 |
| Hanging out at the pool with a bestie and our kids! |
My last update was sort of an introduction to Hawaii for my family and our friends that are far away. I have to admit, I was pretty down on Hawaii when we first got here. I was lonely and missing Virginia and all of the friends we had left behind. Moving is hard! Duh! Anyway, we have been here in Hawaii for almost five months now and we have done a COMPLETE 180 on opinions here! We LOVE Hawaii. We still miss Virginia, yes, but we have made some fantastic friends here and we have been able to really exploring the island and creating our own NEW routine. We are finding what works here and what doesn't and we are finally embracing it.
So what works here in Hawaii? Um... the pool and the beach, of course! How many people can schedule weekly play dates at the beach? How many people can go to the pool... um... every day if we want to? So what if westbound traffic in the afternoon makes a person want to gouge their eyes out, we can just hang out in the neighborhood and go to the pool!
Lilia and Ivy are starting swim lessons this coming week. Lilia has been taking Hula lessons too. We have a membership at the Children's Discovery and we spend a lot of time there too. It's AWESOME! I have never been to such a cool Children's Museum. The girls beg to go all the time, which is great because it means they aren't tired of it yet! There are SO many fun toys and imaginative play stations that I never feel like I need to buy toys because we can just drive 15 min to the center and VOILA! Play time and no mess for me!!!!
 |
| Homeschool art project and lesson on Van Gogh |
I decided to homeschool Lilia for kindergarten and the remainder of our time here in Hawaii. I felt a little apprehensive at first and doubted whether she would take instruction from me or whether I would have the abilities needed to keep her learning and engaged. We have certainly had a learning curve, (pun absolutely intended,) but I feel like we have had so much success this year that I feel encouraged to continue! We will continue to homeschool in Hawaii and maybe even beyond. Lilia AND Ivy have come leaps and bounds in their math, reading, and writing and we are able to explore other subjects and topics that she would never be exposed to in a regular kindergarten classroom. Another things that I have really loved about Hawaii is that there are MULTIPLE homeschooling organizations and even facebook groups that coordinate field trips and learning activities together. Lilia has been to a Dairy Farm, a gardening and decomposer workshop, and a butterfly conservatory just in the past two months! There are so many trips planned and available that we have to say "no" to a lot of them just so that we don't over-schedule ourselves. Lilia and Ivy have both made some really awesome friends that will be homeschooling this year too. We are really looking forward to getting together with these families and exploring and learning together.
I have also enjoyed teaching the girls about art and music. We have been learning about different instruments and listening to different composers. Lilia REALLY enjoys listening to different kinds of music and loves to reflect on how the music makes her feel. We've watched Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 as a starting point and branched out from there. Ivy is quick to point out what music she does NOT like. She does not like Mussorgsky and honestly, who can blame her. Night on Bald Mountain is probably the mommy fail of the year right here. I had totally forgotten about that part!!!!
 |
| Little Man! Sweetest little blondie boy you have ever seen! |
Little Joel-y man is mischief incarnate. He lures you in with his white blonde hair and twinkly blue eyes and then BAM! He's bitten Ivy or is at the top of a 5 ft bending ladder at the playground and is falling through the slats. He's a little devilish. We love him, but seriously. Terrible twos all the way and he isn't two until June. He is VERY vocal and has well over 100 words now. He loves to say "I don't want it!" when he doesn't want to do something. Then he will shriek and run the other way. If you chase after him the shriek morphs into a cackle and he flees with glee. He's a stinker. He is also a snuggle buddy and can be sweet and gentle... sometimes. We love him. I am hoping this is just a phase.
 |
| Laie Temple with Cliff |
Cliff and I have been able steal away a number of times now that we have met a couple of wonderful babysitters and we have been able to see and do some amazing things already! We have been able to go to the Temple a couple of times on our own now and it's been really great. We had a night away in Ko'Olina for our anniversary and we got to spend some kidless time at the beach. We loved exploring the area as just the two of us. We also LOVE the drive up to Laie. It may be one of my favorite things about living in Hawaii. It is just so dang beautiful. I have never lived somewhere where the ocean is just FEET from the road. You feel almost like a big wave could come up and just wash the road away, but it doesn't. The water is actually pretty shallow along the road due to a far off shore break and the water is crystal clear. It's usually a little rainier on the windward side and this makes for luscious green jungle and lots of rainbows! Seeing a rainbow over the ocean is pretty much the best. We have also been able to try out some great restaurants. We've found katsudon JUST like we had in Japan and we've also been to Roy's. We went to Roy's for our 8th anniversary this year and it definitely ranks in the top 3 restaurants that we have ever been to. SOOOO good. We've also found great barbeque, great Hawaiian food, great Korean, and somewhat decent Mexican. We've yet to find really good Greek and Indian, but we'll keep looking :)
 |
| Lilia and Ivy with their new friends! |
Lastly, the kids and I have made some really wonderful friends over the past couple of months. We really love our ward and actually had over 30 people over for Easter dinner this year. I have also been invited to a wonderful playgroup and the kids are so excited to have new friends. I think that makes all the difference when you move. Settling in takes time and we knew that it would. Now we just have to get busy enjoying our time here because our past tours have taught us - it all goes by so quickly!!!
