Awesome trip to San Francisco!

For my 40th birthday, Kevin got us tickets to the King Tut exhibit that is currently in SF. (If you have a chance to go, tickets are half price right now). We decided to make a weekend out of it and contacted my good friend Eric to find out the most kid-friendly area in SF. Turns out he and his family would be in Sweden (Anna is Swedish) for a long vacation and they very kindly offered us their home for our weekend. We can't thank them enough for their generosity. Having a place to put Cam down for naps and bedtime was so wonderful (without having to pay for 2 hotel rooms!) Their home was amazing! Gorgeous turn-of-the-century home, beautifully renovated, typical San Francisco. They were super close to a ton of fun stuff, and we took advantage of it all that weekend!

Cam had a blast running down the hallway of their home! He "played" soccer a lot that weekend. He also had a great time with all of Lucas + Holly's toys - totally different than his stuff at home. :)

We arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, and it was like we were in another world! It was soooooo cold up in SF. It was triple digits in Paso when we left; mid-60s in SF! Luckily we'd planned ahead and brough long pants and sweaters with us :) After boiling at home, it was a nice change.

Saturday morning we got ready and went to the King Tut exhibit. Luckily Eric + Anna's place was really close to the Museum of Science, so it was a quick trip with easy parking. Cam did really well in the exhibit, which was super crowded. No strollers were allowed, so Cam and Daddy did a quick tour then waited outside in the awesome park inbetween the 2 museums while I took a little more time. We unfortunately didn't have our camera with us for this outing, and we missed some great shots of Cam watching a large group of people doing Tai Chi. He also loved watching a group of people practicing being a Chinese dragon but he had the most fun running around inside of an emtpy water fountain with some other kids.

After King Tut, we explored the area a little bit and came across this amazing carousel. Cam loved it! He rode it three times AND WE DIDN'T HAVE A CAMERA! So bummed! We'll have one next time. :)

Later, after Cam's nap, we explored the Haight and took a walk back to the park we'd been at in the morning (the carousel was closed, we were all so bummed). Note the wool sweater and that Cam was totally wrapped up in a blanket :) We had a blast - Cam ran around and totally wore himself out.

On Sunday morning we walked around the park by Eric + Anna's - the sun was out and it was gorgeous! We started our drive south around Cam's naptime but he didn't sleep well, and we decided to stop at a park in Willow Glen to have a picinic lunch and play for a bit before the rest of the drive back to Paso. It was a terrific weekend away from home and THANK YOU again to Eric, Anna, Lucas and Holly for letting us stay at their fabulous home!

East coast visit

We're here! After much planning, we are on the east coast in lovely Seabrook, New Hampshire, comfortably esconsed into Dave + Danielle's lovely beach house :)

Our red-eye from SFO was slightly delayed (typical SFO - fog so only 1 plane could land at a time) and Cam was awake waaaaay too late, but he eventually fell asleep on the plane. Keeping him asleep was a challenge as we apparently were traveling with a bunch of insomniacs, but we made it to Boston (on time, no less) and arrived to gorgeous sunshine and clear skies. We'd checked weather.com before the trip, so the sunshine was a nice surprise!

We made it to the beach house around 9:30am. By 1pm, Trina, Jamie + Isley had joined us, with Chris + Tyler shortly thereafter and there was *still* room at the beach house for more :)

Since this was the first nice weather for everyone else, we spent most of the afternoon either out in the backyard or down on the beach. It was so nice for Cam to meet Tyler for the first time, plus he seemed to remember Isley as well. They are all having fun together :) Both Tyler and Isley all were kind enough to bring toys from home for Cam to play with while he's visiting - so far the Baby Einstein flash cards are the biggest hit.

Looking forward to dinner with everyone and (once the kids go to bed) Chris brought champange for us all - yum!!!

Good times :)

After our trip to Wiamea Canyon, Uncle Pat came over for a beer and to hang out for a while, which thrilled Cam to no end. They had a great time playing before Kevin took Pat back to his hotel to relax and pack for his early flight on Sunday (another 28+ hours of traveling ahead for him to get back to Macau).

Thanks for coming to Kauai, Uncle Pat!! Come visit this summer!

Wiamea Canyon

Yeah, its not supposed to be grey behind Cam and Kevin. It was overcast in general when we left to head up there, but halfway up, the fog rolled in and this is what it looked like at the top.

Click here to see what its really supposed to look like.

Fun at Brenneke Beach!

While Daddy, Uncle Pat, Grandpa and Grandma were ziplining today, Cam and I meet Derek, Evelyn and the kids down at Brenneke Beach. We started off on the slides, then worked our way down to the sand and water :)



Cam took a little bit to have fun playing in the sand. He did enjoy playing (read: knocking over sand castles :) ) after a little while but we had to keep him distracted so he didn't chase the chickens roaming around.



Afterwards, everyone came back to our place to get cleaned up. The kids had a blast playing together! Once we turned on Thomas the Tank Engine, all playing stopped and everyone quieted down to watch TV :)


Later on, Grandpa and Grandma came over to babysit Cam while we went out to dinner (for the first time since Cam was born!) with Uncle Pat to a really nice place in Poipu Village. Cam ended up getting to stay up until 10pm (long story) but went to sleep once we got home. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma for giving us the opportunity to get out!

Another great day in Kauai! :)

Here a Burke, there a Burke, everywhere a Burke

We all have the same last name now :)

More photos soon!

Yay, Uncle Pat is here!

Big smiles, big hugs and Uncle Pat has a new shadow :)

Even though Cam hasn't seen Pat since last July, he was *thrilled* when he saw him standing in the doorway. The boys are currently on the lanai. The "big" boys are drinking beers watching the little one throwing Doritos to the chicken and various birds that have descended upon us.

One has already flown into, and right out of, the condo. Screen door now closed to prevent that from happening again!

Just another day in paradise.

Cam's new best friend

There is probably a very good reason there are so many free ranging chickens and roosters running around Kauai. We have no idea what it is but are sure its a good one.

Its a running joke that we've traveled 3,000 miles for all the kids to have so much fun chasing around chickens and not notice they are in such a beautiful location :)

Since we got to The Point at Poipu, there has been a chicken hanging around just outside our lanai. Its getting braver and braver, much to Cam's delight. I'm sure we'll be tossing bread to it at some point today.

Happy Wednesday!

Kilohana Train Tour

We met Derek, Evelyn, Adrianna and Garrett over at the Kilohana Plantation for their train tour today. Both of the boys were excited to go on the train (they both are huge Thomas fans), despite the downpour we had just before we left the depot. Luckily we all brought rain gear!

During the plantation tour, they stopped the train to let everyone off to feed the wild pigs they have on the plantation. Needless to say, all the kids loved it! Cam loved throwing bread to the pigs, but it was close to lunchtime so he snacked on a couple of pieces too :)

The plantation train tour was pretty quick (although the perfect length for kids), about 45-50 minutes. Afterwards we all went to have lunch at a local deli that another passenger recommended - we bumped into him there, lol! The kids were all exhausted by the time that was over, so we brought Cam home for a nap, but since the kids were asleep in their car, Derek and Evelyn decided to drive up to Wiamea Canyon and had a terrific time. Adrianna woke up so she got to hike with each parent (one stayed behind in the car with the still napping Garrett).

After they got back, they walked over to our place (they are staying 3 speed bumps up Pe'e Road), we all walked over to the Grand Hyatt to see the grounds, and meet Auntie Sherry for a drink before dinner (Uncle Mike was napping after working a bunch the previous night - long story). All the kids had a good time with the stairs and tired themselves out (we're all getting a workout chasing everyone!), plus we had some very nice cocktails before heading back home to meet Dick and Janice for dinner at our place. Dinner wasn't fancy but we all enjoyed ourselves - we got to hear about D & J's amazing helicopter trip, which sounded like a lot of fun! Maybe the next time we visit we'll do that :)

All in all, another terrific day! Uncle Pat comes in tomorrow from Macau, China (after a 20+ hour plane trip - yikes!), so we'll see what we end up doing for fun. A trip to Brenneke's for Uncle Pat and Daddy will *definitely* happen!

Cam the Rockstar

We're in Kauai! I had to put up this picture - it has been WINDY here. All the locals say this is very atypical, and we hope that it will die down before the wedding on Thursday. Sometimes when it gusts it almost knocks over Cam! But the first photo is so funny because all his hair is standing on end. To us, anyway :)

We arrived a few days ago and Cam has settled in nicely. Our flight over went pretty well, despite some horrible flight attendents on American that seemed determined to not allow Cam to sleep (Derek and Evelyn also had similar issues on their flight to Kauai with American - MAJOR decline in this airline!), but according to the people sitting in front and on the side of us, Cam "was a rockstar" during the flight.

He slept a lot, probably 2/3 of the time, and God love the guy sitting in front of Cam's seat - Cam's feet could reach the seat and he mightly enjoyed himself kicking the heck out of it, much to our chargrin. Luckily for us, the owner of the seat was a super sweet fellow who was more than kind. We wish we'd gotten his name, or at least bought him a beer for being so terrific about Cam kicking his seat so much! If you're out there, Mr. Nice Guy in seat 26A on Flight 285 to Kauai from LAX on 2/28 - thank you again for your patience with our son!!

Get this: Cam slept through the *worst* landing I have ever had in an airplane in my *entire* life! Slept through the lights coming on, and most of the other people de-boarding. Slept through Kevin carrying him, still strapped into his carseat, out of the airplane and into the airport. Slept through attaching the carseat to the GoGo Babyz (thanks again for the rec, cousin Chris - was a blessing its been!), slept through us getting all our luggage and finally woke up when he got a blast of wind to his face as we were heading out to get our rental car. He was a trouper and we're so thrilled with how he's handled all of this so far :)

The Point at Poipu is GREAT! Our room (2bd/2bth) is wonderful, top notch all the way. We're on the first floor and have really enjoyed our patio/lanai area. Cam loves to watch the wild chickens run around - only a matter of time before he's chasing them all over the place :) The master bath is bigger than ours at home! Its been fantastic so far :) We did take a walk over to the Grand Hyatt today (its barely 5 minutes away) and its breathtakingly beautiful - the open air lobby has to be seen to be believed. We'll be having the wedding nearby there at Shipwrech Beach, and then taking all our guests to their lu'au. Mike and Sherry are staying here for this trip and we are *positive* they will enjoy themselves.

Today we meet Derek, Evelyn and the kids over at Brenneke Beach (there is a great man-made reef so there aren't any waves in the area, which is perfect for little kids. Kauai is known for the great waves which makes it awesome for surfing, but not necessarily little kids), and Dick and Janice joined us for a while too. Totally had a great time, got some good pictures. Got a terrific one of Dick and Janice we'll need to send them - they are having the trip of a lifetime, but we'll let them share their stories. All we'll say is, if you're down on your luck, you might want to ask if you can rub one of their bellies :)

That's all for now. We're having a wonderful time, the weather is terrific most of the time (except for the wind) and we're really enjoying ourselves. Kauai is so lovely, we would totally visit again. We know there are a lot of family members that aren't here with us, and we miss you all. Will try to post a few more photos soon and keep you up-to-date.

Love,
Kevin, Michelle and Cameron

Operation "Save the Tube" update

Cam has continued to do really well taking the ear drops, although we've been doing the drops 2x/day, not 3x as the doc prescribed. Logistics! :) We won't know about the tube until we see the ENT after we return from Kauai, but are hoping for the best (of course!). Cam is feeling much, much better and we think he knows something is up because the dogs are gone and there are suitcases everywhere!

Bye-bye, Willow Glen :(

We've had a terrific time up here at Mike and Sherry's - its going to be hard to go home! Great weather, great times with friends, great napping for Cam, great fun for doggies - we really couldn't have asked for anything more. Well, except a better housing market when we were looking two years ago! C'est la vie.

Cam's really enjoyed being out and about in his stroller every day - we're going to try to get him out more at home as long as the weather isn't insanely hot. Which is it supposed to be when we get back today....sigh.

Cam's also determined to keep practicing walking. He loves to hold on to our fingers and cruise around the house, and gets quite ticked off when we stop. Dude, we're OLD and our backs can't take it! :) But he's getting steadier and steadier - its still going to be some time before he's walking on his own. We should rest up because we'll be chasing him even more once he's a bi-ped.

Trip to Noah's Bagels

Yep, that's right; our first family meal out was lunch at Noah's Bagels in Willow Glen today. Turns out Cam loves bagels and did a superb job chowing one, all the while checking out the local street scene on Lincoln Ave. He's a multi-tasker! Plus, chicks dig him (see photo).

Loving our vacation so far; Cam is napping AMAZINGLY - so different than daycare! We're getting in a bit of extra rest too, and visiting with friends :) The weather is wonderful too; mid-high 80s and cooling off tons at night. Which is nice b/c the three cats like to snuggle up and that wouldn't be fun if it was hot!

Vacation bath time :)

We finally made it up to Mike and Sherry's on Sunday afternoon, after packing up most of the house but managing to leave the kitchen sink, which apparently we needed for Cam to take a bath :) (It was was the fastest, easiest bath ever! We might have to try this when we get home.) We still forgot stuff, but nothing major (like the George's!). The dogs were happy to see us, and all 4 are getting along quite well. Cam isn't too sure about the newest addition, Mickey, but he's getting more comfortable as time goes by.

So far we're having a lot of fun, getting to see some of Mommy's friends and making lots of little trips out, with lots more planned for the rest of the week. Cam's been doing great traveling and settled in quite nicely to M+S's guest room; he's sleeping as well as, and maybe even a little better, than at home. He's in love with Dags, the cat, who has been a trouper with Cam trying (key word there!) to pull his fur and tail every chance he gets. We keep saying gentle but Cam just doesn't get it yet!

While we were out for a walk this morning we saw a house for sale just down the street for a very reasonable figure for Willow Glen (under $750k - way under). Of course, there is probably termite damage up the wahzoo, and its half the size of our house in Paso, on a lot a third of the size, but it was fun to imagine what it would be like to buy it and fix it up :) K and I still love Willow Glen and being able to walk everywhere on the tree-lined streets, but we'll head home to Paso on Friday or Saturday.

ps
Mr. Keogh; please note that we'll be sure to scrub down the sink so there are no baby cooties when you get home from Italy :) Love, Cameron