Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Today is our last day in Hawaii. We can't believe how fast our last week has gone. We have had such a wonderful time with friends over these past few weeks-we truly feel like we got special time with everyone! I just wanted to share an update in pictures before we disappear on the road again.

An evening at the North Shore watching the sunset.

A July 4th photo of the kids at Hickam Harbor. We LOVE July 4th here...filled with rides, dancing, sailing, good friends, BBQ, and great fireworks.

My dear friend Melissa and I raced together on the 4th and walked away with 1st for the day! It was my last time racing in Hawaii and my first time with an overall win for the day-so great to end on a high note! Melissa and I learned how to sail together, then started teaching together, and what made the day even better was our 3rd team member was our awesome teacher Sandy (probably the reason why we won!). I just love the sailboats behind us sporting their 4th of July wind socks.

My boys.

Anna showing off her 4th of July tattoo.

Happy Birthday to me! My neighborhood girlfriends took me out to dinner for my birthday/farewell at one of my favorite restaurants "Schooners" which overlooks the saiboats at Pearl Harbor. It certainly was a special evening.

The last thing on our bucket list was taking a plantoon boat to the sandbar at Kaneohe Bay. We enjoyed the day with some of our neighborhood friends. It was so much fun! We enjoyed jet skiing, tubing, cannonballs off the back of the boat, cruising the harbor, and splashing around.

Asher helping Mr. Dave drive the plantoon boat.

A photo of my last sail in Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay. It was an absolutely perfect day-hardly a cloud in the sky, the mountains were crystal clear, the company amazing. I couldn't keep the tears from eyes! One of the most amazing things about Hawaii is the vibrancy of the colors around you. I know it sounds cheesy but the sky is soooo blue, the mountains soooo green, the water sparkles with colors you can't find in a crayon box. I can only imagine anywhere else seeming dull after this.

But dear Lord, I know you have many blessings in store for us on our journey and in Ohio.

Watch out Disneyland, here we come.

We ARE alive

My blogs may be far and few between for a little while. As of now our temporary home is Embassy Suites in Waikiki. I can keep in touch via Joel's iphone but I find it annoying to type anything with depth on it...I keep punching the wrong letters and lose patience. I am sad to say I have 300 pictures on my computer of a wonderful 4th of July, sailing, birthday celebrations, and sunset pictures on the north shore but no way to share them with you at the present time....boy will there be a doozy of a post in the future! We have 6 days left in paradise. Then we fly to LA where we will spend 3 days in Disneyland. Anna talks nonstop about the princesses-it will be such a magical time for her, and Asher just can't wait for the rollercoasters. Then we will be driving cross country on an almost 3 week adventure. This is a dream of Joel's and I am excited to help him make it happen. However I am secretly wishing for a plane ticket from LA to Dayton for myself...I hate long car trips! However, I know there will be glorious moments along with the bad. We are super excited to see friends and family that we haven't seen in years, and are looking forward to spending time in Yellowstone Park and Mt. Rushmore. Pray for our sanity! I will keep updating as much as I can through the transition...maybe I can find a way to share some pictures too.

A Weekend Adventure

This past weekend we rented a kayak and explored some islands around Oahu with friends.

This is the only time Jesse was smiling in the kayak (when it was on the shore). It was a traumatic experience for him. He was hysterical when I held him on for the 1st trip and Joel paddled but after a wave flipped us, he didn't make another sound-just hung on for dear life like a statue. The next day he was a little more relaxed and was able to point out some turtles swimming by.
Anna and Asher took turns being brave...at times they liked it and at times they didn't. They both thought it was fun to surf waves with the kayak.

Here Joel is paddling Anna and Asher out to "Goat Island", a bird sanctuary that we camped out on and explored for the day. We had enough adults to have one stationed on each shore while the dads ferried families back and forth. Joel was exhausted at the end of the day!

The kids had a blast together!

Jesse and Asher doing the boy thing and exploring the island with Daddy. They found a big bird egg and saw some strange birds.

Our beach camp. Also the site where Asher found a diamond ring while digging in the sand. Our jaws dropped when he trotted over to us saying "Look what I found!". We believe it is real and plan on taking it to get appraised this week. Now every time we are at the beach he says "Mommy will you help me find a diamond ring?"...spoiled already!

Asher getting some paddling in.

A tired but happy family at the end of the day.

Spitting Cave

Joel and I had a wonderful date night eating take out and watching the sunset at a place called "Spitting Cave". A local fishing spot, a great place to enjoy the beauty of Hawaii, a dare devil place to cliff jump (no, I didn't even think about it!), and a filming spot for Lost.

It was very romantic and we enjoyed sitting and chatting for hours in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

The beginning of a gorgeous sunset.

The end to a perfect evening.

The Bucket List

Joel and I are now moving through our Bucket List-things we want to do before we leave Hawaii. Thankfully we feel we have done an OK job throughout our years here so we don't feel overwhelmed now to shove activities in. We have done a lot but now want to see it all again! It is amazing how accustomed we have come to life here and are not looking forward to being housebound due to bad weather. Everyday we try to look around and not take this beautiful scenery for granted. We are truly blessed to have been able to enjoy paradise for 2.5 years.

So this past weekend we got a sitter and finally did an intense hike, Kuliouou Ridge, that ended with a 180 degree few of the island.
However our hike started with us hiking a 2 mile detour on the wrong trail....so after an hour, we found the right trail. This resulted in a 7 mile hike for the day. We were pretty dead!

At one point, the trail and surrounded landscape was completely covered with pine needles. It was so beautiful and looked like snow to me...it didn't even seem like Hawaii.


This was about the halfway point and I don't think my dear friend Melissa was too happy about agreeing to hike with us at this point. Melissa was my sailing partner when I first learned how to sail and now we are instructors together...a lovely friend that I will sorely miss.

One of the many amazing views...that is Diamond Head crater in the background.

The hike was fairly steep.

But we made it and it was well worth it!

Joel and I at the top. I don't think there are words to describe that color of blue. The sky was so clear that we could see 3 of the other Hawaiian islands from the top.

At the top with our friends Melissa and Richard.

Pomp and Circumstance

Anna has now completed a year of tap and ballet classes. Shes till adores it and loves being on the stage. They did a tap dance to "We are Siamese" for their end of the year show.

And no performance is complete without flowers for the star. Asher couldn't wait to give her the flowers when she was done.

A few days later was Asher's kindergarten graduation. His school did a great job marking this accomplishment. Here the principal is giving Asher his "diploma".

Can't believe he is going into the 1st grade now!!!

Anna was so happy to present him with a lei at his graduation...we are going to miss this Hawaii tradition..think we can find leis in Ohio?

The same day Anna graduated from preschool. In Hawaii, she would be moving on to Kindergarten but misses the age cut off by a few weeks in Ohio. Thus she will be going into "pre-kindergarten" there 5 days a week. We worked hard at getting her excited about this. What will I do with all my time with 2 kids in school full time!!??!!

Happy 6th Birthday Asher!

Asher had a birthday party that I believe every little boy dreams of - playing with legos at the Lego store! We gathered 7 of his buddies for a Lego extravaganza.

The kids had an area all to themselves...a table full of legos for a "guided build" or free build time.

Asher and his friend Ethan built medals.

Then the kids got to fill a happy meal sized box up with legos of their choice to take home.

and of course no party is complete without a group picture and a chorus of "Happy Birthday"!

with the added bonus of lego cupcakes (carrot cake cupcakes-Asher's favorite)

and the opening of presents.

Joel and I gave him our gift when we got home (after a dinner or orange chicken and rice-his favorite food). He was the happiest little boy! A day full of favorites...what can anybody else really wish for on their birthday!