Winter is coming!
Winter means waves for surf and lots of days with clear skies and sunshine!! We are so grateful to spend our days here right now and love the start of the advent season. Boys are wrapping up flag football, Eden continues to do track at school, and Olivia just started paddling season. We got our Hawaiian Christmas tree! Brooks also lost another tooth on the way which he was excited about. I went on a field trip with Graham to the fish pond – learned lots about the historical purpose and preservation of this tradition.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Started off by helping with the Imu at school Wednesday night and Thursday morning (over 80 pans of meat cooked!). Aikahi 5k turkey trot in our neighborhood and then dinner at a friend/neighbors who hosted 80 people! Lots to be thankful for here in Hawaii 💕
Eden’s first band concert
Eden’s school symphonic band had their first concert last weekend with a few other local schools. They sounded great and she had a fun time! Next up: Christmas concert.
Happy Halloween 🎃
A local house turned into a Harry Potter set! Donations went toward the Maui/Lahaina rebuild. They had 3D printed galleons to spend around the place – wands at Ollivanders, candy at Honeydukes, potions, butter beer…it was all so impressive!
Elle & Micah visit!
We all were excited to have more family visitors! Enjoyed beach, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, surfing, fishing, puzzling, biking, and playing together. Aaron, Micah and our friend John caught some fresh Mahi for us!
Eden turns 13 🎉
For a while now, we’ve talked about doing special one-on-one trips when our kids hit 13. Eden had been planning her trip for a while, and chose to go to LA! So mom and E went from Kauai to LA while Dad and the others flew back to Oahu. We packed a lot in our 4 days: A packed full trip and lots of fun and special time with my not so little girl (she’s now taller than me)!
Grammy’s 90th
A whirlwind weekend trip to celebrate one very special lady turning 90 – our Grammy Balmer! the entire family made the trip to Maryland for a fun weekend of games, memories and family time. We are so thankful to have friends for family and a Grammy who has been an encourager and supporter for our entire family. She’s generous, selfless, funny and never stops giving her time and energy for those she loves. The fact that my kids get to be loved so well by her is such a gift. What a blessing to call her Grammy!
We got a pet…
Meet Nani 😻 We adopted Nani (“Nah-nee”) from the Hawaii Humane Society. Olivia very quickly picked her up and said “we need to get her!!” Can you tell everyone loves her and she’s very helpful when trying to get work done?!
Family visit!
Aaron’s sister and family visited before dropping Isaac at college in CA! Packed a lot in before and after their trip to Kauai and the kids had SO MUCH FUN hanging with their cousins!
East Coast Summer
After school was out, we spent a week and half here before heading back for the east coast for a packed summer visit! We crammed A LOT in and it was exhausting but so great to see and spend time with so many people we love in places we love 💕 Photos in order from June & July! Flew back July 29 for the start of school on August 5.
Almost summer!
Baseball ends… Graham’s team won the championship! Brooks’s did not win the championship but they won their final game with Brooks getting the winning run, which was a big deal for them after a rough season! End of year assembly… Olivia helped lead it as student council rep and the crew took home some awards 🥳 Visiting the coast guard base… Got to check out our friend’s life on base and go inside the C130 he flies!
Eden graduates 🎓
Eden got her second elementary school graduation in May, as well as her second presidential ed award!! She was one of the kids chosen to share a bit from her essay about her Aikahi experience and it was neat to see the Hawaiian traditions incorporated into the event. Proud of her and her classmates!! On to intermediate school!!
May Day
I have several overdue posts to get us caught back up! May Day was a highlight of the year here for me (and the kids I think!). Each year (traditionally on the first of May but celebrated throughout the month to scatter school performances!), Hawaiians wear and gift leis and share in the spirit of aloha with hula performances and traditional celebrations. The elementary school celebrates with different hula performances from each grade (as well as teachers!) and the presentation of the royal court. 6th graders all audition for their parts: princes, princesses of all the Hawaiian islands, gift bearers, conch…
USS Missouri Sleepover
Olivia’s 5th grade class field trip was a sleepover on the USS Missouri, a battleship docked in Pearl Harbor and the site of the site where the Japanese signed their surrender treaty to end WWII. They learned how the ship operated, heard stories from the boat and the treaty signing, ate dinner and breakfast in the mess hall, and slept in the bunks! Aaron joined and enjoyed the close look into some life and stories from WWII.
Olivia is 11!
An exciting birthday for Olivia – checked off her wishes of presents, Starbucks, shopping, swimming and hibachi!
Last visitors for the year!
Our final visitors of the year, Dorene and River!! After her conference in Honolulu, we enjoyed a few days with our aunt and uncle – games in the pool, bike tours around the neighborhood, yoga for me and Dorene and a some new games taught by the card shark, River!
Spring!
Spring in Hawaii has been full of lots of things! Hikes, friends, baseball, flag football, Easter, swimming, Phillies and birthdays 🥳
Beebes in town!
Everyone loved having the Beebe crew in town to visit! We had fun with a hike, pools and lagoon in town, games at the house, snorkeling and lots of swimming! we miss our PA friends, and it was so fun to have them here for a week!
Josh & Callie!
So fun having Uncle Josh and Aunt Callie visit! Waterfall (slippery) hike, lots of pool time, playing chess and legos, Dole whip (Josh’s fave!), Pearl Harbor, north shore, lots of good food, island driving tours…it all went too fast!
Q4 starts
Can’t believe we’re already close to the end of the school year! With spring comes baseball and lots of school activities
Calderwoods Visit from PA
So fun having friends in town to show around the island! The kids all had lots of fun swimming, writing stories, snorkeling and exploring the beach. The hiking was not everyone’s favorite 😆 so great to have the extra time reconnecting with friends!
Spring Break
Stayed local for spring break! Kids made a list of stuff to do and see around home. Highlights were:
Graham turns 9 🎉
New bike and some new baseball gear! Headed to Waikiki for the weekend to kick off spring break (too many friends away on vacation to have a party!). Pretended to be tourists in the city!
It’s March!
Back to a somewhat normal routine after lots of travel and visitors. Shelling, surfing, movie nights, plus basketball finished up for Graham and baseball started for both boys. Arts for Aikahi was a big fair/fundraiser event at school – each kid helped at their grade booth and Eden performed in the open mic show!
Florida for the Kratz wedding
Headed to Fort Myers for Elle & Micah’s wedding. Bonus was a long weekend in a big house with cousins (and the rest of the family, including Grammy!). Elle & Micah’s wedding and festivities were the highlight!
PopPop & Bev Visit!
Had our much anticipated arrival of PopPop and Bev in January. Was so fun to show them around and explore some new HI things together! Highlights:
Japan: Kyoto
Final stop on our trip: Kyoto. Then bullet train back to Tokyo and the 7.5 hr flight back (thank you jet stream!) left us all exhausted – dealt with jet lag for a good week…but all worth it. Highlights in Kyoto:
Japan: Osaka
Second city stop was Osaka. Took the bullet train and basically only had one afternoon and then did Universal Japan! It was cold, and Aaron and Graham got flu-like symptoms but we powered through. Two main highlights:
Japan: Tokyo
After Christmas we left for Japan. 9.5 hour flight from Honolulu to Tokyo on the Japanese airline was smooth! Highlights from Tokyo:
Christmas! 🎄🎁😄
Beginning with a Christmas Eve service and a living room sleepover, we had and got lots of presents, fun, and a surprise question for the kids from Elle! A different but fun Christmas for sure. So fun to have family in town with us!
Cousins are here…again!
We had Elle visit again…but this time with Darla and Tess, our cousin and aunt, after visiting Kauai for a few days. We went to the beach, worked on a puzzle, had a gingerbread house competition, and celebrated Christmas! ( more on that later). The gingerbread house competition got judged from family from both ends of the country – Darla, Grammy, and Dorene!
Cousins are here!
Elle and Jill came for a few days before their trip to Kauai. Enjoyed showing them around the island and we tried to get in the Christmas spirit with a (very) scaled back version of our annual cousin Christmas cookie party🎄
Candy Cane Lane
Girls’ enjoyed the 5th & 6th grade dance! Olivia helped plan it at student council with a theme of Candy Cane Lane 🎄
First family visitors
Uncle Dwane and Aunt Jen visited after their trip to Maui! So fun to show them around and enjoy time catching up – beach time, hiking, shopping and lots of good food together!
Hawaiian Field Trips
4 field trips last week and I got to go along for 2! Olivia went to the Hamakua Marsh to plant and learn about the wetlands and endangered birds. Graham went to the Marine base to board the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s boat, the Hōkūleʻan and learn about how ancient Hawaiians navigated the oceans and also how to tie boating knots. Brooks went to the Hawaii Youth Symphony orchestra Kids holiday concert where they learned each instrument in the orchestra and enjoyed sing-a-longs and Christmas music. Graham went to Hoʻokuaʻāina, a community non-profit where the kids learned how to grow and…
Thanksgiving visitors
The Carusos came to visit for Thanksgiving! It’s been so fun to show people around our spot here and it was a new and different Thanksgiving experience here in Aikahi. We cooked our meat (turkey and brisket!) on the school Imu (the kids had worked to carry the lava rocks during school that week and others helped to dig the whole for the pit), we got our sides from Whole Foods (highly recommend!) and enjoyed a hike and the beach on Thanksgiving day with very minimal time in the kitchen. A great few days connecting with friends and enjoying the…
Colorado + Family + Wedding!!!
Nov 14-18 We had an exciting long weekend in Colorado celebrating Josh & Callie! An epic airport reunion started the trip when we arrived 2 gates down from the PA flight carrying 16 of our Balmer family members 😁 The kids had so much fun back with their cousins and Poppop, and we all enjoyed the time with family. It was a weekend of missing Mom, but such a beautiful and special celebration for Josh and Callie. The Vail backdrop felt like something out of a Hallmark movie 😍 congrats to the newlyweds!!!
Pearl Harbor
On Saturday we visited Pearl Harbor for the first time as a family. We saw the USS Arizona memorial and went through different museum rooms and watched a movie summarizing Dec 7, 1941. The kids reported afterward that it was “actually fun” so we’ll consider that a win!
Kauai
The kids had an extra long weekend off of school so after a busy Halloween night we headed to Kauai for a few days. The weather was great and surf was high which made snorkeling and swimming not possible at most spots on the northshore. But we had fun running from the massive waves, building sand castles and practicing surfing. Found a cool playground, went to a local farmers market, and lots of surf shops, and food trucks. We got plenty of shave ice and smoothies! A major highlight was a boat tour of the Na Pali coastline. Only accessible…
New things for Eden: contacts & bouldering!
Eden has been doing bouldering, which is kind of like rock climbing but without a harness. She has a membership so can pop in any time and goes for Thursday classes. It’s going well so far and she’s having a lot of fun! Other news is…she got contacts! The time felt right with so many scenarios of needing to remove her glasses (pool, beach, water park, etc.) and since she hit 12, we decided to go for it. So far so good!!
Our first visitors
Our good college friends visited for a few days after our trip. It was so great to reconnect with the Dulls and explore the island together – lots of surfing, snorkeling, and beach time…the southern CA crew fit right in! Their entire family is adventurous and funny and it was super fun to host them here!!
Big Island Day 5
– Rainbow falls and climbing the banyan trees (Google them – they’re crazy!). Played hide and seek in the trees – a highlight of the trip for the kids. – Watched the Phillies lose the NLDS 👎🏼 – Drove up to the Mauna Kea visitor center to watch the sunset and see the stars. 9300 feet puts you above the clouds…it was incredible!
Big Island Day 4
Woke up in a treehouse for Eden’s 12th birthday 🎉. We all loved it – was a super unique place to stay, plus we got to wear sweatshirts and pants for the first time in months 😁 Headed to Volcano National Park (despite it not being the birthday girl’s first choice). No current eruptions so no red lava flowing…but saw lava tubes, steam vents and walked in the Kilauea Iki crater.
Big Island Day 3
Drove the southern half of the island heading toward Volcano National Park. It was a long drive with lots of stops (kids did not love all of them 😆): 1. Mountain Thunder Kona coffee plantation 2. Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park 3. Fruit & Smoothie stop 4. Southernmost tip of the US 5. Punalu’u black sand beach
Big Island Day 2
Enjoyed the hotel pools and a snorkel trip off the west coast of the island. Highlights included seeing dolphins, finding and holding an octopus, pincushion starfish, sea urchin and sea cucumber and swimming with a sea turtle. Aaron and the girls did a night excursion to swim with manta rays – water was chilly but the rays swimming belly up against them was pretty incredible! I
Big Island Day 1
The kids are on fall break is this week so we are on the big island for a few days! Landed in Hilo at 9am and had a nice (and informative!) drive across the top of the island thanks to the Shaka guided audio tour…with stops at Akaka Falls (484 ft tall), Laupahoehoe Park (site of the tsunami in 1946), Waimea and wild goats (where the paniolos/hawaiian cowboys started cattle farming in the late 1700s), and our first stay of the trip at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott – the water slide and infinity pool are a hit with the kids!
A lazy weekend (mostly)
On Saturday, we had a neighborhood baseball game with the parents in the outfield and the kids alternating at bats. The rest of the day was spent in the pool and watching the Phils (bummer loss). On Sunday, we had some friends come to church with us. We were planning on going to a water park afterward, but we misjudged the weather and ended up going hiking! We hiked up Diamondhead crater, a huge volcano and that was created by one big explosion. The Phillies also won their last game of the season against the Nationals 6-3, so hopefully they’ll…
Hiking & Biking
I’ve been enjoying being able to get around by bike – to school, for groceries, to the beach, to hike, to town, etc. – I can sometimes go days without using the truck 🙌🏼 Hikes up Lanikai Pillbox trail and explored the Kailua Marsh trail this week. Great ocean and Mountain views!
Monday at Kailua Beach
Headed out for the afternoon and evening to try out the new SUP 🤙🏼
Weekend Powwow
Went back to Bishops Museum and hit an annual intertribal powwow event. None of us joined the dances but we enjoyed the food, crafts, vendors and museum!
Kids activities and Mom & Dad’s night out
The girls are trying out aerial acrobatics (I tried it a little bit – it’s not easy), Graham is doing sports club – starting with track & field events (shot put next week 😳), and Aaron and I went to a school fundraiser night. Was fun to meet some more parents and enjoy the night out at He’eia State Park overlooking Kane’ohe Bay. Not pictured: Brooks, although not wanting to join any clubs or sports, having lots of play dates with new friends in the last couple weeks to keep him busy.
The latest
Aaron and I tried surfing twice last week – definitely works some different muscles 😅 I’ve been volunteering in Brooks’ computer class on Fridays which has been fun to get to know some of the kids and teachers! Eden got to go with a friend for an overnight birthday trip to a beach cabin at Bellows Air Force Base, in Waimanalo (20 min south of us). We all went for the afternoon Saturday to check it out. Brooks and Olivia had play dates, revisited a potential church…it was a good weekend of getting to know some families/parents better!
Weekend Happenings
Graham and Aaron enjoyed a Friday afternoon pool viewing of the Phillies and Eagles from the pool. The girls made a good profit on their lemonade stand in the neighborhood with friends. We tried out a new water park – not quite the same level of thrills as some Kalahari rides but still lots of fun! Evening bike to the beach for a beach walk and dip, and multiple playground visits…
Long Weekend!
Enjoyed the long weekend in the neighborhood and at the beach. The playground at school is big and shady and a 3 minute bike ride, making it a popular spot for our crew on evenings and weekends.
Bishop Museum & Waikiki
Explored the Bishop Museum on Saturday – we maxed out the kids’ museum hours at the science center (volcanos, lava, Hawaiian critters…) and planetarium so will be back for more of the Hawaiian history and culture. Went over to Waikīkī Beach – very busy with fancy shops and crowded beaches but enjoyed watching the surfers! The last photo is an overlook of Kailua (full view of the mountains cropped due to several feral cats and a kind gentleman feeding them wet food along the wall)
Likelike Falls
A short but very muddy Saturday hike at Likelike (lee-kay lee-kay) Falls with giant trees and roots and leaves along the way
Ko’Olina Lagoon
Explored a new spot on the west coast of the island – 4 man made lagoons, specifically for resorts and a state park.
First official family hike!
Pu’u Ma’eli’eli Trail 2.5 miles in Kaneohe, overlooking Kaneohe Bay, MCBH, Kailua and Coconut Island (the location of the Gilligan’s Island opening theme song). Eden was busy singing the whole way back…”just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale…” 🎶
First day of school
Kids were excited for the first day! Biking to school, no uniforms and 3 recesses are the popular parts. We left early Tuesday and met a friend to walk in together. Brooks had some tears but had a positive report after school. On Day 2 Graham and Olivia went with friends early and dropoff for Eden and Brooks was smooth. Thankful for a good start at a new place, and proud of the kids for being brave and making new friends!
Last day of summer
Beach and back to school night! A bit more chaotic than we’re used to but some very nice teachers and families in the Aikahi community! School starts tomorrow. Meeting friends in the neighborhood at 7:30 to bike to school for the first day 😁
Beaches and parks and hikes…
Halona Beach Cove, Wawamalu Beach Park, Castle’s Beach, Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens, shelling on MCBH at sunrise, the Kailua Public library…and staple removal! 🏝️
NEW…EVERYTHING
Lots of new (to us!) things and experiences here! Beaches, animals (big bugs and sea turtles!), bikes, churches, playgrounds, neighborhood friends, bookstore, and a truck!
EXPLORING KAILUA
We had a busy first week! Highlights include: Eden’s house tour coming soon 😁
FIRST NIGHT EXCITEMENT
Arrived in Honolulu at 4:30pm local time (10:30pm EST) – tired and excited to get to our new home! Kids went swimming and Lish had a run in with the glass door so ended up in the ER for 6 staples (5 in the arm and 1 in the shin). An eventful start to our time here…and now we have tape on the doors so we don’t walk through them 🙂
Hawaii Vogelzangs 