Keana Point - Take Two

We took another trip to Keana Point. We loved it last time, so why wouldn't we love it again? The first time we went we stayed on the road most of the way - It was a 7 mile hike round trip. This time we decided to hike on the rocks right along the shoreline. It was a little harder hike, but we didn't do the full 7 miles. We ended up doing about 5. It was fun playing in the tide pools, enjoying the beautiful view and just being outside! Once again, there are no pictures of Steve, I will steal the camera next time!

Taking a little break to play

There were thousands of these little creatures (not sure what they were) stuck to the rocks

Pretty shell that Steve found - unfortunately we couldn't take it, it had a hermit crab in it

Manoa Falls

Manoa Falls is a waterfall that falls from a 150 foot cliff. It is a 1 1/2 mile trail through the rainforest. The hike was beautiful and nice and cool (except for humidity). Our kids love to go on hikes and even Havyn is getting pretty good about walking most of the way herself. It looks like I am going to have to take over the camera a little bit. We don't have any pictures of Steve because he was the photographer.

New Family Photos

I really wanted to get some family photos done on the beach at least once while we were here in Hawaii. I figured I probably would only get one chance - my husband doesn't enjoy photos! To tell you the truth, I don't either - but I do love having them hang on the wall after it is all done! The weather was perfect. Usually on the beach there are pretty high winds, but on this day the wind wasn't blowing. It would have been nice to have a little cloud cover, it was soooo bright - but we'll take it. Here are some of our favorites.

Get "Lost"

I came across the fact that the crew of "Lost" would be filming today near Manoa Falls. A friend and I decided that, in fact, we would go be stalkers and see if we could get some photos. The two of us and our two munchkins arrived and walked right to the filming without a hitch. We were upset to find that they wouldn't allow photos to be taken while filming. Well......yeah right! I'm not going to get this close and not shoot some photos. The key to getting some sneaky photos is pretending that you are the paparazzi and picking a nice bush to hide behind. They may not be the best photos, but they are in fact photos of some of the cast. We saw Sayid (Naveen Andrews), John Locke (Terry O'Quinn), Jin (Daniel Dae Kim), and many of the "others." You can see John and Jin in some of the photos, but unfortunately I didn't get one of Sayid (#&#%$@). It was fun being able to watch them film live and I can't wait to see the episode where the footage appears. (click on the photos to enlarge)

You can see John Locke's bald head next to the ladder and Jin partly obscured by ladder (they were filming near the little stick hut in the right hand bottom corner, couldn't get a good photo of it but watch for it this season)

Better shot of Jin

Havyn and Treavor with camera equipment (the back of the director's chair says "Lost")Filming location in the distanceA couple of the "others" going to have lunch.Snack table, unfortunately nobody was hungryBathroom for cast and crew only - they use the same gross bathrooms we do :)This is the tree from the scene where Charlie was hung was filmed (we got talking to a nice member of the crew who pointed a few things out to us)

Jensen Family Reunion

Getting the entire family together does not happen that often, but we were able to do just that for a full week. The whole Jensen crew was able to come and spend a week with us in Hawaii. It has been a long time since we have had everyone together. We had a great time! The cousins were able to play and catch up - and the adults were able to catch up while relaxing on the beach. With 12 kids in tow it makes getting places a little slower, but we were able to see lots of things. Adjusting to the time change is always tricky for our guests - we had some early risers! By the time bedtime came around we were all happy for our heads to hit the pillows. Thanks everyone for coming and we can't wait until you come again! (hint, hint)

PEARL HARBOR

BEACH & WAIKIKI

The couple who started it all
Havyn and Spencer at Waikiki

Part of the crew at Kailua Beach

All the grandkids at Hale Koa in Waikiki

Cole, Taylor, Madison in Waikiki
Sunset in Waikiki (Hale Koa Hotel)

Sunset in Waikiki

Some of the girls

Some of the kids

Steve, Josh and Steve showing how to properly watch the blow hole - arms on rail, one leg up

Dinner Hale Koa

The 15 passenger van that they rented - looks fun????

Some family photos in our aloha wear

Mike and Keri Jensen family

POLYNESIAN CULTURAL CENTER

Luau

Josh and Andrea Nielson family

Enjoying pineapple smoothies

Canoe tour

Kids showing off their warrior tattoos

Fishing Fun

We have been enjoying quite a few family fishing trips lately. We have been fishing off of the pier at MCBH (marine corps base). The first few trips, Cole was the only person to catch anything. He caught a couple of small fish, we aren't sure what they were. Our last trip was a bit more exciting, Steve caught a small hammerhead shark and I caught a crab - I think it was the worlds dumbest crab, because I caught him twice. Anyway, it has been a very relaxing time fishing and watching the sun gown down over the Ko'olau Mountains.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I love Halloween, but I am also glad it is over...we celebrated 3 times this year. A ward party, a party on the Marine Corps Base, and of course trick-or-treating tonight. I think this is the second year that the kids were able to choose what they wanted to be (what mean parents). Their costumes and all the festivities were a success. While trick-or-treating Havyn kept asking, "Mom, is this all?" By the time we were done she couldn't carry her bag it was so full. I'm hoping by next Halloween we have all this candy finished off!

Halloween Christmas tree at ward party

Games at ward partyCommunity helper Halloween parade at preschoolHavyn with her class and teachersCrazy hair day was also this week

Mind Your Mummy!

I saw these cute little Mummy pizzas on a recipe website the other day. We whipped them up for dinner tonight and they were a hit with the little ones! The recipe called for homemade dough and sauce, but I went the easy route and we made them with bottle spaghetti sauce, pita bread and sliced string cheese. We make "pita pizzas" as we call them quite often, but they aren't usually this cute! For those who like meat on their pizza, I added the meat underneath the cheese. Happy Hallow-eating!

What A Party!

We had some friends who's daughter turned 1 yesterday. In Hawaii, the 1 year birthday is a huge deal! I was told that many years ago a lot of the children didn't make it until age 1 - so if they did make it, their 1st birthday was a huge celebration. I was also told that these parties were also held to show who will support the child throughout their life. We had the opportunity to attend her party yesterday and let me tell you, it was the biggest party I had ever seen. The cultural hall at the church was completely filled with people, bouncy houses, and food. They had Luau style food, a chocolate fountain (our kids favorite), shaved ice, and too many cakes (I only had 3 different kinds :)).;

There was also a clown at the party that was awesome! He had a clown show where he would have a couple of children compete, the winner received one of his amazing balloons he had made. Cole won a balloon ball and Madison and Steve (they were a team) won a balloon truck (made with 54 balloons). I wish I would have had my camera so that I could have taken a picture of all of the balloons he made - they were incredible. He made balls, octopus, dragon, truck, motorcycle, etc. - these were not small either, the dragon was 15 feet long and you can see in the picture how big the truck is.

The flower arrangements lined the stage and I wish I could have brought them all home with me they were gorgeous. Anyway, what a great party!

At the party, testing out the new ride.

Taken the next day, a little deflated, but you get the picture

Cole's balloon ball (also taken next day). The winner of the game received a large balloon prize, Cole took 2nd place so his ball was smaller, it was about the size of a kick ball.

Obama Wants Extended School Hours = Hawaii Schools Go To 4-Day School Week???

This was taken from a CNN news article -

President Barack Obama said Tuesday that American children should go to school longer – either stay later in the day or into the summer – if they're going to have any chance of competing for jobs and paychecks against foreign kids.

"We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day," Obama said, adding U.S. education to his already crowded list of top priorities.

"That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea. That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy."

He urged administrators to "rethink the school day" to add more class time.

His proposal for added school hours was part of a broader effort to improve U.S. schools that he said are falling behind foreign competitors.

So this week we have been notified that Hawaii schools will begin a 4-day school week, because of budget cuts they can't afford to pay their teachers - thus teachers will be required to take 17 days furlough. I am all for my children getting the best education possible - if we can't afford to pay our teachers now, how are we going to pay for extended hours? Maybe the government should focus on coming up with enough money to get our kids back into school 5 days a week! I am so frustrated with all of this and worry about how my children will transition back into the mainland schools.