Independence Day at Hanalei, Brady Turns 38

Our kids both had summer camps June 19-23rd.  Zachary played basketball each day and Kate participated in a theater, art, and dance camp based on the theme "Trolls."  I loved that the camps lined up for the kids and it broke up the summer a bit, although we still had plenty of pool and beach time in the later afternoons.  We had to get in a few more times surfing before Zachary's friends took off for the rest of summer.  All day camp plus several hours of the beach nearly killed off Kate, but it will probably be Zac's best week of summer.

 The last day had demonstrations for basketball and a show for Kate.  She was really nervous about forgetting moves but danced confidently and with so much heart.

Brady also attended scout camp for a bit at the end of June.  He took some teaser photos for our next Kauai kid-free adventure.

 We broke ground for our house on June 20th!

 We hit some serious rock on our property.  We were lucky and hit very little on our Poipu house #1, but this time it delayed us a bit.  We loved finding out that subdivision didn't bury our utility lines deep enough and we had to excavate the lines out and dig through the rock to get them up to code.

 An afternoon at the pool followed by dinner at Keoki's to celebrate groundbreaking!

 Owen loves taking his turn to practice.

Like all summers, we spend the first couple hours doing school work, journaling/writing letters, piano, etc.  Owen cruises and naps and then we head out for the beach or pool, usually meeting up with friends.

Owen's favorite toy: the kitchen and play food.

The waves were huge at the end of June.  Zac paid for mini boards and the boys love getting "swallowed by barrels" with them.  Kate loves them because they are a better size for her.

Owen mimics the kids for piano and also does mat work like me.  I spent June trying to squeeze in elliptical and cycling workouts since I still could not run or do any lunges.  Argh.  It is getting a little tough making it to the gym with the house construction but we are figuring it out.

 Kealia Bike Path!  This coastal path is the best for a sweet little family adventure.  We should have rented a tandem bike so Kate could enjoy it more, but we know for next time.  She handled about 2 miles and then checked out.

 Zac and Brady off roading:

Looking back at my two kids in the trailer, I could not believe how similar their faces look.

 Red dirt face.

 Zachary's chain came off about a dozen times.

 Kate fell asleep very conveniently when we were supposed to pick up her bike and ride it back to the car.  Maybe.  The jury is still out: faking or not???

 Owen did not love that.  Here, she is definitely asleep.

 Ono Ono Shave Ice to finish off the extremely hot afternoon.

Getting ready for church with the kids on Sunday mornings without Brady is an adventure in patience.  If I make it through without yelling, I'm impressed with myself.  Owen is happy most of the week, but Sunday mornings, he cries and hangs on to my legs as I go from kid to kid and attempt to dress us all up.  This particular morning, I was annoyed, and then watched this little scene with a melted heart.

I think it's super cute that the kids watch Baby Einstein with O.

Kate and Zachary catching a messy wave together on the mini boards.

 Aunty Jes cruising with Owen.  Finn and Zachary play hard in the water every time we get together.

 More progress on the house.

Nic and Heidi went with a huge group of friends to Kalalau the first weekend of July.  Now that the kids are older, having extra kids around feels more like fun playdates and less like babysitting.  Our kids play together perfectly.  We enjoyed time at the pool and liked Kalipaki so much, we spent two afternoons there.

 My kids finally discovered bikes in the driveway again.  I thought they would love biking here, but since we moved in, they left it alone for the most part (it is really bumpy).  Shay and Tate changed that for us, and now my kids bike almost daily.  Owen throws a fit if we pull into the house and don't spend time--a lot of time--biking.

 Tate and Brady paddle boarding.  I also took Zachary out to the surf.  He was pretty spooked by the waves and reef there.  It's the furthest he's paddled out and I think anytime you are at a new break, the waves look intimidating.  I'm noting this now because in a couple years, he will have a good laugh about it.  Kalipaki waves are generally very gentle and easy, and he will master them in no time.

Owen turned 18 months!

He had his first day in nursery.  Wow.  First kid, you look forward to them going and can hardly wait.  Last kid, it's emotional and you can't believe they are possibly old enough to play alone with other kids (and leaders) and without you.

His first time coloring:

 Basketball camp inspired us to buy a hoop.  We've never had a good place to put it, and we won't have a great place in the next house, either.  Hopefully we do not regret this decision, but so far, it makes our hearts happy to play ball and hear Zac dribbling around every day.

Zac helped from start to finish.

A pretty scene from a Sunday stroll:

Same day, but from our house:

July 3rd meant fireworks at PMRF.  Every year, we debate attending and every year we question our decision to go.  It's an hour away, the traffic is terrible, and we get home close to midnight.  We pay for it with tired kids for a few days.  Fireworks are magical but we still wonder (and I'm sure we will still go next year!).  Owen vacillated between saying "Oh, wow!," pointing to the fireworks in fascination, and crying.

 The car ride home:

 July 4th, we met up with the Clarks and our visiting friends, the Chaddertons.  They lived here for years but moved away two years ago with a promise that maybe they would move back.  It's clear that will never happen but it was fun to see them again.

Shay worked on teaching Kate to cartwheel, and we played in the water, swam to the pier, jumped off the pier, and played hard in the sand.

This place was Owen's dreamland.  He loved playing in ocean water without waves.  (The rest of us wished for waves.)

Bare bum wedgie.  I promise he always wears a swim diaper in the pool, but at the beach it seems pointless.

He cracked us up kicking around and swimming, trying to stay parallel on the top of the water.

It is such a mystery how Zachary gets sand in his ears.  Maybe he would do well crossing the Sahara.

Making pyramids:

Zachary's favorite part of the day was when we moved from one part of the beach to a mile down the beach.  He ran as fast as he could to beat the cars.  It was not easy to move spots with the July 4th crowds but we promised Kate some waves to surf on.

Yahoo, Kate!!  I'm not as good at pushing into waves, so she was too far forward most of the time.

Zachary and I had fun riding some baby waves together.

Kate and Zachary rode a few together.

Kate was courageous and stayed in the water even though the board bumped her head a few times.  After her 6th wave, though, she was done.  Way to go, sis!

We did not leave the beach until 5:45pm, so our dining options on the long drive home were limited and we settled for Taco Bell.  It reminded us of the year we spent Christmas Day at Hanalei with Nic and Heidi and had no place to eat but No. 1 Chinese on the way home.

July 5th=Brady's 38th birthday!  We got up and made him a birthday breakfast before he left for work.

We all love Brady.  I remember celebrating his 22nd birthday and it boggles my mind that he's at 38.  The years look good on him.  Brady works hard, he plays hard, and he always has time to make moments for the kids, answer my calls and texts, and make us all feel like priorities.  He's funny and somehow makes us feel like we are funnier because he will laugh every time, even at bad jokes.  He has many talents but I think his best talent is connecting with people.  Happy, happy, happy birthday, Brady!

It's a bummer to work on your birthday, but we picked up sandwiches and met him at the green belt after work, riding down the hill on skateboards, running laps, and enjoying the views.  After, Nic and Heidi's family came over for cake and presents.  I finally replaced the GoPro we lost in Alaska (RIP) and I'm excited for the underwater shots we get of the kids!

 Opening presents at home with Nic and Heidi's family.

 Nic and Baby O have a special relationship.

 Living room hula hoop competition and a few board games included.

 A card from Kate:

A card from Zachary:

A few random, silly shots of the kids:

Kate's friend Evelyn visited from Utah and we had her here for two days.  I've done a lot of babysitting this summer but none of it has been hard.  It's changed up the pace of the days and made more meaningful experiences.  She and Kate played together for hours and reconnected immediately and without hesitation.

 A chef:

This weekend, we had a gorgeous afternoon with the Johnsons, Summerhays, Clarks and Chaddertons at Waiohai.  Kate and I played in water for hours, Owen swam around with his floaties, and Zachary braved the water and sand with his skateboard rash.  It was a lovely afternoon and reminded us that the best part of Kauai is the convenience of family adventures.

We said goodbye to the Chadderdons with a BBQ here last night.  We snapped a shot of Paislee for Blake and Rach.  Paislee is a gem, and the boys in our ward followed her around like her entourage.  It's definitely our loss that they don't live here anymore, and reminds us that the worst part of Kauai is getting left behind.

The boys put their hair in man buns and decorated their faces with putty.