Seattle by Bus

Lisa and I took the kids to Seattle to have a little Christmas fun. At the last minute we decided to ride the bus. It's so much less stressful because you don't have to deal with parking and the kids loved the adventure and freedom to move about and no seat belts, of course. We first went to the Sheraton to check out the Gingerbread Houses. Our favorite was the Australian one with the flying kangaroo pulling Santa's sleigh. Then we headed down to Pike's Market to get some donuts followed by lunch at Beechers. Santa was walking around handing out candy canes so the kids bumped into him twice. Then we rode the carousel and headed home. We both had to be home early so it was a fun little outing and we made it back right on time. Pretty sure this won't be our last bus ride.


Heading back home over the 520 bridge. We lucked out with a gorgeous afternoon.

Budding Filmmakers

Sela, Nina, and Lauren worked very hard on a Christmas video to enter in a Disney Contest. There are thousands of entries, but they are sure that theirs will be chosen! They had a few songs provided by Disney to choose from. They chose "Naughty, Naughty Children."

Sela celebrates her 11th at Sky High!

When my friend, Jayne, suggested a joint birthday party at Sky High back in November, I jumped right on board! Knowing we would be gone all of November and returning two days before Sela's birthday, the last thing I wanted to do was stress about a party. So the Boys vs. Girls party was born! We had the girls come to our house and the boys met at Hunter's. After some mild trash-talking phone calls made to the boys' car on the drive over, we met up at Sky High and the kids (and dads!) had an absolute blast challenging each other in Dodge Ball. Jayne and I enjoyed watching these fun, competitive kids try to outlast each other. The party was the easiest birthday either of us had ever planned. They even cut and passed the cake for goodness sake! Sela had so much fun celebrating with her favorite friends and there couldn't be a nicer birthday boy to share the party with. Happy 11th Birthday, Sela and Hunter!!


Her party was on the 10th, so we had a little family celebration on the 9th.
What a fun night! We love you, Sela!

Secret Beach

The surf is too rough to swim this time of year, but Secret Beach is a fun little adventure. There are tide pools in the black lava rocks, caves, critters, a view of the lighthouse, and a stunning, often empty beach. You literally drive into what feels like someone's driveway, find the tiny path and walk down about 7 minutes. You come out of the trees onto a pristine beach. We found shelter in the caves when it started to rain, and Rollin found someone's clothes and sleeping bag tucked way in the back of the cave. I'm sure this person was in for a surprise when he returned to his bed to find it rearranged just a bit

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Packing up

The sun is setting on our time in Kauai.

 We're less than 24 hours and counting. The sun is out the kids were making a fort under the trees and now they are splashing in the pool. Our last day here couldn't be more beautiful. I am getting ready to pack up the computer and store it away until the next time, which hopefully isn't long.

Back to the cold we go!

Nina's 8th Birthday

Since this is Nina's year for a family party, she wanted to celebrate here in Kauai so Mom and Dad would be here to join the fun. We had some friends over for dinner and Nina had a Lilikoi Macadamia Nut Cake. The kids played all evening and at the end of the evening, Coppin performed a fire knife dance and played the guitar. What a fun surprise! Happy Early Birthday, Nina!

Jingle Bells? What's going on here?!

Now "Happy Birthday!"

It must be said, this man's physique puts men half his age to shame! Kauai living does a body good! And he was just getting started!

 Sela sang a song while Coppin played guitar.

Happy Birthday, Nina!