Comp #2

A week after we got home from Hawaii, we headed to Indy for Camryn's next cheer competition. We thought the Dells was a largely attended comp, but this one had more than 850 teams from across the entire country. Probably 600 more teams than the Dells! Caleb was our driver to this one--glad we had him to guide us through the snow, slush, and rain! We stayed just outside of the city, which set us up perfectly in the center of all Cam's favorite chain restaurants. We considered extending our stay just so we could eat at them all...

{I secretly love one-on-one time with my kids. It's the best, and she's so goofy!}

With Camryn's first-round routine not scheduled until the evening on Saturday, we contemplated not leaving for Indy until Saturday morning. But the team mom told me that wasn't an option, and I'm so glad we listened because an emergency practice was called for late morning on Saturday with just a moment's notice as one of the teammates dropped out of the competition and the girls had to pull an athlete from another team and teach her the routine just hours before taking the stage. Total chaos. But despite this obstacle, the team did great--one small deduction, but ready to head to Day 2!

{Not the whole team. The ones who were missing were probably putting on more glitter or lipstick.}

They were amazing on Day 2, and hit zero (a term I have learned means zero deductions, a perfect score)! I'm so proud of how well they performed, but even with no deductions, their difficulty level was below the other teams and they walked away with a last-place finish. The 9 teams in her division were all on point when they needed to be. Less than 1 point separated last place from 4th place. First place finished 3 points higher than last place. Close competition, and the girls got back to work at the gym increasing difficulty in preparation of their next round of competition in February. 

{Cam has made fast friends with Casey. They are joined at the hip, and clearly bought the same colored hair piece off of Amazon...}

{Camryn loves to fly. I love watching her!}

{One of my favorite pictures of this girl doing her thing!}

December Bits

The pieces of our December puzzle.

{Visiting Santa is an annual tradition, and I will hang on to it as long as these three let me!}

{Another tradition: Gingerbread houses. Our general contractor did not follow the architect's plans, and this is what we ended up with. The hot glue did an excellent job of holding this train wreck together!}

 

{Cam and I got creative and made this Christmas tree forest for her bedroom shelves. We loved it so much that we made another forest for our kitchen window!}

{An early Christmas celebration in Iowa.}

 

{An early Christmas celebration with my parents.}

{Santa came early, because Hawaii. New iPhones and Airpods surprised the kids. The best things really do come in the smallest packages!}

 

{Cam and I visited the TikTok famous Taylor Swift house on the way home from a botched cheer practice. It was actually really great!}

{And more wrestling.}

 

Molly’s Vacation

The place where we board Molly when we are out of town does a great job of updating their social media with pictures of the pups in action. I think she made the best out of her extended stay!

 

{This girl is catching up on all of the sleep she didn't get while she was away!}

Hawai’i Day 14 (Oahu)

With an evening flight to catch and an early check-out, we had plans to travel to the north shore of the island and spend some time at the famed Banzai Pipeline. These world-renowned waves are host to several surf competitions, and with waves 9-20 feet tall that fall into a perfect tube curl, watching them was mesmerizing. 

{Pictures do not capture the awesomeness of these waves. As they curled, the water formed a nearly-translucent turquoise loop marbled with white foamy veins. And as the waves receded, they would collide with other waves forming what I would describe as a lightning bolt that zippered horizontally across the shore. Nothing I have ever seen before!} 

{As luck would have it, there was a surfing competition going on while we were there. More than a thousand spectators were gathered on the beach while search-and-rescue helicopters and jet skis stood standby in case they needed to pluck anyone from the water. I spy a surfer in that wave!}

{Though beautiful to look at, these waves deserved a tremendous amount of respect, so we stayed far away!}

But before we headed to the north shore, we took a walk down the Waikiki strip looking for souvenirs that specifically said "Oahu." While we didn't find those, we did find the Michigan Avenue of Honolulu--a street filled with all of the most elite designers and over-priced merch a person could want. You know you have entered the next level when employees are outside mopping the stone sidewalks...

While we are so fortunate to have spent a few days on Oahu, we all agreed that it is a one-and-done for our family. The slow pace of Maui beats the high-rise hustle and bustle of Honolulu any day!

Favorites of the Day:

Caleb:

Morgan: Seeing the colors of the water in the pipeline

Jacob: Pipeline

Mason:

 Camryn: 

* I guess I didn't get everyone's favorites. We switched flights which left us sitting in several different spots on the plane, things got crazy with Camryn mid-flight, and we all immediately crashed when we got home shortly after sunrise. It was a day!

Hawai’i Day 13 (Oahu)

Our last full day on the island, and we intended to make the most of it--starting with renting a paddleboard and big-tired bike to roam around the lagoon. Camryn had wanted to paddleboard in Maui, but the deepness of the water and the sea life didn't quite match her plans, so we opted to try the sport in a more tame and controlled environment. Manmade water ditch for the win! The deal was that we would rent the equipment for an hour with the promise the boys would swap us halfway through. Everyone upheld their end of the deal, although a disclaimer should have been placed that prohibited the boys from antagonizing us girls. But, sigh, that was not in the agreement so the boys made the most of their time by chasing after and splashing Cam and me. Should've known. 

{The ladies enjoying a peaceful start to our paddleboard tour. Little did we know that Captain Hook and his sidekick, Smee, were lurking in the shadows (actually, bright cloudless sunshine) waiting to destroy our excursion.}

We were able to evade them for the majority of our time and even called a truce with a promise that they couldn't touch us or the paddleboard. The workaround for this technicality came from the talented Mason (not sure if he was Smee or Hook) who cornered us with this interactive riddle: What do pirates shoot? CANNONBALLS! 

He got us, and we were ready to swap toys for dryer ground. 

{Caleb joined in on the fun. And would go on to tip the paddleboard over with Cam and me on it. Staying dry was not in the cards for us this morning!}

Caleb and I spent the rest of the day camped down by the water on beach chairs without the intent of leaving our spot. So we did. And the kids wandered around the property on their own. It was grand!

{Mason found his way back to us with a pair of infant sunglasses he swiped from the bottom of one of the resort's pools.}

{Jacob hung with us for a bit and would go on to capture a seagull in his towel. But like most things Jacob does, he didn't plan what to do once he caught the bird...}

{One last sunset.}

{One last luau.}

Favorites of the Day:

Caleb: Beaching and riding Barbie's bike

Morgan: Relaxing on the beach all day

Jacob: Jumping between paddleboard and bike and annoying the girls

Mason: When I cannonballed the girls on the paddleboard 

Camryn: Riding the Aqua Bike with Mom