Gran's Lemon Icebox Pie reinvented as Key Lime Pie

Vanilla Wafer Crumb Crust:
Mix 40 crushed Nilla Wafers, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup melted butter in a pie plate.  Press mixture into crust.  Bake 8 minutes at 325 degrees.  Let cool.

Grate 1 tablespoon lime peel.  Squeeze limes to get 1/2 cup juice.
Separate 3 eggs.
Beat yolks and add 1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk.  Add lime juice and zest.  Blend well.
Fill pie crust with mixture.  Bake at 325 degrees for 14 minutes, until filling is set.  Turn off oven.  Prop door.  Let pie cool in oven.  Refrigerate.  Top with whipped cream to serve.

Kauai - July 9, 2011

After breakfast, we got packed up and drove over to Ke'e Beach, which is as far as you can go on the north end of the island.  The last time we were in Kauai, we spent a lot of time at this beach because it's calm and warm since there's a protective reef just offshore.  It seemed like a good spot to get the kids back into snorkeling since it had been two years since they'd had the chance to do it and our youngest had been too little the last time.  Mike and I knew the snorkeling was just okay there, but figured the kids wouldn't really care as long as they saw something.

The older two headed for the water right away and took off for some rocks to the side of the beach.  They immediately started exclaiming over the fish that were swimming around them and spent a long time looking around the rocks and swimming back and forth between them and the beach.  Our little one had been hesitant to swim at the beach in the past, but decided that this time it was a fine idea, so she was diving down to gather rocks and check out the little fish that were coming closer in to the beach.  Mike took the older kids out to check out the reef when they were ready to swim a bit farther, which they both thought was really cool.

After spending the morning swimming and playing in the sand, we dragged the kids out of the water and they tore into the snacks we brought like they'd never seen food.  While they were occupied, Mike and I got the gear packed up and we wrangled the kids and stuff up to the showers to rinse off the sand and salt, which turned out to be unnecessary since Mother Nature decided to do it for us.  We then went into Hanalei for lunch at Bubba's, followed by the kids' first experience with shave ice.  They now agree, by the way, that there's no going back to snow cones!

After lunch, we thought we'd go see a couple of other beaches and decide if we wanted to spend more time at one of them.  We ended up not staying at either one, since one was very rough (although our son was game to try boogie boarding anyway) and our youngest was asleep at the other.  We did stop by the Kilauea Lighthouse, but it was closed by the time we got there, so we only got to see it from a distance.

On our way back to the condo, we stopped at the grocery for some dinner and then enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the bluff behind the condo.  After a busy day, it was a lovely way to end.

Kauai - July 8, 2011

We took our time getting up (okay, I took my time getting up, while Mike dealt with the kids) and had a lazy breakfast in the condo.  When we finally got ourselves organized, we drove down the road a bit to do a hike to a (large) tidepool called Queen's Bath.  We actually did this the last time we were here, with our son in a backpack for the hike down and back.  This time, all three kids managed it on their own, even though it was a bit slippery from the rain the night before.  Once we got down to Queen's Bath, they jumped right in and started swimming around to check it out, with our little one hopping in after her brother and sister.  They thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever done and they had a blast sitting in the water that flowed over the rocks, swimming around checking out the fish, and jumping off the rocks (our son) into the pool.  On the hike back up, we stopped to rinse off in the waterfall that flows next to the path, just like Mike and our son did the last time.

We headed into Hanalei for lunch and ate at the Hanalei Gourmet, which we remembered being pretty good last time.  It was even better this trip and our youngest discovered her new favorite sandwich - peanut butter and banana with honey.  From there, we went over to Blackpot Beach on Hanalei Bay and checked out the pier.  The signs say no jumping or diving from the pier, but there were lots of people doing exactly that, so our son wanted to give it a try.  Needless to say, he was occupied for a long time jumping in and climbing back out (it's about a 10-foot drop to the water).  His sister had to give it a try, too, of course, and the two of them spent the rest of the afternoon out there.  Our little one was happily walking the beach, singing and playing a game of pretend while I sat and watched from the beach.  Mike supervised the shenanigans on the pier from the water.

We finally dragged them all out of the water and got them cleaned up enough to head back to the condo.  We stopped at the grocery on the way back to pick up a frozen pizza for the kids and a roasted chicken for us and enjoyed a quiet dinner at our place.  Bedtime was quick and easy after that!

Kauai - July 7, 2011

I'll bet you thought I'd abandoned this blog!  Well, I'm back!  With baseball and soccer and baseball and gymnastics and swimming and baseball and school and baseball this spring, my spare time was pretty limited, so I didn't even attempt to keep up with blogging.  I do hope to at least finish posting pictures from our trip to Orlando back in February, but for now, I'll be working on stuff from our current trip to Kauai.

We haven't been to Kauai in about eight years, since I was pregnant with our older daughter and our son was not yet two.  We'd been wanting to go back, so when we were able to purchase a week at a condo in Princeville in a fundraising auction, we jumped at the chance.  The kids have been excited to see a new island, but really weren't sure about what to expect.

Our son's favorite part of any trip is the flight, but he was disappointed that we were flying out of San Jose this time instead of San Fransicso and he wouldn't get the chance to see the planes from the international flights.  The rest of us were thrilled that we didn't have to get up an hour earlier and the dog was happy that he got to spend an additional night at home instead of having to go to day care the day before.  Our son got over it, though, when we flew into Honolulu and he got to see the planes there when we changed flights.

The flights were uneventful (thank goodness!) and the kids did really well. It was quick and easy to get our luggage and rental car and we were off to the condo without any trouble.  We debated stopping on the way for food, but the kids weren't hungry and just wanted to get to our condo, so made our way north to Princeville.  Two of them fell asleep and the third was dozing, so by the time we got to our place, they were ready to go again. 

We got unpacked and threw on bathing suits to spend some time in the pool and let the kids burn off some energy after being cooped up for so long.  The pool here is really cool, with 2 pools for swimming, one kiddie/splash pool with a waterfall, and a spa that's been perfect for loosening up my back, which I tweaked the day before we left.  After some time in the pool and showers, we headed to Hanalei to find some dinner.

Hanalei has a small shopping area, with a number of stores and probably 8 restaurants.  At the Hanalei Surf Shop, we got to talking to the guy behind the desk and found out that he does stand-up paddleboard (SUP) lessons, so we decided to schedule a morning with him for four of us to learn how to paddle (our youngest is too little to manage a paddle yet).  We then wandered across the street to the nearest restaurant, called Kalypso, for some dinner.  The food was surprisingly good (I had chesse ravioli with local mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes that was terrific) and by the time we finished the kids were barely keeping their eyes open.

So far, so good!

Magic Kingdom - February 23, 2011

Our son was feeling much better after a good night's sleep, so we headed off to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World for the day.  The kids were excited, which made the hour-long ride a bit challenging, and they kept asking about what they'd see and what we were going to do once we got to the park.  After parking the car (telling our older daughter to remember we parked in Daisy 31 - she always keeps track of our parking spots), we took the tram to the Transportation and Ticket Center to catch the monorail to the Magic Kingdom.  Honestly, the monorail is one of my favorite parts of Disney, so I would have been happy to ride around the circuit and head home, but there probably would have been a mutiny if I'd tried, so we followed the crowd to the park entrance when the train stopped.

We headed for Space Mountain first and while we waited, my mom took our youngest on the other rides in Tomorrowland.  Our line was supposed to be 40 minutes, but when we were about halfway through, there was a "meteor shower" and they shut down the ride.  We got Fastpasses to go back later, hoping that they'd get the ride fixed by then, and then went to meet my mom when she and our little one got off of the race cars.  It was time for lunch at that point, so we grabbed a bite before heading out for the rest of the park.

Splash Mountain was next on the agenda.  My dad offered to stay with our little one, hoping she'd go on the train with him while the rest of us waited for the ride.  She was, to be polite, less than accommodating, so they ended up hanging out by the bottom of the main hill watching for us to come down.  The wait was pretty long, but worth it, especially since it was our older daughter's first time to ride it  and she absolutely loved it. 

For the rest of the afternoon, we split up and got back together off and on, with my mom and the girls mainly staying in Fantasyland and our son and I doing the bigger rides, like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and then heading back to Space Mountain after meeting up with my dad.  We did get to ride it this time, and with no wait since we had the Fastpasses.  Our son loved it and it was fun to be on the ride with him when he rode it for the first time.

We all got back together and did Pirates of the Carribbean, the girls and I did the Magic Carpets, and we all did the Jungle Cruise.  By then, it was time to go back to Splash Mountain to use those Fastpasses, and the kids and I challenged each other to go down the big hill with our hands in the air (our son and I did it) and I managed to stay dry this time.  My mom and dad and our youngest were waiting for us along the parade route, so we met up with them and waited to see the Electrical Light Parade.

I love that parade, but it was really magical to watch the girls see it for the first time.  They were entranced - you could see the wonder on their faces - and they kept exclaiming over which character was coming down the street next.  Our son was fading at that point, so he wasn't as excited as his sisters.  When the parade ended, we started to head for the exit, and as we got to Cinderella's castle, a light show on the outside of the castle started.  It was really amazing - the effects made it look like the outside of the castle was changing brick by brick at times - and our little one turned to me at one point and said, "Mom, the castle is magic!".  That moment made the whole day worthwhile.

The fireworks started right after that, so we stayed for those, too, and then made our way - with the rest of the throng - to the exit.  We took the monorail back to the ticket center and then the tram to the car to finally get ourselves out.  We hadn't eaten yet, so we stopped at McDonald's on the way out and then headed for home.  Our youngest was asleep by the time we got out of the parking lot and the other two dozed as we drove.  The little one didn't completely wake up when we got home and had a massive meltdown when I tried to get her changed for bed - it was like trying to put a nightgown on an octopus.  I finally got her, and the other two, to bed and ended a wonderful, but exhausting day.

Orlando - February 22, 2011

The kids have their winter break this week and since it had been five years since our last trip to Florida, we decided it was time to take everyone down there again.  The kids and I had a non-stop flight from San Francisco to Orlando, which went very well.  They got kind of sick of just watching TV, so the girls made about a hundred trips to the bathroom to entertain themselves, but aside from that, it was a fairly easy flight.  My parents picked us up at the airport and we headed toward their house, stopping for dinner on the way.  The two older kids are still recovering from a miserable virus that hit both of them and me last week, so they were fading quickly by the time we got to dinner.  We ate as quickly as we could and got them home to bed right away, with the hope that they would get a good night's sleep and feel better the next day.

It was a long night.  Our son shared a bed with me and every time he woke up coughing, he woke me up.  Our little one was up twice, not sure where she was or what was going on, so she was crying and unhappy.  Our older daughter woke up with a headache and cough at one point, so I gave her meds for those in the middle of the night.  They were all up at about 8:00 this morning and my mom was up with them, so I finally went to sleep for a bit while she gave them breakfast and kept them entertained.

Our son was still feeling under the weather, so we decided to hang out at my parents' house for the day to let him rest and hopefully get his strength back so we can do some fun stuff in the next few days.  The kids all tried going in the pool, but the water is still pretty chilly since this is the first warm weather they've had all winter.  Our son gave up and went back inside to play with his planes and watch TV, while the girls entertained themselves "rescuing" things from the pool with the net and brush and playing with the hose on the screens.  The weather this afternoon was so lovely that I had to get outside, so my mom and I took the girls to the park for a little while to let them burn off a bit of energy before dinner.

Our son was the first one to bed tonight and I'm hoping he'll sleep well and have more energy for tomorrow.  Our little one managed to snooker my dad into letting her out of bed for a trip to their bathroom, but then fell asleep quickly, too.  Our older daughter got to spend some time reading with my mom and then she was off to bed.  We're hoping everyone will wake up feeling well because we're planning on doing the Magic Kingdom for the day tomorrow and it would not be fun to be dragging sick kids around there all day.

Yosemite

Mike got the chance to go to a conference that was being held in Yosemite.  When he found out about it, he asked me if I wanted to go and if I thought I could find a babysitter for the kids for the weekend.  I got in touch with our long-time sitter to see if she was going to be in town for the weekend, and she was able to work out her travel schedule to be in the area - and she was willing to stay with our crazy crew for two days.  It also happened to fall on the weekend before my birthday, so we had the chance to make it a celebration as well.

We left Friday morning to drive to the park, which took about 3 hours.  It had been ten years since my last trip to Yosemite, and we were only able to spend a couple of hours then, so I didn't really remember a lot about the area.  Driving down into the valley was once again overwhelmingly beautiful and the weather was simply gorgeous on top of it.  We grabbed a quick lunch at the Yosemite Lodge, since that was where Mike's conference was being held, and then he went off to his afternoon meetings, leaving me to my own devices for a few hours.

I checked out the shops at the Lodge and then went to the Ahwahnee, where we were staying.  It's one of the historic, old National Park lodges and is a beautiful building with stunning views.  I changed into my running clothes and took off on the trails that led from the hotel to Yosemite Falls for the most incredibly beautiful run I've ever done.  It was probably not the best workout I've ever had because I kept stopping to take pictures with my phone, but it was amazing to be running up the trail to the bottom of the falls and back through the trees with views of Half Dome and waterfalls and cliffs all around me.

I got cleaned up and then picked Mike up when he was done with his meetings and we went back to our hotel for the evening.  There was a cocktail reception which gave Mike the chance to meet a bunch of the speakers and participants in the conference and then we had a late dinner in the Ahwahnee dining room.  Mike gave me my birthday present just before we went down for the reception - a beautiful multi-colored sapphire bracelet that matches my earrings and necklace.  I absolutely love it and will wear it often, I'm sure.

On Saturday, Mike had meetings all morning, so the wife of one of his partners and I had breakfast together and then went out for a hike.  We left from the hotel and followed a trail to Mirror Lake, which is normally a fairly easy walk, but was treacherous this time because of the the snow and ice covering it.  We managed to get out to the lake without falling and were treated to a beautiful view of the back side of Half Dome and the lake and meadows covered in snow and ice.  We followed a different path back, which ended up being even more slippery than the one on the way out, but ran alongside Tenaya Creek, so we got to see small rapids and hear the water rushing most of the way back.  In all, it took us about two hours and was a wonderful way to spend the morning.

Mike came back to the hotel with the other partner from his firm and the two of them, his wife, and I all had lunch in the bar.  We then went back to our rooms for some down time before meeting up for the afternoon hike.  When we got back together, the four of us drove to Curry Village and then walked to the trailhead for a hike to Vernal Falls.  We were expecting to be picking our way through snow and ice again, and we did have to do a bit of that on the way from the parking lot, but the trail itself was completely clear and dry.  The way up to the falls was a fairly steep, but paved path, so it wasn't too bad a hike.  The views were just stunning and the trail ran on a cliff up above a river that was flowing fast from the recent snow melt, so we were constantly looking both up and down trying to take it all in.  We met up with a bunch of other people from the conference on a bridge below the falls where we got our first view of Vernal Falls itself.  We decided to continue up to the bottom of the falls as long as the trail continued to be clear.  There were a few spots where the snow covered portions of the trial, but we were able to make our way around it and up the steps cut out of the rock to the bottom of the falls.

The hike back down was much easier than going up and we eventually made it back to the car and then the hotel.  After taking a break and cleaning up, we went down to the cocktail reception and then to dinner in the dining room again.  We skipped dessert and had truffles in the room instead, a lovely and relaxing way to end an action-packed day.

We woke up the next morning and looked out the window to discover that five inches of snow had fallen overnight!  It was still snowing, so we decided that since we weren't hungry yet after last night's dinner, we'd skip the buffet and head back home early.  We made a quick stop at the Village Store for some doughnuts to get us going and then started the slow drive out of the valley.  The scenery was only enhanced by the snow and it was overwhelmingly beautiful to see the valley and the falls covered in the new snow.  Unfortunately, the National Parks Service plows were not particularly effective, so driving up the hill was treacherous at times.  As soon as we passed through the park exit, the roads were clear and the rest of the drive was easy.  We stopped for lunch at the Oakdale Cheese Company and picked up grilled ham and gouda sandwiches and some fantastic cheese curds that were super squeaky!

We got home without a problem and the kids were happy to see us.  It was a wonderful weekend, a great way to celebrate my birthday, and a much-needed break from ordinary life.  We're hoping we can go back some time soon - even for a day trip - and take the kids so that they can see this amazing place that is right in our backyard.  It's truly a national treasure and one we want to be sure to explore and share with them.

San Diego , USS Midway - December 28, 2010

Every time we go to San Diego, our son insists on visiting the USS Midway, an aircraft carrier that's docked near downtown and has been turned into a museum.  Since our youngest is old enough to actually tour the ship now, we've all gone the last couple times, and the girls have been excited to go and not just indulging their brother.  We decided to get a membership this time since we do tend to make it down at least a couple of times a year and it's a great organization to support.

There are new things to see just about every time we tour the ship, and this time was no different.  They had added a family audio tour, so we let the older kids get the headsets and listen to the recording as we wandered around the ship.  They were fascinated by the information they heard, so it was worth having them wear them.  Our youngest was disappointed that she couldn't listen, too, but she did enjoy climbing around the ship and up and down the ladders.

We had lunch at the cafe onboard, which we hadn't done before, and the food was pretty good.  We finished the day up on the flight deck, where Mike took the big kids up to tour the tower and our little one and I hung out in a helicopter.  She spent her time serving pretend food, flying us to exotic locales, and chatting with other kids who came in.  When I finally convinced her to go outside, she checked out the information on signal flags and wandered around the deck until the others came back out to meet us.

It was a fun day for all of us and we stayed until they closed the ship down for the night.  We then headed back to the house for dinner with Mike's parents and then off to bed.

After Christmas in San Diego

Two days after Christmas, we drove down to San Diego to spend some time with Mike's parents. We did the same thing last year and found out that it's a great time to be there, and we all love our trips to visit Gramma and Grampa, so all five of us were really looking forward to the trip.

The day we left started out foggy, so we didn't have high hopes for the drive. Just before we got on the highway, though, the fog burned off and it turned into a bright, sparkly day. Incredibly, we had no traffic going down - unheard of for driving through Los Angeles! It only took us eight hours and we were happily pulling into Mike's parents' driveway. The kids immediately got the scooters and skateboards and started riding up and down the sidewalk and Mike threw the ball up the street for Zatarain, who was very happy to be out of the car after the long ride. I ran out right away to pick up food for the dog and then we spent the evening watching the Saints beat the Falcons and eating burgers.

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I know it's 4 days after Christmas, but I'm just now finding the time to sit down and do this.  It was a crazy few weeks leading up to the holidays, with sports still going, school activities, and our normal nuttiness on top of the kids' excitement over Christmas.  I do have to say that it seemed less frantic somehow than in years past, though I'm not sure why exactly.

On Christmas Eve, Mike had to finish his shopping, so I had the kids for the day.  We did a couple of errands in the morning and then I had a Pilates class at noon.  Once we got back from the Y, we all cleaned up and got ready for mass.  We had to be there early because our older daughter was singing in the choir, so it did make for a bit of a long afternoon.  The church was packed, as usual, and it was about the looudest mass I've ever been to, but we all survived and then headed home for dinner.

Our friends came over with their two boys that evening, as they have for the past few years.  We did a Dungeness crab extravaganza, with a bunch of cold, cracked crab for an appetizer and steamed, hot crab for dinner.  We also had some wonderful caviar and cheeses before the meal and a ginger spice cake with homemade butterscotch topping for dessert.  Yum!  It was a fun night and once again, we chatted late into the evening.

I still had a mountain of wrapping to do, so I knew it was going to be a LATE night.  I swear every year that I'm going to get it done ahead of time and every year I end up doing it that night.  Best laid plans, I guess.  I finally got it all done and the stockings ready and the gifts under the tree by about 2:30.  We desperately hoped that the kids would take pity on us and sleep in a bit, since they had gotten to bed late as well.

Our youngest woke up at her usual 6:45 on Christmas morning, but I was able to convince her that it was still night since it was dark out yet and she managed to go back to sleep.  Her brother and sister woke up at about 7:45 and proceeded to head downstairs and check out the tree and sort the gifts into piles while they waited for the rest of us to get up. Good thing I got my pictures of the tree the night before!  The little one woke up the second time at about 8:30, so we all got up and got the day started.

We opened the gifts in our stockings first, to take the edge off and give breakfast time to cook.  Mike fixed the traditional breakfast casserole, which he and I love and the kids refuse to eat - too bad for them! They did sit through part of 'A Christmas Story", which Mike and I think is hysterical and we have on most of the day on Christmas.  The kids didn't really get it, but they were willing to watch it if it was the only thing on.  After breakfast, it was on to the presents under the tree.

The kids were all very happy with their gifts.  The highlights: an iPod Touch for our son, an American Girl horse for our older daughter, and a unicorn Pillow Pet for our younger daughter (her main present didn't arrive in time, so I told her she'd get it after our trip).  Mike gave me two iPad covers from the leather company we fell in love with last year, Saddleback Leather, plus a new camera since I killed the old one about a month ago.  I gave him a very large briefcase from Saddleback that will hold all of his work stuff and then some. 

The rest of the day was spent just hanging out at home.  The weather was awful - rainy and windy - so there was no desire to go outside.  We all stayed in our pajamas for most of the day.  The girls and I made chocolate chip cookies, which I'd been promising them we'd do, but I just had hadn't found the time to make them.  We did a dinner of leftovers and got everyone to bed at a reasonable time.

It was a lovely Christmas and went by all too fast, as usual.  I always hate when Christmas is over because it's my favorite time of the year and I absolutely love the whole build-up to the day.  It helps that we're now on vacation in San Diego and enjoying spending time with Mike's parents.  We did it last year for the first time and had a great time, so we decided to make it a tradition.

From our crazy family to yours, a belated Merry Christmas and a very happy new year!  May you all have a wonderful 2011!

Creamy Parsnip Soup

This is a recipe from Martha's Everyday Food, so thank you (again) Martha Stewart!  It's really tasty, very easy, and only takes about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. prepared leeks, sliced (2 cups)
1 lb. parsnips, trimmed, peeled, and cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium baking potato (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can (14.5 ounces) reduced sodium chicken broth (or homemade stock is even better)
1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Leek garnish (see below)

Directions:

1. Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add leaks (reserving 1/2 cup for garnish). Cook, stirring, 5 minutes.
2. Add parsnips, apples, potato, broth, and 4 cups water.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until vegetabels are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.
3. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth (or use an immersion blender).  Return it to pot; stir in cream.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with leek garnish.
4. To make leek garnish, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high.  Add reserved 1/2 cup leeks; cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Halloween!

We had a very nice Halloween.  Our son had two projects to work on over the weekend, so he spent most of Saturday and a good part of Sunday getting those done.  His baseball game (the last one of the fall season) was cancelled because the other team wasn't able to get enough kids together to play.  Hopefully they'll be able to reschedule it, but it did make the day easier overall.  Our older daughter went home with a friend after mass, so they had a fun time carving pumpkins and playing together.  Our little one spent a long time playing outside since it was an absolutely gorgeous day.  A few of the neighbor kids came out, too, so they all ran around in the driveway and in and out of each other's houses for a long time.

After picking our daughter up, I fed the kids and they got into their costumes.  The Saints and Giants were both playing, so Mike stayed home to keep the candy bowl filled (he put it out on the porch instead of answering the door) and I took the kids and the dog out trick-or-treating.  Our neighborhood was a madhouse (as usual), but the kids had a good time and brought home tons of candy.  The girls stayed up long enough to hand out the last of the candy and then they all went to bed.

They claimed it was the best Halloween ever - although they do tend to say that every year.

Pictures from our little one's Halloween party at school:

Our Little Girl Is Seven!

Opening gifts the night we got back.

So excited it's finally her birthday!

A few pictures from our daughter's birthday.  We didn't do parties for her or her brother this year, but we had a lovely celebration as a family.  Sometimes quiet is really nice!

Matching PJs for her and her American Girl doll

The doll desk she'd been really hoping to get.

  

Family Reunion - Sunday

Our older daughter's birthday was today!  She was very excited to FINALLY be turning seven, but was a little disappointed that she'd be spending the day on a plane.  She knew that she'd be able to open her presents when we got home, though, so that seemed to make things better.

We had to be out of the house by 10:00, so most of the morning was devoted to packing.  Mike's sister made a breakfast casserole the day before, so we all had a very tasty breakfast before leaving.  We took a few last pictures outside and then everyone headed out in their various directions.  We went right to the airport to catch our flight to Atlanta.  The flight was oversold by a lot and we tried to get bumped since they were offering $600 per person in travel vouchers, but they weren't able to get all of us to San Francisco on other flights.  I did offer to send the kids on their own, but the woman at the desk declined - I wonder why?

The flights were fine and the kids did really well even though we didn't have the individual TV screens this time.  We found out that the first officer on the flight was also celebrating his birthday that day, so he made sure to wish our daughter his best as we were getting off of the plane. 

We grabbed a quick dinner and then let our kiddo open her gifts.  There were a couple that had been delivered to Mike's office while we were gone (the one she'd really been hoping for), so she got to open those the next day.

It was a fantastic vacation.  None of us were ready to leave, which is always a good sign!  We are already talking about where to go and what to do for our next reunion, in two years.

Family Reunion - Saturday

Mike's sister saw an ad for a doughnut place nearby that makes fresh doughnuts to order, so she and I made plans to get up early and pick some up for breakfast.  I woke up earlier than I needed to, so I got up and got dressed and was able to watch the most incredible sunrise over the beach.  There were lots of people out doing the same thing and it was a cool, clear morning so there wasn't anything to interrupt the view.  It was an amazing way to start the day!

We found the doughnut place and brought them back for everyone.  They were very good, but SO filling.  I felt like I needed the rest of the day to actually digest the ones I ate.  It was a cool enough morning that the kids didn't want to get in the pool, so I took our girls back to the shopping center at the end of the street to look through the rest of the stores we missed when we had to leave to get back for the boat trip.  I finally found the magnets our son needed, too, so it was worth the trip!  We got a couple of little souvenirs for them and went back to the house for the rest of the day.

The girls ended up out on the beach with Mike's sister-in-law, making drip castles, and our son went out to boogie board for a while.  When I saw that the waves were the best we've seen, I couldn't resist, so I got my suit on and grabbed a board to join him.  It was great fun and we spent over an hour out there riding whatever we could catch.  I finally got cold and passed the board off to Mike.

The rest of the crew came out to start the traditional bolo tournament.  I was paired with Mike's sister, but the two of us just couldn't manage to out-score the other teams, so we were eliminated early on.  The final rounds took place a little later in the day, after the boys returned the bike.  Once again, Jeremy and Mike were the bolo champions, retaining their title from two years ago.

Mike's sister made salad, spaghetti, and garlic bread for dinner.  After we ate, it was FINALLY time for the Cousins' Birthday, which the kids had been (im)patiently waiting for all day.  They passed out their presents to each other and opened them all at the same time.  Everyone seemed pretty happy with their gifts!  We all had cake for dessert and then started gathering our things to pack since we were leaving the next day.

Family Reunion - Friday

Mike and his brother decided that they wanted to rent a three-wheeled motorcycle for the day, so they left mid-morning to go pick it up.  While they were gone, our friend came back over for a little while before he had to head back home.  It was really good to hear about his family and learn about his boys and their life in Greenville.  By the time Mike got back, our friend had to leave, but he took a spin around the neighborhood on the bike to see what it was like and how it compares to the Harley he rides every day.

Mike and his brother and nephew all spent a good part of the day taking turns riding the bike around.  I went back to Harbor Town with Mike's parents to check out the shops, since I didn't get to see them yesterday.  I didn't find what I was looking for - magnets for our son's science homework - but I did find some ornaments and stocking stuffers for Christmas, so it was worth the trip.

We spent the afternoon boogie boarding and playing bolo on the beach.  The kids went from the beach to the pool to the house, as their little hearts desired.  We had reservations for dinner at 5:30, so we all got cleaned up and drove over to a restaurant called "Dye's Gullah Fixin's", with Mike's brother and sister-in-law on the bike.  The food was absolutely incredible - all southern favorites like fried chicken and catfish, boiled seafood, onion pie, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and a variety of other things.  It was all perfectly cooked and absolutely wonderful.  Since it was a buffet, we all ate WAY too much, but it was too hard to resist.  Mike rode the bike back to the house while the rest of us drove and we spent the rest of the evening watching baseball and digesting.  We did manage to motivate ourselves enough to take a walk on the beach after dark, which the kids thought was very cool.  They got to see tons of stars and the moon was gorgeous, making for a lovely walk. 

Family Reunion - Thursday

I got up at a reasonable hour this morning and went for a run to start my day.  Instead of going to the gym, I decided to go out on the road, which I haven't done in ages.  It's always harder for me to run on the road - I think I actually run faster when I don't have a machine setting my pace - so it was not easy to keep going for an hour.  I did manage to make it out and back, though, and felt pretty good by the time I was done.  I was really ready to be finished, though!

By the time I got back, the kids were up and in the pool.  We gave them some time to swim and I got cleaned up and then we headed out to find the Salty Dog store on a part of the island we hadn't seen before.  After checking out all the stores in the little shopping area, we all piled back into our cars and moved on to yet another shopping area, called Harbor Town.  We had lunch at The Crazy Crab there, which was delicious - the kids even asked if they could go back there some day, it was so good.  The rest of the family stayed to wander around the shops and we went back to the house to wait for a friend of ours to come visit.

After our last trip to Hilton Head, I got in touch with a friend of ours from high school, who happens to live in Greenville, South Carolina.  I let him know that we were going to be back, so he decided to come over to visit for the afternoon.  We spent some time hanging out on the beach and in the pool, catching up, since we hadn't seen each other in twenty years.  He joined us for dinner - enchiladas made by Mike's siter-in-law, which were wonderful! - and then hung out with the family while the kids made s'mores in the backyard for dessert.  He then went back to his hotel for the night and the rest of us ended our day.

Family Reunion - Wednesday

The dads were scheduled to play golf for the day, so they got up and out early to have a chance to go to the driving range for a bit before hitting the course.  I decided to sleep in instead of getting up to work out - it is vacation after all!  As soon as the kids were up, they had a bite of breakfast and were ready for the pool.  I had to foil their plans, though, and insist that they get some homework done.  It was not a popular decision, but they did it anyway and then headed for the water.

Just before lunch, I got my kids out and took them shopping.  They needed some time out of the water during the middle of the day since they were all getting a bit burnt no matter how much sunscreen we put on them.  The last time we got together, we did a "cousins' birthday", where the kids all drew each other's names and then got that person a birthday gift.  All of the kids (except our little one) remembered this from last time and really wanted to do a birthday celebration again, so we needed to get gifts for the cousins they picked. 

I took them to lunch at McDonald's, where our oldest remarked about the cashier, "Mom, she's so nice and friendly, not like at home."  I had to explain that customer service is a bit different in the south and that he should remember what it was like to have someone be so polite when helping him.  Hopefully it made at least a bit of an impression.  After that, we headed to Target to get the gifts and a few other things we needed, like pencils since our older daughter didn't bring one and needed it to do her homework (she had to borrow her cousin's) and everyone got a new book.  We then came back closer to the house to wander the little shopping center at the end of the street that has a bunch of gift shops.  Since the kids were incredibly patient for that, we all got ice cream at a little shop called Frozen Moo - I love that name!  It was good ice cream, too.  I realized while we were sitting there enjoying our ice cream that I was supposed to go out for a photo tour/boat ride that afternoon with the other moms and Mike's niece - I had completely forgotten about it!  I gathered the kids up and made a beeline for the car to try to get back in time to leave with them.

I did make it just in time and ran inside to gather my things to go, after making a quick phone call to set the details of a visit from a friend of ours the next day.  In the chaos, I managed to grab my camera, but forgot to take the battery out of the charger.  Of course, I discovered this on the boat as we were pulling away fron the dock.  It was a bit disappointing, but in the end turned out to be a good thing because I was able to look around and pay attention to the scenery instead of thinking about taking pictures, which often makes me miss out on the bigger scene.

The guy who runs the tours is a photographer who takes small groups out in his nineteen-foot, flat-bottom boat.  He has an outboard motor for getting places quickly and a little electric motor for getting up close to the birds or other animals without scaring them.  We headed into the inland waterway and almost immediately Mike's niece spotted some dolphins.  It turned out to be two mother-calf pairs, along with a male who stayed on the outskirts. The mothers and babies were swimming around and playing together, so we spent a long time sitting and watching them.  They would come within a couple of feet of the boat, so we got to see them really well.  We didn't want to leave, but we did want to see more of the area, so we moved on and motored further inland.

I got to see my first oyster beds on this trip.  The tide was going out, so they became more exposed the longer we were out there and they are impressive structures, with the shells all building on top of each other.  There were some wonderful birds out feeding, including willets, grackels, royal terns, great egrets, and two of my favorites, the great blue heron and the snowy egret.  We heard the hooting of a great horned owl, but didn't see it.  At our furthest point inland, we saw another pair of dolphins, a mother with an older calf, who were feeding.  We could see them herd the fish by pushing a wave of water ahead of them and then they'd swim up from underneath and grab the fish.  It was an amazing thing to watch and really fascinating to see how the mother was teaching the calf to do this.  After watching them for a few minutes, the dolphins swam off and we started back toward the dock since the no-see-ums were starting to come out.  My sister-in-law and I weren't getting bitten, but the others were, so it was time to get back.

So even though I didn't have a camera, it was a wonderful trip.  Our guide was great, the animal life was fantastic, and it was a gorgeous evening.  It was definitely worth the time and money!

When we got back, the guys had dinner started.  Mike's brother had ordered caviar from a friend of his, so we had that for our appetizer.  We introduced Mike's niece and nephew to it, since they had never tried it before and we have been determined to get them to try new foods on this trip.  One liked it and one didn't, but they both at least gave it a try.  For dinner, we had Korean beef in lettuce cups, with fried rice and noodles from a local Chinese restaurant.  A mixing of cultures, but it all tasted really good together!  After cleaning up, I put our kids to bed and then a bunch of us took a walk on the beach.  It was still beautiful out, so we had a lovely stroll.

It was a long and busy day, but fun in a lot of ways.

Family Reunion - Tuesday

Today was the ultimate vacation day for the kids - nothing but beach and pool all day.  They weren't interrupted for anything silly like shopping or sight-seeing.  All they had to do was go from the water to the sand to the water as the spirit moved them.

I got up early to head to the gym for a cycling class, which was barely worth the effort, but I ran afterwards to make up for it.  Mike's sister, our youngest, and I did do some grocery shopping since brats and burgers were on the menu for the evening.  Other than that, it was all about enjoying the water!

Family Reunion - Sunday and Monday

Two years ago, Mike's family all got together in Hilton Head, SC for a week.  It was the first time in four years that everyone had gotten together, we had had another baby since then, and the kids had all changed tremendously and barely knew each other.  We decided at that point that we all needed to make the effort to get together more often, and picked every two years as the time frame.

So here we are, two years later, and we've rented the same house for the week.  The kids have all matched themselves up again as if they'd never been apart and the adults are all loving the opportunity to hang out and relax for a while.  The weather is gorgeous, the water is warm, and the house fits all of us comfortably with room to get away from the crowd if we want.

We flew into Savannah, Georgia yesterday (a really lovely little airport - I highly recommend it if you get the chance to fly out this way) after leaving the house at 4:00 in the morning.  It was a long day, but everyone did really well on the trip, with the exception of our youngest wetting her pants on the plane (I did actually pack a change of clothes for her, so it wasn't tragic, just seriously annoying).  The kids were in the pool as soon as we'd let them and stayed in until we dragged them out for dinner.  We all went to bed very late, but considering the time change, it wasn't surprising.

The kids were all up early this morning and in the pool right away.  I think they had breakfast, but I'm not really sure since I got the chance to sleep in - yay!  Mike's brother-in-law, nephew, and I went to a local gym after we had all eaten and got memberships for the week.  I ran five miles while they did weights.  It was a great way to start the week and I'll hopefully be able to keep up with my workouts for the rest of the week.  When we got back, the older kids were in the ocean boogie-boarding and our youngest was still in the pool.  I think, in all, our kids were in the water for about six hours today.  They should easily have gills by the end of the week.

Today was Mike's brother-in-law's birthday, so we all went out to dinner to celebrate.  It's always interesting to go to a restaurant with fifteen people.  The kids all did well, though, and there weren't any "incidents" over the course of the meal.  I do have to say, the hushpuppies were awesome and my escargot was really tasty.  You just don't get hushpuppies at restaurants in California, so it was fun to revisit my memories of eating out from my childhood.  The kids all went to bed right after dinner - the big  benefit of them swimming for most of the day!

And we've just had the opportunity to watch the San Francisco Giants beat the Atlanta Braves in the playoffs!  Being the Giants, it had to come down to the bitter end, but it was incredibly exciting to see them pull it off!