Little Sahara

Kevin was pretty stoked to have some of our neighbors enthusiastic about off-roading like he is and so they planned another trip to Little Sahara. It had snowed the day before but the sky was clear and the wind crisp and cold! The sand dunes were fun and the trails were great!

Chess

Derrick and KayDee went to their first chess tournament and did really well! KayDee won 3 out of 6 and Derrick won 2 out of 5. Great first tournament experience. ♖♘♙Our school won both overall team 1st place team trophies, junior high and high school!

Grand Canyon, Phantom Ranch

I had the unique opportunity to go with my sister LeAnn on a backpacking trip to Phantom Ranch, Grand Canyon. Her group had one member drop out and I was able to take her spot with just a week to prepare. It was such a fun girls trip and I enjoyed being with the women who were there, especially LeAnn. We took 7 hours to hike down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, as we were taking pictures and enjoying the scenery with all the snow! We all prepared well and were warm through the whole hike. We enjoyed dinner at Phantom Ranch which was stew and salad and then we slept in the bunkhouses and left the next morning. We hiked much faster going up, at least an hour faster. I stayed behind and helped one of the women get through since she was struggling the last 3 miles. We made it safely up and had a blizzard to drive home in. I learned quickly that the road I take to go home was closed from the weather and I had to detour through Las Vegas. I ended up spending the night in St. George at my grandparents 2nd home and got home the next day with good roads. I had two adventures! I hope to enjoy more trips like this soon!

Dinner at the top of Grand Canyon (south rim)the night before we hike down.

Playing around after dinner at the gift shops!

 Our gear is on, let's do this! Getting ready to brave the snow and start the decent!

Here we go! I'm at the back! It was pretty aggressive wind but the canyon blocked it when we started to descend and we were able to enjoy a calm hike down with snowflakes floating around us! Just gorgeous!

 Selfie! Yep we felt crazy to start with so much snow but it was beautiful and we brought spikes for our shoes and poles to keep balance!

We picked up another woman and helped her hike longer than she anticipated. Jen was traveling the area and was from back east.

 Me and my sis at Indian Gardens!

 Yes, there was this glorious RAINBOW! How magical!

 At Bright Angel Bridge! Almost to Phantom Ranch!

 Hooray! Time to relax and get dry!

 I got to sleep on the top. Funny enough, the window was open and the heaters were very warm! We all slept well, especially since another group joined us who were sawing logs through the night. It was pretty comical!

 Dinner at Phantom Ranch! Not fancy but very good stew!

 Starting the ascent with snowflakes at Phantom Ranch!

Finishing the last half mile!

KayDee's First Orchestra Concert!

She did so well and loves playing the violin! The teacher allowed parents on the stage for a repeat of their final songs we could get pictures of our awesome kids. KayDee was in the back so we totally took advantage of the offer. 😊🎻

Birthday Sledding!

Yeah! We were able to go sledding for my dad's and nephew Sam's birthday! The past few years the snow has melted but not this time! We gathered, we sledded, we ate warm food, we laughed and completely enjoyed a family day! We had a great time going off the jumps and making trains with our sleds to go down together. Lots of laughs!

Wrestling

Derrick has really enjoyed wrestling this year. He wrestled for the junior high since he had the choice for junior or high school as a 9th grader. He won and lost and decided he loves it! I volunteered at the district championship and learned how to score and input the match into the computers.

New Year Off-Road Trip

Kevin likes to keep tradition with going on a New Year Off-Road Trip and was able to find a free Saturday with some other people in the neighborhood. We decided to go to 5 Mile Pass so we packed and lunch and caravanned over. It was super interesting to see the large mine holes which were covered by grates and the kids had fun collecting rocks and throwing them down and listening to hear them clatter their way to the bottom. It was a beautiful day and the company was great!

Winter Activites

 Sam was in "Into the Woods" at the High School. She was in the ensemble as Maid Marian.

 Sam had a voice recital where she sang "Mary Did You Know?"

Derrick had a fun band concert at the Junior High.

Sam First Date and Prom

Preference- girls choice

We didn't know they didn't do pictures at the dance so we have the snapshots we took at home. I also had to drive them because although they have their license, they cannot drive others for 6 months.

 Prom

She's wearing the dress I wore to my first Prom!

Family Night

Hawaii: Day 7

Last day- We cleaned the condo and let the teenagers eat to their hearts content before we packed up food.
We had time to go to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium where we found a few good deals before our flight.

To sum up, we had to put the smoke detector in the fridge a few times during meal prep but I only burned one thing. My ears wouldn't pop on the flight over and my allergies kept me from smelling until they cleared up on Wednesday. Kevin gets motion sickness and could only handle swimming, snorkeling for small increments of time. We tried to go snorkeling as a family; after switching masks and snorkels to make everyone comfortable, KayDee swam back to shore, Samantha continued to dive for shells, Kevin swam fast after a turtle, Derrick stood on a rock in the middle of the water and I was trying to decide who to join. I think we lasted about 10 minutes. Reality is always entertaining. Kevin won a black pearl at the Dole plantation but we didn't want to pay for it to be set so it will be fun to figure out how to set it in when we get home.
Kevin meet a Russian guy that was so excited to meet people. He traded the condo with a friend and will be here for 5 years and has gotten Kevin's phone number and has already texted him.
I drove the whole trip since I do traffic better than Kevin. I only got honked at twice.
We loved the museums, PCC, temple, dole farm, hiking and getting to know our area in Hauula.
Kevin loved sitting on the beach watching the turtles heads pop up, looking at the surf, and catching crabs. He caught the really big one.
Samantha loved finding shells, organizing them and then finding more. She snorkeled and dove for them. She touched a fish and saw some really cool ones. She also wants a ukulele.
Derrick loved boogie boarding, making sand castles, snorkeling, and digging out crabs. He boogie boarded right into sand bags with a huge wave. We had north shore surf warnings but our beach was still pretty calm.
KayDee loved catching lizards, finally caught a couple crabs by herself, building sand castles and playing in the ocean. She loved being pulled around by Derrick on the boogie board in the waves.
I loved snorkeling, floating on the waves, trying to boogie board, walking along the beach, and sitting on the beach. Lots of smiles to take home.