Paintin Pumpkins

Here's the thing about pumpkins in Hawaii: they rot fast! Literally 12 hours after you carve that baby, black mold is taking over the inside. 

So, in order to preserve the life of our pumpkin (and avoid the ewwy sticky pumpkin mess that I would inevitably be cleaning up) for a few days after Halloween, I decided to let Keaton paint the pumpkins instead of carving them. 

Keaton really got into it. 

Hands down the most beautiful painted pumpkins I've ever seen. :-)

Hawaiian Pumpkin Patch

 Yes, they do have pumpkin patches in Hawaii! 

We had a blast at Waimanalo Country Farms this morning.

It's not everyday you get to visit a cornfield with the ocean in the background...

A pumpkin field with the beautiful mountains in the background...

Hayride with Lucas! 

Mark got the biggest kick out of feeding the animals at the petting zoo! 

Suzy and Iain

Lucas and Karen

Our loot...

Pirates!! Arggghh!!

Keaton and Lucas attended a mutual friend's pirate birthday party on Saturday afternoon.

How cute are they in their pirate get up? 

Keaton is so blessed to have such a sweet first matey! 

Columbus Day on the Bay

What's even better than owning a boat? 

Having a friend that owns a boat! 

Our neighbor (and good friend) Chris took us out to the sandbar on his boat this morning. 

The weather was not great. It was cloudy, sprinkling rain, and the wind was blowing. Brrr.

 We didn't spend much time in the water, but we had a blast hanging out on deck,

  and enjoying the beautiful scenery,

 and the amazing wildlife.

This friendly honu just swam right up behind our boat, and put his head out of the water to say "hi!"

Turtle Pond

We had a blast this morning at Pahonu Pond. Pahonu literally means "turtle fence." It is an stone enclosure built by ancient Hawaiian royalty to capture and contain sea turtles. Apparently back in the day, turtle meat was a delicacy reserved only for for royalty. Even though now it's forbidden to TOUCH a sea turtle in Hawaii, this rock enclosure remains and creates an amazing little saltwater swimming pool. We came expecting a crowd since it was Saturday and a holiday weekend, so we were surprised to have the whole place to ourselves! 

To our left: endless beach and the three peaks of Olomana in the background

To our right: Rabbit Island

And behind us, the beautiful Ko'olau Mountains

This boy loves the water! 

One year olds only have genuine smiles...

And still smiling even after brother threw sand in his face...

What a great start to our long weekend! 

What's new

I've been a bad blogger lately...

Maybe it's because our new fall schedule involves MOPS on Tuesday, Awana Cubbies on Wednesday, BSF on Thursday, and playgroup on Fridays?

How handsome is this boy in his Cubbies vest? I just love listening to him recite his verses!

Or maybe its because I've recently taken over as Nursery Coordinator at church, and Publicity Coordinator for MOPS?

Or maybe its because I'm still recovering from our church retreat 2 weekends ago. We had an amazing time of fellowship, teaching, and prayer at Camp Erdman on the North shore. It was the first time we had spent the night away from home IN Hawaii. We shared a cabin (or "cabinet" as Keaton called it) with the Heath family. My boys of course woke up before dawn, so we escaped to the beach to keep from waking anyone else. How cool to watch the sunrise on a completely empty beach with just our family!

Or maybe it's because we just recently completed our 4th and 5th visit from Flat Stanley...

more to come on this...

Or maybe its because we've all had colds, and last weekend Mark broke out in a mysterious rash all over his body? It was the weirdest thing... no fever, and it never even seemed to bother him. He just looked terrible!

poor little guy!

Or maybe its because we've been too busy driving over to Ko'olina to sneak into Aulani, the new Disney resort just to see what it was like. In typical Disney fashion, everything was spectacular.

Can I get a staycation please?

Or maybe its because I'm constantly trying to keep Mark from killing himself. Keaton was never a climber, so this is all new to me. We've had to rearrange Keaton's room to keep Mark from crawling out the window, as he has tried to do many times. Staying one step ahead of this boy is no easy task...

Yikes!

Or maybe it's just because I'm ashamedly addicted to Netflix streaming of The Hills? What it is about the drama filled life of these young socialites that is so fascinating to me? I'm 55 episodes in, and no end in sight. Please help me.

In any case, I'll try to do better at updating the ole blog for all of my faithful followers (all 3 of you)! :-)