Back To School...Hopefully!

 So the big kids were supposed to start school last week but that got pushed back 2 weeks for more teacher/staff training.  Now they should start next week Monday if nothing changes between now and then.  Oahu had to shift to all online learning for the first month at least due to a rise in cases but we're still pretty low on the Big Island.  Less than 1% positivity.  So we wait.  Esme and Chan are so excited to go back, if and when it happens, despite all the changes.  They'll only be in school 2 days a week and then online the rest of the time so we'll see how we do with all that.

Poppy and Eve continue to go to preschool and are glad to be back there too.  We're soooooooooooo happy to have available childcare!  

The bigs continue to do their Kumon but no in person tutoring.  Piano might start back up soon and we'll start sending Chan when Esme goes.  We're not so sure about sports.  We haven't heard from tennis in awhile.  But Chan gets out and hits some baseballs once a week with an old teammate.  And still no judo either.  So we find a lot of other ways to keep busy - gardening, yard work, beach, parks, etc.  We're so thankful to live in Hawaii at a time like this!  

Aunty Amy, Malia and Charlie came to visit from Texas but they had to quarantine for 14 days first.  This was one of our visits while they were in quarantine :)

The biggies bounce between both grandparents and mommy on her days off.  Here they're enjoying a picnic at Mauna Kea State Park

Esme loves getting to spend time with Googoo (Allen's sister from NJ) and especially baking with her!

Twins!

Ice shave on a rainy day is just as good!

No complaints here!

We really need to get the twins off their training wheels but this wasn't what I had in mind.  Ha ha!

The COVID laundry line up

9 cousins and a crazy uncle

Keeping busy at Coconut Island

We got into the sourdough bread crazy awhile back.  We found a recipe for sourdough crackers made with rosemary from the garden

And here's some lilikoi (passion fruit) flowers from the garden too! The vine is currently loaded with fruit and we're waiting for them to ripen

Swimming at Onekahakaha

Goofy kid

Just missing 3 cousins!

Dinner with the sibs COVID style

Phew, no masks!

The girls love to wave goodbye whenever I leave.  I used to try and sneak out of the house to cause less of a fuss but they are not fans of that method.  They like a big send off :)

Fun at Liliuokalani Park

Discovering the Awapuhi Labyrinth

Happy 4th of July

It was a mellow 4th of July this year, like many muted celebrations we've had in the past few months.  But the kids still enjoyed some fireworks and sparklers in the driveway with no major injuries.  Woohoo!  

Eve was running around in her underwear most of the afternoon until we mandated clothing during fireworks.  Ha ha!

Poppy appropriately chose her 4th of July bathing suit from last year at the beginning of the day

It's still summer for the kids so the biggies are going between the grandparents each week and the twins are at preschool.  Thank goodness Keikiland is open!  Next week the biggies will start a 3 week summer camp at Imiloa Astronomy Center and that will take them to the start of school on August 4th.  We're still waiting to see what that's going to look like.  

Prior to the 4th we've been trying to find other activities we can do around town that don't involve large crowds and keeps us active.  We were super excited the national park opened though only limited trails were available at first.  

Chan keeps losing teeth left and right.  And the ones coming in are HUGE!  His orthodontist recommends pulling 4 baby teeth to make way for the chompers.  And then he'll still need to have 4 adult teeth pulled.  Yowzers!

A trip up to Mauna Kea park

We got COVID cuts at home one day!  Poppy has lots of whispy hair like her momma and our hairstylist said we needed to trim them or they wouldn't grow out as well.  So now Poppy has a thin layer of bangs which is a first for any of the girls. 

Once the National Park opened up completely we did the Kilauea Iki crater hike, a little over 4 miles.  The kids did amazing and thankfully had each other to keep them going.  

It was a beautiful clear day and we had it mostly to ourselves!

Happy Father's Day Allen!  We usually go to this smoothie shop and take a picture in this configuration every Father's Day but it's closed for COVID so we had to make do at Nana's house instead.

Chan likes to wake early and wait for mommy when she's out running in the morning

These two rascals.  What would they do without the other?  

Esme has also been losing teeth a lot lately.  She's started on the molars recently.

Chan playing with his favorite veggie

We made a trip out to Mauna Kea Beach and it was so amazing!  We haven't been in awhile and so the kids had a ton of fun.

They love getting buried in the sand for some reason

And then Chan likes to bust out of his Chan-cano (like volcano)

Chan is living his dream of going fishing.  Thanks Uncle Judd!!!

And the twins discovered some of Esme's old books.  Usually it's just Eve who gets lost in books but somehow these ones drew Poppy in too.

Summer Is Here!

Maybe I already said this but I thought time would slow to a stand still once COVID and stay at home orders hit but seriously, time is flying by!  And now summer is here!  The biggies officially finished the 2019-2020 school year in a very anticlimatic way - just like every other kid out there these days.  And the twins went back to preschool!  Woohoo!  That was something to celebrate for sure! 

So now what?  Places are starting to open up again and our stay at home orders have lifted but we're still pretty detached from everything.  We're trying to find summer activities for the biggies but it's limited this year.  For now the grandparents are our lifesavers!  And that will probably be our summer as we're not going to travel anywhere this year.  Our Yellowstone trip got cancelled :(

We've done some fun family adventures on island though.  A trip to the Waipio Valley lookout which was a first for everyone but mommy.

Lots of swimming at Coconut Island

Impromptu firepit marshmallows in the afternoon

The twins are in full princess mode.  They LOVE to dress up!

All the kids love to read or be read to.  Eve is just starting to read.  Pops still likes just to be read to.  And Esme and Chan are mowing through so many chapter books this summer.

We successfully raised one butterfly this spring.

We also got our garden up and running.

We pulled the carrots a little early to make way for more kale.

The twins got their 4 year old shots at their last physical and handled it pretty well considering.

Hiking at Bird Park and climbing trees.

Chan is loosing teeth all the time these days

Hiking at Kalopa State Park