Aloha, Jellyfish, Chickens, and School

We ended summer break by taking the kids to Maui for the first time.  It had been 13 years since Nate and I had been.  It was all about introducing the kids to new sights, foods, and adventures. We learned quite a bit about our kids.  Lily wins Gold for adventurous spirit and giving everything thrown at her a go.  Paul wins Gold for surviving a jelly fish sting on his butt.  Elise wins Gold for body surfing and playing in the waves. We didn't expect Paul and Elise to both be staunchly against snorkeling after getting freaked out by taking a peak under water with their goggles.  Paul said the fish look at him weird and one had a long tongue that freaked him out.  Also, I had forgotten how many chickens there are roaming freely everywhere in Maui.  I didn't expect Paul to be so fearful of these "rogue" chickens.  We live next door to three chickens in Portland but apparently Maui chickens look meaner.

We prefer staying in south Maui, this time in south Kihei.  We also prefer staying longer than a week.  It does make me curious how long we'd stay if we could stay however long we wanted.

Elise wearing her new Aloha shirt at sunset.  

Definitely wasn't expecting Lily joining me every morning at 545am for our morning walk in Wailea.  Didn't get Nicole time or podcast time but I did get good quality Lily time with insight into the ups and downs going on in her head - plenty of venting, insecurities, goals, dreams, and opinions.

Enjoyed sharing family cocktails and mocktails at the Grand Wailea. Elise just wanted a Dr Pepper.

Lucked out with good views and not too cold weather on Haleakala 

Maui turned Lily's dislike for fish around.  She really loved the fish tacos.

Paul getting to wear his cool Hawaiian shirt.  

Elise probably thinking about something sweet to eat.

First time eating shaved ice.  Two Thumbs up.

Elise loved either meditating and playing this game with the waves to see if the waves were strong enough to move her.  She definitely had the most sand in her bathing suit after a day at the beach.

Surfing success for all 3 kids.  Lily was the only one that went back out another day for a morning with Nate.  Nate and I both were really proud of them.  

Caught our twins having a twinning moment on the Twin Falls hike: https://youtu.be/BdtQOGDoLQg

We had just landed in Maui. Dropped off our suitcases and made our way right to the beach. This was Paul's first experience in warm Maui waters: https://youtube.com/shorts/uJrTqWC-cJE

Boogie Boarding sure is fun - https://youtu.be/EayweDK6ZYs

Back to reality a couple days after returning from paradise.  Lily's 1st day of 8th grade photo.  Yup, they do look alike.

Paul and Elise starting their last year at Chapman Elementary.  One more year being in the same class together.

End of first school week Eb and Bean treat

Lily joined me for some blackberry picking.  Loved seeing all the sunflowers too.  Plenty of baking over the long low key weekend.  

Kids are in school full time (no hybrid or remote learning being mentioned and masks are optional), Nate works from home full time, and I go into the office 2 days a week. 2nd COVID boosters look to become available this week.  For the kid's after school activities, Lily's Panto play practice will kick into high gear later this month and she says she'll join choir to add onto her occasional singing lessons. Elise will keep busy with karate, piano and Girl Scouts, while Paul will be focused on tennis for the next few months until baseball season starts up.  That will be how we fill our days for the next little bit if COVID and whatever else bigger than us and out of our control stay under "control." Immer Weiter.