Jog A Thon!!

Today was the Hanalei Annual Jog A Thon.  Its a fundraiser for the school and the kids raise money and participate in a run.  They set up a small block at the Waioli Park and the kids ran as many laps as they can in 15 minutes for Anthony and 10 minutes for Nate.   

Nate was so funny.  On the way to school we were talking about the run and I asked him how many laps he was going to run.  He said, "Mrs. Deblin said we can walk, so I'm just going to walk."  Well, he didn't walk and he was having so much fun.  He smiled the entire 10 minutes and it was so fun to see a competitive side of Nate.  But also, just having a good time.

At the end of each race, the fire fighters were on hand to cool all the kids off.  Anthony and Nate were both not too sure about that so ended up just watching all their friends get absolutely drenched!

Nate was still smiling even after the race!!  He had said his goal was to run 8 laps.  He ran 9.  Hooray!!

Anthony learned his lesson from 1st grades run.  Slow and steady!!!  He kept a nice even pace the entire time, only stopping a couple of quick moments.  He passed his goal of 14 laps and ran 17.  I was so proud of both my boys!!

Christopher went back and forth between me and Lance.  I was helping out in the blue tent marking laps as kids ran by while Dad was mastering the art of photography!! 

Anthony's Birthday!!

Anthony turned 8 on September 8th.  As if that wasn't cool enough, he got to have a little party with a couple of his friends.  A couple of these boys are friends from church, some from soccer, jujitsu and school.  And then of course, his darling brothers!!!

We had a Pool Party!  To my pleasant surprise, it turned out just great.  They had a blast.

We did have a party game.  Lance took a bunch of loose change and spread it on the bottom of the pool and whatever the kids found, they got to keep.  We had one special coin, a Jamacian coin that I don't even know where it came from, and whoever found it was to get a special prize.  Why is it that the birthday kid always wins those kind of games!!  But I think the kids liked it.  Some went home with a couple of dollars in their pockets.

Anthony thought he should do the Hula while everyone sang "Happy Birthday".   I think he had a great birthday!!  And now is looking forward to getting baptized.  Soon!!!

Surfing......a new addiction!!

The boys had their first surf lessons.  Kamua was a very good teacher for the boys.  Started off by showing them the moves they'd need to know to get up off the board.

Makani and Nate heading out to the surf!!  This was pretty cool.  He grabbed on to Nate's board with his feet and paddled them both out.  

Even Christopher went out for the lesson.  Here is Makani with Christopher on his shoulders.  Christopher wasn't sure if he liked this move.  But it was fun for me to watch!!

Anthony caught on real quick.  And he loved it.  Unfortunately for him, I chose the picture to show as he's starting to fall off the board.  But he had many good runs.  The waves weren't big so they were perfect for learning.

Beautiful Hanalei Bay with Bali Hai in the back drop.  I LOVE this place!!  It is amazing.  I fall in love with it each time I am there.

This is Nate on the way back to shore.  He fell off the board on the way out and wasn't quite sure of surfing after all.  Hopefully, he will get back out there and try again.  Makani was great with Nate and Christopher.  Very patient!!

Christopher seems to like surfing in the shopping cart a little better than the ocean.  But, I'm sure over the next few weeks he might have a change of heart.

But we have a WINNER!!  Anthony loved it!  He was so tough.  He fell off a lot, but kept getting back up.  Had some great runs and ended with a smile.

Kamua, Lance, Makani, CJ, Nate and Anthony!!  

It's about time!!!

After 6 months of living here, I finally got to play my first round of golf!!  We played the front 9 at the Makai Golf Course.  It was breath taking!!

The sand was so beautiful.  It kept pulling me in.  I spent more time in the "beach" here than I have in weeks!!  It was so soft.  It's a good thing I was playing with my special "Hot Pink" balls, otherwise they would have been lost in there!!

The view was simply amazing.  I could have stayed in that one spot all day.  I can't get enough of the beauty here. 

Below the lookout is Queen's Bath.  We have gone there before and it was fun to see from a different view.

Lance said since he paid for golf I had to get my picture taken.  So there I am, enjoying my time.  I guess its nice to have proof that I was really there!!  I'm usually on the other side of the camera.  It was a wonderful morning.  Hoping we can do it more often!!!  Maybe next time we will take the kids with us.  We'll see!!!

Kauai County Fair

We took the kids to the Kauai County Fair.  It is THE event of the year for Kauai.  The kids had a great time.  They all loved this ride.  Especially Nate!  He was all smiles!!

There was a great petting zoo there.  Of course only Christopher would go in.  He loved it.  Dad is showing him the ducklings webbed feet.

He loved the little piggies!!

The goats!!  And anything else he could get his hands on!!  He petted chickens and rabbits too!!   He thought it was pretty cool!!

Nate and Anthony looked from the other side of the gate.  They are such funny boys!!  I don't know what they are afraid of!!  But as long as they are having fun!!

We all had a great time.  We played games, went of rides, saw the animals and enjoyed some good food.  

Yeah for Soccer!!

Yeah for Soccer!!  The boys had their first games today!!  I was such a proud "Soccer Mom"!!  Nate played awesome!  He scored a goal and played hard.  He was all smiles the whole game.  That in itself is a win in my book!!

Anthony has been waiting for soccer to start for 5 months!!  Finally it's here!!

Didn't mean to cut off Lance and James, but thought this could be a fun shot.  I'm a little too short, but I'm going to work on it.  Lance is Anthony's coach and they have a great team.  We will have a lot of fun with these boys!!

Nate's Team is the "Hanalei Bulls!"  

Here are the "Yellow Hornets!"  

Pool Time with Friends!!

We had a great day with our friends.  We had dinner and then headed over to the pool!  All the kids love for Lance to throw them around the pool and I just happened to get a couple fun pictures of Nate.  

This picture makes me laugh.  
I love his position in the air!!  

Christopher was having such a great time.  He loves to hang on the side and let go and push himself back up.  He is really doing a great job in the pool. 

These are my cute friends.  Brooke & April.

Brooke and Baby Matthew and below is her son Elijah.  Christopher and Elijah are becoming little buddies.  Elijah calls him "Christmas fur" and Christopher calls him "I ja".  

Anthony and Noah hanging out in the hot tub!!

Some how my friends and I all have boys!!  
Makes for a fun group.
Matthew, Elijah, Nate, Christopher, Anthony, Isaac, Noah and Jonah!.

A day at the sunny side of the island!!

We decided to take the kids to the sunny side of the island, although all of Kauai had beautiful weather over the weekend.  There was an Artisan Fair with all kinds of fun things to look at.  I am a terrible shopper, but I do enjoy looking at the great things people have developed their talents around.  There was jewelry, photography, bracelets made from the stringy stuff in coconuts and orchids dipped in lacquer and made into pendants, plus much more.  

The big thing around here........ Shaved Ice!!!!  It was a welcome treat on a hot day!!  The kids played for a minute on the open grass area on Poipu Beach with their soccer ball.  They would have done that all day if we would have let them.  But there was more to do and see!!

Our next stop was a small town called Hanapepe.  The highlight, was a wooden swinging bridge.  Lucky to report we were able to make it across and back with no issues!!!  It was actually very cool!

There are a few little shops with a "Main Street" feel.  I believe there are 16 art galleries in the area, but we chose not to go in them.  Its hard enough going into any store with 6 very busy hands.  Anthony was just chillin' waiting for everyone.

We did take the kids into one store with a lot of breakable things.  It was the only store with a potty!!!   CJ was diggin' the head phones listening to some island tunes!!

Then we headed over to Glass Beach.  

The whole beach use to look like this, but with blue and green glass too.  Over the years the beach glass has really been picked through and there is not much to be found there.  I must admit, 8 years ago, we filled a couple of water bottles with glass from this beach.  I now feel a little guilty about that.

We stopped at Kalapaki Beach, which is the beach to the Marriott in Lihue.  It was such a great beach.  The kids had a blast.  I love this picture of Nate. 

Anthony was working hard here, burying his bucket and had a moat all around, but as you can see, it didn't last too long.  The waves were really coming up onto the shore.

It didn't take too long for the kids to make their way to the water.  They had a great time body surfing and playing with dad.

This kid cracks me up!!  You can always tell how he's feeling.  He is quite disappointed here because Lance is trying to give Anthony a little attention and has just told CJ to come and see me.  His stroll said it all as he was approaching me!! He makes me laugh!!

These 2 are just waiting for their turn to play.  CJ has the football in hand and ready to go!!

Too Fun!!

Lance was such a great sport.  We all had a great time playing at the beach, and just had a great day!  I can't believe we actually made it through a day with no bickering, and fighting and hurt feelings!!  If that wasn't a successful day, I don't know what is!!!  and..... CJ fell asleep at 6:30 and slept all night!!  Good Times!!