Hawaii Vogelzangs

Brooks has been very anxiously awaiting this milestone 😁

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!!

– 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!

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.

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

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

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!

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 be just as good in the postseason. -Eden

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!

Headed out for the afternoon and evening to try out the new SUP 🤙🏼

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!

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.