Crouching Lion

Sunday after church and decorating my room for VBS we drove way around the North Shore, past Turtle Bay to do a hike that has been on our to-do list.  Bonus that we got to go with our good buddies, the Phillips.  

Gina is one of my best good buddies and one of the girls I do my fun Fridays with.  Her middle son, Lincoln, is one of Eric's good friends.  

 The point to the top right is the "crouching lion".  It was a little too steep and tricky for the kids and I was the only adult to go up there.

 See!  That's me on the top!

 From the top, I took this picture looking back.  That is Caroline in the green shirt.

 The trail was not long but very steep.  There were ropes to help in many spots.

 The view of the bay and the valley behind it.  So pretty!

 That's Justin and Eric standing where Caroline was in one of the pictures above.

 The zoomed out picture of Justin and Eric.  They are in there right about in the middle.

 The Kahana Bay and the valley.

 Panorama of the view from the top.

 Group shot!  I look crazy short in this picture.  Gina and Ken are really tall though.

 The kids using the ropes coming up and down.

 Dinner was at Ted's bakery (yum) and Will asked Harper if she wanted to sit in his lap.  She did and it was so cute!

 The sunset at Sunset Beach as we headed back to the hotel.

Another fun afternoon with friends!  I am SO going to miss this place!

12u Champions

Saturday morning was an early one.  We had to get up, pack, have breakfast, get the car and load it, and be at Pearl Harbor as close to 7:30 as possible for Will's first flag football game to start at 8am.  Of course it's not just putting the bags in the car because we have too many for them to fit.  So we have to put 2 large rolling duffels on top of the Yukon and our beach chairs and tie them down.  Straight up Clampetts!!

We made it to the first of Will's games in time.  It was a tournament and if they won the 1st game then they would play in another.  3 total wins means they won the championship for their division.

 Will is playing up a division.  He's in the 12 and under league.  He is the youngest on his team and the oldest is 12.  He held is own and had a great season!!  His team won the first 2 games and in the championship game towards the end, his team was down, Will got an interception and almost got a touchdown!  It was so exciting.  He was thrilled and his team mates patted him on the back and told him great job.  It was hard for him to fit in with some of these boys and they often times didn't throw to him or teased him for being slow.  But making big plays won them over.  The next play his team scored and that was the winning touchdown!  They were champs!!

Happy boys!

 Caroline, Eric, and I left Will and Justin at Pearl Harbor to head up to Schofield for Eric's last t-ball game.  His season is not over yet but it was his last game.  He was thrilled to get his trophy!

 After Eric's game we checked into the hotel here at Schofield, unloaded the car, went and got my teeth cleaned, then went back down to Pearl Harbor to watch Will win!

Way to go Will!!  It was so fun watching you have a great time playing flag football.

Fort DeRussey

Friday morning we went next door to the Hale Koa to the Army Museum at Fort Derussey.  We had never been and Caroline really wanted to check it out.  It was a great little museum that had lots of writing.  Not the best place for a beginning reader but the big kids really enjoyed reading about all the info that was there.  Eric and I enjoyed the pictures and other artifacts that were displayed.

 This is a cannon but not the original.  The original was MUCH bigger and was a disappearing one.  Meaning it was raised up over the wall to shoot at enemy ships with a range of 14 miles.

 Pillow face wars that happened in the room.

 Every Friday night there are fireworks at the Hilton.  Which is conveniently right beside the Hale Koa.  We went up with the Morgans to watch the quick display.

 Eric said if he was in that tank that he would shoot Will.  Such brotherly love!!

 Mom, take my picture on this cannon!

 Sunset was very pretty Friday night.  There were a few people watching the fireworks.

 The Morgan's boys (ages 18 and 20) played tag, ninja, and other games with an ever growing number of kids on the beach!  Will loved hanging out with the older boys!!

Sunset and an empty house

Thursday night the boys' sports got cancelled due to the weather.  So after dinner we tried to find a dry place to watch the sun set.  We drove as roar as we could to the end of the road at Kaena Point and found some sun and no rain.  It's been rainy lately, which is not normal.  

Notice my hair being blown straight up.  It was a little windy!!

 The sunset was beautiful, no green flash though.

 Since there was tons of rain behind us there was a beautiful bright rainbow.

 Friday I went with 2 girl friends to snorkel and relax at the beach.  Justin was at home with the kids waiting for the packers to get the last little bit of unaccompanied baggage.  When Grandpa and Grandma were here they bought the kids some of those new fancy water balloons that sort of tie themselves when full.  They are super cool.  So there was a huge neighborhood water fight!

 You can fill many balloons all at once!  Once filled they pop right off into the container.

 This picture was a selfie they took while we were driving to see sunset.

 The rainbow was so vibrant and there was a faint double, not pictured.

 While at the beach Friday morning we saw Pete Carroll, the Seattle Seahawks coach heading out to snorkel with his wife.

 While in an almost empty house, the kids (and Justin) are still able to have lots of fun.  The movers left 2 huge mattress boxes that the kids had fun playing with.

 This is what the boys' room looks like right now.  All 3 kids are in there.  It's nice to have the ability to borrow mattresses once all our stuff is gone.  We don't even have to move it in or out.  I just tell the community center how many beds/sofas/tables/nightstands, etc I want and they deliver and pick up!

Today we spent time doing some last minute cleaning, laundry, and packing.  In the morning we clear housing and move to the first of MANY hotel stays.

A little Stay-cation

Mimi and Grandaddy left before the packers came and headed to Kauai for a conference and some R&R.  When they came back on Friday we were just about all packed up so they took the kids.  Justin and I had a date night and joined the rest of them at the hotel later that night.  It was so wonderful to stay with them at the Marriott at Ko'Olina for a few days.  It is a beautiful spot and we had so much fun.

 Friends from a few streets over, who are also moving to Ks, were also there and Caroline really enjoyed having girls to play with.  Their 2 girls had mermaids tails and let Caroline borrow them.  She loved being a mermaid!!  Later that night she was searching Amazon for one.

 We were on the 14th floor.  Amazing views but no green flash.  Too many clouds near the water.

 The kids really enjoyed participating in the resort activities and most of the time they were the only ones doing them.  For the raft race it was just our kids and the Reichert girls.  They all got coupons for shave ice after!!

 The kids LOVED the many pools at the resort.  Dad tried to get them to go to the lagoon with him but as Caroline said, "why go to the beach when you have a pool!?"  So we stayed at the pools.

Thanks Mimi and Grandaddy for having us!  It was a nice way to relax after prepping for and seeing our stuff get packed.