Can you say FUN!!

Today we took the FRG families on a hike to the Makapu'u lighthouse. We do one hike a month and this month's was a winner! Ashley didn't get her homework finished, so she wasn't able to come with us, sadly. We headed over this afternoon- about a 45 min drive to the opposite side of the island. This is a well known place to view whales and it didn't disappoint. We saw so many whales we stopped counting. By the time we were leaving Hunter said "alright Mom, enough with the whales"- have we been living here too long??

After taking the 1.25 mile hike up the side of the mountain we took some fun pictures and checked out all the lookout spots. Just amazing views. The two smaller islands off the coast are called Turtle island and Rabbit island. Huge and cool. We then hiked another 175 ft straight up to the old WWII bunkers for an even more amazing view. We could see Maui, Lanaii and Molokaii in the distance because the day was so clear.

On the way back down Hunter asked if he could run down the hill. He asks every time we go on a hike and I always say no because of safety reasons. Today it was on a paved road. I didn't really like the idea, but knew the question would persist if I said no. My last words to Hunter were "if you fall, just lay there and bleed; I'll be down in a minute". Of course not 30 seconds later Hunter is laying in the trail. I thought at first he was playing a prank, being the comedian he is, but this wasn't the case. He had busted hard- scraped arm, knee- YUCK! All the people walking down with us were at first laughing, then Hunter had a little swarm of girls around him, checking to make sure he was alright. He was a tough guy- one of the kids even asked if he ever cried. He made me take a picture of his wound for all to see.

We can't wait to take the whole family!

Action Packed Saturday

Today was a BLAST! It was a gorgeous Hawaii day and we took full advantage of it. This morning started out with the final ride of our catamaran trips with the FRG families. I wasn't going to go after the wild ride from last weekend, but the day seemed just perfect and we had a guest who had spent the night and thought it would be a nice treat. This was the best day on the ocean we've had. We saw 4 whales that were pretty close. They breached and spouted and it was amazing being in the water with them. We were able to stop the boat for a few minutes and check out a favorite snorkeling spot called Turtle Canyon. There were several green sea turtles and a school of black trigger fish hanging out by the boat. The sailing was perfect; we were cruising along and weren't getting soaked, the sun was shining and the views were outstanding.

After the cruise, we headed up into the mountains for some hiking. We went to the Pali Lookout and hiked the Old Pali trail and on into the Manawiliwili. It started out super windy, which was so cool for the kids and then took us along the side of the Ko'olau mountains. We were in a beautiful rainforest and it was awesome to take in the ocean views from within the mountain trail. We will definitely be heading back to this trail. I love the picture of Hunter and Nick. They look like they're hanging out on the side of a giant mountain, but they weren't up very high. We're not into mountain climbing just yet, I'm sure that will be coming later.

Another beautiful day that reminds me of the awesomeness of God and how blessed we are to experience paradise daily.

Our first BIG race

On Monday the kids and I ran in the Great Aloha Run. It's an 8.15 mile course and we did it with about 20,000 of our not-so-closest-friends! We were up at 3:45 to get to the Aloha stadium and catch a shuttle to the starting line. The streets were shut down for the runners and I couldn't believe how many people were out at 5 am on a holiday. The race is a non-profit fundraiser for local charities and a great cause to support. Jason and other soldiers ran 6 miles last week to support the cause also. This was quite the experience for us.

It was very crowded and we dodged and weaved through the walkers and tried to stay together. I wore the brightest shirt I own just in case we were separated. We caught up to several friends and chatted while we ran. Ashley, of course being the all-knowing 14-year-old that she is, decided to disregard my advice to train with us, hydrate the day before, stretch, wear comfortable clothing and set a good starting pace. Needless to say, by mile 3 1/2 she was miserable. I'm sure many around us were laughing at the conversation, or whining, that was taking place for the remainder of the race. She finished strong and after telling me this was the "worst day of my life" repeatedly, we are planning to run again next year- she liked the free stuff at the end, which included donuts, water, banana, and a t-shirt. hmmmm.......what kind of motivation am I enticing her with???

Hunter was quite the little competitor. He and I have been training twice a week for this event and he was ready! He did great except for the part where he had to stop and pee in the bushes (while 20,000 people ran by and traffic passed on the other side of the highway). He was at emergency overload; I guess some things never change. He kept a good pace and actually sprinted in the last 1/2 mile with a friend from swimming. We had to walk for about 1/2 mile so Ashley could take a breather. It pretty much killed him to have people passing us as we became the walkers. Where did that competitive spirit come from, I wonder?? I'll have to ask the Monopoly King when I talk to him.

I was glad we did it together and we did have fun. We could barely walk down the stairs or get into the Jeep on Tuesday, but it's all good. I'm thankful for strong and healthy bodies. We ended up finishing with a total time of 1 hr 30 min. I know we were running faster than that because our breaks and short walk slowed us down. Go TEAM Tuten! Next year we will run with Jason.

If you would like to see all of our pictures go to marathonfoto.com, choose the Great Aloha Run 2009, tuten, our race bib numbers were 14133, 14132, 14131.

Hunter

Wild Valentine's Day

We have been so busy trying to keep everything running smoothly. We were able to have a little fun this weekend though. On Saturday I had organized two sailing trips for my FRG ladies. Of course this trip was much different than the last. The winds were gusting to 35 mph, which made our boat go much faster. The seas were a little rough, so we were getting pretty wet from that and then of course there was the typical 5 minute down pour that we get here in Hawaii. Some people were feeling sea sick, we were all wet and cold; but after all the bad stuff, we had a very enjoyable time. The most beautiful rainbow came out over Honolulu and reminded me that through the storms in life, we have to look for the rainbows that follow. I really needed that this week. When I got home there was a dozen red roses waiting for me from a very sweet guy in Iraq. I would have preferred a hand delivery by my wonderful husband, but for now I will just appreciate his thoughtfulness.