10am Flight, waterfalls and then back to Oahu

We had this little house in Hilo.  If you've ever been to the Hilo side of Hawaii, you'll know it rains ... it rains... it rains and it RAINS!  We learned they get about 17-20 feet of rain a year.  Rarely a day without rain, but we managed 2 days.  But it was still quite chilly.  The house we stayed in had a little wood burning stove as a heater.  We tried to light a fire ... but the wood and even the newspaper was so humid, it didn't go very well.  Even the matches wouldn't burn very long.  Steve tried for awhile and then gave up.  I gave it a shot, for about 20 minutes, plus lots of paper (that I had with me) and we finally got it burning.  Kind of crazy how humid it was.

All day long we told the girls we had a 10 am flight the next day.  So in the morning, we loaded the car, said goodbye to the little house with a big wood burning stove as a heater and drove back to the airport.  They knew we were going back to Oahu so they assumed that it was our flight to Oahu...  but we left out some details.  We arrived at the airport, a little later than we had wanted, and told the girls to just jump out and run with me to check in.  They all stressed about the luggage and how was dad going to get it all.  But we finally convinced them to just get out of the car without everything.  We ran to the counter and as I was checking in the girls read the name on the counter - Blue Hawaii Helicopter!  WHAT?  A helicopter flight?  Yep.  That was surprise #1 of the trip.

Just a few pics from the helicopter ... it took our breath away.  The pilot said we had chosen one of the best days in weeks to go up.

 The lava flows are hot so hot that they dry out the rain forest that borders the active lava flows.  The lave occasionally will break through the surface and a tree goes up in flames. 

The smoke was visible on the edges of the rain forest and lava flows.  Amazing to see the stark difference.  Our pilot told us about the last community that was finally destroyed.  There was a home that was completely surrounded for quite awhile before it was taken by the lava.  The man lived in it until the day it was engulfed.  He capitalized on it - turned it into a bed and breakfast and they had to helicopter in the guests. 

 After we circled over the volcano, our pilot flew us over some amazing waterfalls on private lands (ones you can't hike to without special permission). 

The helicopter ride was another "check" on my bucket list. 

Back on the ground, we went for a hike to a water fall.  Just a few of the things we saw that intrigued us ... what looks like a tiny bamboo.

Rain forest ...  so green. 

 Beautiful flowers.

 Heart shaped leaves.

 This tree was beautiful - draped with roots and vines like I've never seen before.

 First glimpse of the waterfall.

 And wow - it is really amazing and big!

 After the waterfall, we went past the shore and saw this tree that the girls said was perfect for climbing. 

 A few more minutes before we had to be at the airport for our flight to Oahu, so we found this waterfall too.  We thought it was amazing.

Volcano.  Lava flows.  Helicopter ride.  Waterfalls.  An amazing trip so far and only 2 days into it!   ... And yes, I know I used the word amazing more times than I ever should in one post, but it was exactly that.  

Time on the Big Island

We started our Hawaii trip on the big island of Hawaii.  We stayed in a small home near the town of Volcano.  We spent the first day seeing the volcano from a car and by foot. 

 

Steam vents were the first thing we saw.

 

Then we hiked through a lava tube.  We learned that a lava tube isn't a tunnel that lava flows through, its a lava that hardens around a lava flow, then the rest of the lava drains out and leaves the empty tunnel. 

I was fascinated by the rain forest.  It was amazing.  We hiked several miles down into an old crater formed in the 1950s after 17 fountains erupted.  The girls were quite little troopers and even ran all the way back to the top.

This view you can see the rain forest and then the desolation of the crater in the background. 

And after we reached the bottom, we walked out of the lush green, to see this.

 

You can see the top, which is where we hiked from.

And then we hiked back up!

Our next stop was down off the top of the volcano at the shore where the lava flows dumped into the ocean. 

A short walk up the "closed" road, we came across this little patch of palm trees.  We learned that years ago, this coast line was covered with small communities and little patches of palm trees in each community.  Over time the volcano and lava flows have destroyed all those communities.  About 20 years ago, the native people replanted the trees.  The volcano again destroyed all of them, but this one little patch.  The native people feel they are a sign, like the people to be resilient and continue to rise above the struggles.   

Just a little further up the road, we hiked on the lava flows which covered the road as recently as August of last year.

The road was closed and then several times they had to close additional parts of the road as the lava flows covered more of the road ... including this road closed sign.  The post is original - although the sign has been stolen and replaced a few times.  :)  We thought it was really fun.

We thought it was interesting to see where the lava flows went and how sometimes parts of the road survived.  There were miles and miles of road covered by the lava which had come from miles up the mountain. 

 Cute little Jess wrapped up in a Hawaiian sarong sitting by a little sign of life among the lava flows.

 Then she tried to save me from the lava hardening around me ... :)  Gotta be a little silly once in awhile.

 

The sunset was stunning.

The girls took turns throwing rocks into the ocean - you can see Jessica's rock as a grey blur.  All the other photos I took were blurred kids. 

Taylor and Jessica strike a pose on top of a small little hill or lava rock.  It was really cool to see how life comes from the lava after time passes. 

After dark, we ventured back to the top of the volcano and had dinner in a restaurant that overlooked the volcano.  We could see the glow of lava in the distance. 

 

I was amazed to see the volcano.  I've never seen anything like it.  A beautiful and stunning day - and check off "see active volcano" from our bucket list. 

Little things to cherish

I always want to remember and cherish the cute little things my kids do, but they are already slipping away from me.  They are growing up so fast.  So, I'm sharing a few of them on my blog so I can always remember them and maybe even share with them again.

Jessica loves when I lay down in her bed with her at bedtime ... but doesn't actually snuggle.  She just likes hugs and then to have me there.  As I watch her fall asleep, I'm reminded of her confidence and yet tenderness. 

Taylor loves hugs and always wants to be tucked in.  But the thing I love most is her hugs.  I love all my kids hugs but Taylor does this little thing where when I give her a hug, I rub her back and she rubs mine.  If I stop, she stops.  If I move up her back, she moves up my back.  She copies whatever I do.  It always makes me smile. 

Taylor also does this loud short little "huh" laugh when something is funny.  She doesn't belly laugh or giggle, she doesn't grin, its just a loud one syllable "huh".  So cute.  All of our family loves it about her.

Aly makes me laugh.  She doesn't always see eye to eye with me, and we clash a lot, but she makes me laugh.  She is funny and witty and a little ditzy all at once.  And she'll go from madder than heck at me, to wanting to talk, give hugs and just hang out with me.  She's going to go far in life.  She's eager to learn and eager to please people she respects.  She hates saying I'm sorry, but when she realizes she's wrong, she softens and tries to mend things in her own little way.

Kids can just be mean

Kids can be just mean, and girls, can be the queen of mean!  Coming from a mom of 3 girls, that's a hard thing to say, but it is true.  The past couple of weeks, I've seen several incidents with my girls and their friends just not being nice to each other.  I wish there was a magic wand to wave to teach them to not act like this.  Whether its texting, at school, or hanging out things get said that shouldn't.  We had chats with all three of our girls recently about not so nice things that have happened to them or that they did and how to make better choices and avoid such things in the future. 

Learning Situation 1 - group of friends texting each other ... pick up the phone or walk to each others' houses.  It would prevent so many of the confusions and hurt feelings.  Lesson learned (we hope)... If in doubt, don't send it.  If you are emotional, don't send it.  If you are reacting to something someone else said, don't send it.  If someone else is telling you to write it, don't send it.  If you haven't thought CAREFULLY about how others might perceive it, and thought CAREFULLY about how they will feel when they do get it, don't send it...  Ok, so basically - DON'T SEND IT.  Texting is for communicating information, not emotions.  People just get hurt and drama ensues.  Lesson learned on the other side (we hope) when you get a text that isn't so nice or that you perceive as not nice, put yourself in their shoes.  Could they possibly have meant it a different way?  Could they be reacting to something you said?  TALK TO THEM.  See lesson learned above - don't send it.  And ALWAYS remember that if you wouldn't say or do it one on one with the person, don't say it just because you are in a group.  Sometimes being in a group causes kids to make decisions to act or say things that they wouldn't normally do. 

Learning Situation 2 - group of friends playing together - three agree on repeated little decisions and the other doesn't.  The other makes repeated suggestions and the other three just don't listen to any of her ideas or suggestions.  The other feels left out and frustrated.  Arguing ensues the entire time they play despite several requests by mom to get along and be nicer.  Time runs out and no playing actually occurs.  Lesson learned, listen to each other.  Cooperation and respect make play time more fun.  If someone in the group is consistently being left out, be the one to reach out and side with her on ideas to include her.  Lesson learned, on the other side, be more flexible.  If you aren't getting your way, stop and listen to their ideas.  If you aren't getting your ideas listened to, yelling isn't going to help.  It is best to use kind words and ask nicely to include one of your ideas.  And if all else fails, consider the idea that accepting things their way is better than not playing at all.  You do NOT have to have your way. 

Learning Situation 3 - group of friends playing together ... one isn't nice to your sister - what do you do?  You remember your sister is your friend and your family and you defend your sister!  I was super proud of my daughter for defending her sister and wanting to stick by her when a friend asked "why does your sister always have to play with us?".  I was so proud of her when she said "She is my friend and I like playing with her."  And when the friend said "she should get her own friends" my daughter again defended her sister and said, most of her friends are my friends and most of my friends are her friends.  We have a lot of fun together."  I was super disappointed when the friend continued again to say "Can't we ever play without her?" and keep in mind all of this was IN EAR SHOT of the sister.  At this point, mom was standing around the corner and made it clear that the conversation was over and respect and kindness should be paid to others especially when you are playing in their home and with their toys as well.  Lesson learned ... defend your sister.  defend your sister.  defend your sister.  ... yep, defend your sister.  And for that matter, defend your friends as well.  Don't let others talk badly about someone you care about.  If it doesn't stop, you may even need to stand up for her and say please stop saying not nice things.  And when that doesn't work, mom or another adult might be needed to step in and remind everyone of the rules and need for respect and kindness.  Asking for help or making the tough choice of choosing different friends is sometimes necessary too.  Lesson learned on the other side, never say not nice things about others.  Be a friend who includes people even if they aren't your age or one of your good friends.  Be a friend who includes people even if you don't always agree with them.  Always be respectful and kind to others.  Keep your not nice thoughts to yourself and find nice things to say instead.  Focus on the positive and work to increase your number of friends by being a better friend to others.

Learning situation 4 - large gathering - group forms leaving just one other person same age...  left out.  It hurts!  Lesson learned:  When others leave you out, you need to reach out.  If that doesn't work, be kind and be tough.  Remember your own value and find other options.  If you aren't included, sometimes it is by mistake, and sometimes it is because the other people just aren't the kind of friends you want.  Do your best to be included and to become friends with person, but after repeated attempts, it is ok to move on and not work to build a friendship that is obviously a dead end.  Your job is  NOT to be friends with everyone, your job is to be kind to everyone and respectful of everyone.  Whether or not they return that and build a friendship, is their own demon.  Remember your worth is not based on the opinions of others.  Your worth is divine regardless of how others treat you.  Lesson learned:  Be an inclusive person rather than exclusive.  Everyone wants to be included so you make the extra effort to include the one left out, especially when you are in a group and one person is left out.  When you are with friends, take a minute to look around and see who else you can include.  If someone in your group doesn't want to include others, you need to recognize it and split away from that person so you can be a better friend.   Treat others the way you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes.  Their worth is divine, treat them that way.

I love my girls and they are amazing girls.  But, by no means are they (or me) perfect at behaving the right way.  I recognize they can be equally mean as make poor decisions.  None of us are perfect.  We each have our weaknesses and sometimes just bad days filled with decisions we aren't proud of after.  Our decisions are often based on our own imperfections and forgetting our own value. I hope that my girls and I can learn the and live the lessons I'm attempting to teach them.  I have no doubt it will make them better friends, better sisters, better individuals. 

Moab - day 1

Another stop of our trip in June -  our last stop and we stayed in condos because we planned to stay a couple days.  It was time to relax a little, and do a few things we'd wanted to do on previous trips.  Hummer tour on slick rock and river rafting!!

The first day there was Aly's birthday and we had our hummer tour to start the day out.  Each hummer only held 9 riders (plus the driver) and since my brother has 3 kids and so do we, we were in two hummers.  It was kind of fun to watch the other hummer go up or down the same hill we were about to tackle.  A little freaky to see too! 

At the turnaround point, we had an incredible view of the Colorado River and valley far below and slick rock all around.  The kids played a bit, we had a snack and some water and took some pictures and then headed back.  This picture is Sarah (my niece) and Taylor with Caroline and Zack (my niece and nephew sitting behind them). 

What a fun day!  Then we all went to a late lunch and then back to our condo pool to relax before dinner.  Jessica had just gotten out of her sling and wrap from her broken arm the week before we came so she was so excited to really get out and swim.  She was a little nervous, but her doctor assured her swimming was one of the best things she could do.  And she thoroughly enjoyed it.

 The kids tried back flips ... but my brother, being the biggest kid of all, had to try to.  After a few pretend take offs, he actually went for it.  I was impressed.  Not going to happen for me. 

Ok, so he didn't quite make it the full flip, but he did have some good height and came close.  Go David!  The kids were all impressed and my little two girls determined to do it too.

 Aly decided that rather than do the flip herself, she'd help my niece do one.  She'd launch her into the air from the pool and Caroline would flip backward.  They both loved it.

 

 Lots of swimming...

 And more flips ...

And even a few tries together.

 

Caroline also loved to do this running superman dive into the pool - she'd belly flop but it was more of a glide across the water, like a skipping rock almost.  She repeatedly did it and we'd all cringe at the belly flop but she'd giggle and do it again.  Tay and Jess tried but either couldn't figure it our or get the guts to really go for it.

 And finally Aly tried a flip to.

Just a great afternoon kicking back at the pool.  Aly said it was a GREAT birthday.