Maui with everyone!

To celebrate our 32nd anniversary and my parents 50th, we decided to take the whole family to one of our favorite places, Maui.  We went over the week of Thanksgiving and had a blast!    We took a ton of pictures, so editing my choices for this post was quite difficult (photo dump ahead).  The kids have posted a lot of their own pics on their social media already, so I'm behind.  It would have been easier on myself if I had just posted while we were on vacation, but I guess I was just too busy vacationing.  Go figure!  Normally when Joseph and I go to Hawaii, it's to slow down, sleep and relax.  It didn't take long to realize that with this crowd, 

our rest would be of a different kind. 

My parents have been married for 50 years!!  Goals!!

It was such a pleasure to spend time with them and to celebrate their love.

We have been married for 32!

I always love going on vacation with this man!

The ocean was great but we clearly loved spending time in the pool.

 Some of us had an acrylic art class in a cute little cabana.  

I loved being able to create with some of my favorite people in such beautiful surroundings.

Although we each had the same subject, each painting was unique and beautiful.

I think we all agree that our favorite activity was going snorkeling off a sailboat.

We got to see so many turtles and several of the kids dove deep to swim along beside them.

It was so peaceful and beautiful.  The water was the most incredible cobalt blue.

 We jumped off the bow of the boat (I even did a back dive off the side), they fed us well, and we soaked up the sun.  AJ was a trooper until they put the life jacket on him.  Loving water, he really prefers to be free to splash.  So he wasn't in the water very long.  Jacob and Lisa were in their element, of course.  In the lower picture, we are struggling to stand up because the wind in the sails made the boat tip (too funny) . This photo is only one in a series of hilarious stages of our instability.  

We highly recommend The Island Star

So fun!!

One day the kids took a short excursion to some waterfalls and a muddy bamboo forest.

Us old folks stayed and played with AJ around the pool.

We had the benefit of accessing a telescope which is Esther's dream gift for Christmas.  

She and I took it out to see what we could see.  The moon was our limit.

We also love zip lining. But I gladly remained behind with my parents to watch AJ.  Besides his nap, he loved the sand beach of the hotel pool.  It was then that I discovered he'd rather be on his stomach to splash in the water and move the sand around while kicking his feet, all at high speed.  He didn't care at all that the water got on his face.  He'd gasp, smile, then go right back to his work.

Being together was the perfect opportunity to take family portraits.

This is only a small fraction, but are some of the funnest.  

I also love the below shots of AJ.  Needless to say, he was the most photographed

of the whole trip, so naturally he gets a little more space.  ;)

He loves the sand!!!

But portraits were just too much!

Santa!!

Who knew that relaxing could be so exhausting

We are so grateful for the opportunity to have had such a wonderful experience.

Maui is beautiful but being with family is paradise no matter where we are.

I'm thankful God blessed me with each of them.

Happy 50th wedding anniversary!!

In our fast paced world it seems that relationships are as well.  They seem to fizzle and lose their staying power before they even build a foundation.  So it is refreshing to experience couples who have worked through the sparks, and the good and the bad to strengthen their love and commitment. 

My parents are such people.  They've dedicated themselves to each other and the happiness of their family often sacrificing their own needs and comforts.  Due to their persistence and love, they are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this year.  

We have a beautiful belief that when couples not only make promises to each other but also to God then they keep those promises, they will be blessed to be together forever.    So while I wish them many more happy years together, I also have a great hope that they will be together forever.

I'm so grateful for their love and dedication!

We've had the pleasure to celebrate them in Maui this week.  If you watch till the end of the video you'll see some photos from our snorkeling excursion today.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

Love you both!!

31 years together

One of our marriage traditions is to celebrate our anniversary by going somewhere, even if it's for a weekend.  Hawaii has become over the years, one of our favorite destinations.  Normally we go at the end of October or in November (since our anniversary is on Nov 22) but rarely go in December.

For various reasons, December was it this year.  After coming home from the funeral of Joseph's brother, we repacked our suitcases and headed for the North Shore of Oahu.  Little did we know that they had been covered in clouds for close to two weeks.  It was windy and cold (or at least I thought it was).

The waves were ginormous, which was perfect for the surf competition but not for anybody else.  It didn't bother us because we were physically and mentally exhausted and had made a pact that we wouldn't plan anything.  So no snorkeling, canoeing, surfing, hiking, site seeing, zip lining, etc.  Notta!  We would truly relax.  The weather just made it easier to not give into the temptation of planning activities.

It was great!!  I highly recommend it!

The pool wasn't very popular.  Only a couple people braved the chilly wind.

They were probably trying to get their money's worth out of their "tropical vacation".

We did not join them.

Besides church on Sunday, our only planned activities were to hit our favorite restaurants and to attend the Laie Temple.  It was a beautiful way to remember our marriage covenants.

The spouse of a photographer has to be very patient.

He never complained once. :)

After three days, the sun finally decided to come out on Sunday. 

So we went for a long walk, attended church, and enjoyed the peace.

Although I was able to take loads of pictures of the Super Moon,

none of them looked like the gorgeous reality right in front of us.

This is the only picture I'm willing to share.

It's special because this was the first time that I actually

got the contours of the moon and not just a white circle.

I really need to practice my night photography!

Our last full day, on Monday, started off with blue skies and lots of sunshine.

We took full advantage and covered ourselves with sunscreen and towels, haha.

By afternoon it was cloudy and cold again.

No worries, we didn't have plans anyway.

And what's a visit to Hawaii without at least one gorgeous sunset.

This is when those clouds come in real handy.

Joseph,

I'm so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man!

I look forward to growing old with you (we're not there yet!)

Thank you for your love!

Happy Anniversary!

Love you!

Celebrating 30 years together!!

Joseph,

In this world of uncertainty and turmoil I have found my rock.  For 30 years I've been able to lean on you and count on your devotion to me.  Life hasn't always been easy, as a matter of fact, it's been all over the place, but we've done it together and that's made all the difference.  Because of you're desire to make me happy and to follow God's will, we have 8 wonderful children and all the learning and joy that comes with it.  Thank you for being there for me even when you may not understand my crazy thought process.  Thank you for helping me to reach higher than I would normally reach and for pushing me out of my comfort zone.  Thank you for being an example of perseverance, hard work, love, and generosity.  You are my best friend, adventure buddy, counselor, and only love.
Thank you for the wonderful 30 years and for the promise of eternity together!

Love with all my heart,
Noelle

2015 anniversary in Hawaii

Oh... ya... Happy Anniversary!!

We recently had a great time celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary when we were in Hawaii. Done!  So imagine how embarrassed I was this evening when our kids wished us happy anniversary. I gasped and looked at Joseph in disbelief and embarrassment. I completely forgot the actual anniversary was today!!!  I have never done that before!! Ever!! I'd like to blame it on the fact I was preoccupied with planning a wedding and giving a talk today and that I never look at the calendar on Sunday, so I didn't know the date, but none of that holds any water since I look at my day planner ALL the time.  Oops.

Thankfully Joseph just smiled and said "ya, I just remembered a bit ago when I read Sarah's happy anniversary text to us."  Phew!!  

Every married couple need some time away

Kids, work, church, kids, car pool, lessons, cleaning, kids, bills, cooking, etc, etc.  There are so many things that demand our time and attention.  It's so easy to let our married relationships take a back seat.  I can't tell you how many married people I've talked to who rarely if ever, take time away from the day to day to spend with just each other.  Over the years, Joseph and I have learned to be stingy with two things, our Friday night dates, and our yearly anniversary trip.  I highly recommend any couple to try it.  It's wonderful to have a little time to be just the two of you.  After all, that's how we started and that's how we'll eventually end up.

This year, our trip was really short since we wanted to save money.  We also stayed at a local resort just a couple miles from our home so we wouldn't have to travel (the perks of living in Southern CA).  Funny thing is that we've been here 3 years now, and this was the first time we actually got to enjoy our local area like other tourists do.  I can honestly say that I would vacation here again (2 nights and a day just wasn't enough).  The good news is that we are blessed to live here too!

The following is my advertisement for all married couples:

Yes, that is a lobster taco that I ate.  I also had fish.  The food all weekend was to die for!!
Thankfully I only gained 1.5 lbs.

We both thought we could sleep in but our internal clocks just wouldn't let us.
On the flip side, we got to read our scriptures on the patio while watching the sun rise.
I'll take it.

Are you sold yet?

Happy 28th anniversary

Joseph,

Thank you for 28 years of adventure, fun, support, inspiration, laughter, friendship, and love. 

Yours for eternity,

Me

The Love of my life!

I'm a hopeless romantic.  

I grew up watching old musicals, black and whites, and PBS specials.

So I had quite the image in my mind of what my future love of my life would be like.

They say that visualizing is a major part of reaching goals and then writing them down.

When I was in high school, I did just that and started a list of qualities that

I was seeking in my companion.    This list evolved over my dating years as a little bit of reality set in.

Then came along Joseph.

He met all the requirements on my list.

And now 27 years (today) I can say that I did good!

He is everything and more that what I imagined.  

I am a better person because of him and I can't imagine any other man as the father of my children.

Joseph, thank you for always believing in me and believing in us.

You have been my example of faithfulness, hard work, patience, testimony, love, forgiveness, determination, self improvement, health, parenting and so much more.

I love you with all my heart!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tummy is stuffed, dishes are done, and the refrigerator is full of leftovers.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with Tammy's family and G&G W.

I am truly blessed.

A family on both sides that is loving and supportive.

Health of all those I love.

Truth.

Necessities of life.

Fun stuff.

Gospel of Salvation.

A Savior.

Warmth, security.

Great kids.

And today especially for the 26 years together with Joseph.

Happy Anniversary!

Big Bear Lake

looking back towards the coast . . . home

We went to Big Bear Lake today, which is about 40 minutes of winding mountain roads away from Lake Arrowhead.  I probably shouldn't eat lunch right before making that drive again.  I made it but was a little worried.

I'm grateful that Joseph was paying attention and decided to drive more carefully so that I wouldn't lose my cookies.  He did great because I know he wanted to take the curves faster with his Beamer.  I kept wondering if the berms and railings would be strong enough to keep us from going over.  I guess  we'll have to find him some roads that aren't 7000 ft.

Oh my goodness, we've been eating good!  I've been so surprised at the quality of restaurants

in such small towns.  Everything seems to be made by gourmet chefs.  Our favorites has been the 3 cheese mac-n-cheese, the "Joey" sandwich, cornish game hens, and the wonderful shrimp and corn chowder made right here in our hotel (to die for!).

Hopefully our exercising has slowed the weight gain.

I need to go back to my yogurt!