Collin is a teenager!

Collin turned 13 right before Christmas! I can't believe we have a teenager in the house, and neither can he. Here comes the rough years, or so I hear.

Urban Air

For his activity this year, he picked going to Urban Air again. This time Ryan picked up his friend Aidan, and they all had a great time. 

Since Aidan is also a growing teen, they went to MOD pizza afterwards, where they each ate their own entire pizza. 

Aidan got him this crazy Rubik's cube, and unlike all the 3 crazy ones Santa got him, he has still not solved this one (as of Jan 13th). Go Aidan!

21st

This year for his birthday, I took him to Walmart to spend the gift card he got from Aidan, but in his own words "everything I love is either $300 or free online" so it was an epic failure. Afterwards, I took him to Chick-fila - just the two of us - for lunch, and I think he enjoyed that more than the shopping. 

His dinner pick was carne asada tacos, and his cake was chocolate mousse pie. 

For the evening activity, he had requested that everyone stay home together and play a game. Isn't that sweet? In reality, he opened his new Raspberry Pi and decided he'd rather play with that all evening. 

***

Ahh, here comes the teen years! I love this man to pieces, but every once in a while, he forgets he loves me too. It's not pretty, and I hope we can keep those moments as few and as far between as possible. I can see his emotions ruling him more and more, and his armpits are definitely ruling out any doubt that puberty is on its way. 

Over the Break, the ortho officially cleared him to get his second round of braces, expanders and springs, so I need to get those appointments rolling. It's gonna be rough, but then it'll be done, or so I keep telling him. The good news was that the ortho no longer thinks we need to immediately remove his wisdom teeth, so we can hold off on that until he's a bit older. 

Collin is a master computer programmer, tech specialist, Rubik's cube solving (he's got 8 now!), piano performer. He played at both Ethan's baptism (duet with Nana and Ryan on violin) and in the sacrament meeting Christmas program (with Ryan on violin). He doesn't get ruffled at all, and he's not sure why others get nervous about things. The kids in his computer class at school have nicknamed him "the hacker," and he's quite proud of it. He loves the new 3D printer from Papa, and he's enjoying creating little toys with it. 

He is still excelling in school, always getting straight As. He's spent a lot of this school year alone, since I take the other three with me to the elementary school to teach every day. I've missed him, and he and Brennan are counting the days until they are both at the middle school together (in the fall). 

Collin has been the deacon's quorum president in our ward this year. With only 3 total deacons, he has to recruit older young men, the missionaries, and fathers to help them pass each week. Since Ryan was called to the Bishopric, he has also been counting the sacrament meeting attendance each week too. He's looking forward to being a member of the teacher's quorum and handing off that responsibility, I assure you, and he has never complained, and all the old ladies text me and tell me how much they love seeing him fulfilling his priesthood responsibilities. He bears his testimony in sacrament meeting from time to time, and he's given his fair share of youth sacrament meeting talks as well. 

He is super into EDM, wordless techno remixed music. He hates songs with words, and he DJs all our car rides. I'm getting a little sick of it, but I guess it's better than other types of music. He has one of Ryan's old phones that he uses as an iPod to listen to music on the bus, which has been our solution to all the bus problems we were experiencing last year (swearing, dirty language, throwing paper, etc.). He still hates riding the bus, but he suffers in silence, and I appreciate that. 

And that's our sweet 13yo Collin. 

Happy birthday, Tall-Tall! 

Thanksgiving with all the Grandparents!

For Thanksgiving this year, Grandpa & Grandma and Nana & Papa all flew in for Ethan's baptism. The Williams came on Monday evening, and the Morellos came on Wednesday. We spent a lot of time cooking and cleaning up, but we also squeezed in some fun.

THURSDAY

The Meal - I made most of the food in advance, so we mostly had to just reheat things. The biggest mishap was that I accidentally let the plastic bag around our pre-smoked turkey touch the top of the heated oven when sliding it in to reheat it. It made a nasty smell, and when we went to broil the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes several hours later, pieces of plastic rained down. Luckily, Nana carefully plucked each piece off, and we kept the whole mishap as hush-hush as possible. 

Riverwalk - After the meal and some down-time, we headed downtown to see the Christmas lights on the Riverwalk. We also took a boat ride just after dark. It was perfection! 

FRIDAY

Decorate for Christmas - I enlisted all our extra help to get our Christmas decorations up. My mom called my style "minimalist," which I'd never thought it was. Oh well, I guess when you are a tightwad and move every five years, you don't accumulate as much stuff! 

Dickens on Main in Boerne - That evening we headed to downtown Boerne for their Christmas festival. Ethan and Kate made button wreaths, and Grandma bought us all popcorn to share. Then we watched the ice carver. It was my favorite! 

SATURDAY

Ethan's baptism - Ethan was baptized on Saturday morning, and it was perfect (see prior post). Because of the special musical number, lots of this took place all week long. They played Come Follow Me. 

Ohio State v. Michigan football game - Much to all our shocks, OSU lost to Michigan this year. It's been many years since the last time that happened, so I guess we can't complain. 

You always know we've done a lot when Kate crashes. She took a good, long football nap. Good girl! 

SUNDAY

Sunday turned out to be eventful as well. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, Ryan was extended the call to become a counselor in our Bishopric. So, this Sunday morning, he was able to be ordained a high priest by Papa, and my dad and a member of the stake presidency were able to be in the circle. It was a beautiful blessing, and it really was the capstone to a perfect family weekend. During sacrament meeting he was sustained, and immediately headed up to the stand. See ya in a few years, Babe!

My parents needed to leave for the airport right after sacrament meeting, but I was super short-staffed in Primary, so Nana & Papa came in to sit with the kids in singing time. Thank you! 

***

I am working full-time now as a 4th grade long-term substitute, so life is quite different nowadays. Things are all happening at lightning speed! Ryan was supposed to have to head to Houston on Wednesday to renew his passport so he can go to Germany next week, but Covid reared its ugly head again, and Europe has shutdown with a new variant called omicron. My car, the Expedition, has been in the shop for two weeks because it needed a new transmission. $$$ And they weren't even able to finish all the other problems with it, so it'll be back in the shop for another week during Christmas Break. Sigh. What a hassle.

It sure will be nice - after Christmas - for the world to turn a little slower! 

Ethan's 8!

Ethan celebrated his 8th birthday! 

The weekend before, Ryan took him and his friend Ayden to Urban Air. 

Afterwards, they went to Wendy's for lunch. They got burgers and Frostys. Then Ayden came over to the house to play with the Laser Tag set he'd gotten him. 

The following week, on his real birthday, we went to Sonic between his and Kate's soccer games. We had chocolate cake from HEB with Cookies Over Texas ice cream for dinner. He opened his present from us - two pop-its (one Pikachu & 1 Steve) and a new Lego set, Mandalorian. Our ministering brother, Bro Roming, got him a X-Wing Lego set. 

A month later - Thanksgiving weekend - Ethan was baptized. 

Nana & Papa flew in from Boise, and Grandpa & Grandma flew in from St George. 

Nana played a piano-duet with Collin with Ryan on the violin and gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Grandma gave a talk on baptism. Grandpa & Papa were the witnesses. I led the music, and Brennan & Katelyn said the prayers. It was quite the family affair!

Ethan's baptism was amazing! I felt the Spirit so strongly. We were mildly concerned that Ethan would - in an effort to curb anxiety - act wild and not take anything seriously. Much to my joy, he was super calm and mild, and I think he had a great experience too. Everything was simple and beautiful! 

Afterwards, we had Chick-fila catering (wraps and nuggets), fruit salad, lettuce salad, chips, and Texas sheet cake while we watched the OSU v Michigan football game. 

***

Ethan has changed a lot this last year. He is doing better and better with going to the bathroom when he needs to, even though he still sometimes doesn't and then lies about it. He is now in the Gifted & Talented Program because his math skills are out-of-this-world. On the other hand, his reading fluency and comprehension are still below grade-level, so he gets pull-out help for that as well. He's read a lot the Flat Stanley books, and he likes to listen to books by Andrew Clements. 

He spends much of any free time he might have either playing Minecraft or watching YouTube. He can be quite the screen-zombie. He still loves Lego, and when I tell him to get off his tablet, he heads upstairs to build a teeny, tiny flying contraption. 

We like to call him our Snack Elf. He still loves Nutella, and he'll dip just about anything in it - goldfish, Cheez-its, pretzels, etc. - much to his siblings' disgust. 

He is no longer the easy-going, flexible man he once was. I think he got tired of everyone - especially Kate - telling him what to do, and he regularly argues with most of the family. He used to always tell us that everything was "the best ever," but he definitely isn't the "always happy" boy he once was. I guess that's just part of growing up. 

Happy 8th, E!

Happy 40ths in Kauai!

(360-degree rainbow in Kalalau Valley on Wednesday)

We got away to celebrate our 40th birthdays in Kauai! With the uptick in COVID cases because of the Delta variant and Ryan's sister Mallory having her second baby, it was really looking iffy for a long while. I am SOOO HAPPY it all worked out. Ryan's mom flew in on Sunday night, we spent Monday together, and Ryan and I left on Tuesday morning. We returned the following Tuesday morning, in awe at the beauty of this amazing world. 

DAY ONE - TRAVEL – Tues, Sept 7

A very long travel day, which concluded with an hour wait for our rental car. Not cool. 

On the way to our hotel, we drive through the Tree Tunnel, a 3-mile eucalyptus tree tunnel with over 500 overhanging trees. It all started with a cattle rancher's gift from Australia 100 yrs ago, and it's been added to ever since. 

Dinner was a peaceful beach walk from our hotel to Puka Dogs (fresh-baked buns, pineapple & mango relish, Hawaiian mustard) on the Poipu Beach. These first 2 nights we stayed in Poipu @ Marriott Waiohai Beach Club.

DAY TWO – WEST - Wed, Sept 8 (Na Pali & Waimea)

Still being on Central Time, we arose early (3am!) and packed up for a long, busy day. We started with breakfast @ Aloha Sweet Delights, where we ordered a donut with coconut filling, a cream-filled malasada and a pineapple fritter. Best ones we had all week, for sure.

Our first excursion was with Na Pali Coast Tours. It was called Morning Magic. It was a small boat that could maneuver into sea caves and tunnels. We also enjoyed snorkeling and fresh pineapple. The water was very rough, but we saw the Na Pali coast from the water, as well as the two uninhabited, off-shore islands. We saw lots of swamp and freshwater waterfalls too. Snorkeling was at a reef in a protected cove with lots of colorful fish. We saw one sea turtle too. 

After changing in the backseat of the rental car, we stopped for lunch at Da Booze Shoppe in Waimea, as recommended by our boat captain. We had furikake fries with wasabi mayo and fried mahi mahi. It was good, but we decided we weren't going to be able to take that much horseradish sauce again.

 

Next we headed up Waimea Canyon (aka "Grand Canyon of the Pacific"). We paused at a couple lookouts. First up was the Waimea Canyon Lookout where we saw the Waipo’o Falls from afar. Then we stopped at the Pu’u Hinahina Lookout, which offered a different perspective of the Canyon as well as a lookout at the Forbidden Island of Ni’ihau.

Continuing on through Waimea Canyon is Koke’e State Park. Our first hike was from the Pu’u O Kila Lookout. We did the first mile of the Pihea Trail. It was CRAZY muddy and was much more difficult than its 2-mile name suggests, but we saw the most incredible views from the ridge looking down into the lush oasis of Kalalau Valley. It is my newest favorite place on Earth (up there with Yellowstone). Our portion of the hike ended at the Pihea Overlook, which is the highest rim point of the Kalalau Valley. It was so neat to see from above what we saw from below just that morning on our boat tour. 

(See why I am obsessed!?)

Our second hike of this day was from the Kalalau Valley Overlook. We took the Kalepa Ridge Trail, which is 2 miles roundtrip, but it was steep with sharp drop-offs and very hilly. You have to walk around a “trail closed” sign and around a metal railing that acts as a barrier, but the views were worth every rule we broke to see Kalalau Beach from above! It drizzled several times on us, and the rainbows were out of this world. (The almost complete 360-degree circle at the start of the post came from this hike; it was unbelieveable!)

We were muddy and tired after such a long, full day, so we grabbed a teriyaki burger at Bubba's in Poipu as they were closing up for the night. W enjoyed the slice of pineapple on the burger and the mixed basket of fries with onion rings, and Ryan liked his chocolate milk shake. We stopped at the hot tub before bed.

DAY THREE – SOUTH – Thurs, Sept 9 (Poipu & Koloa) 

We had only snorkeled with one turtle by this point, so we requested a late checkout and went to Koloa Landing in Hanakaape Bay. On our way, we stopped at Spouting Horn, a natural lava rock hole that waves crashed into and the water shot up. Each wave was followed by a breathy exhale, which reminded us a lot of the dragon at Yellowstone.

We had a hard time finding the best place to snorkel this morning and the water was COLD and murky, so it was a challenging morning. Ryan saw one turtle, but I didn't get to see any. :-(

After showering and checking out of the hotel, we headed to Koloa Fish Market for poke bowls. Ryan got smoked marlin, and I got seared ahi. So yummy! 

After some wandering and souvenir shopping in Koloa, we took an ATV Waterfall Tour. It lasted about 4 hrs, and we traveled about 23 miles off-roading by the Koloa Sugar Mill, along the Kahili Ridge, through an old sugar plantation, visited a bunch of movie sites, through deep Hawaiian jungle, toured an abandoned WWII bunker, and drove through a hidden ½-mile tunnel. We also had a snack and swam at 2 waterfalls where Ryan did a cliff jump. We thought this would be our muddiest day, but in reality, it was just our dustiest. 

We enjoyed some much-deserved shave ice @ Koloa Mill Ice Cream before heading to our new hotel in Lihue (Kauai Beach Resort & Spa). This night we opted to skip dinner and just snack on our granola bars after a trip to the hot tub. We were just so tired...

DAY FOUR – EAST - Fri, Sept 10 (Lihue & Wailua)

Up early again, we headed to Kalapaki Bay for our guided instruction in an Outrigger Canoe. Our guide lost his whole family to the Christmas 2004 Sri Lankan tsunami after the Indian Ocean earthquake. He was amazing, and we really enjoyed our ride. 

For breakfast afterwards, we headed to Lilikoi Grill. We shared macadamia nut pancakes with lilikoi (their word for passionfruit) syrup and a too-die-for Pipikaula omelet. Seriously so good.

Now we headed into Wailua River State Park, where we took another illegal hike down to the base of the 140-foot falls from the Wailua Falls overlook. It was short hike, but we followed a steep-sloped, MUDDY trail to bottom pool to swim. Previous hikers had tied ropes onto the trees to repel down, which is probably the only reason it was even possible. The best part was being able to hike around behind the falling water! 

We enjoyed some much deserved time swimming at the hotel in the afternoon.

Now it was time to clean up and head to the Smith Family Garden Luau. We took a tram ride to view the gardens and saw the Imu Ceremony (where they uncover the buried pig). Next was dinner, where the host sang in Hawaiian to all of us celebrating birthdays. The food wasn't incredible but the atmosphere made up for it! After dinner was the luau show. It was a great time to dress-up and enjoy some culture mixed in with all our other adventuring! 

DAY FIVE – EAST – Sat, Sept 11 (Wailua & Hanalei) 

Time to checkout of our 2nd hotel now! Our first adventure of this morning was with Wailua Kayak & Canoe Deluxe River Waterfall Picnic Tour, where we took a guided kayak tour two miles to a 1-mile hike to Secret Falls, which is only accessible by kayak. I liked this excursion, but we didn't like our guide (told Dad Jokes for 4 hours straight!) and the river, trail & falls were all super crowded. 

Our snack after this adventure was at @ Wailua Shave Ice in Kapa’a. It was the absolute best shave ice! We ordered Lilikoi (passionfruit) Cream & Almond Joy. For the Almond Joy, we added ice cream underneath, and there was fudge, toasted coconut and shaved almonds on top. AHHH-mazing! 

Onward! After a shoe-change in the car, we headed to the Opaeka’a Falls Overlook. Next up was the Sleeping Giant Trail - West. It was about 3-1/2 miles roundtrip and took us about 3 hours. The views were breath-taking, but I really struggled with the steep hike on uneven terrain across Nounou Mountain. So amazing from the top though! We could see the whole river valley we'd just kayaked, as well as the volcanic crater from our ATV excursion, and the wonderful turquoise beaches and cerulean ocean in all directions. Such a pretty place.

After our hike, we headed to Dolphin Restaurant for dinner in Hanalei. We had the Rainbow Poke Bowl for an appetizer, then shared teriyaki ahi with steamed vegetables for the main course, and finished up with Hawaiian Butter Mochi with lilikoi glaze and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Seriously, the best dinner ever though super pricey! After a brief downpour, the rainbows were pretty stellar too. We even drove over to watch the yachts and sunset in Hanalei Bay afterwards.

We stayed in Princeville @ Wyndham Bali Hai Villas, where they gave us a 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo. It was a little sad to just have the two of us in such a perfect suite for our whole famly. We hit the hot tub to soothe our sore muscles and met two wonderful families, one from Lihue and the other from Seattle.

DAY SIX – NORTH – Sun, Sept 12 (Haena & Hanalei)

We grabbed a quick snack at the Hanalei grocery store, then parked in the Waipa Park & Ride to catch the 7:30am shuttle to Hāʻena State Park. 

From the State Park, we hiked 2 miles along the Kalalau Trail, starting near Ke’e Beach and hiking west along the Na Pali Coast. Two muddy, strenuous miles later, we arrived at Hanakapi’ai Beach. It is an extremely dangerous beach, so no swimming is allowed, but the sea caves and rocks to the left were awesome! 

We opted to utilized our last full-day snorkeling rather than continuing this hike to the Hanakapi’ai Waterfall (because hadn't we seen enough waterfalls by now?), so after a wardrobe change in the bathroom, we hopped back on the shuttle to go to Tunnels Beach.

 

Tunnels is a tree-lined beach near Haena County Beach Park, and we were able to spread out a blanket under the trees and snack on granola bars and trail mix for lunch. It is named for its underwater lava tube reef, and its fish and turtles didn't disappoint! We saw with one turtle and swam with him for about 5-minutes, and I was in heaven.

After some rest on the sand, we caught the shuttle back to our rental car, and headed to Hanalei Gourmet for dinner. We shared mahi fish tacos and fish & chips. We topped it off with dark chocolate cake and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. So much delicious food this trip! 

Wanting to catch as much of the beauty as possible, we walked to Hanalei Bay pier to watch the sunset. And, last but not least, we needed a bit more hot tub time to manage the soreness before some much-needed sleep. 

DAY SEVEN – NORTH – Mon, Sept 13 (Princeville & Kapa'a)

Our last morning! :-( Up early as always, we hiked to Queens Bath. It was a challenging 1-mile down a steep, muddy trail to a natural swimming pool set in the craggy lava coast of Princeville. Ryan jumped in and swam in this completely enclosed pool, which can be dangerous when the surf is rough but was perfect this morning.

After cleaning up and another late check-out, we enjoyed a snack @ Moloa’a Sunrise Juice Bar, which is a roadside stand. We didn't love their fruit juices, but other people claim they have the best fruit smoothies in the whole wide world. We had The Date With Fate & Passion Fruit Hoot. Meh.

Wanting to stay relatively clean for our red-eye flight, we did some souvenir shopping in Kapa’a. We walked along the beach on the Kauai Multi-use Trail, and we took a pic with the pineapple mural at Kauai Juice Co. We then walked about a mile to Kenji Burger for a mid-afternoon meal. Ryan had a katsu chicken sandwich, and I had my last ahi poke bowl. Man, I love those things.

After another mile walk back to our rental car, we treated ourselves to one last stop @ Wailua Shave Ice. This time we ordered another Almond Joy (of course!), and we tried the Lava Flow, which was pineapple juice and fresh strawberries with coconut foam on top. Seriously, why can't Mainland ice companies figure this out!? I'm talking to you, Kona! 

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. We returned our rental car and returned to the airport to start our long trek home. 

DAY EIGHT – TRAVEL – Tues, Sept 14

After 7 hours across the ocean and 2-1/2 hours from Denver, I went straight to bed at noon when we got home. We had a fabulous trip, and we are so glad we were able to get away to celebrate our big 40th birthdays. Thank you to Nana for keeping the kids, and to Mallory for staying pregnant a few days longer ;-) This sure is a beautiful planet! 

(The story goes that a hurricane blew through a long time ago, and a farmer's chickens got out. Now Kauai is overrun by wild chickens - on the beach, up in the mountains, on the lava rocks, among the food trucks and picnic tables - EVERYWHERE! There aren't any sea gulls, that we saw, but there are roosters cock-a-doodle-doo-ing ALL DAY LONG!)