Cousin's Arrived at Ko Olina

Yes the cousins arrived. Ellie's dream come true since these cousins have girls just a year older and a year younger than her. This is Joel, Seth brother, and Julie's, my sorority sister, family. Its great because we get to hang out with family and friends. Its a combo deal! They are staying at a super fun resort in Ko Olina, a resort town on the other side of the island. We went to greet them and join them at the pool. 

The sunset on that side of the island was just beautiful. We walked the board walk as the sun went down. The kids built totem poles out of themselves and we got an eight is enough picture below.

The next day we meet up with them to snorkel at Shark's cove. It was really warm and low tide, which made for a bit less snorkeling but great for the kids to get around the cove. Sam snorkeled out with Ashley and Brooklyn and saw all sorts of fish. As you can see, the water is so clear and it is protected by reef, so no waves, which makes it nice for the little ones.

Ellie and Brookie wore matching rash guards. Its great to have such fun cousins!

Jake, unfortunately, has no fear of the water. He has learned to hold his breath under water, but doesn't close his eyes, so he doesn't like the salt water. He is sporting his full piece rash guard and dark Scandinavian tan. So sporty and handsome. He's checkin' out the fish with his bro.

After Sharks cove we went up the shore to Sunset beach. We had yet to swim at Sunset because of the strong tides. But it was calm this day, so we all hopped in. Sam spent the time diving for sea shells. It kept making me nervous because I would look around and not see him and then he would pop up from below the swells. He has really learned to love the ocean, all aspects of it. 

Hailey and Jayne are mostly inseparable. They are usually holding hands, but here they are just digging for treasures.

 This is Will, age 3, and Jake, age 2. They are what you would call- "frienemies." Friends plus enemies. Both have super strong personalities, but kind of like to push each others buttons. Will wants to hold Jake's hand and steer him around. Jake will have none of it. Will get up close to Jake's face and of coarse as you know from previous posts, Jake hits everything within his arm's radius. We have warned Will that Jake will hit him. But Will is 3, and that doesn't always make sense, and really Jake doesn't always make sense to any of us. But Jake loves Will and follows him, because Will is bigger and cooler. So we will give them a break since they are 2 and 3, and know that they will be good buds when they are a bit older. 

 This was the kids table at Bob's Pizza in Halewia. The children barely survived their starvation after a full day at the beach. The table and floor didn't fare as well. 

On Saturday morning we decided to hike Wamae Falls. The waterfall was open for swimming and the hike as doable with 9 children under the age of 11 years old. So we set off with Ellie as our guide.

Again, Jayne and Hailey, mostly found holding hands or giggling. And excellent hikers as well.

The fearless crew. All looking good pre-hike.

This is what Seth called the homeless stroller. At all times it had a diaper bad, a snack bag, 13 towels draped over it, a couple pairs of flip flops, goggles, a bottle, camera, and some water. Oh yes, and a baby and a toddler on board. Joel was recruited to push it up all of the hills due to it extreme weight carrying all of these items. But we could have been lost in Waimae Canyon and survived with this trusty homeless looking stroller. 

Water break with our trusty tour guide!

Cousin love fest continues.

Ellie helping Jayne find her smile while hiking.

Jake, below, after stealing Will's place on the stroller. Can't you just hear him saying,"Awe."

I think this is what we would call Seth's kissy face! Remember, Ellie has the camera on this hike.You can see her in Seth's glasses. 

Ashley and Ellie terrified by the spiky tree.

And finally, we made it to the falls. It was a gruelling 3/4 mile hike :). The water was only 65 degree. We are use to swimming in the super warm 80 degree ocean, so it was cold. But we all took the challenge and swam over to the falls. There was a lot of squealing along the way, but definitely a lot of smiles.

Below is Joel with the big kids standing next to the falls.

Jake, unafraid of cold water, jumped in and loved floating in his life jacket. He cried when I left him to swim to the falls because he wanted to come too. But it was a little too cold to haul him along. 

This is a still happy crew after swimming in the falls.

And for the grand finale of the day, we took the cousins to our favorite beach- Castles. They boogie boarded, body surf, and jumped on the long board to catch some waves. We played there until the sun went down.

Here is darling baby Claire. Probably one of the best babies to grace this earth. She is such a cute baby. I think it has to due to her chubby cheeks. How could you not be the happiest baby in the world with those cheeks? She is chillin' in her car seat watching her parents boogie board.

And Jake. Happy in his Hawaiian home at the beach. He now sings songs about waterfalls and beaches and daddies. They are all originals. He'll be signing a record contract any day now. To me, children singing, is a sign of happiness.

To end the day after a quick wash up at our home- coconut shrimp, burgers, and home cut fries at Kahuku Grill. If you've had it, you know what I mean. If you haven't, get on over here and we'll take you.