stay-cation: fall break 2013

ahonui had fall break from school all last week until Monday.  we didn't wanna waste ahonui's free time with television, or sitting around the house.  noSIREEbob.  so brandon requested to use his vacation time during the entire week...and what the heck, i requested to be off for the last few days of the week too!

on monday he was invited to his cousin ava's bday party in kapolei.  he spent the entire day with cousins traveling the island, doing artsy crafts at the party (thanks aunty ange & uncle tane), then treated to the movies watching "cloudy with a chance of meatballs 2" (thanks to uncle marcus & aunty nue)!  love when his days are filled with brain improvement activities and social situations.

i had my prenatal appointment on wednesday when we were able to see baby on the ultrasound.  after we found out that baby is a boy, brandon & i wanted to celebrate and thought it was perfect timing for a date night!  my faaaavorite.  so we watched "gravity", ate at ninja sushi, and topped the day off with a trip to walmart.  because a peaceful, kid-less, walmart excursion is a date in itself.  you can't deny it.

what would date night be without a little sushi?  yummm-errrrrr.

thursday was my first day off for the week.  brandon had been wanting to take the kids to try a different hike on the island (we've taken them up through the laie mountains several times already).  so we asked my brother & sister-in-law for directions on some of the trails that they've been on.  they tipped us off on a nearby, kid-friendly, short hike, with a river at the end to cool off at in kahana valley.  since i'm sure they didn't wanna spend the week sitting around either, they joined us!  we ended up with 15 kids and 6 adults total going on the hike.  the more, the merrier was definitely the case here, because we had a ton of fun together!

a rare SMILE from the girl!

by the time we got home and cleaned up, we needed a power nap (okay - maybe just me).  and then decided to take the kids to brandon's stomping grounds - PCC night show!  lol.  usually when i take the kids, nahe somehow all of a sudden gets ants in her pants and won't sit still.  this time though, she seemed mesmerized with the music & dancing and we were all able to enjoy the show together.  aaaaaah....

waiting to get seated for night show with cousin, jaden.

 

friday morning we got up bright and early to be a part of a historical event for the community...Hawaii's famous double-hulled polynesian canoe, the hōkūleʻa, stopped at hukilau bay for a welcoming ceremony.  this was the first time ever that the hōkūleʻa ever came to laie, so it was kind of a big deal - and i wanted to make sure that our kids were there to witness the special event.

tons of people showed up that morning to see the hōkūleʻa's arrival.  and even though it arrived several hours later than expected, we were lucky to have had some family that were there a lot earlier with a little tent set up - because thick rainclouds brought a lot of wind and rain during the wait.  the kids didn't seem to mind a whole lot...since they got themselves drenched anyway by running into the beach.  *note: it is unreasonable to take a child to the beach expecting them to not get soaked.  whether they are dressed for swimming or not, it is inevitable that they will get wet.

  

 

after the hōkūleʻa welcoming, we showered up and were starrrvation!  so we headed down to byuh for the local farmer's market for lunch and treated the kids to a few ice cream cones from the seasider.

our last day of the stay-cation...all day beach day!!  brandon's entire immediate family (it's a big one - but i like it) planned a beach day at kakela's (now called kokololio beach park).  so we had lots of food, family, and fun!  i feel that relaxing days such as these, spent with family at the beach under a tent with lots of good grinds are what make living in hawaii so worth it.  i really think that this was the perfect way to end the week.  family + swim + eat + play + sleep + repeat = happiness.

who says you need to spend a bunch of cash or leave our little rock for a whole lotta fun?  not i.  and this week was proof of that.