My Hubby is 29

Allan is the love of my life. He is the gift that God gave me even though I did not deserve him. He is not perfect, but he is perfect for me. Allan is a man of integrity, he is patient and loving, he is hilarious, and he is one of the best daddies in the entire universe. He is optimistic and an amazing provider, he is happy, he challenges me and takes me out of my comfort zone. Allan is confident and committed. He is amazing.

Happy birthday Sweet Man! I love you and I am forever yours. I hope that you have a great day!!!

Cousins

I just recieved a picture from my sister in law and had to share it. I didn't have my camera at this point in the trip and I am so glad that she captured this moment. It is actually a pretty decent picture of all four of the big girls.

For Amy :)

I was ENCOURAGED to get off of facebook and blog tonight so this is for you Amy...
I am having blogger block. I have not done too much the last few days which makes me happy.

I have read a good book, Twilight, I actually read it in three days. I would have never chosen this book on my own, but it was the book that was chosen for the book club that I recently joined. I put it off as long as possible and started it thinking I would just scan through it so I would at least know the characters names when we all get together next week, but I got trapped. I LOVED it!!!! I actually went back to Barnes and Noble this evening to buy the second book of the series and forced myself to put it down a little bit ago.

I am addicted to checking Facebook these days. I have had an account for quite a few months and done absolutely nothing with it. I didn't search out friends or add every application that was sent my way. I slowly got sucked in with the flair (thank you Randi). I love getting it and I love giving it. I am now super excited about getting reacquainted with some people and I have gotten my hubby signed up so I can send him flair too.

I am excited to start playgroup again tomorrow. We are swimming tomorrow and I am really looking forward to letting Claire get some play time in with her friends and I always love having a chance to talk to other adults face to face during the days.

I am still not pregnant which is kind of a bummer, but I am not looking for sympathy, just thought that you might want an update.

It is freakin late, so I am off to bed. Amy, I hope that you are pleased with yourself for getting back to blogging today.

Deep Thoughts

There are really no words that could do this photo of my handsome husband justice. My sister just sent out about six months worth of pictures and this little gem was tucked away in the middle of her 300 pictures. Allan was really enjoying himself at our niece's princess party a few months ago. I LOVE HIM!!!

Missing My Friend Before She is Really Gone

Sarah has been my friend for almost ten years. We have been through a lot together and our friendship is stronger because of it. She is moving to Yuma, AZ in November because of her husband's new job. I am happy that his job dreams are coming true, but I am sad that it means taking away my closest non-relative friend. One of the greatest things happened when Allan got his job at Southwest, Sarah and I were living less than an hour apart and we could now kind of raise our daughters together. We were in the same playgroup and tried to make an effort to see each other as often as possible (which was never enough).

I realise that it she is not going to be gone for a few months, but their house recently sold and she has moved in with her parents out in the sticks a few hours away. She is just far enough that it is almost impossible to spend much time together before she leaves the state. Every once in awhile it just hits me that I really miss her already. Thankfully, if naptime works out right, I will see her for about an hour this afternoon, but it won't be enough.

Unfortunate Panic

Allan gave me the gift of becoming a certified scuba diver for my birthday four years ago. I have had a few fantastic dives in Hawaii over the last few years. My first dive was in Lanai in August of 2004. We dove The Cathedrals which are two different lava tubes that are big enough for a bus to fit in. There are holes that allow the shafts of sunlight in and it is truly breath taking. I have always wanted to dive these sites again and this year I was finally going to have a chance.

Last Thursday we headed out on the boat to the first dive site. I got all geared up and watched as my fellow dive buddies back flipped into the crystal clear water and started their decent. It was my turn to get in the water and I felt unusually nervous, I just figured it was because I had not dove in a couple of years. I headed down. Around thirty feet I started freaking out. I could not catch a breath and I started shaking uncontrolably. I tried to shake it off and take deep breaths, but nothing was helping. I looked up and knew that I could not just shoot to the top, I had to get the dive masters attention. I kicked my legs as hard as I could and when we made eye contact he knew I needed up. He grabbed my vest and slowly stated pumping air into it, we were on the surface within a minute. He asked what was going on and I told him I was losing it and I had to get back to the boat. He got the captains attention and sent me on my way. By the time I was back at the boat the panic attack had ended. I felt a little embarrased as I climbed into the boat, but Captain Yoshi put me at ease. He gave me tips for staying calm at the next dive site if I chose to try it again.

The second site was one of The Cathedrals. I REALLY wanted to try it out again. I went in first and slowly headed down about fifteen feet with Allan. I quickly realized that this was just not my day to dive and up I went. I was so sad as I watched Allan and his family swim away underneath me.

It was so weird to have a full blown panic attack. I have only had one before and that was half way up a mountain in Colorado. I am really hoping that this is not the end of diving for me. I think before I do an open ocean dive again I will either take a refresher course or do a shore dive. I also wonder if this new found fear has something to do with being a mom. There is just something that didn't feel right about being sixty feet underwater with Allan while our baby girl was on dry land. Anyway, that is my exciting story of the trip.

Watching Daddy

These pictures were taken almost exactly one year apart. Claire enjoying her time on the golf courses as her daddy finishes his 18th hole of golf. I am sure that they will share many memories on golf courses in the future. I know that it is one of Allan's dreams for he and his daughter to play golf together. Hawaii 2007 at Hualalai
Hawaii 2008 at Koele

It is there

I just posted a slideshow, but it posted uner the cousins post FYI

Hawaii Cousins

As always Claire loved being with her cousins. They have had so many opportunities to hang out in the last two years and they seem to have more and more fun every time they hang out. Anna is the oldest at four years old and then there are the three two years old, Charlotte, Camille, and Claire. The newest member of the group is sweet baby Caroline. Claire and I both fell in love with her. She is one of the best babies I have ever been around, seriously.

The big girls had fun playing chase, hide and seek, play-dough, spent many hours on the beach and in the pool, did crafts, and watched videos. I was so impressed how well they got along and shared for the most part. Claire also spent quite a bit of time wanting to hold Caroline and entertain her with toys. She also decorated her with stickers and tried to give her a bottle.

The four big girls: Anna, Claire, Camille, and Charlotte

Loving on baby Caroline

Hawaii 2008 (Part 3)

There are just too many pictures, so for those of you that have a little extra time, I hope that you enjoy the slideshow. I will try and post a few of my favorites later, but I am not promising anything ;)

Hawaii 2008 (Part 2)

There are two large hotels (Four Seasons Manele Bay and Four Seasons Koele Lodge) and one small hotel (Hotel Lanai) on the island of Lanai. All three have their own unique beauty. Manele is what you would picture when you think of Hawaii- clear blue water, palm trees, and hot. Koele is a surprise treat on the top of the mountain- cooler, huge pine trees, lots of topography, truly beautiful. My mom specifically asked for pictures of where we were, normally I do not post a ton of no people pictures, so this post is for you mom. The view from our room
Sunset from our porch
Manele Bay with our hotel in the background
A morning rainbow

The Japanese Garden with a koi pond at our hotelThe Hotel Lanai is right in the middle of the only town on the island, Lanai City. We ate dinner here one night.This is my favorite hotel, Koele Lodge, becuase you feel like you are in Colorado. The grounds are BEAUTIFUL!!! Claire loved running around up here.
The gazebo and gardens at Koele Lodge

The orchid house at Koele

I took this picture and thought of my Pap, he loved taking pictures of birds. Claire must get her love of birds from him. She chases them anytime she gets a chance.

We went to visit the horses up on the mountain and this was a view down to Lanai City. I loved the colorful roofs that contrast with rustic fence.

Hawaii 2008 (Part 1)

I decided to share our trip in a few installments. I guess I should give you a short version of what all we did on our trip. We had some very memorable moments and we had a lot of time to relax since we were on a very tiny island, Lanai, that has a population of around 3000.

We had a fantastic flight to Hawaii and Claire really adjusted to the five hour time change well. That was a huge answer to prayer. Our rooms were perfect, we actually really enjoyed being in individual hotel rooms instead of a house. We woke up every morning with a beautiful ocean view and most mornings there was a pod of spinner dolphins jumping in Manele Bay. They were my highlight. I actually had the opportunity to swim with them two different days. I was in awe as I watched them swim within ten feet of me. There were quite a few babies swimming with their mommies and they all had such fun personalities as they interacted with each other. It was an honor to swim amongst wild dolphins!

Claire and I had a lot of one on one time while Allan played a few rounds of golf and went shotgun shooting. We really had a good time together feeding the fish in the koi ponds around the resort, doing a couple of crafts, and just exploring the areas around our hotel. Allan joined us for some special family time at the pool and beach as well. He was a good sport and let the four little cousins bury him in the sand. Claire loved the beach SO much more than last year, she even ventured into the ocean a few times.

As always when the Kavalich family gets together there was a lot of good food and champagne. We are blessed to have Allan's parents encourage family time ever year by taking us on such great vacations. The big family highlight of the trip was the vow renewal ceremony that Allan and Gig took part in for their 40th wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful and heartfelt ceremony and we were honored to be there celebrating with them. Claire was one of the flower girls/bridesmaids for Gig and did a great job making it down the aisle. She didn't really understand why she needed to be quite and not run around for the remainder of the ceremony so I spent a good part of it chasing her up a hill. I am glad they had a videographer.

We flew home on a red eye last night, and that is the last time I am doing such a thing for a very long time. Claire was as good as could be expected for trying to sleep on a bright airplane, but overall it was an exhausting flight. I had about an hour of sleep on the plane and an hour and a half nap today. I am really looking forward to laying my head on my own pillow in a couple of hours.

Hello

I am back and tired and I have a TON of pictures to upload. I will try and get that done ASAP.

Aloha

Me and Claire Bear last year in Hawaii

Life has been too busy to blog this last week.

Today I am heading to Lanai with my husband and his entire family for eight days. I will see if I can post a little while I am there, but I might be too busy soaking up the sun and making sure my daughter doesn't dive into the ocean to look for dolphins. We are going to a more remote island this year, so I probably won't get to see my friends from last year (Hilary Swank and Julia Roberts), but maybe it will still be fun ;)

I hope that you all have a great week.

Thank You Both!!!

Claire had the privilege of staying with her Mimi and Papa this last weekend while Allan and I were in Savannah. I was so nervous to leave her for so long, I would have been no matter who I was leaving her with. My anxiety was quickly replaced with thankfulness for my in laws. They did such a great job caring for Claire. They made everyday fun and full of adventure. They braved the intense heat that we had this last weekend spending all day Thursday at the zoo. Claire is still talking about all the animals. They did many more activities which is great, but what meant the most to me is that the truly love Claire. She was their priority while we were away, and that is saying a lot. It is not easy to go from being empty nesters to having a two year old twenty four hours a day for four days in a row, but they did it with flying colors. I would not think twice about allowing them to care for my daughter again. C

Claire picked up a few funny sayings from her Mimi and Papa:
"Oh my stars"
"Ba-boom"- when she hits her head
"Make decision"- when I was getting her dressed today
"Babe"- when talking to her Papa this morning
I am sure there are more, but those are the ones that I thought of first. Claire has a lot to learn from her Papa and Mimi. They are loyal to their family and very generous. These are both qualities I hope she picks up on.

A couple of other things that blessed my socks off when we returned was the fact that Gig had cleaned/organized the house and done all of our laundry. Allan (my father-in-law) had filled both of our cars up with gas and had them washed. I am thankful that I have such great in laws. Thank you both for all that you do for my family!

Savannah

*** I do have a few pictures to load, bu for some reason blogger is not letting me. I will share them as soon as I can.

I am so thankful that Allan and I had the opportunity to go on this trip! We had a really fun time it, it was an adventure from the moment it began. We had a hard time getting the trip started due to some snafus at the airport, but once we were on our way I felt the sadness start to ebb a little when I thought about being gone from my baby girl for four days (one of them being her actual birthday).

We spent the first day traveling, running late to the wedding rehearsal, beginning to find our way around town, and eating at Lady and Sons (Paula Deen's resteraunt). I have to take a moment and say that the food that woman creates is nothing short of magical. I was in HEAVEN!!! After the rehearsal things got a little interesting for me. I was taken out of my comfort zone when the bride announced that she had never had a bachelorette party and that I was coming with her and the bridesmaids for a night out on the town. Please keep in mind that I had never met any of these people and that is not a scenario I am too comfortable with. All turned out well, there were rounds of drinks bought, karaoke sung, the bride was handcuffed by a very generous cop (it was just for a photo op and he used the clean handcuffs), and then we met up with all the guys at an Irish pub which had a fantastic musician playing and then finished the night off with a little more karaoke "Living on a Prayer".

I slept a lot if Friday while Allan was out golfing with the groom. Allan and I met up for lunch at a fantastic cafe adn then it was time to head out for the wedding on Tybee Island. I was on my own again for a few hours so I browsed a few junk shops and then read my book at the beach until the wedding party arrived. The wedding was simple and sweet. The reception was very unique. We danced a lot, made some weekend friends, and finished the night off with yet another group sing along of 80's music before the bride and groom headed off for their honeymoon.

Saturday was mine and Allan's only full day to be touristy and we made the most out of it. We walked down Broughton Street and found a great little bakery for breakfast. Savannah is HOT just in case you were wondering. By lunchtime we had sweated though our clothes so we went back to the hotel and swam for a bit got re ready and headed over to rent scooters for the afternoon. We LOVED the scooters. We were able to see everything we wanted to in about three and a half hours and there is a lot to see in savannah. I am pretty sure I have never been anywhere with so much history in sucha small area. Our FAVORITE thing about this city was the squares that were every few blocks. They are georgeous. The old houses and spanish moss in the trees added a little something special to the scenery. You should all go visit this city (just not in the summer). After a quick stop at the Soda Pop Shop downtown where we had a fun talk with the owner who was born and raised there we sadly turned our scooters in and headed out for some BBQ and saw the new Batman.

Sunday we were up early and heading back to the airport. I was REALLY ready to be home with my baby girl, even though I had a great time just hanging out with my hubby. Our flights went smoothly and the reunion with our daughter was better than I could have hoped for.

Surprises from Savannah

I was really missing my girl while we were away and I could hardly come back empty handed so Allan and I found the perfext gift for our little princess- a lollipop that was as big as her face. I am pretty sure that it will be around for a long time. She licked it for a little bit last night and then it went to take a rest on the counter. She had a few more licks this morning as well and you cannot tell that it is any smaller. She was SO happy to see us when we got home and I think she was almost as happy to see the giant POP.

Rob's Wedding

Allan and I headed out to Georgia this weekend for our friend Rob's wedding. The wedding was on Tybee Island and although there was a little rain, a lot of wind, and some pretty scary thunder and lightening (at the reception) I would say that it was a success. Allan was a very handsome groomsmen, we met some really fun people, and Rob seems so happy with his new bride Rebecca. Congratulations to the new Rivera family! We wish you both a very happy forever!!! Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day.