Hawaii - Day 1

All of our kids slept over at good friends' homes last night and I can't believe we still got up at 3:30am... That's just not right! ; )

After realizing that they changed our gate after already being dropped off at Terminal E, we booked it  over to Terminal C to arrive just in time to hear them calling our zone to board. We wanted to get some exercise on this vacation instead of just sitting on the beach (well, at least not the WHOLE time ; ) ), but didn't plan to be out of breath and drenched before we even left Houston.

Upon arriving in Lihue at 11:30am Hawaii time (13 hours after waking up), we picked up our rental car and headed to the Kapaa First Ward building for 1:00 church. This building was very unlike any I've ever seen in the church. Sacrament Meeting was held in a separate building that was almost all glass doors (you could see into the chapel from almost anywhere outside the building. It was filled to capacity and had only a couple of small A/C units that struggled to make any kind of difference. We quickly realized that a hand fan is a must and we were among the very few without one. Lesson learned for next week!

We drove to the north shore after church and  'checked in' at the Cocohut. It was a little surprising to find that nobody here locks their doors, let alone even closes the doors or windows. There wasn't even a lock on the door that could be locked. I guess we'll take our valuables with us everywhere we go!

Before it got too late we decided to call and make sure Gram Gardner was alive. No, I'm not worried about my kids... they are in good hands... It is those that have to wrangle them that I feel for ; ) - THANKS again Gram for flying in all the way from Alaska after visiting Danielle as well as all those who helped with our kids until she could get there.

After picking up some overpriced groceries, we grilled up some delicious New York steak, potatoes, onions, and Texas Toast. We still had a lot of daylight left so we decided to go for a little walk down to a nearby beach. I still can't believe Alisha was able to make the hike in a dress and flip flops, but somehow she did. No worries about the hike to Hanakapai'ai Falls tomorrow!

 

Glass Repair

In hindsight, I shouldn't have carpooled today, leaving my car as a ripe target for stray projectile rocks. I knew the lawn guys were likely going to show up today based on how long the grass was this weekend... guess I'll be getting free lawn cuts for a while...

BEFORE (or should I say AFTER the lawn guys left)

IN BETWEEN (pit stop at McDonalds)

AFTER we made a visit to our friendly neighborhood salvage yard

I would have probably been up until midnight if I didn't have a good flashlight holder ;). In the end, it only cost $45 and took just a few hours including travel time to go from a hole in the window to as good as new. :)

Baseball

Carson decided he wanted to play baseball again this spring. However, this season we decided to try out the Humble League. The past few years we played in the Kingwood League. He plays in the same league as a lot of kids in his school and class so that is fun. Plus the drive is a lot shorter. He is in the 8U League on the Rays! So far this season they have lost two games and tied one game due to having to call the game early. One of Carson's teammates (Brayden) got slammed by the ball which ended with him being taken off the field by ambulance. He is okay but not cleared to play for one week. He has an awesome black eye!  Monday night (4/8/13) they had another game.What a game it was! One Carson will never forget. He was doing well so far throughout the game. He had gotten on base every time thus far and nothing had come to him in the outfield yet. He stepped up to the plate and swung with all his might. BOOM! The ball flew through the air, dropped down just in front of the outfielders and rolled all the way to the fence. Immediately I am screaming, RUN, RUN, RUN! He rounds first and heads to second, then to third and the third base coach motions to run into home. He slid into home with a BIG HUGE GRIN plastered on his face and his arms in the air! Carson hit his FIRST HOME RUN! Here is a picture of his team after their first victory! All the kids wore eye patches to match Braydens black eye. Sorry the picture is blurry. The kids were so excited they wouldn't hold still!

Maui VS Kauai

Bridger and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary this summer! Since we haven't had a kid free vacation with each other since Carson was 7 months old (he turns 8 years old this summer) we are thinking about heading to Hawaii kid free for a week or so. We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon (Kona - big Island). We plan to spend a few days in Oahu doing all of the touristy stuff ie. pearl harbor, polynesian cultural center, etc. but then we want to island jump for the rest of the days. Do we want to visit Maui or Kauai? Things we (mostly just me) are interested in are: beaches, surfing, and hiking. Which one is better? I'm getting lots of mixed reviews online. Any suggestions?

Family Pictures

Does anyone even read this blog anymore? Oh well, I wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures from our family photos we had taken the beginning of December. Bridgers whole family was here and it was fun to have everyone together.

Merry Christmas!

Eagles

Bridger has been having lots of fun being the photographer for the Sophomore Eagles. Good thing football season is almost over, I think we are getting burned out!