So after a long first day of travel (15 hours) we made it to Kauai! We were at the St. Regis (again thanks to the points), and it was a true treat. The room/view/breakfasts (where we saw rainbows every morning) were all spectacular. And I normally wouldn’t do a photo shoot with just Scott and me, but it was free, so why not? And I’m so glad we did because she captured some great shots!
For those not too familiar with Hawaii (which was me 20 days ago), Kauai is the small, least developed, kind of nature island. We did a lot of hiking (Napali Coast, Waimea Canyon), kayaking, surfing, snorkeling, and we even found a little ward (lds church) on the island where Scott ran into a BYU dorm mate. It is also the wettest place on earth—hence the ponchos!
Now it’s not fun for Scott unless it’s a little bit dangerous. Whether it was cliff jumping, hiding on the trail from a ranger (who told us that due to flash flooding we needed to turn around and head back down the mountain), or swimming out to this waterfall—the water was splashing so forcefully it was truly hard to breathe! I guess his adventurous spirit is part of the reason I fell in love with him, so I can’t complain. And he did make me do things I would have never done on my own! Don’t get me wrong, I vetoed many ideas with the line ‘we have 3 kids at home depending on us!’
Then it was time to say good bye to Kauai. We hopped on a quick 30 minute flight to Oahu. The best part of Oahu was that the sun shined the whole time. The promising weather report was enough for Scott to splurge for a convertible ($15 extra a day). The car had a hook up for our iPhone, so after we’d listen to one general conference talk (church) a day, we’d blast all our favorite music and sing our hearts out while driving from one beautiful location to another—and stopping along the way to buy fresh pineapple!
That night we drove out to visit the Mormon Temple, a surfer took our picture.
In Oahu we stayed at the
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The next day we hiked Diamond Head, and then just played in the ocean, the waves on the North shore in the winter are no joke! Our casual frisbee throwing session felt more like a football game as we were pummeled by the waves.
Next day we hit the PCC 
What’s neat about the PCC is that it is located next to BYU Hawaii (and owned by the LDS church); so 75% of the employees are BYU students, and by working/performing they earn money for tuition and board. It’s a friendly, organized operation, very churchlike, and we were happy to be helping support these young Mormon islanders!
On our last day we kayaked to these two islands. Knowing that we had an afternoon flight to catch kept us paddling hard!
We made it! Hiked around and then hurriedly paddled back. We made our flight, and the way home was a breeze—7 hour direct to Atlanta from Oahu.
We (especially I) couldn’t wait to see the kids. We flew through the night, and arrived early Sunday morning.
The kids were beyond hyper when we got home, and we needed some sleep, so what did we do? We dressed them in their church clothes, dropped them off in Sunday school, then went to the van and took a 2 hour nap! Desperate times call for desperate measures :-).
This couple (and their little girl), were amazing. Jaime is a former 4th grade teacher, comes from a big family, and nannied for 6 summers---she had things under control! And Jeff is a gentle giant and the kids took to him immediately. So the kids were healthy and happy while we were gone. What more could we ask for??
All other news pales in comparison. However, I did carry on my mother-in-law’s tradition of making bread with the kid’s classes. It was a total surprise to Taylor (with the French braid), and a week later a total surprise to Jackson. They got a brief lesson on wheat and grain. 
We did have one scare this month. Actually we should be used to Jackson giving us his annual health scare by now, but we’re not! So for the last 2 or 3 months Jackson has been having headaches. When we returned from Hawaii they increased in frequency and severity so our pediatrician recommended we see the neurologist. The neurologist ordered an eye exam, an MRI, and daily preventative medication. The eye exam came back perfect—which was good and bad. (p.s. this is not actually Jackson) 
Better the eyes than the brain! So last Monday we had the MRI (this whole process has given me even more appreciation for Jay and Angie), we came into the procedure fasting and with a Priesthood blessing. The doctors and nurses were all super impressed that he could lie completely still for 45 minutes without sedation. The movie helped! (he picked Care Bears which is hysterical). Although I was nervous, I had a sense of inner peace. Two days later (the wait is killer), the MRI came back clear! We are so grateful and relieved. Unfortunately he is still getting the headaches, however they have decreased in frequency and severity. As advised he is avoiding processed meats, sodas, aged cheese, and chocolate, which we don’t consume much of anyway, but now we are super strict. The only other symptom he has is darkish circles under his eyes. Any insights or thoughts from anyone? I hate giving him medicine (antihistamine) every night.
In lighter news, we had Thanksgiving this year at the recently completed lake house! We relaxed, explored, played Just Dance on the Wii and ate! And check out Jeff’s new girl—Abby!
Lastly, Scotty finished his case in Dallas, 7 months—whew! He got strong feedback, especially from those he managed. So he is happy, and we are happy to have him home every week night! There are 3 cases that are about to sell (Toronto, San Fran, and Atlanta) and they all want Scott—we are praying for ATL!!!
There might be more news, but that’s all I can produce…and you have read a lot already :-)
In closing I’ll share my new favorite quote (I heard it this month in Malcolm Gladwell’s new book—David and Goliath):
“Courage is not something that you already have that makes y
Lots of love and if you send Christmas cards (unlike us), we’d love to have one! Our address is:
1516 Ashford Club Ct. NE Atlanta, GA 30319 (Taylor and one of her best buds Sophia)
Love,
TFK
