We had such a blast with everyone here. I will let the (out of order) pictures tell the stories, but we truly were so blessed to have them here!
The boys landed in Kona and as soon as we picked them up we drove north and hit up a beach where we thought we could snorkel. Turns out, since there were three hurricanes in the Pacific at the time, that the waves were way higher than we thought and snorkeling wasn't an option. But look at the incredibly blue water! This was the first time the kids played in waves while being here in Hawaii and although I didn't think they'd love it, they had a blast! They wanted to stay all day.
The next morning Kyle and Keith spent some time in our woods. They found avocados and bananas that we didn't previously know were there. Heather, Dylan and Hendrix came in in the afternoon, and after they settled in a little, we went to Cafe 100 for dinner before heading to Liliuokalani Gardens and Coconut Island.
As I mentioned, the water was crazy, so it really wasn't safe to get in a lot of the time that they were in town, unfortunately! The waves were crashing up over the wall onto Coconut Island and we found out that Kyle is a water-bender.
The boys all went out onto the tower at Coconut Island and I thought their silhouettes looked really cool against the darkening sky. Kyle was channeling his inner Kung Fu Panda. Ha. My twin is so cool.
We took a trip down the Kapoho Tide Pools to go snorkeling, but the water was crashing over the road. You could tell that the water had flooded the entire area and the roads were covered in debris. What is usually a really calm, beautiful area to snorkel, was an angry sea crashing under the houses up on stilts. Such an incredible reminder of how powerful Mother Nature can be. Instead of snorkeling, we went to Lava Tree Park. I have driven past this place a few times but never took the time to stop. I'm really glad we did! It was hot and we were bummed we weren't snorkeling, but this place was so incredible. Lava came through in 1790 and molded around the trees, incinerating them and leaving lava towers where trees once stood. The foot path is only about .7 miles so it was a really easy walk for everyone.
Since we couldn't go snorkeling down on the Puna Coast, we found a place in Hilo. It wasn't ideal, but anything was good enough at this point. Everyone just wanted to get into the water!
We took a morning to visit Akaka Falls. It was beautiful. I cannot believe the foliage here in Hawaii. It is absolutely amazing what my eyes have seen since we've been here!
We spent a lot of nights playing games.
On Saturday, a day that Sean could join us, we took off early in the morning and headed south. We drove to Punalu'u, the black sand beach. We saw turtles (in Hawaiian they are called "honu") playing in the surf, and saw one make it to shore and crawl up onto the sand. It was so amazing. The honu would sit and wait for a wave to reach him, then he'd use that to help push him up onto the beach. Then he'd sit and wait for the next wave, and as soon as it touched his flippers, he'd crawl one or two more times up the beach. It was pretty neat to watch!
After Punalu'u we headed to South Point. It wasn't nearly as windy as when we went with Claire, but, because of the hurricanes, the water was ridiculous. Looking to the east there were MASSIVE swells. I have never seen waves like that before. I have no gauge on how large they were.
When we got there, there were plenty of people there, but no one was jumping. Sean, being the daredevil that he is (and having done it before), wanted to jump off despite the higher water. Him jumping off led to others there jumping off.
Kyle was next, then Keith! (Both in the water here.) Kyle knew he wanted to jump before we even got there. Keith on the other hand took some coaxing. He was nervous, but he did it! I was so proud of him.
Seeing Keith overcome his fear and jumping anyway made me think that I could do it too. So with lots of encouragement from my sibs (including Dylan) and husband, I decided to take the leap! Keith jumped again with me which I thought made for a cool photo! We think that this jump is about 30 feet, but with the swells and weird water, it probably wasn't quite that far of a jump.
The ladder to climb up the cliff face was sketchy. It is safe, but that's a long way to climb an old rusty ladder that is swaying with the waves. I might have jumped again if it wasn't for that aspect of it! I was already shaking from the nerves of jumping (I'm not afraid of the heights as much as I am afraid of the water), so the ladder wasn't fun! I am so glad that I did the jump though, and glad I had my family there to cheer me on!
There is a spot at South Point that is this...I don't even know how to explain it. Just look at the picture. Ha. There is an exit to the ocean, so as the waves ebb and flow, the level of the water inside this column raises and lowers, so you jump when the water is high, then you wait for the water to drain out and you can swim out of the hole out into the ocean. Sounds (and looks) totally unsafe and I wouldn't ever do it, but, leave it to Sean to check it out :) haha. He loves an adventure!
After South Point we headed to Captain Cook. We met up with Sharae for a bit. Sharae was in Heather and Dylan's ward in La Grande but moved South of Kona a year ago. We met up with Sharae a month or so ago and it was so fun to see her again. It was fun for her and Heather to be able to get together! After saying hi to Sharae, and eating lunch at this little Hawaiian eatery, we headed to Two-Step to do some snorkeling. All I can say is "Wow." We NEEED to go back to this place again. Too bad it's 2.5 hours from our house! The water was amazing. We saw incredible things (Brayden and others saw a sea turtle, and Dylan saw a dolphin!) and everyone got to play in the water.
Sean stayed on the beach with the kids while I got out and snorkeled for awhile, and then Heather watched the kids while Sean came out with Asher and then Brayden. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw my husband swimming with my son out in 30 feet deep water with snorkels on their faces. My kids have gained so much confidence in the water since they've been here and it has been such an incredible thing to watch. It was so fun having them join me! While we were still snorkeling, it started to rain. It was such a cool experience to be swimming in warm water with warm rain falling on you. Everyone had been in the water so no one minded the rain much. At first.
After awhile, I went back in and let Sean snorkel and I went on the beach to be with Heather and the kids. That is when the rain started DUMPING. We gathered our things and put them into the car but the heavens opened and you couldn't hardly see through the downpour. We found a covered area that we backed the cars up to and started changing the kids. But then we found out that we were in a flood zone and that we needed to get out of there. The boys (Kyle, Keith, Dylan, Sean, and Brayden were still out snorkeling) took their sweet time while Heather and I tried changing the kids and keeping them warm. We finally got all gathered up and headed out but man. It was an adventure. I have never ever seen rain like that before. It was kind of fun!
Kind of off topic but one night while we were watching a movie (Keith caught up on a couple he had missed while on his mission!) I reupholstered a couple of our dining chairs. Three will be orange and three will be floral. I love how they are turning out! They are covered in a clear plastic vinyl to make them easy to wipe clean. Best. Idea. Ever.
On Monday, Keith and Kyle's flight left so we left that morning to head to Kona again. We all went and we stopped at the Kona temple and walked around. We were hoping to be able to go through while everyone was in town but we weren't able to work it in to the week, and they are closed Monday's when we were there. Bummer.
After Kyle and Keith left, since we were in Kona, we met up with Sharae and her family again at a Keiki pond and we all had so much fun. Again. We are so spoiled to live here and to be able to get into warm water whenever we want!
Keith and Kyle left on Monday, and Heather and Dylan were here until Friday. They had rented a car which was sooo nice. It meant we had enough seats to get everyone everywhere, and it also meant they had freedom to do what they wanted while we were doing school or work or whatever.
One afternoon we took the boys to the Arboretum. This place is so cool. It's a couple of acres with over 75 different kinds of trees; most of them fruit bearing. We got to wander and see all of the different types of produce that grows natively! We saw some really funky bushes and trees, and the coolest part, is that you are allowed to take one grocery sack worth of food home with you for free! Unfortunately, most of the trees didn't have ripe fruit on them so we didn't bring very much home, but it was a fun adventure anyway.
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| This bush looks like it came straight out of a Dr. Seuss book. Can you see the antler things sticking out of the top? |
We took this picture before they headed back to Kona to catch their flight. I think that they put 1200 miles on their car in the 10 days they were here...is that right Heather?
Like I mentioned, these pictures are all out of order but oh well. One evening we all went to Volcano. We walked through the Thurston Lava Tubes, saw some smoke vents and then the glowing caldera. It was fun having Hendrix walk with me through the lava tubes! That kid is seriously so adorable. I can't ever get enough of him!
We were so sad to see everyone go, but feel so blessed that in the first six weeks we've been in Hawaii, we had 2 sets of visitors. We weren't totally moved in and set up yet, (we still don't have a couch) so it wasn't exactly comfortable for everyone, but I think that they had fun regardless! Kyle and Dylan ended up going to Walmart and buying a couple of camping chairs so they had something to sit on. ha. We did end up buying chairs while they were here too. But hopefully by the time more people come (Sean's parents at Christmas time) we'll be more set up for guests!
We are so blessed to be living here in Hawaii. To have all of this at our fingertips is truly amazing. To have a place that is so unlike anything we have experienced, in culture, climate, environment, traditions, has already been such a great experience, and I am so grateful for family coming that encourages us to go and explore the island even more. I'm glad that we have 4 years to here to truly drink it all in!
Thanks for coming Keith, Kyle, Dylan, Heather, and Hendrix. Until next time!
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