'Ehukai Pillbox Hike

Daddy had a day off of work, so we headed for the North Shore to try out another hike! It was supposed to be a 3-mile loop; however, there were a lot of trails in this area, none of which were labeled or marked in any way. Fortunately, a knowledgeable trail runner kept us from heading off onto a trail that apparently goes for miles into the mountains. She pointed us back onto the right trail, but we think we actually made a 2-mile loop, and we somehow missed one of the pillboxes. Anyway, the scenery was gorgeous as usual, and we all made it back safely!

Since we were in the area we decided to try another must-have Hawaiian food--Matsumoto's shave ice. A syrupy frozen treat is always nice after a hot morning on the trail!

After the steep incline (above), we found a conveniently
placed picnic table for a rest and a great view (below).

on top of the pillbox

inside the pillbox

We spotted this fun little cave on the way back down.

Mmmmm....tropical flavored shave ice!

Look at the cute little shave ices!

It was the perfect finale: They invited the kids on-stage
to sing and dance to "Gangnam Style"along with
the ROK service members!

Republic of Korea Show
We had a fun opportunity to experience a little South Korean culture recently, when a visiting military group hosted a free buffet and show at a neighborhood community center. The food was fantastic! Favorite food moment: an older gentleman behind Lion skeptically asked her to identify what she was scooping onto her plate. She cheerfully responded, "I don't know, but I'm trying it anyway!"

The show involved a military orchestra made up of US and ROK service members playing classical Korean music, a taekwondo demonstration, a musical slapstick comedy skit, K-pop music and Korean break dancers, as well as traditional Korean percussionists and dancers.

Traveling Journal 
A fun social studies/language arts project landed in our laps recently! Nana and Papa Bear passed us a traveling journal begun by a fifth grader from Ohio who's trying to see how many states it can visit by April. We had fun reading through the few entries already created, then spent a couple of hours making our own entry about Hawaii--with fun facts about its history, geography, language, and plants and animals.  Then we passed it along to another military homeschooling family back on the mainland.