Hawaii 2010

We went to the Big Island, Kona-side this year. It was just Mom, me, Luke and Logan. It was very beautiful there and we were definitely becoming accustomed to island living. It was really good for all of us to have special time with Mom/Grammy too.

We visited lots of beaches...Old Kona Airport which was nice with tide pools, Hapuna beach which is one of the white sand beaches often shown in tropical paradise cameos, some small sheltered beaches right on Ali'i Dr, and others. It was absolutely a wish come true to be near the ocean. Logan and Luke were apprehensive of the waves and all the water but as the time went by they became more confident. Some of their favorite games were running from the waves and sitting in the shallow area and letting the water come and go. They loved watching the boogie boarders and surfers. There was a pool at our condo as well and they were like little fish with their swimmies on..

The food was excellent overall. A particular favorite eating spot while we were there was a place that served breakfast in the AM and was called Java on the Rocks and then in the evening served dinner and became Huggos on the Rocks. Luke, in particular, was fascinated with the name change. Several mornings Luke, Logan, and Grammy went here and saw dolphins and turtles. We had some amazing dinners and my favorite was actually at the Huggos restaurant. Some fish, Ono maybe, prepared with an Asian sauce and mushrooms mmmm mmmm!

We visited the volcano national park, the site of Kilauea. This was pretty amazing. We were not able to actually see lava this time due to the hiking distance required but Luke and Logan became Junior Rangers and we saw lava tubes, steam vents, and the noxious fumes rising from the top of the volcano. We have a reason to go back to see the actual lava when the kiddos are older. There were even some tributes made in the form of leis to the Hawaiian goddess Pele.

We also discovered an amazing playground complete with a train, boat, whale and castle for exploring. We rode the trolley and Luke and Logan played monkey boys. We also went to a Luau. It was my first and I have to report that the food is not exciting... the shows were really neat until we got rained out. Luke LOVED the dancing. His whole body still starts to hula at the hint of a good beat. On top of all that my Mom and I were able to get in some good tennis and a pedicure :) The trip ended with an unexpected accident which brought us to Oahu where we saw Waikiki beach and Diamondhead. Oahu is definitely on the list of places to explore in the future.

PS David, the spider shot it for you!

Kid's Fun Run

For family night one evening we got together with our friends at Fred Baca Park so all the kids could have some fun running their hearts out (and the grown-ups could eat pizza :). We did some little dashes and also some relay races. They got their prize bags at the end. They all seemed to have a great time and this could definitely be a repeat activity.