Easter 2011

Shelby and Claire decorating Easter eggs

Madi was so excited with all the Easter Bunny brought her!

The kids with their stash

Then we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard

After a fun morning, we enjoyed a great Sacrament Meeting at church and then stopped by the Temple for a few pics.  I LOVE to see the Temple.

The Beach

There's a beautiful beach about 10 minutes away from Dawn and David's Hawaii house.  It was so fun we went twice.

Jake and Grandpa- two of the great Carrell men

Emery, Claire and Madi with our new friend Mark who helped us build a sand castle

The castle with all it's decor- shells, coconut husks, etc.

Kailey, Shelby and Claire- the beach beauties

They're all out there except me!

Shelby and Jake catch a wave..

So so so much fun! We did have to review proper sand etiquette.  It's better to attempt to remove sand from the bottom of your bathing suit while in the water instead of standing in front of people on the beach and digging it out.  Just FYI...

A View from the Pool

We spent a lot of time at the Canoe Club Pool.

 Kailey, Emery, Danny, Jake, Claire and Grandpa

Is she happy to have her brother around?

Considering that she's pushing him away... probably not.

Madi made some good friends with that tea set.

Kailey worked on getting some color

Shelby in the hot tub

Emery worked on her swimming technique- a LOT!

They both LOVE the water

And this is the funnest Dad ever... he took his book to the pool every day and I don't think he ever had time to even open it up.  BUT when you're Mr. Popular, you have to sacrifice sometimes.

Grandpa and Madi at the Keolu Pool

Claire spent a lot of time perfecting her dives,

and cannonballs

and pencil dives.

Em worked on her rock jumps while

Shelby perfected her cannonballs.

Danny worked on his timed picture taking (and yes, Madi IS sticking her tongue out at you)

and after a few tries- decided to just have fun instead!

Zen and Inner Peace

Aunt Dawn is having a C-Section in the morning.  We want her to be relaxed and ready!  So...

 

I LOVE their fingers!

(I look a bit smirky- not peaceful and seriously- this is what Danny says is his ZEN)

(Claire's fingers win!  Perfect form)

Shelby is totally in a zen state.

Great breathing...

(Dawnie- notice the shirt- there is a message here!)

(Notice the difference in flexibility from his sisters...)

Another message... Peace out!  (He was so proud of himself.  He's trying not to smile.)

Good luck Dawn.  We love you.

What I said... What she thought I meant

Madi asked if she could put on some of my lipstick.  I said, "Yes, but only put it on the kissable parts."  (Meaning on lips ONLY...)

Apparently, any area under her nose is kissable!  She wears it well though, don't you think?

The Carrell Spa

We flew from North Carolina to Arizona and stayed overnight with Dawn and David (thanks guys!) and then flew another 6 hours to Hawaii.  The kids did well, but it was still a long, long way...

But then, I looked out and saw my little masseuses working on their dad and grandpa and suddenly everything was totally worth it.

The 3 year old and her brother

I saw these two sitting on the stairs one day and had to take a few photos.

(Look very closely here...)

I love them.

BREATHE! and Push pix

Aunt Jill and Uncle Ben just had a little baby (welcome to the world Miss Kaitlyn Liberty!) and we just felt like maybe we could help a little bit through the labor and delivery process.

Claire, Emery and Shelby demonstrate proper breathing techniques

AND...

 

PUSH!

So Jill had her baby au naturale- we're pretty sure that these pictures helped her through the tough spots.

Crazy Hair Day!

Highcroft Drive Elementary spirit week- the favorite day?-  The craziest of course!

My two favorites-  straight and curly (Shelby) and the girl with three pigs (Claire)- sorry you can't see the back.

Totally love these girls.