Raw Raw Shish Boom Bah

Ella brought a flyer home from school for a cheer camp at Highland High. I was surprised to hear that Ella wanted to try it. She can be shy at times so I wasn't sure how things would go. She LOVED it! She had a few friends from school sign up with her so I think it made things less scary. I was very surprised to see how excited she was to perform during half time. So cute. We'll have to sign up for the next cheer camp.

1st Grade

Look at my cute little first grader. I love her little freckles. She's going to be in Ms. Daphne Marchant's class this year. I have a feeling she's going to do great this year!

Heading Home

Day 10 heading home – We arrived into Vegas at midnight and we're all so exhausted. Ella and I went straight to bed while Nick headed to the roulette table to try and win some money back. Unfortunately, he came back empty handed. Our flight left early in the morning and I was thankful that we weren’t driving home from Las Vegas like Kevin and Karie. I think next time I'll pay a little more and fly directly into Salt Lake rather than making a stop into Vegas. The hassle just wasn't worth the savings. I think what we were supposed to save we lost gambling.

Day 9 in Hawaii

Day 9 in Hawaii – Today is our last full day. We headed back to the Poipu shopping center for another round of shopping and some lunch. Karie and I were anxious to get back to the condo so we could get our things organized for our trip home. The kids really wanted to go to the beach so the boys took the kids down to the beach while we packed. The boys were supposed to come back to the condo when they were done so we could all spend some time together at the pool. Hours went by and nobody came back to get us. Long story short there was some yelling and crying. I don't think it's a "normal" vacation without at least one fight. In the end we had a great dinner at Keoki's.

Day 8 in Hawaii

Day 8 in Hawaii - We started early today and left the condo around 8:15 for some macadamia pancakes at the Kountry Kitchen. There was a lot of traffic and people today. We found out that today is actually a Hawaiian holiday, the day of their statehood. After breakfast we took off for Ke'e beach but it was super busy and there wasn’t anywhere to park so we headed back down the road to the pier. We rented a paddle board and surf board for the day and we had a great day.




After enough sun and beach we all decided to head into Princeville and try to find Queens Bath. It was a little bit of a hike to get to but it was so worth it. The view was amazing.






On our way home we stopped for some dinner in Princeville. We were all tired so we wanted something quick and easy. We found an outdoor food court with live music. The women singing did a bunch of pretty Hawaiian songs and then asked if anyone had requests. I was shocked when I recognized what she was singing “Tears in Heaven”. I couldn’t believe I was hearing that song of all songs for a second time in Hawaii. It was strange but comforting

Day 7 in Hawaii

Day 7 in Hawaii – Today we checked out the new shopping center in Poipu. They had some really cool shops and nice restaurants.



After shopping and lunch we came back to the condo and got ready to go to Poipu Beach Park. We found a spot on the beach right next to the lifeguard tower, same place we set up when the whole family was here Christmas of 2007. The snorkeling was great; tons of fish and lots of sea turtles right near shore, Dylan and Ella had a great time.

Day 6 in Hawaii

Day 6 in Hawaii - Finally our long awaited rafting trip with our favorite boating company Captain Andy’s. Watch the video of the rafting adventure on Captain Andy’s website it’s the most insane thing ever. We left about 11 am and headed to Kikiaola Boat Harbor near Wiamea. This is the closest harbor to the Napali Coast to depart from. After captain Matt and Danny went over the details of our trip we headed out to sea and toward the Napali coast. Captain Matt explained a lot of points along the way. The ledges on the Napali Coast erupted from the sea, the swells were pretty big and you really had to hold on tight. First stop was snorkeling and the kids loved it. The kids jumped right in once Captain Matt assured them there were no sharks in the area.






After several miles of traveling along the coast and taking in the incredible scenery we made it to the first of several sea caves. These caves were incredible and we actually took the boat right into them, the first few were pretty small but we were able to enter them and look around.











About the third cave we entered had a small opening Captain Matt hit the throttle and we went flying into the dark and we ended up in a huge open cavern. This used to be an enclosed cave, but after years of pacific pounding, the roof actually collapsed leaving a huge sunroof in the mountain. This cavern was probably 200 feet across, and Captain Matt said in the winter months this actually becomes one of the largest spouting horns in the world



A little further down the coast we came to a small opening with a waterfall coming right down the center, it looked like it only went in a few feet but we were in for a surprise. After describing the significance of the waterfall Captain Matt hit the gas and it looked like we were going to hit the wall, but we actually went into the cave at high speed into total darkness and actually came out several hundred yards up the coast. Turns out this cave was named two door, now we know why, pretty intense, the kids even thought it was pretty exciting.





I think everyone had pumped enough adrenalin through them, and we were ready for some lunch. We headed back down the coast to an ancient Hawaiian fishing village where we did a beach landing and had a hot lunch. After lunch we were given a tour of the village by Captain Danny. It was really incredible but smells like rotten fruit from the Noni trees.






After the tour it was time to head back home. Somehow Nick, Karie and I got stuck in the front of the boat and it was the roughest and scariest ride of my life. At one point my legs went numb and I thought I wasn’t going to be able to hold on any more. It was getting dark and the waves were getting bigger. Every minute that went by I felt like I would fall off the boat and get eaten by sharks.