North Shore!

Oops! Dropped the ball on my updates...but here we go. Monday brought little chance of sun and mostly clouds but we decided that the weather would not stop us from fulfilling our plans. We put on our swim suits and off we went to the North Shore in hopes of some sudden change in the weather. Unfortunately, the weather turned worse and on the drive up north, it dumped loads of rain. We were going to stop at the Pali lookout but since there was little visibility, we decided there would be no point (don't worry, we got there later in the trip!). We went to Lai'e Point where it was windy and rainy... I stayed in the car and took this picture while Heather and Dad braved the weather to get some of their own pics.

We stopped by the library in Kahuku to visit Aunt Peggy (look at J's blog for our picture with Peggy) who knew mom and dad's family when in Hong Kong (that is a direct quote from J's blog). While there, Ashlyn read books to Jason.

Our next stop was Sunset beach so we could eat lunch. Since it was blustery and rainy, we actually just ate in the car and looked out at the water. Heather and I did eventually get out to snap a few photos... which included the Japanese tourists.

On we drove to Laniakea Beach where the Honu (Hawaiian green sea turtles) come to feed and bask. According to the nearby sign, the turtles come ashore for several hours to sleep and bask for body warmth.

Our flat friend Alix and her flat person caretakers.

Despite the threatening clouds you see here in this picture, the sun did make a lovely appearance for about an hour.

Bliss! We spent that hour here.

Ashlyn and dad had a joyous time playing in the sand together, building castles and throwing sand in the air. They even managed to get a little wet... by accident.

There's Jason. Just curious to see what you could see from over there.

After the sun went away, we left and continued onward to get some shave ice at Matsumoto! It's never too cold for delicous shave ice!!! Jason had me do the ordering for the experience... there's a certain order in ordering (2 large with ice cream and 2 holders... guava, mango, and lilikoi) which I practiced over and over in my head so as to not look like a fool when it was my turn to go. The poor tourists behind us did it all wrong... good thing I have a local to show me the way!

Ohhhh scrumptious! Dad and I actually shared one and J, Heather and Ashlyn shared the other.

Don't think that we didn't try to include Jax all day in the festivities! He was with us the whole day... but he chose to sleep most of the time, only getting up to eat and to say hello. He's just sleeping with his arm out here.

Well even though we didn't get to get in the water or bask in the sunshine, it was still a fun filled day up north. On the way back, Jason wanted to show us this area where you can see the skyline of Honolulu... too bad it wasn't a clearer day! Here's Jason taking a picture of Heather taking a picture of...

...this lovely sight. The rainbow is a nice touch.
And here's Jason's sorry picture of the sunset. Hahaha. Ok well we'll give him a break since we were driving south and he was squished in the passenger seat with Heather (i drove most of the trip). The sun was setting in the west (drivers side), so he took this blind picture by sticking the camera out the passenger window trying to get his arm above the roof of the car (which you can see in the picture) and take a straight picture (not so much) while the car was still moving... and this was the outcome :) So now you know the story behind it and you can think... ohhh, very artistic!

What a busy day we enjoyed. We went home, got packed up and ready to fly out to the Big Island the next morning! That adventure is coming next so stay tuned!

The Weekend -- in Hawaii

Although Jason claimed that we didn't take any pictures on Saturday, I'm pretty sure this was our Saturday entertainment...

Ashlyn is already practicing her poses.

Other than those few pictures, it was a terribly windy, rainy, cloudy day that we filled with food, movies, and a trip to Costco. It was very exciting.

The next day being Sunday, the sun finally broke through all morning long. A lovely day to visit Pearl Harbor. It was an educational experience for me. What I knew about Pearl Harbor is what I learned in US history when I was 16... which was not much. I found that there was MUCH more to know. While dad and I were in the museum reading up on history and seeing things like this,

Ashlyn was outside doing this... hugging palm trees. Hahaha.

After going through the museum and seeing a short film, we hopped on a boat that took us over to the Arizona.

The list of names of all those who died on the USS Arizona... so many people...

Most of the Arizona is under water though you can see parts of it out of the water too. We read that 1-2 quarts has been leaking everyday since it sunk. You can kinda see the oil on the water here. Even so, the fish still swim around... can you see the fishies in the water?

Us on the boat again that took us back to the museum area.

Another lovely creation... I forget what this is. But see that big black thing right there? Ewww... well he found Jason smelling so sweet that he buzzed all over him and even summoned his friend to join him. Poor Jason, he was the only one that was attacked. Luckily, no one was injured.

Remember this picture of the tourists on Jason's blog? Well, I thought I'd give you a looksy of what Heather and I are taking pictures of...

Jason was correct. Palm trees! Here's Heather's picture.And here's mine!

Oahu! Jason's finger is.... pointing to something specific I'm sure. That gold colored thing almost straight down from his finger is Diamond Head crater that we hiked a couple days before. That white circle to the left of that is about where they live (i think), and then of course Pearl Harbor over to the left more.

And our last stop before leaving was the submarine graveyard. Jason would not let us leave till we paid tribute to the submarine name after us... the USS Tang. Ok it's a total lie but whatever. You can see the picture of it on his blog is you so desire.

After church that day where dad seemed to know everyone and their dog... ok just one person which led to a few connections and no dogs... we joined the Nitahara's for thanksgiving dinner. Who's to say that you can only eat a thanksgiving dinner at thanksgiving? Fact (that has nothing to do with this trip): In the last 6 months, I've eaten at least 8 turkey dinners (turkey and all the trimmings). That's the most turkey I've ever eaten in such a short period of time! I'm turkey-ed out!

Anyway, up next, the North Shore tour!

Diamond Head Crater!

I realize Jason already used this picture of spam musUbi but I just wanted to give it another shout out and let you all know that it actually is pretty tasty! And according to Jason, 7-eleven carries some of the best of it's kind! This was teriyaki flavored and it deserves a second praise (contrary to some other opinions... heather... :) hahaha)

And yes, this mischievious child fits in this box for baby wipes. A couple days after this day when I first put her in this box for fun, she came and asked me to put her back in the box and carry her around the house. So I did because how can you ever turn her down?! Anyway, she loved it. Then I asked her if I should put her outside the door like a package. She said yes. I'm not sure she understood what I was getting at or if she just wanted me to carry her somewhere else because when I set her outside the door and started closing it she looked at me and said, "HEY!"

Anyway, back to Diamond Head day. We headed out and did this lovely little hike. It wasn't stroller friendly this time, but the kids had an easy time. Though you can't really read the words on here, you can see that we did a bunch of switchbacks, climbed a million stairs, walked through some long skinny tunnels and finally found our way to the top!

Heather carried Jax, I carried Flat Alix in her protective pouch (aka manilla envelope)

and Jason carried Ashlyn while dad took most of the pictures.

View from the top. You can see that we are looking into the crater... and beyond.

As every other day thus far, it was pretty windy and cloudy but nice weather for a hike. At least it didn't rain while we hiked!

Dad and I climbed the extra few stairs so we could see the view of Waikiki... but our big heads got in the way of the view when we tried to do a self shot. On J's blog, you can see a better picture of us that a nice man took for us when he saw how terribly this picture turned out. Here's what you were supposed to see behind us... At the bottom of the trail, Ashlyn found a nice bench her size to rest on. All that sitting in the backpack can wear you right out!
And look at these pretty flowers dad saw high up in the tree. Um, plumerias maybe? I'm no flower expert.
Stay tuned for even more Hawaii! Unless of course you're bored... but that's just rude. :)

Hawaii - Tantalus & Makapu'u

Everyday started bright and early. Between 7 and 8:00 depending on who you were... So we mostly got out the door by 9:30. Wednesday morning we went to Tantalus lookout. Here's downtown Honolulu in all it's glory with Diamond Head crater on the far left. It was a pretty windy day up there and as you can see, not much sun. But still a day for shorts!

Who knows what Jason is doing.... umm, eat your heart out?

We also went for a walk that afternoon to purchase some items including some swim trunks for dad in hopes for some beach weather in the next 10 days. We love Ross! Ashlyn also loves having books read to her! She would bring out her books and ask if you'd read to her, and who could turn down such a cute little face! She's definitely a smarty pants. Look at dad being such a good grandpa!

Thursday took us on a little hike to Makapu'u lighthouse. A little hike that was paved so that we could take the strollers. We first stopped at the blowhole... according to Jason's blog it's called the Halona blowhole. But I just remember it as the blowhole. Here's some water blowing out of the hole! And down below is a view of a beach... although I couldn't tell you which beach.

Though it was mostly cloudy, the sun did make a few appearances and since we were walking uphill, it did get a bit toasty. It was great weather for the hike. From looking at the picture below, you would think that Jason was very lazy since he's not pushing any stroller. But truth be told, he's just super wimpy and couldn't handle the task. Heh heh heh. Ok i'm lying, we took turns pushing the kids up, he did his part too.

Me and dad at the top. On the left is... sea world (i think) (i've been corrected.... it's sea life park...), and up the coast from there is... Kailua beach (i think) (it's not Kailua beach but it was a good guess on my part...). And that could be totally false information (and it apparently it was...). In any case, it is all very beautiful!

Makapu'u lighthouse from above.

And here's our happy cute little boy Jaxon! He slept all the way up and back down and woke up at the end in time to eat before we headed back home.

Flat Alix was also part of our vacation. Heather's niece Alix is doing a school project and so we took her around to some different places. I just thought I'd give you a sampling of some of things we did with her. Since it was so windy, we all tried to keep her from blowing into the ocean.

Flat Alix and Ashlyn on a park bench. So anyway, Flat Alix came on a few of our adventures.

When Jason went to work, dad, Heather, Ash, Jax, and I went on a walk around Magic Island and by the Ala Moana beach that Jason and Heather frequent. It was a pleasant afternoon and the sun even came out for a bit! We saw this bird on our walk and it looked like it might've been hungry. I really wanted it to swoop in and grab a little fish out of the pond so we threw in that animal cracker to try to entice the fish closer to the bird so we could see some action! The fish were smart though and stayed back a ways. But it was probably unnecessary because the bird just plopped himself there for a bit and then flew off later. Boring!

The fish did fight over the animal cracker for a while. I'm not sure if any of them were ever able to bring it down however. Oh well, it was good entertainment for a few minutes.

Anyway, next up is Diamond Head crater!