Sunday, August 26, 2012

Bye-Bye 2nd Grade, Hello Hawaii & Summer, Welcome 3rd Grade!

Kai and Sierra finished 2nd grade strong. Kai made all As and Sierra finished with all As and one B. We're very proud of both of them and all their work to keep their grades up for another year. Our tradition for the last few years is to "get out of dodge" on vacation as soon as school gets out. We did a big one this year. The day after they got out we were on a plane to Hawaii. It was incredible! We were gone for 11 days and hated to come back home. We could have easily stayed longer.

The downside of taking a vacation so early in the summer, is you have the rest of the summer without much break. We did stay busy with swim team, summer camp and a few weekend trips, so it was still fun. Kai and Sierra started the 3rd grade on August 13th so we're back into the routine. Soccer and Piano start soon so we're enjoying not having all the running around for a few more weeks - then back to the fun chaos of the school year, plus activities!

Below are our "first day of school" pictures, followed by all the others from our summer adventures.

Kai on the first day of school (with his new camo lunch box).

 

 

Sierra on the first day of school with her Angry Birds lunch box.

 

We're ready for a great year!

 

The photo diary is below:

Mother's Day

 

July 4th Activities

Hawaii Vacation

 

Aunt Bunny's Visit
Swim Team   Miscellaneous

 

Mother's Day (back to top)

Mom had a great mother's day weekend. The day started with a photo field trip through Harmon Photo (with Karen G). It was a half day of focusing on nothing but taking pictures of flowers, bees and butterflies. It was very relaxing.

Dad, Kai and Sierra came around lunch to pick up for lunch and to head to Disney for a night away and 2 days at the parks. It was a great family get away and a lot of fun.

 

"Don't move."

 

A butterfly lunch.

 

There was a beautiful rose garden with lots of "subjects."

 

Here is another gorgeous rose.

 

This was an unusual flower. It made for a cool shot.

 

The inside of a palm close up.

 

A palm frond before it unfolds.

 

Magic Kingdom was our first Disney day adventure.

 

Mom and Kai riding the cars.

 

"Thumbs up."

 

"Wow - that flash is bright."

 

We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge.

 

There were really cool topiaries around the hotel.

 

Our second day was at Hollywood Studios.

 

Kai and Sierra were big enough (and brave enough) to do Tower of Terror. Once was enough for the day.

 

They were also big enough to ride Rockin' Roller Coaster. We did this one a few times.

 

Sierra with Mr. Incredible and Frozone (she still loves characters).

 

Kai posing outside the Star Wars ride.

 

"Check out my light saber."

 

We were excited to see there are now Phineas and Ferb characters.

 

"Check out these babies."

 

Sierra posing with the Toy Story Army Man.

     
     

Hawaii Vacation Trip (back to top)

Wow!!! What an incredible trip. Dad worked on it for a year, making all the arrangements. We knew we were taking the trip but not all our activities... we found those out day by day. We took a cruise so we were able to see 4 of the islands. Each island was so different and the cruise was a great way to get exposed to them. The pictures tell the story. Thanks Dad for an awesome time!

After 12 hours in the air, we arrived in Honolulu. It was a long day. We were greeted by a driver with fresh Leis for us.

 

 

"Aloha!"

 

The bathrooms plaques were Hawaiian style.. pretty funny.

 

Our driver took us outside after we found our bags and what a pleasant surprise to find a limousine waiting for us.

 

Kai and Sierra are spoiled. Mom didn't have a chance to ride in a llimo until her wedding day.

 

Sierra wore her Burger King Crown from lunch all day.

 

We had a Macadamia Nut treat & fresh juices waiting on us.

 

"Dad, this is awesome!"

 

Mom's eyes were so bloodshot (for 2 days) from the trip. It was awesome to be relaxing in the lap of luxury with Mr. Kai.

 

We were greeted at the hotel with fruity drinks while we waited to check in.

 

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Oahu (Waikiki Beach) for the first couple of nights.

 

Family picture with our cocktails.

 

Close-up picture of our fresh leis.

 

The view from our hotel.

 

The view from the other window of our hotel room.

 

We went and took a walk to check out the beach.

 

Daddy and Kai next to Waikiki Beach.

The Embassy Suites had free drinks at Manager's hour every night. We drank a few of these - the Blue Hawaii

 

Kai and Sierra were ready to go swimming after our long travel day.

 

Get that energy out so you sleep good tonight!

 

Day 1 - Good night sleep, but up at 5AM with jet lag - ready to conquer the day!

 

Our server at breakfast LOVED the kids!

 

 

She brought us some Hawaiian candies.

 

She fed Kai his breakfast (she fed Daddy too)!

 

Mom still has bloodshot eyes and ready to find some visine after breakfast.

 

We went to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling our first day.

 

This was by far the best snorkeling we did the entire trip. The fish were huge and vibrant.

 

There actually aren't many land mammals in Hawaii. This is one of them, the mongoose.

 

Kai and Sierra are ready to snorkel. They practiced in the pool during the Spring months so they would be ready.

 

"Check me out!"

 

The Higgins' girls.

 

A view from up top. The dark areas in the water are the reef we snorkeled around.

Sierra wanted to pose with the crazy trees outside of the park.

 

The pictures don't do the fish size justice.

 

The water was chilly but Sierra hung in there.

 

This guy was huge and bright.

 

Kai and Mom lucked out and saw a sea turtle swimming by.

 

"Snorkeling is awesome."

 

We partnered up when underwater. Kai was Mom's snorkel buddy. We had the thumbs up sign to make sure all was ok when we were under water.

 

A big angel fish swam by.

 

More fish....

 

After snorkeling, we went to Diamond Head State park to hike.

 

We climbed these steps. It was a long way up!

 

Mahalo!

 

The hike was mostly along a trail but portions were inside the volcano.

 

This was a view from the top.

 

Sierra was in a "safe zone" but it looked funny with the words behind her.

 

Neat plant we passed.

 

On our way back down - Oahu in the background.

 

"We love this hotel."

 

Kai read a lot of Ranger Apprentice books on this trip. He loves to read.

 

Sierra brought along several Goosebumps books and Magic Tree House to pass the time (she made a goal over the summer to read all the Magic Tree House in order - and she did it!)

 

The view from our dinner table.

 

 

We were still whacko from the time zone difference (6 hours earlier than ours) so we were out late cruisin' around Oahu.

 

Day 2 - Kai and Sierra hangin' out in the rockers at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

 

We went to check this out based on Dick's recommendation. It was all he said it was... beautiful.

 

Our first tourist purchase. Their spending money was burning a hole in their pocket.

 

We went to the International Market and bought the biggest shark tooth they had.

 

Well, we bought the two biggest shark teeth they had.

 

It's time to go cruisin'. They gave Kai this cool palm frond head band and a shell lei.

 

They gave Sierra a beautiful flower over her ear and a flower lei.

 

Dad booked a special room so we had a few extra amenities. One of them was an early check in and we were taken to a special room with champagne while we waited for our lunch.

 

"Cheers."

 

The boys (in their inadvertently matching shirts) waiting for our special lunch.

 

The pretty girls with their flowers.

 

We took a tour of the ship while we waited for our room. This was one of the restaurants. We went there a few times.

 

Our room is ready!

The Master Bedroom.

 

This was our porch off the back of the ship!

 

View into the room from the porch.

 

Kai and Sierra's room.... It has a TV - Awesome!

 

We played a little shuffleboard on deck.

 

We don't really know how to play so we shuffled the disks around a bit.

 

View of Honolulu from the ship.

 

This was the pool area.

 

We had reservations at this restaurant our last night of the cruise.

 

It was Little Italy.

 

We ate in this restaurant a few times. It was "Presidential" on top and "Metro" on the bottom portion.

The stairs that take you from the top restaurant to the bottom one.

 

The entire Norwegian cruise was a "Continental" theme. It was very cool. All areas of the ship were patterned off of different US states/culture. This staircase led up to a glass Washington Monument.

 

We ate at this Japanese restaurant during the cruise.

 

 

This is a picture of one of the main restaurants (the "Metro" one at the bottom of the staircase).

 

Leaving port... Honolulu, see you in 7 days.

 

The view of the island as we pulled away.

 

We had champagne and water in our room waiting on us.

 

Day 3 - pulling into Maui. We had danishes for room service before our breakfast.

 

We rented a convertible in Maui. Sierra picked the color - Black!

 

Welcome to Maui!

The convertible was a good blow dryer in the back seat.

 

"I can't keep my eyes open."

 

Taking a hike in Maui.

 

Kai next to a cool tree.

 

We had to take a picture of this... just looked cool how the sun was shining through the plant.

 

The trees with all their vines were cool.


There were feral cats everywhere.

 

View from the Road to Hana (a very treacherous road along the coast).

 

We saw some feral pigs on the side of the road.

 

We stopped for shaved ice for lunch.

 

Kai had a combo with one flavor called "Tiger blood."

 

"Mmmm... dessert for lunch."

 

 

After our drive on the "Road to Hana" we went to the beach for a few hours.

 

We tried to snorkel but the water was a little rougher and not too many fish.

 

Our beautiful babies on the gorgeous beach.

 

"Let me at um..."

 

Sierra surfing on the lava rock.

 

Wet willies....

 

"Hurry and take the picture... I'm cold."

 

Fun times in the ocean.

 

We cleaned off at the beach shower, dressed in the car, and headed to a Luau.

 

Not too shabby for beach bathing...

 

Our handsome boys.

 

"Aren't they cute?"

 

The luau grounds.

 

The "all you can drink bar" was a big hit with the kids. They made all the drinks on the menu, non-alcoholic so they taste tested quite a bit.

 

"Whew - that's sour."

 

Smile ladies...

 

Mom and Sierra had some hula lessons.

 

There were games for the kids. Sierra won her tattoo here (which she shows off in many of the later pictures).

 

 


Our dinner was cooking in the ground.

 

We watched as they "unearthed" it.

 

It cooked in palm fronds in the ground over the hot coals.

 

After we got our dinner, the show started. We had front row seats.

 

Here Sierra is hangin' loose with our server.

 

Sierra was laughing so hard when the hula dancing started, it was borderline heckling. She wasn't expecting the rapid shaking hips.

Kai's eyes were as big as saucers watching the "Coconut bras."

 

More shaking = more laughing.

 

The men only wore loin clothes .. no one was laughing at that :).

 

This is one of Kai's biggest smiles all trip.

 

Sierra practiced her hula hip shakin' the rest of the trip.

 

They were out 5 minutes down the road.

 

We were greeted with our first towel animal when we returned to the room.

 

Day 4 - Breakfast with a room-service appetizer (danishes, coffee and juice).

 

We spent the day relaxing on the boat for our second day in Maui. After breakfast we had an ice cream on the way to the pool.

 

Mom is trying to catch up with Kai in the Ranger's Apprentice series.

 

Sierra is reading Diary of the Wimpy Kid (which she checked out of the ship's library).

 

We took a break from getting some sun to play very large board games. Dad played chess.

 

Mom, Kai and Sierra played checkers.

 

"King me."

 

For dinner, we went to eat in the Japanese Steakhouse. We sat next to a boy who was awesome at Origami. He gave Sierra a rose and Kai a seahorse.

 

Kai's picture of Mom and Dad.

 

Daddy's girl.

 

Mom and the crazy kids!

 

Day 5 - Sierra with the monopod posing in front of the Washington monument replica. She looked liked a rebel fighter from behind.

 

On our fifth day, we were on the Big Island of Hawaii, in Hilo. We rented a car and headed to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

 

It rained the entire way there but was clear by the time we got in the park. Lucky for the camera!

 

This is one of the active volcanos.

 

You can see it "smoking" in the horizon.

 

There are also lots of steam vents around.

 

Loved these little "Lorax" plants (that was our name for them because they looked like something out of the Lorax movie).

 

This a closer view of the active volcano.

 

Kai and Sierra were checking things out with their binoculars.

 

Check out her Hawaiian tattoo in this picture. She loved showing off how it accentuated her muscles.

 

Halemaumau Crater.

 

 

Another cool plant shot.

 

We went to another area of the park which had a lot of steam vents. The fumes were strong (sulphur smells).

 

They left a yellow residue over the rocks.

 

"I see a bird."

 

These red flowers were all over the island.

 

We were able to walk through a "Lava tube." This was a carved out area of the volcano formed by lava flow.

 

Another picture of the Lava tube (with no people).

 

Couldn't help myself... these plants were everywhere.

 

The "dirt" was black volcanic rock.

 

We hiked to another old crater (a dormat volcano) which you could walk around in.

 

Here is a picture from the top of the crater... if you look close, you'll see little people down there.

 

Sibling love.

 

Daddy looks like he's walking to heavens.

 

I love that they still hold our hands.

 

Caught them in a little happy moment..

 

A pretty white flower in the middle of a lot of stark landscape.

 

We got back to our car and these pheasants were walking around. Here is the lady...

 

...and here is the man bird.

 

After the park, we headed to the black sand beach. We didn't have too long to spend because we had to get back to the ship.

 

It was amazing to see black sand... as black as tar.

 

It's a total different consistency but still works to bury your feet.

 

Very different beach picture than in the "Mainland."

 

"Isn't he handsome?"

 

We were greeted by a cobra towel animal when we returned to our room.

 

The kiddos are all dressed and ready for dinner.

 

"How's this smile?"

 

We also had these waiting in our room when we returned.

 

Sierra drew a picture of herself on the volcano.

 

Day 6 - On our sixth day, we were on the other side of the Big Island - Hawaii, Kona. Dad had arranged a special surprise for us.

 

We went out on a chartered boat to see wild dolphins.

 

Dad before he got a little seasick.

 

The dolphins were amazing. There were about 400 out this day. They would swim right in front of the boat.

 

The pods were all around us.

 

Absolutely beautiful!

 

The water was very clear ... this was like winning a photographic lottery.

 

The dolphins were Spinner Dolphins. We were able to see several of them jumping out of the water and spinning in the air (hence their name).

 

Then, we got to go snorkeling with them.

 

You can see in the upper left, a pod of dolphins swimming by. They came so close.

 

Kai didn't mind the temperatures.

 

Sierra was chilly (the water was cold) - luckily they had a bitty, little wetsuit in her size.

 

You could hear the dolphins "talking" under the water.

 

Look how close they are.. amazing experience.

 

The dolphins are heading down. They would swim near the surface and then nose dive to the bottom.

 

Daddy likes!

 

Little bit climbing back on the boat.

 

After snorkeling with the dolphins, we went to a reef to see Manta Rays. They were a little further down so couldn't get pics as good but you could see them fine underwater.

After the dolphin excursion, we did a little shopping. Dad was happy to see the "Iron Man" course he's watched on TV all these years.

 

We stopped for another Shaved Ice lunch.

 

Sierra bought a little ukulele (her little guitar). Kai was still holding out to find a wooden sword.

 

 

Here is a view of our ship from the island.

 

This was our only port where we had to take a tender to shore.

 

We were greeted in our room by this bird towel animal.

 

Day 7 - By our seventh day, we woke up in Kauai. This was our favorite island.

 

Our big surprise this day was a helicopter tour of the island. They took everyone's weights and assigned our seats to make sure we were all distributed. Kai was front and center beside the pilot (mom beside him).

 

 

Sierra got the window seat behind the pilot and Dad was beside her.

 

Here is a camera view of all of us.

 

A view of our ship from the air.

 

This is the famous waterfall from the Jurassic Park movie.

 

Many movies have been filmed here. There are lots of lush forests.

 

There is also a beautiful canyon (they call it Hawaii's Grand Canyon).

 

Then there is the Na Pali Coast - gorgeous.

 

Many movies have been filmed on this coast.

 

These are the waterfalls from the Fantasy Island TV show.

 

Kai was loving his view.

 

"Very cool ride."

 

Family shot in front of the helicopter (they told us to wear dark clothes so you didn't get reflection when trying to take pics).

 

"Gotta have our afternoon ice cream!"

 

Sierra goofing off with our rabbit towel animal.

 

After lunch on the ship, we headed to Waimea Canyon to hike some more.

 

Waimea Canyon is another of the state parks.

 

There were wild chickens and roosters everywhere on this island.

 

The flowers were the prettiest on this island.

 

It was very bizarre to be in the woods and have no mammals, however, we did run into this little guy.

Oh, she's tough!

 

Another pretty flower.

 

Yet another cool one.

 

Whew - we made it to the top of this outlook.

 

We decided to brave it to the next ridge.

 

"What are you looking at?"

 

There was lots of climbing to get to the top of this one.

 

It was worth it to see the view.

 

Not bad for having sun right in our eyes.

 

Once we got to the bottom again, we walked out with a rooster.

 

We were greeted in our room by these.

 

Day 8 - Our last island day was a second day in Kauai. After another great breakfast in our special dining room, we rented a car and headed to the Na Pali Coast to snorkel some more.

 

This was a nice, calm area to go snorkeling.

 

"Awesome, mom"

 

"We're coming to get you."

 

These crazy trees grew on the beach. Sierra could make a home out of the root structure.

 

We lucked out to be on the beach when a Hawaiian Monk Seal decided to rest.

 

He just laid there and sunned himself. The lifeguards look each day to see if any have come ashore and put signs up around them.

 

You weren't supposed to get too close - they're protected. But it was close enough to get some cool pics.

 

Sierra stirring up sand under the water so no one could see the fish.

 

Sierra finished her book just in time to turn back into the library on the boat.

 

The drive back was beautiful, but got a little stressful. We almost missed the boat because of the log-jam traffic that occurs 5 miles from the ship in their little one-lane road downtown.

 

The people here were so nice. The car rental guy felt bad for us, didn't charge us for gas (which would have been horrendous because we didn't have time to fill up before returning the car); plus a nice person who had just gotten off work, gave us a ride in the National SUV back to the ship. We tipped him well and got back on the ship with 5 minutes to spare.

 

We were so stressed by the time we got on the ship (because if we missed the boat, we would have had to fly back to Oahu and then figure out how to get our stuff from the ship... not to mention we only had our bathing suits on), we treated ourselves to a bucket of beer.

 

Daddy is finally relaxed after a few hours back on the ship.

 

Our handsome boys.

 

Sierra and Big Daddy.

 

Love these babies.

 

Ok - time to horse around.

 

Day 9 - We found a email/camera kiosk in the Royal Hawaiian hotel... emailed this one to Dick.

We went from the ship to Pearl Harbor. There were lots of weapons and machines to try out.

 

"You want a piece of this?"

 

"I see you."

 

The dynamic duo armed and ready for the enemy.

 

 

 

 

Kai checking out the Periscope.

 

Daddy being goofy.

 

"I won't fall Mom"

 

"Call me"

 

We didn't tour this ship but got a good pic.

 

We did the audio tour. The "globe" was the first stop.

 

Picture of Hawaii on the "globe."

 

Pretty bird of paradise flower.

 

This was a replica of the Arizona we toured (which sunk in Pearl Harbor).

Sierra posing with her headset.

 

Another view of the Arizona replica.

 

 

Here is a picture of the Arizona underwater with the Monument over it.

 

Our audio tour took us on a boat over to the USS Arizona.

 

A view of the memorial

 

This was a portion of the ship you could see looking into the water.

 

Here is a picture of the monument.

 

Another view of the ship from the monument.

 

Kai taking it all in.

 

It is sobering to see the wall and know all these people lost their lives on this ship. We were glad we had the opportunity to see it.

 

The monument is beautiful.

 

The picture of the flag needed to be taken.

 

Here was a picture of how the ships were arranged on the day of the attack.

 

Kai posed in front of the entrance for a picture.

 

After shopping on every island, Kai found his "weapon" - we negotiated with a shop keeper to get this hand carved axe to hang on his wall (next to his wooden sword).

 

Once we checked back into the hotel (the same hotel as on the front end), they offered us boogie boards to take to the beach. We couldn't pass it up.

 

Daddy had a little quiet time in the hotel with a basketball game and we hit the beach.

 

Waiting for a wave (that didn't come).

 

Sierra buried her board in the sand.

 

"Help me - the baby is eating me."

 

Another picture from the Royal Hawaiian (little out of order).

 

Day 10 - Today is the day we headed home. We took advantage of our last few hours by heading to the beach again. We did some more boogie boarding (well floating on boogie boards).

 

We played ball on the beach.

 

"Catch Kai."

 

We did a little "surfing."

 

"Awesome vacation."

 

This was a picture we had taken the last night on the ship.

 

The limousine picked us up from the hotel to take us back to the airport.

 

We have our toys/books out for our 12 hour red-eye trip home.

It was a long journey but well worth it.

 

THANK YOU DADDY/JIM FOR PLANNING AN AWESOME TRIP!

 

Swim Team (back to top)

After vacation, we started swim team practice and swim meets. Kai and Sierra both improved so much this year. Their times were much improved and they continued to get better over the summer. We saw a little more competitiveness as well. It was tough because as they got better, they would be moved into tougher heats and wouldn't get the better placed ribbons. We tried to get them to focus on their personal time improvement. It was fun to watch them this year.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wekiva team won again and Kai got 8th best time in freestyle (across all 7-8 year old boys)

 

     

July 4th Activities (back to top)

We spend July 4th at home. We decided to do the Watermelon 5K run as a family to start the day (at the crack of dawn). Everyone ran almost the entire thing which was awesome. We did a few other fun things on that day (and got to see the "Big Fireworks" the night before in Altamonte).

 

 

 



July 3rd we went bowling before the fireworks.

 

"I'm ready."

 

 

"Take that, pins."

 

This is how a lefty bowls.

 

Once it got dark, we went outside to find our spot for the fireworks.

 

Getting tired, but hanging in there.

 

View from the sunroof.

 

 

Fireworks view from the Wafflehouse.

 

Kai and Sierra before the race.

 

Daddy with two tired kids before the race (it was an early morning).

 

 

We all put on patriotic tattoos (except for Mr. Cool - Kai).

 

Daddy and Kai in the middle of the pack.

 

Daddy and Sierra crossed the finish line first.

 

Once the finish line came into view, Kai kicked it in gear so he could ensure Mom was the "Last Higgins'" to cross the line.

Family Finale

 

After the race, they had lots of snacks and activities. Kai got his face painted.

 

The lady tossed in a little blue so it looked a little patriotic.

Sierra went for the tiger painting. They took care to work around her tattoos.

 

"Check out my extra teeth."

 

We went to the downtown Winter Park to enjoy their festivities after the race.

 

We had free hotdogs/waters and bounce houses.

 

We went home and chilled out, then had some dessert and our own fireworks.

 

Our fireworks "appetizer."

 

Sierra decorated the lamp.

 

She still had her bow on from the parade last summer in Virginia.

So pretty.

 

Love this picture.

 

Sparkler time.

 

 

It's burning down.

 

Daddy and his crazy pose.

 

 

Ready to light some more.

 

 

Daddy let Kai help light some of our "big ones."

 

These are "the big ones."

 

Kai likes fireworks as much as Daddy.

 

     

Aunt Bunny Visit (back to top)

After July 4th, Aunt Bunny came for a visit on the long weekend. We went to SeaWorld and the beach, saw the new Spiderman movie and played in the pool. We loved having her and had a great visit.

 



We lucked out and saw the Beluga whales being fed at Seaworld.

The walrus was doing flips underwater.

 

The Beluga whales were doing synchronized swimming after they ate.

 

"We love Aunt Bunny."

 

 

Not sure which of the girls was squealing louder.

 

Smile guys!

 

Pretty girls!

 

Everyone is taking a ride on Shamu.

 

 

"Is it almost time to see the real one?"

 

A nice person walking by took a picture of all of us.

 

 

Love the dolphin show!

 

The parrots flew right over our heads and landed on their trainer close by.

 

 

We had close seats for the Shamu show too. Kai and Sierra were disappointed to not get wet even though they were in the splash zone.

 

Scary!

 

 

"I'm going to bite you."

 

A real one... really scary.

 

 

Our day at the beach was nice. As you can see, we dug another big hole.

 

Time for some "surfing."

 

 

Kai built a trench to contain the water.

 

Falling...

     

Miscellaneous (back to top)

In addition to all the fun described above, we had lots of other miscellaneous adventures (see below).

 

Kai and his new "big bike" with hand brakes (thanks for Mike/Lauren for the hand-me-down).

 

Sierra in her new shark helmet - she gets some interesting looks riding around.

 

Just a cool underwater picture.

Sierra had a nasty accident on her bike. She went down hard, hitting her head first, then her knee. As she is screaming, she's says lucky I had my helmet on (we agree). She has a nasty scar but it was better to deal with than a head wound.

 

 

Very cool picture of our orchid.

 

 

We grew 3 tomatoes this year... better than the 2 we got last year.

 

Sierra's knee was oozing so bad, we had to keep her bandaged up for about a week until it started to heal.

 

Kai's gifted class had an Egyptian play at the end of the year. He is still very nervous in front of crowds but he did great.

 

He was a little more comfortable behind the stand (aren't we all?).

 

Somehow the play turned into a princess and Egyptian theme... that part made him smile.

 

Cousin Natalie's birthday at the beginning of the year was fun.

 

They had a big water slide. Here our cousins Katey, Natalie and Michael are going down with Sierra.

"Watch out below!"

 

Natalie was enjoying her birthday with her Daddy.

 

Alright Katey... bombs away.

 

Kai getting some air.

 

I think Sierra got a little more height.

 

All smiles.

 

Katey and Sherry braving the slide.

 

Uncle Bob and Natalie - ready for cake.

 

1 - 2 - 3 Blow.

 

Mmmm.... good icing.

 

We had weekend Disney passes and sent ourselves these pictures from Epcot.

 

Here are the goofy boys.

 

Kai and Sierra at the park (Sierra still has her "cast" on - that is what she called it).

 

Tiger face painting is still popular with Sierra on Gator's family night.

 

We built a fort one day at the park. Well - it was more of a teepee structure.

 

Sierra and her 2nd Grade Teacher, Ms Shannon.

 

Kai and his 2nd Grade Teacher, Miss Clodfelter.

 

Sierra started getting Lego magazine and wanted to submit a picture of her creation.

 

We went fishing one day at Wekiva State Park. This guy decided to follow up around.

 

He kept trying to get our bait.

Kai finally caught a fish.

 

We cast out one more time and finally had to leave because the alligator wouldn't leave us alone.

 

You can see the alligator in the center of the shot. He was waiting for Sierra to cast out again.

 

Obi-wan-kenobi

Shallow diving!

 

We love the beach.

 

Mama's handsome boy!

 

Daddy is worn out... fell asleep on the beach.

 

Watch out or you're going to get it!

 

Chillin' in Liz and Arlen's pool.

 

Relaxing with Daddy.

 

Smile Liz.

 

Kai playing with with Arlen's toys.

 

They had a cool swing or the kids in the front yard.

 

"I can see you upside down."

 

The kids liked Arlen's bird.

 

"I can get used to this life."

 

Barbara/Rob were kind enough to watch the kids the weekend before school started so Mom and Dad could get away. We went to a resort on the other end of town. This was the huge bedroom.

 

The bathroom was huge... you can't see the big walk in shower to the right.

 

 

The room was a huge suite they upgraded us too.

The kitchen.

 

The living area.

 

Another view of the living area.

 

Dad relaxing.

 

The resort was built by the same people that built Hammock Beach where we vacationed last year. The building looked identical.

 

It had a little more of a continental feel than Hammock Beach.

 

They had a water park for the kids.

 

It had a lazy river.

 

It was pretty peaceful early in the morning.

 

A pretty flower we passed. It was a nice, relaxing weekend. We read by the pool for 2 peaceful days, but we were ready to pick the kids up on Sunday.

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