One of the things I'll remember most about our trip to Hawaii is renting a surfboard. Although I took it out for a little bit, the kids mostly used it. There was a small area behind some breakers where the waves were just the right size for the kids. I would tow the board out as far as I could (probably 30 - 40 feet from shore) and then wait for the perfect wave. I was able to give the board a big push so that it would catch the wave while the kids were sitting down. After the big push the kids would stand up and ride the wave to the shore.
This was also great entertainment for the rest of the beaches goers (many smiles/laughs). A few other kids bummed a ride here and there too. The kids were talking the rest of the trip that they were the "famous surfers" and that they were "so good even after the first day". We probably spent 4 - 5 hours doing this over the course of two sessions. Julia enjoyed it a lot more since she was more sure of her balance and could keep her head above the water more easily. She also looked like a surfer girl with her blond hair and sweet moves by the end.
One of the things we miss most about Hawaii is the food. When we went and visited our old neighborhood we stopped at one of our favorite sushi restaurants. This particular place is on the lower end (more like the fast food of sushi), but it still tastes good and you can eat a lot. The kids even tried some new things. One of the things the kids really liked was how the food was served. The different sushi options snake around the seating areas on a conveyor belt...priced by the color of plate they are on. If you want to order something special from the kitchen it's all done on touchscreens and then a space shuttle or race car comes zooming to your table with the food when it's ready. There are a few of these restaurants in California and Washington, but they are mainly located in the Pacific and Asia. Jonathan didn't try sushi - he was too busy eating the french fries. I didn't try the local special, spam sushi, but I tried pretty much everything else...
One of the must-visit places on Oahu is Hanauma Bay. We went to this beach two times on our trip. I had bought the kids disposable waterproof cameras to take pictures of all the fish that live in the bay. Tip of the day: buy $5 - $8 snorkeling masks at Walmart instead of renting them here (what we did). It's significantly cheaper and you get to keep the equipment when you're done.
Unfortunately for the kids the snorkeling didn't really pan out. They can't swim yet, and a little afraid of deep, rough water. "Snorkeling" involved getting a piggy back ride from Dad into deep enough water, dunking their head underwater for a split second, and hoping to see something move. Julia saw a couple of fish, but I don't think Jonathan was able to see anything. I ended up swimming past the end of the reef with their cameras to take pictures for them while they played on the beach with Mom. I will post a few of them when we get the film developed (yes, they still so this...apparently).
I had a great time even though the waves were a little rough. I only got a couple shin cuts, but I got a couple of great shots of the kids. Man, what beautiful faces!
Today we headed over to the windward (i.e. windy) side of Oahu to spend some time at once of Hawaii's top beaches. Lanakai Beach is white sand and blue water for a good mile and a half. We are finding out that the kids really don't care much about anything else at this age besides playing in the sand and surf, and shown in the pictures below. But enough of me talking, these pictures are worth a thousand words.
It had been almost 10 years since last seeing my third home. Stacey made it out 5 years ago with Jonathan as a newborn, but since it was all work related, this was the first time in a decade we've been back to see the "ol' stompin' grounds". We decided it was a good time to reconnect with Mario and Susie and show the kids some fun in the sun.
The trip up went well, but it was a long 22 hours. It snowed the morning we were leaving, which made the trip even more timely. We had a long layover in Seattle, so we got to see Matt for a few hours before catching our second flight. We didn't do much the first day since we arrived so late other than get our feet wet, run errands, and get settled.
On Friday we took Stacey to the office and met all of her coworkers, and Mario and Susie. The kids and I spent some time at Waikiki while Stacey worked for a couple of hours. Susie had prepared a spread for the whole office for lunch, so we stayed there for a little bit while we grilled out on the patio. In addition to paying for most of the trip, they provided this nice lunch, leis, and even a chink of spending cash for our visit here. They have been very generous to us.
After a long lunch we took the kids back to our old neighborhood. It was fun to see. Things were very much the same yet a little different. The houses were older and in worse shape, the trees taller, but everything was pretty much how I remembered it 10 years ago. I would have memories and/or flashbacks to things until they were interrupted by "Dad" or something else that brought me back to current day. We visited the shopping center right by our house that we used often...the Starbucks that we used to get coffee at that was connected to a bookstore, stores where we bought this and that, etc. We also took a trip around the neighborhood loop we used to walk often. It is really pretty since it winds its way around the golf course.
It was a good day. Sometimes it was hard to think back to this "life" 10 years ago. It was the last time we had together before having kids, owning a house, and being out of the Air Force. Seems like a long time ago already.
Jonathan is done with training wheels! He has been asking me to teach him, so on Sunday we took off the training wheels and had a go. He figured it out after about three tries and without any major falls. He is pretty coordinated and had been riding for a while, so I think that helped.
The first 2-3 times I held on to his front handle bars while running next to him. After doing that we tried again, but this time I let go of his bike for a second or two and then grabbed back on. When I did that (without telling him) he initially was scared a little bit, but then he quickly realized that he had been riding by himself for a second or two. That was enough of a confidence boost for him. I did that again, but then he told me that I was "distracting him" and that he really just wanted me to give him a push. OK then...he got a push...and off he rode! Here is a video a few minutes later showing off his new skillz to Mom and sister.
We now have that shot of the kids wearing each others clothes. I have a picture like this with Michelle. The kids thought this would be funny (they did this all on their own, and it is, but in a weird way. Here is a great shot of my new ride all washed and geared up after getting my own plates. We are now calling it the "DQWagon". With a few more touches this thing is going to make selling my truck a lot easier. I am not planning on getting rid of my truck, but having a nice replacement makes it harder to justify a third car. I upgraded the main bathroom for "free" with all the gift cards we've been banking from our rewards program. In this shot I haven't yet filled in the cracks and painted the mirror frame, but it still looks good nonetheless. I'm about done with work on the inside of the house for the year. That's mainly because the warm weather is just around the corner and I'll need to turn my focus to the outside.
Yesterday was our second Daddy Daughter Dance at the Community Center. This year's theme was "From Paris with Love". Julia was given a bag full of francs to spend on "frites" and other French-themed food, but most of the center was set up as boutiques. Julia spent most of her francs on jewelry, soaps, and "perfume". She also made a bead bracelet that is now around Freckles neck as a collar.
We danced but I think Julia enjoyed other parts of the night more. I also noticed that in many pictures she is striking a pose with her leg...a sign she loved her new dress and shoes that were bought specifically for tonight.
The kids got their reports cards the other day. We have some smart cookies. Julia scored in the 98 percentile for reading. In other words, at about a 5th grade reading level. If you look at the "domain scores", she basically aced each category. She "only" scored in the 78th percentile for math. Ha. Jonathan can already count to 100 and has mastered all of the skills on his report card except pronunciation and tying his shoes. Double ha.
