Easter in Hawaii!

Easter anywhere is a special occasion, the fact that Jesus died on a cross for my sins is beyond my comprehension. None of us deserve it, but He did it anyway which shows just how much He loves me and you. So thank you Jesus for the price you paid and thank you that we got to spend it again in such a beautiful place!

We spent Easter morning at church (sans Deryck who was finishing his scuba diving certification) and then we all went to Hickam beach with friends to potluck, swim, and egg hunt. God has blessed us with a wonderful group of friends here and it was an honor to celebrate with them.

P.S. And yes that is me in my hat and long sleeve shirt in the group picture! I recently spent some more time in my dermatologist's office and she has me doing a new treatment to work on some pre-cancerous spots that requires me to get very little, really no, sun exposure. In her words "Shannon, you don't belong in Hawaii". :(

The Inevitable Happens...

Well, we knew this day would come. So when it did, we laughed and laughed (which is a lot better than crying!) Rachel got a hold of a pair of sissors I left out and decided to "trim" her bangs. The "trim" ended with us trying not to laugh in her face (which didn't work very well), a trip to Target for some wide headbands, and suped-up diet of extra proteins so that the hair would grow back quickly! It hasn't, but she doesn't even care anymore and it just looks normal to us now. :)

The Other Parks Come to Visit!

Spring break was a pretty big deal around here! The other wonderful Parks family came to visit! Deryck's little brother, Nathan, his precious wife (and one of my dearest friends/sisters) Leah, and their three sweet kiddos came to Oahu to spend over a week with us. We spent countless hours at the beach, the boys went camping on the ocean, and we spent time seeing everything from the botanical gardens to eating pineapple ice cream! Their time here came to an end WAY to soon also. We made a million memories with them and were so glad they spent their week away with us!

Swamp Romp 2011

Well this year Deryck sat out of the Swamp Romp and I got to go through the mud pits! It was one of the most fun, yet disgusting things I have ever done...and I can't wait to do it again next year! Check out the difference in the sock color in the before and after pics! Yuck!

Beautiful Kauai in December

Oh blog how I have missed you (and my sweet Grandmother too...sorry Gubbie). So here are some MAJOR updates!

Over the Christmas holiday we were blessed with the best gift ever. My sister, Courtney, and her family joined us for a couple weeks. We absolutely love her and my brother-in-law Joe, sweet Jack, and crazy Josie. We spent a week tearing up the Oahu beaches (with one awful wipeout, huh Court?) and then moved on to short trip to Kauai. The Dads did some major hiking while Court and I spent many hours by the fun pool and beach at our oceanside hotel. To say that the kids LOVED the waterslide and pool at the Poipu Beach Sheraton is an understatement! Our time with the Ghormley's was wonderful and ended tooooooo soon. We can't wait for them to come back and soak up some more Hawaiian sun with us!

1st and probably last marathon ever!

On December 12th, Deryck and I ran our first marathon. It was 26.2 miles of hurt, but the accomplishment of completing something so hard was wonderful. My Mom and Dad came to the island to take care of the kiddos and cheer us on. The picture of the three girls are my running buddies, Kelly and Dena!

Kayak to The Moake Islands...or The Moakes

Today, we went on our first kayak trip since we arrived on the island...can you believe it has been over a year!!! We went with 2 other couples and had an amazing time. Though we came back with tired arms, we got to see a Monk Seal sitting on the beach who didn't give a darn about us, beautiful islands, and one camera that took a dip and is currently soaking in a baggie of rice. So much fun and though we love our sweet kids, we were happy to leave them at home and have some Deryck/Shan time!