Temple Valley

Our goal today was free entertainment for the kids, so we took them to Temple Valley. It is a Buddhist Temple that is actually hidden in the green hills on the windward side of the island. To our big disappointment, we had to PAY to get in (wasn't like that before), and with cash even. My how times have changed. We paid the $8 fee and we were on our way.

Isn't it just beautiful. Yup, definitely worth the $8. I love coming here, and the green mountains in the backdrop is my favorite site. They've used this location in movies. The most recent was a brief moment in Pearl Harbor. 
You have to cross over this bridge to get onto the grounds. We took our last official family pictures here.

My kids thought this sign was cool. I thought it was hilarious. I love how they are formal and say "therefore".

All the kids got a turn to ring this gigantic bell. I think there's a sign that says if you ring it, you will have peace (or something like that). How much do you want to bet the monks who live here hate that bell.

Off to the side are these stairs that lead to a water feature and pagoda. There aren't any pictures of that because while we posed, we were literally being eaten alive by mosquitos!

I love the angle of this shot that Randy took. I need to get him a good camera.

Can you tell which child of mine is the shy one? Do you see the japanese rock garden in the back? Randy and I joke about what would happen if we had one in our yard. Instead of peace and tranquility, it would cause us much anger and frustration from having to rake it 10x's a day from kids running all over it. 
Lots of Koi. They remind me of oversized goldfish.
You know you all want to say it. All together now, "Heeeeere fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy!!"
Another cool angle. The kids liked looking at the fish. They'll eat whatever you drop in the water.

See how deep in thought my children are. They're are thinking, "When are we leaving?" Nah, they did enjoy it, especially seeing the gigantic statue of buddah.

Beautiful. It looks so mystic.

Perks

One of the perks we get to enjoy from Randy working at BYUH, is their game room. It used to be open to the public, but now is limited to only students, staff (that's Randy), and dependents (that's us). We took the kids over there for some fun. They have a bowling alley. We all bowled, while Tyler played XBOX instead (can you tell we deprive him at home). The kids love to bowl as well as Randy and I. After bowling, Kara, Randy and Micah joined Tyler in some video games, while Leigh tried her hand at ping-pong for the first time. It was fun chasing that ball all over the place. She and I got a good workout. Kara and I did a little Dance-Dance Revolution before calling it a night. I do have to share that we only spent $16.00 for the whole night. Randy and I actually want to come here for a date night and just play. 

Cub Scout Day Camp (June 17th, 18th, 19th)

Tyler had his first Day Camp. He was excited about it all. Before he could leave though, I had to iron on new badges. He is now part of the Aloha Council, Troop 66. Well, the day camp was held at the Laie Park, which is in the next town over. It went from 8am to 2pm for 3 days. Tyler had lots to say at the end of each day telling us all about what he did. The first day they did Bebe guns, archery, and other things (sorry can't remember). 

                   End of Day 2 after getting drenched.The second day, some military people came down and showed them all kinds of military gear and equipment. There was a fire truck there and before letting the kids go home, the sprayed all the boys down with the hose. They LOVED it because man was it HOT! 

Beginning of Day 3. The 3rd day was the one Tyler was looking forward to the most. The boys got to go over to the Polynesian Cultural Center before it opened to the public and go fishing there. They have a lot of fish that swim there in their man-made rivers. Tyler was a little disappointed that it was only catch-and-release type fishing. It was still fun nonetheless. 

End of Day 3. Afterwards, they headed over to the pool at BYUH for some swimming. Tyler was actually glad that there were no more days of day camp left because he was pooped!

An Ice-Cream Break

Micah decided that we were going to the local ice-cream shop for some ice-cream. Tyler seems to always pick Haupia (he's really into the coconut). Randy opted for a rice-cake instead. We all had a bite of it.

Let the Celebration Begin!

Today we celebrated Leigh's birthday at Turtle Bay! We packed some goodies and made our way there for some fun in the sun. The kids looked at tide pools, swam a ton, made sand castles and just had a good time.

Before we headed home, we went around to the other side of the resort to see if we could spot any turtles. The view was beautiful, but no sea turtles to be found.

We were ready for some cake, so we headed home (ignore the underlining). We took the cake out and tried to find some candles to put on top. We couldn't find any. Being a nurse, I improvised. We just had Leigh hold the lighter and blow it out after singing "Happy Birthday". She wanted to light and blow it out 11 times, but we wanted to be able to use it again later, so we told her no. She picked out a Strawberry Bavarian Cake. It was good, but needed more cake to balance out the tons of whip cream it had. Good stuff.

                As you can see, I've managed to wipe out my son again, as well as the rest of us. Happy Birthday Leigh!

Yay! The Cast Came Off!!

Today, Tyler had his appointment to check his leg to see if it had healed enough for the cast to come off. Sorry there aren't any pictures, I totally forgot to take my camera! I had all four kids with me at this appointment. The night before, poor Tyler was getting slack from his sisters who have been dying to go to the beach. I know this is mean, but I also thought it was hilarious when I heard one of his sisters (who must remain anonymous) threaten Tyler by saying, "You're cast better come off or we're going to cut off your leg!" I did scold her for the unkind words. Well, after the x-rays and the doctors assessment, he got the okay to leave the cast off! Yay! Beach ---- beach, here we come!

Refreshments at the Beach

      

Today, the kids and I were kind of stuck in the house all day because I told Randy to take the van. We decided that for FHE, we would go to the beach and eat our refreshments there. Mind you, we were taking chances with Tyler still in his cast. We were told that he should not get sand in it because it could rub against his skin and give him sores. We had FHE and packed the kids in the van and headed to Temple Beach. Temple Beach is about 7 mins from our house. It is the beach where I was baptized. This is also the first time that we are letting our kids near the beach. We got there and I wrapped a plastic grocery bag around Tyler's cast. We got to the beach and the kids were in awe. They ate their cookie and started playing in the sand.


Micah and Kara were especially spellbound by the water. They had fun running up and down the shore. Tyler did fine until he kneeled down in the sand. We had to carefully dust off the sand from his knee at an angle so the sand wouldn't fall into the cast (only 3 more days till it's off). Before we left, I stopped and asked Micah if he liked the beach. His reply was, "Yeah! It's better than Nerf guns!" (LOL) That comment was too cute!