camping at bellows

It's that time of year again!  Ward camp time, that is.

It's no secret that I'm NO camper.

And truth be told, neither is Mitch.

But the one time he will brave the outdoor elements is during Ward Camp week.  

Or, I suppose I should clarify. Ward camp is one week. Mitch will only camp out one night.

The final night of camp week is a large pot-luck dinner with the ward.  Those who don't camp (like me) usually drive up for that one night only. And then drive home to a comfortable bed.

Since the girls seem to like camping, Mitch usually pitches a tent and lets the girls enjoy the outdoors.

Although, in all honesty, the camp ground is on Bellows Airforce Base where they have flushing toilets and hot showers just a short distance away.

Does that still constitute camping?  

Anyway, here Mitch is pitching their tent.  

Looks pretty cozy for one grown adult and 2 little girls!

(I brought Jolee and Kaden home with me.)

Ever the boy...there was one sand pit in our camp ground so of course, Kaden found it.

Dinner time.

This was just after he kicked my food onto the ground.

He doesn't look very contrite, though, huh?

See?  Wasted food...

The girls enjoying the outdoors!

After dinner was the ritual trip to the beach for some crab hunting.

My camera was acting up so I didn't get any pics from the actual hunt.

Just Kaden waving his fiber-optic wand on the way down to the beach.

And after crab hunting was of course, s'mores time.

I'm not particularly a fan of s'mores to be honest.

Toasted marshmallows, yes.  But s'mores, no.

Kela likes s'mores, though!

Whereas Jojo likes toasted marshmallows, like me. 

Anna likes marshmallows untoasted.

And hot chocolate, too.  

Yay for camping! 

(but not for me...)

primary activity in the sun

Last weekend, our ward's primary held an activity at a nearby park.

The day was blisteringly hot, and the park was crowded...and we ended up having a late start...but all in all, the activity was a success and I believe the kids all had fun.

 

Here we are setting up the large tent.

Kaden watching on...

And then helping...

I took a ton of pictures, but ended up posting only of my kids on this blog here.

No offense to all the other cute kids and parents who came out to help support our primary!

I'll post those pictures on our ward photo site later, I promise.

So, we had 4 stations, with a lesson and activity at each station.

Here is Anna and Jojo waiting for their teammates to cross the finish line.

Anna making her little paper boat...

As well as Jojo...

After which, they floated and raced them in our little kiddie pool.

Which I spent half the morning keeping Kaden's little feet out of...

Kaden and his friend, Sammy, who is 3 months older than Kaden.

At the far end of the field was a game where the kids tried to kick and propel these balls into set targets.

Kaden managed to wander in the middle of the game field...

...and mess with not only the ball, but also the targets.  

He's such a trouble maker, this one!

At the very last station, the kids tried to pop balloons to reveal a scripture clue written inside.

Jojo got creative (and brave!) in popping this balloon with her teeth!

No, it didn't pop in her mouth.  She eventually stepped on it to pop it.

By this point, Kaden was nearing his boiling point...

Lunch time couldn't have come at a better time!

On the menu?

Hot dogs and cheese puffs, of course.

For Jojo, at least.

The rest of us did manage to eat some veggie sticks and chicken and pork and rice. 

And chips.

And lots and lots of dessert.

Thanks to all the families and kids that came out on such a HOT Saturday morning to help support and participate in our primary activity!  Yay!

ducks, fish, and mosquitos, oh my!

Today was NOT an ideal beach or pool day. 

It was overcast, and muggy, and even a tad rainy.

We decided to head out to the Widward side of the island for a field trip to Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens in Kane'ohe.

And really...with 16 kids between the 3 families that went, it really did feel like some school field trip!

 

After eating a picnic lunch up at the entrance, we headed down the trail that leads to the lake.

Ah, the lake.

Is there any other lake on Oahu?  I'm not sure I've ever seen another lake here....

Anyway, here we are feeding the ducks and fish some bread.

I went with my sister Airi (with her 6 kids) and our friends the Ah Nee's (with 5 of her 6 kids).

Here Kumen is trying to "fish" with his makeshift pole (a bent stick) and bait (wad of bread).

Apparently, even with a gazillion fish swimming in the water, no takers.

The ground was kinda muddy and covered with duck poop everywhere...so I tried to keep Kaden strapped in the stroller as long as possible. 

Which didn't really last all that long.  I mean, he couldn't even feed the fishes his arms didn't reach out over the water!

So, I resorted to carrying him so he could throw some bread into the water to feed the fish.

And after one piece, he decided he'd rather eat the bread instead.

And then try to feed some to me.

Airi with baby Caleb.

I was NOT brave enough to sit down on the grass...

Kaden kept trying to walk along the water!!

Notice the firm grip I had on his little hand?!  He fought me tooth and nail, but I was NOT going to be fishing a soaking toddler out of the icky lake!  This is about as close to the water as I'd let him go.

But once I let go of his hand...he wandered away. 

Like he always does.

But as long as it was up the hill and not down towards the lake, I was ok.

His shoes can always be washed, right?

We stayed only for a short little while, long enough to let the kids feed the ducks and fish and enjoy the cooler side of the island.

Which turned even cooler when it started raining on us!

And then turned excruciatingly HOT once the rain stopped and we were bombarded with 100% humidity!!

And mosquitoes.

Next time we head out to this side...I'll be sure to wait for fairer weather.

And bring mosquito repellant.

But still, a beautiful day and fun afternoon with cousins and friends. 

splish, splash, slide

Ahh, Summer! 

You'd think that here in Hawaii, there would be plenty of options to occupy the kids with outdoor activities...but short of going to the beach (if you live nearby one) or the pool (if you or someone you know owns one), your options really are quite limited.

Not to mention that many of the public parks here on the island are pretty run down and quite unremarkable.  

BUT, not so on the military bases. 

There happens to be one military base on island that civilians (like me!) can get on without a military ID and without a sponsor.  It's a tad out of the way, but this park is SO worth it!

Every time we visit the mainland, I'm so jealous of the splash parks they have there!!

The only splash park on Oahu is on the military base...so when I don't feel like hitting the pool or beach, I like to drive out to this splash park and let the kids roam.  And splash.  

While I can stay dry.

And not stress out and worry about drowning. 

The kids love it here!

Even Kela, my soon-to-be-8 year-old.

Kaden isn't too fond of getting sprayed in the face, so he spends most of the time running around the perimeter of the splash pad.  Go figure.

And the BEST part about this park is that right next to the splash pad is a HUGE and awesome playground!

Yes, it tends to get a bit hot...but the ground is covered in soft turf chips (??  whatever those rubber floors playgrounds are built over?  Chopped up pieces of that stuff). 

Here's Jojo, conquering the rock mountain.

*Not a real alligator.

Monkey bars that the girls seem to enjoy hanging on.  

Have NO idea what the appeal is with this...except that there's impossible to clean RED dirt underneath it!

See?!

For Hawaii standards, this playground is supreme!

Taking a snack break in between splashing and playing...

No shade...but beggars can't be choosers, huh?

Here Kaden is actually IN the spray!

With his cousin, Knox.  

Who LOVED the water!

The cousins...minus Anna who was probably pouting.

(Did you notice her lying down on the bench in the previous picture??)

Kaden and Knox.

Found a small stream of water in the middle of the splash pad...

...Which Kaden loved, up until the wind changed course and started blowing the spray right at him.

NOT a happy camper here.

So, despite our LOVING the playground/splash park on base, we DO make do with the regular old cookie-cutter playgrounds they have everywhere else, too.

This was one of those days.

Kaden loves the slide.

Whether going up it, or down it.  It doesn't matter.

He loves sliding.

And YIKES! So does everyone else, it seems!

I am SO thankful we have so many cousins to play with here!!

Whether at the park or even just staying at home, it's truly a blessing to have built-in playmates for my kids that I don't have to feed and clothe on a daily basis.  :)