September

Saturday

Busy, Fun days with the kids

First beach days in Hawaii

Some of our first times spent at the beach were just the best. The kids all seemed excited to get out of the house and the butterflies in our bellies of exploring our new home had everyone ready to go. For some reason Cael started wearing leggings as his swimming suit and Ben and I sure got a kick out of his fashion choices.  

The picture above is at Haleiwa Beach park, one of the closest beaches from our house for paddle boarding and surfing. Sometimes we just go up there to let the kids play around while Ben and I keep our eyes on baby Cannon in the sand. He isn't too fond of the ocean yet, so we just have to take turns staying by him and watching the other kids that are in the water.

These next two pictures are at White Plains Beach. Ben had to leave for the month of August for some training and I didn't want to waste any time by sitting at home. Thankfully, we met and quickly became friends with the Davis family- Marianne & Sam- who are great at inviting us along to go surfing or snorkeling with them. A fun fact is that the Davis' also lived in Germany and we moved into their house in Sorghof! It is a small world in the Army!



SHARKS COVE- our favorite place to snorkle


Marianne is super brave with exploring and handling the sea creatures. She showed us which ones are easier to hold (the collector sea urchin or vanna) but watch out for the banded sea urchin (the one Ben is holding). That little creature has thousands of tiny needles that are sharp, but fragile- making it impossible to pluck the spine out if it makes impact with your body. It is like fiberglass and the poison from the creature makes it incredibly uncomfortable. We've learned this hard lesson from experience when the banded sea urchin fell on Ben's hand and also onto Cael.



Kailua Beach Park. This shallow section of a river as it meets the ocean is the perfect spot to run and play. Even baby Cannon can go where he wants to go! Ben pulled the boogie boards while the big kids try to hang on. It is pretty entertaining to watch when the go flying across the water or flip over. We sure are having a great time here in Hawaii!