Visit with Santa Claus

I'm going out of order again.  I took the kids to see Santa Claus at the train station tonight.  Maggie was clearly not a fan of the guy in the red suit!

By this point even Santa was wondering when I was going to take Maggie back.

The rest of the crew was in awe.

Jack took his time telling Santa the three things he wanted.

Hawaii, part 4

Here are our final days on Kauai.  This beach in Poipu was nice because it had a shallow "pool" that was good for the kids.

The beach tent was perfect for Maggie's naps.

Addie loved the beach!

Cecilia loved the beach, too!

When they weren't swimming, the kids were playing in the sand.

We were able to see many sea turtles.  Non one is allowed to touch them or get close to them, though.

We went up north to the Napali Coast to do a hike.  It was wet and slippery, so Jim hiked with Jack and Patrick, and I went to the nearby Ke'e Beach with Charlie and Maggie.  The boys saw incredible views on their hike.

Jim is holding them tightly.

The many warning signs at Ke'e Beach.

We visited another beach on our way back south.  Isn't the scenery gorgeous?  Jim is in the left tent (with a sleeping Maggie) and Auntie Kathleen and Nana are in the tent on the right.

Jack and Lukas had a lot of fun playing together.  They worked really hard drawing an airport.

My training for my second half marathon started in Kauai.  Jim had already begun training for his first full marathon.

We were lucky enough to see a Hawaiian Monk Seal on the beach one day.  They are endangered and when one comes up on a beach, a barrier is made around it so no one can disturb it.

My older brother and his wife own a business where they install solar panels.  I guess Patrick couldn't go a week without being on a roof so he climbed on the roof of the guest house.

The grandchildren with Nana and Papa:

The whole crew:

We love Hawaii!

After we checked out of our house we had a few hours until our flight to the Big Island.  We took the kids to Lydgate Beach Park to play on the playground for awhile.  Interestingly, this is the same park where my cousin got married years ago.  Jim spent the time practicing on his newly-purchased ukelele (made in Kauai).

10 months

We'll take a little break from the Hawaii pictures to bring you a few pictures of this cutie who turned 10 months old today.

Hawaii, part 3 - Helicopter Tour of Kauai

Jim and I went on helicopter tours of the island of Kauai.  With four kids to worry about, we decided to go on different helicopters...just in case.  Jim rode with David and Melanie.

This blog post will pretty much just be amazing views from the helicopter.

There is a lot of red dirt on Kauai.  It is because there is a high amount of iron oxide in the soil.  So, the island is basically rusting.  ;)

 The island is very lush.  Lots of green and lots of waterfalls.

Look at all the waterfalls!

Kauai was the least populated island we visited, and it was my favorite.

This is Hanalei Beach.  We did not see Puff, the magic dragon, there.

More waterfalls!

Jim after his tour.

I went on a tour with my parents and my brother Michael and his wife Kathleen.  It was amazing and I highly recommend it!