Bula and Vinaka Fiji '09

I am in love with Fiji! It is the most incredible place I've ever traveled to. Hawaii pales in comparison. Fiji is more beautiful, the people are more friendly, and the experience is far more authentic. We had an amazing time...here is a recap with tons of pictures!

The plane ride wasn't as bad as I expected. We flew on the biggest plane I've ever seen. There are two levels on this plane. Randy and I sat upstairs which was pretty cool.

The first three days were spent on the main island at the Outrigger resort. This is the view from our room. It rained the entire time we were there. We still managed to keep ourselves entertained.

Randy and his signature drink...as long as it came with a flower on the side he was happy.

Randy singing with the band...I believe he's singing "Hotel California" here. He jammed out with them numerous times. He kept asking them if they knew any Def Leopard...surprisingly they didn't.

The food was amazing. We ate A LOT!!

These guys walked on fire for us!

By far the coolest thing we did was a whitewater river rafting trip. We had a two hour bus ride into the heart of a rain forest. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The rapids weren't too intense but enough to get my heart pumping!

Our river guide asked us if we wanted a back massage and took us to this waterfall. We climbed up the rocks and walked behind the water. I only made it half way, the water pressure was so intense I felt like I couldn't breathe. Randy went all the way through and the guide had him lay on his stomach and let the water beat down on him.

We had the coolest river guide named Moses. He's the one on the left and he had thousands of stories. He lives in the village along this river. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, Bill Gates, and the cast of Survivor Fiji all were guided down this river by Moses.
We also had a day at an amazing spa near our hotel. Randy had his first massage and wasn't sure he liked it. I, on the other hand, could have one every day. Maybe he should have gone for the facial or pedicure!

After three days, we hopped on this helicopter to head to Castaway Island. Lets just say, it will probably be the last helicopter ride I ever take.

I am so grateful this wasn't the last picture taken of Randy. We had some technical difficulties as we were landing and almost hit a tree, which would've killed us both. Luckily our pilot had enough experience and managed to make an emergency landing on a near by island. Needless to say I'm not a fan of helicopters.


Arriving at this island, made me feel better about things. This is Castaway, aka my home away from home.

This crew welcomed us after our near death experience.

This is our "bure" or home on the island.

This was the view from our porch. Our own little hammock, lawn chairs, canopy, and beach! We could literally walk out the front door and go snorkeling or kayaking.

I practiced yoga every morning to this view. It was surreal, peaceful, and my new "happy place"

The snorkeling was fantastic. I've never seen blue starfish and they were everywhere. The coral was almost as amazing as the fish. I saw the entire cast of Finding Nemo.

Every night we had a setting like this. The weather was gorgeous. We found out our flight got cancelled so we were forced to stay an extra day. Luckily the guy that took us on this trip paid for us to all stay at Castaway instead of some creepy airport motel.

The staff really made us feel at home. Everyone knew our names and greeted us with a "Bula". These are a few of our favorites.

Ben, Randy, Annie, Sam, and the "Rock" in front. He sort of looks like the Rock, right Kate?

BULA!!!! Tuwai was full of personality and energy. We loved this guy. He called Randy "BRRANDY".

He even carried Randy to our boat as we left.

This is Kim and Steve, other insurance people. They were actually really fun to hang out with. The island was really small so we couldn't really avoid all the insurance people. We had so much fun this night. There was a crab race and Randy and I bid on the 3rd place crab and won $99.


Steven, the manager of the resort with Randy and Steve.

This is the insurance crew...we were by far the life of the party! The big guy in the middle owns the company who sent us on this trip. He was so entertaining and intense, I nicknamed him Chris Farley. He and Randy had a mean cannon ball competition.

I have never stayed at a resort where I felt like part of the family. I actually got a little sad when we left. You will never meet nicer, more welcoming people anywhere.

This is one of the reasons I love this place. There was a beautiful hand crafted basin to rinse the sand off our feet before we went into our room and they placed a beautiful flower in it. Those little touches were everywhere. I'm still on "Fiji Time", meaning, I'm moving in slow motion. The jet lag is kicking my butt right now which is why I've been so slow posting these pictures. There is something to be said for taking it slow and taking in the beauty of everyday. Randy and I have fun anywhere but I'm having a hard time finding enough adjectives to describe how wonderful this trip was. Hopefully these pictures do it justice. Thank you mom, dad, Jeri, Scott, James, Darcelle, and everyone else who took care of my babies while we were gone. It's so good to be home with them. I missed them so much.

Fiji update

Just a note to all my friends and family... Randy and I are having the most incredible time here in Fiji. Our flight to come home got cancelled so we are coming home a day later....darn! Other than almost dying in a helicopter we're doing wonderful. Miss you all, especially Hank and Max. This place is paradise...not to rub it in your face or anything!

Birthdays, Taekwondo, and Fiji!

Happy Birthday to me! I turned 29 yesterday much to Hank's dismay. He told me he doesn't want me to have a birthday because then I will be old. How is it possible that 30 is right around the corner? The fact I've been married for almost 10 years, graduated from college 7 years ago (yes college, not high school), and have two children helps me realize I'm not 18 anymore. I have accomplished a lot in my 29 years, however I have much more I would love to do. Life is so short, no time to waste on things that don't inspire me or enrich my life.

I have such amazing friends and family who made my birthday very special. I really look forward to phone calls from everyone, so thank you to all who made the effort. Hank, Max and I watched Sarah's class in their talent show and then ate lunch at the Blue Lemon. If you haven't been there, it is fantastic. The food is really fresh and flavorful and the decor is very cool and modern. I can't believe it is in Highland! I was joined by Kate, Sarah, mom, Grandma Joanne, Grandpa Karl, Grandma Yvonna, and Jeri. My good friend Amanda stopped by later that afternoon for a nice visit. It was great to catch up. Then the door bell rang and I was greeted by a beautiful bouquet of roses from my amazing mother. She does WAY too much for me!
Randy got a babysitter so we could go out to dinner with my family at Outback. It is such a treat to go to dinner without my kids!

Sarah and Brett

Dad, Mom, Randy, Birthday girl (sporting my new outfit, courtesy of Hank and Randy), and Kate
We had a great time and lots of inappropriate conversation. The cake and ice cream was fantastic and the presents were even better. I now have a new wardrobe to take to Fiji. Thank you!!

Our entire family slept in until 8 this morning! I can't remember the last time that has happened. Hank had his first belt promotion test this morning and he did an amazing job. I'm so proud of him. The setting was quite intense but he stood up there and did everything we've been practicing. He had to break a board at the end and was quite shocked when he did! It was hilarious. Our video camera was out of batteries...ugh! Jimmy did great as well. They have made so much progress.

When Hank isn't wearing his Taekwondo uniform he insists on wearing his "cool clothes", which consist of a jersey of some sort, his cubs hat, and either jersey shorts or pants. It's a great look!

We had a BBQ for my dad's birthday tonight. I am convinced I have the coolest dad in the world. My kids are so lucky to know him. Hank told me he wants me to leave on my trip now so he can go fishing with grandpa and then play golf at Riverside. Thanks for taking care of my boys while we are gone. I love you so much dad!

I am feeling very anxious and excited to go on our trip tomorrow. There is so much preparation involved to get myself and the kids ready. I know Hank and Max are in great hands with my parents and Randy's mom, but I will miss those little rats. I'm sure my homesickness will quickly go away when I look out the window and see paradise! We are going to have the time of our lives! How could we not? See you all soon...

Golfing Griffin Style

We are willing summer to come! Saturday afternoon we headed up to the golf course with the kids. It was late enough in the day that we didn't have anyone behind us, so we could take our time and let the kids run wild. The wind was blowing really hard and it wasn't that warm but we were determined to do something outside with the kids. Hank had his own clubs and was loving it, Max was the ball retriever for Hank and he developed a new little gallop in his step (kind of like he's riding the pony), Randy was getting frustrated with the golf game but still had fun and me...

That was my tee shot on a par 3...not too shabby! I managed to play pretty good despite all the distractions.

The boys had fun trying to find Randy's ball. Max is a maniac running down hills. He has no fear. This was a slow motion recap.

Hank has the golfing bug! He wants to hit anything and everything in his path. He's got really good hand eye coordination. Randy was coaching him and Hank really listened to what he told him to do.

I found the answer to my biggest stress with my kids. They don't eat and when they do, it's usually not the most healthy choice. Hank would much rather have a strictly liquid diet so when we tried the V-8 fusion at Costco and they both loved it...I was all for it. It has a full serving of fruits and VEGETABLES in each cup. No more cooking for me!

Easter Festivities

We have had so much fun this week. I helped with Hank's preschool Easter party and field trip earlier in the week and then Friday night we colored eggs, made cupcakes, and sugar cookies. He loved coloring the eggs but was quite confused at the concept of chucking them down a hill after we spent so much time making them pretty. I couldn't really explain that one.

On Saturday we braved the bad weather and headed out past Fairfield with Grandma Griffin, Jenni, Colby, Dyson, Sally, Mike, Xander, and Cannon.

Max LOVES being outside in the dirt. I think he fell down about 52 times but didn't get that smile off his face.

Randy's Grandma is one of the most energetic, fun people I know. She always makes it fun for the kids. They searched for eggs and candy and rolled eggs down a big hill.

A rare moment of Max sitting still


We hurried home, got the kids bathed and off to the Crawford's Easter egg hunt. I was too busy laughing with my cousins to get too many pictures but we had a great time. The kids had their baskets filled to capacity.

The Easter bunny left several clues to find Hank and Max's Easter baskets. Hank was beaming with excitement as we searched the house.

Max wasn't quite as excited about being awake this morning.

Nothing a little sugar won't cure...check out the chocolate beard and ensuing sugar coma.

We had a great brunch at Riverside with my family this afternoon. Kids definitely make holidays much more exciting. Happy Easter to all!

Poor Max!

My sweet little angel has been miserable this past weekend. Not only has he had one of the worst diaper rashes I've ever seen , he had yet another ear infection. This is number three this month!! Randy and I didn't get much sleep this weekend but once they gave him a shot of antibiotics on Saturday and Sunday he was given a clean bill of health today and no more shots are needed. I'm hoping the third time is the charm and we are done with illness. As for the diaper rash I found the miracle worker....Butt paste! Classy name I know but it cleared it up in one day.

We had a great afternoon in the park and as you can see from this extreme close-up, he's feeling much better.

Oh Baby!

I love the bellies!! Sarah and Hayley are having babies within a month of each other, so we had a shower for them last week. My mom and Becky did an amazing job and Hayley's house was the perfect place to have a party. These two were inseparable as children and now look at them, ready to be mothers. It's a little surreal for me.

The food looked like it was straight out of a magazine and tasted just as delicious as it looks. I didn't actually taste one of those cupcakes (Fiji in a month) but i smelled them a lot!

Barbara and Robyn made the trek from Manti and Shellie came from Seattle.


Hayley gave this onesie to Sarah--I think her baby might have hair like this.

Grandma J, mom, Sarah and Shellie

The Fab Four


Molly, Crystal, Sarah and Jessie--our table was the funnest! We laughed til we cried, from me trying to drink the jello to discussing Sarah's obsession with Karl Malone and Bart Simpson as a child! I love these girls like sisters.


Jil and Sarah


Laurel, Sarah and Michelle with her twins...adorable!

These two seemed to get rosier and rosier as the night went on! I love them both so much and I know they will have adorable children and be amazing mothers.