vegas

Bex and I took a litle trip down to Vegas to meet my parents and Chris' fam for a little R&R. Ty and Matthias were good sports to stay behind to go to school and work, and we missed them being there. 

Bex and I had a super fun time being with family. 

Cash and he were a riot together. Cash followed Bex around everywhere he went, they played cars almost the entire time, and had lots of fun in the pool together. Nana brought a little Easter egg hunt for the boys, and Karrie did my hair.  Chris, my parents and I went out on the strip the first night to see the sights. That was the night that a street actor, "Elvis" scared the bejeezus out of me. I assumed he was a statue, and was looking at how cool it was when he came toward me to shake my hand. I'm embarrassed just thinking about my reaction. At least my family had a good laugh. I got worked by the penny slots and lost $5 in 5 minutes. 

Another night I went out with Chris and Karrie to the Hard Rock Casino. Karrie played roulette, and we learned some tricks from the guy sitting next to her who won big. Chris took us out to get dessert at the Pink Taco, we had some good laughs. One morning my parents treated us to "Le Buffet" at the Paris Hotel. It looked like a peasant village inside with different storefronts all over complete with a chef in each one. It was fun. The girls took the kids to see the M&M factory where we got little presents for our boys at home. I shopped til I dropped. 

Good times, good memories, I loved seeing all of you! 

the Golden Coast

We surprised the kids at Christmas by telling them we had a Disney trip planned in January!  This was the most fun we've had as a family - EVER!  It was fantastic in every way possible.  We spent 3 days on the beach and 4 days in Disneyland, or as Beckham calls it, "Disleyland." As soon as we got off the plane in Long Beach, Bex exclaimed, "We're in paradise!" Ty said he wanted to go climb a palm tree, pronto. While we were waiting for our baggage, a tree he found!  I was in awe over the weather, it warmed me through and through and made me so happy.

We went to Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Crystal Cove. Crystal Cove was our favorite. We almost had the beach to ourselves. We had lots of fun playing frisbee, building sand creations, looking for shells and creatures, and just being in the sun. The temperature was amazing - high 70's and low 80's the whole trip. The few moments we were at the resort, the boys were in the pool. They slept hard at night and woke up with sheer excitement every day. 

Disneyland was a dream. We spent all day there, took a short dinner break and then headed back in the evenings. Our legs were sore (well, all but Beckham's) from walking all day.  In 3 days, we were able to ride every single ride, and on the fourth day we chose our favorites to ride.  Some of our favorites include: Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, the Buzz Lightyear ride, Jedi training, Tom Sawyer's Island, Pirates of the Carribean, the Ferris Wheel, and Tower of Terror. The boys loved seeing the characters - especially Mickey. Bex wore a googley-eyed Mammoth shirt two different days, and Mickey recognized him the second day it was worn. It was pretty cute.

Coming home was pretty depressing. We loved California, it was just what we needed. - Matthias contemplated applying for the California bar as soon as we were home. It would be amazing to live there!  Sniffle. It's amazing what a week of sunshine can do for the soul!

kauai

mom at the luau

zipper spider

Marriot Resort on Kalapaki Bay - first night

me and mom after boogie boarding in Hanalei

Spouting Horn


Queen's Bath


mom and dad at the laua


monk seal at Poi'pu


lava rock at Queen's Bath


Secret Beach


Roots at Secret Beach


Secret Beach with Julie and Roger in the distance


flowers at Poi'pu


under the pier at Hanalei Bay


the pier at Hanalei Bay


trail to Queen's Bath


the view from our balcony - sunrise


my footprints at Sealodge Beach


Kalapaki Bay


Distant light house at Kalapaki Bay


Roosters - everywhere!


sand at Sealodge Beach - larger grains

I have been back from Kauai for a week now and have lovely tan legs. I miss falling asleep to the sound of the ocean waves and waking up to see the sun rise over the ocean. Aaaaaahhhhh. . . It was so fun and restful and beautiful in every way. If I could eat Kauai for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, everyday, I would.

Here's a little travel log:

• Friday: Kalapaki Beach, Kalapaki Joe's for dinner and live music.
• Saturday: Kalapaki Beach, Duane's Ono Burger (best burger joint in town) where I had their famous teriyaki burger and marionberry shake.
• Sunday: Hanalei Bay, Shaved Ice Paradise (Hanalei Bomb on top of coconut icecream)
• Monday: Played tennis with my mum for the first time, Hike down to Sea Lodge Beach, Hanalei Beach, body surfed
• Tuesday: Kalihiwai River Kayak followed by a hike to 4 different waterfalls with the cousins (lost one flip-flop crossing the river), hung out by the pool, beautiful seed jewelry at the Luau, THE LUAU (my favorite)
• Wednesday: Hike along the Napali Coast to Kalalau Beach, Tunnels Beach, Pizza and Macaroons at the Kilauea Bakery
• Thursday: Tamba's for shirts, Spouting Horn, Tahitian Pearl shops, Poi'Pu where I saw turtles, monk seals and got a bad sunburn, Coconut Grove Shopping, Lampert's Icecream (Maui Mango, yum)
• Friday: Hike to Queen's Bath, Roger's Lemon Sour Cream Pancakes, Secret Beach (my favorite), Shaved Ice Paradise, Hanalei beach until dusk with cousins.

There is something about exploring a place for the very first time. My mom and dad knew all of the best beaches, shops, restaurants, and shaved ice shacks. They might as well be locals. We mostly stayed on the North Shore but hopped around to hike and see other sights and beaches. Every morning at 6:30am we went on a 4 mile walk. We ate lots of fruit - pineapple being my favorite. As much as I missed the thought of the kids being able to experience Kauai and the beaches, I absolutely enjoyed my time without them. Simply put, this trip made me so happy. I have been feeling so light of heart and optimistic since I was there. Thank you Matthias for making it possible for me and thank you mom and dad for being my personal tour guides and for being so much fun to be with!

beach + me

I am going to Hawaii. Wait, let me try that again. I AM GOING TO HAWAII!!! My dear, charming Matthias has granted me a trip to Hawaii . . . kid free! "Kid free" means that someone has to be with the kids - and so it is Matthias who has volunteered to watch them for a week while I bask in the glory of the sun on the beaches of Kauai. I am joining my parents and a few other extended family members. I have known about the trip for a bit, but tonight it became all too real for me as I realized I only have one swimsuit and no suntan lotion. I can't express how excited I am to go on this trip - my first away from the kids and my first time to Hawaii. Can you imagine? Well, I am trying, and I just don't think my imagination knows how to imagine anything this fabulous yet. I've heard that all I need to take is a swimsuit and a toothbrush. Sounds good to me. I can't thank Matthias enough, I am truly in his debt.

little green valley

We picked Matthias up right after he completed the Bar Exam back in July. 24 hours later, we arrived in Ferron, UT, known to us as, The Little Green Valley. It is located in the middle of arid Utah, on top of the Lasal Mountains, a high mountain lake in a beautiful mountain valley.

The drive is always brutal, but after it never seems that bad. Our boys did a great job in the car on the way out.

Here's Beckham's rat from the 24 hr car ride. Awesome.

We had such a great time being with the Frischknecht side of Matthias' family. We heard many amazing stories about the Frischknecht line, and sang many a song that the Frischknechts have been singing for years, including: Spring Time in the Rockies, Little Green Valley, Come Kildren Come and the Lucky Ranger.

We fished, played mountain frisbee golf, burned wood, toasted mallows, made s'mores, and hiked.

The hike was a doozy. As you can see in the images below, the ridge we climbed does not look incredibly high, however, it is bigger and a bit more challenging than we imagined, an probably one of the steepest hikes I've ever been on. Matthias, myself, Grandma Joanie, Aunt Bobbie, and Uncle Kerm set out with Ty, Beckham, Luke, Lorren, Simone, and Lucas. There is a certain line on the mountain where the surface becomes very loose rock and the slope becomes quite steep, at about this point just Matthias and I continued on with the the 6 little kids--they were intent on getting to the top. The higher we got the more questionable our quest became as kids and rocks were slipping and sliding down the mountain. Matthias and I more or less carried/pushed up two kids each by their shirts. By the time we reached top, 4 kids were crying and I was shaking from fright. The trip up, however, turned out to be the easy part. Coming down became an effort of flying rock avoidance. As we scaled down the mountain we all knocked rocks loose--big and small. More than one kid was beaned by a rock knocked loose by someone coming down above. I think Grandma Joanie took the worst hit, she was way below and a softball-sized rock went tumbling/jumping down the mountain and ended up hitting her in the back/hip. Luckily she was OK, had it hit her in the head region things might have been scarier. Anyways, we ended up sitting all the kids down while Matthias took down two kids at a time, this in order to get everyone down without someone being seriously injured by falling rock.

We got everyone down and the kids were happy--to be off the mountain. They were also quite pleased with themselves for having scaled such a treacherous mountain. Those kids truly do have Frischknecht blood running through their veins: determination!

All in all we had a fabulous time at Ferron and look forward to going back, I'm sure we will go up the mountain again, however, the adult to child ratio will likely be higher :)

The starting point of our hike.

Perfect boulder for a 6 kid photo.


Matthias carrying up Beckham and pushing Luke

The view from the top - beautiful!

Happy Campers!

the adventures of Ty & D, with sidekicks Bex & Luke

I never thought I would return to Sandstone Mountain by choice. However, Sandstone Mountain happens to be the 1/2 way point between the Brunclik fam and us. We love meeting up with our dear friends, always last minute of course, but that's how we roll. It's amazing how Ty and Dixon are so connected. They are kindred spirits and the best of friends. We rented out a cabin in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia. I'd say that they are the most beautiful mountains I've been to. Ever. The boys may as well have been wild Indians during the 4 days we were in the mountains. Shoeless and dirty, holding sticks and throwing rocks, running naked by the river and catching bugs. It made me so incredibly happy to witness boys in Nature. I think this trip did all of our hearts and souls tremendous good.

Things I learned during this trip:
All little boys need to play with are sticks and rocks. That's it. Little boys love putting bugs down their pants. Bee stings are in every little boys' future. When boys are together, they get on the same pooping schedule. West Virginians are hard to understand as it is, but especially the ones without teeth. Kind and honest folk are everywhere. I'll have to explain that one.

While filling up my gas tank on the border of WV and KY on the way home, I left my wallet on the top of my car and took off. Consequently the wallet fell off at the on ramp of I-64 and I hadn't a clue. An hour into Kentucky, Matthias called and told me a good ol' boy, Justin, from West Virginia had called and reported that he found my wallet. (Matthias' phone number is printed on our checks.) I was devastated but so thankful it was found. By turning the car around to get the wallet, two hours were going to be added to the drive!! No biggie if I were flying solo, but with the two younguns in the back, it was frustrating. I called Justin and he told me to meet him at the gas station. I was so grateful and amazed that there are honest people out there. He said that some of the cash was blowing around but he gathered what he could see and put it back in. All of it was there. Every single last dollar. Wow. Thank you Justin, good man from WV.

Oh, and to add to my good luck, the morning after returning, our car tire was flat as flat can be. I can't believe I made it home.

And that was our adventure. Thank you Linnea, D and Luke. We love you and are so thankful and feel so blessed to have you as friends!