We had planned to stay out of the sun today since everyone got fried crispy yesterday, but the Kai's had decided that they were going to pack up and go to the beach, which happens to be a rare occurance. So, we decided to go, too. Brinlee went with a rash guard on and a warning to stay in the shade as much as possible. We went to Ko'Olina, AGAIN, cuz Obama is still here for the holidays and our favorite beach in Kailua has been shut down because that's near where he's staying. :( BOOO!
Sweet Sisters
Fun in the sand
Baywatch? LOL j/k
Friends
Random shots
Not sure of the big scary sand turtle
Do you like it? NOOO! Do you like it?? WAAAAAHHH!
Tiny surfer girl! (Aleena)
Naysa (Sweet n Spicy!)
Upset because she was told to stay out of the sun for a little longer. "BUT, hmph, it's NOT faaaaiiiiirrrrrr!"
Kauwe let them each take a turn launching off his shoulders.
My first "tweet" on Twitter this morning is: "Well, I guess 8 is sleeping in for my kids. GOOD Morning! It's a new day, new leaf, new start, new year. Make it count!"
We had such a fantastic time last night. Too bad it rained off and on, but that didn't damper the firework popping. The kids didn't care that they were soaked. We were up in Mililani with Kapua's sister, Keli's in-laws. Mililani is more up in mountains, so we got some rain and it is much cooler up there. Lucky all our girls are 'similar' in size or thereabouts, so we could borrow some long pants and light jackets for the kids.
The food and company was amazing! Keli's in-laws are Filipino, so there was so much good food! Love it! Naturally, it was potluck, so we took a pumpkin-haupia pie from Dave's. It actually didn't get eaten since there was already so much food, so we brought it home for Kauwe's going away party on Sunday.
There's so much to say, so I think I'll let the pictures do the talking. (Everyone, except me, got burned so bad at the beach yesterday. :( It's owie!)
Mariah (The Tween-ager)
Brinlee in action
Asia is freezing as usual!
Tatum avoiding the water at all costs.
Roxelle, the cruiser.
Beach Babe :D
BURIED!
We were at the beach for over 5 hours. Will and the girls got a little (actually, a lot) sunburned :(. Roxelle fell asleep on the beach about a 1/2 before we were planning to leave and I couldn't bear to wake her. She ended up sleeping for over another hour past our planned departure. The girls were SO ready to go home and get ready for the party. I felt bad for making them wait, but I feel even worse now that they are burnt crispy.
Sleep is a precious commodity on this trip.
We stopped at Foodland (our regular grocery store, around the corner from our old house) to grab the Pumpkin Haupia Pie. I couldn't resist snapping these pics. It's hard for me to believe the prices when I'm standing right there looking at them, let alone trying to tell someone about it later.
Milk has gone up from $7.97 since we lived here....RIDICULOUS!!
Seriously, who buys sushi that has been sitting out on a table for who knows how long??!!??
There were too many pictures from last night to choose, so I decided to put them together on a slide show. Enjoy!
We are on the cusp of a brand new year, decade and life, if it so be. I was reflecting on the last decade this morning and thought about where our lives were 10 years ago. We were living in Orem UT. Getting ready to have our first born, Mariah. Will was in school at BYU and working for PowerQuest (a computer software company). I had just finished my 2nd stint at Bon Losee Academy (which I hear is no longer) and preparing for the new chapter of motherhood. In the year 2000, we had a very full and exciting year. After Mariah was born, it worked out that in some way, we got to see my parents every other month. We took a trip with them and all my siblings (except Paula) to the UK to see Amy Mayall marry Malcolm Young when Mariah was 4 months old. That was such a fantastic time! As we start this new decade and I think about the next 10 years, it is scary to think I'll have 2 daughters go away to college and possibly get.... *whispers*... married. EEEK! In the year 2010, the only resolution I have made so far is to be a better visiting teacher. That is something I have been lacking in since we moved back to the mainland and I want to strive to do better. So far, the decade is starting off great because we are in one of our favorite places with some of our most favorite people!! I couldn't ask for a better jumping point! We are headed to the beach again today! Should be some exciting pics to post tomorrow! Got a long and busy holiday ahead today.
We braved Aloha Stadium Swap Meet today with all 10 girls (Kauwe had to work, so Will was all alone...poor guy). I went armed with my list that I'd been secretly keeping for the last couple months, so as to not give away the travel plans. I was able to get everything on my list except the Christmas tree ornaments I was hoping to add to my collection for next year.
Mariah bought this Hello Kitty necklace at the swap meet
After we left the stadium, we hit the H3 freeway and went over to La'ie to go to BYU-H bookstore and see the temple. I thought that I'd seen a Dave's ice cream over there before, but it turns out there isn't, so we stopped at Angel's ice cream for a cup with ice cream and shave ice. It was pretty good, but Dave's is still my favorite (even over Matsumoto's).
I missed these Ko'Olau Mtns. So majestic!
We went to the temple to see the grounds. The temple is currently closed for some major renovations until next summer, but the grounds are still as beautiful as ever. They even still had their life size marble nativity still set up and the visitor's center is still open. The girls were in awe of everything there.
Outside the La'ie Distribution Center Peek-a-Boo!
Visitor's Center Gorgeous La'ie Temple
The Nativity next to the VC ("Nice Doggie"...LOL!!)
Then we went up the road to the BYU-H bookstore and let the girls wander around the bookstore. They love looking around stores like that. It kind of cracks me up how excited they get about such little stuff.
We decided to take the "long way" home and drive over the North Shore. We made a stop at the Dole Plantation to get Pineapple Whip. YuuuMM!!! And it's dairy free, so even Roxelle got to have some. She totally dug it!
Front Entrance
Look at the Brinlee and Tatum in the back ground. LOL!
Penny Flatener. Mariah has sort of made this a tradition to do when we go places that have it.
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