Dole Plantation has some great spots for photo ops!

Adventures with Aunt E!

We had a great visit with Aunt E! We even got to keep her for two weeks, so we were able to check off the "touristing in Hawaii" boxes and still spend plenty of time lazing around the house, playing games, completing puzzles, reading books, etc.

Waimea Falls Our first touristy outing with E was a 1-mile walk through a garden that featured local plants and recreations of traditional Hawaiian buildings and led to a swimming hole with a waterfall. We learned a bit about ancient Hawaiian culture and nearly froze our toes off having fun in the waterfall! On our way out we chatted with a staff member demonstrating a few Hawaiian games and toys and with a visiting artisan/fisherman about ancient fishing methods and the uses of local plants.

Cold but happy!

On our way back from the falls, the girls received tops made from
kukui nuts and palm frond crowns.

Ford Island You can't visit Oahu without taking in some World War II history. For E's visit, we opted for a low-key stroll along the shore of Ford Island, which features a great paved trail punctuated with informational signs about both the local Hawaiian history and culture and about the U.S. Navy history in the area. Our walk also featured a stop at the memorial at the wreck of the U.S.S. Utah.

Kailua Beach This is our favorite gorgeous Hawaii beach--long stretches of white sand, gorgeous blue water with just enough waves for boogie boarding, palm trees along the coast and mountains within sight (also a parking lot and bathrooms, that's a big deal here). E and I took a long walk, then enjoyed just sitting back watching the girls and enjoying the view. They got some great rides!

Diamond Head We took E on this iconic Honolulu hike up Diamond Head Crater. It's a lot of steps, but the views are amazing!

Kayaking E requested a kayaking outing, and we were happy to oblige! There's a great beach with cheap kayak rentals a mere 15 minutes away. We rented three kayaks and took them down the shore a bit to a secluded beach. Good times!

 Dole Plantation I'll admit, this is mostly an over-priced tourist trap. However, the Dole Whip (pineapple soft serve) is amazing and was a must-stop for E's visit. We also took a leisurely stroll through the pineapple garden, read some signage about the life cycle of pineapple plants and their history on the island, and took a turn through the gift shop.

Dog Beach For E's last day on the island we grabbed a picnic lunch (musubi and poke bowls...mmmm....), and headed to our favorite easy access, not-too-crowded beach. There are no waves, but there's plenty of shade for a picnic and the water's super shallow for a long way out--great for exploring! On this visit we spotted two eels, lots of tiny fish, several crabs, a few sea urchin shells, and two submarines.

Introducing Pidge! While this has nothing to do with Aunt E really, it did happen while she was here--we adopted a cat! Well, first he adopted us. He's an extremely friendly Siamese mix who showed up on our lanai a couple weeks before Christmas and never left. At some point we started feeding him and got him to the vet to see if he'd been microchipped (he was clearly someone's pet not too long ago). While he was microchipped, his previous owners apparently moved off-island and left him behind! The Humane Society happily transferred his microchip info to us, the vet gave him a few shots and a clean bill of health, and we brought him inside. He quickly settled in and hasn't asked once to go back outside! It was meant to be, and we're all happy to have a pet in the house again.

Mmm...gingerbread cookies!

Merry Christmas!     The Advent festivities continued with good times for all! Daddy even had several weeks off from work. We baked lots of cookies, participated in our street's December potluck/cookie exchange, took a walk around the neighborhood to admire Christmas lights and catch the Jeep Parade of Lights (30 jeeps all decked out!), went to the zoo with home school friends, celebrated Lion's birthday with chocolate cupcakes and new Wii games (Mario Kart is highly popular), conquered a 5-mile hike, and lit the third Advent candle at church followed by the girl's playing their Silent Night trio at church. So much fun!

A few shots from our hike of Aiea Loop Trail:

This was a rare Christmas when we didn't visit both extended families. We did, however, have the joy of hosting Aunt E and picking her up from the airport Christmas morning! Our Christmas celebrations were a combination of traditions from both sides of the family. On Christmas Eve, we made and ate tamales along with a smorgasbord of homemade cookies when we returned from our church's Christmas Eve service. Christmas morning began with sweet rolls and stockings from "Nana Claus," then a video chat with Nana herself while I picked up Aunt E. Once we returned, we had another round of stockings the way my family does them (each person sneaks a small gift into everyone's else's stockings), then enjoyed my family's Christmas morning foods (coffee cake, breakfast casserole, and citrus) for brunch. We spent the afternoon opening presents, video chatting with the other side of the family, and enjoying our gifts. Dinner was the next evolution of my family's seafood-in-liquid tradition: here in the tropics I went with moqueca, a coconut milk-based seafood stew. 

Everybody loves brunch!

We helped Lion solve her Christmassy Star Wars puzzle,
then E and Bug battled it out with Battleship.