Some much needed Ohana time

Dear Readers,
  I have been a little delayed in making this post because our computer is on it's last leg, and could not hold all 700 something pictures I took in Hawaii. So, I apologize. But here is a picture post (well, I'm going to TRY to make a picture post- I always end up talking a lot!) about our trip to Hawaii.
  We had a wonderful time. It was lovely to relax, just be together as a family before school starts up again. Island time will cure whatever ails you!

Of course we had to get some ukuleles...

Dad loves this tree--I believe it is called the monkey paw

I painted my nails sparkly pink just for this picture!!

Cate was the perfect little surfer girl

Everyone always comes back with hang loose pictures from Hawaii...no, not us! We came home with 'yellow' pictures!! (hang loose is yellow in American Sign Language)

We actually got to swim with a sea turtle! Someone had spotted one, so I went under to look for him--and he was right next to us! A minute later he popped his head up to say hello. Absolutely precious.



Cate got this  American Girl book about Kanani, a girl living in Hawaii for the airplane-it was so sweet!






  When we arrived at the airport, we found waiting for us one of Miss Trish's friends, arms full of leis and goodies for us. It was such a sweet welcome to the island, and made us all feel like Miss.Trish was there with us.

We all were thrilled with the leis, but for Cate it was a dream come true! (ok, and for her sister,too!)

Our view...ahh...

We went on an accessible hike to Waimea falls. It was breath taking!  There were peacocks along the trail, beautiful flora, and a lovely creek we get to stick our feet in!  (pictured above)  The waterfall was gorgeous, and had a 'water hole' at the bottom. It was thirty feet deep and freezing cold!! Cate and I went in with some friends for a swim. The current was so strong you really couldn't touch the waterfall. It was exhilarating! I'm referring to the experience as my tropical little house experience, because in one of the Little House books there is a water hole much like this one. Of course, that one was minus the peacocks!

 We ate at a Japanese restaurant called "Beni Hana", where they cook your meal right in front of you- in fact, the table is the grill!

It was absolutely delicious and amazing to watch the chef flip and turn our shrimp! He even formed the rice into a heart.

Pearl Harbor. A must for sightseeing, but emotionally exhausting. It made all the books I've read come to life. Especially the one I was in the middle of  at the time, "Unbroken". (A must read for everyone! Absolutely incredible true story.) In the picture above, there are faces of people who were there. One is of an African- American man, Doris Miller, who worked the mess hall. On December 7, he took a gun and shot at several of the Japanese planes, having no training whatsoever in this. He was later awarded the Navy Cross, although many wanted him to have the medal of honor. He was not allowed, however, to have to medal of honor, because he was African-American. Wow, that made me mad. I often wish I lived 'back in the day', because I love old fashioned things. But I have to tell you-- if I were living back then, I would not have done too well. Because those prejudiced, racist incidents outrage me! And now, even though it still exists, at least the government doesn't do those kind of things any more. So, maybe God knew what He was doing when He put me in the 2000s. :) 

One thing I was very disappointed in was the fact that there wasn't any kind of memorial on site for the code talkers. They saved the war for us, and yet there was nothing there commemorating them! Pearl Harbor was their training base. They could have done something very cool with that. Oh, well.

Hawaiian quilting is an art of its own- and beautiful!

We had a delicious time at the Dole (whip) plantation!

<>

God's promise..the symbol of this beautiful state!

We had one day where the girls took lei making and hula dancing classes. It was so much fun to have girl time, and to learn two new skills! We have decided to start welcoming people to our home with home-made leis..hehe...     And then of course, there was the beach. Cate was born to surf, and had the best time. And my favorite part of the beach was swimming with the sea turtle, although just laying out and reading was fun,too. We paddle boarded at the lagoon, and that was a lot harder than it looks! It was a lot of fun, and Mom, Cate, and I both got to where we could do it standing up!  And Benjamin braved the board, as well.  

She really IS a mermaid!

Waiting for hula class--signing the popular misconception for hang loose.:)

The amazing sand castle! Made without buckets, aren't Mommy and Cate so very talented?

And she stands!



There was a mirror in the ceiling-so this is my camera looking up at it and down at me! haha



I wonder who got a hold of my camera???

Trying out some Hawaiian instruments at the Luau!

oh we're going to the huki,huki,huki,huki huki lau!

When we took a second hula class after the luau, Mason joined in. But the CD player broke. So...I volunteered him to sing for the group! He and Mom were amazing, and the dance instructor was forever in debt. (umm...actually, that would be me! haha he'll never forgive me for that) 

Swinging on the giant Banyan tree was one of the funnest things. We walked away with blistered hands, but it was completely worth it for those few seconds of careless abandon in the wind. The best part, though, to me, was that I was on a beautiful, awe inspiring swing set- made for me by my Father.

My all time favorite king!

Our family, at our last breakfast. I love these people so much my heart could burst! Thank y'all for an amazing time.

Aloha, Hawaii. Thank you for the beautiful memories. Promise me that you'll stay yellow.

Your Blogger,

 Claire

My answer

Dear Readers,
  Hello again! We were actually in Hawaii all last week, so  I didn't get a chance to blog. We had a wonderful time, and I will definitely be blogging about it, but today I wanted to blog about the homeschool convention. We actually went there on Friday, and then woke up extremely early Saturday to get on a plane!

   So, the homeschool convention was wonderful. It always makes me want to study more and to be a better person! haha But it really does get us all ready to start school, and we usually find some wonderful books!
  For the first time, Mom, the boys, and I went together. It was so much fun to listen to the seminars together and share what we learned at lunch! AND, it was a lot of fun to just be together.

 But I really wanted to make this post to talk about more than just the homeschool convention. I'm constantly  getting  asked questions  like- "So, are you still being homeschooled?", "Do you have any friends, being homeschooled?" ,"So, do you not get to do any cool things like at a REAL highschool?"
  I really want to clarify that I love being homeschooled. And my mom loves home schooling us, so yes- we are going to keep homeschooling!

   Our family has lots of unique reasons for homeschooling, but I want to share some of the things homeschooling has done for me. 
   We all struggled in public school. It's hard for a teacher to have 40 kids in her classroom and still make sure Benjamin and Mason were well taken care of. It's hard to be the sister watching your brothers NOT be well taken care of and not blow up at the teacher.  It's hard to try to fit in with a group of girls who don't share your same beliefs. It's hard to do homework from 4:00 to 7:00 and still have family time. It was just plain hard.
  But now that we are homeschooling, we have time to do so much more than just read textbooks! We can go palpate a cow when we studied animal sciences, eat only foods the pioneers would eat when we studied them, and take a week in the middle of the school year to go to Washington, D.C. when we studied government.
  And, also, we have time for activities. So, instead of 'cool electives' at high school, I have time to learn to play violin and piano, and to be a part of community service projects, like putting on a ballet production with kids with special needs in it. And my brothers are part of an amazing theater group that is just for homeschooled kids.

There are SO many different education options, and I realize homeschooling is not for everyone. But for us, it is the perfect solution.  So, please don't jump to hasty conclusions  just  because we are homeschooled. Your Blogger,
 Claire