Matthew, 2nd grade
Kaycee 4th grade
Sydney 6th grade (middle school)
Lauren 9th grade (high school)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
One last lava cave and beach trip
I promise, this will be the LAST post on Hawaii! Back to real life now!
Our last few days in Kona, we spent hiking Pololu one last time. That made 5 times for us that we did the hike! We also went to Kua Bay beach in the late afternoon, and stayed until dark. It was SO nice that way! We didn't get beat down by the sun, the crowds would clear out around dinner time, and it was SO fun to stay and swim! Along the main highway to the beach, we passed a lava tube cave over and over as we traveled that highway. Well we finally stopped on our way to the beach. It was a pretty cool cave, but very rough to walk through, especially in flip flops and suits! Lauren and Gary were able to explore it pretty well--even though they had to scale a very steep cliff side to get back up! We tried to have fun until the very last minute before we had to get on the plane!
Our last few days in Kona, we spent hiking Pololu one last time. That made 5 times for us that we did the hike! We also went to Kua Bay beach in the late afternoon, and stayed until dark. It was SO nice that way! We didn't get beat down by the sun, the crowds would clear out around dinner time, and it was SO fun to stay and swim! Along the main highway to the beach, we passed a lava tube cave over and over as we traveled that highway. Well we finally stopped on our way to the beach. It was a pretty cool cave, but very rough to walk through, especially in flip flops and suits! Lauren and Gary were able to explore it pretty well--even though they had to scale a very steep cliff side to get back up! We tried to have fun until the very last minute before we had to get on the plane!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Home again
What an amazing summer we had. It was worth all the saving, all the planning and all the organizing to make this trip happen. I realized some things this summer:
1. We have too much stuff! We just spent 2 months with no more than we could fit in a carry-on, and we didn't miss anything!
2. I love 80 degree weather. The whole time we were there it was between 80-90 degrees, night and day.
3. I love 80 degree water even more! I swam more than I ever have in the ocean! In fact, a few times I just about outlasted the kids in the water!
4. I have great kids! They were such troopers about everything we did. I have to give a special shout out to my oldest. Not many 14 year olds would be such great sports about leaving their friends for 2 months, and being stuck with her family! Never once did she complain, and was always a good sport about playing with her younger cousins, brothers and sisters, and doing things that the younger kids enjoyed.
5. I have a great husband! He worked so hard to make this trip possible, then he had to still work while we were there. He's provided a great summer for us, and one we'll never forget. He is so great at giving the kids these experiences. He lives and breathes for his kids, and they are so lucky to have him as their Dad!
6. I am so grateful for time spent with our family. Even though we still had our computers, and phones, and TV, we still spent a great deal of time together. We got to see our cousins who came to spend their vacation with us, and it was so great to be together. Our time with our kids is going so quickly! Time with family and most especially time with your teenagers is priceless.
7. I'm very grateful for all of our health and strength. This was by far the most active vacation we've ever done. We hiked, somedays it had to have been at least 7 miles. We climbed lava rocks, dropped down into caves, scrambled around boulders, and climbed steep cliffs. We swam and swam and swam, even in some pretty rough waves. Many of us, including me took a few pretty big tumbles in the waves! We kayaked, we snorkeled, some of us paddle surfed. We slipped down muddy paths that led to slippery rocks on top of the waterfalls. We explored everywhere we could. We jumped off rocks into the water, swung on rope swings and walked miles through deep sand.
8. Traveling with older kids is SO much better than with younger kids! No car seats, no diapers, no naps. The kids could do almost everything we wanted, and they are so much fun to be around!
9. We discovered that although it's great to pay for guided tours, we had SO much more fun doing things on our own! We got to spend as much time as we wanted, explore further than the tours allow, jump into the water when we saw dolphins, swim next to sea turtles, stand on top of water falls, climb up to a steam vent in a volcano, walk 1,000 feet in a pitch dark lava cave, kayak whenever and wherever we wanted to and at times be the only ones there! And best of all, 99% of our activities on the island were all free!
10. Of the 3 Hawaiin islands we've been too, I love the Big Island the best. The beaches were the prettiest and the water was as crystal clear as the water in the Caribbean. I can close my eyes now and picture the bright turquoise color of the water, or the deep blue depending on how deep the water was. The black sand beaches were a feast for the eyes, with stark contrasts of jet black, white capped waves, green palm trees and cerulean colored water. The white sand beaches look like they are painted backdrops! The hiking was serenely beautiful, the water falls were breathtaking and there is nothing like standing on an active volcano!
11. I could move to Hawaii. However, it is good to be home, and see friends, and we're especially loving the cost of food and gas here compared with Hawaii! Now, on to another school year!
1. We have too much stuff! We just spent 2 months with no more than we could fit in a carry-on, and we didn't miss anything!
2. I love 80 degree weather. The whole time we were there it was between 80-90 degrees, night and day.
3. I love 80 degree water even more! I swam more than I ever have in the ocean! In fact, a few times I just about outlasted the kids in the water!
4. I have great kids! They were such troopers about everything we did. I have to give a special shout out to my oldest. Not many 14 year olds would be such great sports about leaving their friends for 2 months, and being stuck with her family! Never once did she complain, and was always a good sport about playing with her younger cousins, brothers and sisters, and doing things that the younger kids enjoyed.
5. I have a great husband! He worked so hard to make this trip possible, then he had to still work while we were there. He's provided a great summer for us, and one we'll never forget. He is so great at giving the kids these experiences. He lives and breathes for his kids, and they are so lucky to have him as their Dad!
6. I am so grateful for time spent with our family. Even though we still had our computers, and phones, and TV, we still spent a great deal of time together. We got to see our cousins who came to spend their vacation with us, and it was so great to be together. Our time with our kids is going so quickly! Time with family and most especially time with your teenagers is priceless.
7. I'm very grateful for all of our health and strength. This was by far the most active vacation we've ever done. We hiked, somedays it had to have been at least 7 miles. We climbed lava rocks, dropped down into caves, scrambled around boulders, and climbed steep cliffs. We swam and swam and swam, even in some pretty rough waves. Many of us, including me took a few pretty big tumbles in the waves! We kayaked, we snorkeled, some of us paddle surfed. We slipped down muddy paths that led to slippery rocks on top of the waterfalls. We explored everywhere we could. We jumped off rocks into the water, swung on rope swings and walked miles through deep sand.
8. Traveling with older kids is SO much better than with younger kids! No car seats, no diapers, no naps. The kids could do almost everything we wanted, and they are so much fun to be around!
9. We discovered that although it's great to pay for guided tours, we had SO much more fun doing things on our own! We got to spend as much time as we wanted, explore further than the tours allow, jump into the water when we saw dolphins, swim next to sea turtles, stand on top of water falls, climb up to a steam vent in a volcano, walk 1,000 feet in a pitch dark lava cave, kayak whenever and wherever we wanted to and at times be the only ones there! And best of all, 99% of our activities on the island were all free!
10. Of the 3 Hawaiin islands we've been too, I love the Big Island the best. The beaches were the prettiest and the water was as crystal clear as the water in the Caribbean. I can close my eyes now and picture the bright turquoise color of the water, or the deep blue depending on how deep the water was. The black sand beaches were a feast for the eyes, with stark contrasts of jet black, white capped waves, green palm trees and cerulean colored water. The white sand beaches look like they are painted backdrops! The hiking was serenely beautiful, the water falls were breathtaking and there is nothing like standing on an active volcano!
11. I could move to Hawaii. However, it is good to be home, and see friends, and we're especially loving the cost of food and gas here compared with Hawaii! Now, on to another school year!
Family Pictures
A HUGE thanks to Josh and Mimi for taking our family pictures while we were in Hawaii! There were SO many great ones to choose from!
Ziplining and Manta Ray dive
Our brave Sydney did the Manta Ray Dive with Gary! The rest of us were too chicken!
Lauren, Gary and I were able to zipline in Hawi. It was so beautiful!
Mauna Kea Beach
We finally made it to Mauna Kea Beach! It is in a resort area, and although every beach is public in Hawaii, the resort only allows 30 cars to park there! We tried once before to go here, but the lot was full. So this time we got up super early, and made it in! It did not disappoint. The water is a beautiful deep blue, and crystal clear. The beach is huge, which is not common in Hawaii, and it's amazingly soft sand! We happened upon a day where the surf was small--ok non-existant! But it was still fun to play in the water. I watched many swimmers swim from one end of the bay and back, doing laps. I thought of my ocean swimmer friends! Water temperature is 80, air temperature is 85, doesn't get much better than that! Even the shark patrol helicopters that make their passes over these beaches every morning didn't bother anyone at all! :) We swam, played some frisbee and enjoyed another day in paradise.
Kikaua
One cool thing about the Big Island is how different all the beaches are. There are great beaches for every activity, swimming, boogie boarding, surfing, snorkeling, to name a few. This beach, Kikaua is GREAT for little kids! The water is shallow, only knee high and there are no waves. It's got a soft sandy bottom, so no reef shoes are required! Our youngest 2 loved this beach, and spent a few hours practicing standing up on their boogie boards. They had a few other kids trying it too! There is a nice grassy spot to lie down under the trees, and plenty of room to throw a frisbee.
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