Camping at Kahana

Father's Day weekend we went to camping at Kahana Bay -- one of the most beautiful places on the island in my opinion.

Although we wanted to leave Friday after lunch, we didn't get out the door til 5:30!! We all packed into the van and headed off. The van makes things so much easier, maybe not safer, but easier. Just pack it all in, kids and all. No need to play Tetris with all the camping gear.

We got there in the dark and realized there were no fire pits. Nate returned to the store and returned with a turkey pan and skewers, but by the time he had returned, the girls had chosen sleep over food, even though I offered to make them bagels with cream cheese or PB&J. What Burgoyne child chooses sleep over food?!? Must have been a long day.

The next day after a breakfast of toasted bagels.

and then played on the beach. Even 25 feet out the water was still thigh deep, and with rolling waves, Kezia and Ivy LOVED boogie boarding. I guess it's a lot more fun when it's shallow and sandy. They were having so much fun. Elysse and Kezia also tried surfing.

After, Kezia, Ivy and I traversed Kahana Stream on our stand up board, going under vines and ending up at a fun tire swing. (If this all seems like you have read this before, it's becaus I've posted about a trip we took here previously. Thank you for reading our blog!)

We came back for a lunch of hot dogs and s'mores -- the dinner we didn't get to enjoy the night before.

Give me s'more of that smile, Kez!

Then we headed out for some horseback riding at Kualoa Ranch, followed with some close encounters with some animals.

Elysse found a hibiscus that matched her dress perfectly, so we had to take a photo.

The trip was sooo nice and relaxing. I love love love camping with our kids. Everyone has a great time and we feel like family, instead of two working parents with kids in between.

Sunset to Haleiwa Race

Nate and I completed a 7 mile downwind race from Sunset to Haleiwa on June 12th, a week after the SUP into Summer race. Nate had been training for it, and I wasn't planning on doing it. However, the night before the race we were driving down the coast and I had a great desire to do the race. I had always wanted to paddle from Sunset, and do a downcoast run, and paddle longer than I had paddled before.

Well, fate must have been looking over me because an hour and a half before race time the next day my friend called and practically begged me to race, saying she'll watch our girls. Then Nate's friend texted him saying he has a race board if Nate wanted to borrow it. What other excuse did I have?

I got to the beach just as the pre-race speech was ending and the paddlers were getting into the water.

I've got to admit, this was a gruelling race for me. And I am sure that a lot of that was because I had not trained, and being 4 1/2 months pregnant probably didn't help either. But I finished and I did my best, and for that I am happy.

Nate did well too, but not as well as he had hoped. Nate always tries everything twice, this time with the board that he paddled at the Battle of the Paddle, the board that was obviously not the right size for him. I guess he had to prove it to himself with a second round, and as a result, he was fighting it the whole way.

I did end up getting 3rd place though, but as I knew I was near the end of the race, there must not have been many women in my division to begin with. Oh well, I'll keep the prize.

Me and Wendy, an instructor at our school, showing off our winnings. Hey, it's a new race sponsor-- we'll let them fly with a laminated piece of paper. Whoopie!

I swore that that was my last race of the season.....but then I found out that next week's race has a keiki tandem division, meaning we could race with a child on our board...one more race and then I'm done. ;)

(video was too long -- thank you, YouTube)

My favorite part about the whole race was how the finish line ended up at the "free lunch" line. Eh, family and friends can wait. Mama and baby want FOOOOOOD NOOOOOWWWWW!!!

We're having a BOY!!!

Can you believe it? We're having a BOY!!!

I've gotta tell you, though, the girls are not that thrilled about the masculinity that's going to enter their girlhood.

The technician announced it was a boy, and through outbursts of "boys are horrible!" and "Not aboooooyyyy!", Nate and I tried to make them feel good about the prospect.

"Your friends have baby brothers, and they love them."

"Now there will be a prince in the castle!"

Nothing seemed to console them, until Nate said, "You know, boys can do some really good things."

"Like what?"

"Like cook."

"You mean, like Daddy?"

"Uh huh."

The girls were silenced. Their eyes got big, and their eyeballs jump around as the idea sunk in. You could almost see the thought bubbles above their heads: "You mean, he'll cook for us, and we can eat his food?!?"

All of a sudden, the thought of a boy was not so bad.

For both Nate and I, of course, we are excited, and to be honest, we will be excited no matter what it is or how healthy it is -- so long as it has a heartbeat.

But to be honest, I am a bit nervous. Thoughts of raising a boy flashed in my head: In my opinion, boy babies aren't usually as cute as girl babies. Sometimes that "cute" factor is the only saving grace when the baby is screaming his or her head off.

And then what about when he's a toddler? Images of my friends with boys flashed in my head -- their tired eyes and constant chasing after their son, real life reenactments of Bill Cosby's "Jeffrey" skit.

And then as the boy gets older, what about the boy interests that are soo boring to me -- cars and trucks and WWF. And what about when he's a teenager - the dangers that seem to be so strong in boys' lives - video games, pornography, macho-ism, girls, and girlfriends, "cool-to-be-dumb" syndrome -- AAHHH!!!

So I decided to try to observe boys to calm my nerves.

We went to a restaurant right after. There was a boy throwing paper airplanes at every patron who walked in.

The next day I went to the library. There were three boys playing ninja in the middle of the library.

Elysse had a boy friend come over. He was dressed all drab -- jeans and a shirt -- no frills or cute-ness. No hair to fluff.

Now, don't get me wrong -- there are a lot of great boys out there, and even some cute ones. And as his mom, I am excited. Change is good, right? I'm just a bit nervous, not feeling prepared for what might lie ahead.

If you have boys, leave me a comment! I'd love to hear about all the great things about raising boys. ;)

Hula performance

June 5th ALL the girls performed at a hula concert. This was Elysse's first concert! What was most impressive was that their kumu (teacher) was not there, so they were performing with a singer who they had never practiced under before, and some of the things he did were different. However, all the girls just flowed with it and did great.

hula sisters and

hula sisters

Elysse is the farthest on the left in the front. Elysse is second to the right on the top, and Ivy is fourth to the right on the top -- right in the middle.

Surf n' Sea Race

The beginning of this month was the SUP into Summer race -- a 4 mile course race in the same location where we teach lessons.

Nate did great-- getting into the Top Ten male racers and being able to do a second race to compete for money prize.

I got fourth of the women, with our instructors getting 1st and 3rd (go Rainbow Watersports team!)

Afterward was a keiki division.

Kezia wanted to join, and guess what? So did Ivy, our girl who hasn't ever wanted to paddle before. (She always just wanted to be towed -- a very "Ivy" thing to do). So Ivy's first experience paddling was in a race. And she did great! Now she loves it.

girls and a friend playing in the water