Hawaiin Holiday

The Mitchells (the whole family) are enjoying a fun holiday vacation in Hawaii. They have done several touristy things, and they managed to get some great Family Photo Shots! Enjoy.

Courtney Vacation (that keeps going and going)

Today was "back to work day" for Mark, but he came home a bit early to watch a sunset with Courtney. After the sun dipped below the ocean, we headed to the Jerk House for some Jamaican food (SPICY)! Enjoy some scenic shots below.

Courtney Vacation (again)

Today was another good diving day. We teamed up with a couple other guys, and we dove from one beach to another. We stayed close to the shore. In fact, our maximum depth was only 15 feet! But, we saw lots of coral, fans, and fish. One guy saw an octopus, but the rest of us missed it. There were also jellyfish, and one guy got scraped across the face (no serious injuries). We didn't find any conch shells this time, but Mark snagged one souvenir (below). This was probably our last dive since Courtney has to leave on Wednesday. She is still in denial about that though.

Our shell collection

Courtney Vacation (Part 10)

Today was a great day of diving! We headed out on a boat with some friends and tied up to a buoy. We sank to find a sunken barge right beneath us. Surrounding the barge were great coral walls with all kinds of fish. We managed to find: a crab, a lobster, a watch, 2 stone fish, a blue shrimp, a trumpet fish, a turtle, a Triton's Trumpet shell, a barracuda, tons of fans and corals, and many different kinds of fish. It was our best dive yet.

We also picked up some of our shells we have had cleaned from previous dives. Looking good!


We ended the night with a nice dinner at a quaint Cuban restaurant. Quite nice.

Courtney Vacation (just keeps continuing)

Today was another adventurous day. Courtney and Mark woke up early and headed to the beach. We scoured the sand for pieces of colorful glass, and we found several nice treasures. Courtney has now decided to make a mosaic out of the collection. We originally planned on snorkeling, but it was too chilly.

In the afternoon, we went on a Marine tour of the fence separating us from Communist Cuba. We received a bit of a history lesson along the way, which was quite interesting. Unfortunately, the tour was called off a tad early when gunshots were heard. Enjoy the pic below, and check out more pics by clicking on the Taylor Photos link on the right.

Courtney Vacation (continued)

Today was another good day of relaxing and having fun. Mark and Courtney took to the beach for some scuba diving and snorkeling. Courtney made a great find while scuba diving -- a Triton's Trumpet (type of shell) -- but Mark made her put it back since he wasn't sure if those were keepers. However, we did snag a couple of conch shells. After we returned to the scuba shop, we learned Triton's Trumpets are hard to find and we should have snagged it. Thus, we headed back to the beach for some snorkeling. We tried to retrace our path, but after 40 minutes, we couldn't find it. Almost ready to give up, we made one more sweep, and Courtney found her shell again! We have a guy cleaning it now. In the meantime, enjoy a couple of pics from our last diving expedition.

Katelee steals the show at Silver Dollar City

Hello Santa!

The girls make their wishes known.

Courtney said Olivia visited a Santa at the mall and ran up to him, gave him a big hug, and told him, "I love you Santa" as they were leaving.

Courtney Vacation

Well, Courtney arrived safe and sound with Mark on Thursday. The girls are enjoying some one-on-one time with the grandparents. Courtney has already been introduced to Yoga, the galley meals (Friday night was steak & lobster night), and the beaches. Saturday, we headed to a couple of beaches, although it was quite cloudy and ready to rain. We did manage to snorkel at Windmill Beach though, and there were some great sights -- eel, fish, fans. We also saw a movie last night at the outdoor theater (Four Christmases). Today has it's own agenda: church, lunch, boating, and scuba diving! Should be fun. We are headed out the door now to buy snacks and such for the day.

Stay tuned for a few pics of the girls in MO.