Tom and Cindy were now in Maui so we all took a drive to Iao Valley. We spent the morning at Iao Needle State Monument and hiked around for a bit. Afterwards we stopped at Kepaniwai Heritage Gardens for lunch. After lunch we discovered a narrow bridge that led to some old ruins along a forest trail.
Tag: Ada
Kealia Pond
One morning we drove to Kealia Pond to visit the walking trail and visitor center. The facility had a nice interactive display for the kids and a path along the ponds. It was a hot day so we didn’t stay out on the trail very long, but we did see a few bird species such as the Hawaiian stilt, Hawaiian coot, egrets, and white-faced ibis.
Maui (first day)
I finally got through the summer posts, now on to Hawaii. We were in Maui for 17 days, and it didn’t seem long enough. Tom and Cindy joined us for part of our trip which was lots of fun! Having Grandpa and Grandma there made it extra-special for Ada and Ruby.
We spent a lot of time at the beach. We tried a few and found our favorites for snorkeling. My highlight of the trip was swimming super close to a large turtle while it munched on algae in the reef. It didn’t seem to mind my presence so I stayed awhile, could have stayed all day watching it.
Ada loved swimming, snorkeling, boogie boarding, and surfing (anything in the water). Ruby enjoyed swimming and playing with her sand toys. We all enjoyed trying new foods and with so many good restaurants and food trucks in the area we found our favorites. We ate lots of poke (raw fish), fish tacos, kalua pork, and acai smoothie bowls 🙂
Not that many pics from the first day, just getting our bearings. I also took a mix of iPhone and dslr photos throughout the entire trip.
Ruby
A few pictures of Ruby over the summer. Glad we got more use out of Ada’s peachy gingham outfit, I loved it then and it’s still pretty cute on Ruby now 🙂
Here is Ada’s post from 4 years ago, sniff sniff
Summer Miscellany
I have condensed a few posts into one, there were too many this year 🙂
The girls having fun in the hammock with dad, bike riding, camping in the backyard, and new outfits.
Ada continued in swim lessons, this time with one of her good friends, Owen.
The eclipse was pretty cool, we viewed it old school because I forgot to buy glasses, oops.
Todd filled our only dirt spot with water for a muddy fun day while I was away.
Faithlife Picnic
Todd’s summer work picnics are always a lot of fun. It’s hard to chose what our favorite part is between the petting zoo, sampling all the food trucks, face painting, games, rock wall and bouncy houses. The kids really look forward to it every year for all of the above reasons 🙂
River Play
We have a favorite spot along the Nooksack River we like to visit when it warms up. The girls always enjoy playing in the sand and water and it’s only 2 minutes from our house 🙂
4th of July
This year we had a fun full day celebrating the 4th. We spent the morning in Bellingham at Ada’s swim lesson then back home for a bbq with our friends/neighbors. After dinner we set off some cheap fireworks for the kids (smoke bombs, spinning flowers and sparklers.) We then drove back downtown to Todd’s office (with our friends) to watch the big fireworks show.
Ada Turns 6!
Ada wanted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party this year, a notably different theme from her princess party last year 🙂 She invited her closest friends and had lots of fun. This is the first year the party seemed to fly by, I think the kids all enjoyed playing together and keeping busy. Todd also came up with a tower building challenge involving dry spaghetti, marshmallows, tape, string, and scissors. The kids played in teams of two and tried to get the tallest standing structure in the end.
We did make the centerpiece cake again, all rice krispie treats and fondant. I am no sculptor, ha, but Ada liked the funny turtles I made (she made the shells) and pizza 🙂
The picture below is from Ada’s actual birthday dinner the night before her party. It is her favorite sushi restaurant because it comes around on a conveyor belt 🙂
State Fair
At the beginning of September, right after our return home from vacation, we decided to turn around and spend a weekend in Seattle. We went to the Washington State Fair one day and the Woodland Park Zoo the next. Ada & Todd also enjoyed the indoor pool after returning to the hotel each night. Ruby enjoyed staying up late since we all had to share a room 🙂
Ada went on a handful of rides all by herself this year. She is getting more and more brave doing things all on her own. Growing up…sniff….sniff 🙂
La Casa Blanca 