Pillbox hike

Monday the kids were out of school so we headed to the other sid elf the island to go hiking.  Instead of starting where we have all the other times we have done this hike we started at the opposite end.  We really love this hike (thanks for telling us about it Andrew!) and starting from the other end was just as fun.  There weren't as many people hiking from this side either.

Caroline and Will on the next ridge.  They hike ahead and hang out together.

View of the mountains

My hiking buddy!

Grandparents checking out the awesome views we had.

Looking at Bellows

We had planned on going to the beach after hiking but it was later in the afternoon than we thought it would be so we just went to have an early dinner and get back home.  It was an awesome day!

Sunday fishing day

Sunday morning everyone but Eric and I went to Hale'iwa to go fishing.  The ocean hadn't died down from the storm the previous day and the waves were a little rough.  They all had a great time and Caroline caught the biggest fish of the day!!

Caroline with her mahi mahi.  Yum!!

Beautiful morning with the sun rising.

You're supposed to keep fish in your pocket right?!

The waves were so rough that a sight-seeing catamaran tipped backwards and a few passengers fell into the ocean.  That was the boat we were on a week earlier!  The fishing group got to see the rescue of the passengers.  Had some added excitement in between the fishing.

 We got the keep Caroline's mahi mahi!  We are looking forward to eating that good fish.  And yes that came out of my mouth.  Living in Hawaii, and the fish that Justin has caught on previous trip in other states, is changing my mind on fish eating.

I love the light in this picture.  And the kids too!!

Fish tacos for lunch after they got off the boat.

A morning at dog beach

This morning I dropped Justin and Grandma off at the Navy Exchange (NEX) for a little shopping.  With shopping not being my thing, Grandpa, Eric, Miles, and I headed over to Hickam to go to the beach and let Miles run.  We have been busy and Miles hasn't alway gotten his walk in so it was time to give him a treat.  

Eric kicking the water.

See the little black dot in the middle of the water?  That's Eric sitting on the sandbar digging a hole in the sand.  The water is super shallow here and was just above my ankles all the way to where Eric was sitting.

 Dog beach is a cool spot right at the entrance to Pearl Harbor.  Today the planes took off right above us.  We saw a few barges and a tug boat go by too.

F-22's parked on the tarmac.

The school week is over, parent teacher conferences have happened and we are ready for a great weekend.

Sunset Lanai

Wednesday night we headed down towards Honolulu to Camp H.M. Smith to have dinner at the Sunset Lanai.  Only on Wednesday nights do they serve dinner, a Mongolian BBQ.  You get a bowl and fill it with anything you want.  The options are many (and delicious).  You start with noodles then add any veggie or meat or seafood you like, then weigh it, go but any seasoning  you'd like on your bowl then turn it in to the wait staff.  They then go cook it for you.  There is also egg drop soup, sticky rice, and dessert to enjoy.  If the food wasn't good enough then you also get an amazing view of Diamond head, Honolulu, the airport, Pearl Harbor and the sunset.  This was the first time we had been there and it will be something we do again for sure!!

The USS Missouri and the Arizona Memorial

Hilarious!

Rays of sun over Ford Island

City lights

Pretty amazing place for dinner!

Hanauma Bay

 Wednesday morning after we dropped the kids off at school we headed to Hanauma Bay to snorkel.  We didn't get to stay long but it was a great morning and we saw dozens of different kinds of fish and coral.  So beautiful!!  Eric got to put his scuba diving gear to work and had a blast.  He didn't last too long, the water was freezing.

Looking at Koko Head.

Whale watching

Sunday afternoon we all headed to the Hale'iwa marina to get on a boat and try and see some whales. Almost right away we spotted a whale breaching!  Then saw lots of whales blowing and saw their backs.  But no more breaching.  The trip was very enjoyable and we all had a great time.  Caroline got to reel in a fish too.  Since we were out in the later afternoon we also got to see the sun set behind the mountain.

What a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!!

Valley of the Temples and Mac Nuts

Saturday we went over to the other side of the island and visited the Byodon-In Temple.  It is to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii.  It is a replica of the 950 year old temple in Uji, Japan.  

The pictures didn't load in order (like usual) so the temple pictures are mixed in with our tour of a Macadamia nut farm that we visited after lunch.  The kids got to crack the nuts while we waited for our tour to start.  Eric cracked nuts for a solid hour!!  The tour took us around the property(on a bus) and we stopped along the way to see different flowers, fruit trees, got out for a fire starting, coconut opening, fire dancing demonstration, another stop for a short boat tour around an old man-made fishing pond, and a very entertaining tour guide that kept us laughing.  It was a great day!!

Quite the outfit!

Not the boat we rode, but too funny not to take a picture!

Will sat with his eyes closed in the meditation temple.

Thick bamboo.  Notice how big around it is compared to the kids legs.

Feeding the koi

Thanks for sharing your pictures Grandma and Grandpa!!  It was a great day!!