First Snow!

First Snow!

It seems like the whole country has been hit by the same snow storm, and we were no exception. It was a white Christmas, and absolutely beautiful. Despite being sick for most of it Baby B experienced several firsts this past week. First taste of snow, first sled ride, and first time getting all bundled up. We just adore this little man!!

The Last of HAWAII!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! We certainly enjoyed ours. Here is the last of the Hawaii pictures. These are more snapshots than photography, but I love them none the less! Coming soon....SNOW pictures :)!! Ugh!

Our first day on Maui was an adventure. The boys decided to leave us and go fishing on the open sea, so us girls decided to go see "Jaws" which is a famous surf spot. Come to find out it is VERY difficult to find and get to. We broke our rental car in by doing some major off roading until we had to ditch the car and hike down to the spot which turned out to be a two-three mile hike. Luckily some locals gave us a ride in the back of their dirty old "Maui Cruiser" (which basically means, a vehicle that could be abandoned at any moment). Niki was nice enough to clean out the back of our new friends truck with her body :). She is such a giver :)!!


We decided to go on a zip line tour during our stay. This smile is excitement and fear wrapped into one.



I love this picture of Niki, she is just so awesome. Her and I have been through a lot, she is the only female yet to accompany me on an Alaska adventure, and she is returning this summer. Her husband Chad goes with us every year. We joke that we can never take a vacation without Chad tagging a long :)!!


This is the first Zip course. It was the "warm up" or baby zip line to get us used to the feel of it. I never got a shot of the MAMA zip, which was pretty fun!


So this has to be the highlight of our trip. Earlier in the week we went on a snorkeling tour on a chartered boat which took us to two dive spots. We saw some amazing reefs and beautiful fish, but no turtles. We were a little disappointed about that, so Josh and Catherine, our local guides took us on our very own PRIVATE excursion to turtle town. Simply amazing! We swam with about four turtle, and they are HUGE. They swim right up next to you and would sometimes float on the surface while we all would swim around it. It was so fabulous I can't even describe it.






Josh and Catherine also helped us try out the long boards and surfing. It is a lot harder than it looks, but so much fun. I can't wait to try it again someday.

Chad and Niki

Mr. B - Psst. Mr. B you are supposed to stand up on the board :). He had a little difficulty, but in his defense he is a giant so his center of gravity is about two feet higher than the rest of us :)!!


Thank you again Josh and Catherine, our Maui vacation was AWESOME, and we have you to thank for it!!! We love you guys, and will be visiting you again soon!! Aloha!!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you the very best this holiday season!!
Love The Morgans

Such a Contradiction!!

This post feels like such a contradiction on so many levels!! Here I am posting more Hawaii pictures when for the past five days we have been drowning in snow!! I have taken a few snow pictures that I am dying to edit, but alas my OCD tendencies must do things in order so I will continue posting these dang Maui pictures til you have seen every last one of them :)!!

We were lucky enough to have several whale sightings during our boat ride out to the snorkeling sites. I took so many pictures and these were the only two that turned out :)


This group of whales was being accompanied by dolphins!!

I have been diligently trying to convince Mr. B that we should be like the humpbacks, and summer in Alaska and winter in Hawaii. They are very intelligent animals :)!

Maui Memories!!

I am FREEZING right now!!! However, these pictures are helping to keep my memories warm!!


Day 77


Catherine, thanks for being my model :)!! You are stunning inside and out!

More From Maui!!

Aren't those waves amazing?


This is supposedly Tiger Wood's home.

And MORE From Maui!!

Sorry if you are getting sick of all of these Hawaii pictures, but they are keeping warm these days :)!

Day 71

More From Maui!!

I love this set.

Mr. B wanted me to tell you all I caught a few pictures of him learning to surf :)!!

More From Maui!!

Our Hawaiian Friends!!

One of the main reasons Mr. B and I decided to return to Maui this year was because our good friends from WSU are local residents of this amazing island. They were kind enough to let us stay with them as well as our other good friends Chad and Nicki. Josh is a six grade teacher in Kihei, and Catherine is a Event Coordinator. She gets paid to party :)!! I am kidding, she works very hard, as does Josh (duh, he is a teacher), but let me tell you they have the life I dream about. Josh gets off around two p.m. everyday and heads for the best surf on the island. Catherine frequently travels to the surrounding islands to over see her clients many events.

I can not express to you the generosity that these to showed us. Josh gave us personal surf lessons (which I was able to stand up a few times thanks to his extra push :). Catherine booked several of our excursion and was able to give us some amazing rates. They even took us on a personal snorkeling tour to swim with the Hawaiian sea turtle (this was a HUGE highlight of our trip). I could go on and on. The best part of all of this was spending time with them. We were blessed to have crossed paths with them nine years ago and I am so thankful that we have kept in touch. We are so thankful for all that you did to make our stay fabulous.

Mahalo, Josh and Catherine, we can't wait to be saying Aloha to the two of you again real soon!!




This photo cracks me up. Mr. B asked if I could photoshop him shorter :)!

Gratitude!!

Today was a very humbling day for me. I like to think of myself as a very strong independent woman who can take care of myself and my family with little to no help. With Mr. B traveling a lot I am continually putting those thoughts to the test. Today they were challenged, and I had to reach out for help. After four days of taking care of my two extremely sick boys it caught up with me. I don't remember the last time I have felt so terrible. I finally had to break down and in teary pleas ask for help from my amazing friends who happen to be my neighbors Mrs. J and Mrs. M. I felt extremely embarrassed to admit that I couldn't take care of my own kids. Bottom line is I am so thankful for these woman, and the examples they are to me. I am getting chocked up just thinking about it, but I just want both of you to know how much I love and appreciate you guys. What I came to realize today is that I still am a strong independent woman, but a strong independent woman with amazing friends. Thank You!!

Haleakala!!

This is Mr. B and I's third trip to Maui yet our first time on top of the 10,000ft Volcano called Haleakala. It was spectacular. We were literally above the clouds, which made the weather quite chilly. I went in shorts which I regretted immediately after getting out of the car. I also took a few of my 365's while up there.





Day 72

Aloha!!!

I have been slowly editing through my pictures whenever I have gotten a free minute the past few days, which hasn't been many due to the boys being so sick this week. I am praying tomorrow I wake up to healthy kids!! Anyways, here are a few from our amazing trip to Maui. I will post more as I edit them so check in often!




Secret Beach

Thanksgiving!!

Here are some more picture from our wonderful Thanksgiving that we were able to share with my family.

I am SO grateful for my parents for all that have done for us. They watched our two boys for EIGHT days while we went to Hawaii, and decorated my whole house for Christmas while we were away. I am so blessed!!


Mom and Dad cooked ALL day long, the food was amazing, as was the company!




Sorry Uncle J this is the best photo I got of you all week :)!!