Hawaii, Here We Come!

Here we are on Hawaiian Air, bound for Maui!

We made it! Fresh pineapple, flowers for our hair, and shell leis on arrival!

And the lobby at the Westin was beautiful!

We could even go behind the waterfall. The backside of water!

We hung out at Whaler's Village that night...

And enjoyed a little stroll along the beautiful beach. 

After a swim in the pool, we saw a huge rainbow!

Not bad for a first day in paradise!

Hawaii 2018

Here's a little video of our time in Hawaii. It starts out with the first time we put our toes in the ocean, then our Outrigger Canoe trip. Next there's a bunch of us swimming in the hotel pool and going on the waterslides (even in the rain!). Then we got to hold the parrot and cockatoo at our hotel. Last is the luau we went to. Katherine went up to dance the hula to the Hukilau, and we all loved the fire knife dancers. Pictures to follow, but this is a fun preview. 

Roller Skating

Robby and Lizzy came up to go roller skating with us! I had only done it once before...

And it was Tommy's first time!

Mom and Auntie Kimmy said they did it a lot when they were kids, but opted out for this round. 

Robby was pretty good on his roller blades...

But Lizzy was learning, just like me. We were good partners!

Here's our Xanadu audition:

Drinking the Tesla Kool-Aid

We took the new Tesla Model 3 for a test drive a few weeks ago. They didn't actually let Tommy drive, but Dad and Mom both did and thought it was pretty great. 

That night we went out to dinner and talked about it...

And had ice cream.

Then we decided it was a go!

Next stop: solar panels!

Sleepover

While Mom went to the Pixies concert, we had a fun sleepover with Sam, Brady, and Colton. Their mom even took us for donuts in the morning!!!

Practicing for National Piano Guild

We're practicing for our piano guild critique. First I play "Minuet", then Tommy plays, "Little Indian Brave" and "Playful Poodle", then I finish with "Arabesque".  The crashing in the middle is Tommy messing around Star Wars toys behind me. So glad we got to practice that part. 

Dad's Birthday

We had a fun start to Dad's birthday playing video games with Kyle...

Then we opened presents and he played my homemade Wheel of Fortune game. He even won some Skittles!

For dinner we went to King's Fish House. It's so fun there! They let us play with the lobster (he grabbed my fork!)...

And even taught us how to pat the top of his head to make him mellow. 

Dad got to gross us out and eat the raw oysters he loves...

And we all had lots of fun and laughs. We love you, Daddy! Happy Birthday!

Harry Potter Camp

Last week I went to Harry Potter camp. We made our own robes and wands, I used my own headband and wore my own Harry Potter shirts every day. 

I was sorted into Gryffindor House (the only girl), and even though our house only had 6 people, and the other 3 houses had 8 people each, we went on to win the Tri-Wizard tournament AND the Quidditch Cup! 

Tommy wore the robe Mom made for him to my graduation on the last day. We wore our Animagus masks (I was a raccoon), and Tommy made his own komodo dragon one. 

Even though my friend Winter was in Slytherin House we were still good buds, just like Albus and Scorpius in "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child". 

My teachers gave me a certificate and new wand for graduation. 

It's a really cool replica of the Elder Wand and belonged to Mykew Gregorovitch.

That weekend there was a Lego Harry Potter event at the bookstore where we got to build our own Hogwarts Express train. 

We never want the magical fun to end!

Star Wars Camp

Tommy went to Star Wars Camp last week. He made his own padawan robe, made a light saber, learned to meditate, and how to battle!

That means I got Mommy/Katherine time while he was at camp! Mom took me for my first pedicure...

And to Creamistry for ice cream!

Tommy showed off his light saber twirling skills...

And passed his Jedi trials to earn his promotion light saber!

SAS Reunion 2018

Mom had a Semester at Sea reunion in San Diego last weekend. 22 years of friendship since the ship!

They even recreated one of her old photos:

L to R: Gretchen, Sue, Kristine, Darci, Jen, Audrey (not Bill), Alin, Hilary

They had fun paddleboarding, talking, eating, and goofing off. Maybe they'll make it a yearly thing!

Lego American Ninja Warrior Course

7 Kids on 1 Flamingo (and a Little Brother on an Alligator)