fall break: waikoloa!

For Fall break, we decided to do a little island-hopping to our favorite resort: The Hilton Waikoloa.

Unbeknownst to us, this also happened to be the same weekend as the Kona Iron Man competition! So, after a bit of a scare in our flight arrangements, we did managed to make it safely to Kona!  I brought the kids first since Mitch had to work, but we found some ways to occupy ourselves for a few hours before Daddy arrived!

 After a hectic breakfast with me and the kids (future note:  buffet dining with one adult and 4 kids who canNOT get their own food?  Not recommended), we did some exploring around the resort!

 And then hit up the pool.  The kids LOVE the pools and waterslides here.  

 Daddy's here! 

 And so we ventured to the other side of the resort to a different pool!  

 Personally, I love the sandy pool.

Here Jolee sits atop a turtle in the sandy pool.

 The hot tub!  With a waterfall inside! 

 I think the kids' favorite thing about this resort is that it is SO large, you have the option of taking a tram or a boat to travel between the towers.  And if you're lucky, the boat driver will let you ride up on top and "take the wheel!" It was super crowded so only Kaden got to "steer" the boats this time.  The girls grumbled a bit but decided it was okay since they got to steer plenty of times on previous trips.  Kaden, of course, loved it up there.  

And so, after a very short 2 night stay, we had to say Aloha Oe to Waikoloa.  

It's always nice to take a couple days to get away from the hustle and bustle of life at home to relax and enjoy some family time together.  So very grateful for Mitch and his job that allows us to take these short trips off island! 

anna's karate exam

Seems like every 3 months, Anna has another karate exam to move up a belt color!

Today she was testing to get her Orange Belt.

Here are some pictures I took of her examination.

She did fantastic, by the way!

 Warm-ups, practicing their Kata.

 Sparring!  

 The examination.

The process takes forever and the gymnasium was SUPER hot, but I love seeing her progress and cheering her on! I'm so very proud of Anna!  She chose to do Karate on her own-asked and asked until we finally had the time and could afford to put her in.  I'm SO glad we did! She has shined and excelled in it and we couldn't be more happy for her!

 She passed!! 

And did fantastic!

 Obachan got to come and watch her as well.

Great Job, Anna!  

celena's visit!

My cousin Celena came to visit from Seattle this week.  We wanted to make sure she enjoyed as much of Hawaii as she could, so we crammed as much sightseeing and food-tasting as possible!

Here are just some of the highlights.

One can't visit Hawaii without climbing atop Diamond Head.  I made sure to take her up to see one of the most beautiful lookouts on Oahu!

 One stop that Celena wanted to make was Eggs n' Things.  Their pancakes are pretty famous and attract tourists from all over the world.  

Sure enough, the pancakes were HUGE and delicious!  As were the lemon crepes that I ordered.

Kaden enjoyed his pancake as well.

 Next stop (but NOT the same day, mind you!) was a trip up to the North Shore.

We hit up Sunset Beach (beautiful!) and tasted some Matsumoto's shave ice and finished off with some delicious garlic shrimp from Giovanni's.  Oh, and per Airi's suggestion, also tried an authentic Mexican burrito from a vendor in Kahuku.  It sure was ONO!

 Before her last night in Hawaii, we all went to the beach to enjoy some time in the water.

Add some cousins in the mix and it was a great day out to soak up some much needed rays.

 Since Seattle doesn't have beaches quite like this, I think Celena enjoyed the beautiful and warm water at Ala Moana.  I know our kids sure did!

 Here's Kela standing up on the boogie board....not catching waves, though.

 We potlucked the dinner. Here's Jolee munching on a fried chicken leg.  Mmmm!

 Kela has been in gymnastics for almost a year now and has progressed so much in her skills as a gymnast!

She's begun to perfect the bridge...

 Along with Aya and Rumi, these three are our limber gymnasts!

 The little ones taking a dip in their makeshift jacuzzi tub!

Kela and Aya...simultaneous cartwheels on the beach!

We sure do love when we have visitors from out of town...so we can pretend to be tourists and enjoy the many fun sights and yummy food that Hawaii has to offer!  I wonder who will be visiting us next?!

labor day picnic

It's Labor Day and as per usual, we headed out to Ala Moana beach park for the Pearlridge Ward's annual Labor Day picnic.

We can always expect a fun time playing in the sun and eating some yummy food!

The kids commandeered our friend, the Baclaans, hammock.  

It was very nice of Derick and his family to let the kids swing and play.  Which they did. 

 Who wouldn't?!

 Jojo and Luke pretty much hung out together the entire time.  

And I promise, that's a lollipop in Luke's mouth, despite how he's holding the stick!  oy!

 Kaden got to try his very first taste of a lollipop...which he did not like.  

Whew!  One less cavity-maker in the house!

 Luke and Jolee in the water.  It was a beautiful day!

 Kaden loves the water.  And we love this beach because the water is shallow enough for the little ones to play safely.

 After the beach, it was time for some shave ice!  We always bust out the shave ice machine and the kids (and adults) love it!

 Perfect way to cool off on a HOT day!

Oh, and watermelon.  

This kid could eat watermelon all day long!

Mitch took Anna fishing for a few minutes after all the picnic hooplah and she caught a few fish!  Lucky girl!

This was how EVERYONE felt at the end of the day!

What a great way to spend a holiday celebrating all the hard work Daddy does for us every day!

haisai festival!

Time for the annual Okinawa Festival at Kapiolani Park!

We hit it up with our cousins as usual, and had a blast running around and eating some yummy (but over-priced) Okinawan fare.

The Andagi.  

The Okinawan fried donut.

It's super oily...but SO VERY yummy!

 Jojo always asks for the "anda-dog."

Which is basically a corndog...with the andagi batter on the outside.

Can you say...calories?!  Ha!  

She can afford it.

 The girls are always all about the Okinawa Soba.

We eat this at home at least once a week, but there's something about having a bowl at the festival that makes it special.

  (it BETTER with  how much it costs us!)

 After dinner, the kids simply run around enjoy the warm evening surrounded by Okinawan music and cousins.

Me and my "chura otoko"

alligator pond

Did I say we were done with the beach?  

I hope not...since we are NEVER done with the beach here in Hawaii Nei!  

This weekend we decided to mix it up a bit and head up to the North-ish shore and visit the beach up in Hau'ula with my sister Elika.

You may (or may not) be able to tell, but it was actually pretty chilly.

 The sun came out and then hid behind the clouds off and on the entire time we were there.  There was also a little wind that kicked up and cooled things down even more...but the kids didn't seem to mind too much.

 And Alligator Pond is great because there's something for everyone!  

It's shallow enough for the little ones, but there's also some deeper parts with waves for those that like to boogie board.  There's even a rock that you can jump off of, but none of our kids were brave enough to do that.  

 This little guy definitely kept us on our toes!

If he wasn't trying to climb over and around the reefs exploring...

 ...he was running off down the shore making us chase after him.

 This one took a short dip and ended up munching on chips on the shore the rest of the day.

Always a fun time with cousins...and nice to get out and visit another part of the island for a change!

ho'omaluhia gardens

On any typical weekday morning, I'm trying to think up of ways to occupy Kaden that does't involve the iPad.  This morning, I met up with my sisters for a leisurely walk and visit to Ho'omaluhia Gardens in Kane'ohe.  What's great about this place is that there's something for me AND Kaden!

Us moms get a nice workout pushing our strollers up and down the hilly roads within the gardens, and afterwards, the kids get to enjoy feeding the ducks and fishes at the lake!

 Here's Aunty Elika helping Knox and Kaden feed the ducks without getting attacked by them!

They're standing up on the picnic benches since there are a TON of ducks and they're all aggressive about getting our breadcrumbs!

 See?  Lots and lots of ducks!

 And not to mention lots and lots of fish!!

The three musketeers!

So fun watching these three grow up together!