Life of Larisa or LOL

I'm sure that Jeannine thinks she is the luckiest girl in the world right now, seeing as how she just got hitched to her one true love Jay. I was thinking the label, however, belonged to me. I didn't realize how much I was in need of a girls getaway until...well, I actually got away. My trip to Kauai, this past weekend, was to be in a wedding. Not just any wedding, but a destination wedding at The Grand Hyatt for my college bud Jeannine. She lives in San Diego now, so quality time together is less and less, but the bond of sixteen years of previous fun can't be broken. In three days time, we ate, laughed, drank, enjoyed pool time, walked (a lot...the Grand Hyatt is HUGE), met new friends, shopped, and had an almost sighting of Johnny Depp . Oh yeah, and attended a really sweet wedding and reception. Congratulations Jeannine and Jay...although you shouldn't be reading this anytime soon...you should be having the time of your lives in Fiji. I am looking forward t...

We've been all over the place this past week. Seeing, eating, doing all sorts of things with our mainland ohana . Not only was it a celebration of ten years of marriage for Isom and I, it was also our nephew's sixteenth birthday---the luckiest kid ever to celebrate the big day in Hawaii. So we took the boys for shave ice (twice). I made mini cheesecakes (and a large one too). The girls went for manicures and pedicures (never have my feet and hands looked so nice). We BBQ'd , beached, and boogie boarded. And a couple of times, Isom and I were able to steal away without Gabe and enjoy a few lone moments...to enjoy other baked goods. The swap meet proved to be the same old hot place but a great photo op for me...and our brother-in-law Bill. It's great having relatives in town but if we ate and toured around like this all the time...well, I'm too scared to think about it. Our first few weeks off from school have been chocked full of fun...hopefully Gabe won'...

...every one's favorite! Today is a simple Sunday and I can't seem to keep my hands off the computer. Withdrawal from my week of not using it or blogging? I captured a few of our vacation moments via my favorite camera. Enjoy... Gabe and I ready to head out for our first full day of themeparking...super excited. Tutu and Gabe in front of one of her many villages...there should be a theme park for this! The amount of Legos used for the minis blew me away. Happy St. Patrick's Day and Happy 33rd Birthday Sarah! Magic Kingdom! Goofy! Mike making pizza at Zelo. Gabe was so excited he couldn't stop moving...thus the blurriness...has nothing at all with my lack of photo skills! The best pizza...hands down. Zelo dessert. Take out from Zelo. My new Starbucks souvenir mug from this trip.

Here's my list of why Disney is considered the happiest place on earth (although I saw more crying babies here than I have ever seen/heard in my life)...I would say it is truly a magical place though---it transformed this cynic into...well, less of one. Thanks to Tutu for a WONDERFUL trip---Disneyland, Legoland , pizza for days! 1. It's in California! Despite traffic and botox , I think California is a wonderful place...second to Hawaii of course. 2. They have pizza! Even though it was probably one of the worst cheese pizzas, it still hit the spot after waiting in line on our feet all day to ride rides. 3. Space Mountain! I can't say for sure how old I was the first time I went to Disney with Grandma. I know it was over twenty years ago though, and I still compare all roller coasters to Space Mountain. It is dark. It is fast. It is world famous. I LOVE it. 4. All the lands! Tomorrowland , Adventureland , Frontierland , Fantasyland ...each with their o...

This was our first trip (Tutu, myself, Isom, and Gabe) to Legoland. Over the past ten years, I have heard nothing but great things about Legoland. We were all excited to see millions of...LEGOS! After a six hour drive from Phoenix to Carlsbad, California, we relaxed at our hotel and tried to rest up for what we knew would be a BIG following day. Pizza, beer, and sleep and before we knew it the big day had arrived. We prepared for our day of Legos with a great continental breakfast provided by the hotel and even rode the hotel shuttle to the adventure park. When we arrived we were amazed. Legos everywhere...on the bathroom signs, inside the stores, animals in the trees, shooting out water over a man made lake, as rides...it was a sight to see. We made it around half of the park before our Legoday came to an end. Day two was even better since we were old pros. My uncle drove down from Los Angeles to meet us and we all enjoyed watching Gabe ride the rides. We lapped up some Gra...

Family. Good food. Snow. Cold. Great Beer. Fantastic presents. It's Christmas in Washington. Isom's sister and her family hosted this year's Griswold Christmas adventure (world's worst airline and flight, lost rental car reservation, dog gets into stocking and eats pounds of chocolate). And since we wanted Gabe to see snow and family this Christmas, it worked out just great. A week with The Ohumukini's was spent shopping, eating, Wii-ing, beering, movie- ing , visiting, relaxing. We missed out on seeing a few friends...it's hard to squeeze it all in. But we did enjoy Christmas eve with the Zukowski side of the family (Christmas lights tour), Christmas dinner at Shari's (marionberry pie!), Steamboat Island night of cocktails (deer everywhere), Mt. Rainier road trip (four boys, one car, 8 hours, endless snow). Enjoy the photos from the past week's adventures. You can also check out more on my Facebook page.

Thanks Santa! The big items were opened this morning in order to avoid having to deal with extra bulky travel...and I'm so glad! Gabe opened presents from friends and Japanese Santa--- Bakugan toys, Lego three in one, Japanese Army camouflaged back pack and MRE's (meal ready to eat). He is in 6 year old heaven. Isom received the elusive Keurig coffee maker (Santa found the last one on the shelf). I no longer have to suffer through baking cupcakes and cookies with a mangled wire whisk---Santa brought me the most beautiful red KitchenAid ! It really is beautiful. I don't usually marvel over the beauty of kitchen appliances, but... She speaks for herself. Now to name her.