Our REAL first day of school

So we couldn't stay in Hawaii forever (or could we???)

School started on August 29th but we didn't get home until the 30th, so my kids awoke bright and early (really early Hawaii time) to go to THEIR first day of school on the 31st.

C and K are together at the high school and they leave together each morning to get to early morning seminary.

C is a freshman and K is a junior (and I'm in denial of those facts!)

LOVE!!!

This year will be the last year for J and T to be at the same school for a couple of years (another fact I am denying)

T is in 3rd grade and J is in 5th grade.

2017-2018

{Hawaii} photo shoot

When I was going through cancer last year I was made aware of an organization called Magic Hour that arranges photo sessions with people going through cancer or those who have recently completed treatment for cancer.  Initially I wasn't going to sign up for the service but as I planned our trip to Hawaii, I realized how magical it would be to have family photos on the beach and have it mark our new beginning with cancer officially behind us.  So I did reach out to Magic Hour and they put me in touch with Amber DeCicco, who is a photographer on the North Shore of Oahu.  Amber was amazing to work with and by the time our session happened I really felt like she was an old friend.

I think her work says the rest...

{Hawaii} Day 6...

Tuesday, August 29th

Today was the first day of school back home so it is probably appropriate that we went to the Pearl Harbor Historic Site today.  We'll call that our history class for the day.  Pearl Harbor has multiple museums that you can walk through as well as they offer (free but you have to get them in advance) tickets to see a movie about the Pearl Harbor attack that is followed with a boat ride out to the Arizona Memorial.  I was really appreciative that the kids recognized the reverent nature of the site.  Even after all these years, the account is so shocking and sad.

It was our last afternoon in Hawaii but the weather did not cooperate for the sun bathing I was hoping for :)  K and I parked under a sun umbrella but it was for protection from the rain.  When the rain didn't let up we ultimately spend the evening in the condo...packing and getting ready to leave.

Our departure was on Wednesday 30th.

On our way to the airport we stopped at the Aloha Stadium Swap meet one more time to pick up some last minute souvenirs.  Then it was off to the airport for our return flight (thank goodness it was direct) that got us home at 9:00 p.m.

First Day of School....NOT!!!

We may not have actually made it to the first day of school this year.

But I did remember to call the schools and let them know that my kids would be a couple of days late.

I'm pretty sure that this was the best "first" day of school ever!!!!

{Hawaii} Day 5...

Monday, August 28th

Another day out and about.  Today was the day that our photos were rescheduled for (I'll do a separate post all about those) so we were out the door bright and early to take advantage of the sunrise lighting.

After photos we had a few hours before the Polynesian Cultural Center opened so we explored a bit.  We drove through the historic town of Haleiwa but we were there a bit early in the day to be able to do much more than just look.  In looking back we should have stuck around there longer but we weren't sure how long each of our stops would take so we moved on.

We drove to Laie.  At our photographer's suggestion we drove out to Hole in the Rock but there wasn't much to do there other than see the hole in the rock.  So that was a quick stop and done.

Then we went to Hukilau Beach - which is a great body surfing beach!  It is the opposite side of the island from where we are staying and they just get better waves.  We went to see it and take some pictures but didn't come prepared to get into the water because we knew we'd be at PCC all afternoon and didn't want to get salty.  There was only one other family on the entire beach and as we walked toward them, they called us by name.  They live in Oregon and K sings in a choir with their daughter.  They were staying on that side of the island and offered us use of their hotel if we wanted to get into the water but we declined.  How crazy to run into them? 

From the beach we went to the Laie LDS Temple.  We spent some time in the visitor's center - they have a great movie about the history of the area which is rich with LDS influence.  We then walked around the beautiful temple grounds.

Next door to the temple is BYU-Hawaii.  We went to the bookstore and just did a quick peek of the campus.  It was new student orientation that day so there were lots of crowds which kept us from staying too long but K did get a picture out in front.  Who knows....maybe she'll be there in a couple of years.

Our afternoon was spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center.They have seven different islands represented with programs and hands-on activities at each island.  We got to all but one (or two?) islands.  I think the man that presents for Samoa is the same man that was there when I visited the first time 16 years ago.  His name is Kap and he is so funny!  I think my favorite part of the entire day was watching C laugh at Kap's jokes.  We watched the Canoe Pageant, paddled our own canoe, had a Luau dinner with a show, watched an IMAX-type movie about Hawaii and then went to the evening performance of "Ha - The Breath of Life".  

We have been so lucky weather-wise during this trip but today the humidity shot up and it rained (hard) all evening.  The return trip to the condo took a long time due to it being dark and raining so hard - by the time we got back I think three of the four kids were asleep.  A sign of a well spent day.