A Different Thanksgiving - Happy Birthday Garet!

For the second time in our marriage, Garet's birthday fell on Thanksgiving. In order to not have his birthday get "lost" in the festivities, I planned an overnight get-away for us. Wednesday Morning, I told him to pack his bags and his bike because we were going camping and we were dropping the kids off with his parents. My original plan was to take him down to Oak Mountain, but since he has been traveling so much, he decided he would rather go to Monte Sano (and because he knows all the trails there).

We had the BEST time on Wednesday Night...it felt just like we were married without kids again! We ate at Little Rosie's, did a little shopping and then headed up the mountain. We just sat and talked in front of the fire and made smores - it was great! I was really worried it would be too cold, but it turned out to be the perfect weather. The weather was SO perfect that I actually slept until 9 AM!! Who sleeps until 9 AM while camping?!?! I was thrilled to see a paper stand at the camp store and so I had to get my paper to plan my "Black Friday" shopping adventures:

The main reason for the camping trip was to allow Garet to mountain bike on his birthday. He actually opted to take his road bike (with bigger tires for those of you questioning his bike choice) so he could try out his new handle bars:

Garet has always wanted me to go mountain biking with him, so here was the opportunity. I didn't give up, but I did hit my fair share of trees...I even had a pedal casualty. I mean, seriously, 2 feet is just not a wide enough opening to bike through! It was fun, but I don't think he is holding his breath for my next attempt.

When we went back to pick up the kids, Garet's mom had a little turkey and dressing waiting. We, of course, ate a chocolate pie as well for Garet's birthday. The kids are getting really good at blowing out candles.

I have to say that this is one of the most nontraditional Thanksgiving's that I have ever had and it was probably my favorite! I am thankful for so many things in my life, but I am so thankful that I just got a day to rest with my best friend this year.

lu Garet - Happy Birthday!

The Long Trip Home & Kara in California?

We were not looking forward to the trip home. Over the course of 22 hours, we would be riding in 4 airplanes with two small children. Here we are walking through the Honolulu airport about 3 hours into our journey home. Levi LOVED his Cars backpack (thanks Duncan Family!) Before we left the islands, I had Levi show and tell you what he learned in Hawaii. You will hear "Aloha" a couple of times and see the "Shaka" (the Hang Loose symbol).

Here we are hanging out at LAX for our 3.5 hour layover in the middle of the night. The kids were wide awake and running all over the place. Garet & Levi in their matching shirts doing the "shaka":

So, here is my picture of Kara IN California. Garet and I have a disagreement regarding this though. I say that Kara can check CA off her list of states - she was on California ground for over 3 hours, ate there, played there, etc. Garet disagrees - he says airports don't count. Since we have lots of family in California, we should be out there again soon, but what if this was Iowa or something. Do you think we should count it or not?

We were a little delirious at this point. Just over 13 hours into the trip and I was getting tired!

The trip home went pretty good. I liked having two shorter flights instead of one long flight for the kids sake even though it took longer. It gave them a chance to run-around half way. The only problem we had was really bad turbulence for the first hour and a half out of Honolulu. Our plane kept fish tailing and that makes me SO sick. Needless to say, I had the "barf bag" open the rest of the way home which meant I did not sleep. Garet even gave me his first class upgrade from LAX-ATL - what a sweetie - but, I still couldn't fall asleep! I went 26 hours without sleep which is the longest I've ever gone and I don't recommend to anyone!

We are now home and very thankful for the opportunity we were given. There were moments that were hard (Kara's vaccination reaction, having the kids by myself without a car while Garet worked, the rain, adjusting to a different time zone, etc), but overall the trip was fun. However, Garet and I are not ready to take the kids far away anytime soon! Aloha!

Last Night in Hawaii

We stopped by Spouting Horn to see the big blow hole and to watch the sunset. It was too cloudy to see a sunset, but Spouting Horn did not disappoint. We didn't get a great picture of it, but that's OK.

We then went over to Smith's Tropical Luau with the Creamers. It was POURING down rain and so I didn't get hardly any pictures while we were there. The performers were out in the rain and I don't know how they did it! The kids really enjoyed dancing during the dining entertainment.

Polihale

Of all the beaches on the island, Polihale is my favorite. It is not easy to get to. You have to drive 4 miles over bumpy roads, but when you walk out over the dunes, it is so beautiful. There is a huge stretch of beach with nothing but ocean ahead of you. What makes it amazing is that it ends at the Na Pali Coastline.

We spent our last morning out there and it was, of course, raining, but that didn't stop us! This is where Kara and I hung out while the boys played in the water & built sand castles:Levi with the "sand bunnies" he wanted to build:I mean, how often do you get to play at the beach with this as the scenery?:Kara and I did venture out into the rain briefly...only to have her get all wet:Garet wanted to make a sand castle on the "cliff" before we left. I thought it made a cool picture:Tired from all the festivities:To give you a little idea of the terrain to and from Polihale, I filmed this on our way back. We started sliding around just as I started filming. You can hear our Hawaiian Christmas Music in the background:

Levi's Palm Tree & Friends

Everyday on our walk to the beach, Levi went crazy over these little palm trees. He thought that they were just for him & Kara since they were little. I had to get his picture next to one.

Although I have NO pictures of them, what made this trip extra special is that our friends Brad & Kendra, their son Harrison, and Brad's mom Vicky were on the trip as well. Our schedules didn't work out quite as good as we would have hoped, but we got to eat dinner together most nights as well as play on the beach together one afternoon. Here's the only picture I got of their crew! The weather was perfect that day!

Hula Pie

My favorite restaurant on Kauai is Keoki's for one reason and one reason only - Hula Pie. This is one of the best desserts ever. Levi thought so too. Towards the end of the dessert, Levi got tired and laid his head on the table, but he kept eating! That's my son!

My other favorite restaurant is Duke's (owned by the same people as Keoki's). This trip I had possibly the best fish I've ever had - Duke's Style Opah. Yum. Here's a picture of Garet & Kara at Duke's. I thought it was funny because Kara looks like she is so excited about the food!

At the playground...

We go all the way to Hawaii, and Levi kept asking to play on the playground at the beach!

The Jeep

We decided to rent a Jeep while in Hawaii. When we first arrived, they were out of 4-door Jeeps and amazingly we fit all of our luggage and the kids in a 2-door - not comfortable! Thankfully, we were able to exchange it for a bigger one the next day.

We had all these high hopes of riding around the island with the top down, but that just didn't happen. It was either raining, or it looked like rain and we were afraid we wouldn't be able to get the top up quickly and the kids would get soaked.

On one of the sunny days, I got ambitious though and I tried to "drop the top" myself. It was a horrible experience...this is NOT an easy process. I got the top down, but this was the result. Thankfully, nothing fell off the Jeep on my way home!

Overall, we were glad we got the Jeep except for when I couldn't get out of my seatbelt. Garet had to hit the release just right to get me out!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

You might think it never rains in Hawaii - unfortunately that is false. It rained most of Sunday and ALL DAY on Monday and sporadically during the week. We had to get creative with the kids...this condo is only so big and we didn't bring many toys with us!

We made a mountain out of the cushions as well as lots of forts:

We went to get ice cream:

Kara played under the coffee table:

The kids sat in their car seats forever and just laughed. I wish they were as entertained in them in the car:Levi pushed Kara around the floor on the boogie board:Did I mention we made forts?:

Levi made Kara's bed, complete with putting her dolls on the bed:The kids "hid" in the night stand:

Foggy Sunday

Our friends arrived on Saturday Night, so Sunday, we decided to drive up the Ridge to view Waimea Canyon. First order of business was a stop at the base at the Shrimp Station for Coconut Shrimp - Yum!
Waimea Canyon is nicknamed "Little Grand Canyon" and for good reason. It is an absolutely amazing site to see. At the first look-out, we were able to see a little of the canyon as the fog wasn't too bad. I think this picture of Kara is the cutest. She is holding her Hawaiian doll "Kaitlyn" in the picture - she loves that thing:The first time I looked at this picture, I thought that Harrison & Levi were leaning over the canyon guard rail and then I realized that it was just the walkway guardrail - whew!Let me preface this next picture by saying that the Kalalau Lookout at the top of the ridge is truly an amazing experience. The first time I looked over the edge, my breath was taken away and I thought "What an amazing God we have". There is this huge canyon that leads right out into the blue, blue ocean. That first time we went, there was even a rainbow leading right into the water. There is now another lookout farther up the ridge that has recently been opened: Pu'u o Kila Lookout. Garet said the view is fantastic. I couldn't wait to get to the top. As we traveled up, the fog got a little thicker and the rain started coming. I would not be deterred though. I put on my hood and trudged through the rain up to the top. And here, folks, was the view:Seriously. I was up there all alone (actually for some crazy reason, I took Kara with me in the rain) and it was so spooky. You couldn't see 10 feet over the edge. Oh well. Maybe we'll get up there again on this trip. At least the view on the way down was pretty!

Big Waves & Bikinis

As much as we love the "baby beach", Levi loves the big waves too. He is quite the character when he is out in the water. Kara in her first bikini! Swimsuits were on clearance in AL before we left, so I snagged this for $3!