"Princess Nicole.......2011"

Homecoming 2011.................
Nicole was nominated to be on Homecoming Court! What a fun and exciting high school experience! The tradition is at the homecoming high school, varsity football game, all the the princesses are escorted out to the field by their fathers..........what a sweet moment. Time is flying by and she will be a senior next year so we are trying to cherish every minute!

Luckily we already had a dress! (thanks to my bargain shopping in the off-season! she decided on the pink one! The brown one will debut again next year!) I had a short amount of time to get LeRoy something to wear! He looked dashing if I do say so myself. And I want to thank Mother Nature for no rain. I was worried all week it was going to rain. It was forcasted but I had such a positive (obsession) attitude that it wouldn't (but did have 2 cute umbrellas just in case it did!).

The getting ready process is always the most fun! Her friend Ana was on court with her so they came over to our house and got ready together. I made them pumpkin bread and had snacks waiting for them when they got home from school. And the hair and make up begins!!!!!!!

She makes a very pretty princess.............(she kind of looks like the special edition Barbie that you get in a pretty shiny box at Christmas time! ha ha!)

She has always played "dress-up". I guess that never ends! This time it was for real.

(she was 5 years old in this pic. I guess she has always thought she was a princess! She hasn't changed much.)

And I was on homecoming court as a sophmore in high school (circa 1987). My daddy escorted my out on the field at halftime!!!!

The evening was so fun. Exciting. Perfect. Magical.

My entire family came. Such a fun night with everyone there supporting Nicole. Bonding. Taking lots of pictures (we have an obsession with pictures). I appreciated them all coming. Wish it could always be like that! Grandma and Grandpa Mac came, Tyler, Grandma Mary, Aunt Donna, Gunner, Drake, Aunt KayDee, Aunt Brandi. I loved every single minute of that night. Nicole was so happy and had so much fun.

Nicole and Ana.

So fun! My family............

The boys were more interested in the game. They moved up so they could watch football until halftime. Tyler, Grandpa Mac, Drake and Gunner. (us girls sat down on the bottom so we could get out to take pictures! and visit).

Pround mommy moment.........................Her dad walking her out..................

Thanks for coming to share her special night............

Nicole with Grandma and Grandpa Mac.

Grandma Mary.

All of her friends were there.

I love that they all wear their UGG boots under their long dress. Warm, practical and adorable (and you can't see them anyways so might as well be comfortable!)

Cousins Gunner and Drake.

My little princesses..........

The girls had a fantastic time. And were so beautiful and classy and gracious. Everything we hope our little girls grow up to be. Love you Nicole............

"Maui....Sept. 16, 2011"

We celebrated our 20th Wedding anniversary in Maui Hawaii. Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Mary

Travel day!!!! We finally arrived. Flight and airport was great and easy-peasey but long. Got our rental car. Went to Costco and got food and headed to our resort on Kaanapali Beach.

Was 95 degrees when we arrived and humid. Our resort was awesome and we got a room with an ocean view. Spacious and so nice. Had a sliding glass doors in the bedroom so we could lay in bed and see and listen to the ocean.

View from our balcony.

We checked everything out and walked the grounds......this is a good sign it's going to be a good week.

Rainbows make me smile...............

Can't wait to unwind and relax and watch the sun set. Our vacation begins!

"Maui.....Sept. 17, 2011"

My plan was..................sleep in every day..........lay around...............relax.................(ahahahaahaaa)
Our first morning (this is the view off our balcony...........when the sun is coming up!) we were both awake at 4:30 am (7:30 am our time at home). The 3 hour time difference really did throw us for a loop the entire week. We laid in bed and planned our day. Mapped out places we wanted to go on the island. Wait for the sun to come up. Walk on the beach. Lay by the pool and not leave the property for the entire day. That was the plan. I had some chocolate in my travel bag.............so we laid in bed at 4:30 a.m. and ate chocolate.....and planned our day of relaxation! Finally at 6:30 am we decided to go walk on the beach and come back and have coffee. Lay by the pool. Read

Perfect place for two.

We found this awesome park along the way. Such gorgeous colors and beautiful view.

Layed by the pool until 4:00. Went down the water slide, swam and watched people.

(must be Happy Hour)

Sunset off our balcony. (and my morning coffee place every single morning.)

"Maui.....Sept 18, 2011"

When you get up before the sun comes up.................time kind of stands still!!!!! So nice to have such full, long days! We walked on the beach almost every morning (once the silly sun came up!) It was about a 2 mile stretch and so peaceful. Coffee on the balcony. Layed by the pool and swam. Maui Marathon was today! Wish I would have known sooner and signed up for the 5k! Went into Lahaina to Hula Grill for lunch. Beautiful view right on the ocean. Shopped a little. Yummy coconut frozen yogurt!

I saw lots of rainbows. Makes me happy. I want to live in the land of lollipops and rainbows....

Another beautiful Maui sunset.

"Maui.....Sept. 19, 2011"

Rise and Shine (early!!) Coffee and breakfast in bed. Lots of exporing today!
We went south and inland to central Maui.
Way inland. Thru Lahina to Paia. Heard we needed to eat at Mama's Fish House along the way.

Great view.

Great food! We were warned it's expensive. But worth it. Everything was so fresh. Had crab cakes with caviar. Goat cheese. Homemade white chocolate-raspberry ice cream. Yummy!

We found this little ecclectic natural food store. I love places like this! Quirky little hole in the wall. We tried dragon fruit (was similar to kiwi) and everything here was local.

Traveled up to Makawoa. Back down to Kihei and back up to Ioa Valley.

These surf boards are someones fence. Out in the middle of nowhere. We drove by and I made LeRoy turn around so I could get a pic. So cool......

Ioa Valley was so lush and green and up in the mountains.

We were going to hike in, but it was getting late and probably dark soon. And was reminding me a little too much like the show "Lost"..............we were outta there!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Getting dark...........lets go...........

Traveled back up the coastline to Kaanapali (where we were staying) with lots of stops, shopping and shinnanaghans along the way. We put 350 miles on our car in a week exploring the island. Today was a long 8 hour adventure!Almost every night at sunset newly married couples were on the beach taking sunset wedding photos. So sweet.........

Made it back for sunset..........

Maybe snorkel tomorrow???????