Kids and Fun Things

Yesterday, Hunter wasn't feeling so hot. We decided to spend the day at home playing on our own beach. Sometimes it's nice to just "chill." These first three pics are of the kids and their "after swim" attire/ behaviors.

Kolea is fresh out of the shower and where does she go? To her favorite spot of course on the back steps (facing the ocean) with a fresh smile! This past week we couldn't keep her in the house unless we locked the screen door. She would crawl up and down these steps constantly. I figured I was fighting a losing battle and thought (perhaps irresponsibly) if she falls, she'll learn.

And then there is Gabriella. She was angry b/c she wanted to shower AGAIN! For the third time. She'd showered in the morning and then showered outside (we have an outdoor shower) when coming in from the beach. Then when she heard that Kolea was in the shower with daddy- she wanted to join in. Sorry. Enough is enough. And TMI?? Anyhow, this is her throwing a fit on her bedroom floor. I thought it was funny that amidst her crying she took the time to spread out her towel just so perfectly! Can you believe those tan lines?
Last but not least is dear, sweet Hunter. He has showered and dressed and now he's in the bathroom doing is hair. Again, pretty funny as this six year old is acting somewhat vain. =)

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A couple of weekends ago we met some friends (The Hannemann Family) at the beach at Turtle Bay Resort (the only resort on the North Shore.) We had a blast- so much so that I forgot to take any pictures while we were actually AT the beach. But I'd remembered later while at dinner in Haleiwa eating at Spaghettini!

The Hanneman family also has three kids that are the same ages of our kids. We always have a lot of fun when we see them. They recently moved out of our ward. Boo!
Here are the lovely parents! Jenni has finished her schooling as I have. And Sterling is still in school (as Ryan) and they even have some classes together.

Say "cheese!" Mmm, yummy pizza!

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Baby chicks. All two of you that ever read this blog know that we have a bit of a chicken/ rooster problem here. A few weeks ago our neighbor, Adam, found a nest with fresh eggs in it right by the house. So the kids and I decided that we would go on our own "Egg Hunt." The idea being that if we could find the nests and take the fresh eggs- not only would we not have to buy eggs anymore to eat, but we would also cut down on allowing a new generation of baby chicks to flourish on our property (and continue making life miserable at 5 am "when the cock crows" literally.)

So off we went with sand buckets in hand. Search through the trees and the underbrush on the outskirts of our jungle like property. About 25 mosquito bites later, we still had not found a thing. We decided to walk along the edge of our driveway and what did we see? A mother hen sitting on her babies. As soon as we got close enough, the mother hen freaked out and started to attack me!! Hello! But then she just ran around screeching while I began scooping up baby chicks. What am I going to do with these babies? I don't know, but this is fun and so crazy! I was able to grab five and Hunter got one before the others toddled off into the underbrush after their mother (there were at LEAST five more.) Here we were with six baby chicks. They were so dang cute and soft!

We kept them in a box and they had to sleep in the house at night. Since they were still so little they had to be kept very warm. It was quite a chore between that and feeding them water individually. In the end (after a few days) all six of them died. We were sad. But not too sad b/c we are a little too realistic for that. Knowing that cute baby chicks grow up to be horrible chickens and roosters!

I don't mean to sound callous, but you must understand; everything in a life cycle has a predator (except humans of course.) That is how we keep the balance of life in the animal and plant kingdoms. Here in Hawaii, chickens are not native. They were brought here many, many years ago as a food source and now there are wild chickens everywhere. They have no natural predator, so they simply reproduce wherever and whenever suits them. Generally their population will grow when they have a food supply that will support them. Come to find out, another one of our neighbors (major animal lovers) had been FEEDING the dang chickens for the past many months. That's why they had been multiplying like crazy. So we've put a stop to all of that and have begun concentrating on the new generations, those newly hatched, and those still not hatched.

Luckily, Adam (friendly neighbor who originally found the eggs) is a wildlife biologist and his main focus is on birds! So even though chickens are domestic, they are still a bird and he was very helpful in figuring out a solution. He spoke to some people who would come pick up the chickens that we catch (including babies) and give them to farmers who already have established chicken coops and regular daily egg collections. So that was our goal with our baby chicks. We would give them a good home to established farmers! Unfortunately seeing as Hawaii has their own ideas about time, and one day can mean a week... our baby chicks all ended up dying before the people ever came to collect them. =(

All that said, we had some great learning experiences and the children had some up close and personal moments with some of God's fluffiest creations!

Here they are sunning themselves, keeping warm! But they were so cute b/c they came to know us as their respective mom(s) and when we would talk or walk across the lanai (the deck) the little cuties would follow us! They were like little puppies that way. Oh so fun.

P.S. Yesterday, we caught seven more. Luckily they are in Adam's care right now so we won't feel so bad if they don't make it before the people come to pick them up. Yep, the call is out again.

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I SURF. Did you know that? Can I say that even though I did it just once on this one day? A few weeks ago we went to a beach about 17 minutes up the road from us. They have some really great small waves to try out your surfing abilities without it being too overwhelming. Once you finally get over the arm tiredness of paddling out to where the waves are breaking and the sets are rolling in (reverse that) it's pretty cool! You feel like you're a part of an elite group... THE NOVICE SURFERS! Ha!

It was a lot of fun, and after a couple of failed attempts I saw a wave coming and thought "this is it." I loved that there were a ton of guys in the water cheering me on and giving me advice as I was starting to paddle as the wave was beginning to rise behind me. "Paddle, paddle, paddle!" one guy yelled. "Paddle harder!" another guy yelled. And it was there, on me. I could feel the rise of the wave under the board. I felt as though I could fly. It was so steady. I could have been lying on this surf board on my living room floor. Slowly I drew myself up to my knees and in one fluid motion stood up. I DID IT! "WOO HOO!" I cheered myself! "Way to go!" another guy cheered for me! (And it's fun b/c they are generally happy for you.) And there I stood on the surf board, riding a wave. This perfect wave that started WAY off shore and I was riding it all the way in because as awesome as it was- I WAS POOPED! Man! It takes a lot of energy! And so I've started running again. Ha!

Can't wait to go again. =)

This pic shows Gabriella and a couple of friends playing in the waves. Gabriella is the lower right. Hunter is the upper right, taking is boogie board out to catch some waves, and Ryan is in the upper left corner. Talk about family fun!!

Hunter! Come in a little closer! He was a little too far out to ride the waves on the boogie board. =)