Santa Visits

Here are the pictures from our visits with Santa this year.  Caitlin and Evan were very into Santa and having Christmas lists and knowing exactly what they wanted. They feel very comfortable around Santa.  Ryan - mixed sentiments as you'll see.

First up, Caitlin got to visit with Santa at Preschool. Elizabeth took Ryan too.

Caitlin meeting Santa

Ryan was NOT a fan of this Santa

Here he is doing the sign language for ALL DONE which I think is too funny. He did not want to sit with Santa :)

Here's a picture of Caitlin's class with Santa.

The next visit with Santa was at our neighborhood event. This was a super quick visit. The original event had gotten cancelled due to weather so the for the makeup event, we already had plans and had to rush in and out of our visit.  As you can see by Evan's attire - it was rather warm for December!

Here they are with Santa - he is one of the best Santas we see each year. And Ryan didn't have any issues this time sitting on his lap.

Later in the month, we went to the Trail of Lights (another post on that later). Since we got to go in early (thanks Freescale!) we actually got a picture with Santa since the line was rather short.  We did a family picture this time.

So, some good visits with Santa this year. I think next year, Ryan will be much more excited about visiting with Santa!

Start of Christmas season

Christmas is always a fun time and we usually kick off the Christmas season by going downtown to the Tree Lighting. This year, Mema and Papa have rented a house for 4 months in town!  We are so excited to have them here and be able to share all these events with them. As you can see, they joined us for the tree lighting.  We all went to the Brick Oven for dinner per our tradition. Then we headed over to the Capital for caroling and more.

It was pretty warm out considering it was December - it's always hit or miss with the weather it seems but it was great this year (although not very Christamasy).

Evan wanted to take some pictures.

Ryan with the Capital in the background.

My attempt at a photo with all the kids - Baba, Casey, and Chelsea joined us too!

Mema and Ryan

The Krolls also joined us for the tree lighting. This is what the kids do for the entire time while we all sing carols and talk. They just run around. This year, the girls were having a great time chasing and tackling Evan - which I don't think he minded too much either. 

After the carols, we headed down to Congress where they close off the street and so we could see the actual tree.

Mema and Caitlin in front of the lighted tree

And a picture of all the Stacers in front of the tree and Capital. It is a gorgeous sight. We enjoyed walking by the vendors, listening to music, and getting Starbucks and other treats. What a great way to start the Holiday season!

Rest of November

After we returned from our trip, it was time for the beginning of the Holiday Season.  First up - Thanksgiving!

Some cute pilgims at Caitlin's thanksgiving feast

That weekend, we went to the wedding of our friends Dan and Krystal. It was great to see friends who had come from out of town as well. Although the weather was a little rainy, we had a great time celebrating their love and special day. Congrats!

The guys and wives

Bryce and the Michigan boys

On Thanksgiving, we like to get up and do the Turkey Trot in the morning. Helps us feel better about all that food we are going to eat later!

The kids love doing the Kids K.

I ran with Caitlin

Uncle Brett went with Evan

All of us - it was a gorgeous day!

Just the 5 of us.  

Bryce and I ran the 5 miles while everyone else did the mile walk. After that, it was home to watch Lions football, cook, and eat some delicious food with family. Overall, a great Thanksgiving!

Hawaii Day 7, 8, and 9

The next day, we decided to just relax at the hotel.  After 12 miles of hiking the day before, we needed a day to just relax, soak up some sun, and be lazy.  It was fantastic!  Especially considering that our last full day on the island, we planned to do a lot more hiking. I know, we are somewhat crazy but Kauai is just amazing and most places are not accessible by car.  

Enjoying our day relaxing by the pool and ocean

So, our last full day, we left early as we had heard how crowded the parking could be (we were on the road by 7am to the North Shore). We headed to the Kalalau trail - this is essentially an 11 mile trail along the Napali coast.  However, after 2 miles, you need a permit to go any further.

The first two miles were just gorgeous.  The trail was not nearly as muddy as our previous hikes.  It had quite a few elevation changes as well so we got a good workout.

The Napali Coast

View from the hiking trail

After 2 miles, you reach Hanakapai'ai Beach. 

Most people stop here, but we took a 2 mile side trip into the island to see the Hanakapai'ai Falls.  This was a really fun hike - bamboo forests, multiple creek crossings, and we even met some Michigan State people!

After finally reaching the falls, we relaxed for a little while. We even ended up swimming in the pool at the base of the falls.  Bryce went first - I did NOT want to do it - the water was FREEZING!!  But, I figured how often can I swim at the base of a beautiful waterfall in Hawaii?? Not very was the answer and in I went.  

The Falls

Bryce went in first...

There he is under the falls.

Now it was my turn - that's me under the falls.

Together - freezing in the water while someone took our picture.

After that, we hiked back the 4 miles to the car.

Another photo of the beautiful coastline

When we got back, we headed down to the beach to relax and swim.  After hiking 8 miles that day (and 12 miles before that), we were pretty tired and a little sore.  But this was probably my favorite hike of the entire trip.  Just incredible views and scenery and a wonderful day.  

Our very last day, we had to fly out in the afternoon.  We spent the morning by the pool before packing up and heading to the airport.  It was a long flight home but we were excited to see the kids (even surprised Evan by showing up for lunch at his school).  It was a once in a lifetime trip.  What a great way to celebrate 10 years of marriage.  I can't wait to go back to Hawaii again (with and without kids!).  Thanks to Mema and Papa for watching the kids and making it possible too. 

Hawaii Day 6

Sorry for the long delay in posting. Life has just been busy and I kind of kept putting it off.  So, I'm going to try and catch up to the new year quickly!

Our first full day on the island, we headed to Waimea Canyon (the grand canyon of Hawaii).  We had a long day of hiking planned.  Our first hike was about 4 miles round trip to Waipoo Falls.  It was a VERY muddy trail for the first half.  After making it to the rim of the canyon, we could see it was worth it!

The beautiful canyon views

We walked a little further to part of the Waipoo Falls.  

It goes from this to...

... here where it plunges 800 ft down!

Here's a picture of the falls that I took from the helicopter ride!

After that hike, we drove to the end of the road and the Pihea Trail.  

 

Here, the Napali coast is just below us.

This was a long 8 mile hike (round trip) to an overlook.  It had a lot of elevation changes and went through the Alakai Swamp - the wettest spot on earth.  Most of that section was on a boardwalk due to how wet the ground is.  But it was a very interesting area!

We had great weather on the way out - but by the time we got to the overlook, it had clouded over and we didn't get much of a view as you can see (sad).

We thought about waiting it out, but it looked like rain so we decided with 4 miles back to the car, we better head out.  We booked it back in record time... I think Bryce thought I was crazy for going so fast.  Fortunately, we made it back without too much rain (considering how muddy the trails were in parts).

We were exhausted after hiking about 12 miles total that day. We grabbed some food on the way home and then relaxed the rest of the day.