What a way to start a new year......

I'm exhausted!!! The month of January is supposed to be quiet. Well, not here. With the advent of our 31st anniversary, a girl trip, an anniversary trip, and kids' b'days, January has proven to be..... BUSY!!!

Actually, I can't complain. It has all been fun. We went to the restaurant at the Four Seasons, "Vivace" for our anniversary dinner (thanks to Scott and Sharie Ferrell's Christmas present.) Beautiful, yummy, great company. Nothing to complain about. A very nice evening.

2 days later, it was off to San Antonio with the bp's to celebrate 2 special b'days. What a fun riverwalk! We had a great time. Karin brought a fun girl game, where there are written questions that you answer. I hadn't laughed so hard in a very long time! Karin should be a comedienne! We walked a lot and ate a lot and just generally had a good time. I'm lucky to have great friends!

We got home Sunday night; I did laundry, went to "cards", got ready for the next trip. I had hoped to go to Santa Clarita to celebrated Jonathan's 8th b'day, but I was soooo tired. I'm really glad that the Provosts were there to celebrate with him. I will make a very special effort to be there next year! Luckily I had sent his box of present before leaving for San Antonio. (I had also sent Krista Wischmann's gifts, as she turned 10 on Jan. 12.)

Thurs. morning, before the sun came up, we left for the airport for our trip to Maui. The flight was nice, even arriving a few minutes early, so we got to our hotel in Kihei a little after noon. We had a really nice trip. GREAT weather, fun excursions, snorkling and whale watching. I love sea life!!! We saw sooooo many turtles and fish varieties, and several whales. Lahaina is a fun town to window shop. Kihei has changed so much. I was disappointed in the fact that it's so busy. Not the sleepy, on stop sign town anymore. We actually went with a realtor to look for possible condos to buy. No luck. Everything in our price range needs lots of work, and isn't what we would want to spend any time staying in. So a vacation home is on the back burner for awhile. That's OK. The only real disappointment in our trip was the hotel. We stayed at the Marriott Wailea. It is newly acquired and in the middle of renovations. I won't go in to details. Just know that it could have been nicer for the cost!!! But our trip was a nice get away. Randy got some much-needed sleep. I just love being in a tropical setting. So we're looking forward to another trip there sometime soon. With the Fam.

Today I wrote letters to some dear local friends inviting them to join me in a fun charity group. I'll write more about that as the group develops. I hope others think it's as good an idea as I do.

And I have Julia's 6th b'day to look forward to on Wed. Jessica, O, and I are planning on going up there for the afternoon to help her celebrate. I hope it works out. I miss those kiddos!!!!

Then only one day will be left in January, and I can catch my breath. I hope to get organized with my goals- eating better, loosing the tummy, walking the miles that the girls are running to train for the 1/2 marathon (minus the long distances.) I have to get in control!!!!!!