Day 2...

Mom took Krista to the airport bright and early and Jess, Madi and I started off day 2 on the right foot with a walk down to the local Starbucks... okay, so truth be told we started off most days on the right foot with our Starbucks, but we were on vacation, right?!?! Plus, it was a beautiful walk that looked out over the ocean the whole time!

Yes, it was pure bliss!

The rest of the day was pretty lazy... we headed to the beach right away to soak up some well needed rays!

Madi was able to experience the ocean for the first time and it was SOOO much fun!

She loved it!

Her $15 lifejacket was definitely the best purchase I have made in a long time.

She was fearless and the handle on the back of the jacket was clearly designed by a mother!

Genius!

We would pack our lunches to the beach everyday and since mom had just come back from her second trip to Costco (she may be slightly obsessed, but don't tell her I said that) she brought us down some ice cream sandwiches!

Madi insisted on laying in the sun while she enjoyed hers (I wonder where she got this idea?!?!) and I created a new rule:

If there is more food than sand, let her keep eating.

If there is more sand than food, discard, and replace with a new food item.

Here's some proof that I'm pretty sure there was more food than sand... at this point!

Clearly, she could have cared less that she was eating sand!

My mom called it protein, but I'm not sure where she got that idea... or maybe it was fiber, whatever!

It was a hard life, but she did her best and making the best of it! =)

We finished the day by taking a trip down to Lahaina and visiting the famous Bubba Gump Shrimp Factory!!!

Mmmm... my mouth is watering.

I LOVE shrimp...

Don't worry, I didn't eat this all by myself, although I probably could have!

... and I didn't eat this all by myself either...

They're cute, I know.

And, yes they look very alike... I guess the blood runs thick in the Lambert family!

It was another good day on the islands...

We're some lucky girls!

The Bike...

Madi has been obsessing over bikes lately... she's actually quite pathetic and she's gotten a lot of her Daddy's sympathy too! She'll stand at our front window and watch the big kids ride their bikes in the neighborhood and talk about how Madi needs a bike.

"Madi bike?"

It's very cute. Yes. But not quite cute enough for me to run out and buy her a bike that won't fit her anyway...

I know. I sound like a mean mom, but I'm really just the voice of reason around this house. You should be having some sympathy for me because I have the pressure from these cute little puppy-dog, sad faces that keep begging for a bike!

These = Madi and Matt.

Heck, Winston probably joins in too I just don't look at him for long enough to notice...

So... on Thursday when I picked Madi up from her cousins' house the bike conversation came up and Haley offered for us to borrow one of the boys many bikes... I thought maybe I could distract her from wanting to ride it right away when we got home (I had to pee bad), but that didn't work...


This little girl was WAY too excited about her new toy!!!



She made sure she checked her gauges and adjusted her settings before she took off down the road...


As you know, driving is an important skill that can't be taken forgranted... She turned off her cell phone and tucked it away, made sure her music wasn't too loud and pushed her "vroom, vroom" button on the handlebar....


Yup, she was off folks!

Watch out, Wilshire Drive... the street is a different place now!


Even if Mommy's feet are close behind...

Did you really think I was going to let her go far without me?

Now if only it will be sunny two afternoons in a row...

She can show Daddy her skills!!!


Did anybody else notice how long it stayed light out last night?!?!?

Spring is in the air!!!!!!!!!!!


P.S... I haven't forgotten about days 2 - 7. It's just taking me a while to go through 1,000 pictures!!! =)

Day 1...

Well, it's time to get back to reality... but before I do that, I'm going to spend a few more minutes longing over the beautiful week Madi and I just had in Maui with my mom, sister and SIL (for a few days)...

I was a little nervous about our flight. Mostly because it was 5 and a half hours and I had NO idea how Madi would do... Thankfully she was AMAZING, especially considering she had to sit on my lap the whole time...

Unfortunately, I'm not crazy enough to think that I can take pictures of the two of us on the plane while keeping track of everything else that I had brought with us, so our adventures in pictures don't start until we landed in the islands.

Can you say, "Aloha"?!?!

Mads was SO happy to be out of the plane... even if it meant she had to ride in her carseat!

I'm sure it helped that she was with some of her favorite people!!!

Aunt Decca "Caca" didn't waste anytime and they headed straight for the pool! Madi was THRILLED... she loves water and usually pushes whoever is holding her away because she's pretty sure she can float by herself?!?!?

She's crazy.

I know.

Don't worry, I bought her a lifejacket before we left.

Best $17.00 I've spent in a while!

We got all dressed up and headed to Lahaina for a Sunset Dinner Cruise!

It was the PERFECT night for it!!!

There was NO wind and we saw TONS of whales... in fact we watched them until it was just too dark to see them anymore!

So serious! Waiting for our "boat"!!!

Checking out what a smile actually looks like!!!

Watching the "Whales" with Nana... Madi loved them, but when the sun-set we told her that the whales had gone "Night night"... I think we all regreted that because for the next seven days we would here a frantic, "Whales, night night?" at least 10 times a day! It was always with a questioning tone, like she was checking to see if they were still okay...

It was pretty cute.

And yes, that's what she tells you about if you ask her about Hawaii!

Here's just a FEW whale pictures from the, um, 150, that we took. I was SO happy to have a zoom lense, which capture these amazing creatures much better than I expected. I had no idea what setting I should have been on as my camera doesn't have a "whale" icon... ;) So here was the amateur in me...

This was the baby whale popping up... he was being taught how to slap his fin and tail... SO cute!

As you can see it was a BEAUTIFUL night! We could not have asked for more perfect weather, or a more perfect location!

The BEST way to start off a week in Maui, if I may say so myself! =)

Although Madi and I were pretty exhausted after traveling all day! She's quite the trooper!

Here's to day 1... and many more beautiful ones to follow! =)

Child Labor

We charge $10.00 and hour for her services.

But watch out, because the prices will more than likely double as she gets quicker (and less sloppy)...

Occasionally, Madi decides she needs to clean the window of our sliding glass door. Her desire is usually sparked when she throws something in the garbage and remembers that there's a spray bottle and scrubbing pads under the sink in the kitchen.

It cracks me up that she gets so into it cause I remember very few times that I've actually cleaned the windows in front of her.

Okay, I'll admit, my windows deserve to be cleaned WAY more than I ever do it, but when I usually do it's when she's napping.

It's obvious though... she's definitely a pro at this! You can practically hear her "ch, ch, ch" spraying sound effect from this picture!

She's quite content just pretending and certainly never asks for help from Mommy, nor does she really spray the cleaner...

I must admit though: they're really isn't anything much cuter than a toddler in her pull up with a very serious look on her face working hard at copying her Mama...

**and for the record, I certainly don't use 409 OR a scotch bright pad to clean my windows**