February 2025

Winter 10 U Soccer Season "Thunder Chickens"

Winter 12U Soccer Season "Dominators"

Surfing for Jane in Haleiwa

Flying on a 10-passenger airplane to visit daddy at work and celebrate 

Kate turning 12 years old!

Visiting the famous cat sanctuary. We were told 700+ cats live here. 

Jane fell in love with this one and wanted to bring it back home to Oahu.

There are less than 10 restaurants on the island- you have to make sure you know what days/times they close or you are out of luck!

Manele Bay Beach Park

Sweetheart Rock

Tidepools

Sunset at Manele

Barbeque and roasting s'mores at the beach with our friends Jared, Kendra, and family.

Morning hike with Jared and Bryan. We saw lots of turkey, some deer, but no rams...

Although this picture was taken a couple days later, we celebrated Kate turning 12 at the Adventure Park at the Four Seasons Resort. It hovers over water and is in such a serene location in the forest. 

Happy Birthday Kate! We know you enjoyed the thrill of climbing and 

beating dad at finishing the whole course.

It was so fun to watch our friend Kae do the ropes course.

Coconut Beach

Unreal. Molokai to the left and Maui to the right. You could see and hear all the whales while enjoying the clear, still ocean water.

Look and listen!

Shipwreck Beach

Restored plantation church, Ghost town of Keomuku

As soon as we arrived home from Lanai, we just had to celebrate Kate's birthday. It's a good thing the house was already decorated for her! 

She got a portable desk, Crocs, and a carrier for her Stanley.

Jane volunteered to showcase Germany at her elementary school's Culture Day. Bryan and I both dress up in our Trachten. We gave away pretzels and washable tattoos. Initially, I was a little overwhelmed with Jane's volunteering- because that really means mom is volunteering. But it was such a great activity, and we learned some much about other cultures too.

Braces for this one! She doesn't look very excited to have braces at all! 

Valentines Party for Kate with the YW. She won the cookie decorating contest. Her crafting has really taken off this year!

Howie and June

We found a wonderful family to help with dog watching when we travel. The dogs 

play so well together.

 

August 2024

 

Jane started 4th grade. She was nervous about school this year because her BFF wasn't going to be in her classroom. 

She was excited about her teacher, Mrs. Apio.

Meanwhile, Kate was sick at home with pneumonia for a week. She was really sad to miss the first week of school.

Rebekah leads a group of women hiking every quarter. This has been our highest attended group with 7 people! We hiked the 2 mile loop at Judd Trail.

Finally!! She was able to feel better and go to school. This girl HATES missing school. This will be her last year at Kanoelani Elementary- 6th grade.

To celebrate the new school year, we took some friends to Wet N Wild with

 Auntie Koko and Uncle Jesse.

Hiking/exploring Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden.

Baby shower for my work friend, Sara.

Photos by Auntie Koko

Honolulu Century Ride 2024 - a tropical storm hit the night before, so there was a lot of debris on the roads. I think Bryan ended up getting 2 flat tires and had to Uber to the finish line because he had a plane to catch later that evening. Phew!

Kate's first attempt at making grandma's Sloppy Joes.

10 Days with Kim

While Bryan and I were being all adventurous, the girls were having the time of their lives with Kim and her family. She did a fantastic job of keeping me in the loop of what was going on and I'm certain they didn't miss us one bit!

The first few days, she hosted an art camp.

The girls got to see Kim teach piano and play with some of her stringed instruments. 

They were able to go on a hike up American Fork Canyon. Rachel and family even tagged along on this hike!

Kate loved collecting and counting the eggs.

They made their own pizzas!

Norah hosted a Disney camp and had all sorts of arts and crafts (edible ones too!).

Pretty jealous that they got to slip 'n slide down her hill!

They also went to some restaurant that only served cereal. There are all sorts of cereals to choose from, that I probably would never buy for my girls. So obviously that was a blast!

Kim even went to a birthday party that involved Bryan's side of the family. So grateful she is adventurous and willing to make my girls feel special!

She even took them to see High School Musical in the park!

And another obvious, loving on all her animals- chickens, rabbit, and dogs.

A HUGE thank you to Kim, Norah, Zander, Malachi, and Felicity for making the girls feel loved! I'm sure this transition from Texas to Kansas will be tough on their little hearts, but they were so cared for and received so much attention while in Utah. I owe you all BIG!