Wow! I can’t believe it’s 2008 already. Each year sure does go by so quickly. And, apparently the holidays do too, since it’s been 2 weeks since the last post.

I guess I’ll start with our Christmas vacation to Maryland, and see how long that goes before committing to New Year’s in this post…

Virgin America is great. We had no problems at the airport, and loved the deep purple “mood lighting” as we boarded the plane. The power ports at each seat allowed Mark to work on his lap top most of the time, and I read a magazine and played a couple of games. The flight went pretty quickly and we weren’t too uncomfortable either. Mark’s mom picked us up and it was great to see her. It’s been almost a year!

Friday night was very fun and culturally stimulating. We went to dinner with Mark’s sister Sara and her boyfriend Andrew who knows all of the great spots in DC. Our Pre-Theater dinner at 1789. http://www.1789restaurant.com/main/index.shtml. It was all delicious and I was a bit annoyed with my diminished stomach capacity. After dinner we saw the National Symphony Orchestra perform Handel’s ‘Messiah’ at the Kennedy Center. It was the first time I’d been to a performance there, and our seats were close to the stage. It was nice to attend a holiday-themed event to get more into the spirit of Christmas too.

Saturday was “friend” day. We had lunch with my friends Teresa and Amanda at an Italian place. Our waiter was hilarious–but not on purpose. He just seemed like a nervous little guy and then when pouring Mark’s water, he didn’t notice he was pouring as much on the table as in the glass…so we cleaned up the puddle of water, and the waiter looked at me funny when I asked for another napkin. It was great to see them. It’s been a very long time. We got to catch up on each others lives and have a good time.

Then, later that day one of my best friends, Charlene, came with her adorable family to visit too! It was the first time I got to meet her baby–who is 7 months old now. And, her other 2 boys are so grown up and cute too! We had a nice visit, but of course it was too short. I was really happy we got to see her though.

Sunday was nice and relaxing. We had a nice breakfast and the program at church was nice. It was funny/interesting in Relief Society because there are a lot of pregnant women in the ward–which is apparently rare for them.

Monday we finished shopping and had our Christmas Eve dinner. Everything was really good. Then, on to another fun tradition in Mark’s family–decorating gingerbread houses. We’d been preparing them for a couple of days, and now we got to assemble and decorate. There was the girls team (Sara, Mom and Me), and the boys team (Mark and Andrew). Right away we could tell there would be a big difference in the houses. They started by putting a gummy shark on the roof and giant Coke bottle candies near the door. We girls had a more systematic and “aesthetically pleasing” approach.

There was definitely a lot of candy eaten and applied to both houses! We had a lot of fun too. You can look at our smugmug.com pictures to see further details of each house.  Highlights include: Gummy Bear Car Crash, Peeping Tom Gummy and War-like explosions.

We opened presents Christmas Eve so Sara and Andrew would both be there. It was fun seeing the massive pile diminish.

We were very blessed this year and everyone was very generous. Mark was overwhelmed with Wii games–we almost tripled our collection. And, I was pampered by my adorable husband with ultra soft slippers, a robe and a foot massager. (I’m also thrilled with my air popper and new hand mixer that are on their way) Mark’s mom was so wonderful and gave me a pregnancy massage at the Red Door Spa. There are more pictures on Smug Mug…but here’s one of the favorites–Andrew as a present.

Christmas was a wonderful day. We had breakfast as a family and Mark enjoyed his new games. We saw “National Treasure: Book of Secrets” and visited the Washington D.C. temple to look at the lights. They’re not as numerous at Salt Lake’s Temple Square, but just as beautiful. We enjoyed looking at the Christmas trees decorated by surrounding stakes and enjoying the spirit that is easily felt there.

On Wednesday I had my massage, and it was so relaxing. That night, we all went to a Capitals hockey game. It was fun riding the metro again and going into the city. It was a close game–the Caps trailed by 1 goal most of the game, but they came up with one more at the end to win it. That was a lot of fun. Some people are serious fans, so they’re entertaining to watch too.

Thursday was busy since we saw more family–mine this time–and I got to meet a new cousin, Lizzie. She’s really cute. And, my other little cousins are getting so big too! We had fun with them.

We had lunch with my friend Mike–always good times–before rushing off to the airport for our flight home.

Britt was not forgotten this Christmas and he got lots of great gifts too! Thank everyone! I definitely got bigger this week, and so things were suddenly harder–like bending over and walking up stairs.

New Years will be in another post…I’m pretty sure this one is long enough!

24 weeks, Yay! He’s made it. If, by some awful chance Britt was born now, he’d have a pretty good chance of surviving.

This will be a mini post, because there has been a lot that happened in the past week–namely Thanksgiving and Britt’s first baby shower, but I don’t have pictures yet. I’ve also gotten requests for updated pictures of me and my growing belly, so when I get home tonight I’ll try to remember to download them, or at least get my camera so I can do it here at work tomorrow.

So, in this post, I’ll talk about our trip to Utah. It was pretty fun. We did a lot of running around on Wednesday. My sister did my hair for me for my birthday, and we prepped for “the big meal.” On Thanksgiving day, we watched the Macy’s parade–NBC is by far the best at showing it–and finished meal prep. We had it at our house, so we didn’t have to go anywhere. My aunt’s family came, and my cousin had her baby with her–of course, like where else would she be–so, I got to see her for the first time since she was a month old. She’s adorable!

The food was delicious, of course, and even though I knew I shouldn’t, I ate a lot. I paid for it later. We went to a movie, and during the whole thing I felt like I wanted to die, my stomach was so unhappy with me. Oh well…it tasted good. I’m still getting used to the fact that my stomach can’t stretch like it used to.

Friday Mark and I got to attend the temple with my friend Leslie. It was a great experience. I was even able to sit by her during the session, so that made it even better. I’m so happy for her.

Saturday was great. My aunt Teri and cousin Cassie hosted a baby shower for Britt and me, and it was really fun. There were so many people there–a lot of whom I haven’t seen in a really long time, so it was great being able to visit with them. Britt is going to look adorable in all of his cute clothes, love his soft blankets and I’ll love using the other accessories that he probably won’t appreciate.

At the doctor’s office yesterday she said I’m the right size, and he has a good heartbeat. He started kicking while she had the doppler on my stomach, and she could see it when he kicked. Mark heard it on the doppler. I was laying back to far I guess, so I didn’t see. The rest of the day he moved a lot, and I kept trying to see my stomach move–but as soon as I’d look down, he’d stop. Funny Britt, really funny.

I think this picture is week 23….

So, other than being really busy with work–Mark especially–there isn’t a whole lot going on for me to blog about…but, since I’m sitting here at work with NOTHING to do, I decided I’d reach deep down and thing of something relatively interesting, so here it is:

We’re flying on a really cool new airline for Christmas! It’s the “Reeder family year” so we’ll be in Maryland. That’s a relatively long flight from LA, and it can get really boring without proper entertainment and comfy seats. So, I’m happy to announce the geniuses of the air Virgin Airlines are coming to America with Virgin America Airlines! Though I’ve never flown Virgin Atlantic, I hear only positive things. And, after searching multiple sites for the cheapest airfare for the holidays, we stumbled upon this gem.

I love their booking engine. It has a strip with each day of the week with the lowest one way fare for that day posted. When you click on the day, it shows your possible flight times with their prices. Kind of like Jet Blue and Southwest. So, it was relatively easy to see what days and times would work for us.

Then, upon further inspection of the site, you get a sample of their “mood lighting,” soft leather seats, personal entertainment screens, personal plugs–just like ones on the ground, like a three prong, USB and an Ethernet. I could actually bring my laptop and it will work the whole trip! Not that I would, since it’s Christmas and I’ll be on vacation, but I could. And use the cute laptop bag Mark got me last Christmas.

With the entertainment screens, you can even program your own playlist with more than 1000 songs on it. There are many, many movies to choose from, but they are pay-per-view. It does only cost $8 though, so a bargain by our standards.

I am also excited about the food situation. There are mini fridges in the cabin with chilled water so you can get it whenever you want–no more waiting for them to serve you. That’s handy when you can’t bring your own. Also, you can buy food from a menu, and they’ll bring it when you want it….not when they’re going down the aisle at their speed. This could be really great for me. I never seem to bring enough snacks.

Well, you can check it out yourself at www.virginamerica.com.

Instead of the typical friend or family filled 4th with BBQ and waterfights, Mark and I spent the day in a car….very exciting! We were on our way to Lake Powell for a long weekend with the Tate side of my family. Coming from Los Angeles, and going to the Utah side of the lake–not Page, Ariz. makes for a long drive.

One highlight–We stopped in Cedar City so I could see my adorable “niece” Kaylee who was wearing the cutest red and white striped dress–very patriotic. She seemed to like Mark too, especially when he held her in his arms and bounced his knee like he always does–annoys other people, but aparently babies like it.

Driving through small Southern Utah towns is interesting. You can’t help but marvel at how they live these simple lives of farming, ranching and running little stores or motels. The country is beautiful, however, with meandering streams and green meadows laid out for cows to eat at their leisure.

We made pretty good time and reached the Lake in the early evening. The rest of the family was there, gathered in front of the lodge sitting in camp chairs. After catching up, and eating at the little restaurant looking overthe lake at sunset, we were ready for the fireworks to begin. Interestingly, there is a sign when you enter the park nothing that fireworks are illegal. But, I guess if you’re a park employee that doesn’t apply because they do a “fireworks show” just up from the marina. It started slowly with one guy lighting them all. It was really exciting. But, it gained momentum and there were a couple of spots where there were a lot of fireworks at once. The best was after the “finale” they had a few left and one exploded near the ground. It started a small fire that got bigger and bigger. It was far enough away that we couldn’t really see how many people were down there and what they were doing, but it didn’t look like they were trying to put it out at all. It just kept getting bigger. This was more exciting than the fireworks show had been! But, finally, we saw them dousing the flames, averting a potential governmental embarrassment.

Unfortunately, I think I’ve been ruined in the fireworks show department…after years of over stimulation and amazing displays it takes a lot of fireworks in a good show to get me worked up…maybe after years of therapy I’ll be able to be content with a small show of patriotism again.

Here are some photos of our trip:
http://kirstenandmark.smugmug.com/gallery/3125052#P-1-15

Serenity, adventure, lush green and dry brown. If you’ve seen the photos we posted a couple of weeks ago, you know what I’m talking about. Maui is full of contradictions; but that’s part of what makes it such an ideal vacation spot.

Friday April 20, 2007
We went to Hawaii for our first anniversary and it was a great present for each other. Each day was filled with something different and new places to explore. We started our trip on O’ahu because it’s cheaper to fly in there, and we thought we’d be able to see one of my aunts who lives there. But, as things turned out, she was on the mainland that week! But, we made the most of it and made Laie our first stop, (after picking up our car of course). Along the way we stopped at a couple of beaches to test out the sand–very soft!

We weren’t sure if we’d actually go into the Polynesian Cultural Center when we got there, but it looked like a lot of fun and we’re glad we did, because it was really fun and interesting learning about the islands of the South Pacific. Each “Island” has its own “village” and presentation with dancers, a description of life and a little history. in Tahiti we got tatoos and made fish from leaves. (There’s a picture of me holding them back at our hotel). When we finished up there, it was getting late, but we still wanted to see the North Shore, so we drove around the top of the island as the sun was setting–very beautiful. I think we left a little too late though, because we drove most of the way back to Waikiki in the dark…oops!
Since my aunt wasn’t in town, she very kindly set us up with a hotel in Waikiki–right on the beach! We had a spectaclular corner room that looked out onto the water. It reminded us of the room we had on our honeymoon!

Saturday April 21, 2007
In the morning we watched people head out to the water and begin the long paddle out into the surf. Our breakfast was outside under a giant tree that covered the whole patio. It seemed like it had a million branches all twisted together–and the tree wasn’t very tall. Breakfast was unbelievable. Mark got French toast with coconut and macadamia nuts—I wanted to eat it all!
We had an appointment at Pearl Harbor at noon, so we made our way over and took the tour of the Arizona Memorial. It is a truly touching place. At one part, a member of the navy on the tour with us in his white uniform asked if we’d take a picture of him there…and there were tears in his eyes. It was really moving to see the reverence he had for this place.
We also got to see the USS Bowfin. It’s a submarine that was actually used in the Navy. I learned I would be very claustrophobic on one of those, and they had no personal space–5 people slept in a 7×6 space. And those were the officers.

Then, it was off to the airport and on to Maui…we had rented a Jeep wrangler, but when we got to the rental car place, they only had one with its back window missing–not ok. So, we got a convertible Sebring instead. Which, I preferred because it would get better gas mileage, and you’re not allowed to drive off road anyway. We were staying in Ka’anapali, which is on the leeward side of the island. Very dry and brown. The other side is the 2nd wettest place on earth with more than 400 inches of rain a year…but that’s where the moisture stops.

We stayed at the Ka’anapali Beach Club and it is truly a resort. We were a little overwhelmed–I’m not used to staying at really nice places. Everyone was really nice and helpful. Our room was as big as our apartment–with a bathroom as big as the bedroom! We took a stroll down by the pool and the beach–which is about 10 feet from the hotel. Because of the time difference, we were wiped out at about 9:30!

Sunday April 22, 2007
Our Anniversary! It was a good day too….we got up early and had an orientation breakfast, then headed off to church, which was right down the road. When we got there, we found out that the locals were at Stake Conference on the other side of the island! But, about 50 vacationers had shown up, so we had our own testimony meeting. It was a really spiritual meeting, in the sense that I really felt this is what the church is all about. People on vacation in Hawaii have a lot of things to do, but so many of us had chosen to come to church–at 9 am–to worship and be where we should be on the Sabbath. It really touched me.

Later, we spent the day by the pool and I got burned on my shoulders–the front part, ouch! I tried to be so careful too! Oh well. That’s my skin for you. Then, we took a drive to another town about an hour away called Paia. It’s the hippy town on the north shore known for wind surfing. The streets are lined with boutiques–clothing, art, crafts, jewelry etc. But, the bad news was they closed at 6. Mark didn’t want to be late for dinner at 8 so he had us leave really early–and we had nothing to do for a couple of hours…so we explored the other little towns in Upcountry. We even put our top down and looked at the stars for a while.
Dinner was at Mama’s Fish House–a famous and expensive place. It’s right on the beach though and they decorate with torches and have open windows. The food was delicious too! I got the salmon and it was perfectly moist and flavorful. Mark’s Mahi and Ono were tender and mild too. They also give you the native staple, poi which is mostly a palate cleanser, not too good to eat on its own. For dessert we got this thing he’d seen on their commercial that is a pastery shaped like a shell filled with cake and mouse covered in chocolate resembling a black pearl. It was good, he loved it, but I’m not a fan of passionfruit juice, which was drizzled on the plate. I highly recommend it as a place to splurge.

Monday April 23, 2007
Surfing! We learned to catch some waves with Royal Hawaiian Surf Academy. It had been really windy the night before, so we weren’t sure if they would still have the class, but they did and we only had 4 of us! Our instructor Nicole was really cool and gave us a basic lesson in standing up, then got us into the water. Lahina is a good area because it’s not too deep but has good waves. Mark did really well. In the pictures he looks like a pro surfer! I on the other hand look terrible–but we both got up a few times. One time, I even got up on my own as I was paddling out to Nicole. That was cool! We think we might try when we get back to LA, but the water is cold, so it would be an investment in a board and wetsuits. We’ll see.

After surfing we hung around Lahina for a little while, picked up some snorkel gear and headed back to the hotel. We decided it would be good to check out the fish, so we did some snorkeling right by the hotel. Since it was so windy, the water was murky and there weren’t a ton of fish to be seen.

Tuesday April 24, 2007
We almost missed our helicopter ride! We were supposed to be there at 7:30, and thought it was a 30 minute drive. Well, we ended up not getting on the road until 7:10, and it’s a 45 minute drive! We made it JUST in time for the 8 am departure! The ride was almost undescribeable though. We were in a 6 passenger + pilot helicopter and even though it had doors, I kind of felt like I would fall out when we turned. It was rainy the night before, so there were plenty of waterfalls plunging off the thousand-foot-high cliffs. Our tour was over West Maui and Molokai’i. Molokai’i is the least inhabited and developed island. Only about 6,000 people live there and it only has one stop light–or stop sign, I’m not sure which. Our pilot kept up a commentary of the history and traditions of the people that made it more than just beautiful scenery. There was still some rain and a lot of wind, so it wasn’t a very smooth flight. Poor Mark started to feel really sick towards the end of the tour so we went back over the water to smooth it out. We think the family with us probably hated us by the end–make the flight late, miss some of the scenery–oh well! We had fun. And, the pictures are great!

We decided to make this our drive to Hana day because we were already on this side of the island. People tell you to wear your swim suit, lather in sunscreen and prepare to go swimming. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t want to cooperate enough to make that happen. It was warm, but not hot. All of the stopping places had people stopped already so there was no where to park. And, because of all the rain, waterfalls were really full and raging. But, the drive was lush, green and jungle-like. They aren’t kidding when they say it takes a long time to go 36 miles! There are 600 turns and more than 50 one-lane bridges. At many places, you can’t even see the road across the valley from you because there are too many trees. This post would be too long to tell you about all the places we stopped at along the way, so check out my other website, 3daytravel.com for a full description.

Let’s just say, it was a long day. We stopped many places and it took us several hours to get to Hana. Then we continued on to the Haleakala National Park station and tried to see what all the fuss was about the Sacred Pools, but it was a no swimming day because of flood-like conditions. BUMMER!

On the drive back, we didn’t stop and it took an hour to get back to the beginning of the Hana highway, and another 45 minutes to get back to our side of the island. It was long, but we had a good day.

Wednesday April 25, 2007
We spent the morning exploring Lahina. They have a giant Banyan tree in town that is one of the craziest things I’ve seen–It grows branches from a main trunk, then starts dropping down rope-like branches than eventually grow into the ground and create new trunks that support the other branches.

We took a submarine ride to the bottom of the ocean too. We got lucky enough to sit right next to the tour guide, so my off handed questions and comments were acknowleged. Like, when I asked what one of the fish were, he told everyone. And when we saw an eel he was telling everyone how beautiful/cool they are and at the same time not paying attention I just blurted out that they’re so ugly! He paused, then said, “or ugly, depending on how you look at it.” It was really cool though. We saw a huge school of striped snapper and some predatory fish trying to break them up. We had a great time.

Later, we did some snorkeling of our own and it was really a lot better than before. There were so many fish, and really pretty colors too. What you think of a tropical fish.

Thursday April 26, 2007
This was our presentation day, so we swam in the morning, snorkeled and got ready. The rest of the day was spent in with the guy. He liked to talk a lot. We had a lot of questions, but still, he gave way too much information. And, in the end, we got a really great deal that will help us be able to take vacations with our children to thousands of places around the world and see a lot of things. Our guy, Rick, even gave us a certificate for a free painting at an art gallery kind of across the street from the hotel. We went in there a few nights ago and liked the artist, but obviously weren’t going to buy anything. So, it was fun getting to pick something out. It’s our 2nd piece of artwork for our house…and I have no idea where it will go. But, it’s an image of a Maui beach just after sunset.

Friday April 27, 2007
We had nothing planned for the day—so we just explored and snorkeled and saw tidepools and visited the Maui Ocean Center, which is a big aquarium. Mark loves them. They have all the fish we’d been seeing as we snorkeled and a lof more. They also have historical displays about the island’s history. I’ll have to post more on my site.

It was also our Luau night though–and it was great! They are very nice and friendly. We had a newlywed couple and two retired couples at our table. They are all really nice. Before dinner they have people making and selling crafts, taking pictures and making drinks. When it was time to unearth the pig, we got a great view. In front of us was none other than actor Christian Slater. He was just there, enjoying the experience too. The food was FANTASTIC, and there was so much of it! We loved the entertainment too. It told the story of Hawaii’s history through dance. If you go to Maui, definitely check out the Old Lahina Luau.

Saturday April 28, 2007
We were so sad this was our last day! Luckily our flight wasn’t until 2, so we packed up and went to the Iao Valley to see the Iao Needle. It is a big rock/narrow hill that stands apart from the others. You can’t hike to it, but can see it well enough. There are also other trails and replicas of a house, fire pit and other things from ancient daily life.

The flight was uneventful and we were sad that we had to leave this place, but look forward to coming back!

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Maui. We’ll have more details later, but for now, take a look at our pictures.