Happy Labor Day!
We loved having Daddy home for a four-day weekend! With the additional time off, he took the girls shopping for new cleats and a couple of new soccer balls, we had an extra movie night and watched a couple of fantasy favorites (Fellowship of the Ring because they're almost done reading The Two Towers and we'll be watching that one next weekend; and The Dark Crystal in preparation for watching Netflix's Age of Resistance series), and enjoyed a neighborly potluck Monday afternoon. The families on our little corner of the street joined forces to feast on your typical cookout fare and let the kids run around pelting each other with water balloons and water guns while the grown ups chatted. Good times!

On Saturday, we actually spent several hours hiking a portion of Tripler Ridge Trail. It's an out-and-back train that goes on for miles and links up several other hikes. We chose to hike about two and a half miles out, stop for a picnic lunch trailside, and hike back. Here's a few photo highlights:

One moment you're hiking through the dense undergrowth of the wilderness,
the next you come to a clearing with massive power lines.
You're never really far from civilization here on Oahu!

We had to do a bit of rock scrambling on this hike.

We reached a summit! We topped several actually as the trail followed a ridge for miles,
but this one made for a really good photo op.

Somebody installed a swing! The perfect spot for resting
and taking in the view.

Snack time!

We reached our last summit, and the girls lined up for a photo.
Me: "C'mon get closer! Act like you like each other!"
All grins, Monkey immediately steps in front of Bug,
while Lion leans in to push her over!
"Is this close enough?" Gotta love sisters!