a simple request

i want it to be my birthday

simply so i can have a party and have these cute cupcakes as the center of attention ...

just sayin.

celebrating drew minnesota style

i have found a way to get my pictures on here

it is not all that simple

BUT it works so that i don't fall TOO behind

in the mean time ...

i am going to post about drew's party

and will go back to the end of hawaii

as blogger and picasa figure things out

the way in which drew celebrates his birthday is quickly becoming a tradition

first we go to maui and celebrate him while on vacation

THEN

we come home and celebrate him with his friends at cheap skate

this year it worked out perfectly

we had a day to recuperate

and then spent the afternoon on sunday with his friends

for a while we had the place to ourselves

and we had a great turn out

and it was fun for drew to be able to have fun with some of the new friends he has made

while also celebrating with our neighbors and friends that made the school move with us

i know you had a great party, drew

i am so excited that we got to come home

and finish the weekend off with a party for you

you deserve it

happy birthday, TEN YEAR OLD!

AND

should you decide to celebrate #11 in the same way i won't object ;)

dear blogger

dear blogger,

i have hawaii pictures

i have drew's birthday party pictures

i have 365 pictures for the past 2 weeks

AND

you will not let me upload a single picture

i can't figure out why

and am beyond frustrated

SO ...

just know that i would appreciate if you would remove your hand from my mouth.

i have a lot to say and you are driving me crazy ...

to a place beyond that which my kids have already driven me.

thanks.

sarah

P.S.

i am also quite annoyed that after posting this

i realized you will ONLY let me double space this post

EVEN when i edit the code!

you and i are officially in a fight

and i am warning you that you better start being nice soon.

jerk.

peeking into another world

drew and ben were so excited to try snorkeling this year

they had no idea what snorkeling in the ocean is really like

but they were certain they knew how
and my dad was patient enough to let them think that ;)

drew went first.
after mastering the basics ...
like walking in fins

they headed out

he did a great job
they went out much further than i thought he would
and he got to see a lot of cool things

even a very large sea turtle right off the beach

all while ben patiently waited ...
knowing his turn was coming up!

and as soon as drew finished,
he was in and snorkeling SO fast because he wanted to see the turtle too!

he ended up being within 10 feet of it
and it's safe to say this was one of his favorite moments from the trip

THEN ...
because there was no way that i wasn't going to see the turtle too ...
i jumped in and took my turn.
i can officially say i SUCK when it comes to using a snorkel
i feel so clostrophobic and HATE not breathing through my nose.
BUT i did it anyway
AND
got to see the turtle and some other really cool fish as well.
i wish that i would've gone out earlier in the trip
so that i could've gotten better and gone out again
AND made stacey go with me.
BUT ...
i guess that is a good reason to go back next year ...
right?!

here's your sign

apparently in hawaii
this ...



is how you say private property
keep off

monkey see

monkey see ben jump in



monkey do

monkey see drew go on little slide

monkey do

monkey see ben

and drew go on really big slide

monkey do

over and over again
and even coming down backwards ...

laughing the entire way

a tail tale

yesterday we went on a whale watch
now ...
going into it i figured it was going to be hard to top the past 2 watches we've been on
but of course we went anyway
because it's such an amazing experience



this watch started out with us trailing a mom and baby

the mom was very interesting in that she had all white dorsal fins
and a white under tail



as the watch continued we realized that she had an 'escort' right on her tail

along with a few other males following close behind ready to jump in and fight for her.

it was shortly after we realized this that the baby seemed to realize the same thing
and he began pulling out ALL of his tricks

and then ... just as the show got good ...
our 2 hours was up
and we had to head back to the harbor

whales truly are such AMAZING creatures to watch
and someday ...
when we decide maui would be a fun place to live
i will volunteer for pacific whale foundation
and i will go on whale watches often
until then ...
this will do ;)

our newest fish

this seems to be alex's week of rapid change

as fast he he lost his fever yesterday
he lost any fear he had of the water today ...
and completely became a fish

he now has no fear



he just leaps

goes under

and 'paddles' away with his face still under water!

it is CRAZY!

but he is SO proud of himself
and drew and ben are so excited for him too

only catch ...
the freedom i had just gotten while he swam safely with floaties ...
gone.
i now have to be ready to jump in at all times :)
BUT
for now it's SO worth it to see how excited and proud he is.
it just might be a different story
when it's 65 and cloudy at the beach in minnesota;)

the barnett bunch + one

together again

you may remember last year when we were here
the boys met some friends,
tyler and matthew,
that they spent a lot of their days with

WELL ...
the crew is back together again

just another reason i'm so glad we came

how you celebrate a birthday maui style

you only turn ten once
and it's not often you get to celebrate a birthday on maui
so we did all we could to make his day special

we started with starbucks and donuts



swam

he shared his free pizza he won playing bocce ball



swam some more

ok ... A LOT more



had his favorite maui dinner at cheeseburger in paradise

and then came back to have cupcakes outside by the pool
with his friends

safe to say you had a VERY fun and busy birthday, drew
i hope that being TEN is just as fun!