Travel | Julia & Chris Sanderl

Giggin’ in Gig Harbor

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!

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…

A Wagner Family Christmas

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Dec 292010

This year, the highlight of our trip was spending time with our new nephew William! It was incredible to meet such a well-mannered bubbly little baby and see David and April for the first time as mommy and daddy. We really enjoyed this special time with family and had a great Christmas that included our yearly stop at Grandma Rose’s house, 3D movie night, remote control helicopter piloting, billiard bonanza in the basement, and Julia’s amateur diaper change that resulted in a yellow fountain on her head. It was a busy trip that concluded with a specail dinner cabaret show in the heart of Seattle at Teatro ZinZanni, courtesy of our family’s newest parents. Thanks for the warmest hospitality and great new memories… Happy New Year!

That’s Kokua!

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Apr 252010

We were fortunate enough to have a three day weekend, a place to stay on Oahu, and good friends in town for the Kokua Festival. On our first night we spent the evening wandering the streets of Waikiki enjoying the many cultures and characters of a “big” city. Body surfing was at the top of our priority list throughout the trip so we made sure to get in several sessions at our favorite windward spots. Before the concert we met up with everyone for a picnic in the park and had an awesome night listening to great music and watching the dance maneuvers of several overly-eccentric people. We also enjoyed a night in Kailua with our friends Jeannie and Lizzie. The trip was complete after our final drive around the island to pay homage to the North Shore, and eat at the best shrimp truck before heading home… Home sweet home

Meat & Potatoes

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Dec 262009

Our visit to Gig Harbor was filled with great food and plenty of time for family relaxation. We walked in the woods, explored the marina, stopped by Grandma Rose’s house and saw a movie on the big screen. We also spent a couple of nights playing pool and video games with Julia’s brother David and his wife April at their entertainment-equipped house. The Wagner family also never fails to step it up a notch every year with amazingly huge and delicious meals. The extra belly weight definitely comes in handy when it’s so cold outside!

Balinese Bang-ups

Travel, Water 2 Responses »

Oct 112009

I have a knack for making things look worse than they actually are… a testament to my photography. Yes, it looks scary and we were a little shaken up by the incident, as I’m sure the picture will shake up a couple moms out there (that we love). This was Julia’s first bloody surf injury. It came from the rail of her board getting pitched in her face with the breaking wave. Immediately after the photo op, we went to the nearest pharmacy and found some Indo-chinese antiseptic, ointment and makeshift bandages. She’s almost good as new now and definitely looks a lot better than the busted up board rail. We’ve got a video coming soon so in the meantime check out some of our other PHOTOS from Bali.

Oahu Trip Complete

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Jun 262009

Julia and I spent the week in Oahu with my parents. We took full advantage of the “big city” by stocking up on all the essentials that aren’t so readily available on our Target-less island. There were some great deals on school clothes, surf trunks, and of course swap meet bikinis at the Aloha Stadium that we couldn’t pass up. So now we’re pretty much set for another year. We also scored solid swell at Sandy’s and Makapu’u and had a great time hanging with my folks. It was definitely a fun and productive week, but there’s nothing like coming home to our peace and quiet and lighting up the grill with some BIG kahuna burgers…

Winter at the Wagner’s

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Dec 252008

Although many people were stranded at the airport in Tacoma for days, we made it in smoothly without much hassle. We arrived with two feet of snow on the ground and a winter storm warning on the horizon. After six more inches of snow fell, we decided to put it to good use… hence Professor Snowman was born. Momma Ruth and family wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Bakersfield Babies

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Oct 082008

We’re having a blast with my brother’s family and it’s really incredible to see our new little niece Ava. She is such a sweet and happy baby with the perfect eat, sleep, poop schedule. We’re taking notes. Only three days left before we have to head back to our daily grind. Our little vacation has been flying by so we’re trying to slow it down by shutting our eyes and enjoying every second. Bella has got this technique mastered…

Happy New Year

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Jan 022008

Click Here to check out some of our photos from Washington. We had a blast!

Summertime Reception

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Aug 122007

We’re headed up to Washington for some good food and family time. Check back in a week for a photo gallery of our trip! Hope all is well… we’d love to hear from you!

CHILE Home Stretch

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Apr 112007

We’re back from Chile and feeling a little sluggish going back to the daily grind. Check out the photos from our trip here.

Julia has done an amazing job of booking our Mariachi band, DJ, and Officiant. Catering is still in the works. Keep an eye out for our invitations… They’ll be on the way soon!