Hawaii Vogelzangs

• Arrived back on July 29 to a tsunami warning – had a hard time getting home – roads were backed up and cars were all over the shoulders along roads and highways. Our neighborhood had evacuated so pulled up, got in our truck and drove inland to a park where we sat and waited for a couple of hours to ultimately realize nothing was happening here. We were exhausted but thankful to be safe and back in our house after the long day of travel.
• Hit some of our favorite spots and surfed Waikiki in the final days of summer
• School started on August 5 (younger 3) & 6 (Eden) – Eden is at Kailua Intermediate School this year, excited for her band and broadcasting electives. It’s a change: 800+ kids across 7th & 8th grade 😳
• Kane’ohe Bay Air Show was in town August 8-10. Got to see (and hear!) from our yard and roof the blue angels and F-22 Raptor as they practiced and performed Thursday – Sunday. We went on base different times to watch (Graham and Oliv had a field trip there with school too) – incredible to see it up close!

After school was out, we spent a week and half here before heading back for the east coast for a packed summer visit!

• LOTS of coursing time!
• Weeks at the lake with friends and family
• LOTS of pool time!
• Brooks turns 7 (and got up on the wakeboard!)
• Bergey mountains
• Friend reunions in PA and MA
• Roadtrip to New England
• 4th of July in Maine at Grandpa and Marthe’s with cousins
• Got to visit Buddy (briefly)
• Visited our house before new tenants moved in
• Birthday dates with uncle Josh and Poppop
• Play dates with friends (not all pictured!)
• Phillies game (kids got a ball from Rojas!)
• Eden went to camp conquest for a week

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.

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 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!!

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 shell blowers, and the coveted King and Queen roles. Eden was very excited to get her part as 1 of the 2 narrators!

We made leis in preparation and all of the kids did great and had fun with their songs and hulas. It was a really special celebration of the year as well as the Hawaiian culture we’ve learned to love and appreciate!

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.

An exciting birthday for Olivia – checked off her wishes of presents, Starbucks, shopping, swimming and hibachi!

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 in Hawaii has been full of lots of things! Hikes, friends, baseball, flag football, Easter, swimming, Phillies and birthdays 🥳

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!

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!

Can’t believe we’re already close to the end of the school year! With spring comes baseball and lots of school activities

• Trip to Hookuaaina with the kids (Graham’s second time) to learn how to care and cultivate the taro crop. Very muddy experience for all…Olivia was not a fan 🫠
• Color run at school
• Neighbors got a kitten and Olivia visits often
• “Purple up” day at school to honor military families – kids got a demonstration from a dog unit and some music by the Marine Corps band
• Lots of baseball – opening day ceremony and games this past weekend for Graham (kid-pitch Dodgers) and Brooks (coach pitch White Sox)
• University of Hawaii baseball game – Graham’s team got to be on the field for the National Anthem and Hawaii Pono’i. Kids got to run the bases and meet the players after the game