Beach Day - Grandma and Grandpa Visit Day #3

 We decided to go to the beach for a bit in the morning...and stayed til the early afternoon.  It was super fun, and the girls got to show off their skills in the surf for Grandma and Grandpa.  And, family, have you ever seen Dad so relaxed?!?  He often said how much he enjoyed relaxing on the beach that day.  And it really was relaxing.  Good surf,  good body boarding, even good bird catching (or at least, attempts at it!)  Speaking of, can you believe Ivy actually caught a wild pigeon before with her own two hands?!?

Elysse's Birthday Celebration at Sea Life Park - Grandma and Grandpa Visit Day #2

 High FIVE for Elysse turning 5!!!!!

We celebrated by going to Sea Life Park (Thank you, Maka'i Card deal, for your perfect timing)

First we saw the dolphin show with "the world's only Wolphin!"  And no, it is not a mix between a dolphin and a walrus. ;)  We decided to choose our seats quickly -- but obviously using our bottoms and not our brains, seeing how we sat right in front of a pole.  Duh!

 

 Penguin feeding

 

 Sea Lions

 Touching a baby honu

The girls were super excited to get wet during the main show, where the dolphins splash in a big pool that sprays the first few seats.  They remembered from last time we went a few years ago how soaked we all got, unawares.  This time they were prepared with swimsuits.  And Grandpa and Grandma were prepared with warnings given 10 times by each child.  Well, we sat in the same seats, and the girls watched every other row but ours get soaked.   Nate and I told the girls to wait -- our turn will come -- but their impatience couldn't hold out and they ran to the already wet seats -- just as a dolphin made its biggest splash and got Nate and I and the girls' empty seats all wet.

We told them not to worry, that we'll get wet at the next show.  So in the meantime we played Sardines on Elysse's request.  She chose to hide in a small twisted tunnel on the playset.  Somehow, the girls, Grandma and I crammed ourselves in there!

 However, the next show was (*lame*) and there was no water spraying, and suddenly the totally cool birthday celebration turned into "the worst birthday party Ever!!!"  and Elysse sulked back to the parked car.

Ah, but the Party Angels must have been looking down on that Freshly Five year old that day, because as we stopped for a potty break, I spotted a food stand and bought a giant cookie for Elysse.  Her eyes lit up and suddenly it didn't matter if she got wet or not -- at least she got her sugar -- and the birthday again was a hit.


And speaking of food, she requested pancakes for breakfast.  She definitely got what she asked for!

Happy Birthday, Elysse!

Here are 5 things I LOVE about you:

1. Your smile

2.  Your knock knock jokes

3.  How you repeat things other people say -- jokes, stories, etc.  so you can get the same attention they did

4. Your love for your daddy (you are always thinking of ways to serve him or show him love, like buying him candy at the store.

5.  Your love for beauty.

Grandma and Grandpa Visit! Hike to the Albatross

I was looking forward to my mom and dad visiting, but also wondering how it all was going to be, since I had it on my calendar that they were coming out on Thursday evening and leaving Monday morning.  3 days in Hawaii?!?  Well, if it weren't for a rainstorm that delayed their trip and prompted Dad to call me on Wednesday to tell me they'll be there a bit later THAT NIGHT, I wouldn't have been at the airport to pick them up!  And they were leaving Monday night, not morning!  So the whole trip started out even better than I expected -- with 5 days of Grandparents and not 3!

Day One: We hiked to Kaena Point to see the albatross.  I thought it would be a 1 1/2 hour hike, but it was a 5 hour hike -- and well worth it!  Wow, it is sooo beautiful at the point!  And the albatross were neat to see. 

 view of the coastline along the way

 

 Avoiding the mudpuddles

 Love this pic -- Grandpa is growling like a bear to help motivate Elysse to keep going.  Look at the smirk on Elysse's face as she pretends not to hear him. ;)

Grandma's 15th rendition of "Left, left, left my wife and 49 kids....."
Still smiling ;)

At one point, Grandpa went ahead with Soul (as well as our food, phone, and water).  We hiked on til the end, with the girls complaining more and more about being hungry and thirsty, and no sight of Grandpa.  I was beginning to worry about Dad, too.  This was his first day here and I knew he wasn't drinking much.  Hopefully he was okay.  And then I was worried about Soul -- it was time for him to nurse.  When we neared the point, we asked some hikers if they had seen him, but they said they had been all the way to the end and had not.  Where was he?  The kids were in the hot sun with no water, and Kezia laid down on the sand a few times, saying she was tired and just wanted to go to sleep.  I knew it was just because she was so out of fuel and liquids.  So we decided to say a prayer that we could find him and be okay til we did.   A few minutes later he poked his head out of a gunnery at the point.  We were so excited to him and refuel.  And Soul was excited to see Mommy.

Well, after that we had a great time playing in the tide pools searching for creatures and finding plenty hermit crabs.  

Most of all the girls loved playing on the gunnery.  The wind was blowing at about 35mph up there!  The girls had such a fun time playing with the wind and singing as loudly as they could.

The albatross were so cool.  Smaller than I had expected, they were the size of a large duck, but it was really cool to see them nesting right next to the path, dancing with each other, clicking with their bills, and soaring right over our heads.  

 

Due to the big rains last week, there were a lot of mud holes along the path.  Kezia ditched her shoes and convinced Elysse and I to do the same.

 On the way home from an awesome hike...

Fun pics from January

 Elysse and Soul joining a yoga session.  Elysse did it for quite a while-- I was impressed!

 Soul helping with Rainbow Watersports

Soul and Kanoi Clark

 We LOVE getting loads of organic produce from Kama'aina Land and Nursery delivered to our house for just $1/lb!!!  Not only are they fun to eat, apparently, they're also fun to SIT on!

Walking with the Clarks -- Kala, Mountain, and Lotus (and Kanoi) -- we love these guys!  So happy to have them as friends and neighbors.  We've lived near each other for 5 years, but only got to know them this last year.

We hosted a "snow day" at the park.  We thought it was perfect weather for it -- cold, windy, and drizzling -- but apparently it was a bit too close to snowy weather for our warm-weathered friends and we had a small turnout.  But no matter -- it was fun!

Ivy's hammock trick -- hey, if "it's only fun til someone pokes their eye out", be sure it's worth the fun!

Soul eating with a spoon

Nate's First Ultra-Marathon -- 33 miles from Haleiwa to Laie and Back

I picked Nate up at Chun's Reef after he conquered 33 miles from Haleiwa to Laie -- in his old gym shoes!  He did it just to see if he could.  An amazing man.  Way to go Nate!

Oh, and then just for kicks, we went on a hike that same day.  Not a real strenuous one -- just up to Makapuu lighthouse.  But still, it was uphill one way and downhill the next, and Nate was full on!

 Lots of love in this family!  We happened upon a heart-shaped rock -- so why not have some fun?!

We saw plenty of whales and it was a beautiful lookout.  What I thought was funny was that it was called a hike, since it was a paved walk up a hill that took about 45 minutes each way.  But, seeing all the fat and round mainlanders huffing and puffing along the way, I guess a "hike" is all relative.

 Soul found the lighthouse!