Here Comes the Bride ...

We attended Anuhea's wedding in Kanehoe at the Ho'omaluhia Gardens. Very nice (except for the mosquitos who feasted on Makana - covered and now with hives - Kaiser awaits us tomrrow). Setting was very beautifiul - and kids enjoyed swinging from trees and spotting mongoose(s) -- I kid you not!

Little Surfer Girls!

Cowabunga dudes! We ripped it up on Oahu with a nice south shore swell earlier this week. Dana and Sarah rode the waves ... and then all the girls 13 and under joined in the fun the next day. Fats took on the trio, with Mama Dana catching the incoming riders and pushing them out to Fats. Megan and Sarah went with another instructor, and everyone shredded!

Maui's Finest!

Who said the finest pineapples don't come from Maui? Actually, we think they visited Maui but live in California. Here are some of our pre-flight snaps in the airport (we are now back on Oahu again ... and have already eaten manapuas, malasadas and ziggy is happy to see us). Enjoy!

Maui Wowee - In a coco-nut-shell

Here's the latest day-by-day/play-by-play:

July 13 - flew from Kauai to Oahu -- then on to Maui

July 14 - Kaiser Clinic (again) for Makana and Megan got into it with a Portuguese Man O War.  

July 15 - Rock the Boat -- see video for the adventure on the high seas.  Highlights were riding the waves aboard the Trilogy like cowgirls at a rodeo; Lala feeding the fishies; snorkling at Molokini; checking out sea turtles!

July 16 - Wongs tackled the Sleeping but Still Active Haleakala and the Youngs went to Wailea with the Daums (water slides, etc. , at Kealani - Lala lost goggles)

July 17 - Lahaina with the crew - Cheeseburger in Paradise and BBQ (Who Cut The Cheese stop) with the gang

July 18 - Coconuts for lunch (fish tacos) and hanging with the Daums (then Sansei for Sushi!)

Riding the Waves of Maui Wowee on the Trilogy

Talk about high adventure on the seas of Maui!  We were soaked, but happy!  Riding the waves like cowgirls at a rodeo!  We boarded the vessel in the am, one little triplet fed a few fishes (don't ask, not pretty, but will talk about it for years to come), saw amazing fish at Molokini Crater (a caldera of the still active but quiet for now Haleakala), viewed some sea turtles, and had a wild ride on Trilogy (see video).  The highlight for the kids (and moms) was the sailing back on the high seas (talk about saltwater shower!!)

Aloha for now -- more to come!!

Recap of trip thus far (Chron Order)

June 27/28 - Arrival of the Wong/Youngs - Woyoungs or Yongs!

Paddle Board pick up and used every day until return on July 3

June 29 - Zoo Camp Day 1 bugs and Surf (Sarah lesson; Dana hit the waves)

June 30 - Zoo Camp Day 2 birds; Kahala and Shave Ice

July 1 - Skip Zoo and did Field Trip to Laneakea (Turtle Cove) with Tiffany

July 2 - Zoo Camp mammals; Happy Bday Stan Wong; Surfing again; Ala Moana Picnic

July 3 - Zoo Camp endangered; Hanauma Bay and Kong Kee dinner with lots of vino

July 4 - Melissa's and then up to the overpass for fireworks

July 5 - flew to Kauai; Hamura's first stop and then out to the beach house in Kekaha

July 6 - Hanalei drive; caves, snorkling -- "sea snake aka. spotted eel"

July 7 - Baby Poipu and Poipu for more snorkling

July 8 - Wailua waterfall, lots of chickens, Hamura's AGAIN, made leis, Joel/Kendall pool - froggin 

July 9 - Spouted Horn, drove to "old" Embassy, and then Joel/Kendall pool (spotted big mama later that night - see video for her repeat performance)

July 10 - travelled to Waimea Canyon without "incident" and to Kokee State Park; Joel/Kendall's; then Hanapepe Art Walk

July 11 - Hanalei Garden Crafts Fair, crazy cool rain storm over the bay, "haunted hanalei house" opened mysteriously; Jojos shave ice and Laperts in Hanapepe; spotted and filmed Big Mama Mia and Squeekers

July 12 - packed up house and headed to Poipu Hyatt ...

Next recap coming soon!

Tonight we did our nightly Frogging...yay!!!

On this side we caught our famous Big Mama again!! This time 

she was even bigger!! And on the other side we caught

Squeekers. We also caught another frog but we let that one 

go. In this video when Makana lets go of Big Mama Mia, listen to Big Mama Mia

hiss... 

Waimea Canyon, Hanapepe Art Walk, and more Frogs

Here's our new favorite sign -- in honor of DA Wongs!  Today is Friday -- and we made it all the way to the top of the Waimea Canyon (aka. the Grand Canyon of the Pacific) and it was worth the drive.  Not a single "incident" (remember last Christmas and the "orange  projectile moment??")   Then headed to Joel and Kendall's pool for some serious RnR and board time.  Enjoyed dinner at the beach house and then off to the Art Walk! Pulling up to Hale Hihio -- we caught a froggy on our lawn and enjoyed another evening of froggin!

Ka-WHYEEEEE

More trips to Hamura Saimin, snorkling in Hanalei (and yes, lots of amazing fish and well, and eel or two), Froggin at night (check out the size of Big Mama Mia -- named by the girls), visits to Poipu, the Opaekaa Falls, Wailua and a sudden but welcome rain shower and more!  Here are some of our latest snaps.

Homura Saimin - Best Noodles EVA!

Aloha from Kauai.  We landed on July 5th and went straight from the plane to the cars to Hamura for grinds!

!  

Honus Galore!

On our field trip to Lanikea this week, we thought what better way for the kids to learn about sea life, than experiencing it live. We were lucky enough to see more than 12 Hawaiian Sea Turtles. They frolicked in the surf, slept on the beach, and even gave a few of us a close encounter that scared the you-know-what out of a few of us!

Rating Shave Ice Flavors

We've been several days in a row to Waiola Shave Ice, and will shortly head to Masumotos for comparison. Here's where we net out in terms of our fav flavs (Rating system is Ono -- good; Shaka -- pretty good; Junk -- neva order no more!)

Maile had Cotton Candy (with vanilla ice cream on bottom) and Bubblegum (with vanilla ice cream on bottom) as well as Guava.
Ke'ale had Cotton Candy, Chocolate, and Guava shave ice flavors.
Mak stuck to vanilla ice cream two times, but tried Watermelon with ice cream on the bottom.
Megan had Mango, Mango and then Orange Guava.
Sarah tried Rainbow, then Cherry Vanilla, and then Pineapple/Orange.

• Ono rating goes to Guava and Bubblegum; Shaka to Cotton Candy
• Ono rating goes to Guava and Cotton Candy, but Chocolate gets a big JUNK
• Ono rating goes to Watermelon; Shaka to ice cream.
• Ono rating to both Mango and Orange Guava.
• Ono rating to Cherry Vanilla and also Pine/Orange; Shaka to Rainbow.