Paul, Matix and Hawk went and hiked the first section of the Na Pali Coast with the Pobst and Van Dusen families. Here they are posing with Commander Shawn.
Curious Mousey is into everything, and always close by. And she started biting, seemingly in a friendly way, but it's hard to cuddle when you get a little kitty bite!
Hawk passed his SCUBA diving certification test! He is now Open Water Certified! His instructor said he was one of his all-time best students! Woohoo!
Messy morning hair... not too different than when it's done.
Curiosity Kids started again. Paul is the Science Labs teacher, and I am the art teacher. It's so fun.
Ho'opi'i Falls with the Pobst families and the Van Dusens. So fun. All the kids tried the "Commander Shawn" jump from the top.
I love having a doctor in the house.
Anini beach day with the whole crew. Lullaby pulled up this huge sea cucumber. Wow!
Then back to their rental house in Princeville. They had a little pool and hot tub. It was perfect.
To the river rope swing to play until dark. We love when they come for a visit. It's always a party.
Shave ice and Chicken In A Barrel, yum! Then back to their house for some more pool time.
Down to Poipu to boogie board at PK's. While Matix was in the water with several other kids and adults, I was watching this amazing surfer. She was so so good. I made a big deal about her and found out it was her kids on the grass sitting with me and my friend. I couldn't get over how good this lady was, thinking I had discovered her! I suggested we record her and get her sponsored... then I was told who she was. Bethany Hamilton. Ha ha ha. Probably Kauai's most famous surfer. I had no idea. She talked with Matix in the water and was a really lovely person. Her kids are great too.
Amy texted me on our way home from the beach and we stopped to get hummus, a favorite beach food of ours. She asked, in the text, if we were eating hummus on the beach. She was so close! We had just left the beach, and we were getting hummus then. Ha haha. We're so predictable.
School happens before or after the beach or some other adventure. I love it.
I got a few shelves up in the tiger bathroom that I love, and some plants. The mirror on the wall was replaced with a painting, but it was there for this picture.
More pictures from Curiosity Kids Friday classes.
The kids and some homeschool friends were invited by Na 'Āina Kai botanical gardens to create a "Haunted Garden" for their Halloween festival. We called our group the Design Squad. The kids went through several steps, drawing, coloring, voting, and sharing with each other what their ideas were and how they wanted to make sure to meet their clients wants.
More pictures from Curiosity Kids.
Are these two related, or what?! After a long school day, they crashed out watching a movie.
I had never noticed this sign before the day when I took this picture. So funny. Packaged Sugar. Accurate.
Westin, a little boy that Lullaby babysat for, invited her to his 6th birthday party. We all went and it was a fun day. Sully and Lullaby surfed a little with Paul, and we all enjoyed the perfect weather. I even got to snuggle a baby while everyone loaded up. Yes please.
Our dragon fruit plants produced three big ones and one tiny one. Yum! The smallest one hadn't turned yet.
Lullaby turned 12! She got lots of cards and gifts. Thank you to everyone who got her something.
Her first day being 12... Lullaby is awesome. Funny and kind and forever happy. She loves her brothers. She teases them and plays with them and fights. They all still share a room, but she's been asking for her own for a little while now. She loves to read and can finish several books at once. She loves watching (kid-appropriate) romance movies with me. She loves going to the sea cliffs with Paul and reading together. She likes to do her nails, she has no interest in makeup or boys. She is the most loved daughter of all time. I couldn't have handpicked a better one. She is sassy and loud. She listens to music and sings under her breath. She loves to clean and organize, but usually needs a prompt to do it. She loves to sew and craft and create. 12 years of our favorite girl. We are so grateful for her.
Paul and I had a day date at Kauai Juice. Yum!
When birthday cards come a day or two after the actual day, it isn't a sad event, it's a celebration! Another day to celebrate Lulli!
Boogie boarding with Matix at Kealia. Such a bright day!
Fun Factory for the birthday girl!
Hawk decided to try and grow a little corn garden. He loves plants and gardening and farming still.
Solace is in a group at church called Activity Days Boys. He loves it. He gets to go try new fun activities with a bunch of his friends, and he loves it. Floor hockey and a slushie afterward, yes please.
We had guests almost all of September and didn't do any renovations, it was GREAT! We were right back to it by October though. Here is a picture of the recently finished backsplash which we couldn't get enough of!
Matix looking cute in his work uniform.
Matix turns 15! Wow! Lots of cards and gifts, he was a gracious recipient and so thankful to everyone for thinking of him.
Paul's friends started arriving for their NaPali Coast hike boys trip. The kids got right to it, making them join them in ridiculous board games.
Out to Fun Factory for the birthday boy Matix!
His first night as a 15 year old! Matix at 15 is silly, and kind. He is a great leader, but often choses to be a follower. He loves boogie boarding, and looking at himself in any mirror he passes. He's handsome and getting SO tall. He loves to do his hair and talks about how good looking he is. His voice is deep, and his eyes are more green than blue. He doesn't like his canine teeth and tries to smile without them showing. He has fancy handshakes with his friends. He and Hawk are still best buds, but he's branching out to other people outside the family now too. He works hard on his school work, and at his job. He likes to play the parent and scold the other kids when they aren't doing something they should be. He loves to stay up late and watch scary movies with me. He loves to take apart and re-build RC cars. He is smart and clever and quick witted. He is kind and is experimenting with not wanting as many hugs or physical affirmations. He loves praise and loves to be recognized. He doesn't like injustice, in any form. He likes things to be clean and tidy and helps in the house without being asked most of the time. We are so happy he is ours. We love you Matix Man!
The kids worked at the Zehender's house to earn their way for their upcoming temple trip. They have a large property and a million weeds. They paid each worker $25 for their labor, and our ward paid the other half. Then all the kids could fly to Oahu for the day.
Someone left this toy in the bathroom and there were cute little messages written on it. I took a picture of a few of them.
Sometimes the prep work for the art class I teach takes a little more effort on my part than other lessons. This one I made a grid with painters tape on each child's paper. I had about 50 students total. Then they made comic style pictures, one in each of the squares. It turned out really cute.
More meetings for the Design Squad.
Birthday cake, a big slice of red velvet cake, same as he's asked for for a few years in a row. He loves it.
Sully is such a cuddly kid, probably my most cuddly. I love getting little videos of him like this. So sweet.
Bleaching his roots. They are SO dark compared to his blonde tips.
Doctor in the house. I love when friends come by to be seen by him. He worked so hard to get to this point, and now he loves to take care of everyone.
More of Paul's friends for our kids to play with. Varley came out for a monster boys trip hike up the NaPali Coast. But in the meantime, lots of time to wrestle with Sully.
Snorkeling with Paul's friends at Anini. I sent most of the time reading in a hammock in the trees, or snuggling with Sully boy.
Out to Bubba's Burgers for dinner, yum!
When visitors are here, we sleep in Paul's office on mattresses on the floor, so the visitors can have our room and the rainbow room. Swishy loves this arrangement, because then he gets lots of snuggles in bed!
I had a date with this little lover. All the big kids had activities, and so we got ice cream from the minimart down the street and watched a Pokemon show he likes. I love him.
More pictures from Curiosity Kids.
We met with the Design Squad to start trying out materials to use in the Haunted Garden with the final designs that were chosen.
Grandma Kim sent out this skeleton from her Halloween classroom things. Each bone is labeled. So funny. Perfect for a doctor's house.
The dragon fruit are all ready to pick! Yum!!
Fighting the rust on the vehicles is a part time job around here. So much saltwater air.
Back to Anini on a windy day, for more book reading, snorkeling, treasure finding and then out to eat at our favorite spot in Kilauea.
Hawken drew this of himself, and I love it. He loves being in the water as much as Paul does.
I was asked to volunteer in the women's program in the church, called the Relief Society. One of the first things we did as a new presidency was go over all the different companionships for ministering, and change them around so more people got to meet new people. It looked like we were solving a crime. The only thing missing was strings and photos.
When a kitten lays on your chest while you're trying to work, you HAVE to take a break. Sweet cuddly kitten.
Date night at a new brewery and restaurant near us. Yum!
Sherry posted this on Daughter's Day, although I am not her daughter, I thought it was nice to post all the Kent girls together.
Na 'Āina Kai invited us to their garden to see the hogan we would be making the Haunted Garden inside of, for their Halloween festivities. When we got home, the kids got on Figma and started planning it out. The other kids in the group have a dad who gave everyone a tutorial class on how to use Figma.
Sully built this awesome lockbox and showed me how he put it back together too. He's so crafty.
We went with our homeschool group to the beach and did a clean up with the SurfRider Foundation. The kids worked really hard, and collected SO much trash. It was awesome.
Then we heard it was $1 shave ice for locals at Wailua Shave Ice, and when we got there, we ran into a tons of friends. So fun.
I got some light fixtures that I ordered from Etsy and they came all the way from Lithuania. Wow!
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