Hawaii: Top 16 things to do on Oahu (I couldn't quite narrow it down to 10)

1. Playing Games and Doing Puzzles with my parents! It was by far my favorite part of the entire trip! It was so neat to be able to go out and have fun all day, and then just come home and relax with and enjoy my parents! I love their gutz! I can't think of many more enjoyable things to do than play games or do a puzzle with Mom and Dad!
2. Listening to my Dad teach! We were able to sit in on two of my Dad's classes. And Could there really be anything much better than hearing my Dad teach the Gospel? It was so neat. I love hearing him teach! It was kind of scary though, because while we were there he had a mini stroke. He has had a few before, and they are pretty scary. Luckily it happened at the end of the class, and by the next class his scripture memory was coming back. My Dad's mind is so amazing, and he knows the scriptures unlike anyone else I have ever known.
3.Watching the waves. While we were in Hawaii they were having record breaking waves coming in. They were holding the big Eddy competition where professional surfers would come in on jet skiis and ride these huge 40 foot 50 foot waves. The waves we saw were big but we weren't able to see the 50 footers. You couldn't really get anywhere near that part of the North Shore.

4. Snorkeling. Snorkeling is always one of my favorite things to do. It is so fun to go exploring! I love to see the big sea turtles. We didn't have as much luck seeing them this go around though. We went to Hanauma Bay and it was pretty crowded. I kept thinking, "Ooh! There is something!" And it would be some fat mans leg. But it was still a blast and we had a lot of fun. We also tried snorkeling just at Temple Beach, and saw some fun little fish there.









5. Hiking in the Mud. The one day that is was a little rainy we decided to go on this hike to some waterfalls. It was soooo fun. The trail was completely muddy, and an accident waiting to happen. But surprisingly I didn't ever fall "all" the way down. How about that? Just enough slipping to make it lot of fun. The Waterfalls were really beautiful and the vegetation was amazing!






6. Kayaking. We had fun one day going Kayaking. We kayaked out to a little island that was a bird sanctuary. It was lots of fun!









7. Going to the PCC. There is a reason the PCC is the number one attraction in Hawaii! It is so awesome! We didn't go there for an entire day like we did the last time we came, but we went there for dinner one night, and to a couple shows. They had the whole place lit up beautifully for Christmas. It was great.









8. Going to the International Market Place and the Swap Meet. The International Marketplace is always fun. And the Swap Meet . . . Talk about my kind of shopping! Next to garage saling and the American Fork DI it's got to be the next best thing! I about quadrupled the size of my jewelery collection (since I only owned like two necklaces) and bought this really pretty swimming wrap thing.
9. Enjoying the Hawaiian Atmostphere. I loved just going everywhere and hearing the Hawaiian music playing. It was fun. As soon as you step off the plane it is as if . . . you are on a tropical Island . . . Oh wait . . .












10. Going to the Sea Life Park. There was a place called the Sea Life Park that is like a miniature low budget Sea World. It was a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun watching the trainers train the dolphins at the end of the day right before closing. That was something fun to watch.









11. Going on a Catamaran Lunch Cruise. My sister Sue warned us about the Night Cruises in Hawaii having a lot of drunk people on them. So we decided to take the lunch cruise and it was really nice. We were hoping to see a whale or a dolphin, but didn't get that lucky. We did sea some sea turtles though, and a lot of fish. The water was crystal clear off of the coast of Waikiki, and you could see all the way to the bottom of the ocean floor. It was really pretty.












12. Vine Swinging. We had to go vine swinging for Sue's sake. It is her favorite thing! Lamon had a little more luck with it. His arms are a little stronger than mine. I was having a little difficulty. Finally Lamon put me on his shoulders and handed me the vine and let me go, and the video shows you how well that worked! I guess I won't be a professional vine swinger anymore!
13.
13. Going to the Wet n Wild Water Park. This was an activity that I insisted on. I am too much of a child at heart! I love rides and amusement parks! It was a fun waterpark too. It had some pretty high tech water slides. The rides were pretty intense. It was great!
14. Going golfing. We played nine holes on a golf course right next to the beach. It was awesome because there weren't a lot of people playing, so I didn't feel rushed. Usually I don't have too much fun because I am so terrible we have to let like four groups play through us. But in Hawaii, I just got to enjoy playing golf terribly! It was fun!
15. Working on our "Farmer" tans. All we wanted to come home with for sure was a tan. And well . . . it didn't really happen. Close to the end of the vacation we were in Waikiki and we kept on searching the stores for some like fake spray on tan stuff, and when we would ask the people would look at us like, "Are you psycho? The beach is right over there?" So all we came home with was a deeper farmers tan! But hey, what can you do?
16. Being ALONE together on a Tropical Island! Bottom line . . . we had fun together alone. And that was all that mattered. It was so fun to be with Lamon alone. It was just perfect. At first I thought that seven days would be way too long away from the kids. But it took about 3 days to stop having anxiety from being away from the kids so that I could enjoy myself! It is weird being away from my kids when I am "never" away from them!



My sister Liz is the champion. She watched all three of my children while we were gone! She is amazing. And we owe her a lot. She woke us up early one morning because Lamon had forgotten to turn the water off, and it was freezing outside. Well a pipe broke in the front yard and was shooting out water. A neighbor woke her up and told her. It had made a two inch sheet of ice in our yard, and flooded our crawl space. Some friends from the ward and John and Lamon's Dad came over and helped to get the water shut off, and helped to pump out the water out of the crawlspace. It wasn't the best thing to be informed about while you are enjoying paradise, but we are so lucky to be related to and friends with such amazing people who came to the rescue! There was very little damage. It could have been a lot worse!
What a wonderful week! It was hard to leave!!!! But it was just perfect. We felt like we had the perfect vacation, and were ready to get back to our cute kiddies!

Our Christmas Card and letter (for anyone we forgot) Some of the content I stole right from my Thanksgiving post

This is the State of the Macks in the year 2009

· Ada. She is so different from my boys. She is so . . . girly! Ada has been helping me learn to be "girly" again. I painted her toenails the other day and curled her hair in little ringlets . . . and it was surprisingly very fun! She likes to walk around pretending like she is talking on the phone, and carrying a backpack or something around her shoulder pretending it is a purse. I don’t even own a purse, so she didn’t get that from me. She is also a recovering shoe addict. She has spent a good part of the year trying on every shoe in sight, and we have had a few tantrums over making her take off shoes that don’t belong to her. She is such a cuddler. Sometimes when she is so fussy during the day, all she wants to do is come and sit on my lap and be with me. She loves the boys and wants to do whatever they do. Lately at night she has climbed in bed with them after prayers and pulled up the covers looking up at us like, "Okay, this is where I belong Mom." And she will whine when I take her to her room.

· Hayden. He is so darn cute. His little voice coupled with the funny things he says and the adorable faces he makes while he says it . . . makes it impossible not to just love that kid. Earlier this year Hayden had a surgery that has drastically changed things for him. He had his Adenoids taken out and tubes put in his ears. Previous to this most people could not understand much of anything that Hayden said. But since his surgeries he has been talking better, and never stops! He loves to talk. He talks pretty much continuously all day long whether what he says makes any sort of logical sense or not. He just makes sure to connect all of his thoughts with interjections like “but” and “and” and continues on without stopping most of the day, which makes for some interesting commentary. My neighbors think Hayden is so funny and call all of the funny things he says “Haydenisms” On my birthday Hayden said something off the wall funny and gave me a funny smile, and I said, "Hayden . . . I love you! You are so cute!" Then Hayden smiled and said, "Mom . . . I love you! . . . You're a good camper!" That is a Haydenism, and there are many more where that came from!!

· Drew. Or should I say “Batman?” Drew has spent a good part of the year going around with a cape on alternating between being Batman, Robin, and Super Drew. When the kids get themselves dressed in the morning their capes have been a part of their attire almost every day but Sunday. Drew definitely has a big imagination. One day he had a friend over and after playing for awhile his buddy said, “Hey Drew . . . I have an idea . . . How about you just be yourself this time?” It was pretty funny. He brings so much life to our household. I don't think there is ever a boring day with Drew. He loves listening to stories, and he is starting to be able to read simple stories and is having fun doing that as well. Drew is so passionate about things. If he is doing something he wants to do, nothing can detour him from it until he has finished it to his liking. And he is very confident in his work which makes me so happy! Drew is very confident and has shown his confidence in many things that he has done this year, from reading, learning to play the piano, learning to ride a bike, telling his T-ball coach that he was a “ little shining star” when he got up to bat, to just this last week when he said to Hayden as they were going to sleep, “Hayden . . . you should try to be like me.” I hope he never loses that confidence!

· Lamon. Lamon has continued to be a wonderful husband and father. Lamon is always working hard. He is sort of addicted to work and is a great example to all of us of it. He works fulltime in the PACU at Utah Valley Hospital, and is such a great nurse. He is always coming home with notes telling him how great a nurse and how appreciated he is. On top of working at the hospital Lamon has managed to gut and remodel our downstairs bathroom, participate in the Salem triathlon, be a pacer for 25 grueling miles in the Wasatch 100, spent many hours as scout master camping and doing other things with the scouts in our ward, has worked long hours hanging Christmas lights with his cousin and his friend Mark, and new this year he has been building wood rocking horses and selling them to people off of KSL. On top of all of those things he has managed to fit in school working towards his BSN, and of course his top priority US!! He always drops everything when he is home and just plays with his family! Lamon is so positive and fun, and does goofy things all the time on purpose to make people laugh. I am so thankful to Lamon for making me feel loved, comfortable and safe. One of my friends teased me the other day telling me that Lamon was my favorite subject, and it is probably true. I never get sick of telling people, and Lamon, how much I love and appreciate him. I wonder a lot of times how I was lucky enough to get him! I'd rather spend my time with him than anyone else on Earth!

And as for me, I have just been enjoying all of the above!!! I had fun going on trips with our family this year to Palo Alto California to visit Todd and Betty, and to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, St. George, and most recently a wonderful trip with just Lamon to visit my parents in Hawaii. It’s been a lot of fun. I also had fun running this year. I ran in a 50 mile relay with Lamon and other family members, and I ran my first marathon. I also have made some great running buddies in the ward this year, which has been a blast. I love my family. I am so happy! Not because things never go wrong in our family, not because we have a lot of worldly wealth or popularity! I am just so blessed. I love my family and I am grateful for my Heavenly Father for granting me the wonderful blessings that I have in my life, and for the greatest gift he gave me and all of us, our Savior Jesus Christ whom we celebrate this Christmas time! There is no greater happiness to be attained in this world than that in which He has lovingly offered us through His teachings, His exemplary Life and His Atonement for mankind!! MERRY CHRISTMAS. We love you all,

Christmas (A little late)

The Christmas "season" has finally come to an end. Yes the Christmas "season" is exactly what I said. The Christmas a "season", in case you didn't know, starts the day after Halloween and goes until the first week of January. We took our Christmas decorations down the week after Christmas, but last night was the last night that we had our Christmas lights on. I love Christmas!
I haven't shared some of the highlights though.
Lamon was pretty much crazy this Christmas. I don't know how he did it all, but he managed to work his normal full-time job, work putting Christmas lights up, bust out 9 beautiful rocking horses, make bunk beds for the kids (in two days) and without me knowing put together a beautiful jewelery box. What a talented and amazing man! Lamon let me help him this year with his projects (minus the jewelery box). I told a friend about how I helped Lamon "Nail in some screws." And that shows you just about how helpful I really was. But I did get to use some power tools, which was quite fun. And I know Lamon let me do it just so that I could feel like I contributed, because I really had no clue what I was doing.
The kids were pretty excited about the bunk beds though. There was a letter from Santa Clause on Christmas morning that said that they were really busy at the North Pole this year, and he wasn't able to finish the bunk beds, but that he heard that their Dad could help finish putting a ladder on etc. Drew said, "Dad! I need to go to the South Pole (North Pole Drew) and tell the elves thank you for my bunk bed!) It was really cute.

Thanks!!!!

So, I decided I am not going to wait until I have something brilliant to say or something amazing happens before I write something else on here! As if I wait to say something brilliant in real life before I say it! Since it was Thanksgiving yesterday, I thought I would at least share some of the things I am grateful for. I am grateful for:

• My wonderful husband. Lamon is so positive and fun, and does goofy things all the time on purpose to make people laugh. I am so thankful to Lamon for making me feel loved, comfortable and safe. One of my friends teased me the other day telling me that Lamon was my favorite subject, and it is probably true. I never get sick of telling people, and Lamon, how much I love and appreciate him. He is such a great father to our children, and makes me so happy. I don't think I could ever get sick of being around him. He is such a hard worker. He does so much for our family. He is a great provider and he is a great leader. And okay, lets be honest . . . He is pretty much hot. Not that that is important! He is funny, and tender, and just has good character. I wonder a lot of times how I was lucky enough to get him! I'd rather spend my time with him than anyone else on Earth!
• Drew. I am so grateful for Drew. Drew is so creative and imaginative. He brings so much life to our household. I don't think there is ever a boring day with Drew. It is so easy to stay in touch with the child within with Drew around. I am so grateful for this fun age where I get to play with him. He lets me put on a cape and be batgirl, run around the house and play hide and seek, and share and read stories with me. I am thankful for the hard days when I have to discipline Drew for doing something he shouldn't do, because I love watching him see and realize the things he does wrong, and for those gospel teaching moments we have. Drew is very inquisitive and bright and can be so sensitive and loving. I just love him. He also teaches me by the way he is so passionate about things. If he is doing something he wants to do, nothing can detour him from it until he has finished it to his liking. And he is very confident in his work which makes me so happy!
• Hayden. I am thankful for Hayden. It's hard not to want to just grab him up and squeeze him a zillion times a day. He is so darn cute. His little voice coupled with the funny things he says and the adorable faces he makes while he says it . . . makes it impossible not to just love that kid. He is so fun. He's got his nursery teacher wrapped around his little finger. She has told me that her and her daughters keep eachother entertained often with "Haydenisms." They love quoting things that they have heard him say to eachother. On my birthday Hayden said something off the wall funny and gave me a funny smile, and I said, "Hayden . . . I love you! You are so cute!" Then Hayden smiled and said, "Mom . . . I love you! . . . You're a good camper!" That same day in Nursery they were taking about fish, and Sister Hahn was talking about small fish and big fish and Hayden blurted out, "Oh . . . Oh! I know! Like Free Willy! Free Willy has two wheels." She couldn't stop laughing about that. He just says all of these things with such an all knowing serious face.
• Ada. I am grateful for my little girl! She is so different from my boys. She is so . . . girly! Which I am grateful for. I think that is an area I struggle with sometimes. Ada has been helping me learn to be "girly" again. I painted her toenails the other day and curled her hair in little ringlets . . . and it was surprisingly very fun! Ada has such a strong personality. I think that she will be a girl who knows what she wants! She certainly knows what she wants on many occasions and she loves to point at what she wants and say, "Uuuuh." I will be grateful for the day she will know how to communicate what she wants so I don't have to point at everything in the house saying, "This Ada? This? ?????" ! I am especially grateful for her sweet and tender spirit. She is such a cuddler. Sometimes when she is so fussy during the day, all she wants for me to do is to come and let her sit on my lap and be with her. She will sit in my lap and listen to me read books. My boys didn't do that until a lot later. I love it. She loves the boys and wants to do whatever they do. Lately at night she has climbed in bed with them after prayers and pulled up the covers looking up at us like, "Okay, this is where I belong Mom." And she will whine when I take her to her room.

Wow I'm long winded! I need to go to bed and I just got through my little family! I had better continue my thankful list throughout the week!!

28x2

On Sunday it was me and Liz's 28th Birthday. I feel so young, and yet I am getting so old! Not really, but time does certainly fly. I feel like I just turned 21. I don't really keep track anyways. I haven't for awhile. It usually takes me a second to figure out how old I am when someone asks.
I remember once when I was working in the Library at BYU a girl named Dixie Millet asked me, "How old are you Mary?" I told her, "I'm 22." She was like, "No you're not! Because we went to school together and I am only 20 . . . " Or something to that effect. For a minute I wasn't really sure if I really was 22. I had to calculate and make sure in my mind. And then I said assuredly, "Yes . . . I am 22, my birthday was in November . . . etc. etc." So then that same night another co-worker came in and asked me the same question. "How old are you Mary?" I turned to her and said, "23." I was completely serious. Dixie was like, "Mary! You are not 23!" Typical Mary moment . . .
Anyway, I am pretty sure I turned 28 on Sunday.
P.S. This is an old picture of me and Liz. We are certainly hot in this picture, but we are even hotter now!! :) Just kidding. (but not really)

My favorite Birthday gift yet!!!!!/

Drew was so excited to give me an early birthday present last night. He made a card for me, and it just melted my heart! He is so cute. He is trying to figure out all of the sounds, and he wrote this message all by himself, if you couldn't tell. In case you were wondering what momIlikyo Bkooz your NIs means . He meant, "Mom, I like you because you're nice."
How cute! I am excited for all the cards in the future. And I secrectly hope I get a few more that look just like this!! Is it bad to hope Drew won't learn how to spell perfectly too soon? Just kidding. But I sure think it's adorable.

Hayden . . . Did you throw up?

So a few weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night to Hayden screaming. I was so tired and I was thinking, "Oh great!" I had to wake up early and did not want to get up. But I got up and went into his room and was confronted with a terrible sight. Throw up! Pools of it on his bed! Lovely! Hayden was just crying and I said, "Oh no Hayden, You threw up? I'm sorry. Come here, let's get your clothes off and change the sheets. LUckily his pillow didn't get any throw up on it and his clothes were okay. So I just folded in the corners of the comforter and took it off the bed. I changed the sheets and told Hayden to stay there while I went to stick the comforter in the wash. So I took it downstairs and started the washer and as I was putting it in I was just waiting to see the mess . . . but um . . . I never did. I didn't see any throw up on the entire blanket. I walked upstairs and knelt down by Hayden and said, "Hayden . . . you didn't throw up did you." He looked up at me and just shook his head and said, "no". So there you go! A whole hour of sleep lost due to my brain! I promise I don't do drugs. I swear I saw throw up! Anyway, it was pretty funny!