting our entire trip to do this, but due to the wind making sand storms that sting your legs we had avoided the beach. Finally the wind calmed down and they were in heaven running with their toes squishing in the sand collecting all the shells they could carry.


The point is...I am so thankful for a husband that challenges me to stretch beyond my comfort zone and take on crazy adventures like this. We have made great family memories and I can't wait for our next adventure. (after I recover!)

I guess the fun didn't officially begin until we were on the catamaran boat ride! Kory is very good at sniffing out boats. He did a great job bargaining to get us on the 2 hr champagne sunset cruise for just $16 US dollars a person and the girls got to go for free. I couldn't resist either. It may have been one of my favorite things. (Don't tell Kory!)
The girls wanted to ride upfront and jump on the mesh area suspended over the water. Madie has a huge dose of her daddy's wild at heart adventure side. Riding over the ocean with the wind in your face was a great time. We would hit cold patches of wind that would give you the goose bumps and then the warm breeze would snuggle you again. It was a great family moment hanging off the front of the boat living on the edge of life!
A major source of income for the South Africans is grape vineyards. They are beautiful and stretch as far as the eye can see. They were having fires burning down the mountains towards several of the vineyards. We got to see helicopters carrying loads of water to dump on the fires. The girls got to play at a couple parks and visit some African ducks while we toured the vineyards!

The point is...I am so thankful that we brought the kids. Traveling with them is a lot more difficult than just the two of us, but the family bonding was worth it. Being able to experience Africa though the eyes of little girls was amazing!

Tom and Cindy's house is nestled on the mountain side with a beautiful view of the Indian ocean. However there is a down side. Mountain air streams that mix with ocean breezes make a wind storm precisely over their house. It seem as though the entire house is going to be blown over. I could hardly sleep the first few night waiting for the windows to be blown in. Talk about creaky creepy noises. Everything rattles, shakes and squeaks all night long. It was not helpful, since I was already on the edge of catching a flight home.
Tom assured us the winds are not always like this, to which we replied that really weird weather seems to follow us on our travels. (Paris heat wave,Whistler mountain collapse, London snow, just to name the recent few) It was raining one night and Kory was asking Tom about the lightening patterns there. Seriously, I think Kory missed his calling to be a weather man. Tom said he's never seen the lightening touch the ground like it does back home, it always ripples horizontal through the clouds. South Africa had a huge vertical lighting show that night. Quite impressive. If we come visit you...pray for the weather! We lost power one night too, luckily it was only about 10 minutes!

We set out for a day of sightseeing starting with the Cape of Good Hope which is a beautiful look out point. It was like climbing a mountain with wind so strong that I needed to keep a hold of the ladies so they wouldn't be blown away. Look at our hair in these pictures, crazy windy.
As we were driving from the Cape a family of wild baboons entertained us for a while. How fun wild baboons. Kory had just rolled up his window and the baby jumped up and hung on his window for a few seconds. The girls were cheering and screaming. It was great. The baby baboon jumped off our car and ran up the hood of the car behind us and sat on the drivers side mirror. I totally felt like I was in Africa.


Another super fun attraction was going to see the penguins. I thought they only loved cold weather, but there are some hot weather loving penguins out there. My kind of birds. They were almost tame and would let you get really close. There was a paid portion where you could even get in a swim with them. We passed. As we were leaving one was walking through the parking lot seeming to be headed somewhere intentionally. Very endearing guy!
We ended our day with a visit to the Salty Sea Dog restaurant for some fish and chips. I totally thought of the Clarks and their love for the Salty Dog. Maybe they're cousins?

The point is...I loved the days we got to tour and see how beautiful Africa is. Wow. God is a really talented builder, artist and creator.

What is life really like for people who genuinely struggle for their day to day needs? Can you imagine your children growing up with no running water, no toilet and in many cases not even electricity?
In a touristy waterfront shopping village we visited there were children begging for money and food. Regardless if it was a scam set up by their parents or if there was a genuine need--I can never imagine asking my 3 year old precious baby girl to go and beg for money and food. There was a little girl maybe 4 years old that followed us down the street for a block or so just staring at the girls and kept saying, please Ma'am help me. I could hardly look at her, it broke my heart. She was dirty, barefoot and walking the streets begging for money. Can you even imagine for one second that we would ask our kids to do this--for even one second. NEVER.
I complain that my barnhouse is no where near the fancy house want. I complain about laundry duty to which I have machine that does most of the work for me. I whimper that I have nothing to wear- when my closet is bursting with great cloths. I grumble at cleaning up after little people, when the DVD in the van goes on the fritz, and when anything in my day does not go exactly as I have so carefully planned.
Jenna was having a great time and didn't seem to notice the differences, but Madie was fully aware Africa was different. I watched her eyes as she stared out the car window into the townships. Hearing her questions and seeing her genuine concern for the kids begging for money was remarkable. I huge part of me wanted to cover her eye so she didn't have the heart sick feeling of realizing that kids live this way. It was a remarkable experience to have with Madie. She is getting the sense that the world is SO much bigger than our backyard and there is so much we can do with the resources that God has in trusted us with.

Here are some pictures of the housing projects there called townships. The pictures aren't very good since they are all taken while driving. When you look at these remember that entire families sometimes 8-12 people live in one little shack.
While the girls and I were at the college for a girls event, Kory went into the townships. He wanted to buy groceries and pass them out all week and he finally got his chance. It was after dark--I was not about to go in the dark. I'm not sure I even wanted to go in the light if I am completely honest. Kory has a wild at heart spirit that forces him to do wild and crazy things with wild abandon. Did you get the hint that I think he is a wild kind of guy. Don't dare him. He will water ski naked in February on a frozen Iowa lake.
So my wild man Kory and Tom made a stop by the house so Kory could drop off his wallet, watch and any valuables he had in case they were mugged. You really are not advised to go in at night. He also told me after the fact that he did put his license in his shoe, just in case he needed to be identified. Wow, that's comforting.
Kory said it was such an incredible experience. Kory bought enough groceries to make up 7 bags with each bag having bread, milk, eggs and non perishables. He also got Oreos and candy to pass out to the littles. He drove around looking for women with kids. He said that everyone they come in contact with was so thankful and grateful. One women told them she had just left a prayer service and it was such an answer to prayer to have food. She kept saying, Praise Jesus, Oh thank you Jesus! He thought it was so cool that everyone excepted the gift unassuming any motive and with joy. Here in the states if he would try to offer groceries to a women on the street she would think he was a weirdo trying to drug her and call 911.

The point is...I am so thankful that our family had this slap in the face reminder of how incredibly blessed we are! Oh, and I am so thankful that God wired Kory to be a wild at heart kind of guy. He is wild enough for the both of us, I assure you!

Well, despite the record breaking snow, we made it out of London! The journey over to South Africa wasn't to bad. It was a quick almost 12 hour flight when you factor in 2 meals, unlimited on demand movies and tv, and some uncomfortable napping! The girls did great. This flight was booked so we all had to share a row of 4 seats. After Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Madagascar 2 I tucked the girls in to get some rest. We tried to lay them side by side on the 2 seats in the middle and dangle their legs over our laps, but they were both too restless for that. I pushed pasted my germ-a-phobia thoughts and put Madie on the floor on a blanket. This worked perfect to stretch out and lay flat! Kory and I were another story. There's only so much "rest" you can have sitting straight up. I took an Ibuprofen for my neck over breakfast.

We arrived to Tom's tan smiling face waiting for us. How lovely to be in South Africa and have a friend pick you up from the airport. Leaving the airport you get the strong feeling we're not in Missouri anymore Toto.

We drove by areas that are called Townships. Some of them have power, none of them have toilets or water. They have community areas with out-houses and running water. They live in make shift houses all piled next to one another. The houses are made of pieces of metal, plastic, tarps, wood, and scraps all thrown together to make a box. You can see gaps and holes in the building material making them seem unsteady. In the states it would be similar to a homemade hillbilly playhouse.

Tom educated us all about Townships and the people. Its all separated by 3 main types of people here. Black, Colored, and Afrikaans. (I googled the spelling!) Black are descendants of tribal African heritage and the true Africans with the black as night skin. Colored is used to describe black/white people that are not from tribal heritage and have a much lighter black skin color. Afrikaans are the white people born and raised here that speak that also speak Afrikaans language. Most people here speak English as the unifying language. It's taught in schools and spoken everywhere we've been, but the native language here is Afrikaans. Which sounds like Russian, if you ask me.

I had a false idea that we would be landing on a grass strip, visiting mud huts with women stretching their earlobes , and that Kory would have to kill our evening meal. Well, this is a town with a grocery store, mall, KFC and a McDonalds. All the normal conveniences of home.

Here's the transparency part-- I have always been afraid of people and places that I do not recognize. Kory usually dismisses my fears as silly and unwarranted, but non the less I am afraid. In Springfield, I walk out of Wal-mart at night and I carry my keys just right so if I had to use them to stab an attackers eye out I would be prepared. (Don't mess with me!) I lock all the barnhouse doors and windows and sometimes check them twice. I keep my van locked in the driveway, as though that will save me. I hold my kids hands in crowded areas and insist they stay within arms reach at all times. I never let them wonder around to the next toy isle even in the safety of Springfield. I'm a slightly paranoid, scared girl on high alert for danger thinking someone may be waiting around the next corner to get me.

However-I've grown stronger and more confident in the last 10 years. I think growing up sheltered by the warm ever present wing of my Daddy makes me feel like something is now missing as an adult. You can imagine my adjustment period early on in our marriage when Kory began flying 3-5 nights a week. I've grown up a ton.

There is something about being here in Africa, especially with the girls that scares me to death. I could hardly sleep last night. I stayed awake running all the scenarios of the what ifs in my head. We are in a safe neighborhood with a security system and the Siplings that have lived here with no trouble, so whats my problem? I think it has have to do with all the stories Tom used to describe the people and the gravity of their need for Jesus. I guess if I watched the news in Springfield, which I NEVER do, I would realize that there are rapist, kidnappers, killers, and gang members right on our town too. So why does it bother me so much here? Maybe its the fact that we stick out like a big white thumb here! You can pray that I can get over myself and am able to soak in all the great things that God has for our family to experience here in South Africa serving the Siplings. It's NOT about me!

Ok, back to lighter stories. We went to Pneumatix school last night and attended a Plunge service. It was amazing. The music started with bongos and them I realized they were playing all songs that we knew from home! It's amazing to be 9,000 miles from home and be singing and worshiping to the same music with Africans! Crazy!

The cliffs and the Indian Ocean views are incredible. We also went to a MALL today. You'll laugh, but the mall made me feel so much better and like home wasn't so far away.

The point is...I think I may need to stop my the mall every day! There was even a food court. Although I had to explain what a cheese pizza was to the Afrikaans/English speaking women.

Me: Hi, Can I get a small cheese pizza please.

Pizza lady with unrecognizable accent: What topping would you like?

Me: cheese

Pizza lady with unrecognizable accent: and topping?

Me: cheese, just cheese and pizza sauce

Pizza lady with unrecognizable accent: We can't do that.

Me: You can charge me for a regular pizza and then just don't put on the meat if you need too.

Pizza lady with unrecognizable accent: You want meat? What topping?

We've been staying up super late chatting it up with the Jones. They're great fun, but this mornings wake up call came early!
We got ready and loaded the Tube for the AutoMat, a swanky pancake house that's become a tradition for the Jones. It fully lived up to my expectations. The girls and I had waffles with strawberries and some homemade whip cream with vanilla bean in it. Yummy, we asked for extra whip cream!


We got to see the changing of the Guard at Buckinghams Palace on our way to church too. It was crowded, we had to pier though a fence and past the guys wielding machine guns, but totally worth it. They have a Guard marching band that plays all the Queens favorite songs live. Very stoic in there huge fuzzy hats. Madie wanted to know if the Queen would be outside watching the band, I wish sweet girl!
We walked the wicked cold walk to Hillsong London for Sunday church. It was great. Literally, it was James River verbatim. They started with praise and worship, the Pastor came up and read prayer requests and praise reports, we had corporate prayer for needs, worship concluded with the Pastor giving verbal announcements and called the hosts forward for the offering and then the video announcements played. They even passed around chicken buckets for offering. Crazy huh. There was a special speaker, Sy Rogers. He has an incredible testimony. He's an ex-gay transvestite that completely changed his life around and has now been married for 20 years. (to a women!) He really played up his mannerisms and voice for effect in several parts of his message. He now travels all over the world speaking about the unspoken subject of sexual sins. It's a great ministry. I admire anyone who can use their garbage mistakes to help encourage and lead the way for others. Although, I'm glad Madie was in the kids department. She would've had way too many questions and been educated on several things that she doesn't need to know. I can only imagine what she would've thought when he was showing pictures of him dressed like a women. WOW.
We found a little pizzeria and ate a yummy pizza and sandwich lunch. You know the ladies have a super small diet of things they love! We went to Covenant Gardens which is an indoor/outdoor market full of local vendors. It had started to snow at this point and walking was getting painful so we headed back to the flat.
It's Superbowl Sunday although no one seems to know over here. We had a great junk food dinner of Chinese, pizza, chips, and more chocolate cupcakes. I'm gonna to have to really work that off in a couple weeks at the YMCA.
The girls have really bonded with Jill and David. The ladies were both harassing David so bad. They were giving him wet willys, fish hooks, crawling all over him and pulling on his hairy legs. He was laughing so hard he had a hard time warding them off. The girls loved it! Jenna sat on Jill's lap for quite a while. She would kiss her and snuggle. Precious!

The point is...We've heard it never snows in London, so why is it a blizzard outside with inches of accumulating snow? We may not get out to South Africa tomorrow. Beach here we come!

It was a cold windy day here in London, but we're not about to let that stop us! Jill and David, the muffin man, made us a great homemade breakfast and then we bundled up and headed out.
First we went on a 3 hr (not really) (but it was far) trek to one of David's friends house to feed their cat. Long story. Anyways after David tenderly stroked the cat and tucked in back in, we were really on our way.
The highlight of the girl's day was riding on the London double decker bus ON THE TOP! They were giddy, and quite frankly it was fun. You get a birds eye view of the city. Super fun. It's interesting to watch the girls try to balance as the bus roars off. Well, Madie balances. I've learned that Jenna hits the floor like a pancake if you don't have a hold of her. Opps!
We then braved it on the tube to Greenwich, England to visit where time and the clock was basically invented. The planetarium and museum there is really interesting.
Here's a short history lesson:

Greenwich, England defines both time and place for the whole world. All time is measured relative to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and all places have a latitude (their distance North or South of the Equator) and a longitude (their distance East or West of the Greenwich Meridian)

So whether you are flying an aircraft, sailing a ship or just planning to meet up using your GPS remember that is measured from Greenwich, England:

Longitude 0° 0' 0"

Latitude 51° 28' 38"N (North of the Equator)

We got to stand right on the dividing line of the Greenwich Median. We were in the western hemisphere with one leg and the eastern hemisphere with the other. Quite amazing. The boys even tried their luck scaling a huge steel slanted thing. Jill and I tried to pretend we didn't know them.

Jill and David had tickets to the theater tonight. (and not the Palace dollar theater) She put on chili in the crock pot this morning for us and now we're just chilling at the flat. The girls have done amazing with the time change. It really has not effected us, Thank the Lord.

The point is...I think we are going to head out on a double decker bus adventure across the city and back tonight. Cheap fun, and it is heated!

What a LONG day. I am witting this after being up since Thursday at 5:10. Its now Friday at 9:05 London time and I've sleep maybe a combination of 3 hours in uncomfortable airline chairs. So, I can't guarantee the materials listed below, and thank heavens for spell check! I want to get a few memories down since my memory may erase after a great nights sleep.
We left on Thursday at 6:40 am flight to MSP. We got to hang out with our favorite Grammy Sherry for the afternoon and had lunch with her. We love Grammy Sherry, she always makes us feel extra loved and special.
We made it back to the airport in plenty of time to catch the 5:10 pm flight to London LHR. Thankfully the flight was wide open and we were able to grab 2 rows each with 4 seats. Kory and Madie took row 20 and Jenna and I took row 21. It was great since the girls could lay down flat to sleep. Jenna passed out before dinner service and besides waking up disoriented a few times she slept until we arrived. Madie ate dinner on the flight and then slept the rest of the 8 hr flight. Angels. Kory and I tried to settle in but we figure we only slept a few hours each. It's tough to sleep with kids kicking you and the flight attendants roaming the isles with water seemingly every 3 minutes! Shesh!
Oh, we did have one traumatic experience. Jenna got sick a few minutes before we landed. It was quite an episode. Jenna doesn't have the typical response of alerting you before she gets sick. She's just sick. Lucky for us we had a spare outfit handy! Always travel with a spare, learned that the hard way several times when the girls were babies.
We arrived in London and had our first adventure of riding on the Tube, London's subway system. NiggghtMaaaare.
Imagine crowded train stations with budging people in a hurry with super fast train stops that yield no mercy if you are about to get on or trying to get off and then for extra fun add in:
2 tired little ladies
4 super heavy stuffed rolling carry-on bags
2 laptop bags
2 build-a-bears
1 stroller
2 kids backpacks
89 flights of stairs (a whole different story with bags, kids and crowds) (I'm too tired to go there!)
and too many confusing train routes including colors and platforms to mention.
I am very patient with the kids usually. I was a wreck. I was convinced that several of my fears would come true in the blink of an eye.
1. We could lose a child somewhere in London?
2. We could lose a bag, bear, computer.
3. Someone would not make it on the train and we wouldn't realize until they are frantically waving from the outside of the train as the train barrels into the darkness of the tunnel.
I'm sure everyone on the train thought I was the meanest mother on the planet. Yelling at my kids to hurry up, or move over and I even caught myself grabbing the hood on their coats to direct them on or off the train. Seriously...stress to the max.
But the sun came up at Old Street Station and the beautiful Jill Brawner-Jones meet us at Starbucks and escorted us to her and David's flat for breakfast. How lovely! Jill had our suite all made up for us. She even bought the girls some special Paddington Bears, writing books, markers and lots of fun snacks. Wow. The royal treatment for sure. The Queens have arrived in England.
We got cleaned up, took a few minute breather and then took off into the city. Let me tell you the trains with a local guide, 3 adults, 2 kids and nothing but coats are super fun! The girls love the thrill of riding the trains everywhere. Their questions about people not owning cars are priceless. The big city way of life is a complete culture shock to the girls. How fun to be able to show them that the world is way bigger than Springfield.
We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, a collection of churches including the one Princess Di was married in and Jill lead us in a great history walk. We even hit the TK Max. Apparently their version of TJ Max. I drooled over some of the fashions.
Speaking of fashions...people are super cool over here. The people watching is amazing. I wish I had a bazillion dollars to grab all these English fashions.
Jill made an amazing state side version of chicken with beans and potatoes. Totally felt like home! Thanks Jill and David for being great hosts and letting us come stay! We are so thankful for you!
The Jones and our London trip will totally make the Christmas card!


The point is...This sign at the local park was the highlight of the girl's day!

Oh the McCalls! We go WAY back. We went on a double date with them in 1996 on a flight piloted by captain to Silver Dollar City for the day. It was super fun and we have been close with them ever since.
We decided to head to St. Louis for a visit, especially since this was Madie's last weekend before big 2nd grade starts. (BOOHOO) Another great bonus to visiting the McCalls was meeting the newest member of the family little Miss Lydia. Miss Lydia is one of the easiest babies I have meet. She is amazing and has juicy cheeks that are sweet like sugar. The boys (Lucas 5, Judah 3) are super proud and great help with their baby sister.


We hit the town with style in 2 mini vans and headed to the library for the showing of Curious George on Friday morning. Victoria had to keep shushing me. Apparently no one speaks during the kids movies! Who Knew? After a relaxing coffee filled lazy Saturday we headed to the St. Louis zoo. We had great weather with a cool breeze. I can hardly think of a better lazy day than we had.
On Sunday we went to Joe and Victoria's church which they claim is the best ever--clearly they have never been to James River! The girls had lots of fun in the kids program which is always the gage of a great church in my eyes.
After church Victoria and I headed to The Picture People with 17 dress choices for Miss Lydia's model shoot. Why is it that children seem to change their personalities right as the photo girl enters the room. Poor Lydia was awoken out of dream land to change into a tutu and asked to smile on command. It was a rough start, but we managed with the help of a squeaking bobble head duck to capture some great smiles.
We headed to Grants Farm and enjoyed taking the train around to see all the animals from ducks to buffalo. Madie loved the the giant yellow python snake. I did inform Kory which child we would both grab and run with in case the snake tried any funny business.


The girls got a change to feed baby goats with baby bottles. The girls had great fun so long as we played WWF with the aggressive goats to keep them from jumping up in the girls faces. One goat persistently chased Jenna and at one point even had a mouthful of her dress. She had a brief breakdown (I have no idea where she gets the overreaction gene?!?) and then let that goat have it and proceeded to chew him out for his bad manners. He ran away...

Madie was intent on feeding each of the 75 goats a drink. Jenna's bottle only lasted a few minutes, but I had to tell Madie after 10 minutes and a full bottle that she needed to let them have longer drinks. So she selectively choose all the cutest babies and finished her bottle off.


The point is...We have had an incredible summer filled with amazing trips, lots of friends and fun commin' out the wazoo. God has blessed us so much this summer with Kory's schedule including lots of time home with the girls and I. The girls have so many stories and family memories from this summer...making all the madness priceless!

We had a great day full of hiking to the top of a gorgeous waterfall, swimming in the pools, and more fishing!

The point is...Try not to notice my outfit never changes is any of the pictures!

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A massive rock slide has severed the only direct highway between Vancouver and the famed resort town of Whistler, both venues of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The boulders fell late Tuesday night about halfway between Vancouver and Whistler, covering the Sea to Sky Highway and nearby railway tracks with as many as 16,000 cubic tons of rock piles up to 30 feet deep and 100 feet wide. The largest boulders are estimated to be as big as small houses.

Police said there were no reports of any injuries but they were using dogs to check through the slide to make sure no vehicles were buried.

Officials estimated road closures would remain in effect for at least 24 hours.

The route is undergoing a $750 million upgrade to ensure it can handle all the traffic expected between Vancouver and Whistler during the Olympics.

Well I think that may qualify us for up a creek without a paddle. We are in Whistler, BC and have a rental car that needs to be returned to Vancouver on Saturday. The direct route that is now clearly buried takes about 2 hours, the ONLY other way out of here to Vancouver takes about 8-9 hours through the beautiful curvy mountains of British Columbia. {UGH} I am not a great mountain car rider for 9 hours including potty stops. The reports are all over the board for estimated clean up time--Some say 48 hours and I have also heard due to blasting needed and road repair it may be into next week. Pray for speedy clean up so we have the short route home and a safe one!

The point is...I guess this is as good of an excuse as any to just stay on vacation for a really long time! I only wish I would have gotten trapped at the Grand Wailea, in Maui!

Madie: Come quick Mom I found something.

Me: Madie get away from that dog poop.

Madie: Mom!!!...the poop is moving!

Our passion for all things gross and slimy has brought us to discover a new species of snail. As far as I can tell this is an undiscovered morphing HUGE snail.
Kory was taking the rugged mountain path to whom no one in the world knows where and we found this hidden lake at the top of a mountain trail. It was one of those paths that no one finds or dare travel, but we charged on even though my inner voice was screaming--DANGER bears ahead.
On our hike we did not meet any bears, but the killer huge snails were everywhere. They were as long or longer than Madie's foot and as big around as a brat. We discovered green ones, black ones and even green ones with black spots--or were they black ones with green spots? It was a great find and the girls LOVED them. Maybe even the highlight of our trip!

The point is...In a rare Survivor Man moment I did pick one up to take a nibble! Anything for the shot right?

Hello from Whistler, British Columbia, Canada! I think that is the way you say it...Aye? It is true. You know when you are chatting and you say yeah, or ok...Canadians say Aye, a bunch here. I think it's great!
We arrived in Canada on Saturday with Mom Buehler in tow! We had a little trouble in the MSP airport arriving in Seattle, so we decided in true Kilbourne style to jump a quick flight to Vancouver, Canada direct. It all worked well, but it was a circus. Mom and Madie got to have the fun of sitting up in first class..a 1st for both of them. They had a super fancy breakfast and felt very spoiled. Jenna and I sat with the back seat riders and Kory got the birds eye view in the cox pit!
It is beautiful here. It is like Colorado on steroids. The trees, rivers, streams and lakes are beyond beautiful. I feel like this must be a little taste of heaven. Our 2 bedroom condo that Kory scored for $199 for the entire 7 days is amazing. It is a 2b/2b right in Whistler Village. It is such a master planned village. Everything we could need is within walking distance. I had no idea but Whistler Village is the #1 ski resort destination in the world. The 2010 Winter Olympics are also being held here in Whistler and partially in Vancouver. They have Olympic items everywhere. Madie and Jenna even stood on the mock winners podium with the medals on. Very cool!
The weather has left something to be desired however. Let's just say thank you Jesus we are not in a tent. It has been cold and rainy for most of the 4 days we have already been here.
I know why too.
On a bet with Kory that I couldn't pack super light and fit all my stuff into one carry on...I packed super light. For me this is a super amazing feat of will power! Following the weather recommendations, that I have been watching with an eagle eye for a week, I packed all summer clothing for myself and the girls. It was reported to me that the weather was going to be in the low 80's the entire trip. Well it has been more like low 60's with rain and completely freezing if you ask me! I literally packed 1 jogging suit a piece for the girls and the rest shorts and tees. I followed suit with 1 pair of jeans and 1 pair of jogging pants. {UGH!!!} I am not only freezing my bunz off, but I am forced to wear the same thing day after day. A ground hogs day effect on my fashion sense. Less is more right?

The point is...Maybe the What Not To Wear people will find me in this super posh village wearing the same thing for 7 days and put me on the show and give me the $5,000 shopping spree...I can dream can't I!

I heard all good things come to an end...but I was hoping that was not the case here in Hawaii! We had such a great time of R&R and reconnecting just the two of us. It was amazing. We were so blessed during this trip with great God blessings. I love that it was totally unexpected blessings and clearly had nothing to do with something I tried to make happen!

The point is...getting some time with just Kory was priceless and thank-you so much mama for keeping the girls for the week. They had SO much fun making tee-shirts, playing in the new carpet and getting littlest pets at McDonalds! Your the BEST Nanny!

Happy 10 years KT! We had a great breakfast thinking about 10 years...fun, stretching, growing, laughter, crying, changes, moving, girls, excitement, losses, ups, break-downs and chatting about how through all the craziness of getting married so young!! I am so proud of Kory and the husband he is to me. He does a great job looking out for me and being the provider and protector of our family!


I finally got my day today...doing nothing pool side! Yeah! I brought all my unread magazines with wild anticipation of this moment. I slapped on some sunscreen, donned my shades and settled in for pure R&R. It was glorious.
UNTIL--Kory learned we could take free scuba lessons in the scuba pool and if you pass the class you can go into the ocean and they will dive to 25 feet. OK--anyone who knows me (or have read) knows that I am sure all creatures in the murky deep are out to eat me. But scuba in the pool...I can totally do that. So we signed up and I regretfully left the pool.


We sat through a 30 minute scuba lesson and then geared up in full wet suits, goggles, vests, tanks and all the hoses and gear I could carry. We got into the 3 foot end of the pool and started to slowly getting use to the weight of the gear and breathing under water. The goal in baby end of the 3 foot scuba pool was to drop to your knees and then lay flat on the bottom to practice clearing your ears. We had to perform the skill of taking out your regulator (life support--anxiety building) and also how to put it back in, in case it gets knocked out under water.(what--anxiety building) In order to "earn" a chance to get into the ocean you also had to drop your regulator and take the instructors spare regulator and breath off his tank. This is in case you run out of air? (run out? anxiety building) Then you move on to the 10 foot end of the scuba pool and repeat the skills.
Ok-3 foot. I get in, breathing shallow and anticipating death. I am 5'9, well over 3 foot. Right? So I put the regulator in and just standing up have trouble calming myself. HELLO-- loser you are in the 3 foot pool, and to make matter worse there were two 9 year old kids in our group that were apparently raised as mermaids. I drop to my knees...all I hear is dodo.....dodo......dodon...
dodon....doodoon...DODODDOOONNNNN. I am not kidding I have never felt so out of control and frightened out of my gourd. I am sure I was the first person who was actually going to drown in the 3 foot pool. After the embarrassing realization that I could stand up to save myself I surfaced.
You know that point at the beginning of an embarrassing break down...as long as no one talks to me I can pull myself together and no one will be the wiser. Well I was lingering on the edge, the scuba instructor surfaced and asked if everything was ok. I opened my mouth to talk and apparently my tear ducks caught a cross signal and I totally started crying. Did I tell you I am in the 3 foot pool? I am such a nerd. Kory surfaced and hugged me which made it even worse. Nerd! So my scuba experience was less than magical and I was thankful to be done. Kory however was a pro. He loved it. He performed all the skills and was invited to go into the deep end and even the ocean. No one in our group wanted to do the ocean dive so Kory got to go one-on-one with the instructor on a 90 minute dive. I hear it was amazing. He said it was like Finding Nemo down there. The coral was massive and beautiful. He spotted and eel, octopus, 7 sea turtles with one as tall as he was, tons of fish and he even got to hold a bunch of different kinds of sea urchants. He had a blast! I however was thankful to be back at the pool with my magazines!


We beached it for the rest of the afternoon and then got all fancy for our anniversary dinner celebration. The resort when we checked in gave us a $25 gift certificate for out anniversary and then HiltonHonors gave us a $40 gift certificate so we thought we would go all out! The restaurants on the property are super nice. We choose to eat at Humuhumunukunukuapua'a. That is the actual name, I am not even trying to be funny. We sat at a cozy table with a beautiful view of the ocean and the sunset. We ordered surf and turf. The steak was one of the best I have ever had. The tables were super close together so we meet the mother and daughter that were next to us. They were so nice to us and bought us this super fancy dessert, with Happy Anniversary written in chocolate. It was a total shock. WOW. What a fun blessing to get a present from strangers! The cool thing is the restaurant thought it was so great that they choose to treat us with a dessert that they brought one for them as a blessing from the restaurant! It was a great example of given and it shall be given unto you! The sunset was beautiful that night and we ended our day with a stroll on the beach.

The point is...It was a perfect day except for my near death experience! I was not created to breath underwater or God would have given me gills!

Today we drove the long 54 mile drive to Hana which is all the way on the NE side of Maui. If I thought yesterday was frightening, it was a tricycle ride compared to today. The 54 mile drive to Hana took us 4 hours. We did stop for the beautiful waterfalls and the incredible view but that may have only slowed us down 30 min. This was the kind of road where the edge is near and seems to pull you in that direction. Oh did I mention this is an even skinner one lane road. It was crazy. The locals were zooming and jocking for position. SCARY!

The point is...Why did we ever choose to leave the pool in the first place? Did you see the 9 pools and water slides not to mention the private beach cabanas?

We had a great morning breakfast looking over the balcony onto the ocean. It made everything taste better I'm sure! We decided to drive along the west coast of Maui today since the weather in Wailea was rainy for the afternoon. What a beautiful and frightening drive. It is pretty much the one lane super curvy road of death. You come to areas where you meet another car head on and one of you has to back up to a wider part of the road since you can not pass side by side. I was a great back seat driver for the ride! We arrived back at the resort just in time to capture a beautiful sunset on the beach!

The point is...I think driving with the top down and the wind blowing in his hair made Kory feel like a race car driver. I am lucky to be alive!

Oh My Lands...What a ridiculous destination. This place is stunning. We landed at 6pm Hawaii time (-5hrs home time). It was still sunny and beautiful.
Blessing #1--I rented a convertible for our adventure, I scored an amazing deal that even the rental car guy commented that he hadn't seen it that cheap! We hit the Wal-mart on the way to the Wailea for cheap snacks and drinks since we anticipated the resort to be super pricey.
After a 30 minute coastal drive we pull into what clearly can NOT be the resort. I have never stayed somewhere SO beautiful in my life. I am sure we made some wrong turn and the Super 8 is waiting for us around the corner. The entire resort is an inside/out building. Everything is exposed to sun and rain. The landscaping is stunning.
We pull up to the hotel and Bellmen rush to greet us and "lay" us. They gave us the most beautiful purple and white REAL Orchid lays. Nothing like those plastic ones at the party store! HAHA I tried to start getting the bags out of the car and the Bellmen insisted that we leave everything in the car and just head right inside to check in. So we abandoned all and headed in. A beautiful Hawaiian girl checked us all in and said she had some special things waiting for us! WHAT?? You know that feeling of complete joy that makes you want to jump up and down flailing wildly and scream like a girl...I almost did that...but I was able to keep it under control barely. When Kory booked us he told them it was our 10 year anniversary, but made no special arraignments.
Blessing #2--She gave us a $65 gift card for any of the restaurants on the property as an anniversary gift. Which will maybe buy us 1/2 a piece of toast, no butter! We are going to use it for dinner on the 18th for our official 10th celebration.
Blessing #3--They gave us a crazy free upgrade in the room. The point stay is for a mountain view room, but they upgraded us to on ocean site suite. Can I please take a moment to tell you about the room...It is in a gated part of the hotel. You have to use your key to access this wing of the hotel. It is called Napua Tower. It is amazing. After being escorted to our suite we entered to the most beautiful surprise. There were orchids every where. They were all over the bed with a big heart in the middle made with orchids. They were on the floor, nightstand, chairs, and all in the bathroom. Sit down for this one...There was a HOT bubble bath already drawn with a gazillion orchids all around the huge tub and lots of orchids floating in the water. How did they do that? The water was hot, so they must have done it as we told the Bellmen our name when we pulled up. Can you imagine coming home and walking into the bathroom to a hot tubby filled with flowers...I would faint!
Blessing #4--If you are staying in Napua Tower you get FREE breakfast on the balcony. The regular downstairs breakfast buffet is $28 for adults. Clearly we would not be eating there! Breakfast this morning was so yummy. Sweet breads, cereal, the most yummy pineapple and strawberries ever, eggs and tons of goodies. Did I mention the FREE Starbucks Kona Coffee that you can get to go up there? That is worth it in itself!
I will have to figure out a way to use this hotel computer to post pictures. It is amazingly beautiful. I wish you were all here with me!

The point is...Thank you Jesus for blessing us with more than I dreamed of and clearly more than I deserve!