hawaiian airlines party at the waterpark!

On this slightly cloudy Saturday, Hawaiian Airlines pilot's union held their annual family fun day at Hawaiian Waters Waterpark!  We were super excited to go because it's really the ONLY time we get the opportunity to venture out West to the waterpark.  We met up with our good friends and spent a fun afternoon splashing, sliding, and swimming around.

Honestly, I can't recall having such a fun time at the waterpark!

Here's Anna...sliding down her favorite waterslide.  After sliding down this myself, I have to agree.  It was pretty fun. :)

Here Kaden is preparing himself to go down the kiddie slide.  He was a tad more cautious, and tended to stop himself right before hitting the water, but he still loved it and kept going back for more.  

I shoved him underneath this mushroom shower to take this picture...he was too scared to duck out by himself because of the sheet of falling water around him.  Hehe, I gotta get this kid used to putting his face underwater if he's going to survive living in Hawaii!

I took him down on the larger red slide once.  He ended up going underwater at the very end so wasn't thrilled about a second run, but at least I got this one on camera!  

My little fishes.  They all loved it here!

And while the daddys watched the little ones, Noelle and I got to ride a couple of the larger waterslides together.  This was the scariest one...and we survived!  Not without a few screams and too much laughter.  I am SO happy that the Laus are part of the Hawaiian Family...and that we can get together at company parties like this and have so much fun together!  

Towards the end of the afternoon, the weather got much cooler and we were slightly shivering at the edge of the kiddie pool.  It was such a fun-filled day and the little ones were not wanting to leave all the fun!  

Our poor kids will probably have to wait until next year's company party to come to the waterpark again...but it's all good.  They had their fill and we are so very grateful for Mitch's association with the BEST airline in Hawaii! 

happy father's day

Happy Father's Day!

Lucky for us, Grandpa happens to be here for Father's Day this year and we got to go to church together this Sunday.  We are so very lucky to be blessed with such a great Father. Mitch is the most patient and kind father...it's no secret that our kids ADORE him and are always fighting over a place on his lap or by his side.  For the past 6+ years, he's had to sit up on the podium area during church on Sundays so they've never gotten to sit with him during Sacrament meeting.  However, after moving wards, they have become accustomed to having him sit with us down in the pews and they absolutely love having him there!  Not to mention how much I appreciate having an extra pair of hands helping me with keeping the kids quiet and occupied while trying to listen to the talks and such.  He's never too busy or tired to play with them, take them to the park or beach, or simply sit with them while putting them to sleep.  He's simply the best father a child could ask for and I am so grateful for him. 

Happy Father's Day to all the daddies...but especially to ours!

anna's karate exam: blue belt!

Anna has a karate exam about every 3 months...which seems like a lot! But with each exam comes the opportunity for Anna to move up another belt or patch, so we welcome the exams and Anna is always enthusiastic about her progress up the ranks in her dojo.

Here she is..getting ready for her exam. 

After the exam, they did a bit of friendly sparring for points.  These didn't reflect on her actual exam, but more to gauge how she's progressing in her skills.

We are so proud of all her hard work!  She loves karate...and always asks to go early to her practices so she can chat with her senseis.  

This examination was particularly special because my Dad happened to be in town and got to see her exam!  Dad had done Karate many years ago and I know he was super proud of Anna and all that she's learned!  He was duly impressed with her kata and stance and kept mentioning how glad he was that he got to see her today.

Plus, she passed!  Now on to Blue Belt!  

Way to go, Anna!

kona getaway

One day after I returned home from Fukuoka, I decided to pack up the kids and haul them to Kona for  one night away.  The truth is, my sister Elika was vacationing in Punalu'u, Big Island with her family and we decided to crash their family vacation for one night.  

The kids were anxious to get away for a short vacation and since Mitch was back to work flying to Fukuoka...it was just me and the kids.  

I am so thankful that my kids are seasoned travelers!  They packed and carried their own bags, know what to do at airport security, and are usually pretty good about the sketchy airline seating that often coincides with standby travel.  

First stop upon arriving in Kona was a brief stop at the Kona temple.  It wasn't open (because it was a Monday) and the fountain wasn't on...but it was still beautiful nonetheless.  The temple grounds are always so peaceful and calming, no matter the weather (cloudy today).  Unfortunately, Jojo wasn't feeling the peace since her and Anna just had a fight over who-knows-what. 

Back in the car and headed South to Punalu'u from Kona.  

We were going to fly into Hilo and drive down from there...but the flights into Hilo were all booked!  Flying into Kona added an extra hour or so to our drive, but that's all good.  The kids aren't used to road trips so the 2 + hour drive down to the resort was pretty tiresome, but the kids were troopers and didn't complain overmuch.  Despite Anna's countenance here, she wasn't too uncomfortable and was in a pretty good mood for the long drive down....especially after she fell asleep.  They pretty much all fell asleep except for Jolee.  She stayed awake the entire drive!

And we arrived!!  

The drive was LONG but beautiful.  And after settling down and changing our clothes, we hit the pool with the cousins.  

The weather was actually pretty cold so we didn't stay at the pool too long...but the kids had fun splashing around and I had fun taking some under-and-over-water pictures of all the kiddos.

Anna and Aya after they took the plunge.  

After the pool, we all showered and changed and drove a short distance to the famous black sand beach.

A turtle!

We actually saw 3 turtles there...and since they are endangered and protected, this was about as close to them as we could get.  Turtles are SO cute!  Anna noticed that some of the rock barriers around them were crumbling and missing so she spent a lot of time hauling rocks from around the beach and rebuilding the barrier.  

Me and the kids with some black sand. I told them it's illegal to bring any sand home, but they were so fascinated with the dark sand that surprisingly didn't stain our feet black!

The next morning, after a short (and cold) swim in the pool, we headed back out to the airport to fly back home.  But before that, we visited a HUGE playground on the way.  It was HUGE!

The kids didn't want to leave, but we had a flight to catch and so we said our goodbyes to the Daleys and thanked them for allowing us to join in on their vacation.  

We are so blessed to have the opportunity to spend so much time with family!  

Not to mention the blessing of being able to travel at whim to near (and far) destinations!

fukuoka date!

Work takes Mitch to Fukuoka 3-4 times a month, where I usually send him off with a laundry list of snacks and household items I'd like for him to buy and bring home.

This time, however...I got to go with him!

This is only the THIRD time I've ever joined Mitch on one of his trips...but the previous 2 times, I brought along Kaden with us because he was still a baby.

For the very first time ever, it was just me and Mitch.

With Mitch's parents visiting for the Summer, we took advantage of grandma and grandpa's kindness and dropped all 4 kids off for 2 nights while Mitch and I got a mini-vacation to Japan!

I was SO nervous...but equally thrilled to have this short getaway trip with Mitch.

Here's my ticket and passport!  

Super excited!

Oh look! Caught Mitch doing his pre-flight check of the plane!

He looks so tiny next to the Boeing 767...

So very happy that I got to sit in 1st class on the way there!

The flight attendants knew I was traveling with Mitch so were very nice and accommodating to me. 

Sure does pay to know the pilot!  hehe.

We didn't get to sit together during his break, but he stopped by my seat to say HI.

Upon first arriving in Fukuoka, we off-loaded our stuff in the hotel and set out to eat!

Mitch kindly mapped out our entire 2 day stay from what to eat and what to see.  Since he travels here SO often (4-5 times a month!), he was the perfect tour guide.

First stop was eating some tonkatsu at Hamakatsu.  This would be Mitch's FAVORITE tonkatsu place.  And it was super yummy!  We ran into a friend of Mitch's (who happened to be vacationing in Fukuoka with his family! Talk about coincidence!) and ate with them. They were lively and fun and good company while we shared our tonkatsu dinner plate.  

Yes, we shared one plate of tonkatsu because we knew that we were headed to a SECOND dinner right after that!  Which was, of course, ramen.  Seriously, the BEST ramen I've ever eaten.  This was Mitch's favorite ramen spot and it was delicious!  We also shared this bowl and a plate of gyoza, which filled our bellies just right for the night.  And then after a beautiful walk back to the hotel, we were pretty wiped out and ready for bed.

 Day 2 of our trip was pretty much our final day.  We filled it to the MAX with loads of biking, jogging around Ohori park, Mister Donuts for breakfast, and lots more biking.  

My butt was sore from all the biking...but it was SO much fun!  Brought back so many memories from my mission!

After all that exercising and biking, we headed back to the hotel to shower and change...and then headed right back out to do some serious shopping.  And eating.

We had sushi at a super yummy sushi spot where the wait line was about a half hour! But definitely worth the wait since the sushi was delicious!  (That's me with my uni!)

We also ate at Mos Burger with a side of melon soda (a staple, really), and ate the BEST Baumkuchen cake at a restaurant that ONLY sells Baumkuchen!  Seriously-that's the ONLY THING ON THE MENU!!  you can see the bakers in the window making them on huge spits right in the restaurant...and it was divine!

We also rode the trains and did a LOT of shopping.  

All to soon, it was time to say goodbye to our Fukuoka trip.

We swung by a small pasta restaurant and ate some spaghetti before heading back to the airport.  I also got to eat some custard pudding because Japanese custard pudding is my absolute favorite.

I didn't get to sit in 1st class on our way back home because the ticketing agents in Japan are much more strict with dress codes than the US agents...which was such a bummer!  BUT, lucky for me, I got to sit in an exit row with no one next to me so I had some peace and quiet on the 7 hour flight home.  OH, and fancy our timing, but Kiyomi happened to be working our flight there and back!  It was nice seeing a familiar face on our trip and I thought it so fun to see her in action at work! :)

I am SO very grateful for Mitch's parents for allowing us to take this little trip!  

We were reassured that the kids did great, and gave them little trouble while we were gone.  The kids didn't seem to miss us too much since they already love their grandma and grandpa, and we were comforted in the knowledge that they are so good with our children.

There was a little part of me that felt a bit guilty for taking a vacation without the kids...but I hope they understand that we love them and missed them terribly the entire time!  

It will probably be many years until we can take a similar trip without the kids so we definitely made the most of every minute we were in Fukuoka!  I feel so very blessed to have had this opportunity to get away, even if it was only for 2 nights.  

grandpa's pool!

With Grandma and Grandpa Seavey in town, the girls get to visit their pool whenever they want!

Which isn't too often because it's actually pretty cold up there at their hotel pool...but the pool is shallow for the kids and they simply love hanging out with their cousin Reina and grandparents. 

And as you can see, I love taking my GoPro camera everywhere I can!

I can't get enough of these underwater pictures!

Kaden loves the pool. And this pool is great because their shallow end is super shallow!  

I don't have to worry about him falling into the deep end because there is plenty of shallow pool for him to play in.

(Of course, I still keep a close eye on him and follow him around in case he decides to venture too close to the deeper end...)

Jojo and Reina. These two are like 2 little peas in a pod.

They absolutely love hanging around with each other.

Kaden's little feet...he didn't like this floatie ring too much.

Can you tell our kids love summer!!

cousin madeline!

Mitch's cousin and her husband are visiting Hawaii and so we had the opportunity to meet up for a short little hike.  Since we had Kaden with us, we kept it easy and took them up to Manoa Falls.  We propped Kaden into the backpack carrier and hit the trails.  

Before they had to fly home, we had a BBQ dinner at Waikiki with them and Mitch's parents who have arrived for the Summer!!  

They even brought Reina with them so the kids are loving having a new cousin to play with.

And, we discovered the benefits of hauling this portable table to the beach with us.  

Kids eat so much better on a little table!  Why we didn't think of this sooner, I have NO idea!

It's a rare event, getting to meet Mitch's family from the East Coast, so I was so happy to get the opportunity!  Madeline and Patrick are so very nice and I sure hope to one day have the chance to meet their kids as well!