Adventures on the North Shore

We don't often do this, but we packed all of our beach stuff up before church on Sunday and headed straight up after church to the North Shore for some beach time and snorkeling! 

We tried out a new area called Three Tables because Keaton had been itching to get in the ocean with his new snorkel mask and fins.  This was the first time that he and Daddy had been able to really snorkel together in the deeper waters. Keaton did amazing!

and they're off!

I hung back on the beach with this silly man.

I'm enjoying having my camera back, and having such handsome subjects!

 On the way home, we stopped to get some smoothies for the boys...

And we finally go to try out the legendary Giovanni's shrimp truck for dinner! Yum!

Such a fun family day! Feeling very blessed!

Not my idea of a date night...

The weekend before, we got to do the whole fancy restaurant thing for our anniversary date. So, when our youth group sponsored a "parent's night out" the very next weekend, Scott insisted on choosing our date night activities. 

First up, Koko Head Crater hike.

Hiking 1200 steps up a mountain in the blazing late afternoon sun is not exactly my idea of a romantic time. 

 I was sort of a brat about it on the way up, sputtering

 "THIS...IS...SO...FUN...HONEY" 

in between huffs and puffs. 

It was a really hard hike, actually.

But, once we made it to the top, I was happy we did it. Or maybe I was glad it was over?

The view was amazing! 

I was feeling pretty tough.

After our hike, we decided to go check out the Spitting Cave of Portlock. 

Sounds like its straight out of Harry Potter, right? 

see the spitting water?

Standing above the cave.

 

Ok, the sunset was pretty romantic.

 We had just enough time to stop by Serg's in Waimanalo for a quick dinner before picking up the boys at 8:00. There's nothing more romantic than delicious Mexican food - especially when you've earned every calorie!

Gotta hand it to him, it was a really fun evening. I might have to let him plan our dates more often...

For the record...

I tried on my wedding dress in June while I was home for the fun of it, and it still fits! 

Sadly, its a little tighter in the waist, and a little looser in the bust, but that's mamahood for ya!

It was fun getting dressed up again for a mini photo shoot with my good friend, Jeanette. I wish I could bottle up Keaton's expression when he saw me in my wedding dress for the first time. He looked at me in awe and said, "now THAT's what you should wear to your Arbonne parties!" Ha!

10 years and counting!

Scott and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on the 9th of August.

He took me to Hawaii this year - AGAIN! What a guy!

We enjoyed a date night at the Veranda restaurant at the Kahala hotel on Saturday night. It was SO nice to get away alone for the evening and enjoy an uninterrupted dinner together.

We got there a little bit early,  feeling mightly shnazzy choosing valet in our gold KIA Rio. 

Yeah, baby. 

We had an hour and a half to walk around and tour the grounds before our dinner reservation. The Kahala is one of the most exclusive hotels on Oahu. The grounds are beautiful, complete with ponds of tropical fish, and even dolphins.

We did not even bring a real camera with us to dinner, so all we have are iPhone picks to document - sorry! 

My handsome hubby standing at the end of the inlet island you see behind me in the previous picture.

 We might have gone just a little bit crazy trying out the different cocktails on their menu. Our favorite was this one. "Heavenly Forbid" - yum!

We paid lots of cash for not lots of food, but it was all very good, and it's more about quality than quantity, right?

Right? 

They even brought us a special Happy Anniversary lilikoi cake.

Which was quickly devoured...

And the one picture of both of us from the whole evening! Glamorous! We were chilling on the lanai after dinner - refusing to get home before 10pm, even though we were both so tired! 

  It was interesting for us to reflect over where God has taken us over the last decade, and how He has always proved so faithful to us. There have definitely been some high points, and some very low ones as well. Not saying we have it all figured out yet - or that we ever will for that matter. But, I'm thankful to God for providing me a life partner that truly seeks His will daily, that loves me and our children so unselfishly, and is perfectly flawed just enough that he continually directs me to our Savior as our only hope and trust.

I pray that there are many more decades to celebrate in the future!

First day of school

Wow, this boy is growing up way to fast! I can't believe Keaton Ray is old enough to go to Kindergarten! As many of you know, I was all set and ready to re-enroll him in Keaton Academy, but  in the months leading up to school, I just did not feel at peace about homeschooling him this year. I procrastinated for a while thinking it was just my insecurities and fears that were getting in the way, and I just needed to buckle down and get excited about it. But, I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was not doing right by him in keeping him at home this year. Which brought us to the last minute (literally one day before orientation) decision to enroll Keaton in Benjamin Parker Elementary School. 

So proud of him and his brave smiles!

 

Excited for big brother and his first day of "kool!"

Love from Daddy!

Unfortunately, there were no smiles left when we got to school. He was so nervous, and was crying when we left him at his desk, but the teacher said he calmed right down, and had a great day. In his words - "IT WAS FUN!"

Such a big boy! Wasn't this just yesterday? And this?

Of course, Keaton wasn't the only nervous one this morning. Its hard leaving your baby at school with kids you don't know and a teacher you hardly know in a school where he is the minority. Somehow, I held it together this morning. Partly because I'm looking forward to the 1:1 time with Mark this year, something we've never had before. But, I'm also excited for Keaton. This is a totally new experience for him, and I really think he will thrive in the classroom this year. I think the time away from me will be good for him in developing a little bit of independence, new experiences, and friends. I also hope the fact that he'll be in public school will make us even more intentional about our time at home with him, and can hopefully we can fill those hours with activities and conversations that will direct him to his Savior. Pray for us that we can be faithful in this ultimate goal. 

Furlough Friday Part 1: In Search of Goat Island

Because we realize that there are worse places in the world to be forced to take an extra day off, we are determined to make these furlough Fridays count! So on Daddy's first furlough day, we dusted off the old Oahu Revealed and found a little adventure that we had never tried. There is a little tiny island 240 yards off the coast of the North Shore called Goat Island. We borrowed Chris' paddle board, so Scott waded over and pulled the boys and I behind him on the board since the water was too deep for the boys to wade.

Watch out guys, here comes a wave! (see Goat Island in the background)

AHHHH!

"What makes the beach at Goat Island so special? 'Cause you gotta earn it, brah!" - Oahu Revealed

So true, the beach is beautiful, but there's something extra cool about it because you have to make a little extra effort to get there. It's kinda like a little getaway - from a getaway? Something like that.

There's also a seabird sanctuary on the island. We never actually saw any birds or eggs, but it must be important, because their sign was huge. :-)

Funny story about Goat Island from our guidebook: In the mid- 1800's, this small island was the home of a Hawaiian lawyer who kept two mistresses here. When the king of Hawaii learned of this, he ordered the lawyer arrested. You kno w what they say... never mess with a lawyer, even if you're a king. The attorney did some research and found out that his offshore island wasn't recorded on any of the kings' maps. So he declared that it wasn't part of Hawaii and he was now king of his own island. The ploy worked, and the Hawaiian king left him alone! - Oahu Revealed

Still have no idea why it's called Goat Island...

The ocean side of the island is covered in beautiful sharp lava rocks. I love the stark contrast to the blue ocean.

After an hour or so of exploring and swimming, we headed back to OUR island. 

Adventure #1 down!