Spring Break Hike

Guess where we went today?!



The parking lot in the crater was full, so we had to park at the bottom and hike into Diamond Head Crater, just to do "the hike". 10 mins into the hike and the kids were yelling for a break.

A view from our break stop.

4 more feet from where Tyler is standing, is a cliff. And we are not even at the point to start the hike.
The tunnel to get into the crater.

Randy couldn't believe I walked the kids through this tunnel. There weren't very many cars and every body else was walking too.

We finally made it in and were on our way. I don't know why Micah insists on wearing long pants and long sleeves. I did pack along T-shirt and shorts, but he refused to change even though he was HOT!

Tyler's hiking footwear, local style. Only in Hawaii.

Rest stop (again, 10 mins into the hike). Tyler's hot, Kara's got dirt in her eye (and wants to know why we have do this hike. People passing us heard cries of, "I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!".

We kept going and the trail went from sidewalk to rocky path. I think that's where the fun began for the kids.

We got up pretty high. You had to climb up into this rest stop. Because there was only me with the kids, I told them to just look from where we were standing.


We kept going and soon hit the "stairs". There were a lot of stairs. The kids each had maps and just were so excited when they could figure out where the were on the map. Soon I was hearing, "Mom, this is a fun hike! Let's keep going!" The map helped motivate them. When they could see on the map what was up ahead, they wanted to keep going to reach that next goal.

Speaking of which, what was next?

The tunnel. It was pretty dark in the tunnel.

Another rest stop after coming out of the tunnel. Not the most flattering of me, but the background I thought was cool, shows how high we were getting.

Next, you guessed it! More stairs. These ones went straight up. Half way up, Micah hopped into the rain gutter that you see to the left of the stairs. He thought it would make a great slide. Not if the bottom is off the cliff. I of course screamed at him to get back on the stairs.

We were getting closer to the top. This was the bottom of the observatory.


When we came out, this was the view.

Here's another cool sight! All of this is Kahala and Waikiki area, where are all the rich people live.

Hey! More stairs.

This is the absolute top of Diamond Head. We reached the top and it was cool!

These were beautiful views. This is Waikiki.

Picture time.

The girls.

This is this other side, Kaimuki area. The nursing school I went to is in this area.

After reaching the top, it was time to go back down.

The tunnel was dark, a couple of kids hit that side rail because the path would curve.

I think going down was harder. I had to keep Micah from running full speed. I was afraid he was going to either plow into some old lady in front of us, or go right off the edge in some areas.

Almost done. You can see some of the kids are tired and laughing from delirium.


Here's a view of where we were. Kind of hard to see from this picture. I was so happy we did the hike. The kids did great and said that they loved the hike. They were exhausted and so was I. The only sad thing was that Randy couldn't be with us. Next time dear.

Spring Break Bake Sale

The kids have been begging me for a while to do a bake sale. I had them wait for Spring Break because I knew it would be an undertaking. We went to Walmart the day before to get ingredients. Just that task alone was opening the kids' eyes as to how big a task this was. After ingredients were bought, goodies were made and packaged, we were ready for business. The girls set up shop right outside our door.







Unfortunately, the effects of the recession were felt by the girls, as there was slow traffic. The girls did get a little business but not as much as they had hoped. We ended up eating their goodies over the weekend. We'll have to come up with a better business plan for advertising.

Update: Tyler and his friend decided to do their own bake sale. They set up shop in a high traffic area with their goodies that they baked. They sold out everything and made $57! Poor Leigh and Kara only made $7.

Kuhio Day

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but this is how we spent Kuhio Day.

Down & Derby!

**Video added.

Tonight was the Kahuku 1st Ward's (Pack 66) Pinewood Derby. A night that Tyler, Dad and Grandpa have been working for over the last 3 weekends. Dad would help Tyler, showing him how to sand, paint and whatever else that goes into making these cars. We would also go on the weekends to work with Grandpa as well. Grandpa showed Tyler a lot of tricks of the trade.

We arrive with the room decorated in great race car style. The track is getting some last minute tweeking done. Bro. Hancock wanted to test it out so Tyler runs over there to use his car. He puts it on the track, and it falls to the ground. Both Randy and I, our eyes go wide in disbelief that his hard work could possibly have been wasted right there before the race even started. Randy examines the car, one of the wheels is slightly crooked. Aaaaaahhhh! Randy tinkers with it a little and it seems like it spins ok. Phew! We told Tyler to just hang on tight to his car.

More families trickled in and the excitement was felt. The boys would weigh their cars and then go to the pit-stop fixing their cars, getting them just right, as far as weight goes. Tyler's is 4.8 oz. There was one car that weighed exactly 5.0 oz. After the cars were checked in, it was time to race.

Tyler showing his baby, Quicksilver. Yup, that's what he appropriately named it (LOL!).

Tyler adding the final touches as Randy watches close-by.


I was manning the table with the cars that were ready to race. I put them upside down, in fear that they would roll off the table.

Tyler getting ready to race.

Some up close picks of the car. The sticker says "Quicksilver" if you can't read it.



We all watched the cars race and cheered for the winners. So far Tyler won every race and made it to the final round.


When it came down for the final race, we were all on pins and needles to see who would win. The crowd was chanting. You can't see to well, but Tyler is on the left and the final competitor is on the right. Yes, the one on the right was praying (too cute). Tyler was standing there, trying to hold back a HUGE smile. They raced the cars 4x's and . . . . . . Tyler's came out on top!

Tyler was declared the winner for the Pinewood Derby for Pack 66! Congratulations Tyler!
(We found out later that Tyler didn't realize that he had won until we congratulated him. He said, "Oh, I won?!" LOL!)

Tyler receiving his first place award.

This is me at the end, glad that it's over.

After winning, Tyler called Grandpa to share the good news and thanked him for all his help! Grandpa had more good news that night from Jett. Jett had placed 2nd in his pack! Tyler called and congratulated Jett as well. So fun! So now, it's on to Makahiki (the state Pinewood Derby competition) for both boys! It looks like it's going to be a family affair! Good job boys!