Dad and Barrow viewed the trophy, that was awarded to Clemson the the championship game the next week.

We headed back to Phoenix on December 30th.  Staying overnight, we headed to the Fiesta bowl the next day and enjoyed watching Clemson beat OSU, sending them to the National Championship Football Game.

Mom and dad renewed their vows for the 20th anniversary.  We had a beach ceremony, and a delicious meal at Roy's afterwards.

We paddleboarded in the ocean, and also enjoyed the waterslides on the property.

Back at the resort, we enjoyed the lazy river and spent a good bit of time down at the beach.

It was a beautiful day.  We sailed for a while, spotting whales and a family of dolphins.  Before heading back, we jumped in the water and snorkels with the sea turtles.

We slept in on the 27th, then headed to the marina where we boarded a catamaran and sailed along the coast.

We also toured the USS Missouri. The battleship is the site where officials met to sign that treaty that ended WWII.

The memorial was placed about the site where the USS Arizona sank.

The next day we were up early, driving into Honolulu to catch a tour bus for Pearl Harbour.  We learned about the events that led up to the Pearl Harbour attack, viewed the USS bowfin submarine, and took ferry to the USS Arizona Memorial.

We stopped at the north shore, pipeline, and enjoyed watching the surfers ride the 30 foot waves!

We rented a car, driving around the island and enjoying the beach.

We enjoyed a character breakfast with Mickey and other familiar Disney faces.

Christmas Day 2016!

We enjoyed dinner, a Polynesian performance, and dance lessons!

The next day, we packed our bags and flew back to Oahu.  After unpacking at the Aulani resort, we headed to Paradise Cove for a luau!

By the time we got back to the car, the sun had set.  We enjoyed a nice dinner in the town of Pahoa.

All new land created by the lava becomes property of the state of Hawaii

We rode our bikes 2 miles over dried lava, to view the lava running into the ocean!

The painted church was moved, just before it would have been covered in lava during one of the recent volcano eruptions.

We hiked the trails in Volcano's national park and enjoyed views of active volcanos.

We snorkeled at night with Big Island Divers, but the Manta Reys didn't show up!

We stopped at Akaka falls on our way to Kona.  While more narrow, the falls are taller than Niagra falls.

We sent the next few days taking day trips from Coqui Cottage, our island home.

We took just 3 hours to scale back down the mountain, arriving at the visitor's center just after sunset.

After 8 hours, we made it to the top of Mauna Kea 13,803 feet!  Just a little bit of altitude sickness along the way. If starting at its base, 19,000 feet below sea level, it is considered the tallest mountain in the world!

The higher we climbed, the more snow we saw!

The weather was warmer than expected, so we were able to shed clothes as we hiked.

We were up the next morning early.  We drove from sea level to 9,200 feet, the visitor's center for Mauna Kea.  After adjusting to the altitude, bundling up, and loading our packs, we headed to the peak at 8am.

We took a short flight to the Big Island, and checked into our home for the next few days.

We finished final exams, headed to Phoenix, then got up early the next morning for a direct flight to Hawaii!

We boarded the plane and had a great flight to Oahu.

Caroline enjoyed watching friends dance at the 2016 Nutcracker!

They performed in 5 shows in Alamogordo.  Caroline was the Ghost of Christmas Past, a tapper with the present, and a ghost.  Cate was a ghost and grave digger.

LCHS Orchestra holiday performance.  Caroline couldn't fit the class in her schedule but continued as a teacher's aide so that she could still play her violin.

The Christmas tree is up...and Mapache found a new place to rest!

Happy 16th!