Down, down, down, splash

I signed Eric up for more swim lessons.  Today at the end of his lesson he got the chance to go off the diving boards.  He went off the 1m and 3m springboards.  This wasn't the first time he has gone off the high dive, but this time I got the perfect pictures!  I was sitting in the shade while he was swimming and practicing treading water.  He hesitated briefly before jumping off.

His freestyle is also getting much better!  He's almost got the hang of breathing to the side.  He can do a dive off the side and come up swimming now too!

He loves to swim and wants to be on the swim team so bad.  He's almost old enough!  Great job, Eric!!

Birthday Season

4 out of 5 people in this house have birthdays in the next few weeks.  We start with a sweet, loving, handsome boy that just turned 9!  Will's birthday was Saturday.  We had a great day celebrating him even though it was rainy.  

First up was homemade donuts, by request.  He just wanted donut holes!

 After breakfast he opened his gifts.  He was supposed to have a soccer game but it was cancelled due to rain.

 Little brother was not far away during present opening!

 After lunch we walked to the bowling alley on post and played 2 games.  Eric won.  Then the rest of the afternoon he enjoyed playing with friends, putting together legos, and watching some football.

 Dinner was poppy seed chicken and for dessert homemade apple pie!  He likes apple pie when it's just our family and I will make him a shark cake (again this year) when we have a party.

Happy birthday, Will!!  And like you said... Only 364 more days until I am 10!

Adventure Fridays

Today's adventure was not on the extreme end.  And there were only 3 of us girls this time.  But we braved the gray rainy day and headed to Pupukea (Sharks cove) on the North Shore for some snorkeling while there aren't big waves.  I think we found the one no-rainy, some sun, spot on the island.  We set up our tent just in case and just had a relaxing morning before eating lunch out.

The mountains are covered with thick rain clouds, the water is flat and a beautiful green color, and I saw at least 2 dozen different types of fish while snorkeling.  Amazing!

The Pali Puka hike

Tuesday morning after dropping Eric off at pretty school, Justin and I went for a hike.  It was nice to not have to worry about getting a sitter.  Justin had done this hike with a friend and I wanted to do it too.  You start at the Pali highway lookout and go up.  It was pretty nerve wrecking in parts.  Seriously fall to your death steep but amazing views!  I'm not sure I'd do it again.  But I'm glad I did it.  It was muddy from all the rain we've had lately and the ropes along the way really helped.

View from the Pali lookout.

 See?  Really steep right on the edge of the path.

 Just don't look down!

 We made it to the puka (hole).

 It was easier to go down backwards for most of it.  Especially when using the ropes.

It was a great morning hanging out with Justin and I can't wait to do more adventures together!

A friendly competition

Justin and I enjoy racing each other in the water (I can't even try and keep up running or biking).  There aren't many opportunities where we get to start at the same time at a race either.  But a small race like the Turtle Bay Biathlon that we did on Sunday was perfect for some friendly competition!  

Caroline took some great pictures of us coming out of the water.  They tell a funny story.

I was struggling in the water.  Couldn't get much going and I knew I was slower than I'd hoped to be. But I was still teasing Justin as I got out of the water, just after him.  

 As I passed him coming up the beach he got a little love tap.

 Then some smack talk.

 As I officially crossed the timing pad before him!!

Justin then put on his running shoes and had a 5k to do.  I just tagged my partner and she did the running for me.  

I'm hoping we get to compete against each other some more because it's lots of fun!!  Win or lose

He's Baaaack!!

Today Justin came home!!  He's been gone a month.  As Will stated one morning, "It's harder than I thought it'd be with dad gone."  I hear ya buddy.  It sure is hard without my teammate!

So tonight Justin jumped right back into the swing of things.  I took this picture at getting ready for bed time.  Thankfully our bathroom is big enough for us all to fit.

Welcome home Justin!  We have missed you.

Oh, And I'm sure he heard "Dad!" at least a thousand times!

Make over time

Awhile back Justin and I found this buffet at in a clearance tent.  It was exactly what we were looking for but in the wrong color.  Color is an easy thing to fix so we bought it!  I waited until all the kids were in school before I started working on it.  Which means I only worked on it Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  So slowly I got the painting done and am please with how it came out.

 I did save a little for Eric to do since he asked so nicely if he could help!

 We had some terribly rainy weather that didn't help with the drying time, and I still don't think it's ever going to be completely dry, but oh well.

 Finished!  And I really like it black.  Now it matches our dining room table legs and chairs.