Halloween in Hawaii

The surf was up today for sure! In fact you'll see a photo there's actually a surf contest going up on Sunset Beach right now and today was the first day they've been able to really surf, so the North Shore was just packed today. But it was still so fun to see all the surfers and the ocean was gorgeous!

We'd be planning all week to go up to Waimea Valley (inland from my favorite beach, Waimea Bay) because it's a sacred valley in the Hawiian culture and they have a lot of cool stuff there like botanical gardens and a waterfall you can hike to and swim under. Unfortunately by the time we got up there it was lunch time and both kids were cranky and tired and it was pretty busy, so we got out and walked around a little bit but we didn't actually pay to go in and go to the gardens or falls or anything. Kind of a bummer, but maybe next trip our kids will appreciate it more anyway.

(See what I mean, tired, hungry and craky kids!)

So instead we went out to Hukilau Beach.

The surf being up was great for Gideon because it meant awesome body boarding. I wish I could have gotten pictures of all of the great waves he caught, but he really did ride so many good ones today!

Parker of course played in the sand. Well. She mostly ate the sand. Oh well.

I tried to sunbathe but thanks to my baby I ended up just covered in drool and sand!

I put her in the water just to have at least one picture of her in the ocean, but she was not impressed. She mostly just clung to her daddy for dear life.

Okay so Halloween is HUGE deal here! Most of the adults even dress up and they go ALL out!!! It's so big that they actually shut most of the streets down to vehicle traffic so the pedestrians just can take over. We tried to go out early enough to avoid most of the major rush and thankfully we did. Our kids got tons of stuff and they were tired out by the time we got back.

Can you guess what Trav's costume is? He said, "I'm going as a tourist." Nice. Very creative dear. The great think about being here is that it's so warm you don't freeze outsize trick-or-treating so everyone giving out candy just sits out on their lawn or in their driveway. Some even have elaborate decorations and themes and displays. It's really fun!

Anyway it was a very successful Halloween and we're just a little bummed that we only have one more day left here! We've been having way too much fun!

Weekends in Paradise

On Saturday morning we got up and went to the Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium. It's really the best place to buy souvenirs and "Hawaii" stuff (except for chocolates of course.) It's cheaper than any of the stores or gift shops plus they have a huge variety of everything.

The kids got hot & tired but they have lots of fresh fruit for sale and some ice cold pineapple did the trick. After the swap meet we came back to find Skye, Ryan & new baby Reagan at home. She's a little jaundiced but they let her go. The plan was for us to leave Parker with Grandma and take Gideon up to hike Waimea Falls but it closed early for an event that afternoon so we had to settle for another trip into Hale'iwa for shave ice. We weren't too upset though, we're on vacation we'll just go another day. That evening Ryan had arranged for us to go to the Halloween bash up at Turtle Bay Resort where he works, so we got the kids dressed and went up there.

Reagan loving on her daddy!

The bash was fun. They had face painting, crafts and coloring, bouncy castle, a haunted barn, lots of food and a dance floor just for the kids. That was Gideon's favorite part to be honest!

I never knew my son could shake is little booty until Saturday night.

Sunday was our low key day. We hung out at home until church. After church a wondeful Tongan family brought over food and it was absolutely delicious but there was enough to feed an army!

I can't believe we've only got two more days here! I'm so not ready to come home yet! We're just having too much fun!

More of the Same

Another shrimp truck with delicious garlic shrimp to share...
More lovely views of Valley of the Temples...

More fun in the sand and ocean...

We taught Gideon how to body board. He absolutely LOVED it!!!!!

And more smunching on new baby Reagan!

Grandma played dress up!!

Let me tell you, Reagan reminds me so much of Gideon as a newborn. She's so alert and tries to look and focus already. And she's strong like he was too!

Yep. Another wonderful day in paradise!!!