Beach Day!

 If I have one slight regret about our Maui trip, it is that we didn't have MORE pure beach days. 

On Wednesday, we enjoyed an amazing few hours at the beach (about all we could handle because of the intense sun, anyway). Really, if Cora hadn't been sick when we arrived, we probably would have had a beach day on Saturday, but no use crying over what was a phenomenal trip.

On Wednesday, we rented two paddleboards from Boss Frog's, the chain of beach gear rental stores all over the place.

This was Cora's first time, and like most things she tries, she seemed to be a natural from the get-go.

Violet had used a paddleboard a year ago at Hume Lake, and she also made it all look easy. 

Stace and I later took a turn, and it was fun! Not as easy as the girls made it look, and Stace spent a lot of time falling into the water. Surprising since he knows how to surf! 

We also body-surfed, played in the waves and found turtles! 

When Stace and I returned the paddleboards, we walked over to a nearby shave ice place and got a big one for us all to share. Perfect beach treat!

Snorkeling and Waterfalls

At the advice of my sister, we made a trip up the coast to Honolua Bay for more snorkeling, and it was well worth it. This protected marine preserve was full of colorful fish! I wish we'd had an underwater camera here. 

While our snorkel cruise was a great day out, the snorkeling here was actually better, because we were so much closer to the fish. Violet, especially, had the best time. We had to call her out of the water when it was time to leave!

The bay was secluded from the road, with a little wooded forest area to walk through. No real parking lot, just roadside parking. 

Chickens, roosters and chicks were wandering around, like so much of the islands. We loved it!

So many shades of green!
 

On Monday, we drove up to Twin Falls, near the start of the famed "Road to Hana." We chose to NOT do the Hana drive, because we'd heard it's beautiful but not for a family like ours with carsick-prone members.

But, we'd heard that Twin Falls was worth the trip, and it didn't disappoint. There were three different falls, and we saw them all. The water was refreshing fresh water, a little too cool for me to get into! But Stace was game, naturally.

Bamboo forest, with Stace playing his own kind of percussion.

Stace loved this random VW bus off to the side, as we walked to the furthest waterfall.

After Twin Falls, we stopped for a snack (and new flip flops to replace Violet's, which had broken) in the fabulous beach town of Paia. We enjoyed delicious shave ice and a poke bowl, and loved the vibe as we walked up and down the streets hunting for new shoes. 

Local Beauty

All the rain has made for some beautiful scenery. 

Violet and I went to Placerita Canyon to tackle the Waterfall Trail. 

It didn't disappoint.

Whoops!

So much water! 

We were thankful we'd worn our rainboots, as we didn't have to negotiate the crossings but just charged right through.

A few days later, we went to check out Quigley Canyon with Stace. Not nearly as much water, but then, we've never actually seen water there at all, so to see any was fun.

Love the green hills! 

And our defiant non-smiler.
 

Double rainbow! 

The Great American Road Trip: Redmond II

On Sunday, we went to Cottage Lake with the kayaks. We all enjoyed our tour of the lake. The weather was perfect!

The dock was perfect for diving off of.

We did a little fishing, too.

Shoot, we only have one oar... Guess I'll have to sit back and relax! 

In the evening, Aunt Patty made an amazing lamb dinner and Will came over. It was great!

Stace and Uncle Bill enjoyed some time in the fully stocked garage, too, and did some welding.
 

Summer Slippin' and Slidin'

Grandma bought the girls a slip 'n slide last summer, and we broke it out of the box Sunday. Thankfully, Cora's not too old to have fun with water!

 

Weekend Water Fun

 I've said it a few times - one of the few good parts of quarantine is the growth in this sisterly relationship. Since they're not seeing their normal friends every day, they're happier to hang together.  On Sunday, along with obvious screen time, they rode their scooters around, and decided to have a water fight.

Cora filled the water balloons... Violet accidentally dumped the first batch on the grass, breaking most of them.

Besides balloons, they had some sprinkler fun. Good, old-fashioned fun.

Then, on to the pool.

Meanwhile, Stace got creative in the garage, and created surfboard storage in the rafters.

Weekend Work and Play

 We had a long weekend for Memorial Day, and around our Santa Barbara day out, Stace got some work done on Saturday. He added in a new sprinkler head, since we get very dry patches in the lawn every summer.

He was very glad he'd taken such great notes when he initially redid the sprinklers a few years ago - it made a tough job easier.

 On Monday, it was a good deal warmer, and Stace and Violet had fun watering the plants...and each other.

 I'm taking part in a popular quarantine pastime - puzzles! The girls help now and then, but it's become mainly my thing.

I completed this kitty puzzle that my friend Sue gave me - she's also doing lots of puzzles.

 And we finished and hung this family picture puzzle I made on Shutterfly a year and a half ago. You can tell their older photos now - I'm still significantly taller than Cora!

We decided to paint the wooden frame to make it stand out better, since the natural color blended into the background. And, painting it blue complemented the blue-framed mirror we've had since our early years in the condo.

 Next stop - Paris! Gosh, I wish it were last summer again, back when we could travel freely! Thanks, Sue and Gord, for the perfect Easter quarantine present!

Also, this huge puzzle gave us a purpose for the science fair board we'd picked up in March, and then never used since the science fair didn't happen. The board is the same size as the puzzle, just a few inches wider than the coffee table.

Seb has proven a faithful and very helpful puzzle buddy.