Monthly Archives: May 2010

May 13

Mother’s Day

When it was Mother’s Day, I had devised a little plan in my mind. I wanted to spend some time with my mom, and take the kiddos to one of my very favorite parks. It is a bit of a drive away, but well worth it. We visited a little town that my mom, my brother, and I used to call home.

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Welcome to Big Spring Park in Neosho, MO.

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The park is set up in two parts. On one side of the street there are trout and koi that you can feed, and a beautiful flower garden to stroll through.

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There are also adorable ducks that will waddle right up to you, and get you to feed them instead of the fish.

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Just across the street is a beautiful church, and a lovely park filled with lush greenery, and wildflowers. There are also caves, a wading pool, a small waterfall, and a fresh-water spring too, but I’ll get to those in a bit.

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There is a large outdoor clock, that will soon be planted with beautiful Spring blooms.

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The honeysuckle were in bloom, and the scent was heavenly.

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The big kids were excited to play on the large playground. There were swings, and slides, and plenty of room to run around.

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The little Miss was content to hang back with Mom and watch her brothers run around.

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Here is a shot of one of the natural caves around the park. Big Spring Park is also home to many walking trails, and an outdoor theater too.

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You can also visit the Big Spring located in the park. It is a fresh-water spring that runs through the park, and adds to the pretty waterfall at the entrance of the park.

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In the summertime the wading pool will be open. I’ve always loved the tall columns that are the backdrop to the wading pool.

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We spent a lovely afternoon in one of my old home-towns, and the kiddos had a wonderful time too. Dylan loved to feed the big fish and the ducks too. Thade really enjoyed playing at the park, and walking across the stone bridge over the waterfall. I was happy to make new memories with my kids too, it was a fantastic Mother’s Day.

May 12

James & Nico On A Boat

We woke up bright and early on Day 3. I spotted a pretty rainbow peeking though storm clouds in the sky. It was breezy, a little on the cool side, and the water was a bit choppy, but we were ready to head out for an oceanic adventure.

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I snapped a quick pic on my laptop before we headed off to the boat…

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The light in Hawaii was absolutely dreamy.

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We had a short little bus ride from the Hotel, and we boarded the Big Kahuna for a day out on the Ocean. We left the peaceful harbor, and headed out on the choppy waters.

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The view was incredible… Clear blue waters, and soft storm clouds rolling above the mountains.

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The boat traveled quickly, thanks to the wind and waves. James and I were fine though, we had already established our sea legs the day before, thanks to the Atlantis submarine.

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We traveled further away from the island of Oahu, and we got to see all of  the beautiful sandy shores of Waikiki Beach.

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We traveled closer to Diamond head, and even closer out to a spot to snorkel. The crew found a great spot, and said that the water was fine to jump on in. We stayed back a bit, the waves were pretty big, and neither James, nor I had ever been out snorkeling in the Ocean. Finally we got over our nerves, and the temptation to get out in the water was just too much. We jumped off the boat, and into the Pacific Ocean.

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The water was cool, but it was exciting. We saw schools of fish swim by, and even a few large curious sea turtles swam up to the boat to see what was going on. Before we knew it, our time was up in the oceanic playground, and it was time to get back on the boat. We sailed around the island for another hour or two, and then it was time to head back to the island.

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The cruise was so much fun, but it was good to be back on dry land. We only had a few more days left in paradise, and the time was passing by way too fast…

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Stay tuned for a few more Hawaii posts.

May 9

Happy Mother’s Day

Wishing all of the mommies a very Happy Mother’s Day.

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An extra special Happy Mother’s Day wish to my Mom (a.k.a. Nana)!

Thank you for all that you do, all of your hard work, and patience too.

Thank you  for always being there for us, even if it was 3:00 a.m.

Thank you for being a friend, and a listening ear.

Thank you for being supportive of me, when I became a mother too.

Happy Mother’s Day!

With love, Nicole

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May 7

Settling In, and Enjoying Hawaii

We woke up early, and it was day two in Honolulu.

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I had become attached to my early morning routine spent sitting on the balcony, and watching the waves roll in. It was fun to look down below and watch tiny people walk around on the sandy shore. We had a breakfast to attend in the morning, but the rest of the afternoon was free.

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We wandered down the beach, and found a beautiful park to visit. Then we spotted something fun in the ocean, and I was lucky enough to talk James into going along. I had read about submarine tours in a brochure in the room, and we decided that it looked like a great way to spend the morning.

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So we bought our tickets, and a short sail out into the ocean, we climbed into the Atlantis submarine.

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We dove down 100 feet into the Ocean, and saw an entire new world. There were man-made coral reefs filled with tiny tropical fish, sea urchin, and sting rays. There were sunken ships and airplanes with large sea turtles resting on their docks. It was peaceful and beautiful. The clear blue water was calming, and it was fascinating to see the Ocean life.  Taking the Atlantis submarine cruise was something that I will never forget.

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We took it easy in the afternoon, the next day would bring sailing and snorkeling, and an entire day spent on the Ocean.

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As the day carried on, we wandered down to the beach, and I snapped a few pictures of curious birds visiting the koi ponds.

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It was a quiet, lazy afternoon, but my nerves were already getting the better of me… I was getting a little worried about the snorkeling adventure.

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Stay tuned, there are a few more Hawaii posts to come.

May 3

12+ Hours And We Are There

The flight was long, and we were already feeling the effects of jet-lag kicking in, but that wasn’t keeping us from running around the Hotel and beach like little  kids.

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The Pacific Ocean was amazing, powerful, and humbling all in one. Being that I live in landlocked Kansas, it was surreal to look out and see nothing but blue skies, and bright blue water. This was our very first time to even see an Ocean, and on that first day we were out walking on the beach and enjoying the cool water as much as we could.

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I loved the palm trees with their soft, swishing palms chilling in the cool ocean breeze.

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There were cloudy, stormy skies, but we didn’t care one bit. It was absolutely beautiful in Honolulu.

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Our Hotel was right on the beach, with a great view. We were on the 22nd floor, and our room had a balcony that overlooked the harbor, and the Pacific Ocean.

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It was a beautiful combination of downtown Honolulu with amazing urban sprawl, and laid back beach culture. Made even more complete with Surfers that greeted the morning sun, and cute little birds that would perch on the balcony railing.

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It was just day one of the vacation and I was already in love with Honolulu.

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Stay tuned for even more Hawaii posts to come.