Snowed In

Finally - SNOW!!

Just when we were giving up hope of being snowed in, our dreams came true.  And in a few days, just when we're sick of being stuck at home (even church was cancelled) and ready for kids to go back to school after 2 1/2 snow days so far, the rain will be back and we'll have one big slurpee all over the place.  Can't wait.

Since we, in the northwest, are long on rain and bodies of water, and short on snow - we've made some excellent discoveries:

1 - Waders work better than snow pants and boots.  They are truly waterproof, and snow can't go down their boots.  Plus, we have a steady supply of them!

Kayaks make great sleds.

There is actually one instance where a sloped yard comes in very handy, and this is it.

The goats have missed us.  Rocket is giving Grant a little nuzzle.  Next he'll probably chew off his zipper and eat his gloves.  They can't help themselves.

And little Jackie and Blackie got to go outside and pretend they were REAL rabbits - not just designer bunnies that live all pampered in the house.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

It was a beautiful day on the coast so we headed out to join some friends for some sun, sand, surf, and kite flying.

Also, since it is Easter weekend we hunted for Easter eggs.

Finally, we capped the day off with a campfire on the beach. We roasted seaweed (which we didn't eat),

hotdogs (which we did eat),

watched the tide roll out (nothing to eat here),

and yes, s'mores were involved (we ate them).

A House to Match Our Thumbs

We were determined to avoid the typical long cold spring of the Pacific northwest this year so we invested in a little greenhouse.

Everyone was very excited to plant their seeds and watch them sprout.

Look at them grow!

I can almost taste the cucumbers now.

Now who will help me weed the garden?

Hawaiian Odyssey Part XI - Twilight

Our last full day in Hawaii dawned bright with mostly clear skies so we headed back to the Sans Souci beach. We even had to use sunscreen.

We made a few sand towers.

But mostly we just enjoyed the warm weather and water.

I'm not sure what the point of the rocks were but he seemed pretty certain.

Grant found a little hermit crab.

Cole got in some final boogies.

And ended up with sand in his ear.

John and Laura got to snorkel together.

This is what a Hawaiian beach day should be like.

Towards evening we stopped by to look at the penguins and turtles at the Hilton. This photo is the last confirmed sighting of Emily's shoes. Maybe a penguin ate them.

Then we headed down to the beach for some last minute cousin time.

A local woman, probably hired by the Hilton, came to the shore and did some dance looking performance.

It was a nice way to spend our last few minutes with the beach.

Hawaiian Odyssey Part X - Hawaiian Oddity

The day was overcast and rainy: decidedly non-beach weather. We decided to take a bus to the International Market. It rained pretty hard on the short walk to the bus stop. Grant wasn't pleased with the weather. You will note that the intersection behind us is entirely free of lakes, ponds or other bodies of water. I shouldn't have to mention that fact but it will become important later on.

A quick stop at McDonalds for happy meals brought a smile to Grant's dour face.

Bryn had the same smile.

Then Cole and Grant smiled together.

But there was definitely trouble in paradise.

Once we arrived at the bus stop the rain returned with a vengeance.

After a longish wait, we found out that the bus doesn't make change and we didn't feel like paying double for a bus ride. We walked a block until we found an ABC store and bought Skittles to get change. By then we thought that we were close enough that we might as well walk. So we did and we arrived without further incident.

Spirits were still high and we even bought some stuff.

There was a lot to choose from.

On the way back we again opted to walk, after all it's less than a mile. That's when it began to go wrong. Or rather, that's when the rain really began.

And kept coming. We huddled under an awning in front of Tiffany & Co. to ride it out.

In spite of it all spirits remained high, if a little damp. We tried flagging down a taxi, to no avail. Who wouldn't want five soggy passengers in their car?

Cole seemed pleased with his Hawaiian satchel as we continued to wait for the rain to abate.

It finally did, at least enough for us to trek the rest of the way home, where we encountered the aforementioned intersection, now the site of a lake in training. Notice the photographer on the other side of the street.

Turns out he was from the Honolulu Star Advertiser and he put our photo in the paper. Notice the photographer on the other side of the street. Ain't she cute? It's like I'm on both sides of a mirror.

The following is a graph of the rainfall totals for each 6 hour period since January 1st. Guess which day coincided with our walk to the market?

Not my favorite vacation day but it left us with a pretty good story and the kids' first appearance in the paper.