McArthur Week part 2 (beaches)

The rest isn't going to be chronological, but every beach day started out like this:

We pack a bag of PB&J's and snacks and drinks; a bag of sand toys, a bag of snorkels and goggles, a couple of beach chairs and that awesome hat, and head down the hill.









I am going to post all our awesome beach pictures on this one and then all the other things we did on the next one. Oh, and the underwater cave is going to get it's own.  Like I said...McArthurs love the beach so we had a beach day every other day and on the days that it wasn't a beach day I still think we ended up at the beach for sunset...

 This is an awesome pic because they look like they are standing on the water, but then the wave passes and you see that they are at 3 Tables.

 The snorkeling at 3 Tables is every bit as good as Hanauma Bay but more authentic, because it is free and you can't feed these fish, you get to watch them find their own food. Well, until Kyle starts diving and turning over rocks and then the fish would swarm to eat the star fish he had uncovered.

 This was the first time I had seen one of these.  It looked like a giant centipede as it swam, the striped fins made it look like legs. He is called a lionfish, I think.

 This is a very rare species, the striped dad fish that can hold his breath for a really long time and dive to greater depths than he should.

 We are all watching the fish swarm after Kyle dove down and turned over the rocks. It was quite a show.  The green and orange fish above was the most defensive and got the most to eat. He was cool.

 We would always bring the boogie boards, and some days we would take the kayak and some days we would take the SUP- Stand-up Paddle board.  They are both lots of fun.  I like the kayak the best because it is so sturdy, and I feel safe going exploring in it.

 When there are no waves to play in, then they use the boogie boards as skim boards...the beach activities are endless.

 Sometimes the boards are used as surf boards...as long as the surfer weighs less than 40 pounds, and get some assistance from some strong dads!

 

We all love the kayak but the kids especially love to go for a ride because they don't have to paddle!

 Conner was so nice to Matty.  It was funny to watch those two littlest sisters, attach themselves to the wrong big brother.  The big brothers were really good about it!

 When we got board of the water we started playing in the sand.... it was not an epic fail, but it wasn't the greatest idea we have had! Still made for some good memories.  (Sorry about the bum shot Jen)

Can you hear the Hawaii 5-0 music in the background? ;)

 Evan's always up for a good burying!  Just thinking about it makes my skin itch but he likes to be completely covered in sand at least once a day!

 As they were trying to dig out that slide, they dug up this crab.  He wasn't very happy about it.

 One of my favorites....also a good representation of how unruly my hair has been the ENTIRE time we have been here!  Hawaii and short hair do not play well together.

 Kyle convince Ira to go swimming with him out around Shark's Cove one morning.  Kyle saw a sea urchin with nothing in it- the shell of a sea urchin I guess, about 20 feet down, and thought he could carefully pick it up and bring it home.  WHY? I do not know.  

 He got 4 barbs in his thumb, and when he brought it home the kids did NOT love it.  Neither did I. 

He ended up throwing it away later that day, after we got back from Kualoa Ranch, which was actually closed, so we just went across the way to Kualoa Beach Park and watched the ocean and played in the park with the Kakua nuts.

 Conner was nicely chatting with Matty;...then George comes by and tries to sacrifice her to the water gods....brothers!

 That Island out in the sea is Chinaman's Hat.  It is featured in about every movie ever made in HI.

 There was a tree, so.....they had to climb it!

Even fully dressed, the beach can be loads of fun!

McArthur Week part 1 (like Shark week only safer)

Ira and Jennifer McArthur told their kids they were going to Newport Beach for the week, and then en route showed them this video (made by George):

They had been planning for months to come and see us and we were so excited when they finally arrived.  Ira rented a van so we couldn't pick them up at the airport but we were outside playing on the swings for an hour waiting for their arrival.  When Jen texted and told us they were coming up the road everyone ran down to meet them.  Even Kyle, it was like Christmas and Santa was finally here!

 We dropped their stuff, loaded up the beach bus and headed to Waimea.  I thought we would just be there a few hours but we stayed until it was too dark to see any more.  They love the beach almost as much as my kids and by the end of the week they DID love it as much as my kids do, and didn't want to leave.
 

 We picked up an extra floatie for Natalie, so she and Matty would be twins...it turns out she has one exactly like it at home and was happy to wear it.  Sara and Emily had a great time together in the water too.  They had very similar fear levels, so they would both do about the same amount of adventures.

Sarah and Emily had been in the same dance group a few years back, so they were already friends and had so much fun together the whole time.

 

Ira and Kyle don't get to spend much time together at home, so it was really great for them to get to reconnect and reminisce.  And Kyle got Ira to do all sorts of crazy things that were beyond his normal adventure level!- not this.... but Ira did jump.

We also saw a giant sea turtle right by the beach eating algae off a rock.  My camera was out in the ocean taking videos of jumpers so Ira handed me his underwater camera and I jumped in with Matty and we swam with the turtle.  Everyone joined in.

 We were probably too close, but he didn't seem to care.  It was great luck that they got to see such a great turtle on the first day and didn't even have to snorkel out to it. Jen and her little girls stood up on the rock above it and had a great view without even getting wet! It was Matty's first turtle sighting too.

Ira is also quite the photographer, so we got a lot of pictures of us at the beach that we wouldn't have otherwise, like this one. thanks I. and these...

 This is not a native that Ira was filming....this is Evan.  His skin is amazing, and just keeps getting darker and darker as the weeks pass.

 Pretty fantastic first day I would say...

The next day Kyle had to teach so I took them down to town.  We got out the door at the crack of 9 (that became the standing joke, although by the end of the week it was the crack of 9:45) and got tickets for the Pearl Harbor Memorial.  While we were waiting we went to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet and found a lot of treasures.

 Ira was picking out his next Halloween costume, 

but couldn't decide which color accentuated his hips the best. ;)

Nat got some slippers just like Matty's.

Evan and Anna were constantly photo bombing everyone's pictures.  Anna was best at it when she was actually part of the picture, but Evan had a knack for showing up in strange places...

 Matty fell asleep during the movie and stayed asleep on the boat ride over to the memorial so I stayed in the corner and observed for a little while.  I was grateful for the moment of peace and that she was resting.

 The Tree of Life, symbol of peace created after the war ended. 

 We were watching the fish swim around the remains of the ship.

 Evan obviously didn't get it, but it was a moving experience, it is one of my favorite places to be.

 We found a plentiful plumeria and Ira stopped us for a photo shoot.....one of many. :)

We drove through the tunnels and up the winward side of the island.  It is a pretty incredible sight every time we drive through, but the first time takes your breath away.  Ira was taking pictures left and right, and driving!

We met Kyle for dinner at Seven Brothers and then stopped at a beach for a little evening swim.  The kids were dying to swim all day, so we stopped in Laie where we knew there were bathrooms and showers and let them get in the water.  We spotted another turtle and chased him around for a while.  There were a few waves, and lots of rocks so they tried out the boogie boards, and the sand was great for building.

 The moms wanted one sand/salt free day so we stayed on the beach

.

Apparently there is something amazing off to the left....

I am sure it was a recreation of the Sistine Chapel in sand and seashells!

 This is how late we were at the beach....the McArthurs know how to make the most of a vacation- screw you 4 hour time change, we don't care if it's midnight in St. George, we are making memories!