Hanauma Bay

Snorkeling was one of our favorite memories from our 2016 Hawaii trip, so we set out Wednesday to see the fishies. Stace and I needed to swap out our bug-infested rental car in Honolulu, so we dropped off the family at Hanauma Bay, which was heading that direction. It was a gorgeous beach!

And there were fish to be seen.

There also was an adorable Hawaiian monk seal sunning himself while napping. We were pretty lucky to see this sight! Thanks to Grandpa for the cute photo.

Stace and I got the car exchanged and then joined everyone at the beach. The conditions weren't ideal for snorkeling - it was windy and the sandy surface was churned up.

On our way back, we stopped at a cool blow hole, and also saw the beach where a famous scene in From Here to Eternity was filmed.

Lovely Luau

After enjoying Waimea Falls, we changed into nicer clothes and stayed for a luau dinner, complete with flower leis.












The evening started with the traditional cooking of local foods in an in-ground fire pit, covered by leaves.

We then took part in a traditional greeting ceremony. Our girls were able to be the tribe welcoming us to the luau.

It was all very interesting and educational to be a part of.

Finally, before we headed over the buffet, we admired a trio of young men shimmying up a palm tree and back down. Cora wants to learn their technique!

After the dinner, we watched a variety of Polynesian dances, including the hula. That part was awesome! We also listened to Hawaiian music. Later, the leader called on people celebrating an anniversary to come up. My parents' anniversary is in November, but we all celebrated the big 40th with them, so they also went to the front.

Stace and Gord were also called to the stage, to take part in a Maori manly display with a lot of other guys. Unfortunately the photos didn't come out great, but you can see Cora and Violet enjoying it greatly here.

We then went outside for the fire dancing and fire-eating! Amazing.

It was truly a night to remember and a fabulous luau!

Waimea Falls

Aided by the time difference, Stace and I were up before the sun Tuesday, and went across the street to watch the sun rise over the ocean. Tiny bit of a bummer that it were a few clouds blocking a perfect sunrise, but it was still a gorgeous way to start our day.

The sand crabs here are adorable. Stace had fun with a GoPro camera we borrowed from a friend, and captured footage to put together this video.

Later in the day, we went to Waimea Falls, where we walked through a botanical garden to reach this lovely waterfall and pool.

 It was pretty cool water, but refreshing on a warm day.

Aloha Welcome

 Hawaii-bound!

We spent Sunday night at a hotel close to the airport, where we left our car Monday morning and boarded a shuttle. Then we were on our way, Oahu or bust! It was fun flying with our four, plus Nan, Pop, Grandma and Grandpa.

 Once on the island, we got our rental car and drove toward our rental house. We stopped on the way to admire the view from a sweet little harbor.

 After stopping for groceries, we found our house and got settled in. We later walked across the street to the nearest beach, steps from our home away from home.

It was a gorgeous evening, the perfect Aloha welcome.

Hot Weekend Fun

 Nan and Pop got to go to Cora's swim meet Saturday morning. Cora swam well, though moving up an age division has been tough. She's now competing against big 12-year-old girls who swim as their main sport.

 Saturday was another incredibly hot day. We braved the heat to join Colleen and Rigo at the Concert in the Park. We saw a band that covered Bon Jovi songs.

 We got out of the heat Sunday afternoon, driving out to the airport area to check into a hotel for our Monday flight to Hawaii. We then met up with John and Linda in Torrance at a lovely park overlooking the ocean.

 The girls had fun playing - it's always nice playing at a new park, and especially when it's 30 degrees cooler than at home.

It was great seeing these special friends!

A Summer Week

 The girls have been enjoying drawing lately, on these lazy summer days. Cora is drawing Warriors cats to put up on the walls of her room. Warriors is the book series about cats that Cora has been pretty obsessed with for over a year.

 Violet has been drawing dragons. She loves dragons from the Lego Elves toy series.

Sue, Violet and I met up with my mom at a nail salon on Thursday to get our toes ready for our Hawaii trip. It was lovely and relaxing.

Violet was lucky enough to get her fingers AND toes painted!

 On Friday, our relatively temperate first few weeks of summer came to a stunning end. We set records with heat that topped out at 117 degrees. Unbelievable!

Sue, Violet and Gord went to the mall, while Cora and I watched movies pretty much all afternoon and evening.

We ended with the second Pirates of the Caribbean film. Too hot to do anything else!