So Excited for the Summer!

I just reserved a ski boat for my birthday weekend through the wonder that is LivingSocial.com and am so excited to take the boys water skiing for their first time! They've gone tubing before, as evidenced by the picture below, Brando has been water skiing countless times, and I've been water skiing once, but I can't wait to do it with the four of us all together.

While I'm on the subject of reserving, I'm so excited I reserved a dinner for two on our next available weekend in May at the Driskill that I won at the Tribeza Wedding Day! We will be needing a spoiling date after going five weekends without our normal Saturday afternoon and evening date. So looking forward to it!

Us being silly at the Tribeza Wedding Day

The Shirt Dress

The shirt dress must be in style - I've seen it twice in the last week on girls that otherwise seem extremely stylish, and now I've found it at one of my favorite stores, Francesca's. To me, it looks exactly like my friend coined it "the morning after dress". Or, as I would put it, like throwing on a man's shirt and belting it - especially with the rounded hem. Pretty sure I could throw this look together by rummaging around in Brando's closet. Not sure how sexy I would feel in it, though. What do you think of this style?

Lanikai Hike

One of my favorite memories of the trip was our gorgeous hike above Lanikai. After our adventure at Lanikai, we drove up to the neighborhood behind it in the hills and hiked up to even more breathtaking views.

The best part was it was a MUCH easier and cooler by way of temperature hike than Makapu'u Lighthouse hike.

The views were stunning and I love that Brando jokingly had us do a 360 degree view with our pictures

by shuffling us around

with the camera in the air halfway up the hike.

The military pillboxes at the top of the hill, likely built in 1941 as defenses were beefed up on the island after Pearl Harbor, were cool and empty and strangely forbearing

covered in graffiti

with the gorgeous view

and the circle of concrete where an observation telescope or defensive weapon once stood.

Inside you could feel the sense of something powerful, an inkling of the sobering feeling of whoever sat there once upon a time may have wrestled with. It felt strange to pose and smile with that thought lingering in my head, yet I insisted.

With Bellows Beach on one side,

the town of Kailua Bay on the other,

and Mokula islands in front of us, this was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.

What I Would Be Doing This Weekend if I was In Town

Austin has so many fantastic events going on all the time that I can hardly stand to leave town for a second even for a girls' weekend! This weekend just happens to have some of the more fabulous events Austin is home to, but unless the girls decide to come visit Austin for a day - hint, hint ;) , I am off to Dallas for a weekend of girl time, drinks by the pool, going out, and meeting a very special person!

*Austin Outdoor Living Tour on Saturday- Tickets are only $12 if you buy them in advance. Tour some of the most beautiful gardens and outdoor leisure areas in gorgeous homes in and around Austin.

*Lone Star Ladies present Shop Austin on Saturday- I've so been looking forward to this show, but did not realize it was THIS weekend until I read a post mentioning it just now. I scored a ticket in a goodie bag at an event a month or two ago. The first thirty shoppers arriving at 10am will score a goodie bag and oh the goodies I can't imagine! Plus all shoppers are offered complimentary lash extensions, hair styling, and mini manis from Milk + Honey. AHmazing! They have vendors with gorgeous handcrafted goods combining to make a real live Etsy-like experience. So. much. fun!

*American Heroes weekend at Camp Mabry on Saturday and Sunday- We attended this last year and had a BLAST. Watch military helicopters take off after you have just sat in it, witness an air show, tour a fire truck, meet the canine police dog team, and more.

*Texas Hill Country Art and Wine Festival Sunday Fair on Sunday- I won FREE tickets worth $45 each and I have ALWAYS wanted to attend one of the Art and Wine Festival events! Either I'll leave my out of town destination early Sunday to make it home at noon in order to be able to attend or give them to my sister.

Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail

The Makapu'u lighthouse trail has absolutely stunning views and was another adventure Brando and I decided to take to delve deeper into the island, instead of covering as much as we could like did last time.

Though it is generally reviewed as an easy hike,

I would beg to differ. The paved road with the black asphalt makes it incredibly hot

and the steady incline makes the calves burn like h-e-l-l on the way back down. On the way up, once you round this corner it's not so bad.

If you prefer hard packed cement that is unforgiving to the knees and calves, by all means this is the hike for you. If you prefer a true hike then definitely find another one to do AS WELL as this one, because the views on the way up

are amazing

and the breathtaking views

once you get to the lighthouse are totally worth it and yielded one of my absolute favorite pictures this trip!

On the other sides, the views stretch far up the eastern coast at one angle,

and to islands off the coast at another angle.

Before you reach the lighthouse - about halfway up the trail, make sure to stop at the whale watching station. Yes, you actually get to see whales on this hike - AMAZING - this is why hiking in Hawaii is incredibley worth it. At the whale watching station this is your opportunity to have a regular hike and a paved road hike in one -- hike down the mountain to the tidepools

and three incredible blowholes below.

That part IS a well kept secret and we definitely experienced it,

so email me if you'll be visiting Oahu soon

and would like to know more details!

Lovely Arizona

Lately my posts have been out of state, and I love it!

This past weekend I went to Arizona to see my grandma get married. She was married to her first husband for 50 years and he passed away. She remarried to the grandpa my kids remember, divorced him, even though they still spent all their time together, then he passed away. Now she is married again to another grandpa for my kiddos. She is amazing.

My sister who lives near me and I flew out there together and enjoyed the whole weekend with my parents, my cousin whom I go visit in the OC, and my grandma and new grandpa. It was amazing. Rejuvenating. Relaxing. Wonderful. The stress melted away in less than the two days I was there. And now I am back.

I didn't realize even though I have kids I can still go see my grandma all by myself! I didn't get to visit her as I was growing up, so there's no reason I can't do that now! I can't wait for next time! As well as to explore more of the gorgeousness that is Arizona with the beautiful skyline,

the tiled mosaics of dragonflies flying aside a river along the highways,

and the gorgeous mountain ranges amidst the flatness.

I also can't wait to visit and explore the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley!

My Favorite Scene in Hawaii

Lanikai Beach

I wasn't going to post the details of our trip mostly so the "secret" places we discovered didn't leak out (as evidenced by an email TripAdvisor just sent out revealing all the "secret" places reviewers had discreetly placed on their site - my bet is they will no longer be secret and local next time they go!). If you want to know our faves email me for a list! In the meantime I was inspired by Brilliant to review some of our favorite places - the ones that already aren't so secret anymore.

Lanikai Beach was GORGEOUS.

Perfectly turquoise waters, white sand, buuuttttt... small beach as in very, very narrow. Most of it was ten feet wide at best leaving you to grab your towels and hold them in the air when the tide came in. Perhaps if I had not been expecting the #1 beach in Hawaii I might not have been so disappointed in the actual beach atmosphere. The view itself though was above and beyond my imagination.

And if I had worked myself out of my mood and the fact that there were a gazillion other people there (despite all the reviews stating hardly any people were there) I might've stayed a little longer. Instead we took in the view which I wouldn't have given up for the world and then moved on to other adventures.

Must Do This Weekend

Here's your chance to see a Pro Lacrosse game. I've been wanting to see one since Justinbustin has been begging to play lacrosse. I hear it's like hockey, only on grass.

All kinds of goodies lay in store besides the Texas vs Texas A&M lacrosse showdown: expected celebrities from MTV's "The Hills" and One Tree Hill; music performances by Carolina Liar and The Bright Light Social Hour - LOVE them; a casting call by Sports Studio, the makers of Waterboy, Invincible, Miracle, etc. - those of you who love to work get ON this. Plus, Livestrong is supporting the event.

LXM is hoping to introduce lacrosse to a mainstream audience, and Austin is the perfect venue to do it. Where else could you get an event that's only just had their inaugural event in Orange County last November? So get out of your sports rut, go see lacrosse at LXM 512. Or, if you're like me and don't like sports any way, go see a sport that's actually fun to watch. If it's anything like hockey it will definitely be fun!

Use the code in the first flyer below for 40% off your ticket OR leave a comment here for a chance to win a pair of FREE tickets! Winner will be announced Friday, April 9th, at noon.

Copy and paste the blurb below into Twitter for another chance at winning:

Check out LXM 512 THIS weekend - Saturday, April 10th! Get discounted tickets or win a free pair here: http:tinyurl.com/LXM512ATX #lxm

Just because it has more information, here is another flyer for LXM:

Free Time, say what?!

What do you know? As luck would have it (or rather hard ass work), two of my papers are written as of last night. And so I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite pictures Brando took while we were in Hawaii.

After a long and sweaty hike - I was wearing the jacket to keep

the sun off my shoulders. Impressive, Brando.

I multi-task on morning walks along the shore

The result - happy ten year anniversary us!

Waimea Bay

Waimea Bay - absolutely breathtaking

Waimea Bay

Kayaking with sea turtles

Walk along the shore