Another day in Paradise

We started out at 3 am. We woke up, although the alarm didn't go off, got dressed and left in the car around 3:20 am. We were set out to see a sunrise on mountain Haleakala. Dave and I swore last time we did it that we'd never do it again. But here we were driving to Haleakala again. Granted, my mom has obviously never been, so we decided that she needed to experience it. It took us 2 hrs from our condo all the way to the top of the mountain. We climbed 10,600 feet and the temperature fell to 40 degrees. Brrrr. Good thing we brought a blanket, although we could use 3 or 4. Once again we didn't think about it even though knowing how cold it was going to be. The sunrise on Haleakala is breathtaking. Alex enjoyed it, as well as my mom. The clouds look like whipped cream and the crater is truly majestic. Standing on the highest point of Maui makes you feel how powerful and majestic nature truly is. The silence and the wind make you feel powerless and at the same time at peace.

After Haleakala we stopped at our favorite cafe in the middle of the mountain and had a great breakfast. They have all kinds of trees growing there: notice the lemon tree and a beautiful tree with bright blue flowers in the background. I've never seen a tree like that anywhere, the most amazing blue flowers ever. I decided someday we will move to Maui.

After a long morning trip Dave and I went snorkeling outside our condos. I saw 13 turtles in about 20 min and swam with 2 of them. I actually got a little scared because they get so close to you- they must be used to people constantly snorkeling above their heads :) Alex waited on the shore, he couldn't wait to go swimming too.

The family went swimming at the pool right after snorkeling while I took some cool pictures of the grounds.

We all, except Alex, took long afternoon naps. No wonder- we had to wake up at 3 am and he didn't! For dinner we walked along the beach to the nearby restaurant that's located right on the shore- Sea House.

While we were waiting for our dinner I enjoyed the beautiful view of the ocean.

After a very nice dinner on the shore we explored the resort.

This is Napili Kai resort- the one Dave and I think about coming to next time we're here. It's gorgeous and located right on our favorite beach.

Paradise on Earth

I've felt today like I've died and gone to Heaven. Someone please pinch me because I can't believe that this place exist on Earth. Having said that, this is not my first time to Hawaii, or to Maui for that matter and I still feel like it. The feelings that I experience here are hard to describe. It's in the smell of the salty air, in the sound of waves crashing on the shores, in the singing of the exotic birds at 5 in the morning and in the sounds of palm trees swaying in the wind. This place is so incredible, so peaceful and powerful at the same time that I have forgotten of all the worries in the world and truly let myself FEEL the nature....

This is the view from our lanai. It overlooks the cove where turtles live. To the right is the expanse of the Pacific ocean.

Another view from the lanai. I could get used to this! And this is the condo's living room and kitchen. Nicely updated and very airy. Lanai doors open wide and the windows are the height of the wall.

This is just one day of our life in Maui.

Perfect ending to a perfect day. Maui sunset (although I missed it because Alex smudged his greasy fingers over my camera lens and while I was looking for cleaning cloth, the sun went down...).

Mike Masse and the Pie

In case anyone would like to hear some great music in SLC, the first Monday of each month an amazing Artist named Mike Masse plays for free at the Pie by the University of Utah campus.  Not only is the food incredible, but the music is even better.  Here is a sample from You Tube:

Check out his website for info on his shows.  He has links on his website to some of his original music also.  Be sure to check out his song "Now that I know".  It shows his true talent.

Thanks to Randall and Carine for introducing us to his music.  I can't wait for the first Monday in June (we will be in Hawai'i for the first Monday in May).  We hope more of you can join us!

Final AeroGarden report, more flowers and spring is here!

The final verdict- AeroGarden works! It was exactly 15 weeks 2 days before we started picking our first ripe tomatoes. I'm so excited that this project worked out and I can't wait to start growing herbs once my tomatoes are done (and eaten).


Here is my first "harvest", pretty exciting!


And I made a yummy lemon shrimp salad out of it! The family will attest, it disappeared before anyone could say "tomato".

On Friday we spent one of the first warm days this year out in the backyard. It was so nice to warm our frozen bones in the sun.


Alex introduced his BFF Ava to his jumper and they had a blast.

But then she decided to play baseball instead.

Alex has discovered his Mickey Mouse hat from 2 years ago and he hasn't parted with it for the last 2 days :))

I absolutely love spring flowers. Look at these beautiful crocuses. I think there is absolutely no excuse for not growing spring bulbs. They're the "plant and forget" variety. You plant them once and you will never have to think about them again (except when you look at them in full bloom and admire their beauty). They will multiply so much every year that it's amazing to see the results of your "un"labor when they flower every spring.


Zarochka, this is for you! Look at my beautiful orange Hibiscus flowers that started flowering this week. Now I can definitely tell that spring is in the air!

Deer Valley celebrity encounter

On Saturday we went skiing (once again, I know) with our friends the Hendersons. We scored some amazingly cheap tickets to Deer Valley (thanks to Carine and Randall) and decided to take the last chance to ski this season. It was an amazing day despite the winds in the first part of it and slushy snow towards the end. What made this day out of ordinary is that we've come across Dr. Rey, his wife Hayley and their kids!!! Anybody who watches Dr. 90210 knows exactly who Dr. Rey is.

This was so cool! I've noticed that almost every time we go to Deer Valley we see a celebrity. Wow! We actually had to chase them around before we've built up the courage to ask them for a picture. We first saw Hayley out the window while we were having lunch in the Silver Lake Lodge and we ran outside to ask her for a picture. She disappeared into the store and we stood outside for good 15 min before actually realizing she came out of a different exit. Then Randall saw her in another store and to our surprise Dr. Rey was there too! Poor Dave stayed behind in the lodge watching our stuff while Carine and I, like a couple of 15 year-olds, were running from store to store trying to take a picture with celebrities and Randall was our cameramen. It was worth it though. They happened to be very nice people and even had a conversation with us.
The rest of the day went smoothly on the slopes. The winds calmed down and the view of beautiful Deer Valley down below was breathtaking.


What a fun day!

Alex likes to have fun!

My AeroGarden experience

For Christmas I received AeroGarden from Dave. If you know me at all, this was the best gift I could possibly get (well, actually I can think of a couple more...). So I planted tomatoes, dill and cilantro on the 25th of December and 1 week later this is what I had. Tomatoes (and dill) actually sprouted!

3 weeks old. They're growing fast! Who knew? Cilantro didn't ever grow...

Seedlings are 4 weeks old. I planted some dill with the tomatoes although I wasn't supposed to. I figured we'll eat it before tomatoes choke it out because they're going to get big it seems.


About 7 weeks old, tomatoes are flowering. Seems like so far this "garden" is working.

This is 8 weeks from the planting date. Tomatoes are really starting to show up and flowering like crazy.

Apparently, it works! This is my tomatoes 12 weeks after planting. So now I'm just waiting for them to ripen. If anyone doubts the validity of this expensive toy, look at my results! I think anyone who is capable of adding water to a container can grow these. No green thumb required!