Trying out the new camera

My siblings gave me a new camera for my birthday - yes, I received the gift a bit early :-) On Sunday, we took a family trip to Julia Pfieffer Beach so that I could try it out. We found ourselves surrounded by other people with the same idea, each person loaded down by tripods, lenses, filters and each aiming for the absolute perfect angle...

The three guys spent the time exploring the beach as I honed my camera skills and marveled at God's wonders. Bob used his camera phone and captured the gorgeous light on the mountain behind us as the sun set in the Pacific.

Math

Lukas took his math lesson outside - the weather was nice, and he needed to measure shadows. How many places can one be outside doing math in January? We are truly blessed.

All but one piece

Back home, Noah set out to finish the Christmas puzzle that we started. This challenging puzzle given to him by his brother had a mere 550 pieces but the edge was not straight, it resembled the outline of the United States..
He got to put the second to last piece in, the last piece was MIA. One the picture was taken, the puzzle disassembled and packed away, the last piece showed up.

It is too bad our Swedish family did not get to see it complete as they spent hours piecing together mountain ranges and Indian teepees. 

A few memories

Noah had to have a picture of this restaurant sign, we are still laughing over the name... it sounds so pretty when the locals say it.. but when we try, it is more like blabbering babies..
Each day we received a new wrist band and Noah wore his with pride - not until we were back home would he allow a scissor to come near these visible souvenirs of a fabulous vacation.
We attended a Luau and the boys got to see the pig come out of the underground hole where it was cooked.

Our last night, we took a walk along the shore line, watched the whales spouts, and enjoyed the pretty sunset. What a wonderful way to start 2013.

Sunsets competition

Since we live in Monterey, we are spoiled with beautiful, amazing, and colorful sunsets - however, I think Hawaiian sunsets have Monterey beat...

Pools, slides, sand, swim, more slides, more swim

Bob returned the rental car and the lazy, go nowhere, do nothing part of our Hawaii excursion began. The hotel property was expansive and offered several pool options along with multiple slides, a Tarzan swing and even a water elevator. The beach was a few short steps away and the while snorkling the boys saw a large sea turtle.

The most difficult decision we faced was which pool to pick as home base for the day - the upper pool, by the Tarzan swing, alongside the lazy river... decisions, decisions....

Hawaiian greetings

When we checked in to the hotel, we were greeted with traditional Hawaiian leis. Although I have seen these in the past, this was the first time that I have received one and the boys happily shared theirs with me as soon as I had taken the photos.

Sunset walk

We ended our car tour of the island with a sunset walk on the Kaanapali beach before heading back to the hotel for dinner and sleep.

Tarzan?

Noah found the tree vines simply irresistible.. he had to try swinging....

More touring

In the early afternoon, Bob had completed his work for the day so the four of us headed north to explore a bit more before we had to return the rental car. We stopped at several beaches.  The boys swam, while we sat in the shade under a tree enjoying the views, the gentle breeze and the sun's rays on our winter white legs. We did not turn around until we hit the northwest most corner, a most magnificent view and some pretty good winds...