I see that I'm falling behind updating the blog again. We've been busy, I compiled a bunch of pictures above (you can get a better view if you click on it). We went on a glass bottom boat tour in Kaneohe bay. This was a neat trip, the boat had little square portholes all along the seating area to look out the bottom. You couldn't see colors very well but you could see the coral and fish, we even saw a turtle through the bottom. The kids also got to go sit up on top in front of the boat and later feed some fish. So everyone had a really good time on the trip.
This past Friday, Adam was off school (teachers workshop already!) so we went to Ko'Olina beach. This is normally packed on the weekends, but there were hardly a half dozen groups of people when we got there. We spent over four hours there and the kids just had a good time digging, swimming, and looking a the clouds. Then they found another boy to play with and that entertained them for another hour. So I really had a relaxing day at the beach since they were pretty much self-entertained. We were there so long we all got a little sunburned, but we stayed out of the sun Saturday and it faded pretty quickly.
I got a little crafty the other night (i.e. I broke out the craft supplies!). I had bought some fabric at Walmart that had Scooby Doo on it because Adam likes scooby doo so much. When we got it I really had not idea what I was going to do with it, but then I thought of making a pillowcase. Adam loved the idea, so we went ahead and made him a Scooby Doo pillowcase. He was very happy with it.
Today we went biking up on the north shore. We were supposed to meet up with the tandem biking group but never did hook up with them. We had a nice ride anyways, riding over to Laie and then back again. We saw the Mormon temple there - it was right by the elementary school playground. Since we got an early start, there was not much traffic on the way out once we got past some of the popular beaches.
Now tomorrow it's back to school for Adam, I don't yet know what Cole and I will be up to. Maybe get a walk or run in and then hang out or run errands.
Adam had his first week of Kindergarten and it was a week of mixed feelings for me. Happy to see Adam enjoying going to school and making new friends, but sad to not be a part of all his new adventures. Cole has been really enjoying all the mommy time and our mornings are relaxed and easygoing since there is no sibling fighting going on. So we're all adjusting but it is going well. I'm glad Adam is excited to tell me about what he does during the day, I'm sure those days won't last forever either, so I'd better enjoy them now.
I actually got on the ball and scrapbooked his first day of school pics too.
On Saturday, we went on a hike in Moanalua Valley. This is an old estate which had been passed from various owners until the state recently acquired it to maintain as a state hiking path. The early part of the path, where we hiked, was an old carriage road from the late 1800s and so the path was smooth and wide and easy for the kids to walk. All along the road there were old landscaping plants gone wild for 100 years. It was really quite beautiful walking along the old road.
There were a couple of side trails which led to where old houses had once stood. It is amazing that in 100 years time you could not see any indication other than the stairs and the fireplace hearth that there had been a house there. The jungle had reclaimed the space for its own. I especially liked the stairway that had been overgrown with bushes (below). It was kind of cool to crawl up through there and it was a little adventure for the kids. Along the road there were also seven stone bridges crossing a small creek. From what I read online, each of the bridges were handcrafted by Italian masons in the late 1800s. The kids enjoyed throwing rocks in the small pools that remained under the bridges. In the winter, there is probably a sizeable stream running under these, but it was pretty dry when we hiked through. We found a little side trail that went out to a nice valley overlook... Our hiking book had said there was a petroglyph covered rock along the side of the trail. We missed it on the way out, but finally found it on the hike back. I wish I knew about it, but it is an ancient carved rock, you can see some of the figures carved on it in the pictures. Some pretty flowers I came across, possibly wild ginger or heliconia just looking at the foliage. Best part of all, on the way out we tried out a couple of the huge vines that hang down from the trees, turns out they are pretty strong. The kids had a fun time swinging on them, I even took a couple rides on one. I'd love to hike further in on this trail sometime. If we take a stroller, we can get quite a bit further in on the trail without the kids wearing out. They probably hiked 2 to 2.5 miles on this one, Cole got carried quite a bit. It was definitely a fun hike.
To make a long story short, and skipping over the details about me getting mad... Cole got a buzzcut the other day. Cole and Dan decided that Dan would do the hair trimming this time. By the time I came out, Cole's haircut was looking pretty ragged, so I just buzzed it down. I preferred it longer, but here are the short pics. He still looks cute anyways, and it'll grow!
Well here's what Dan's been doing this weekend. The kids have been helping :) They can't wait to see this thing finished. But surprisingly, they've been pretty patient and haven't been asking 'how much longer until it's done'. I think they like the building process as much as the idea of a finished playground. Maybe soon I'll have a completed picture.
It's 9:30 at night and Dan is still hard at work putting together the playground set that we bought earlier this week. They had it marked down at Sam's club to clear out the last item, so we bit the bullet and got it. We had looked at it every time we were in the store for weeks now. The kids can hardly wait for him to get it assembled. It's only 4 large boxes of hundreds of pieces of wood....
Last night we went to Ko Olina lagoons for a picnic dinner and short swim. Cole brought his new snorkel mask to try out and he totally took to it. Dan swam him back and forth across the lagoon with his little mask and snorkel and he loved seeing the fish. So now he's upgraded from goggles and holding his breath to a full snorkel mask and snorkel. With his floaties on he just swims around snorkeling like he's been doing it all his life.
Finished another scrapbook page tonight. Here it is. Should be off to bed soon so we can bike ride in the morning.
I see that I'm falling behind updating the blog again. We've been busy, I compiled a bunch of pictures above (you can get a better view if you click on it). We went on a glass bottom boat tour in Kaneohe bay. This was a neat trip, the boat had little square portholes all along the seating area to look out the bottom. You couldn't see colors very well but you could see the coral and fish, we even saw a turtle through the bottom. The kids also got to go sit up on top in front of the boat and later feed some fish. So everyone had a really good time on the trip.
