Hawaii

Kevin and I went on a little trip to Hawaii this winter.  It was very nice to get out of the cold and relax a bit.  Though it wasn't really that cold here when we left.  I think it was 50 degrees the day we left and it was in the 20s the day we got back.  We had just found out a couple weeks before that we were having twins so it was very nice to get away for a while.  I am sure it will be a very long time before we get to do anything like this again. 

These first pictures were taken at Hanauma Bay near Waikiki.  We went snorkeling and had a great time.  We saw lots of fish and even swam with a sea turtle.

This is a picture of the coolest mountains we had ever seen but it was taken from a bus window on the way to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  So it didn't turn out very well.  Our tour guide said when they get their heavy rains there are natural waterfalls between each of the ridges.  That would be amazing to see.

 

This is Kevin playing a game at either the Tonga or Samoan village, we can't remember the name of the game.  But Kevin actually beat the guide.  Way to go!

 Of course we had to try the Poi.  I actually thought it was pretty good.

This canoe they actually use every year for one of the classes at BYU Hawaii.  They take it out on the ocean and make the students navigate only by the stars.   It is all hand made.  The Cultural Center was by far the most interesting thing we did on our trip.  

 We took a day trip up to then north side of the island and stopped at Waimea Falls.  It was a beautiful mile hike up to the falls through a botanical garden. 

 You were allowed to swim in the water at this water fall and this is Kevin swimming into the falls.  The lifeguards said "you're not allowed to swim into the falls, but you are in Hawaii, so . . ."  So Kevin got pretty close but didn't want to push his luck.  The water was pretty murky looking because they had pretty heavy rains the night before and there was a lot of run off.  Usually it's not so muddy looking.

These pictures were taken at the North Shore on Sunset Beach.  We happened to be there during the World Championship Surfing Competition.  Or so we were told.  The surfers were amazing as were the waves but it didn't seem like there was anyone there judging anything.  Just a lot of surfers and several spectators and professional photographers.  It was still pretty amazing to watch.

Here is the view of Waikiki from the top of Diamond Head.  It was more of a hike than I thought it would be.  Lots of stairs.

And last but not least a picture outside of Hank's at the International Marketplace as seen on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives, one of our favorite shows to watch.  The hot dogs were pretty good too.

Fall Harvest

Our garden did pretty well this year but our tomatoes did especially well.

 This is one picking off 4 roma tomato plants.  I canned 21 pints and 8 quart jars out of this.  I didn't take a picture but I got 21 pint jars out of one picking off 4 regular tomato plants.  I also made tomato soup a few times and froze a bunch.  The kids were very good to help pick.  Our peas didn't do very well this year but what we did get didn't ever make it into the house because the kids would eat them all as we picked. 

This is a hubard squash that got a little out of control.  It was 2 feet long and just under 2 feet wide in the center.  I cooked a quarter of it one night and that one part lasted us all week.  But it was delicious!  There were a couple of others on the plant but they didn't get near as big.

First Day of School

 Here is Kate the morning of her first day of school.  She was so excited.

But then I think she got a little nervous once we got there.  She never pulls her hair like this.  She is in a Spanish immersion program and the teacher was only speaks Spanish the first half of the day.  I'd be pulling my hair too if I didn't understand what was going on.  She is really picking up the Spanish quickly.  She can count to 60 and knows all of her colors and other miscellaneous words.  She is also reading very well.  She is on the level D take home books.