November 2023

November must have flown by! I hardly have any pictures. 

The girls have been taking Ukulele lessons since the beginning of September. They had an Ukulele Festival at the mall where they both played a couple songs. It was really fun to see everyone attend this event and how many children and adults are taking lessons.

After the performance, we hiked the Lanikai pillbox. This is a really nice hike too. It is very short, but does gain elevation fairly fast. We all love exploring the bunkers and the designs spray painted inside. At this particular location, you have beautiful views of the Moku Nui Islands. 

I'm pretty sure this weekend we went to Wet N Wild with Koko, but we don't have any pictures. I only say this because the next set of pictures I have are us hiking Waimano Falls Trail. We try to have a beach day/pool day one day of the weekend and then a hiking/adventure day the other day of the weekend. This particular hike was a little difficult only because it was muddy. The waterfall wasn't very spectacular because it has been so dry, so the three pools were stagnate water and no one wanted to touch. Initially, the hiking path was nice. But it was quick to get slippery and dirty.

I wanted a pictures of our legs to remind us of how dirty we got!

Jane is participating in a gardening club after school once a week. I think they are digging for or collecting worms in their teacher castings.

Kate's class has some type of arts and crafts about once a week, which is one of her favorite things to do. 

Some people from church invited us to do a Turkey Trot 5K. It was actually more like a 50 yard dash! The girls all got an award in their age group. I did as well. It was a great way to spend the morning before all the cooking commenced.  

We had one of Bryan's co-workers family over for Thanksgiving, along with Kristi and her friend Jesse. Everyone brought something and it turned out really nice and easy. The weather was perfect as well. It has finally cooled off some where we aren't running our air conditioning during the night.

Kristi and I decided to do family pictures at Bellows Beach Park at sunrise. They turned out awesome!

We brought Howie and he was so difficult to get any good pictures with!

This one is for our mom!

Someone asked if they could take a picture of the five of us. Ha! I'm not sure what they thought the family dynamic was here. 

For Activity Days, we showed the class how to cut snowflakes out of paper. Kate demonstrated for the class how to cut the snowflakes just right because hers turned out so well! It definitely made her feel special and needed. 

 

May and June 2023

Moving, goodbyes, and traveling.

Kate's choir group had their spring concert at the beginning of the month. I am very proud she stuck with the early morning practices two times a week for the school year. She loves to sing and was diligent in practicing at home.

Bryan and I participated in the CGSC sprint triathlon. We were surprised with the lack of participation across the base. However, we both got 1st place in our age groups! The run was the hardest part for me...

After we cleaned up, we drove to Lincoln, Nebraska to participate in a 1/2 marathon the next day. The run really killed me then! Bryan did awesome as usual. I was having trouble breathing/coughing from a lingering sinus infection. It was rough- but I got my Nebraska medal! 

We drove back after the race to watch the NASCAR 400 at the Kansas City Speedway. The people watching was AMAZING! Definitely not our crowd, but worth staring. The girls like it for about 30 minutes and then they were ready to jet. Lots of noise- even with earplugs. 

I took a trip with my sisters and dad to San Francisco. We visited out old home. We rode on the hop on and hop off bus. We ate yummy sour dough bread at the pier. We hung off a trolley. We visited Chinatown and ate fortune cookies. And then we participated in the Bay to Breakers. My dad did this race multiple times while we lived in SF. Kristi invited Linsey to do it for her birthday. Linsey invited dad because she thought it would be fun for him to remanence. I invited myself because I didn't want to miss out. I'm glad they let me tag along. What I didn't plan for was our household items being packed while I was gone. Let's just say I was stressed during the packing and preparing the house before this trip.  

Kristi and Linsey got us these lovely suits to wear during the run. The polyester made the running miserable! Dad was such a good sport. 

While I was away for the weekend, Kate attended a birthday party for her best friend Eloise. She and another girl had a sleepover after the party. Kate is really going to miss her friend. I really hope she keeps up with her via FaceTime and as a pen pal.

We had one last dinner with out friends the Walkers and Jacksons. I just love these cute girls!

The last week of school was very hard for all. I was told by some of the teachers that the kids were all sad about leaving. No one wanted summer to come because that would mean moving away from each other. The school tried to make it fun with dress up days and outside activities. But that last day of school was hard. I have never seen so many children crying when they were released for summer break. I didn't really know what to do. I am glad I have pictures to help remind them of the good times. 

My work threw me a going away party- Hawaiian themed- how fitting!

This move was pretty stressful. Trying to figure out what to do with guns, ammo, winter clothes, skiis. Wishing we had been more prepared or alert while they were packing Bryan's guns. Realizing I forgot to take the clothes out of the dryer to pack before it did. Looking more into the details of having a company ship our dog. Picking dates that worked better for our schedule... so much stress!

Jane had her last soccer game of the spring. Bryan was the assistant coach this go around. Jane had lots of improvements. I love watching her play.

Last day at MacArthur Elementary School.

The neighborhood gang.

The mom's of the neighborhood gang. Sherry had an ice cream social after school let out. The girls were too upset to hang out with friends. They got ice cream and then headed home. 

The only thing they were looking forward to on the last day of school was the opening of the neighborhood swimming pool. The water was absolutely freezing, but both girls wanted to go off the high dive.

Toni and her family met us there for one last laugh!

The next day, we started our adventure to the Pacific Ocean. We first drove to Omaha, Nebraska to meet with some of our old friends from Germany- the Eickbush family. We met them at the "world renown" zoo and then hung out at their house for the remainder of the day. Bryan and I talked about how great of hosts they were and how we wanted to be more like that at our new location. Our kids got along so well. So glad we were able to reconnect!

The next day, we took off to visit the Badlands and Wall Drug store. Both are worthy of a visit. Unfortunately, we didn't realize how far away they were from Kansas City. Maps can be so deceiving! Bryan had to return for CGSC graduation, check out of housing, and travel to Dallas to work at his newly purchased optometry practice for 3 weeks. We were really glad he hung out with us for Memorial weekend!

The girls loved feeding the prairie dogs. 

Next stop, Mount Rushmore.

 

I stopped at this drive through zoo called Bear Country, after visiting Mount Rushmore. Our friends had mentioned this attraction and it has been my most favorite thing. 

We also made a stop at Devil's Tower or Bear Lodge. Unfortunately, we couldn't do much exploring because the park doesn't allow dogs on their paved pathways. 

Our last stop before Utah was visiting my brother and his family at Bear Lake. We haven't seen them since October 2021 in Mexico. We stayed at my parents lake house for the week enjoying the quiet. I loved letting Howie explore the mountainside. I loved morning walks up and down the roadways observing wildlife. I loved watching my girls build a fort. I loved puzzling with my dad. 

When we finally got to Utah, I cleaned out the truck and sold it that day! Of course, that was not the plan. But it worked out. 

The girls and I visited Debbie's grave. We also visited some other relative's graves in Salt Lake City with my mom and dad. They drove us around where they used to live, play, and go to school. It was nice to hear their stories and talk about our ancestors. 

Kristi came home to attend her annual training with the Reserves. It made me realize that I am so glad I don't have to do that anymore. Ha!

We hiked Stewart Falls with Becky's family and Rachel's family one evening.

We visited to poppy fields up in Alpine.

We went to the Saratoga Spring's Temple open house with Linsey's family.

Kate and Jane took a cooking course. They learned how to cook chicken nuggets, alfredo, pies, and other treats. 

We went swimming at the community pool with cousins.

Stacey came out to visit us! We took her on a hike up Bell's canyon. 

We taught her how to play pickle ball.

Howie wasn't allowed in grandma's house unless she was out of town. I'm not sure which kid took this picture, but it is super cute!

Bryan ended up staying with one of his cousins- Evan- in Dallas. They went ski diving together one weekend. I am glad Bryan is keeping up with this hobby!

I went on a hike with Becky, Rachel, and Evan up to Silver Lake in American Fork Canyon. The lake still had lots of ice and debris, so it wasn't as beautiful as we was expecting. 

The girls did a theatre camp for a week with Rachel's kids. They performed a play called Frostbite, a tale of two sisters, the evening of the last day of camp. Kate got a lead role- Mother Troll. She had a couple lines throughout and even sang a solo! Jane was a snowflake and had a few lines and a singing part as well. They were both terrified to be part of the camp, but in the end, they were so excited and nervous and proud of overcoming their fears. It was such a fun piece to watch. I really hope they want to continue acting in shows/plays like this one at our new location.

I got to visit with some of my high school friends- Erica and Ashley. We went to Liberty Park in Salt Lake City and rode the train, Ferris wheel, and paddle boat. Then we had a picnic and showed off our skills with some cartwheels. It was really nice to catch up, even with the limited time.