I could give you a list of
So on to that update...July has been a fun flurry of activity!
While the kids love an opportunity to watch fireworks, we learned years ago that attending the most popular independence day celebrations loses some of its appeal when you have to sit in a parking lot for an hour or more AFTER the show due to congestion. So, instead of fighting traffic, we got together with friends on Hickam and watched Ala Moana's big show from a distance. :)
The next day, the kids went to summer camp and, since Billy had the day off, we had an afternoon lunch date at Turtle Bay. It was a gorgeous day! That evening, we headed out to Waikiki for an evening picnic on the beach and enjoyed the Hilton Hawaiian Village's weekly Friday evening fireworks.
Saturday morning, Billy swam in his 2nd North Shore Open Water swim. This one took place within Waimea Bay so the kids and I were able to watch him swim. My friend's husband was also swimming in the race, so the kids and I had fun hanging out with their family while the guys completed the swim.
I'm so proud of Billy for taking advantage of the amazing outdoor recreation opportunities offered while we live here! For someone who spent most his life swimming in a pool, he's done a great job adapting to open water swims and is ranked 10th in his age group after the 1st 3 swims!
Both our neighborhood association and the military posts have well kept swimming pools, so in addition to hanging out at the beach, we've also hit the pool about once a week this summer. Encouraged by his sister, Brody has become much more comfortable in the water and can now swim underwater by himself! I hope as the summer goes on, he will become more confident and maybe by next summer, we will be done with floaties in our house!
Alexa loves horses, but it was hard to find a week long horse camp here like she has attended in the past. However, Gunstock Ranch was offering a one day adventure camp on July 10th which offered games, swimming, a hike, a petting zoo, and pony rides, so both kids attended and had a great time!
It was a warm day, so we stopped for a refreshing treat on the way home. :)
Due to demand, Gunstock decided to offer a one day horse camp the next week where the kids would receive riding lessons and get to go on a trail ride! I wasn't sure how Brody would feel about horses, but he had a positive mini-experience during the adventure camp, so BOTH kids decided to attend the horse camp!
The 15th - 19th was Kid's Bible Club (VBS) at our church. I was the director this year, so while I'm sure there is much to say about that week, its all kind of a blur! :) It went really smoothly and we had an awesome team of volunteers! And, of course, the kids are still singing the songs they learned. :)
The 19th was the Mililani Summer Fun finale (the kids' summer day camp) and Billy was able to attend that program with me. The camp was a great experience and offered so much more than I thought it would when I signed them up! It was offered at a local park every day from 8:30 - 2:00pm, June 12th through July 24th. I told them they didn't have to attend every day, just when they wanted to. Brody typically chose to attend 3 days a week and Alexa attended almost every day! In addition to the games and activities at the park, they took the kids on multiple field trips. Alexa's group went to Kualoa Beach Park, the Waikele pool, and Wet 'n Wild. Brody's group was able to go to Ali'i Beach Park, Sea Life Park, and the Polynesian Cultural Center. In addition to this, the group leaders also taught the kids choreographed routines, which they performed for the finale. This year's theme was dancing through the decades. Brody's group had the 50s and Alexa's group had the early 2000s.
Billy was able to take last week off of work, so we made the most of it by taking the kids to the Bishop Museum, the movies, the beach,
and the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Apparently our week of fun was exhausting!
Billy had to fly out Saturday to attend training at Fort Jackson. Since he would be out of town for Alexa's birthday, we celebrated as a family with a birthday luncheon at Yard House before dropping him off at the airport.
Our weekend was filled with even more excitement as it appeared that Tropical Storm Flossie was going to swing through the Hawaiian Islands. Having grown up in SE Texas, I've learned that while storms are unpredictable, its better to be overly prepared and find out it was unnecessary than to not prepare at all. Thankfully, that is what happened with Flossie. The kids and I spent the weekend filling our water bottles and putting away loose objects in the back yard, finding flashlights and restocking batteries only to receive a minimal amount of rain. Apparently this is just the start of Hawaii's storm season, so at least we'll have the routine down if we have to repeat it in the near future. :)
Most photos in this post are from phones, so the quality is not the greatest, but now that I'm committed to reviving the blog, I'll also try to remember to carry around my camera...
