Back to School

It's that time of the year again! All of the kids except Conner are going back to school. Kylie went back on August 6, the day after we got back from Kauai. She is in second grade this year and her teacher is Mrs. Jeppson. She still tells us she's the smartest one in her class (so much for humility).

Katelyn went back on August 25 and is in fifth grade this year. Her teacher is Mrs. Fraioli. She's got the responsibility of doing traffic patrol this year.

Courtney also went back on August 25. She's in eighth grade (last year before HS - she's growing up too fast). Courtney's walking home this year and is glad I didn't take a back to school photo on the school campus this year; "It's so embarrassing!"

Cameron will be starting preschool this Wednesday. He'll be going from 9-12 three times a week. His teacher's name in Ms. Terri. We're just praying that Cameron doesn't get "kicked out" of preschool. I'm really worried about him sitting still and following directions. I'll be praying a lot this week and bracing myself for any reports from his teacher.

P.S. The girls want to say thank you to Grandma for all the new school clothes she got them!

Our Last Day in Kauai

On our last day in Kauai we enjoyed the pool at our hotel. The girls loved the waterfall into the pool. The boys loved playing in the huge sandbox. The hammocks were perfect to relax on. We tried to savor our last day in paradise!

We checked out of our hotel a little after noon. We didn't have to be at the airport to go home until 9:00 pm so we had to kill about 9 hours. This proved to be a bit of a challenge since we were all pretty tired and had no where to rest except the car. We took the little kids on a train ride at the Kauai Plantation Railway. We learned about the plants and trees growing on the plantation. Cameron love the idea of riding another train!

The kids thought it was fun to feed bread to these pigs.

After the train ride, we went to see the Wailua Falls. They were pretty, but you could only see them from the top while standing behind a fence. It's really more amazing to see waterfalls from the bottom like the one I saw on the hike.

We got a few souvenirs and ate dinner at the Kalapaki Beach Hut. We were pretty exhausted and cranky. The kids were complaining to me about various things and a lady heard me say, "We're just trying to survive." It's hard to keep everyone happy for nine hours without a place to rest. We headed for the airport at around 9:00 and took a long, red eye flight home. It wasn't too bad for me because I stayed awake all night reading Breaking Dawn. Most everyone else found it pretty hard to sleep on the plane. In the morning we landed at the SFO airport and celebrated Ethan's 2nd birthday with a breakfast in the terminal. We hugged each other and look forward to our next reunion. We're so very blessed to have been able to spend a week in Kauai. The precious memories we created are priceless. Thank you, Mom and Jay, for the fantastic trip!

Our Hike on the Kalalau Trail

Sunday morning, August 3, we went to Sacrament Meeting in Kauai. It was a precious testimony meeting where many heartfelt testimonies were shared. We all felt the Spirit very strongly and realized the Church is the same no matter where you go. It was a bit of a challenge to sing the opening hymn in Hawaiian! After Sacrament Meeting, my stepfather, Jay, and I went on a hike on the Kalalau Trail. We started at the north side of the island and hiked along the Na Pali coast. It was truly a spectacular experience. This honestly must be one of the most beautiful places on earth! I was quite surprised how steep and treacherous the hike was. It was a lot like the Half Dome hike. We hiked for about two miles before we got to Hanakapi'ai Beach. Here's a few pictures of the first part of the hike. The views were gorgeous!

The Na Pali Coast

Jay, my hiking partner Isn't the color of the water just breathtaking?

Me in my element. I think hiking may be a new passion for me! This is what most of the hike looked like. It was pretty steep, not always clearly defined, and surrounded by lots of vegetation. Once we had hiked the two miles to the beach, it started raining. I convinced Jay that we should go two more miles inland to reach the waterfall. From that point on it rained the entire time! It was refreshing at first, but we eventually were soaked from head to toe. The trail was very slippery. Each of us slipped and fell a couple times. I was glad for the traction on my water shoes. With all the rain and greenery, it was like hiking through a rain forest. I felt like I was in the rain scene in Jurassic Park (which was filmed on Kauai). It was raining so much that the trail looked like a chocolate river! It was crazy hiking in the rain for about four hours, but I really loved it! We hiked next to and across this stream to reach the waterfall. The Hanakapi'ai Beach is in the background.

With all the rain and it being a pretty difficult hike, it seemed like we'd never reach the waterfall, but we were in awe when we finally saw it! I've never been directly under a waterfall that high. I loved it!

I swam near the waterfall. You can see me at the left. The water was a little cool, but I couldn't miss this chance of a lifetime!

The hike back seemed pretty long, but we survived it. It took us around five hours to hike just over 8 miles. We were hiking pretty fast too and passing up a lot of other hikers. I have learned that running a mile and hiking a mile are completely different things! You also use completely different muscles. I was pretty sore for days after our hike. It was a small price to pay for the amazing experience. I'm so grateful Jay and I got to go on this hike!

We stopped at this view of the taro fields on our drive home!

An Inspiration to Me

I had a bit of a meltdown on Sunday night because the sixteen days of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games came to a close. I was kinda fake crying in my room and my girls came in and asked me what was the matter. I said, "I'm just so sad because the Olympics are over." What I loved most about the Olympics is that they were on almost 24/7 for the last couple weeks. I stay up late a lot and am almost always alone because Lloyd is at work. I have loved being able to turn the TV to the Olympics almost every night. Yes, I will admit some of the coverage was on very late and I did have to DVR a few events. I was actually shocked when I woke up in the morning and learned the US Women's Gymnastics Team didn't get the team gold medal. I really liked the fact that the Olympics coverage was wholesome and inspiring entertainment. There is so much garbage on TV these days and I loved viewing something that was worthwhile. I will be running a marathon (yes, 26.2 miles) in about six weeks. The training is a sacrifice and can be very challenging at times. Sometimes I even feel like I am torturing myself. However, watching the amazing athletes in the Olympic games has been so inspiring. I know how much they sacrifice to get to that level of competition. I can imagine how much hard work, special training, and even pain these athletes must endure. They have given me hope that I will be able to reach my goal of running a marathon. I ran 22 miles last Saturday and it actually went pretty well. This will be my second, and maybe last marathon. Anyway, back to the Olympics. I have to name my five favorite sports to watch: #1 - Gymnastics (of course) #2- Diving (I am amazed by the synchronized dives) #3- Synchronized Swimming (I only saw a little bit of this, but I thought it looked so challenging) #4 - Beach Volleyball and #5 - It's a toss up between swimming or track. I am disappointed I missed the marathon competition. Now here's my top five favorite things from these Olympic games #1- When Shawn Johnson finally got her gold medal on the balance beam. I had been rooting for Shawn the whole games and was glad she finally got her gold. My girls and I were jumping up and down and screaming in the living room. #2- When Nastia Luikin won the All Around. I thought it would be Shawn, but I was happy for Nastia and her dad. I can't believe her mom didn't even watch! #3- Michael Phelps (Need I say more?) This guy is superhuman, but also very humble, a team player, and a Mama's boy! #4- When the Men's Gymnastics Team got the bronze without the Hamm brothers. They were so happy and grateful. #5 - The overall Olympic experience. China really outdid themselves. I only saw clips here and there of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, but they were breathtaking. They put attention into every detail and it obviously took years to plan and months to rehearse. I was very impressed by the job they did and from what I heard so were all those that attended. Of course, there is always some controversy over things. But I loved these Olympics and will dearly miss them. I guess I'll be looking forward to London in 2012!

Family Photo Shoot

Early Saturday evening in Kauai we had a family photo shoot. We know that's it's a rare opportunity to get a photograph of all 19 of us. We wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and also capture some photos of us in paradise. Here's a few pictures of all of us, all the grandkids, and our individual families. I'll probably use some of these on my Christmas card so I hope you don't mind seeing them twice! The new picture on our header came from the photo shoot too!

Snorkeling and Tubing

On Saturday of our trip to Kauai, I woke up with the stomach flu after all the kids had been sick the day before. I was really disappointed because Lloyd and I had reservations to go on a tubing trip. I didn't know if I could make it and I didn't want to risk throwing up on the trip, but I really wanted to go. I decided to try and go. I had really been looking forward to it! I almost went back to the hotel when I felt like I was going to be sick again, but I ended up being okay. We rode in this open jeep and the cool air on my face helped me to feel better!
They gave us a tour of some of the back roads in Kauai. We stopped at this view. The plateau on this mountain gets the most rainfall in the world. We went tubing down former irrigation canals. We wore head lamps to see as we floated through five different caves. It was so beautiful and relaxing. The river was just the right pace - not too slow or fast. I really loved going inside the caves!

Lloyd with a bit of the scenery behind him.

Me looking a little pale, but so glad that I was able to go on this fun adventure.

Snorkeling was a favorite activity for both Lloyd and Courtney. It really is amazing to swim with the fish! Here's Katelyn in her snorkel gear.

The underwater camera can't do justice to what we saw snorkeling. Here's a fish - we saw lots. Below is a sea turtle (sorry it's such a bad picture).