Aloha!

As many of you know, I was chosen by one of our investors to speak at the ICBA National Convention (ICBA is an organization of smaller community banks), which just so happened to be held in Honolulu, HI!!! So, myself and my coworker, Sharon, spent a week in Hawaii, (airfare, hotel and most of our meals were paid!) which was an amazing experience, to say the least!


Here we are on the plane to Honolulu...

With our account executive, Dee Anna Hatfield, standing at the Taylor, Bean and Whitaker booth at the convention...

A few pictures of the hotel where the convention was held (the Hilton Hawaiian Village)...

(Yep, those are penguins)

On Saturday, March 3rd, Dee Anna took us to Pearl Harbor. It was a moving experience. This picture was taken while we were on the ferry that took us out to the memorial...

Inside the U.S.S. Arizona memorial...

All the people that died in the bombing...

The U.S.S. Arizona, in it's final resting place...

Among our many adventures while in Hawaii, was the Honolulu Screamer. It's tagline is, "Whale watching with a twist" It's a custom-built jet-boat, holds 49 people, and offers a ride like no other! Here is a picture of what was behind us - we sat in the very front, where we were strapped to our seats...

Here we are while the boat was cruising along in the Pacific - jumping waves and dipping the nose in the water, so we could all get wet!

They stopped for a moment and the captain and his wife took pictures of all of us. Behind Sharon and I is the Diamond Head Crater.

Here is the Pacific - look at all the gorgeous colors of blue and green!
Here we are swimming in the ocean...

In addition to all the daytime activities, Honolulu boasts tons of nighttime adventures, as well!

There was tons of great shopping, awesome resturaunts, and performers, of sorts, lining the streets! A mime came up and made us these balloon flowers...

We went to Hard Rock Cafe on our last night in Hawaii....

Then took the trolley downtown for some dancing and fun...

...where I sang backup (for one song) with the band that was playing that night...

Time to go home. Here are a couple of pictures taken at the airport - isn't it gorgeous?

What an awesome experience!

It's been awhile...

...since I've updated ~ sometimes life just moves too quickly! We are doing well, the kids are great and have been having a wonderful 2007, thus far. I have some additional updates to add, but for now check out our news!

A special poem for our Daddy

Hi daddy, it’s us ~ Just how lucky are we?

You’re such a great daddy That’s easy to see!

You help us, and hug us, and make us laugh, too.

You kiss us, and hold us when we’re feeling blue.

You tickle and tease, and eat what we “cook”

You tuck us in bed with a hug and a book.

We have something to tell you, something wonderful to say!

Mom’s having a baby, there’s one on the way!

So next Halloween, not a trick or a treat,

But a new sister or brother, now isn’t that neat??

Love, Brendan & Halle

We made the shirts with fabric paint. (in case Halle's is hard to read it says: Big Sister to be!) I had the kids hide and when Cary came home, I handed him the poem, and while he was reading it the kids came out of the bedroom sporting their "special" shirts. Cary was happy and surprised! Our due date is October 31st. So far, so good, I'm feeling REALLY hungry, and tired but that is about all as far as symptoms go. Another baby to love, and we can't wait! :)

Bye Bye Crib...

It's official - our baby girl is growing up. Sunday night marked the first night in her brand new bed!

Here are a couple of pictures of their room (taken while they slept on Sunday night) - we rearranged everything; by taking the crib and changing table out, and moving their dresser it made for a much more spacious area...


And here she is...sound asleep on her new bed...

She's loving the pillow!
Brendan sleeps peacefully on the other side of the room...

The transition has gone very smoothly - she loves having the freedom of a bed, and has been pretty good about staying put at bedtime...so far!! :)

A few random photos...

Here is our little "princess-in-training" showing off the new towel she received from Uncle Colin and Aunt Kahri for Christmas...


Goofball!
And, here are a couple of pictures of my new machine!!! It's an elliptical trainer - I LOVE IT! It's completely quiet to operate, and gives you one heck of a workout!
Here the kids are, enjoying spaghetti and wearing bibs (Brendan asked me to take this picture, when he does something goofy he always asks me to take a picture of it, and to him, wearing a bib was very goofy)...

Brendan goofing around with Aunt Erica...

Halle all dressed up and ready to head to Fargo this past Saturday...

We went to Chuck E. Cheese while in Fargo on Saturday. The original intent was to eat there and play a few games, but the place was completely inundated with running, screaming children and birthday parties, so we changed plans and jumped ship in favor of Mexican Village. Since we were there we took Halle up to the front to see the singing animals - she wasn't too fond of them up close (as you can see by the look on her face), so Erica held her so we could take a picture next to the dancing duck...

Our New Year's Eve Party

We rang in the New Year with several of our good friends - Mike & Missy, Erik & Cassie, Brenda & Tommy, Jeff & Stacey, Todd, Stetz & Porter, all helped us ring in the New Year with a lot of laughs, some great margaritas, and lots of good food - could it get any better??? We held our celebration at Cassy's house in Duluth - thanks Cass!

Here are a few pictures from the evening...

First - Halle loved Cassie - she sat with her the entire evening and looked for her whenever she left the room....



Cassie and Halle, Tommy & Stetz hanging out...

Missy and Brenda share a few laughs...

Fast forward a few hours....watching the ball drop....

We let Brendan stay up until Midnight to ring in 2007 with everybody - he had a great time hanging with the guys downstairs and running upstairs every now and then to visit the ladies...

Here he is wearing clown hair - just being goofy!

Downstairs - giving Madison (the older Great Dane) a kiss...

And here he is chalking a pool cue - he LOVED doing this and wanted to chalk everyone's cue after each shot!

Wrapping up Christmas 2006

We wrapped up (no pun intended... :)) Christmas 2006 this past weekend. The weekend kicked off with family, fun, and even more presents at Grandma Carol's house. Cameron was up for the weekend, too - which was a lot of fun!

Here is a picture of the adorable pac-n-play style bed Grandma Carol made for Halle's babies...


Halle giving her baby a pacifier....

Here Brendan checks out his new bag filled with Play-doh and Play-doh accessories (Carol made the bag!) - too fun!
Meanwhile, Halle opens her new bag, also made by Grandma Carol - a diaper bag! It's SOOO cute and was filled with an extra outfit for each of her babies, bottles, socks, and a pacifier!
Here are the kids opening and enjoying their gifts.... Thanks for everything Carol!! :)

After spending the night at Carol's house, we left Saturday morning and headed to Duluth where we had a busy weekend planned. Upon arrival we headed to Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Lynn's house for dinner, and to catch up with relatives. There were, of course, more presents!

Here are a couple pictures of Kevin (Cary's cousin) and Brendan -- Kevin was so great with Brendan, and Brendan had such a blast with him.

(Thanks again, Kevin! He's been talking about you nonstop since last weekend!)

*Don't mind the chocolate face Brendan is sporting - he was partaking in a delicious brownie when I took this picture!*

Sharing a hug...

Though it's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone, and it always seems that the holiday season goes by in a flash, we were all able to enjoy Christmas to the fullest. It is always wonderful to see family and friends, and to share stories and laughs. We are so lucky to have such great family and friends - thanks for everything!