Life | Julia & Chris Sanderl

Solo Session

Jan 212012

Normally, midday on a Saturday is a popular time for surfers to enjoy the waves. This day was no different with most of the well known surf spots jam-packed with paddle boarders, body boarders, short and long boarders. Our recent summery weather has brought the crowds to the beach and we’re all happy to take advantage of the postponed rainy season. We were lucky enough to find a more secluded corner to ourselves with the added benefit of a photographer onshore that randomly decided to grab a few shots of our session together. Needless to say, we had a great day “somewhere in Hawaii”.

Giggin’ in Gig Harbor

Life, Travel 1 Response »

Dec 312011

It was a surprisingly warm winter vacation in Washington, filled with lots of Wagner family traditions, great meals together and fun walks in woods. Instead of roasting chestnuts on an open fire, we cracked homegrown Kauai coffee beans by hand and roasted them in an air popcorn popper. With lots of beginners luck and a little research, the coffee was a success and we also got our open fire in the yard thanks to Big Daddy Wags. We took advantage of a couple sunny days strolling around the harbor and venturing into Seattle. On the way to David, April and William’s house, we made a really fun stop at the Experience the Music Project Museum where Ben snapped the coolest picture of us pretending to be rockstars…

After getting our fill of vintage guitars and Seattle’s music history, the famous Dick’s Drive-In was next on the agenda. We had the best deluxe cheeseburgers ever made. Definitely on the top of our do-it-again list for next year. Before our trip was over, we enjoyed time with our nephew William, made a few extra shopping trips, tested our awesome GoPro Christmas present, cleaned numerous buffet plates of dungeness crab and tried to make our dollars last on the slot machines at Tulalip Resort Casino. Many mahalos to the Wagner family for making everyday together special. Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Life 1 Response »

Nov 252011

Our Thanksgiving this year definitely stepped it up a notch. A big thanks to Jerome for hosting our feast at his beautiful beach-front home, and to Jill for coordinating everyone’s best pot-luck contribution. We signed up to bring Julia’s special cranberry salad and the turkey, which felt like way more pressure than our usual commitment of side dishes. Luckily after plenty of research, preparation, and the handy imu turkey cook-a-thon fundraiser, we can’t take full responsibility for how incredible it turned out.

The day was complete with speedminton, frisbee, and mixed drinks. Needless to say, it was a perfect sunny and beautiful celebration. We’re thankful for our families, friends, and of course the place we call home. This last picture is where we spent the day after recovering from our huge meal…

Season for Caring

Life 1 Response »

Nov 202011

This is the time of year when Chris and I launch into a frenzy of homemade crafty projects in preparation for the holidays. In an attempt to avoid the commercialism that can often feel overwhelmingly expensive and sometimes wasteful, I decided to use recycled materials as inspiration instead.

Handmade jewelry made from beach treasure might be a nice gift for some of the ladies I know, but now what can we do for the guys?

Saturdays In November

Life 1 Response »

Nov 122011

Here’s a quick look into our day today… We woke up slowly with the rain, which cleared just in time for our morning exercise class. A quick coffee stop on the way home was followed by a little work around the house: feed the chickens, do laundry, work on holiday projects, putz around. In need of a break from our daunting to-do list, we stopped, dropped, and hopped on the bikes to go for a surf and meet up with friends at the beach. When we got home, four protein-packed omegas were waiting to be collected from our prized backyard egg-laying machines. To top it off, we’ve got one more day left in the weekend. Tough life, I know.

Halloween Cowboys from Outer Space

Life 2 Responses »

Oct 312011

Scissors, spray paint, cardboard and old clothes were on the list of ingredients for our do-it-yourself costumes. They may have turned out a little shabbier than anticipated, but certainly made for a fun day of sporadic creativity. Julia and I had a great time showing off our getups with friends at a crazy costume party. This planetary moon wrangler even tried to blast off under the lights before getting drenched in his own intergalactic sweat…

Impromptu Shredding

Life 1 Response »

Sep 102011

We managed to sneak in another funday with the Kauai Crossfitters in celebration of September birthdays. The day was complete with a huge blow-up waterslide, live band, freestyle frisbee, an assortment of superfoods, full moon, and several hours spent on our communal mini-ramp. After complete exhaustion set in, I ended up kidnapping Jerome‘s new micro 4/3 camera and snapped a few shots of the halfpipe action. This is as close as you get to a formal black and white affair on Kauai…

Lara & Alex Visit Kauai

Life 2 Responses »

Aug 042011

It was great having Lara and Alex stay with us for part of their Kauai vacation. In the few days we spent together, we made the most of summer weather and enjoyed being outdoors, in the sun and at the beach. We had tons of fun living it up as tourists, covering the highlights around the island, snorkeling and shell hunting, plus encouraging Julia to make more lilikoi bars. It was a really nice way to catch up with good friends and end our summer break on a high note before getting back into the school schedule. Check out the slideshow…

Tally Me Banana

House, Life 3 Responses »

Jul 082011

Weighing in just shy of 100 lbs, this is the first bunch of ripening bananas from our yard. Currently, we have six other banana trees that are also flowering. We’ll definitely have our hands full if they all become ripe at the same time, but luckily our friends in the neighborhood are happy to help us out. For us this is a whole new level of gardening with amazing results!

Summer Begins for Ruth & Marty

Life, Video 3 Responses »

Jun 292011

As always, we really enjoyed our time spent with Julia’s parents. Their visit included the perfect balance of adventurous days in the water and low-key relaxation with books, naps and swinging in the hammock. One memorable highlight of their stay was when Big Daddy Wags and Our #1 Fan treated us to a special four-year anniversary dinner at Josselin’s. We all agree that our entire family excels at eating great food together. Hopefully our level of activity was enough to burn off the extra desserts. Renting boats from our friends at Wailua Kayak Adventures was another highlight that included a solo tour of Fern Grotto, hunting for rope swings, barefoot hiking through sludge, and Marty’s 100 foot shower under Secret Falls. Thanks again for stocking our fridge and filling up our gas tanks… we’re already starting to run low on supplies and need you to come back soon We miss you both! Hope you enjoy the short video (above) and photos (below).

California Trip

Life, Travel 1 Response »

Jun 152011

After three years since our last California visit, it was really special for us to spend time with family and friends on their home turf. We started our trip in San Francisco with Matt & Matt’s Julia at their awesome Sausalito home. They were both incredibly hospitable with great meals, city adventures, hiking in Muir Woods and even a cold water surf session. Matt let me borrow his not-so-short shortboard, gloves, booties and wetsuit hood for the 50 degree water and we had a great time sharing waves at his home break. Matt’s Julia kept us on a healthy regimen by cooking up amazing dinners and also taking us along to workout at Crossfit Sausalito. After several fun-filled days in SF, we met up with my brother and headed down to his new house in Clovis, CA. Spending family time with my nieces was really the highlight of our trip. Stay tuned for some higher quality photos from the family photo session we did with Jason, Debbie and the girls. Slip ‘n sliding during Jay’s backyard barbecue, our trip to Shaver Lake, and working out with the whole family in their garage gym are new memories that we’ll share forever. We finished up our trip with a couple relaxing days at my parents house in Oxnard, CA. Before heading home, we also had the chance to sneak out to Malibu for a beautiful hike with our friends Jeff and Brittany. Many thanks to our family and friends for all the amazing accommodations and be sure to check out the slideshow…

Never Too Old to Flip

Life, Video 4 Responses »

May 122011

Thanks to our friend Anna (pictured first in the video) for motivating us to head down to Kauai’s only Gymnastics Academy. With plenty of assistance, lots of pointers, and several moments of hesitation, we all had tons of fun and a heck of a workout! Julia did awesome, especially considering it was her first time in a real gym. Two years have gone by since our last acrobatic attempt in the yard and my backflip definitely still needs work. I guess we’ll just have to go back next week

Fruits of Our Labor

House, Life 1 Response »

May 102011

Kapaa’s Farmer’s Market has provided us with more than just our fresh produce. Our weekly fruit binge has resulted in thousands of papaya seeds blending into our compost bin and gradually spreading around the yard disguised as fertilizer. The little stalks sprout in grass-like clumps and nine months later a few superior papaya trees emerge loaded with fruit. This year’s late spring rain is keeping the grass green, the flowers fragrant and the papayas nicely plumped. Best of all, mango season is just around the corner!