I spent last week in Hawaii

Isn't this incredible? Last week my husband and I celebrated our 32 anniversary in Maui. My wonderful parents gave us their timeshare for a week. This was the view from our room. Ahhh, it was bliss. However, we didn't take many normal pictures. We hiked, snorkeled, went to church, drove around and explored. We went outrigger canoeing with the canoe club. Walked on the beach and the motel boardwalk. We spent time in the pool and in the jacuzzi. We barbequed and ate in restaurants. We read books. (I polished off 5 novels. I love to read but hardly ever get to because there are too many other things to do. Time in the airport and on the plane makes for many hours of reading.)

We miss Hawaii. We used to live on Oahu. It's a great place to live if you can afford it.
Hiking on the swinging bridges. (I know I'm white. I don't do sun. I guess I should have gone for the spray on tan. LOL Notice I'm not showing any swimsuit pictures.)
We went on a helicopter ride. My very first. It was amazing but difficult to get good pictures through the curved helicopter windows.
Here is the back of our pilot's head. Dave flew us over West Maui and Moloka'i.
Beautiful mountains, waterfalls, and greenery. My husband wanted to take pictures of all the great old churches on the island. I thought you would enjoy seeing a few of his great pictures.

It was so hard to come back to reality. We would move in a split second if it didn't take us so far away from our children and grandchildren. We miss them enough as it is.

Sorry...I'm not having any luck posting pictures. I'm not sure what the problem is.

I spent the day trimming my boxwood bushes in to nice round balls...22 of them and they are big. I trim my alberta dwarf spruce in to a spiral. It takes awhile but I love how it looks. I was really surprised when I was down to my 21st bush and looked up to find a nice elderly couple applauding me. Too funny!

I found some great deals at TJ Maxx. I love that store! My husband reads my blog though and I'm not sure I want to share with him all the details of my purchases. ( I'm not really a spender so he's happy when I get things for the house.) Do you like to read posts that lay out the bargain details. I see lots of them out there. I rarely/never see the deals that many post about though. I was really looking for table clothes. I had to borrow a friends for the princess party. I don't have any decent ones. I did find a couple at Ross. I hope I like them after I take them out of the package. How was your weekend? I'd really like to know.

Tablescape Thursday

Today is Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch. See below for my post and go check out many other beautiful tablescapes.


My tablescape was done without spending any money. I just used things I already had around the house. I keep a big box of white candles around. Very inexpensive from Ikea and they come in very handy. You can't beat the price and they burn well without getting wax all over.

P.S. All those candles generate a lot of heat...just a warning. hee hee

The Princess Party

Sorry you haven't heard from me in awhile. I was in Hawaii last week, entertained family on Monday, and jumped right in to catch up with work. So, instead of showing pictures of Hawaii, I'll post about our Young Women activity tonight.

The Beehives and MiaMaids decided to have a princess party for our young women activity tonight. They wanted to dress up, have dinner on real china, eat pasta, salad, bread sticks, have pie for dessert, and watch the DVD of Cinderella with Brandy as Cinderella. (We, the leaders, were hoping it was the old Cinderella we watched as kids.) Here are pictures of the table setting. Would you feel like a princess eating at this table? I hope so. It was fun.
We had to have two tables. I wish I had a bigger dining room table. I'm always in need. Well, while I'm wishing...some dining room chairs would be nice too. I hope my fairy godmother is listening...hint, hint. OK, I don't have a fairy godmother so I might just have to save up on my own. Rats.
the place setting. My china was purchased at a garage sale at Lake Tahoe. ($35 for a full set of 12 place settings, along with a platter and other pieces. Not my favorite but you can't beat the price.) The silverware we got as a Christmas present from my in-laws. (It's so nice to have matching silverware. After 32 years of marriage, we really needed some. Who knows where all those pieces disappear to? Maybe they run off to date the socks. They always seem to disappear too.)
I like to layer the centerpieces. That is why there is a cake plate and square glass vases upside down on the table.
Bows and Bunting.
I put a swag of fabric from corner to corner and through the chandelier. I just tack it up with clear thumbtacks right into the ceiling. You can't even tell there are any wholes when you take them down.
Lots of candles...you can't go wrong with candles.


Princess Mischele. The Beehive leader and partner in crime. OK, we never have committed any crimes but we have had lots of fun together.
The Princesses enjoying their dinner.

That is Rachael on the end. I think that is the only picture I got of her. I'm posting this so the girls can see pictures of their activity.
Dinner buffet style.
Princess Claire. I thought I posted everyone's pictures but I seem to have ended up with just Claire's.
They had fun watching the Cinderella movie. This gives you at least a taste of the movie. We had pie that the girls made before the movie and rootbeer floats after the movie. They only have two more days of school so we were celebrating that too.

A Very Full Weekend!

My nephew Douglas got married Saturday. May 9, so life has been full of family activities. It was so nice to have so much of my extended family together. Above is Lindsay and Doug right after they were pronounced "man and wife."
The flowers.
The cake which was delicious BTW.
My dad, in the gray suit, and two of his sisters and his brother. Janielle, Lamont, Mary Ellen, and Wally. I'll post more wedding pictures later.
My SIL Michele and my grandson Creed looking at the freshly laid eggs. We had Sunday, Mother's day lunch, at my brother's house and then went to the Borup's house for dinner. So, along with going to church, we had a full day off Carr and Borup family get togethers. It was so nice to visit with everyone.
Baby birds in Borup's backyard. It was fun to watch the parental birds feed these guys. Birds seem to eat alot.
Creed eating a birthday cupcake. It was his cousin Will's birthday on Mother's Day.
Byron and Margrett Borup. My husband's parents. (Byron is in the June issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine thanks to Candice.)

Layla's Give away

Layla is having a giveaway. Don't you like this table runner? If you win, Grace will put your initial on it. Layla of the "Lettered Cottage" has done some great things with her home. Really great changes on a shoestring budget. If you haven't seen her blog, check it out.

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Things are finally blooming here and the weather is getting warmer. Yummm. I thought you would enjoy these tulips. There is a great object lesson here.

Yes, every year I am amazed when these tulips wend their way through these dense bushes to bloom. I took these pictures today so we would all remember to "Bloom Where We Are Planted" even if it is in adverse conditions.

Where are they blooming? Right by the Provo Temple.
What object lesson do you see in these tulips. Aren't you amazed?