Maui...

I realize that's it's been quite a while since I have posted anything.. There are periods in life where you feel as though the everyday things that are going on just aren't blog worthy. But, no worries, the Twichel family is alive and well!
We took a fabulous trip to Maui a few weeks ago.

Our flight from LA to Maui was delayed because once the plane pulled onto the runway area a large puddle appeared under the plane. Turns out there was a hydraulic fluid leak. 3 hours later we left. Abby slept on both flights to Maui and then on both flights home. The flight from Maui to La was also 3 hours late.
Abby didn't take to the ocean AT ALL but she loved the swimming pool! Those cute chubby little legs and hands were just going and going! It won't be long before she's swimming laps. Her face went into the water several times, sometimes by accident and sometimes by her choice but she just sputtered a little and kept on going. Her little pink ducky was a friend for her in the water!

We spent a LOT of time in water and on the beach which was one of the things I looking forward to. I conquered some fears and had some new experiences that really showed me a few things. One: I am capable of far more than I have allowed myself to believe. Two: It's okay to put myself out there with the potential to fail and look like a loser when I try something new. Three: I married the most amazing, supportive, understanding and self confidence building man. He has helped me to have the confidence to try new things and to know that I can do it but if I do fail he will always be there to hold me, love me and put bandaids on my scrapes (literally).

Scott body boarding

We had an amazing time snorkeling (one of those new experiences). There were two beaches right by our condo that we could walk out to and swim and snorkel. There were amazing fish and we saw huge sea turtles. The turtles were so close we could have swam up and touched them in seconds but we were smart and didn't swim closer.

One of my most memorable experiences was Stand up paddleboarding with Scott(another new experience). Scott scraped up his leg while surfing on his board and I jammed my toes pretty bad and it was still incredible!

One of our last mornings there we got up super early and drove to the top of the volcano to watch the sunrise. It was a two hour drive in pitch blackness and it was extremely misty with hairpin turns all the way up the volcano. I don't do well with heights but since I was the only one of "the kids" who was old enough to drive the rental car I couldn't just close my eyes and ignore the scariness since I was driving. It was white knuckle for a bit but I made it! It was so cold and wet at the top of the volcano!! The mist never receeded so we couldn't even see a hint of the sunrise. But, it was still a great trip and I accomplished something hard for me!
Another day Scott and I took a day trip up to Lahaina to go snorkeling and explore the area. We snorkeled at Black Rock and saw amazing fish! Some of them glowed in the light. Alas, when we went back to the van we discovered that Scott had gone snorkeling with the car keys in his pocket. They happened to be electronic keys and so the chip inside was fried. There is only one guy on the island who can fix it. So, we had to wait for him to drive out to fix it and then pay his exhorbitant fee because we had no choice. Ggrrr.... lesson learned...don't buy a car with electronic keys!
It was wonderful to get to spend so much time with family! Mom and dad Twichel were wonderful and watched Abby for us so Scott and I could get out and not have to worry about Abigail. She tried blueberries for the first time and she loved them. The blue mustache was pretty cute!

Diet Update

So, today is the middle of day 5 in the diet. AND.....I've lost five and a half pounds!!! I would have lost more if I hadn't been cheating. I wasn't at home for a day and a half and hadn't planned on being gone so the diet didn't go exactly as planned on the day by day schedule. Yesterday was supposed to be the soup, bananas and milk day but it ended up being more like bananas and veggies day. But still, with all the cheating and alterations I am pretty happy with my progress. I may not lose the 10-17 pounds the diet is supposed to help you lose but at least I'm losing something!!! Yay!!!
And also the soup wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!! It's edible :)

Cabbage Soup Diet

So, I started the army diet/cabbage soup diet yesterday. I've never done "extreme" diets before because I don't do well with being completely restricted from certain foods. Yesterday was the fruit and cabbage soup only diet. I didn't have all the food to start off the day but even so I did really well the first half of the day. The second half was hard because I still needed to cut up veggies, lots of veggies for the soup. Dealing with a teething baby who gets crankier as the day progresses is not helpful when starting a new diet that requires a lot of willpower. The soup ended up getting put on the stove around 9 and then exploding not to long after that. So, I still need to pull out the oven and clean the wall and floor next to it where the cabbage and other ingredients ended up. Yuck, not looking forward to that. So, by the time I finished making Ranch burgers for Scott's dinner I was starving and a bit frustrated so I ate half of a burger(on a whole wheat bun). Also, later that night I ate half of a graham cracker. So, my first day on the diet wasn't a huge success but it also wasn't a huge failure. So, I have decided that cutting myself a little slack if I cheat a tiny bit every day is necessary for my mental state. Now, I'm talking about the half a graham cracker kind of cheating, not the half a hamburger cheating.
Lest anyone think Scott expects me to make him dinner while I'm on the diet, he doesn't. He has told me several times that he can cook for himself. But, I had already bought the ingredients for this weeks menu and I wanted to try a new recipe and make the ranch/mozzarella burgers.
Today has been equally hard. Mostly because I haven't been able to force myself to try the soup because of it's looks. But, it's on the menu for tonight and I have committed to myself that I will eat it if it kills me, which I've heard isn't a possibility. Today I ate a whole graham cracker and a spoonful of Nutella. Sigh, so shoot me for cheating. It could be worse though. I started at 161 pounds and I will weigh myself in the morning and see if I've lost any weight. I don't anticipate losing as much as quickly as the diet says you can simply because I haven't been eating the soup and I cheated. But, any weight loss will be exciting! It may take a few extra days and that's okay.

Project for my final night of cake class.

Made for the anniversary of Barnum and Bailey forming a partnership.

St. Paddy's day Cake from my Wilton class

Abby's blessing and other moments...

Abby this past week. She pulled out her soothie and was holding it above her head when she dropped it. I just had to take a picture.

Abby, Scott and I at our apartment after Sacrament meeting where Scott gave Abby her baby blessing.

The cakes I've made this past week :)

Abigail was blessed in church today and I finished this cake early this morning, and I mean early so it isn't as perfect as I would have liked it to be. But, it didn't last long! (Buttermilk white cake with a lemon curd filling)

We had a wedding planning night for mutual and so I made a mini wedding cake and loved doing it!(Lemon and Devils Food cake layers with a strawberry/raspberry filling)

Snowman Cake