2016 Christmas letter

Hello family and friends:

I hope this letter finds everyone doing well.  We’ve had another blessed year and hope you have as well.

I am at TI still and doing the same job of WW Product Training.  This year I built a small team and ended up getting some very positive feedback from management at the end of the year.  I’m enjoying what I’m doing and hope I can continue to add value at TI.  I went to China a few times this year and a little domestic travel, but not too much.   I'm still communications chair for the school PTA and co-leading Kasey's Daisy troop.   In October I decided that I needed to get back to the gym and work on losing some weight.   I started going to Dallas Underground Strength and Fitness on Halloween.  Not sure this is the best time of year to do this, but I did anyway.   I have been doing similar to whole 30 diet and working out 3 times a week (boot camp style).  I’ve lost 15 pounds.  I’m not skinny, but I’m going in the right direction.   I’m eating better and getting regular exercise which is always good.

Greg is still working part time, leading cub scout activities, and helping with all of Landon’s sports.  He’s still doing a lot around the house.  Trying to find food that kids will eat (sometimes challenging these days), helping run errands and keeping me sane (most of the time).  We had a disappointing A&M football season, but we’re still going to the bowl game in Houston. 

We took a few vacations this year.    We surprised the kids with spring break in Disneyland.   We flew into Orange County so they didn’t really know where we were going.   When we got there driving in the car they saw buses that said Disneyland and figured it out.  Loved seeing their faces.   We had a great time at both parks riding rides, getting our pictures with some characters and of course eating afternoon ice cream.

In the summer we took the kids to Hawaii for the first time.  It’s still one of our favorite places in the world.   We went to Kauai.    We stayed part of the time in the southern part right on the coast.  The place we rented had a patio where we could watch the waves crash into the shore.  We even saw turtles and dolphins.  Then we stayed up in the northern part for a while.  The place we stayed there wasn’t on the water, but the kids had their own rooms.   We had a great time horseback riding, tubing, deep sea fishing, and boat ride and snorkeling on Napoli coast.  

Kasey is now 8.   She's in 2^nd grade.   She’s still taking Hip Hop dance, playing piano and in girl scouts.  This year she also tried out and was selected to compete on 2^nd grade storytelling UIL team.   With her interest in theater and being dramatic in general, hopefully she’ll do well.  She’s at least enjoying it.   With girl scouts we went to Camp Bette Perot for the first time.  The girls slept in their own cabins which means they didn’t sleep a ton, but we all had a good time.   This fall Kasey needed some new clothes so my mom, Greg’s mom, Kasey and I all went shopping.  We had fun seeing her try on clothes and get excited about them. It reminded me of shopping with my mom when I was young.  Kasey enjoying helping with cooking and when she’s in the mood she has a great memory.   This year Kasey also started texting.  Just family some, but she really enjoys it.  She’s been pretending that she’s texting people for years now.

Landon is now 10 1/2, and is getting bigger all the time.  He's still playing sports year round including baseball, soccer, basketball and flag football.  He’s also still playing piano. Landon is also Webelos II in cub scouts.  He’s spent a lot of time this fall meeting and camping with boy scout troops as they decide which troop they will join next Spring.   About 5 of the boys from our Den are going to all join the same Troop together.   Our boys will join them on big camping trip for a few weeks this summer.  I’m excited about new opportunities and adventures Landon will on in boy scouts.  Landon’s fall baseball team placed 2^nd – such a fun group of boys and families.  Landon is doing well in school and having a pretty good year so far.  He enjoys playing video games more and more it seems.  Landon and I also enjoy watching superhero TV shows and movies.   The Flash is his favorite TV show and he really likes Iron Man and Captain America.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year.  May God Bless you this 

coming year.

Love,     Dana, Greg, Landon, Kasey & Patch Myers

November 2016

11/29 - It was a week of all day meetings at work.  Tonight we had a celebration together with our WW team.  We had decided to do a small gift exchange people bring things from where they are from.   It was neat with a German bear, tea and ornament from China, Japanese coasters, Russian nesting dolls, Boston and LA coffee mugs, a few Texas ornaments, a pie server from Nicaragua  and some other things.  It was fun hanging out outside of work.

11/26 - I woke up at 5 something, didn't feel well and got sick.  Not good for a busy day and party at our house with family.   Needless to say whatever I had knocked me out and kept me in bed most of the day.  Not fun, but it was interesting to listen to Thanksgiving.  I came out a few times to say hi, sing happy birthday to Kasey and watch her open presents.  I spent the rest of the time in bed with the dog.

The family had fun though talking, eating, enjoying each other.  Kasey had a fun time getting lots of new clothes and a sewing machine.   

11/25 - We headed home and started getting ready for Kasey's family birthday and our Thanksgiving.   We went to Mi CoCina, made peaches, Greg made Pecan pie and we made apple pie together.   

11/24 - Thanksgiving Day.  We got up and had breakfast.  Greg made us eggs and bacon.  Then we headed to Conroe to spend a few hours with family.  We got to spend a little time with Skylar and got to meet our new cousin Bradley.  It was a short but good visit.  Kasey got to spend some time with the little ones and play with her cousin Ayla.   Kasey got a few sweet BDay presents from cousins which was very sweet.

About noon we headed back to College Station to beat traffic.   We decided to go to Wings and More for some food - bad decision - wings weren't very good.  Then we went to tailgate with friends and spent the afternoon eating some, having some drinks, boys played football, Kasey drew, we watched some football and got ready for the game.

Unfortunately A&M lost again.   Still having problems with the peanut guy above us.  Kasey got sick again in the middle of the night, but made it to the bathroom and was able to go back to sleep pretty fast.  She was fine the next morning.

11/23 - I worked the first two days of break.   Wednesday morning I went to work out, we got packed up and headed to college station.  We stopped outside Mexia to eat some BBQ.  They had lost power but could still do sandwiches and meat.  I was trying to stick to my diet so I had meat and tea.  We dropped our stuff at the house we rented, and went to do some shopping at a couple places.  Then we went back to get ready we had reservations at a steakhouse in town Republic.  Nice place.   We had some salads, kids got appetizers, and we got steaks.  Food was just ok, but we still enjoy nicer dinners.

The house we stayed at had a bunch of chickens in the back yard.  We could have taken eggs from back there, but kids didn't want to eat them they wanted the chickens to have babies.   

After dinner we went to Northgate for a little bit.  The Chicken was full so we went to Duddleys.  The Steiners were there as well.   We played large connect 4 and some pool.

11/19 - Kasey didn't really want much for her birthday and could use some new clothes so Kasey, the grandmothers and I went to Kohls birthday shopping.   We all had a great time with her trying on clothes, she got some jewelry, and a new watch.  Really a whole new wardrobe.   It was a lot of fun though and reminded me of shopping with my mom.  Afterwards Kasey said that the grandmothers really know how to help with picking clothes because they had experience with Cindy and I.  It was cute.

We all stayed home for the weekend instead of going to the A&M game.  We did some stuff around the house, watched A&M barely win (or it seemed they barely won).

11/18 - Landon got to go to friends birthday party, and we had a friend party at our house for Kasey.  9 girls 7 to 9 years old.   We started out hanging out and girls running around.   We spent most of the time decorating cupcakes.  Kasey wanted vanilla cupcakes and we made 10 different colors of icing of her choice.   We had all the girls try out the piping bags with different tips and colors on wax paper.  One of the girls made a flamingo.  Then they started decorating cupcakes.  They each got to do it their way, with the colors they wanted and they were all different.  Each of them decorated 5 cupcakes and got to pick the one they ate.   Each of them got to bring 4 decorated cupcakes home.

We played a few games during the night - we played telephone which is always funny, we played charades where they acted something out  which is funny.  All the girls had pizza and their cupcake.  We opened Kasey's gifts, and then it got a bit crazy.  Girls were running around, tearing up paper from gifts.  Maybe it was the sugar.  At any rate, I think they had a fun time and enjoyed something a little different.

11/15 - Yankees played playoff baseball game.  They ended up winning and get to play in the championship later this week.  Landon walked and got a run, and he also stopped a ball and 2nd and threw to first for an out.  Go Yankees.   It was a little chilly but luckily Greg brought me a jacket and Grammy shared her blanket with me.

11/11-11/13 -I started the day doing a day of impact with TI.  Several of us went to a neighborhood in Dallas where several veterans lived.   We spend time cleaning up their community garden, painting a house, helping build a fence, moving away brush.  It was a nice way to give back with United Way and Habitat for Humanity.  

Later we went to college station for the weekend.   After Landon's baseball playoff got scheduled we were able to go down the whole weekend.  We left right after school and went down.  We went to Fox and Hound to watch the US play Mexico - they lost.   We hung out Saturday watching football at the house we rented.  Got a late lunch then headed to northgate for a little while before the game.  Greg and Landon went to park the car.  They played some football then headed to the MSC.   A&M was leading most of the game til the very end.  It was very hard to watch and a bad week to lose.  We all went back to the house, got the kids in bed and stayed up a bit complaining.

There is a man that sits behind us that eats peanuts and the shells fall down on us.  Kasey is allergic and even with benadryl  she's gotten sick after 2 games we think with that.   Poor thing.  She got sick once at night, then got sick most of the morning.   By bedtime she was feeling better but missed a fun girl scout meeting today.

11/4 - 11/6 - Landon was playing as a guest player in soccer tournament this weekend with some friends from school.   The team played well over the weekend and ended up winning the tournament.  Landon enjoyed playing with friends and being out there.   We all got a little wet but it was good.  Landon didn't play very much but still got a medal with the team.

Landon also had a baseball game Saturday with a really good team.  It was tough and Yankees lost.  On to playoffs next

11/3 - Landon and I try to share favorites and some stories at bedtime.  One thing he has laughed out loud about was that I took speed walking in college - he still thinks thats one of the dumbest things he's ever heard of.  Tonight he told me it takes him a while to go to sleep.  i told him to turn his brain off (ha).  I told him to lay down and relax his whole body from his toes to his head.  He had another laughing moment saying that was almost as dumb as speed walking.  Made me laugh.   When I was young I would relax with my grandmother.  She had a tape that would tell you to relax your toes, then your feet, your legs etc.   I think it was some kind of weightloss thing but I remember it.

October 2016

10/31 - We had another fun Halloween.   Greg wasn't feeling great so he stayed home.  We went to the Cracknells for some dinner and drinks.   We got some pictures and then headed out.  The older boys decided they didn't want to trick or treat with the girls.   So most of the moms and I went with the girls and a few parents with the boys.  The girls had fun running around and getting candy.  We saw the boys a few times.  Landon was running with candy in his hand.  I told him to stop eating til we got home.   We ended up at Kasey's kindergarten's teachers house which is always fun.   We were all a bit tired but had a fun night.

The boys went back to the Cracknells and sorted and traded some candy.  They said they had a good time too.  Landon was really excited that one of our close neighbors gave him a full size candy bar

10/25 - Landon had a make up baseball game.  Yankees won.  Landon got an RBI and walked.  Go Yankees

10/23 - We slept in some.  Kids slept til almost 8,and didn't come down til 8.  We slept in some more and then went to bonnie ruth as a family.  Yummy, but made me want a nap.  We walked the dog but mainly chilled out.  Landon had a last minute mini basketball practice.  We went to Mi Cocina for dinner since we didn't get to go end of the week.

10/22 - Kasey and I had all day girl scout camping training.  We had to leave about 7:30 to get there in time.   We spent the morning and part of the afternoon taking sessions to learn about girl scout camping.  We started with cooking - we learned how to teach knife safety -passing and cutting with knives.  We learned how to make a box oven and made some cookies in one.   Then we moved to cleaning - learning how to clean dishes, use dip bags and then we learned how to to clover and square knot.

Next we moved to fire area - worked on building and putting out wood fires and using burner stove.  After that was lunch. We had a picnic together on a blanket under a tree.   After lunch we started with learning what kind of things we should take on campouts including what girls should bring and own and what the troop should bring.   Next we learned about buddies, how to walk with the girl to keep them safe, fire covers if needed.    Last we set up a tent and tore it down.  At each station ladies gave us suggestions and tips and tricks which were great.

Last thing we did was cook with a group of us.  We had 3 girls and 6 adults.  The girls cut up lettucs, tomato, avacado, and onions.   We made beef and cheese sauce to go on top of nachos.  Everyone enjoyed them.  We made smores with ice cream cones, chocolate chips and marshmallows.   All good.

The girls did great, cutting, mixing, stiring, stuffing cones etc.  Kasey told me later I didn't do anything - making sure she's doing thing safely is nothing :)

10/21 - We had Norton Fall Festival at the school.  We ate some burgers, some homemade desserts and then as soon as we barely had finished Landon was off the play.  Greg and I went to check out Landon's pinball machine that he made.   Then we headed outside to say hi to other parents and look around for kids.  They had tons of games, bounce houses, human fooseball.  The kids were running around having fun.   Good times

10/16 - We didn't get up til after 7 today.   I got up and got ready.  Had the girls packing, starting to clean up.    We headed up to breakfast - unfortunately Kasey lost it and had a breakdown (from being tired)

Before breakfast we looked outside our cabins and there was a deer that was walking around.   We all stood outside watching it.  It came pretty close to the girls cabin and one of our leaders.

After some breakfast tacos and thanking the cooks for the weekend, we headed back to our cabin.  We got packed up and girls had to sweep everything up in their cabins then get everything to the cars.  We got wrapped up and waited for them to check us out.   Once we were checked out we took off pretty fast heading home.

In my car the kids played card game and wrote stories to each other.   We were all a bit tired, but had a really good time.  I think the girls got to know each other better and we only had a few melt downs.  Overall a success

10/15 - I got up a little before 6:30 to get ready before the kids needed to get up.  Most of them were up already.   We all got ready and headed to breakfast.  We found our way, went to flag up.  The 10 girls sat together at a table - the adults ended up standing.  We had eggs, bacon and biscuits.

After breakfast we headed to the equestrian center.   The girls earned a horse badge and then we got to ride horses on a trail for a while.  For the horse badge they taught them about body parts (general ones), how to care for horses, what they eat, what they need to survive.  Then we got to help groom a few horses using different brushes.   Then we got boots on and helmets and were ready for our trail ride.   It was very peaceful and nice.   Some of the girls this was their first time on a horse which was fun.  The girls seemed to enjoy it.  With all the walking we had walked over 10k steps before lunch

After that was lunch - yummy nachos/taco salad.  The girls enjoyed it.   Keep in mind that after every meal the girls had to clear their tables of plates, silverware and cups.  Our afternoon activities got pushed a bit, but we started a big Bog tour after lunch.

Our guide helped look for some bugs for the girls, we helped clear out the path, and we were all looking around a bit.  It was warm but the girls did well.

After our hike we actually got some turtle time (rest time).  The girls got to hang out on their own in our camp area.  

Next we went to earn our bug badge.  One of the older girls did a good job teaching girls about bugs.  They made little lightning bug bottles with glow in the dark playdoh and sticks.  They also made posters of an ant to earn main body parts.   We ended this a little early so we went back to our cabins before dinner

Then we practiced our skit a few times.   Kasey had come up with the idea for the skit and the girls did great performing it and making it their own.

We walked to dinner for some spaghetti, meatballs and green beans.   After dinner our troop had cleanup duty with one of the older troops.   Girls had to wash off tables and benches and sweep the whole floor.  They all helped out and got it done.  Next we walked to campfire.   They sang some songs at the beginning.  then all the troops did their skits.  Our girls did great, they were loud and really cute.  So proud of them.  Their skit pretended they were at chick-fil-a ordering food (as various animals).  Then they figured out they didn't have money.  Super Girl scout came in to save the day.  Then they got their food and took off to celebrate.

We decided to not do the night activities because it was already 9pm.  We took the girls back.  Cabin 5 did their version of Annie its a Hard Knock Life.  Then it was bedtime.  At least they got to bed earlier.

10/14 - We were taking 10 Brownies (Girl Scouts) on our first camp out at Camp Betty Perot.   We left not long after school was out.  3 cars, 3 moms and 10 2nd graders.  The girls did well in the car.  We drove to Athens, TX and had dinner at Mooyah.   The girls had fun and were excited.

We headed on to camp and went to our camp area.   It was starting to get dark.  We got all the girls stuff into the cabins and got their beds ready.  At girl scout camp the girls sleep separate from the adults.  So we had a Leaders cabin with 7 of us and there were 4 girl cabins.  With our 10 we had 4 girls in one cabin and 6 in the other.   They set up by their camp buddies.   There was a separate cabin with bathrooms, showers, sinks etc.

We got the girls in bed around 9:35-9:45pm - a bit late, but then they didn't go to sleep.   They were up many times going to the restroom - little girls running across with their flashlights.  Finally they went to sleep - way late.  Then we got to go to sleep.

10/13-14 - We had  parent teacher conferences for both kiddos  Overall pretty good.   Both had at least to me interesting areas of improvement.  Kasey to stop talking like a baby - we've been bugging her on that for a while.  And Landon to participate more.   He usually does, but kind of seems in a funk a bit this year.  Might just be his age.

10/10 - I took the day off since kids had off.  We didn't do a lot.  Landon was still camping with cub scouts.  Kasey and I went to the nail salon - we haven't been in a long time.  Landon got home and we went to lunch and did some halloween shopping.  Landon still can't figure out what he wants to be for halloween

10/9 - We got up, headed to breakfast place that had over an hour wait time 3 minutes after they opened.  apparently people get there an hour early to get their name on the list.  We went somewhere else and had a good breakfast.  Then we headed back to pack up.  Went to do some aggie shopping and then drove home to get Patch and chill out.

10/8 - We got up and got ready then decided we were going to Northgate before the game.   We ended up in Duddley's.  After a bit we went to get Freebirds for lunch.   After yummy lunch, some beer and watching Texas vs Oklahoma.   Then we went over to our parking spot and tried to find my cousin Lauren.   We found her on the way to the game and got to catch up 

A&M played a crazy game.  It should have been 42 to 35 A&M, but at 1 yardline guy got ball stripped and turned the ball over.  Anyway, the game went into 2 overtimes.  A&M won with interception and the crowd erupted.  It was awesome but shouldn't have been that hard.

After the game we headed to Northgate and had a dinner at a cool brewery down there.  The girls played some bean bag toss and Kasey got really excited that she got a few in.

10/7 - Greg left early to go get camp sites for Landon's pack campout.   I got the kids to school in the rain (early) and then a co-worker picked me up to take me to work.  With the rain it took us an hour to get there.

Anyway, Greg got Landon off to camping with the Pack.  Then he came to pick me up at work about 4:30 with Kasey so that we could drive to College Station.  We had dinner reservations and got there just a few minutes late.   We had a good dinner.   We took the girls back to the house we rented to get them to bed.   Some of the boys went out for a few drinks.

10/2 - We had lunch with Grammy, Gramps, our cousin Erica and her friend.  Mexigo is always yummy.     Then we came back to the house for a bit.  The kids played a little piano and we hung out and talked.

Then Erica went with us to girl scout meeting.  She did an awesome job teaching the girls about about first aid.   She's a paramedic and helped them understand their first aid kits, understanding 911 and how to take care of minor scrapes.

10/1 - We got up not to early.  Kasey and I took Patch  for a long walk while the boys went to watch friends play soccer

We were all in town this weekend.  Landon got to play baseball which was fun - feels like forever.   Landon had a good game.  He played 2nd base.  He got a double play catching a ball then running to 2nd to get the 3rd out of the inning.  He got two hits and scored the tying run so that we got to play another inning.  Yankees were home so we were able to pull it out in the end to win.

After the game we went to Elkes' - feels like we forever as well.  Grammy, Gramps and Grandma came with us as well.  After that we did a little Bday shopping.

That night Landon had a friend birthday party.  Kasey and I went as well for dinner and to hang out outside.   Then Kasey, Chloe and I came home for slumber party while Landon and the boys went to have their own sleepover.   I think everyone had fun

September 2016

9/28 - Landon worked out with soccer team of some friends that he used to play with.  He seemed to enjoy it and got some excerside in

9/27 - Tonight the Landon's cub scout den and some of the girl scout siblings including Kasey got to go to City Hall.  They got to meet the Mayor and ask him questions.  The boys then did color guard to present the flags and say pledge of allegiance.  Landon read for the color guard.   Then we stayed for parts of the meeting so they could see how it went.  A bit after 7:30 we left.  Outside was a mommy bunny and her 2 little baby bunnies.  The kids really enjoyed that.

9/24 - Greg and Landon got up and left about 6:40am to head to boy scout camp out.   Kasey had woken up in the middle of the night needing allergy medicine, but slept in til 7:40ish.  She took Patch outside for a bit while I rested until 8.  We got up, got ready, ran by Chick fil a for breakfast and I took Kasey to Creative Dramatics camp at the Allen High school.  I got to run a few errands, do a little shopping and veg and watch TV with patch while she was there.

I went back to see her very short performance at 3 and she was excited.  The did a little performance - Kasey was a bunny named Abby (after cousins dog).  She had a few lines.  She was really excited about making her own costume - with bunny ears and tail.  I think she really had fun at it.

After camp we went to get a bday present for friend, went to look at halloween costumes and then picked up early dinner at freebirds.  We came home to eat with Patch.  We watched Mamma Mia, and then hung out and started a little bit of a hallmark movie

9/21 - 23 - 5th Grade Sky Ranch trip

I went with Landon to Sky Ranch which was really fun.   I had a group of 4 girls I was in charge of and stayed in their cabin.  I had a girl that was ring leader, talked back often, and a bit boy crazy.  I had a girl that we lost a few times and had a few breakdowns from being afraid of heights.  Then I had a few girls that were sweet.   The rest of our cabin was nice and had good girls.   We had some chaperone issues.  One of the moms played Nukem with the girls and hurt her foot pretty bad.   They thought it might have been broken but it wasn't, but she had to leave early.  One of the other moms in our cabin had a bad allergic reaction and swelled up pretty bad the last night.   So by the last day 2 moms had 11 girls.

I think we all had a good time even though we were tired.   We had 4 classes total that were multi hour, but multiple stations.  We had breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Then afternoon there was 2 hour rec time at different stations.  Then we had night time activities which were fun

Here are some summaries of the cool things we did at camp.

Wednesday

Drove to Sky Ranch 

Lunch - chicken sandwich

Warm/hot afternoon class of making rockets, doing mr potato head energy races and learning about rocks and how land is formed. 

Rec Time -  We did water slides then most kids went to pool - had cool slide that was soft on the bottom

Dinner - spaghetti and meatballs

Evening activities - girls started playing Nukem, then did scavenger hunt doing different activities around camp; cabin 13 girls beat cabin 18 boys (Landon's cabin) in scavenger hunt by 2 minutes

Thursday

Breakfast - bacon, eggs, biscuit and gravy

started with some dancing in the morning with everyone - funny

morning class - We spent the morning learning about turtles (kids got to hold baby turtles), fishing in dry pond, testing Ph in lab coats, learning about water molecule paths, and checking out a pond habitat (one group found a leech)

Lunch 

afternoon class - This afternoon we had fun classes learning about American Indians. We met La Salle and several native Americans learning about how they live, weapons, food and their homes. Kids got to shoot arrows, got their faces painted and were given Indian names. 

Rec Time - zip line - several of the girls in my cabin did it including me.  We had a few that got really scared and couldn't do it.  I got to go then I got to watch and video Landon and his chaperone and a few from his group go.  Then several kids had pool time- boys vs girls water polo. 

Dinner - beans, rice and tostada

Evening event - camp fire - they had a small fire, but was really outdoor auditorium where kids, Sky Ranch leaders, and even the teachers and Ms Abihosh did skits. The kids did a good job and had fun with skits.  My cabin had girls arguing over what to do for skit, giving different ideas, all the girls said something (I think we are the only ones that did that), and then the end was one of the girls coming to the middle saying something silly and one of the other girls telling her not now.  It was cute.

Friday

breakfast - kolache and eggs

morning class - science class on animals. Kids got to see real skulls and learn about how eyes and features impact what they eat and if they are predator or prey. We learned about soils and decomposition, looking at environmental impacts then we got to learn about and see some cool animals including glowing scorpion, blue tongued lizard and chinchilla 

Lunch - grilled cheese and tomato soup

Two of the dads put all of our luggage into the buses in the heat.  That was super nice of them.

We headed out about 11:50am and got back to school about 1:40pm.  Greg came to get Landon, Maxum and I.   I was in the shower by about 2:15 :)

We headed to Mi Cocina for an early dinner which we all needed.

9/20 - My last day of work for a few days.  Left a little early because I was meeting a few friends near Mockingbird station for early dinner.  We met at Urban taco for a few drinks and some tacos.  Then we drove downtown to AA center.  Grammy had bought tickets for us to go see Carrie Underwood as my birthday present.  The concert was great.   She moved around a lot, the music and small visual effects were good.  We all really enjoyed it.

9/18 - There was a storm that passed through after 6am.  Thunder and lightning so it woke up Kasey and she was scared.  Luckily that passed.  She went a played for a bit and I asked her to let me sleep til 8.  7:40 she was turning lights on telling me to get up.   Anyway, we made breakfast.  Kasey's idea.  We had cheese eggs with salsa and crunchy onions (like you use on green bean casserole).   We also made some bacon.  Then we had hot chocolate for drink.  Its not cold, but that's what Kasey planned for breakfast.  She cooked the eggs for the most part and put the onions and salsa on the plates.   It was pretty good :)

After breakfast we really needed to clean up.  While that was not at all what Kasey wanted to do we got a lot done before the boys got home.   They got home and we had to get all their wet stuff out from camping and get laundry started.  They took showers and then we headed to Addison Oktoberfest.   It was ok in the shade, but in the sun it was hot!   We still got some good food and drink, and the kids got to ride a few rides.   I rode one with Landon, but most of them they did together or alone.

We went back into the tent at the end to cool off some.   Kasey was researching halloween costumes and Landon was trying very hard to play pokemon go while Greg finished his beer.

We headed back and stopped at Zorbas for an early dinner.  Yum!   Greg fell asleep on the way home from there.   Shower time for kids and we got a few minutes to rest.

9/17 - Kasey got to sleep in bed with me.  Shhhh, don't tell Greg :)   Of course seems like she woke up early.  She let me sleep in.  She went in the other room watching cake decorating videos and playing with playdoh and art stuff.   After I got up we took some showers and got ready for lunch.  We had lunch at La Madeleine which was yummy.  Kasey tried Quiche but didn't like it to much so she ate most of my chicken Caesar salad.  After lunch we ran to Kohls to get some new pajamas for Kasey.  Hers have gotten to tight.

We came home to hang out with patch for a while.  We finished a movie up and then got ready for our afternoon/evening.

We were going to a girl scout event and Rangers Game.  I picked up Mia and we headed out.  We got there a bit early but it all worked out.  Girls got to do a few things about snacks, got a patch for bringing canned goods, and then they got to go into the youth ballpark.  They started trying to knock a ball off T, then they got to throw a baseball, and then they got to hit several balls.  Kasey enjoyed hitting balls and remembered how to stand and swing.  She did a good job.

Then we headed to the stadium.   Kasey was starving and I discovered I didn't have my wallet (luckily it was in the car), so we had to borrow money.  We got some food and sat down.   I asked Kasey if she wanted to learn about the game.  She kind of said she didn't care but if I wanted to share some things I could.  So I started talking to her about stikes and balls and outs and foul balls.  She actually already knew there were 3 outs, 3 strikes and 4 balls.  Anyway after eating she wanted to sit with friends so she went down there for a while.  We left mid way through 3rd inning to get her home before it was super late.   We got a little dessert on the way out which was fun.  Overall a good evening and fun for girls and parents.

And the Aggies beat Auburn while we camped and went to Rangers games :)

9/16 - Came home from work.  Got boys out the door headed to first boy scout campout.  Kasey and I went to dinner at Mexigo with Grammy and Gramps.  Yummy food and good times.

Kasey and I hung out some then got her in bed.  I got to hang out for some me time :)

9/15 - Greg and I both had meetings at the school and then headed to Oktoberfest.  My work team was there and some good friends too.  We had fun getting some food, beer and took home Helmut's Strudel for breakfast :)

9/10 - We got up, had a yummy breakfast and pretty much got ready to go.  Fun girls slumber party with my mom, aunt, cousin and daughter.  Drove home and mom and I got to talk some which we don't get to do that often.

9/9 - Greg woke up at 5am to see if it was raining and would cancel Landon's baseball game.   It was raining and fields were closed.   Greg and Landon got ready and left the house before 6:30am to drive down and see the 11am A&M vs Prarie View A&M game.   Kasey and I got to sleep in a little bit longer.  We laid in bed and caught up on Chesapeake Shores (new Hallmark TV Show).   We went to grab a quick breakfast at Starbucks and then we took showers and got ready.  Grammy came to pick us up about 10 - we were running a bit late, but made it.   We drove down to Conroe to Aunt Marys.   We had a fun family visit.  Kasey got to play with her cousin Ayla - they always have fun.  They both wore their best cousins necklaces.  

We had baby shower for new cousin Bradley coming in the next month or so.   Fun family times.  We had yummy dinner as always.  Tried some wine that was fermented in whisky barrels.  Pretty good.   After family with kiddos left and Kasey went to sleep we stayed up talking politics.  At least we are all on the same side :)   Then we had a little girls night til 1am.  Fun times with family. 

9/9 - Landon got knight if the week for the first week 

9/4 - We got up, had a great breakfast with Aunt Mary.  Kasey drew her a flower family picture and put Kasey and Aunt Mary (she spelled it Aut Mreey).   We headed and and drove home.   We had some traffic but not horrible.   We read quite a bit going home.  Kids played cards some in the backseat, and Landon created his own football game with cards.  Needs a little work, but was creative.

We came home to a clean house (yea) and started some laundry 

9/3 - Landon woke me up saying its 8 o'clock.   Glad we slept in some.   We got up and got showers for everyone and we got packed and headed to get some Kolaches.   Then we headed to aunt Mary's.   The kids had been there like 2 minutes and were outside seeing the dogs.  We hung out through the afternoon visiting with aunt Mary.   Kasey set up a full tea party.  Aunt Mary, Kasey and I had "tea" and we had red velvet cake :)   We played some Jinga which kids really enjoyed.  Then Landon built a football field and Greg and Landon played football with paper football which was fun.  Early evening Nina, Matt and Skylar came over.  She's so cute.   David and Cheri came over after work.  We all had good dinner, visited and were entertained by Skylar.   Kasey really tried to entertain her.  Getting her to use the keyboard, dancing for her, fun.

That night Landon asked where Kasey put her paper football.  She said Mommy and Daddy's room.  He asked where.  She said, in the basket by the door - Aunt Mary said that's the trash can.  Kasey knew that.  It was pretty funny.  

We had a good dinner all together.   After Skylar had to go home for bed, we played some Jinga together.   We had fun playing regular way then Landon put it up on stilts to make it harder and it stayed up for a while :)  Landon played little basketball game with David.

We had a good time.   We stayed up watching Texas end up winning just barely over Notre Dame.   So glad its football season :)

9/3 - Kids got us up of course.   We all showered and got ready.  We had ok breakfast at the hotel.  Then we headed out for some shopping at Maroon U - great Aggie store.   After that we headed to drop Doug's car off in the parking lot and then to the Chicken.  We got there a little late since we had lots of shopping to do :)   We ended up at a very small table on the patio.  We got dominoes some beer and powerade for the kids.   Feels like home away from home at the Chicken.

We eventually got a table inside and got some lunch.   Dave, Tracy and E came by later before we walked to the game.  We got to show kids our dorms (somehow they forget when you only do it every few years :))  We made it just in time to grab a snack and get there for flyover.   We had some drama, the wind blew peanut shells all over us.  Kasey started getting itchy and freaking out.  We gave her benadryl  and washed her hands and legs off.  She was still freaking out some.  By the time we got to the car she was doing better.  A&M won the game in 2 overtimes.  It was a little close for our comfort.

After the game Greg went out with the boys.   I took kids back to hotel.  It took us longer than it should have :(  Anyway, we had snacks at gas station for dinner.  Oh well, it all worked out.   Kids eventually went to sleep and I read in the dark.   Greg was on his way home around midnight.   I had just laid down to go to sleep and Kasey woke up and threw up all over the bed.  Poor thing.  Not sure if it was from peanuts or what.  We changed all the bedding and all went to bed.  She was fine.

9/2 -  Labor Day weekend and we headed to College Station.  It's time for some college football.  I worked from home, we had our new mattresses delivered 20 minutes before we were leaving.   Our new bed is tall and we have to almost jump to get on it.  Patch was still able to jump up fine.  Landon's bed is also taller - he said he couldn't feel much difference but I could on his.

Kids had lost electronics for the entire week including drives to College Station and from Conroe.   Definitely some complaining but they figured out how to entertain themselves for 3 hours.  We got down there in time to check in fast.  They had a bean bag toss that you could try to get 500 extra points. I let Landon do it and he got it first try.  Kasey tried too, and got really close.

Then we headed to dinner - we met Doug, Dave, Tracy and Elisabeth at a nice restaurant called Christophers.   It was in an older house and pretty nice.  The food was good and we enjoyed the evening with some good wine and friends.   After dinner Greg took the kids back to get to bed.  I went out with the others for some wine at Veritas.   We had drinks and talked for a while.  Then headed back.  Doug and I had another beer at the hotel hanging out.

August 2016

8/31 - There is an all female school in Dallas who was asking for mentors for the school.   Its basically a lunch a month for the school year. I went to the informational for that tonight and it's a neat school and they really help the girls in lower incomes to apply to college, get scholarships and go to College.   I'm excited to be a part of it.

8/28 - We had a lazy morning.   Kasey and I finished a Hallmark movie and started watching Chesapeake Shores which she liked as well.   The kids decided to compete in cooking contest.  They made all kinds of food.    Landon made breakfast pastry shop with blueberry, tuna towers, rainbow roll, potato skins, fish and mint chocolate brownie plus drinks.   Kasey made blueberry pancake with biscuit and waffle with blueberries on top, homemade frackers with cheese, pigs in a blanket, pasta and meatballs with bacon wrapped jalapeño, Popsicle with chocolate, blueberry and whip cream plus drinks.  They both did a really good job and was fun to see what they did.  They had fun doing it together.  

We had lunch.  Then Kasey and I went to a pool birthday party.   Kasey got a Caricature of her bowling that turned out cute.   She got a lady bug painted on her leg that was cute.  Then she went swimming.  she pretending to be swimming in the olympics.  Later after cake she got back in and I put my legs in the warm pool.  She then decided to give me a pedicure and pretend that my legs were parallel bars.

We got home and Landon came home from playing down the street then we  went to dinner at Big Als BBQ. 

That night Kasey had a pretty lose tooth.  Greg yanked it out.  It hurt more than usual.  Now she has 4 teeth missing :)

8/27 - We started the day with some biscuits and eggs.   It was time for Landon's first baseball game.   The games are pretty close to our house so Kasey and I decided to walk. We played a little pokeymon Go.    Landon had a good game.  He started pitching and got 1 strike out.  A bit rough.  After that he played pretty well.  He got two pretty good hits, playing 2nd base he got two outs at first.   He scored 2 runs including stealing home on a bad pitch to score the winning run.  He was really excited that he got the winning run. Yankees played hard.

That afternoon Landon got to go play at new Jack Carter Pool with his friend Colin.     They had a good time.  I took Kasey to a gymnastics birthday party which she enjoyed running around for a while.

That night kids and I went to Blue Fish for dinner.   I think kids were a bit tired - both were giving some attitude.   We went to Braums for a little ice cream.

8/22 - Today was the first day of school.  I got up to do fast workout.  We all got up.  Kids made their own lunches for the first time.  The only drama was running low on time to get Kasey's hair done.  We went to school.  Walked Kasey into her class - got some good hugs and a picture.  Then we took Landon to his class.  Parents were hanging out socializing.  The kids didn't really want us around but tolerated a few pictures.

Kasey had a great day.  Already got 3 awards (not sure what that means) and she enjoyed her class.  Landon had a pretty good day.  They learned who was in their different classes.  They rotate to classes, with different kids and teachers.

I'm very glad they had a good day.

8/20-21 - We had a pretty low key weekend.  We had some good food, went shopping for some new mattresses, Landon had cub scouts and we cleaned up for housekeepers

8/19 - Last Friday night before school starts.  We had dinner at Roman Cocina for some yummy Italian food.   I got to read some to Kasey which feels like it has been forever.  She read to me too.

8/18 - Tonight we had back to the Castle.  We went to Landon's classroom first to meet his new teacher Ms Harper.  Then we went to Kasey's classroom to see Ms Bush.  Both kids have some friends in their classes this year.  Kasey is excited about the boys in her class. :)   Hopefully both kids will have a better year than last.   I can't believe they are in 2nd and 5th grades.   Landon will switch classes this year so he got to meet the other teachers.  I went to work booth for PTA the rest of the time.  Afterwards we went to Mi Cocina for some yummy dinner.

8/16 - Landon lost his first molar tooth.  I was getting him in bed and he reached in his mouth and said his tooth felt weird.  I felt it and knew it was ready to come out.  He still believes in the tooth fairy - we think :)

8/15 - Kids started cooking camp this week at young chefs.    After camp Greg got them back to see popcicle patrol - The Norton teachers were in a bus and brought around popcicles to different norton areas to say hi to the kids.  We still had not gotten our teacher letters yet.   Kasey's teacher knew us and let us know she was in her class.  Yea!   Landon got a picture with a few friends and his teacher although we didn't know at the time it was his teacher.

That night Landon's Titans football team played in championship.  They unfortunately lost, but played a tough game.  After the game we dropped Kasey and Greg off because it was almost 10pm.  The team met up at Braums for some end of season ice cream.  Such a fun group of kids and families.  We are very blessed.

8/13 - We started today the day with Kindergarten ice cream social.   They little ones seem so small compared to my kids.  Landon was riding his bike around the neighborhood, and Kasey helped me some at the ice cream social.   We came home and headed to lunch.  After that Landon and Greg went to a friends house and Kasey and I went to do some clothes shopping for school.  I wanted to get her a few outfits, but as was often the case when my mom and I went shopping several things were cute.   

That evening Landon had his last FC Knight soccer game.  The kids played well and won 3 to 1.  Landon had an assist on the first goal.  So fun watching FC Knights play

8/10 - We decided to go to Village Burger Bar for Dinner and then I just stayed to have a few drinks with some of the ladies from the neighborhood.  We had a fun evening talking and thinking that summer was ending to soon.

8/8 - Landon had first Titans playoff game.   Landon pulled 2 flags, caught and interception and returned it for a touchdown.  He also batted away a few balls on defense.

8/7 - this weekend the Summer Olympics started.  This was really the first time the kids were getting to see the Olympics and cared some.  Kasey was pretty into the gymnastics and both were into the swimming some.  So fun to watch and cheer on the US together.     I remember watching when I was younger and loving it too.

Landon had an FC Knight soccer game.  He scored a goal and was so happy.

8/6 - We took it easy during the day.   Kasey was kind of tired.    Kasey and I were going to have dinner with Grammy and Gramps and then the girls were going to see dance show Maks and Val from Dancing with the Stars.  After much drama with Kasey, Grammy and Gramps and the nice waitress at BJs calmed her down.  We had a good dinner then left to head to Grand Prairie.     

We got to the show and only had to wait outside for a little while.   We all really enjoyed the show.  They told a story of their lives, the importance of family, and their view on love.  Very fun.   Maks has always been my favorite pro on dancing with the starts.

8/1 - 8/5 - While Landon was at Allaso Ranch Kasey took a Theater/art camp.  I figured she would like it a lot and she did.   They got to use some of their ideas and their teacher wrote a script that they got to perform for us on Friday.   In her first theatrical performance, she was Bob the Bunny.   She had little baby bunnies, they made a joke about her being a girl bunny named Bob.  She had several lines which she did great with them.   I think she had a lot of fun with it.   All the grandparents and Greg and I got to see her perform.   I was very proud of her and glad she has found something she really likes.  We'll see where it goes.

On Friday after Kasey's performance, we hung out some that afternoon and then I left with Stephanie Cracknell to go pick up the buys from Camp.   Its a lot of fun to see them jumping and dancing around for their group.  We stopped to have a quick bite to eat on the way, got there just in time.  After we got them Landon was laughing and sharing some funny stories of his trainers from camp.  They laughed a ton.  We stopped at Dairy Queen and the Hughes were there.  All the boys were kind of horse, but so excited about their awesome week.   Just talking and talking about the fun they had.   Such fun times.  We had fun pictures of the 6 boys that went together.  They all figured out how to hang out and enjoy their time together.

July 2016

7/31 - Landon was heading to Allaso Ranch today.  He is in blue groups (scarecrow).  There theme is wizard of oz.   He was ready.    We decorated the car - Follow the Yellowbrick road to Allaso Ranch.   We had 10 5th graders going (6 boys and 4 girls), and 4 younger brothers that went from 2nd/3rd grade.    

I kept Kasey and Chloe.  They played at the house some.  Then we went to my moms for a bit to visit with Uncle Chief and Mona.  Always and entertaining visit.  Love them.  We got a few good pictures - Chloe took them for us :)    We listened to Meaghan Trainor both ways to Grammy's

That night I was going to Meaghan Trainor with Kasey, Chloe, my friend Marisa and her daughter Emma.    We went a bit early to get a bite to eat.   Not much luck right by the arena, but we walked to Mooyah for burger and other stuff.

We had fun at the concert.  She put on a good show.  Kasey was a bit of a mess because she couldn't see, but once she stood on the chair she was dancing and singing most of the time.   She had fun.  I think we all had fun!  Got the girls home 10:30ish - opps but it was worth it.

7/30 - We celebrated Greg and Janice's Birthday with Cindy and Carlos.    They were in town.  We had Springcreek BBQ with Greg's dessert and peach cobbler.    Yummy.

we headed home then I got ready to go out.   A few moms went to see Bad Moms - funny movie and worked for us.   they now have beer tap at our movie theater :)

7/29 - Kids slept in til 11am.  I guess they were tired :)

Landon had a soccer game - he was still tired.  They team they played was down a player but played hard.  FC Knights won and Landon scored a goal.  He was excited.

7/28 - We got into Dallas about 7am - an hour later than we were supposed to get in.   Grammy and Gramps brought our car to us.  Gramps and Greg got the luggage and kids and I talked to Grammy about our trip.  We were all pretty tired.

We had goal to stay up all day to adjust back to Dallas time.   We drove to Cracker Barrell in Allen to get a yummy breakfast then headed home.   We got some showers and headed to get Patch.  I think we got a short nap in there somewhere.    I did some laundry trying to stay awake, kids played video games.   that night we went to Mi Cocina for some Mexican food after 10 nights in Hawaii.  Kids went to bed a little early.

7/8 - 7/15 - I was in China for work.  Started out on Saturday night we had dinner and drinks with a few colleagues.  We ended up staying on in restaurant on higher floor in the hotel watching lightning storm and having a few drinks.  It  was fun and a good way to get acclimated to the timezone change.

The next day we did some exploring of Hong Kong.  We went to see Big Buddha, walked around a bit, said a prayer for Mikkel.  We walked around the female markets for a while and saw some interesting items including some knock off legos.  After that we went back to the Peninsula hotel and had a drink during high tea.  It was a nice place to get out of the humidity.

The next day started work week.  We had several meetings with internal people, 3P and had a good productive week with my team there.   So work days were good.

We had some amazing food as well.  We had some traditional Chinese food and drink.  We tried Chinese liquor, donkey, pidgeon, different soups, and various dishes spicy, non spicy, with bone and without.   Overall the food, drinks and company were very good.   It made for an enjoyable time even though I was away from the family.

Friday mom and dad picked me up from the airport and took me to Mi Cocina.  I really wanted mexican and it was fun to have mom and dad there as caught up with the kids week and we got excited about our hawaii trip.

7/12 - Landon had a football game and caught  a few passes.  Team lost but played a close game.

7/10 - Happy Birthday to Gramps.  I was in China.   Landon played soccer that day so they got to see the kids.  Landon even scored a goal.

7/5 - Greg pulled another one of Kasey's teeth.  Now all 4 bottom ones are gone and her top ones next to her middle two are starting to loosen up.

7/4 - Even without staying up to late, Kasey had a bit of fit.   Landon and I got to have lunch alone which is a nice treat.  We went to Walnut Cafe.  Once Kasey settled down they went to Panera for lunch and the grocery store.

That afternoon Landon and I got to watch some more Transformers.  Kasey and watched a Hallmark movie.   Then Greg headed out to FC Dallas game.  The kids and I went to have dinner and go bowling at Splitzville.   We had fun then went home for the kids to shower.   No fireworks this year as kids had camp the next day and were a bit tired.

7/3 - Greg started the day working with Pops on our downstairs AC.  Always fun when its really hot outside.  

We then got to have early birthday lunch with Gramps.  We went to Freebirds and then followed up with yummy cupcakes at Bliss.  It was a fun lunch. We celebrated early since I'll be in China then we are going on vacation.

We chilled out most of the day and Greg finished the AC.  We went and grabbed dinner at Genghis Grill.   

7/2 - We started out the day at a very fun neighborhood 4th of July parade.  We had not had much time to get stuff to decorate the kids bikes for the parade. We had gone the night before to get a few things.

We got up and got ready, and then decorated the bikes quickly.  Greg, Landon and I wore USA soccer shirts.  Kasey wore a cute Heart USA shirt.  We even put a USA scarf on Patch.

Kids had their bikes decorated, Greg wore a big USA flag and I had my awesome red/white and blue cowboy hat.  

There was a fire truck, police motorcycle escort and Kona Ice truck to start the parade.  Then lots of families, bikes, scooters walking along the way.  We walked a few blocks and ended at an open space where we had donut party.     Everyone enjoyed it.  They even had mimosas for adults :)

A lot of fun with cool families we live near.

After that we went to lunch.  The kids went to play at friends house, Greg went to watch EU soccer semi final, and I got to do a little shopping.

Then I took the kids to the grandparents.   Greg and I went out to Brazilian restaurant in Frisco.  It was good but a lot of food.    

7/1 - Greg made sure I new that today started his birthday month :).  

Tonight we had fun baseball end of season party.  We had about 1/2 the families there, and special guests the Kearns who were in town for 4th of July.  It was fun to see them.  Kids had a blast in the pool, we got to eat dinner and cookie cake, have a few drinks and visit.  Good times.

I started new little workout thing metabolic aftershock.  At least hopefully I'll get a little more active :)

Kauai, Hawaii Vacation - July 2016

7/17 - 7/27 - Kauai summer vacation

Sunday arrive

Monday 18th - beach/grocery shopping

Tuesday 19th-  - fishing - $900 - booked

Wed - Waimea Canyon

Thurs - 21st tubing - booked - 1:30pm, be there at 1pm - booked

Friday - move from one place to another

Saturday - Hanalei bay, beach

Sunday - 24th horseback riding - $99 - 90 minute, 9:15 - http://www.silverfallsranch.com/ - booked be there at 8:45am - correct weight

Monday 25th  - napoli boat ride - $180 each. Noon-4pm, cash for tip - booked

Tuesday - beach

Wednesday - head home

7/17 - We had a long day of travel to Hawaii.   We drove to the airport and Grammy and Gramps took our car home.  We got to say hi, give them hugs and have them take our picture.   We ate lunch at Friday's in Dallas airport, we had dinner at LA airport.    In Dallas Greg started playing Pokeman Go just for fun.   Lets just say this became a bigger deal during vacation :)

Our flight landed after 8pm Hawaii time in Kauai which was after 1am Dallas time.   We got upgraded to a 4 door red jeep which was fun.    We drove to area we were staying - Poi Pu and decided to stop at the store quick for some water and breakfast items.  The kids were pretty tired, but stayed awake.

We got to our place at Poi Pu Shores, got everything upstairs and got the kids to bed.   This place didn't have AC except in the master bedroom, but it was right on the water and patio looked out into the ocean.

7/18 - With the time change Greg and the kids woke up about 6am.  They had a little to eat at our place then went exploring down the coast.  They were gone about 3 hours, saw several turtles, chickens, a few seals and even had 2nd breakfast.  They were gone until about 9.  Since I had just been in China and hadn't slept much the night before I was still alseep :)  I finally got up, ate the rest of Landon's pancakes and we got ready and headed to the beach.

We all did some snorkling and we saw many fish is all kinds of colors.  Kasey liked the pink fish and I liked the green one.  The boys even saw an eel.  

We went back to shower.  I had gotten pretty burned on my top half and the kids even got burned some.   We had a new sunscreen the we decided we wouldn't use anymore.  We didn't have dinner reservations so we went to a nearby area and ate at a place called Savage Shrimp.   It was pretty good.  Greg and Landon split a platter, I had shrimp tacos, and Kasey ended up eating salad because she didn't want shrimp or fish and chips.

We went to a shop and Kasey found a new dress and flower barrette that she was excited about. 

We got kids to bed close to 8 to see how they did.

7/19 - We had scheduled a 6 hour fishing trip - trying something new.  Originally we were supposed to meet them at 5:10am.  With some rain and weather they wanted us to call in the morning and see how it was.  We ended up meeting them at 7:45am.  I had taken Bonine the night before and that morning.  The kids took natural dramamine.   I was still a bit sick at times - just didn't want to eat, drink or be inside.   

We started out and didn't catch much for the first few hours.  It rained on us some.  Then we started catching fish.  They were larger fish most were 20+ lbs.   They had 4 big fishing poles set up on the boat with fake bait on each of them out in the water at different lengths.   Once we did start catching fish they would have whoever was doing it sitting on the chair at the front with the pole in front of them and reel the fish in.  Kasey started out and we took turns.   A few times there were 3 or 4 on at a time and we were all trying to reel them in.    Greg and I enjoyed being on the water, fishing, catching cool fish, and enjoying the scenery.  Kasey enjoyed it at the beginning help catch the fish, but then she was sick quite a bit over the side of the boat.  Poor thing.   Landon enjoyed it as well reeling fish in and seeing the fish.  He did not like at all that they killed the fish.  He didn't like seeing them get killed or once they were dead.  I still think that Landon will become Vegetarian at some point.   He's very conscious of cruelty to any kind of animal.

Greg and I got picture with all 13 fish that we caught.  Landon didn't want to see them, and I think Kasey thought she would get sick again if she saw them.

We took a little more scenic road back to the house that afternoon.   We had some snacks instead of lunch.   We went to the pool for a little while then showered and headed to dinner at Eating House.   Kasey and I wore flowers :)

Yummy dinner with cauliflower and brussel spouts.   We had short ribs, fried chicken and teriyaki fish with rice.   Very yummy.

7/20 - It was Greg's Birthday.  Kids and I got up and made kids breakfast.  Kasey made scrambled eggs.  Landon and I made bacon.  We also had orange juice and cinnamon rolls.  We had yummy breakfast together.

We got ready to head out and for first time the kids played by themselves some.  They were playing Go Fish.   We played some games on trip.   The kids played go Fish several times just the two of them.

Our day had planned to drive to Waimea Canyon.   We drove up a scenic way and stopped a few times along the way.  There were a few overlooks that were pretty.  Then we got up to the main lookout.   It was nice but a bit cloudy.  It rained a few times throughout.  It was fun doing a little hiking.  We even took a .3 mile Iliau trail which was nice.  Kids found a plant that looked like mini palm tree.  They were cute.  During this we took a panarammic where kids stayed on one side and then ran to the other side to be in both ends of the picture (fun idea from co workers).  We got to see the waterfall from a few angles which was cool.  At one lookout there was a big puddle of water.  The kids thought it looked like mickey mouse or mickey mouse pancake that wasn't quite finished. :) 

We went to the very end of the road to Pu'u O Kila lookout where you are supposed to be able to see the top of the Napali coast.   The Napali coast side was fogged in.  We hiked around for a bit hoping that it would clear up some.  No Dice this time.  I guess we have to come back :)

On the way back down the mountain we made a cool stop at a good place to see the waterfall or Waimea Canyon.   It had been raining so there was a rainbow that was cool.  We even got a picture of Greg pointing to the waterfall :) which is a joke from previous trip.

That night we went to a restaurant called Keoki's.  It was a greg restaurant.  Greg got fish special prepared two ways and I got Ahi which was really good.  We had yummy Mint Chocolate chip and mac nut ice cream cake (2 separate ones) for Greg's BDay.  Yum and fun place to.  There was a lady singing live which was nice

7/21 - We started off the day walking down to closest beach for a little boogie boarding.   Both kids did it for a little while and then Kasey got beaten up a bit.  There were 2 local kids there.   Their dad said to them "I'm going to work for a few hours I'll be back".  Interesting.  They were really good in the water, but kids were Landon's age and younger.

Greg also lost his sunglasses in the water.  This happened in Kauai 11 years ago last time we were here.  Greg was sure they were gone then a girl next to him found them and handed them back.  He's lucky :)

We came back after the beach, jumped in the pool for a bit and got ready for tubing.

In the afternoon we went on a fun Tubing trip with Kauai Backcountry Adventure.   They fitted us with helmets with lights on them, gloves and we all wore water shoes.  We started on a ride onto their property.   We had a funny tour guide BJ and another guy name Kai.  They were fun telling us about the property and some of the plants.  They showed us one plant that you could squeeze and get liquid that they used as a good conditioner (so they say).  They also joked about red rock sidings being good for skin.  :)

Anyway we got to the loading area, left our dry bag with them and got into the intertubes.  No one really wanted to go first so we did.  I went first then Landon then Kasey then Greg.  They had us stopped in an area and Landon and I ended up getting out in the front with some others.  We tubed for about an hour.  We went through 3 or 4 tunnels where we had to turn our headlights on.   We kind of got separated but we were able to find each other ok.   At the very end they go through the last tunnel without lights - Kasey somehow was away from us and wasn't to sure so she told us.  The guide said she was one of the first to turn her lights off and be ready.   At the end they took us to a little area for a snack.  sandwiches, maui onion flavored chips from Plano, TX and chocolate chip cookies.   Our guide BJ gave us a few extras.  Overall it was a lot of fun.  Pretty greenery all around and the tunnels were fun too.   The water area is on an old sugar cane plantation.  Only one plantation for sugar cane is in Hawaii in Maui and they won't grow sugarcane after this year.

After that we went home to shower and get ready for dinner.  We had dinner at Brenneke's.   Good Mai Tai, good Ahi Shashimi, and overall good meal.  Open window and we could see the ocean a little bit from our table.

After dinner we headed to Lepports for some ice cream and a little Pokeman Go of course.  Yum

7/22 - Today was the day for us to switch from the south side of the island to the north side.  We hung out in the morning getting packed up and enjoying our view.   We had lunch at Olympic Cafe in Poi Pu.  We then stopped by Spouting Horn to see what happens when lava tube from the ocean spouts up water every time a wave comes in.   It was pretty cool, but it was hot

Then we said goodbye to the southside and headed North.  We checked into our new place.  In the south our place was nice, but wasn't air conditioned and 

was pretty simple.  Our place up North was bigger (3 bedrooms), had AC, full kitchen with Granite countertops.  It was really nice - but no view but little garden area and part of golf course.

We then changed into our best Hawaii gear and headed south some to Luau Kalamaku.  We checked in, got our seats for the show and went on a little train ride.  First we got drinks to take with us.   We learned a few things on the train ride.  Cashews raw from the plant are poisonous,   Hawaii's made production these days are coffee beans and macadamia nuts.  Not much pineapple or sugar cane anymore.   We stopped and got to feed chickens, pigs and a donkey some bread.  The kids enjoyed that.

7/23 - Today was a beach day.  We went to Hanalei beach for the day.    We did a little snorkling, some swimming, some playing in the sand.   Greg walked to get us burgers to each for lunch from Bubbas.   The kids and I walked down to the pier.  Its pretty high up but you can jump off then climb a pretty scary slick ladder back up.   Landon jumped, Kasey jumped.  We had to help Kasey up some because she thought she would fall.  We decided we'd all jump in and swim to the shore.  Landon jumped in, I jumped in, and Kasey couldn't jump in.  She got scared and thought she would get hurt.  So I was rushing up the scary ladder to get to her.   Kids were pushing Landon out of the way so he was treading water for a long time.   We made it to Kasey and walked back.  She was fine, not sure what scared her the 2nd time.

We played a lot of frisbee in the water and enjoyed just hanging out.  Sometimes in rain, sometimes not.

That night we had dinner reservations at Happy Talk at Hanalei resort.   Fun restaurant with menu that changes, live music and normally a pretty view.  It was raining a lot but we enjoyed the music, food and drinks there.

7/24 - today we had to wake the kids up because we had an appointment to go ride horses.  It was at Silver Falls Ranch.   We were just doing an hour and a half ride because we weren't sure how much the kids would enjoy it.   We got there and it wasn't raining, but was supposed to rain most of the morning.   Landon got a horse named Chloe, Kasey's horse was named Kayle, Greg's horses nick name was Elvis and my horse was named Ikaika.   We enjoyed our ride.   It was pretty muddy with all the rain they have been getting but the grounds were really pretty.   We saw many different plants including several types of palm trees, we saw a small waterfall and e.

njoyed being on horse ride.   My horse didn't like having another horse behind him so I had to be in the back.   Kasey's horse started up front and was sweet but sometimes slow.   Greg's horse really wanted to be in front.    It rained a few times on our ride.  Landon and I put on our rain coats a few times but it didn't rain to long.   I asked Kasey if she wanted us to stop so she could put her raincoat on.  She responded no, you don't get to do this all the time in Texas.  This is what we keep telling the kids in Hawaii and made me laugh.

Kasey loved riding the horse.  They also got to pet a chicken and cat on the ranch.   Overall we all enjoyed it.

There was a tropical storm coming our way so we weren't sure what we could or couldn't do our last few days.   We had some lunch - left over pizza for the kids, Greg got a sandwich and I got some sushi.  Landon tried the sushi and liked it.   

After lunch we went to do a little Snorkling at Anini beach.  We basically had the whole place to ourselves.   Snorkling wasn't as good as it was on the south side but we saw a few fish.  There was some wind, but no waves at this beach.  Greg and I remembered being there from 2005 with the boys.

We left about the time is started raining.   We headed back so we could all take showers.  We didn't have reservations so we headed to Dolphin Restaurant early to get in.  We got there a bit after 5 and waited til they started seating at 5:30.   Landon shared some sushi with us - he tried Ahi shashimi, Ahi roll and ate most of the shrimp tempura roll.  Kasey even tried a few rolls and ate 2 pieces of Ahi Shashimi.

The kids are enjoying having fun drinks.  Landon likes Pina Colada and Kasey likes Strawberry Daiquiri.

We came home and started playing some poker, teaching the kids the play.    Kasey shared that her favorite things so far are the tubing and horseback riding.  Landon's favorite was the chickens or so he said :( 

7/25 - We had yummy breakfast - bacon, eggs and cherry turnovers.   Today was Napali coast Hanalei Boat Tour.  We went out on UFO boat with Captain Tyler and Red.  They were pretty cool.   We went by several parts of Napali coast on the way out.  Beautiful.  We also got to see some dolphins swimming by the boat which is one of my favorite things in the world.  My video was horrible, but it was fun to see.  They even had a little baby with them.  So cool.

They shared with use about the coastline, some history, some about major hikes along the coast.   A few hours in we got to go snorkeling.   We all got in the water.  Kasey got freaked out a bit because her mask wasn't working right a few times.   Then they got it figured out.   There were a bunch of cool fish right by the boat waiting for food.   We saw a few other fish, a few turtles and a longer skinny fish that we don't know what it is.   Pretty cool overall though.

After snorkeling we got back in the boat had some lunch and then headed back.   We fed most of Kasey's sandwich to the fish and they ate it in about 4 seconds.

we had given Dramamine to the kids so they didn't get sick.    Kasey was ok on the way out but tired and slept most of the ride back in.   Landon was pretty tired most of hte day - bummer. But no one in our family got sick on or off the boat.

On the way back they didn't really stop, but had good music on and we had amazing scenery to look at.   Definitely one of my favorite things even though I've done it before.  When we got back the van was full so we had to wait a bit.   Greg and Landon went and jumped off te pier which Kasey and I waited.

We headed home and Greg cooked a great dinner for us - steak, corn, sweet potatoes, shrimp and salad.   While he cooked I took the kids to the pool.   I got in to cool off then sat out.  The kids finally found a way to play together in the pool.  I had to threaten that we wouldn't play poker if they didn't get out.  I'm sure other parents thought i was horrible but whatever - poker is a good life skill :)

after dinner the kids and I did play poker.  Greg took a nap though.  He was a bit tired.

7/26 - Today we had yummy pancake breakfast.  We had beach day so we were taking our time.  By the time we headed out it was 10:30ish.  We decided to stop at Bubbas for some burgers so we didn't have to worry about lunch later.  We ate at Ha'ena State park then walked to the beach.  The sand was hot but there was a little stream there that ran and went into the ocean.     

Landon and Greg went snorkeling.  Kasey played with water and sand as I stayed with stuff.   After the boys came back I went and did some snorkeling.   I saw a few turtles.
One looked upset with me.   I was where he would have floated to, so I moved and he floated to where I was and took a breath.   Pretty cool.  I was a few feet from him.  Big over 1 foot turtles.   

I made my way back and we spent the day watching and being in the water with the kids.  The current was rough in some places which the kids liked.  They both got knocked around a bit but enjoyed it.

After a fun beach day - no sunburns, we headed home to shower.   We had dinner back where we were for day at the beach.  We went to Mediterranean Gourmet for dinner.  Food was different but pretty good.  They had guy singing and two younger girls dancing.  They asked Kasey to go up with them but she wouldn't even if I went with her.   Makes me sad when she won't try new things. Although I'm pretty sure as a kid I woulldn't have done it either.

That night getting ready for bed Landon hid in Kasey's room under several pillows.   As I told her goodnight he popped out and scared both of us.   I was pretty impressed that he did that (they had been playing hide and seek in the house), but he really scared Kasey.  

7/27 - Our last morning in Hawaii.  We woke up and had another really good breakfast together.  We finished packing up then we headed to the light house.  We got there just before it opened.   There was a lookout over the ocean looking out on cliff with many birds.  Also in the area of the lighthouse is a bird sanctuary.   It was pretty cool to see the birds flying around, see the water and the light house up close.

After that we drove into Lihue to do a little last minute shopping then we headed to the airport.  We got through everything.   We decided to get some food.  We had one more Firerock beer, I had Ahi tacos.   Our flight was delayed a while because they had to find 13 volunteers to get off the plane because we were over weight.   They were offering $1100 and rebooking - we thought about it but lady behind  me said she wasn't sure they would for sure get you booked on the next flight.

Then when we got to LA we were supposed to leave at 12:50 on a red eye.   We ended up eating chips and snacks for dinner but waiting for a while.   First the plane wasn't there, then an empty plane showed up.  They had to get trash out, but then we had to wait on pilots and flight attendants.  I kept thinking they would be over their time and not be able to fly.  We finally got on the plane then they said we couldn't leave until they put catering on the plane - really they couldn't have done that in all the time we were waiting.   It was after 2am LA time that we left. 

Gramps texted me to ask if we were still on the ground.  This was about 3:30am his time :)