November

November started with a surf date with Kate.  I can't think of anything better than being in the water with my kids.  We finished the night off with hot tubbing and dinner pool-side.

The next day, we woke up early to cheer on Brady in the Koloa Sugar Mill half marathon, and Zachary in the 5K.   Zachary finished first in his age group and 11th overall in a group of 258 runners.  His time was a 23:04 even after coming off a futsal tourney the night before.  Brady was still down with a yucky cold but decided to run it to keep up with tradition.  He finished first in his age division as well, and ran a 1:36 time.  Kate, Owen, and I loved biking around to cheer them on.

I promised the kids donuts after the race and we walked through dumping rain to get them at Big Save.

Kate is on a mission to convince me before Christmas that she needs a gear bike.  She bikes every chance she gets and mentions five times per ride that she'd be so much faster with gears.

Kate's last soccer practice of the season ended with a spectacular sunset.

Another beach Saturday with fun waves, tricks, and a heart seashell Kate found me.

It's amazing to me that his big body can surf on something so small.

Karl and Chrysta came to visit for five days, and we packed in as much time with them as possible with a few dinners, a hike back in Mahaulepu, turtles nesting after dark, church, and boogie boarding/beach time.

The new iPhone camera is legit: this was taken at 9:45pm.

Kate created a riddle game and was chosen by her teacher to represent the 3rd grade at the Fall Festival.  She ran the booth and helped contribute to the $350 her grade made that night.  She finished off a fun evening with friends by winning 2nd place in the pumpkin race against 30 other kids.  She is gold with those pumpkins!  (The night ended not as great a little later when we got a flat tire in the parking lot and eaten alive by one hundred mosquitos.)

These boys have been "bros" since Kindergarten and David invited them for a day long party at the beach and Marriott.

Owen had a two week period where there was a lot of scratching, hitting, and yelling involved.  Timeouts weren't helping, and at one point, I told Brady that I was not hitting my 85% mark for loving parenting moments.  I read up on some mommy blogs and decided to only positively reinforce him, completely quit with the timeouts for now, and "ignore the junky behavior."  It worked!  I do not know that it will always work, but such a change since then and combined with sleeping in one Saturday morning, a surf session, hanging out with girls, and a night out with Brady, I was feeling much better than 85%.

This sand art session at Mahaulepu also had my heart thumping with love.

Owen and I crafted a few times, and I love that all of his gratitude feathers are mostly people.

We had several trial runs for our Thanksgiving pie contributions.  Yum.

Thanksgiving prelude included the beach every day after school with friends.  Yay for a break between sports seasons!  Zachary suddenly got really into surfing on his surfboard with Finn over that week and caught dozens of waves each session.

Kate is on student council this year and loved participating in teacher recognition and expressing thanks to every staff member before break.

Zac is the best brother to Owen.

Brady took Kate to see the turtles late the night after I first saw them with Karl and Chrysta.  What an experience!  They counted 32.

The next morning, Brady got up at 3am to do a coast-to-coast race with Travis and a few other elite runners on the island.  They started at Ke'e Beach and ran clear to Kekaha in a Ragnar-style relay.  He packed 5 running outfits for his five relay legs.  I could not believe he was up for this the Saturday after the half marathon.  So happy to make more connections on the island.  His team won first place.

The kids and I have been jamming along to Kids Bop Dance-Along videos.  What a blast.

One morning, Zachary woke up and acted jumpy and nervous.  We asked him what was going on and he said, "I'm in the spelling bee today."  It was the first I heard of it--I swear we talk to him every single day.  Vicki texted me and asked if I was coming when it had already started, letting me know that he had been diligently practicing words in a club for two months.  Oh my.  Brady and I were both able to tune in online and watch him get through to the 4th round.  So nerve-wrecking!  When I asked him about it later, he said he had no idea it was a big deal or something parents attended.  Haha.  Love that he is so willing to participate.

Beach Saturday with the Stebbedlarks (Stebbins, Edwards, Clarks).  Between flips and tricks, Zac covers his face in pinworms....er...mud.

He seriously has his head in the sand.  (I'm on a roll today.)

I was so nervous for him as Owen "helped," sure it would end up with O stepping on his head.

Sunday bike rides.  Sunday nights are my very favorite of the week--completely relaxed, playing together, and then board games or America's Favorite Home Videos.  We always have to convince the kids to bike or walk with us but they end up loving it.

Owen and his cars.

We had some fun swells come in for November on the south shore.  Also spotted the first whale of the season and a pod of dolphins from shore.

Kate has been surfing frequently, too.  I told her I would buy a Pura Vida surf bracelet for her if she did 10 surfs.  Her last two surfs were in the twilight/darkness and she paddled into the waves herself (no pushes!).  So proud of her, and loving our water time together.

Thanksgiving!  This Thanksgiving was pretty much perfect.  We woke up early and went to the Turkey Bowl football game.  The kids wanted to play at the park, so I joined the game, too.  Brady and I went to the gym afterwards, followed by swimming with the kids at the Koloa Landing pool (Clarks were staying there).  We showered and changed in record time to be ready for our 12:30pm reservation at Koloa Landing for the Thanksgiving meal.  It was an expensive bust this year but still no work at all, so hey, minimal complaints from me!  We then went to the beach and surfed as a family and then I had 45 minutes on crystal clean waves at Waiohai with friends.  That night, we indulged in a pie party at Stebbins, laughing and eating the night away.  Perfection.

Kate, soaking up time with Paige.

Koloa Landing kid crew.

More sand people while mama surfs.  No be jealous of Owen's ripped bod.

...or Kate's mermaid curves.

Unfortunately, Zachary came down with a fever.  He was achy and so ill, so we changed our plans for the weekend.  Brady and I were able to take Owen on a bike ride to Mahaulepu.  Owen loved exploring and we remembered just how serene it is back there.

Owen fell asleep over the handlebars on the way home.  That night, I stayed back with Zac, surfed for an hour, and Brady took Owen and Kate to see "Frozen 2."  I let them go.  Harharhar.  See?!  On fire, baby.

Saturday, we took Zac to the pediatrician for a throat culture, picked up our tree, and exhausted ourselves with Christmas decorations.  Our adventure for the day was the pool.  Shrug.  They can't all be gold star days.

Any gold star day for Owen involves the trampoline.  He asks me to join him at least 5 times a day.

So thankful, so grateful, so already into Christmas season at time of posting.