December 14, 2010
So I cut it down to just 40 pictures from the over 400 that were taken for that day. It was a great day and we wanted to make it as memorable as possible.
Sarah on the bridge in front of the waterfall.
Clearly these aren't in a very good order, but Blogger doesn't allow for moving them around anymore.
Ellie-queen on the bridge very excited for what is about to take place!
All the kids pose, except for the very 3, Sophia.
I say 'very 3' because she doesn't want to do anything anyone else says.
Colton and Daniel love to tease each other.. so cute!
James and Blake found lizards. James is our Diego, he finds all kinds of woodland creatures.
Here they are up close.
Lunch time! We packed
sandwiches and snacks for a fun in the shade picnic.
Everyone but Mimi!
Sterling didn't get to come with us today, he had to work instead.
Helena having a handful of Papa's hair.
Very tiny next to the rocks is Papa and Mimi.
See, there they are!
The kids all had a good time playing in the cold 'lake'.
Sophia doing the Hula for Sarah!
Daniel playing with Blake, splashing water into his face.
James slowly making it out to be with the rest of the group. It took him a bit longer to decided if he was going in or not.
It is a bit hard to see but there were some ladies doing a hula demonstration. They tried to get Sophia to join them but she was a bit too shy!
Papa took each of the kids who wanted to out to the waterfall.
Colton was the first brave kid to make the journey!
It is a good thing that Papa is such a good swimmer.
Papa and Cole under the waterfall.
There was a shallow area, where Mimi is standing on the left, then it quickly drops off to more than 40 ft deep (according to the lifeguards).
It was such a great day!
Papa took Blake and Daniel over to the waterfall.
Papa was trying to get the boys right in the waterfall. Daniel said the water from the waterfall was super cold!
Daniel said it was loud and cold, but fun!
Hopefully a
moment he will remember his whole life doing with Papa!
This is one of my favorite pictures, Papa giving Daniel a turtle back ride back to the shallow area. Papa is a strong swimmer, but Daniel dunked him several times!
Here he comes back up for air! All the while, Daniel is oblivious, just enjoying the ride!
Back to the shallow land again.
Sophia changed into her swim suit and then decided dry land sounded better.
The
panoramic view of the lake.
James, in and out again. Wants to be part of the fun, but not so sure if he likes the cold water. The lifeguards said the water was about 68 degrees that day.
Gabe, Daniel, and Ellie enjoying the water.
Aloha!
Marney on her way out to check out the waterfall!
After a great swim, the
Ninjas appeared.
This is from the hike, the cool covered trees. There is something that looks sort of like this in Georgia, it is called
Cudzoo or something like that. It covers all the trees and kills everything. I don't think this is the same thing but it is pretty dense and covers everything like it.
The Peacock is wild in Hawaii, or at least it used to be. In some areas you can still see them roam. They are loud, pesky birds, but very pretty.
On the way home from
Waimea Valley we made a quick stop at the Dole Plantation
The kids did the maze while Mimi, Papa, and Sophia went for a relaxing ride on the train.
Helena was a good sport and did the maze in her stroller and car seat!
This is kind of a fuzzy picture but the box at the end is where you mark your card to say you found that box. The kids thought it was great to mark their cards with the stencil tool that was there.
Which way now...
The kids were small enough to fit through a few "short cuts" but the stroller and Sarah and I were not, so they would have to wait for us to figure out how to find them.
We got out of the maze just in time to enjoy huge amounts of Dole Whip. Pineapple ice cream that is to die for. We were so busy enjoying the treat that we forgot to take pictures of it.
We were all pretty tired by the time the day was through, but had a great time!
It was a big day for our family. James got baptised and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Helena got blessed. We had to wait until her adoption was final to have her blessed. We wanted to do it on Sunday with the ward, but because it was the week before Christmas the Bishop said there wouldn't be enough time. So we did it the same night James was baptized. 
Here is James with his new scriptures and his Lei's for his special baptism day.
This is all the family that came to Hawaii for this special day.
Philip, James' closest friend came to witness his baptism.
The beautiful sky on the night of the baptism.
James and Sterling right before it all started.
As we left, the sunset was amazing. I couldn't resist taking one more picture of Heavenly Fathers blessing to us!
