Happy Birthday to Me!

For my birthday, Casey took me to Oahu, Hi...without Weston. I know, I pretty much have the best husband ever :) We found a great deal and Jason and Ashley were nice enough/willing to watch Weston for 5 days while we soaked up the sun. We had such a fun trip and were able to do and see so many things that we couldn't have done with Weston there, but luckily he was doing just fine without us back home. I don't even think he missed us. I'm going to warn you that this is a REALLY LONG post of pictures, but it is per Casey's request. I like to fully document an event and this is how he thought I should do it. Enjoy!

Our first picture on the beach

After a few hours of snorkeling we took a break for lunch and had the famous Matsumoto's shaved ice. I had shaved ice another time we were there, but this was the best by a long shot. It was so smooth and just melted in your mouth. Yum!

Just in case you were wondering how a pineapple grows. This was at the Dole Plantation.

Waimea Beach Park. This was a great beach with this rock that everyone jumps off of, which we did.

Casey making the jump

Waikiki Beach

We would often go down to Waikiki beach to watch the locals boogie board. They were very entertaining since they didn't boogie board the typical way.

This is a plumeria tree. The flowers smelled so good and I would always pick one up on our walks on the beach.

Nu'u'anu Pali lookout. It was really windy up there.

A pagoda at the Valley of the Temples

Casey banging the gong. It is customary to do this before you enter.

A view at the Valley of the Temples. It was a huge graveyard that featured many different religions.

Some piled rocks we saw on the way to the Polynesian Cultural Center The Laie, HI temple For lunch we stopped by a shrimp truck (which are all over the island) that was right next to the fruit stand owned my Reno Mahe's dad (played for BYU and the Eagles). The owner lets everyone write on his truck.

The coconut shrimp Casey got at one of the shrimp trucks. It was so yummy!

At the Tongan village at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I got Casey to go up and play the drums. It was pretty funny and I wish I had gotten a video of it. Getting his special headdress at the end.

At the Samoa Village they have a tree climbing demonstration that is really cool. This was our favorite village. The guys were so funny.

One of the Samoans striking a pose on the tree

Getting my Lei right before the Luau.

Bringing our the roasted pig from the ground

Casey got me a pineapple smoothie and it was delicious!

We went on the Diamond Head Crater hike and you had to go up 100+ stairs.My Jellyfish sting. Both Casey and I got stung by a dead Bubble Jellyfish that had crazy long. tenticles. I got the worst of it as you can tell. It stung a lot at first, but dulled after 30 minutes or so. You could still see where the barbs went in my skin for a few days though

Pearl Harbor. We loved it here and it makes you even more appreciative for the men that serve our country and those that lost their lives so many years ago. I got a little teary-eyed in the video beforehand.

The memorial over the USS Arizona.

The ship still leaks oil after all these years

Some of the burnt steel

Tanner Family Reunion

At the beginning of June we had Casey's family reunion in Crescent City, CA. The redwoods were beautiful and Casey's mom found a really fun/nice house to rent that had a great view of the ocean, plus we had a great time as usual. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Weston and Charity the morning of our first outing

Posing with Paul Bunyan
We were driving along and Casey spotted some elk, so we stopped to check them out.

We took a hike down to the ocean and checked out the tide pools. Someone brought this starfish up and Weston was having a hard time deciding between his stick and the starfish.

He chose the stick :)

Nate found this little crab

I just loved Weston's wide-legged stance in this picture.

Photo-op in the forest, but Weston didn't want to touch the clover.

Weston and Casey playing in the reeds

The littlest cousins posing with a big redwood

Family Picture

Banana slug. I had remembered these from when my grandparents took us on a trip the redwoods when I was little. I remembered them being bigger though.

I just love this picture. Weston always wants to do what his dad is doing : )

Casey's Birthday

The first day of Casey's Family Reunion was Casey's birthday, so he got to celebrate with his whole family. We had driven up the night before so we could relax and not be driving on his birthday. I made Casey a banner, baked his cake, and prepared for his special dinner that night. We had marinated tri-tip (which Casey grilled and did a fantastic job!), broccoli, and bacon-wrapped shrimp. I was so busy cooking I forgot to take pictures of the dinner, but it was delicious! Then we ended the day with the cake, Triple Chocolate Breyer's ice cream (Casey's favorite), and presents. I always put a lot of thought into Casey's birthday because I think he is pretty special and love him so much and want it to show by everything we do. Case, Happy Birthday again! I'm already looking forward to next year! :) Thanks to everyone for their help the day of and for all the wonderful gifts, cards, and calls! I know he appreciated them!

The cake. I was really happy with the way it turned out.

Blowing out the candles is serious business :)
Opening presents. I got Casey these shoes that he has wanted for a while and I'm glad I did because he looks great in them!

Memorial Day Weekend - Part 2

The other fun thing that we did Memorial weekend was go to the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale town. Thanks to Charity and her roommate we were able to get in with a buy one get one free coupon which made it a worth it since it is not a very impressive zoo. Of course, no zoo is really that impressive after being to the San Diego Zoo : ) It seriously took us about 30 min to go around the whole thing. We spent the most time in the children's play area. Charity was able to come down and meet us after work, so we headed to Fairytale Town just to say we've been. Then we went back to the zoo and rode the carousel before heading out.

Cooling off with Dad
Along came Mr. Crocodile, quiet as can be...

Casey showing off his wing span

Fly like an eagle

Weston dominating the web in the play area

Fairytale Town

Weston showing the slide who's boss

Riding the carousel with Aunt Charity

Being silly as a family

Memorial Day Weekend - Part 1

We had a fun-filled Memorial Weeked. I got to go to the Denio's swap meet for the first time and discovered their wonderful farmer's market. We got the biggest mangoes I've ever seen in the states. On our way home from Denio's we saw a cool park (Royer Park in Roseville) that we had never been to and decided to take Weston the next day. He especially had fun on the swings as you can tell. There were a lot of kids there and Weston also enjoyed observing all of them.

Flying high on the swings

Wild, Wild Weston

Mother's Day

I'm back and starting off where I left off with Mother's Day. Mother's Day is always a great day just because we have Weston in our lives. I just love my little man, and Casey did a great job making it special for me this year. He made dinner for us (with only a little help from me) which was delicious (Mango Chicken, Mandarin Orange Salad, and Hawaiian Rolls). He always gave me a spa treatment as my present, which I loved. I also had a new, cute dress to wear to church thanks to Casey's Mom. I guess the only downside was having to cut up fruit before 9am church for the Mother's Day breakfast we hosted for our ward (the joy of being on the Enrichment Committee), but it did turn out wonderfully. Here are a few pictures we took to document the day!