Post #300

The snorkel that never touched the waves, he loved wearing it - just no desire to put his head in the water.

Intent on a mission of some kind

How do they adjust so quickly?  We have been home from Hawaii for about 10 days.  The kids are fine with the -10 weather we are having.  Requests to go sledding and dig a fort are now far more common than ones for the beach or Aunt Judy's hot pool.  This is not to say that they have forgotten, they want to watch the YouTube video of the turtles at Ko Olina, they talk about crab hunting, the wedding, staying with Ms. Michelle and the Lukases, playing on the beach, kayaking, and sleeping at the hotel.  But being home makes them happy, they love their toys, rooms and having their dogs back.  Both of them were thrilled to present their classmates and friends with shell necklaces and talk about the adventures they had.

A little Alaskan fun ;)

What a difference a week makes LOL

Tropical Time with Each Other

Ko Olina beach digging sand castles

Searching for hermit crabs

Snack time at the zoo

Not cooperating with the photos ;)

Lovin' Cold Stone before hitting the bus back to the hotel

Another day, another beach

Ice Cream in front of the "Donut" Statue

Entertainment at the rehearsal dinner

Dancing to the quartet at the wedding - do you see the ocean just over the hedge?

Mother / daughter shots

Love that baby of mine!

My handsome guys

Dad helps him get suited up and finds a place for Commander Bomb in his pocket.

Team Braunsai Wedding

Table #3 - Alaskan family or as Wes put it - "All the pale people"

Elegant, elegant, elegant

Wish there was a way to capture how wonderful these smelled

If I had taken more pictures I would write an entire post on the excellent food from the rehearsal and the wedding.  The grooms cake was awesome - in the shape of Alaska with mountains, fish, bears, and a little hunter with an orange vest.

The first dance (and one of the few pictures I took of the bride and groom) - I am hoping that the photographers have a facebook page or blog that I can link to with some really great pictures.

The beauty of this wedding was jaw-dropping!!  Being an Alaskan I am not use to country clubs, flowers in March, or stretch limos.  Elegant and classy are such small words to describe the table settings, dresses, food and cakes.  This wedding had everything, seven short (six inches heels still left them several inches shorter than me) gorgeous bridemaids, six tall handsome groomsmen, two cool silver-shimmer-All-Star-wearing ring bearers, two adorable glimmer-tutued flower girls and most importantly a bride and groom that looked like the very picture of a couple that will be happily married for the next 50 years. 

I wish we could have stayed late into the evening dancing and listening to all the toasts.  The bridal party introductions included a hundred hints to private jokes and stories that I am sure would have had you laughing until your sides hurt.  Having such wonderful friends to stand by their sides throughout the week and on their wedding day is such a blessing. 

Weddings always make me reflect on life and love.  In June we will celebrate 14 years of marriage and nearly 18 years of being a couple (almost half our lives).  life has been so good to us, I hope that they will be as happy as we are.

The Honolulu Zoo ... the best zoo for 2300 miles

Riding the concrete hippos

Bathroom art

All the monkeys

Will he turn into a prince?

The concrete giraffe

The concrete creatures were the most cooperative with the photos ;)

Jade's main reason for wanting to go to the zoo, for some reason she thought she was going to get to ride one?

The petting zoo was AWESOME!!!

Slater's favorite spot was the giant fish tank that you could crawl through the center of, it even had a hole in the center where you could stand up and look out at the fish.

This was the only day that we didn't spend the entire morning at the beach.  The kids were so exhausted from all the running around that they both passed out for over 3 hours.  Isn't vacation grand!!!