her hair

Lullaby wanted "three ponytails with strings from the sides all touching"... This is what she meant. And it only took me 5 tries to figure it out.

day to day stuff

We're always on the hunt for a new rock. Sully spotted one on a sign as we were driving past. We stopped and sure enough, there it was!

The kids love this playground. It has a huge volcano that you can climb if you're brave, and if you're strong enough... Matix was the first to get to the tip top.

The fire trucks have surf boards on the top. I love that. It makes me smile whenever I see it.

After coming home from a hike, the boys brought in a pile of fresh and ripe lilikoi. In Dominica it was called passion fruit. It's the same exact thing, but just called two different names. Weird.  Also, shirtless dinner is pretty common too, at least for the boys.

Options Day

For part of our homeschool group, the kids get to go to "Options Day".  They get 4 hours of classes and are in groups of 15 or so kids. They were very excited about their first day. They really love it! They are all taking Science, Art, and Hawaiian Studies classes. Then for their 4th hour, Hawken and Lullaby chose to take Cooking class, and Matix chose P.E. games. 

I am teaching the art class and I'm having a good time doing it. Our homeschool group paid for the materials and I teach the lesson. I'm doing a project based class this semester and next semester we will doing elements of design (shading, contrast, depth, symmetry, things like that).  Our first day the kids made pineapples using their thumbprints. They all turned out great, and I think everyone enjoyed art class.

After the first three hours of class, the kids have lunch. That's when I go home to get Solace. Some days I go back and get the kids, other days my friend Amy drives them home. Paul picks up Sully from school on Fridays and rides him home in the bike carrier, which Sully LOVES! This day, he had already fallen fast asleep, so when it was time to get the big kids, I had to wake him up. Sweet thing.

Amy (who runs the whole Option's Day thing) and I took the kids out for honey toast to celebrate a great first day. Honey toast is possibly the BEST thing I've ever eaten. So so so yummy!

the eclipse

We could have only seen a partial eclipse here in Kauai and very early in the morning. It was cloudy that morning anyway, and we skipped it. Later on during our homeschool day, we watched news clips of what it was like. They could hardly believe it! We got out our model of the sun, earth, and moon and then the kids learned more about our solar system. It's so fun when teachable moments like this just appear, right when I need them!

the farmer

Hawken, our resident farmer, has begun plans for his farm when he grows up. There is to be a gated area for his dog, a pond and a river for the ducks, and to make power. He will also have lots of tools to help plant and harvest his fruits and veggies. This was only part of the model, but the other parts were quite delicate, so they had to stay put in his room.

hidden rocks

We found a hidden rock after a soccer game one day and re-hid it all at the same time. So fun.

friends

Hanging out at the Hunt's house is always an adventure. Eating coconuts straight off the tree and cooking dinner together. So much fun.

soccer

Soccer practice is the cutest thing. I love watching Paul be the leader of all these little boys. They look up to him and are learning so much! 

Solace makes friends everywhere we go. His new introductory phrase is "What your name? Me Sully."  Which is much more intelligible, thanks to all his hard working teachers and his speech path.

Game days are even better. The uniforms for Matix and Hawken's team are a bright yellow/green shirt with green shorts. So cute.

Lullaby's team has bright orange shirts with navy blue shorts. She is more interested in the snacks and the friends than with the actual game of soccer.

Here are the soccer players after their game!

More soccer practice pictures. They met twice a week for an hour long practice each day, then a game on Saturdays. So busy.

Hawken lost a tooth during one practice! His second tooth to come out. Cutie!

Sully and a new friend at a soccer game. They are each too little to be on a team, so they played with each other. So cute.

There are lots of chickens on Kauai, and several times during the game, one wandered onto the field. There's Matix as the goalie, and a black hen in front of him.

More snacks after the game. Her favorite.

Solace is such a trooper. We have to walk back and forth between the two games.  Most of the time the games were at the same park but on different fields but with overlapping times.

The good sportsmanship of the teams after each game was so nice. The kids were truly happy for their hard work and efforts, even when they didn't win.