We make the long drive to Kona at least twice a month. Once a month we babysit for the other families to be able to attend the temple. Luckily there is a beautiful area for us to hang out with all the kids. A lovely horse farm is right next to the temple and the horses are very friendly and they come right up to be touched.
There are also coconut trees, just right for climbing! The kids are SO good at climbing. They even beat Paul now.
Solace collects bugs and names each one.
Sometimes one of Lullaby's besties comes too, and she loves it!
The other time we go to the temple each month is for us to go in. Our Kona babysitter, Lei, watches the kids in the same area while Paul and I go in. Then of course, we head to Costco, the beach, and back home. It's a great little mini vacation!
Erik and his kids and our family headed to the Waipio Valley lookout. We decided to make the LONG hike to the bottom. You can see in the first picture the beach we walked down to. The road was mostly paved, but VERY steep. You can drive down, but you must have 4 wheel drive and it's one lane most of the time. So we walked.
Centipedes on the path made for an interesting walk too.
Here we are down on the bottom looking back up at the lookout where we started. It took us over an hour to walk down, and we were told we would need at least 2 hours to get back up.
It was cloudy the whole day, but warm and windy and a great day to spend on the beach.
The kids all built little houses with the driftwood and treasures they found on the beach.
When it was time to go, the kids and I hitchhiked out. We (Matix, Hawken, Lullaby, Solace, Lyla and myself) rode in the bed of the truck of a very nice local guy. He was down there fishing, and was leaving right when we were. We were SO thankful for the ride! It only took us 20 minutes. Paul, Erik and Theo hitchhiked out in a jeep a few vehicles behind us. Woohoo for nice strangers!
We headed back down to Honoka'a to our favorite pizza place on the island. They toss the dough in the air and make a whole show of it. It was so much fun, made even better by sharing it with good friends.
Swishy "helping" with Lullaby's homework. He's always ready to cuddle.
Matix is so silly. He can lift one eyebrow really easily, but the other side is harder for him. Makes me laugh whenever he tries it.
Grandpa Chuck sent out some caramel apples for the kids. He does this nearly every fall, and the kids really look forward to it. Thanks Grandpa!
Trying to reach cat food on the top shelf, means the kids had to get creative on how to get it down. So funny. I laughed out loud when I saw what they had figured out.
We love having the missionaries over for dinner, and to teach Lullaby more about our church. Since she turned 8 in September, she is allowed to chose whether or not she wants to be baptized. The missionaries are great to come and teach her so she can make an informed decision. Also, since they aren't from Hawaii, they love to do traditional island things, like pulling down coconuts and drinking the milk.
I love her style. She's way too cool for me.
The kittens are getting bigger and stronger and more playful every day. This is them at 2 weeks and 5 days old.
Some pics from Option's Day. I love this new location. There is so much outside learning happening there. It's great.
Lyla's bird died, and we were invited to the funeral. I've never been to a bird funeral before, but Lyla did a nice job. I made golden feather cookies to share, and Lyla read the eulogy she prepared. The kids lit candles and listened. It was sad and special and we were happy we could join. Solace cried for a long time. He was so sad for Lyla.
Matix found this crazy seed pod, brought it in and at some point it burst open and showed off these smaller red sticky seed inside. It was interesting to look it up and learn about yet another strange thing that grows in our yard.
It's always fun to have friends over. This trampoline has been SO loved.
Here are a bunch of clips from October and some from early November all put together. Paul made this video from some of the adventures.
