Celebrate Fiji

We took grandma to the Polynesian Cultural Center and I brought Ethan and Sydney over after their nap to see the the Fijian show.  They did a family show where we bang bamboo sticks on the floor and do a little singing along with them.

We stopped by the Hawaiian show and saw some hula dancers.  We've checked out Hawaiian books from the library here so Ethan was very familiar with it and was so excited to see it live.

We ate dinner at the buffet and I showed Ethan and Sydney how to stick a spoon on their noses.  Sydney kept trying, but was using the wrong side of the spoon.  Too cute.

Grandma grabbed a plumeria flower every time she could and stuck it behind her ear.  Aloha grandma.

I got it

On the 1 hour drive home from our sailing adventure, I knew I was sick.  By the time we arrived home, I just wanted to lay down and take a nap.  I spent Sunday and Monday laying down as much as I could and still be a mom.  Thank goodness Doug's mom was here to help me so I could rest!  

Tuesday morning, Doug let me sleep in and when I finally rolled out of bed, the house was empty.  I walked outside and saw that the kid's shoes were missing.  I felt like a detective as I meandered onto the beach and discovered Keen shoe prints in the sand--two sets.  I followed the prints all the way to the beach park and there found Doug with Ethan and Sydney.

On the way back to the house, Doug hopped onto the rope swing like he has wanted to for months and I loved catching photos of him with the ocean behind him.  Amazing.

We are sailors

Our friend, Kevin, lives in Honolulu and is a dentist in the Air Force.  He checked out a sail boat in Pearl Harbor on the base and took us sailing in this historic area.  We were sailing next to the Ford Island bridge and very close to the Arizona memorial.  It was stunning to think an attack happened on American soil right here.

We saw the "golf ball" floating in the Harbor that we had heard about on the news.  It is the only floating missile defense radar detector thingy in our military.  It is 'parked' here temporarily and I understand that is just shows up in the Harbor every so often.  It was absolutely massive.  It can sail the open seas.  

It was a beautiful day although we had some wind gusts.  I enjoyed it once I told myself that I was wrong--we were not going to die.

Doug and his mom had done this before and were pretty calm so I felt like a crazy lady being so nervous.

Thanks Kevin for taking us on this adventure.

Sickly welcome

We have been looking forward to Grandma Marchant coming and visiting us for Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately we didn't anticipate welcoming her with sick kids.  Doug left work to come home and babysit so I could go pick her up at the airport.  Sydney spent the entire day on the couch just miserable.  It was a hard day to be a mom with 2 sick babies, but we were so glad Grandma was here with us through it all.

We took a short drive to Laie Point her first night here and kept the kids protected from the wind in the stroller.

The next morning, Grandma slept in a little and Ethan and Sydney couldn't wait to see her.  Ethan was especially disappointed when she didn't open the door after one knock.  We're working on patience these days.

We visited the park on campus and they instantly decided that Grandma is so fun to play with on the swing.

Ethan had a tough time waking up with the fever/cough/cold they had and just wanted to "cuddle" but I always ended up cuddling two kids after a moment with one.

We cancelled on our invites to Thanksgiving dinner and I ran to the store to get the fixings to do our own meal.  If grandma wasn't here, we wouldn't have had a turkey--that was WAY too intimidating!

We thought it turned out pretty great.

But you can't beat the view we had for our meal.

Two fussy kids were kept busy when we challenged them to help us clear the table.  They did excellent and were were so proud of themselves!

State Champs

The high school near us on the north shore, Kahuku High School, is an extraordinary football team.  They have more players in the NFL than any other high school and have been state champs several times.  Last year the team was disqualified from the championship due to an ineligible player in the games.  Shortly afterward, there were a few players committed suicide.  The team came back this year and made it to the championship game.  We couldn't miss it!  Grandma watched the kids and we enjoyed a night in town at the Aloha Stadium (University of Hawaii stadium). It was HUGE.

The fans were intense--my favorite kind.  They all brought towels, shirts, burp cloths, or anything they could find and it was a sea of red and white.  Amazing.  We watched the town evacuate as they drove into town--honking the whole way.  We left with 2 minutes in the game to avoid the traffic on the 2-lane road up the coast and were greeted by fans with signs cheering for miles.  It reminded me of a movie.  Pretty fun.

They played Pres. Obama's former private high school--the most prestigious on the island.  It was kind of fun to play his old school and beat them.  Plus, I got a date out of it with my love.  Win!

Pu'u O Mahuka Heiau

We had planned to go sailing today with Kunzes, but Sydney woke up with a low-grade fever and a cough, so we opted for a morning drive.  We headed up the north shore and stopped at a historical site Doug's boss had mentioned to me.  It was pretty impressive. 

Pu'u O Mahuka Heiau is some temple ruins up on the hillside above Waimea Bay.  I was shocked after reading a little how it resembles Solomon's temple in layout.

We walked around the perimeter of the temple and I told Doug that it was interesting that I felt inclined to whisper here.  We took a photo at the top of the upper enclosure that was restricted after this temple was dedicated.

We found this cool lookout of Waimea Bay.  If you look closely, you can see people preparing to jump off the large rock extending into the bay (to the right of my head).

It's fun to see the culture of this island.

We love

...pushing an empty stroller together

Ethan and Sydney will beg to push the grocery cart or the stroller all the time and I give in frequently. We went to the circle at BYUH and they took off across the field, fast.

...going to the Polynesian Cultural Center to see the "Show"

All I need to say is "the show" and E & S will run and grab their shoes.  They love the evening show at the PCC.  This time, we went to the Fijian show in the village for the first time and I will go back often with them.  Singing, dancing, banging bamboo sticks on the floor in unison with the audience, the word "moo" in the song...wow.  It was made for our kids!  They were thrilled and captivated the entire time.  It was so great.

...having friends come to visit

My friend, Lisa, came up from Waikiki for the day and had a great time at the PCC with us.  I brought Ethan and Sydney home for dinner and got them ready for bed and then went back to join her for the evening show.  Sorry Lisa--it's the only photo we took.  You look alarmed.

...when dad gets us dressed in the wrong pajamas

This is not the first time that Ethan has worn pink, but it was the first time he asked to put on his necklace afterward.  He makes a very pretty girl, don't you think?

...sitting with daddy on the 'couch' (aka the comfortable futon where we sleep at night)

Ethan wakes up calling for daddy.  It's a proud mom-moment when he asks for me, because it isn't that often.  :-(  I agree Ethan, you're dad is awesome.

...running along the beach

I took my first run today on the sand (I usually push the stoller and that doesn't go 'fast' along the sand) and had a great time.  I didn't run far--my muscles were fatigued pretty fast.  But, I did see some pretty interesting things that had washed up from high tide:
several coconuts (this isn't too abnormal though)
an orange
a watermelon broken into two halves
a pineapple sicking out of the sand

Fun-filled last day

We were sad when Tuesday morning arrived and we knew "Aunt Michelle" was headed home in the evening.  We decided to live it up and spent the day going, going.  We started with Ethan modeling a bikini that someone gave us for Sydney.  He loved the "fishies" on his tummy.

Many people have asked us why we travel for hikes on the island when Laie Falls is right in our backyard.  We decided to try the hike that proved to be very long, muddy, and the trail covered in fruit flies (on the fallen strawberry guava fruit smashed in the mud--nasty). 

We did get some great views of our area though and felt so lucky to live in such a place.

We discovered wild orchids that Ethan loves to model behind his ears by shouting "on!" but then swats it away pretty soon after it's behind his ear.

We caught a great view of Laie Point.

After carrying the kids up the 3.5 mile trail and then using ropes along steep grades to get down to the falls--I saw this waterfall and said outloud, "I feel under-welmed."  We all were a little let down by the reward for the hard hike.  After looking at the photos though, I sure sound spoiled.  The water was pretty muddy looking and we had thought we might hop in the water...no thanks.

We ate a quick lunch so we could get back on the trail down since we knew it would take a while.

Despite our best efforts, nap time for Sydney occured on the trail while Ethan was buzzing with energy.

Michelle was kind to give Doug a break and let Sydney sleep on her back.

Ethan was still buzzing with energy.  This boy loves to hike.

We came back and Doug and Michelle hopped in the kayak for one last ocean adventure while Ethan and Sydney napped and I made Michelle's last Hawaiian supper.  Our family favorite--cheeseless Mac and Cheese.

Michelle read the "doggie book" aka "Go Dog Go" one last time and kissed Ethan and Sydney goodnight and we jumped in the car to make the trek into town to take her to the airport.

We had a great time with Michelle!  It's crazy to think that being home in Utah is right around the corner...