Tide Pools and Waimea Bay

December 18, 2010

Sterling is going to write all about this, I wasn't there.

Tooth on the loose!

December 17, 2010

While Papa was here James' front tooth was really loose.

Papa has a really good method of pulling teeth: It starts with blowing in one ear....

Then in the other ear....

Then comes the pulling.

As hard as we worked the tooth wasn't ready to come out.
We tried it for several days, unfortunately it came out just a few days after Papa left.

Snorkeling Adventure with Mimi Papa and the kids!

December 17th, 2010

Marney got a really great deal on a snorkeling cruise for the whole family so she got us all tickets to go. We dropped Helena and Sophia off at a babysitter for the day and went to have a fabulous time.

Ellie and Sarah ready to take off!

This is as we were pulling away from the shore. We were all sitting down and ready for our adventure!

And an adventure it was. We were swimming with 3 or 4 sea turtles and lots of different kinds of fish. It was really fun. We have taken James and Daniel on snorkeling cruises before but they never really got the hang of it, but his time we did it right and they loved it.

Marney and Papa loved it too!

Colton and Blake on the boat.

Dad's kids on the boat.

On our way back from snorkeling the captain asked if any of the kids wanted to drive the boat. We were the only group on the boat with kids and most of them wanted a chance. Daniel is a natural! He is the official "Captain Dan".

Colton was sure he saw something.

Gabe was checking out all the rigging.

James had full control of the steering wheel....

Or at least for while. Being a Captain is tough work!

Blake was ready to take a cruise around.

It was so fun to have everyone here, we didn't want their vacation to end!

Seriously great kids.

Gabe and Ellie.

I did such a good job of getting Dad's kids to line up for pictures and didn't get my boys up for the picture. James was cold and wrapped up in a towel and Daniel was having all the snacks he could find. I wish I had gotten a picture of the two of them on the boat like this.. but maybe next time.

This was the high light of the day. It was a lot of fun to be in the water with the boys. It was tough to stay with the group, the currant was pretty strong so you had to keep kicking your legs in order not to drift off. I was trying to help James and Daniel but wasn't a strong enough swimmer. Sterling had to keep pulling us back to the group. I was proud of both of the boys. They both put their faces in the water and snorkeled. James did it long enough to appease me and Daniel really loved it. James got out after about 15 minutes and Daniel stuck it out for almost the full 30 minutes in the water. Daniel is my dolphin, he loves the water.

Here he is all wrapped up. He had a great time.

Sterling, Papa, and Mimi were the winners for staying out the longest.

I wish we had taken underwater cameras with us. Here is a picture of one of the turtles we were snorkeling with. It isn't a great shot.. but you get the picture.

On our way back to Waikiki.

Everyone had such a great time.

We had such a great time!

Words can not express how great it was to have family in town and to be able to 'go on vacation' with my dad again. It has been a lot of years since I have been on vacation with my daddy. I had forgotten how exhausting it all is, but so much fun. We loved having them here! I love my dad a lot and I never tire of our talks and times we have together.

We love you Papa and Mimi.. thanks for a great snorkeling trip and a great 'vacation'.

Swimming at the Navy Lodge Pool

December 16, 2010

Swimming at the Navy Lodge.

After Helena's Sealing we were all pretty tired but couldn't let a day go by without doing something "Hawaii" so we went to the pool. My kids were so excited to go swim at the Lodge and this was the perfect opportunity. Helena and I went back to the house for a nap while everyone else went for a swim. We joined up with them after our naps. They were still going strong up until they closed the pool.

Papa getting ready to go for a swim!
Ellie, Daniel, and Gabe playing in the pool.

Rabbit ears!

Sarah, Blake, and Colton

Daniel the Dolphin!

Gabe showing off all his muscles!

Daniel the Dolphin at it again. His favorite thing is to go after dive sticks!

Sophia the Mermaid!

Going after the dive stick for the 100th time tonight.

Helena still sleepy, resting in her car seat.

The Panoramic view of the pool.

Sterling and the kids all playing a game.

Even as it gets later and later, the kids are determined to stay in the pool.

Daniel had so much fun playing with Blake. Blake was so good to give Daniel Turtle rides all over the pool.

The only way to pry kids out of the pool after about 5 hours of swimming is with Warm Pizza!

We had the pizza delivered to the hotel and ate in the Tiki Torch Cabana area.

Grandma and Grandpa Packer came to join us for dinner. It was a fun night!