Summer 1: Getting Turned Around, Ramping, and an Oahu Getaway

 Summer started the moment we got off the plane.  We squeezed in playdates with friends leaving for the summer.  Then, two days after we came off a 6-hour-time difference, we left our house at 4:15am to race Hanalei.

Owen continued his reign as Most Content Child Ever for this day.

 Kate was ecstatic to run with her friends!  Her goal was to run without stopping.

 Zachary and Chase strategized for the race for an hour before the start.  The truth is that Zachary strategized for weeks.  He was so excited and anxious.  He figured this was his year to win it all.  Last year, he narrowly came in second (although first in his age group).  He practiced on the treadmill, did runs on our trip, and talked about this for months.  He asked us for food recommendations the week before, making sure to avoid foods he thought would slow him down (like french fries and burgers).  He set out his clothes on Friday afternoon and asked to go to bed early.  This kid was ready and excited.

 It was heartbreaking to watch the race unfold.  He got to the halfway point faster than the lady turning kids around anticipated, and she failed to tell him.  He was a quarter mile past when I finally caught up to him to and turned him around.  He was crushed.  I was so proud of the way he took that tangible disappointment and still ran hard to the finish.  He ran a full half mile longer than everyone else and still finished 6th overall and 2nd in his age group.  He was in tears at the finish, and the race organizers eventually came over and discussed a solution.  Since he was ahead by such a huge margin at the halfway point, they awarded him the win.  That was totally fair because the first place runner ran a 7:09 and he can run approximately a 6 minute mile based on the last few months.  (He was bummed to find out he could not get an accurate mile time.)

After racing in with Zac, I met up with Kate, who ran hard and through tummy cramps the last tenth of a mile.  She won her age group and finished with an 8:30 mile.

We were not allowed to walk down the road this year and cheer on Brady and our friends, so we clapped and shouted from the finish line.

Brady finished with a pace just over 7 min/mile.  He loved racing.

 The award ceremony and pancake breakfast were happy deals for our kids.

 Next up, a day at Hanalei with Nic and Heidi's family, complete with tacos we've always meant to try, a nap on the beach (or in the car in my case), and a perfect afternoon jumping off the pier, swimming again and again to the pier, playing in the water, and building sand.

 This summer has been full of beach days, and we're only a couple weeks in.  We mix it up with the pool occasionally, but after our morning routine with Owen's nap, piano/reading/school/journaling, we are there for several hours a day.  Early June has been perfect with fewer crowds.  It's starting to pick up and get more crowded, but we take the beach however we can get it.

Owen can now confidently bob around in his floaties.

Baby O is at such a busy stage!

 Zachary finished up his year of Cub Scouts.  They take off the summer which sounds brilliant to me.  He would love it if Cub Scouts was every day of the week.

More beach!  This day, Waiohai was flat and Owen was therefore willing to get in the water with me for long periods of time.  Usually, he hates the waves splashing him and will only get in for a few minutes at a time.

 My heart skipped a beat when I heard Kate say to Shay, "Pretend we're surfing!"  It took only a second to realize that she said, "Pretend we're riding horses," and I was a tiny bit disappointed, until I saw them standing on their boards over and over.

 Almost all my footage of water sport activity with the kids is in video.  Here's a cute shot of Zachary dropping in on the wave, followed by one of Kate finishing up a wave with Shay.

 I love it when the boys catch waves together and ride them in.  They paddled way back from just in front of the paddle boarder in the background.

 More playdates equals more time to play with dolls for Kate.  She loves dressing and redressing her "girls."

 We switched off with Nic and Heidi and planned a day to travel to Oahu and pick up finishes for the house.  I stressed and stressed over leaving Baby Owen.  I don't know why it is so hard to leave baby #3.  It was not so difficult leaving the other two.  Granted, I still breastfeed Owen.  I can get overly worried about things like choking and it consumes me sometimes.  In this case, I'm glad I was able to work through the concerns and leave him behind.  The trip would have been unproductive with him, and leaving him let us have a break and some recreation!  Heidi Clark was a saint and slept at our house so Owen would be in his own bed, then Heidi Herr, our lovely adult babysitter that is super sweet to our kids, watched them all the next day.

Picking out some of our possible finishes!

 This herringbone for the accent upstairs.  We are using marble, but only in the master.  We aren't using the background tile because it is too cream-colored.

 Our main contender for the master bath.

 My foodie friend Christina hooked us up with recommendations for plenty of restaurants.  Oahu food is 100 times better than Kauai food.

 Our granite and accent tile (an exact repeat of our last house):

 More stress over flooring.  It still hasn't been determined.

 The first day, by the time we checked into our hotel, worked out, and figured out our restaurant, we were seated for dinner at 10:00pm.  I felt so old, surrounded by younger, hammered singles.  The restaurant was LOUD and I was carsick from our missteps getting there.  Then they brought the best tacos I've ever had (spicy duck), with squash ravioli and green beans with mac nuts and we both thought it was probably our best ever dining experience.

 The next morning, we slept in until 7:30am.  Sweet mercy, 7:30am feels like heaven.  We headed out early for a crowded surf session at Waikiki.  It was my first surf since my knee surgery!  I was so excited to maneuver on my board and realize my knee was not holding me back.  It is still so stiff and I have not been able to resume normal activity at all yet, but at least I've got surfing back!

Next, we headed out for a hike, getting stuck in a traffic jam because...Honolulu.  We were glad we persisted, though, because this was our favorite Oahu hike.  I was also excited to learn that my knee can handle hiking 5 miles!

Our last dining experience was a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with killer food.  My friend warned us we would probably be the only ones there that were not Asian, but there were a few others, too.

 Three crazy good meals without kids?  It was refreshing and energizing.  We came home excited to see them, hug our baby, and bring in Father's Day.

I love celebrating Brady and my own dads.  I feel like me and the kids are lucky beyond words to have them all in our lives.  Brady is such a good example of hands-on parenting, and somehow manages to be energetic and fun even on hard days at work or at home.  I read a quote from the book that I started today (The Life We Bury), and I thought it described his personality well:  "He was...a man who possessed equal parts strength and gentleness and wore them, not in layers, but blended like fine leather."  We all love you, Brady.

Pre-church shots:

Second hour nap ritual:

Father's Day walk:

 Presents and cards.  Kate paid for the sign with her own money.  It's one of those things you think is so tacky until your kid gives to you, and then you keep it forever.

 Salmon bowls and chocolate tart to finish off the day.