Baby Oh Baby Shower

Grant and I had a wonderful and quick trip to Hawaii to spend time with family and celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Oh. We arrived on Thursday afternoon and headed home Sunday. We were upgraded to First Class on the way there and to Premium Economy along with my parents on the way home. My parents rented a gorgeous VRBO house, "Papala Place at Kahakai Estates by Gather: Luxe Poolside Oasis," with beautiful views and plenty of space for everyone.

On Thursday evening, we hung out at the VRBO house and ordered pizza. Thanks to Grant and Papa for picking it up for us while the girls hung out in the hot tub! Friday we ate brunch together and surprised Mom with an early birthday party. CJ got her the most beautiful flower crown and cake. Friday evening Bethany, Grant, and I went on an adventure and did the night time Manta Ray snorkel. It was so fun and Bethany loved it! Friday night after the snorkel, Henry, CJ, Grant and I got sushi together while the others called it an early night. 

Saturday was the shower and it was amazing. CJ's friends did an incredible job planning everything. Beautiful decor, delish food, SO many presents, and a meaningful "advice for CJ" moment. Henry and CJ went to his company Christmas party. Grant, Bethany, Nina and Papa and I had dinner at the VRBO and watched "Jesus Revolution" together that evening.

On Sunday we had to check out by 10am, so we went to the 10am service at Mokuaikaua Church. The oldest church in Hawaii which was established in 1820. The services were lovely and we liked that some of the hymns and prayers were conducted in Hawaiian. We hung out for a bit at Henry and CJ's house and then headed to the airport.

We arrived back to the house at about 6am on Monday morning. We had such a wonderful surprise when we got home. Cadie had decorated for Christmas! The tree was up, decorations all around, everything cleaned up, Christmas music on, and a welcome home sign for us from the elves. Thank you Cadie for getting us all in the Christmas spirit!

Kicking off 2026 in Cozumel

By Colton, "Cozumel was so much fun. We were there for 4 days. On the first day we did 2 dives then went to the lobster house. On the second day we had 2 more dives. Then we played at the pool and went to town. On the third day we went to the Bob Marley bar and a surf club we also went to a place with 6 puppies. Then went to town and back to the condo for Stranger Things. On the fourth and final day we went to the pool then went to the airport to go home. On the plane we watched 3 episodes of stranger things."

The "We've Gone Coastal" house was good to us. Our typical condos at El Cantil were all full, but we might have liked the neighborhood and location of We've Gone Coastal even better. There were pros and cons of both, but the house was really roomy, it was about 10 steps from a great pool, beachy area and dock, super close boat ride of about only 10 mins to the diving reefs, and it felt very clean and safe. While we missed being walking distance to everything in town, it was pretty easy to make the trips in the evenings and we felt like it might have been worth it for the ease of the house and nice neighborhood. 

We had decided to shift our annual Cozumel trip from Easter to Christmas break so that the kids didn't have to miss any school and so that we could celebrate Easter in Dallas with our family and church family, which we haven't done in a few years. It worked out great and I would definitely do the trip again at the end of Christmas break. It was the perfect few days to be together and relax as a family.

We did many of our usual things including Lobster house, churros, and Rastas. And we did some new things like a New Year's Carnival in the Town Square, spotting by the Cozumel Surf Club on the other side of the island, and going to a beach club one afternoon. 

We love you Cozumel!