Here is my fix for the week. I didn’t do much to this one. Since this photo was underexposed it had quite a bit of noise. I ran Noiseware and it did a pretty good job of fixing it. Then I adjusted the white balance and changed the crop a bit. That’s about it!

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While we were in Maui, Ian had a few classic moments. I already wrote about the pajama incident, but there were so many more that I don’t want to forget. One particularly memorable one involved Ian at the pool with a few of his friends.

There was one family staying at our complex that Ian and Emma spent quite a bit of time with. They had two kids–a boy about 12 and a girl about 10. They were both really nice to our kids. Ian had a great time with Robert and Emma had lots of fun with Amanda. Robert was great with all the kids. He was like the entertainment director of the group and all the kids loved him. Some days I felt like I should be paying him because he spent so much time playing with the kids.

They were a really nice family and they happened to be a little bit overweight.

Ian once referred to Robert as “puffy”. But the grand daddy of them all was another day when Ian saw Robert’s mother.

All the kids were in the pool together. Robert’s mom came up from the beach and walked up to the fence around the pool. As she walked up Ian looked over at her and said “Oh great, a whole family of chubby people, just keeps on getting chubbier”. I almost died! Luckily the mom took it in stride and started laughing. I was mortified, but what could I say? I got Ian out of the pool and talked to him about it. Hopefully it sunk in a little bit.

It isn’t the first time he has embarrassed us, and I am sure it won’t be the last!

I had such a great vacation in Maui. It was extremely relaxing. I enjoyed being away from the computer and all the new responsibilities that I have lately with my new photography business. I enjoyed just taking a few photos for fun. I really enjoyed playing with my new Canon G11 camera, too. Here are a few snapshots from our trip to the Maui Ocean Center.

And here is my last sunset of the year:

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We have been coming to Maui for Christmas for about 15 years now. The only Christmas my kids know is one spent on the beach in Maui. All of our Christmas traditions are built around things we started doing here on vacation. One of the things we always do is go to mass on Christmas eve. This year was no exception. Then we come home and have a nice dinner and let the kids open one present.

Another thing I always do is get the kids matching Christmas pajamas. This year I decided to wrap them and give them to the kids. They were all so excited to open a present, but Ian was pissed when he opened his. He took one look at them and said “Pajamas?!? I didn’t want these!!” and then proceeded to throw them across the room. I wish I had a photo to capture the absolute look of disgust on his face. It was really priceless.

Scott and I both burst out laughing. I know we should have scolded him for not being gracious when he got a gift, but we just couldn’t help it. He was just so incredulous that his gift was pajamas! Once we stopped laughing we did explain to him that he needs to be kind to the gift giver and appreciate that they gave him a gift, even if it wasn’t one he wanted. But it was still funny!

He is the funniest kid and he always has us laughing!

I have been the worst at taking photos on this trip! The good news is, I am really enjoying the trip. So much so that I want to enjoy the moments while they are happening rather than hiding behind my camera. I have so many stories I want to write about but I just haven’t wanted to sit in front of the computer.

Here are a few photos from the week.

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Emma and Ian have been really into snorkeling on this years trip to Maui. They have had snorkel and mask sets for a few years. Last year Emma started playing around with them in the pool, but breathing through the snorkel was still really a challenge for her.

This year, though, she really started to get it. She practiced a whole day in the pool and then we decided to let her try out her new skills in the ocean.

My mom and I took her to Napili beach to do a little snorkeling for real. I went in with her and was surprised at how well she did. We swam out to a shallow reef and she really enjoyed seeing all the fish. She got a little nervous when the water got deeper, but she still really enjoyed it.

A few days later Bryan and Mary planned a snorkeling trip on a boat to Molokini. I didn’t think it would be a good trip for Ian and Nora, but I thought that Emma would really like it. Scott decided to take her and have a special daddy and daughter date.

I wish I could have been there, but I was happy to hear they had a great time. They rented an underwater camera and they took a bunch of fun photos.

Here is Emma going down the slide on the boat to start snorkeling.

They had quite and eventful day. They saw all kinds of fish, a sea turtle and lots of whales!

I am so glad that they had a fun time and so thankful that I have a wonderful husband who is so involved in our kids lives!

I don’t know what is going on with my blog. GRR! I had a post all ready for “Weekly Winners” today, but I can’t get it to publish. I don’t know what is going on with my wordpress. I can’t get any posts with photos to publish. I guess I better go do some research.

How sad is it that I am in Maui with 2 cameras and the only photo I have taken is with my phone!

Here is my “weekly winner”

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Sorry I haven’t updated lately! We are having a great time in Maui and I am having a much needed break from the computer. I have hardly taken any photos on this trip, but I have done a lot of swimming and hanging out with the kids.

I did see one spectacular sunset this week. I didn’t have my camera but I snapped a photo of it with my phone. Unfortunately wordpress seems to be having some issues and I can’t post a photo. GRRR! Maybe tomorrow

Please visit Lotus at Sarcastic Mom to view all the Weekly Winners participants.