5 Years!!!

Mike planned this year's anniversary event and since it was 5 years and sort of a milestone, he decided to do something big.  We had Stella fly back to Utah with my sister and my dad while Mike and I took a short, little flight to Maui for a few days.  It was really hard to say goodbye to Stella at the airport, but we knew she would be in good hands and would have a wonderful adventure in Utah visiting with grandma and grandpa and all of her cousins.

Mike and I really enjoyed our time in Maui, it was so fun to just be together and enjoy each other without having to worry about our little one and what she was doing, getting in to...etc.  We stayed at Wailea Beach and filled our days with beach, pool, activities and really whatever we wanted to do.

The view from our private lanai.

The road to Hana

Mike and I rented a Jeep for the day and drove to Hana.  It was so amazing and beautiful and such a fun adventure.  Although it was a lot of driving and a long day, I'm so happy we did it...

We stopped in at this beach along the way, apparently there had been a shark siting, but people were still swimming and enjoying the beach, so we figured we should too.

Some beautiful waterfalls along the way...

Hiking through the rainforest...

Stopping to enjoy the beaches, blacksand...etc

Cave swimming.  So amazing and beautiful... but, I have to say it was a little scary! The water was freezing, but look how crystal clear.

Our day of surfing lessons.  It was so much fun, we can't wait to surf again.

We of course had to attend a Luau.  It was really fun and we were able to get last minute VIP seats right at the very front, center table.

 

Haleakala for sunrise...

We were told that this is a must-do.  We debated for awhile because, we had to get up at 3:30am, drive to the top of the volcano (10,000ft) and then hike for the sunrise.  Oh, and also it's about 50 degrees up there with A LOT of wind and of course, we packed for a tropical vacation and had no warm clothes.  We packed up hotel blankets and headed out at 3:45am.  It really was worth it, it was incredible.  But, I did get knocked down by the wind and cut my knee pretty bad, other than that - amazing!  You can see in the pics how windy it was, oh yeah and those are clouds that we're looking down on! 

 

Finally, we were back with Stella and headed back home on the plane.  We had such an amazing time and we thank my parents and Lexi, Connor and Elle so much for all of their help with Stella and allowing Mike and I to have this special time together.  We love you guys and Stella misses you already!

And, my cute mom put some scrapbook pages together for us so we could see what Stella did with her time as well.  It was so cute, it looks like she had a great time and really, didn't seem to miss us too much:)

Long Beach, CA

We went to Long Beach, CA a few weekends ago for my cousin, Annie's wedding.  We had so much fun, Stella was a dream on the flights.

Since we were using a companion ticket, we had a layover in Minneapolis for 3 hours on the way there.  Audrey and Dave came to the airport to meet us for breakfast.  It was so great to see them and spend time with them even if only for a quick bite.  Oh, and pregnant Audrey is soooooo cute - I love it!  I wish we lived closer so that Mike and I could be there every step of the way, it sucks.

Breakfast with Jed

A day at Huntington Beach with my family

Someone discovered licorice...

  

Mike and I celebrating our anniversary in Santa Monica

Visiting my family's old neighbors in La Canada

Me and my cousin (the bride!)

 

The wedding was gorgeous and Stella had so much fun on the dance floor.  She kept wandering out there every chance she got.

Beautiful bride and groom

With Kayley and CJ

Stella hittin' the dance floor...

Too much dancing = sleepy baby

Summertime in Philly

Ugh. It's been hot and muggy this summer.  But, we've traveled a lot and had some great weekends home as well.

CJ and Kari came to visit for Stella's 1st Birthday party, which turned out to be quite an experience.  We only invited a few kids since she already had her official party in PC.  So, we kept it low key and had it at the park behind our house.  An hour and a half before, we went to grab a few key elements (ice, balloons, favors...etc), came home to drop Morris off, shower and feed Stella lunch.  When we were walking toward the house, we realized we left the keys in the car... and it was locked.  So, we had to bolt to the store on foot with a dog, a starving toddler, a really mad mom and an incredibly calm husband trying to make it all better in about a bazillion degree heat.  In the end, it all worked out but you'll notice we don't have any photos (my phone and the camera were locked in the car too).  Haha - an experience we'll never forget!

But, the morning hike prior to the birthday fiasco was a blast.

Stella and her cousins

Speaking of the park behind our house, every week they have a fun outdoor concert.  We decided to stop by one random night and let Stella rock out... dance video coming soon!

And a few others...

Stella's 13 Month update

Again, a little late...

This month was monumental as Stella finally took her first steps, and hasn't stopped ever since.  She had her first birthday parties (Utah and Philly) and decided that she hates cake.  But, ice cream and water ice are her favorites.

She says hi and waves to everyone, points at everything and says "dis?" and "dat?" and unfortunately loves to say "no, no, no" while shaking her head, no (even when she means yes!).  As she's practicing her walking, she is adding to her injury count with new bumps and bruises daily.

Her other big milestone this month is dancing.  She LOVES music and every time it comes on, she begins headbanging or swinging her arms.  It's so cute!



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