My Many Coloured Days

Balancing & Blogging

2015-03-01T22:30:00.003-07:00

I've come to the conclusion that balance in life is only attained when one limits the extent and experiences of ones life. Maybe not. Perhaps others have found the secret to a full and balanced life. I prefer to believe that life's tight-rope walking is more about risk-taking and enjoying the view than actually getting from point A to point B. It's about the walk; not necessarily the balance. At any rate, waiting until things have "calmed down" or life is "less hectic" to begin blogging again is never going to happen. Who has time to record the happenings of a full life. And yet, my family and I adore looking through old family photos, home videos, and re-reading stories and recordings of life's hectic happenings. How can I not record, even an unbalanced record of sorts?

I am in a new season of life. Gone are the days of newborns, toddlers and preschoolers. Those tiny toes have been replaced with big stinky feet that just keep growing because they belong to hungry, happy, and huge babies of mine. All my children are in school. Two are in middle school. One is headed to high school. Each morning we all head off to our respective schools and spend at least 8 hours apart from one another. This means we have a lot of catching up to do upon our re-gathering. And eating. I have learned that growing children need food, a listening ear, and love. Not much else.

Working full-time has brought a lot of understanding into our home. I ache for my naive younger self who so misunderstood what my husband did and then came home too. Our roles have been re-evaluated, not reversed, but definitely combined and shared. My amazing husband is at a point in his career where it is possible for him, and he has made the personal choice, to take the time be the before and after school parent for our children. In addition, he does all of the shopping, meal-planning and cooking. I literally walk in from work each day and sit my butt down to a ready-made-warm meal at the table. And yet, the minute I walk in the door, all I want is a moment to myself. A moment, perhaps, to pee in peace. I'm not ungrateful really, just tired. He gets that. Because that used to be him. And as much as he used to try to explain to me the transition from work to home being difficult and loud and overwhelming, I didn't "hear" him. I could not fathom it. As a stay-at-home Mom I worked hard all day long and counted down the minutes until the father of my children would walk through the door and give me a break from parental duties, an adult perspective and conversation, and possibly a romantic kiss. Were he to be even five minutes late, I would feel both intent and validated in my exasperation. How could he possibly lose track of time, while I am cooking him dinner, maintaining his home, and tending his children? Now the irony of it is that he will often call me and I will be shocked that the clock has fallen far past my designated departure and arrival time. He is kind and patient with me. Unlike my past accusations of imagined time-wasting activities, he knows I have been doing nothing but working.

So here is yet another attempt at blogging, but with full-admission to lack of balance.

Question & Answer with Julia

2014-08-04T22:59:00.000-06:00

What do you like most about Hawaii?
what i like most about hawaii is the Beaches.

How is Hawaii different from Montana?

The weather is very different here in hawaii then in montana.

How is Hawaii similar to Montana?
Both areas have mountains.

What do you miss most about home?
I miss my house and friends.

What do you think you will miss most about Hawaii when we go home?
when i go home i wil miss the heat and beaches.

What is your favourite thing to do in Hawaii?

I love going to the beach and boogie boarding.

What is your favourite beach? Why?

Hukilow is my favorite because it has great waves and soft sand.

Friday, July 25 ETHAN

2014-08-04T22:48:00.002-06:00

Today we woke up really early to go to Waikiki. Waikiki is a big city located on an island called Oahu. Once we got to Waikiki we went to Diamond Head. Diamond Head is a big hike. After we finished Diamond Head we went to a place to keep our car. Soon our car was in a big garage with lots of other cars and we were off to the beach. At the beach there was a big platform that we could jump off of. Dad, Tyler, and Julia jumped off when me and jacob bodyboarded the HUGE WAVES. We had tons of fun. We all loved it. After the beach we went on a boat cruise and on it we got chips and orange nectar that was super good. After the boat cruise it was about dinner time so we ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory. It's a really nice resteraunt where I had mac and cheeze. It tasted deliciouse. P.S. we were celebrating my dads birthday.

By the Fantastic, Wonderful, Great, Ethan

Thursday, July 24 JACOB

2014-08-04T19:50:00.002-06:00

Today was my Dad's birthday. And I had fun eating his cake and I also had fun with him in his office eating and being with him. We brought him fish tacos for lunch. I liked his birthday a lot. He turns one year older every year. And I turn one year older too. My Dad plays board games with us and my Dad also eats with us and my Dad also has fun a lot at the beach with us. And we have fun with him swimming in the water. He had a pineapple cheesecake from Ted's Bakery. Daddy blew out the candles and he had one candle glowing. That means that he has one girlfriend. And we gave him a BYUH sweatshirt and postcards.

By Jacob Gideon Gilpin*

Monday, July 21 TYLER

2014-07-31T18:15:00.003-06:00

Today was not a good day me and my brother Ethan were sick all day it was not fun. We were throwing up and other bad things like that if we ate something we threw it up, so when I ate two plates of spagetti it did not look good ewww. So today was a stay at home day so there is not much to talk about. don't you think we look a little skiny in that picture well I do see you latter.

Friday, July 18 ETHAN

2014-07-28T17:58:00.000-06:00

Today we had some friends come over to visit us in Hawaii for a litle bit. Loved it! It was so much fun. We went to the point with them and so far far out to sea. But before that we all went to Wamaia Bay which is a really good snorkling place but is really ment for it's 30ft rock that me and my family love to jump off. We all started on the high jump except Julia ,Mom and the visiters didn't go up to jump off. I think Julia was scared though. We all loved jumping off though and none of us got hurt. It was super fun. P.S. if you scroll down you will see exciting pictures of the huge rock of course me. See you in my next blog.

Thursday, July 17 JACOB

2014-07-28T17:57:00.001-06:00

When we went to Ward Camp we watched people play games. It was fun having the s'mores, but not fun watching the games. I still had fun eating the s'mores though. But I didn't have that many because I didn't like making them. Then I went home. Bye bye everyone.

The HUB was very fun. The HUB is a bowling place, a video game place, a x-box place, a place where you can drive in a race and you can play air hockey and you can play ping pong. I did not do ping pong. And, one more thing, there's some candy that you can buy... and drinks.

Mom and Dad gave me five dollars. Everybody five dollars. There's a machine that you can turn all of your dollars into four quarters! You put one dollar in and it makes four quarters. That's very cool. It must have a lot of quarters.

Wednesday, July 16 JULIA

2014-07-28T17:57:00.000-06:00

Hey Everybody it's your favorite Gilpin talking... How is everyone's summer? Please comment below, I like knowing people read this! So today we took our friends to a very fun beach. The Walking Tree beach.

As you can see we are truly monkeys we like to swing on the long vines that are attached to the giant tree above our heads.

As anyone would, I miss my girlfriends back home so I created a good friend. I never named her but she was a Princess. Unfortunetely 10 minutes later some other people came along and didn't even hear her screaming as they trampled her. It was so sad... can we have a moment of silence... Thank you.

There we are having fun on the beach.

Hope you all enjoyed that fun little blogpost today, sorry we are really behind but it is so fun looking back on what we do! Have a great day!

Tuesday, July 15 RENEE

2014-07-28T17:56:00.000-06:00

While the kids are likely sick and tired of the stories and detailed flashbacks, being back where we first began our marriage and family has made for some incredible reminiscing. Often I will be walking somewhere and have an instant recollection of a memory that occured at that place over a decade ago. Sometimes these memories are sweet and special, other times they are sad or sentimental. It can be overwhelming to come face to face with the past. I was a young bride here. I experienced my first pregnancy and birth here. I was a student and a student worker on campus here. And I had my first dive into the depths of depression here. And all in one day, I may be confronted with all of the emotions that came with those stages and phases of life.

Greg and I have shown the kids all over campus, as we walk through and around it on a daily basis. They have seen the cafeteria where I washed windows and worked as a laundry girl. We have eaten ice cream from the Seasider where I worked for a very short time as an ice cream scooper/cashier. Looking back I think I may have been a little stingy with the ice cream scoops. I also remember getting stuck in the huge walk-in freezer in there; terrifying. We have walked down the long hallway where I attended many classes, the testing center where I stressed over tests, and the reading and writing center where I worked editing people's papers when Julia was a baby. My favourite job I had at BYUH was at the Career Development Center. It has since moved, but the glass doors where I entered and exited still bring back many great memories. I loved working there, and some of my most precious friendships are from people I met there. One such friend, my "boss" and someone I endured pregnancy with, (will have to pull out old photos of us pregnant together when I'm home) is Wendy.

This morning we finally managed to align our calendars to find time to meet at the beach with our kids and catch up. It was delighful to see her. She's a breath of fresh air and so easy to talk to, plus I adore her New Zealand accent. We talked about where we are in life now, kids' schools and activities, how we are and want to raise our teenage daughters, mutual friends, and much more. Of course I didn't take any pictures. I was too much in the moment.

Eventually we had to part ways as I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Julia for the middle of the day. She has still not gotten rid of the cough from her bronchitis weeks and weeks ago. We were able to get her some great cough syrup and an antibiotic to clear things up quickly. We also got to go to BYUH health center where I went when I was pregnant and when Julia was an infant. More memories. Unbeknownst to me, the same doctor who was there at her birth still works there! And... he remembered us! He was almost teary eyed as he described my unusual birth circumstance, and even pulled out his leather-bound surgery diary to show the record of my c-section and Julia's birth (and had his nurse make us a copy for our own safe-keeping). He posed for a picture quite happily and then as Julia and I walked away, I was overcome with the memories of this sweet man.

I was young, unprepared, and scared when I was rushed in for my emergency c-section just days before Christmas. My OB was there, along with an anesthesiologist, our pediatrician, and Dr. Nielson, the doctor from BYUH. Dr. Nielson patted my arm and told me everything would be okay. I remember feeling relieved and reassured as I knew there would be a priesthood holder taking care of my baby and I through our surgery. He came to visit us in the hospital room later and again, I felt of his sincere presence and concern for us. As poor undergraduate students, we were not financially prepared for the expense of a c-section birth. Paying each doctor who was there and assisted us was obviously mandatory, and we knew we would have a long road of monthly medical payments to make. Dr. Nielson's bill came in the mail with the total sum due being $0.00 and his handwritten note of "Merry Christmas." To us, it was a miracle. Next to our daughter, the best Christmas gift we received that year. Memories.

We spent the afternoon collecting flowers and making leis for our company who will be arriving late.
The aroma of these flowers and leis bring back all sorts of feelings and memories as well.

Monday, July 14 TYLER

2014-07-28T12:39:00.005-06:00

Today was July 14 it was Monday. We went bowling with our Friends it was girls vs boys. I will tell you 1 thing, we smoked them bad. I think by like 200 points or something, but ya we mostly did that exept for screen time.

By the way do not plan on coming to Hawaii if you cannot check off everything on the list below:

-no milk (cost $7 dollars a gallon)
-eat rice every day
-no mcdonalds
-roosters at 3, 5 and 6am
-geckos in your house
-sharing a room
-url no more than you need
-heat it is so hot you sometimes want to be in the cold
-jumping off 20ft rock (my moms too scared dont belive all kids have done it ask my mom for proof or read some early messages)

Okay if you have checked off every thing on this list you are good for Laie where I live.

Question and Answer with ETHAN

2014-07-28T12:33:00.003-06:00

What do you like most about Hawaii?
"How there's really cool fish I guess."

How is Hawaii different from Montana?
Montana is cold Hawaii is warm.
How is Hawaii similar to Montana?
"We have a house here and we have a house there."

What do you miss most about home?
"My house, my wii, not Tylers wii, my wii."

What do you think you will miss most about Hawaii when we go home?
"All of the Pineapple."

What is your favourite thing to do in Hawaii?
"That, my friend, is classified information and I mean it."
What is your favourite beach? Why?
"Pounders. Because it has huge I mean HUGE WAVES!"

Thursday, July 10 JACOB

2014-07-24T18:20:00.003-06:00

Grandma and Grandad had a anniversary. It was a fun day that day. It was very fun. We played at the beach. We went to the bookstore. We got shaved ice. My favorite flavor is bubble gum. My second one is root beer. It was fun.

We sang a song when they came out of the bathroom this morning. It was a fun day.

When we went to The Point and we saw the ocean we thought we were going to fall in. I thought that. Oh. And I forgot one more thing: Hi and my name is Jacob. The End of the story.

Happy holidays.

I have a cold sore.

I took these pictures:
Grandma is packing. Grandad's feet are burnt. I think Julia is blogging. Tyler is photo bombing the pictures I am trying to take.

Mom's Notes:

35th wedding anniversary
Banyan tree
Kawela bay beach
Ted's bakery
bookstore
The Point
shaved ice
goodbye to grandparents

Wednesday July 9, JULIA

2014-07-24T12:37:00.000-06:00

HEY Y'ALL IT'S JULIA!
Today we went to Pearl Harbor for our second time it was just as cool and this time we went with a different set of Grandparents. So today I took a lot of pictures so I'm going to put em out there and talk about them.

So that is my Grandma and Grandad, we went to the swap meet which was loads of fun. I got souvenirs for my friends and if you comment it means you are reading this so I'll gladly tell you what it is otherwise I'm not telling you. ;)

My very wonderful Mom and Grandma.

Um, these are two cool pics I took in the museum.

Me and Grandad.

This was I believe was a bomb that the Japanese shot at us during the attack on Pearl Harbor

You've heard of atomic wedgie... But you've never heard of THE atomic bomb. THE atomic bomb is when my dad picks me up shakes me and squeezes me until I die. Yea it was fun.

In the background there is the USS Missouri.

We then conclude the day folks that was fun. Swap meet and Pearl Harbor then we usually go home and watch a movie while the adults crash and take a very long nap. You would think us kids would be sooo tired no watching movies reenergizes kids. Haha have a good day everyone.

Tuesday, July 8 RENEE

2014-07-24T12:36:00.000-06:00

My parents are visiting the island. More importantly, they are visiting our family and being awesome grandparents.

{playing games (to win!) and reading books}

{temple and grounds were closed for maintenance, but had to go back to where baby Julia and I used to take our daily walks}

Mom was here when Julia was first born, and I'm afraid I wasn't a very good tour guide just weeks after having a c-section. Dad has never been here, so they were up for some fun island adventures. We started our day early by going to our favourite cliff-jumping spot at Waimea. While I have had quite some time to get used to my husband's bribing of our kids to do daring acts for slurpies, I think my parents were a bit shocked. Dad pointed the caution signs out to me, but I have learned to let go and let live.

{climbing up the rock}

{Ethan is jumping, Tyler and Greg are waiting on the rock and Julia is in the water in the right corner}

The kids had a great time, and Greg was able to take my Mom out for some fancy dancy snorkeling. She saw, among other amazing creatures, sea turtles, which delighted her to pieces. It was fun to see her so excited with this new experience! Dad dove right in to building sand castles with the kids. In fact, he was so enthusiastic, he unfortunately forgot to sunscreen his "never-before-seen-the-sun" feet. This, I will assume, will be his biggest regret from his trip to Hawaii.

{sand building extraordinaire}

{with all of our company this summer, Greg has mastered his teaching of snorkeling}

{seriously, how cute are these two? Celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in Hawaii!}

Next we made it through the historic town of Hale'iwa and then up to the Dole Plantation.

The kids (minus Julia as an infant) had never been here before either as it is QUITE the drive from our place. Always eager to introduce learning in our daily excursions, it was thrilling to show the kids the process of growing pineapples. Dad was a big spender and gifted us with our first, and fabulous taste of pineapple ice cream. It is divine. Truly worth a taste if you manage to get up there. There was a train ride and a maze. After evaluating the cost benefits, Mr. Economist and I decided to indulge the family in the maze.

{we'd been posing long enough, so I decided to go in for the treat... of course that's when the picture was snapped! Love our little photo bomber in the back.}

{here Tyler brought us back in time as he demonstrated how a two year old throws a tantrum on the ground}

{EVERYTHING was pineapple}

We didn't take into consideration that it was now the middle of the day, extremely hot, and that while all around the maze it was shady, within the "World's Largest Maze of 2008" there was absolutely no shade or covering. We didn't have much of a plan, and some of us stuck together, while others ran off on their own, and I think my Mom must have said a dozen time, "Roy, just get me out of here."

Here are the kids' thoughts/reviews on the maze:

Julia: "It was really hot. It was a fun activity. Just really really hot."
Tyler: "It was fun and long."
Ethan: "The ice cream was good. I was lonely in the maze."
Jacob: "I liked it. I was hot."

While we are thoroughly enjoying our time in Hawaii, the heat is probably the hardest part for us to deal with, coming from Montana. Thank heavens for pineapple ice cream to get us through the hottest of summer days!

Question and Answer with TYLER

2014-07-14T00:15:00.000-06:00

What do you like most about Hawaii?

"it is fun to go to beaches"

How is Hawaii different from Montana?

"there is no snow, it is too hot, people speak pigeon."

How is Hawaii similar to Montana?

"there are fun things to do, mountains and rain."

What do you miss most about home?

"I miss my friends my wii and my toys."

What do you think you will miss most about Hawaii when we go home?

"the beach the ocean and my new friends i made."

What is your favourite thing to do in Hawaii?

"have fun."

What is your favourite beach? Why?

"my favorite beach is the bayon tree because me and ethan like to swing on the vines people were being so rude they called us tarzan ahh monkeys and the worst Goerge of the jungle."

Saturday, July 5 GREG

2014-07-13T01:49:00.001-06:00

Today is the big day. I typically do two to three races per year and this was my longest yet: the 40K MTB Xterra Freedom Fest Race at Ko'olau Mountain Range. This is where scenes from Jurassic Park and Lost were filmed. There were two - 20K loops that zig-zagged up and down the mountain. The total elavation gain was 3,000 ft.

The beginning and end of the course. Right up against the range...

I had to dismantle my bike to get it in the car. That was kinda good because I ended up lubing my axles which always comes in handy if you have to fix a flat along the way. As you can see, I am not one of those guys who keeps his bike spotless. I couldn't care less as I go through parts very frequently. While some have told me that if I cleaned my bike more the parts would last longer, I truly doubt that. Wear and tear on steep climbs is going to trash the bike.

I have never done an afternoon ride. Typically I do morning rides or evening rides as they are much cooler and I am either haven't started anything else for the day or have finished my work and am ready for fun. Having a start time of 3 pm was a first (and really hot in Hawaii). The wife and kids came out to support me and get me ready. That took about 45 minutes as I preped my bike and my body for the race. The race started on time and we were off. Alot of the riders were on 29ers which gave them a huge advantage. I really don't care though because I like to race against myself (using course timers) and mostly do it to acheive goals to exercise for something.

We set up under a big tree that provided a ton of shade. The kids had some fun helping me prep and playing with the only ball that they have.... yes, I know, poor kids.

This is me at the start of my race. I like to wear my INDIANA jersey for good luck. I also look quite unique as I don't like wearing MTB shorts. In fact, I look more like a roadie than a MTB rider. Oh well. Those baggie pants really get in the way when you are trying to climb a mountain anyways.

My fan base always comes out yelling. I kinda feel bad for the other riders that don't get cheered on.

Renee has come out to alot of my events. I always push a little harder when I see her. Maybe it is my showing off or how she get my heart beating a little faster.

This is what Ethan really thinks of moutain biking. He is more of a participant than a spectator.

Tyler decided to show me how to 'get warmed up' for the race. He has this hilarious 'squat' and 'switch' as he does squats and does a 180 degree turn and does it again and again.

and we are off!

The race was mostly going up and down the ridges of the mountain horizontally. You can see in the above picture that we road up and down.

By the end of the first lap, I was pretty tired and my butt was way sore. The first lap took 1 hour and 20 minutes. I saw the kids along the way as I was finishing in the first lap. She mentioned she was going to head out since I thought it would take 3-4 hours and I would send her a text when I finished the first lap. I sent Renee a text that I had finished my first lap but because of the mountains, reception was poor. It took 50 minutes for the text to send. By the time she had gotten it, I was 25 minutes from finishing. She had no idea.

I was pleasantly surprised that I was 5 minutes faster on my second lap. I think this is mostly because my buddy Mike was about 200 yards behind me and I really wanted to keep in front of him. I have a problem that I start faster and then run out of gas. I paced myself well so that this didn't happen (and it didn't).

At the end of the race, I texted that I was finished. Renee was really confused that the second lap took only a 1/3 of the time as the first lap. The kids and her shot straight up and met me. I was pretty tired but had a great time.

Renee's parents also came in from Canada and met me at the finish line. They had traveled such a long way and we were all so excited to see them. It is always great to see family.

As always, the games are cracked open. I learned something new about my mother-in-law, she plays games to win. This is pretty funny because I mostly get amusement out of games and really enjoy the company more than the game.

Friday, July 4 ETHAN

2014-07-12T20:27:00.001-06:00

Today was a good day but had something very special about it. It was the FOURTH OF JULY! It was super fun because we got to have a water gun fight at a friends house. We also had a bbq right after the water gun fight. It was so good and really tasty.

Tyler is doing is fourth of july report.

We tried to build a sand castle

Swimming

Yummy watermelon

Nice sun glasses

Lick lick

Waterfight

Water fight

Waterfight

Picture time

Fun Video

Question & Answer with JACOB

2014-07-12T18:53:00.000-06:00

What do you like most about Hawaii?
"I like that we can see cats. I like swimming at the pool."
How is Hawaii different from Montana?
"Montana is not this sunny. Montana it doesn't rain this much. And Montana has snow. Hawaii has sun and rain but not snow."
How is Hawaii similar to Montana?
"There is rain and there's the sun. We can go on hikes. And climb trees. And drink a lot of water."
What do you miss most about home?
"I miss our house. And my friends."
What do you think you will miss most about Hawaii when we go home?
"I will miss nothing. Because I don't really like the sun that much. And I really like the snow instead of the heat."
What is your favourite thing to do in Hawaii?
"Go to the pool."
What is your favourite beach? Why?
"Hukilau. The one we just went to today. Because it has big waves that I can go under and it's called Hukilau Beach. So those are what I like about that beach."

Wednesday, July 2 JULIA

2014-07-12T17:47:00.000-06:00

HEY THERE JULIA HERE!
Today is Wednesday we didn't do much today but we had some friends over for dinner which was really fun! We made masubi! Which consists of spam, rice and seaweed. Not my favorite but fun to make all the same. So today is your lucky day folks, you will receive a step by step instructions on how to make masubi!!!

1:
Jacob has a chocolate mustache if you are wondering. We decorated cupcakes and I had very nice swirlies on mine thanks to my awesome baker friend... you know who you are!!!

So first you fill the bottom of the mold with rice.

2: Then you put on the spam and the egg if you want.

3: Next you put more rice on the top. Carefully you take the mold off and place the rice on the the seaweed.

4: then you tightly wrap the seaweed around the rice and spam. Try to wet the spam a little bit so it sticks together.

5. If you have a big mold cut it in half.

6: Lastly act like a ninja. Look at Ethan for the example.
Well that's it for today we had a cool time making masubi. Hope it turns out if you make it. See ya!!

Tuesday, July 1 RENEE

2014-07-11T21:12:00.001-06:00

And some days are dull.

Today is Canada Day. I could have, should have, would have done SOMETHING to celebrate. But I'm tired. We need to clean. Do all the regular things like laundry, dishes, and bathrooms. And I just don't have it in me to do anything celebratory. We are between sets of grandparents visiting and I love that they have and are coming, I really do, it just takes a little more energy to be a host and tour guide and what have you. I miss my friends. I miss my kids' friends. I miss my house. I miss my bbq. I'm hot and tired and just want to complain. Ever had those days?

Re-Cap of Scouting Experience TYLER

2014-07-11T17:57:00.001-06:00

On my 17 mile hike it was long and there were some very cool plants. I learned about some plants the Hawaiians used to make fire and what they used for shampoo "sham-poo" that will never get old, o back to the point, We were on a long hike when we made it to the top the trail was knee deep mud and you tripped a lot if you moved to the left a foot you would fall down a long drop ahhh splat I need to get that image out of my mind Okay so we were coming down and when we got half way back down we ate peanut butter sandwiches with wight bread. Then we ran down the hill that was our first 11 mile hike.on our next hike it was half as muddy and the path was not fun we had to balance on logs and hold onto ropes and had to cross rivers many times then we went through a bamboo forest then we made it home. When I got home the hot water in the shower had run out. When I tried to count my bug bites I had over 20 just on my arm muceles. The first time I went to camp I could not understand them because they were speaking pigoen so but after a while you get use to it and start saying it to a little. What we ate was a little funny to breakfast cocanut water and pancakes lunch cocanut, cocanut water sandwiches dinner cocanut water, cocanut, stuff. We played capture the flag to we learned that the team with a ceirtan base always wins we even switched bases same result.

Saturday, June 28 GREG

2014-07-11T17:44:00.001-06:00

Tyler has turned that age when he moves from the world of Cub Scouts to that of Boy Scouts. For most LDS, this is not typically a big deal. However, for our son, he has been in Cubs since he was six and is so passionate about Scouts that he has stayed in the community pack. I have been his den leader and then his Cubmaster for his entire time. As he has known for the last five years, the boys receive a ceremonial knife of some sort at crossover. This year, I decided that since he has five knives, that I would provide pocket hand saws.

Tyler has loved being a Scout. He got a new shirt and is ready to go. He even has the socks. His first overnight campout was a four mile hike in February in the Bridger mountains in a blizzard at night. He was in the lead and loved every minute. The ward here in Laie decided to do the 50 miler. They decided to do Kaena Point the first two days (33 miles) and then the rest back in Laie. The third day was light service for 10 hours. We had grandparents in town and so Tyler couldn’t go the first three days. That night, with Tyler ripping ready to go, we took him over to the Scoutmaster’s house and he stayed the night. The next morning they hiked to Laie Summit (11 miles) and he was provide lunch for the group. Going shopping with Tyler was pretty funny. No vegetables or fruit. White bread was a must and then we bought a peanut butter and strawberry mix. The healthy treat was Oreos, but Renee insisted on carrots. All of the food was gobbled down (except for the carrots that came uneaten ... or touched).

He was pretty tired and his feet were sore. He has special braces to help him with his feet as he has Trevor’s disease. However, he always stays at the front and pushes forward with the lead group. He never likes to be behind. At around 3 pm, he came back and looked like he rolled in mud. He was happy but really tired. He took a long bath and soaked up. At 6 pm, we took him back to his Scoutmaster’s house to have dinner with his troop which apparently Domino’s pizza delivers!

The next morning, he was in charge of cooking breakfast. Tyler’s special cooking skills consist of making lots of toast (with butter… what a treat). He had to make pancakes and cook eggs. I think Scouts might help him out of later on in his non-native life as well. After breakfast, we headed over to Kahana Valley, the wettest place on Oahu. This is where the majority of the island receives its water. Everything was wet and it was about 90 degrees. The mud was thick and the mosquitos bit hard.

We went around in a very large loop 6 mile loop. We passed through a bamboo forest – which is absolutely beautiful. We also went through a walking tree forest. We saw lots of Koa trees and picked up some Koa nuts. We also brought two bamboo walking sticks home… light weight and loads of fun.

They also had a chance to swim in freshwater, quite the treat here surrounded by the Pacific ocean. The water was pretty high but there were a few slower spots that they could jump into. The water was so cold though that most boys didn’t want to jump in.

On the way out, the boys got their pictures taken together. This is a shining moment for Tyler to see how friendly the boys are, even though they just met him. Tyler was really shy and was about 2-3 feet away from the group. One of the boys said, ‘Tyler, get over here!” and put his arms around him. That is the Spirit of Aloha.

The canopy of trees provide tons of shade. However, these trees are an invasive species that is killing all of the native trees underneath.

Bamboo forest

Celebrating B-day with Grandparents

The Spirit of Aloha

Friday, June 27 ETHAN

2014-07-03T13:39:00.006-06:00

Today was a fun day. We went to the movies and had fun. The movie was "How to Train your Dragon 2." It was a good movie. My favorite part of the movie was when Toothless was the Alpha Dragon. We snuck in candy, even though we weren't supposed to. It was tasty. Very tasty. It was a very fun day.

At the beach Grandpa lost his glasses. I told him not to bring his glasses into the water because it was high tide. He didn't listen. And lost his glasses. Then he had to go to the mall, which was about five million hours away, and he got new ones.

Here are some of my awesome pictures:

Thursday, June 26 JACOB

2014-07-03T13:30:00.002-06:00

I did a hike. I hiked higher than the lighthouse. It was really high up. And we also went to Hanauma Bay. And we saw the fish. It wasn't very easy to see in the water. It was still fun looking at the fish. I had a great day that day.

We hiked down and up. It was very very long. And we saw bricks to rest on and my Dad thought it was a good idea. I thought it was too.

I like that picture I took it.

I jumped off the rock that was not that high. It was still fun. Tyler jumped off it before me and Grandpa brought Ethan down.

It was scary looking down and there was "Ethan Island." How wonderful.

That is me with my shoes off and I walked down the hill, but not all the way.

The earth is a great place.

Wednesday, June 25 JULIA

2014-07-02T16:11:00.000-06:00

Hey everybody! Today was a fantastic day, we went to the Aviation museum, and Pearl Harbor to see the Arizona Memorial! It was busy but so special and fun! The day started off okay... we had to get up early, but as the day progressed it got better and better!

We had the pleasure of having Grandma and Grandpa join us for several days. That morning we went to a swap meet which was really fun. Grandma got me a dress, (look below) and the boys shirts that match my dress!

Here we are at the aviation museum. We all received headsets to listen to the history on each of the planes. I loved listening to all of these. I was able to recognize some planes because my brothers and my Dad like watching war movies.

Ethan was rather interested in picking the mannequins nose and ear. Whatever he can reach!

This is air-traffic control tower. It helps control planes coming to land.

Above and below are just several of the amazing planes and fighter jets!

This was really cool, this is a giant gun. Tyler was complaining on how there was no ammo in sight.

On the ride to the Arizona Memorial we saw a bunch of very cool battle ships. Reminded me of the movie "Battleship."

Here is the Arizona Memorial. I would like to talk about this one for a little bit. There was a ship called The Arizona and when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor this huge ship went down with over 900 men trapped inside. This ship also carried more than 10,000 gallons of oil and even though it has been 70 years the ship still leaked oil! I saw it the bubbles and then the shiny part of it on the water.

Here we have Jacob (above) and Tyler and Dad (below) looking at the ship that you can see underneath the water if you look closely enough

In this picture I am being the nice sister... I am pushing my brother on a rope that a ward camp put up!

Here I am pushing another brother on I did it for all three and I never got on just because there was little kids waiting for a turn.

Again here I am I just finished boogie boarding a terrific wave!

Dad broke the boogie board... It's kinda funny since it's the kids always breaking things.

After going to the beach we went to get shaved ice! EVERYONE'S SHAVED ICE FELL ON THEIR LAPS!!!! It was hilarious!

Well see yea everyone next Wednesday!