Uncle K's Visit!
Uncle K came to visit for about a week before continuing his vacation in Maui and Waikiki. We got to show him some of our favorite things and try a few new ones! For his first full day we did a drive around the island with stops at Turtle Bay for snorkeling, at Giovanni's truck for shrimp plates, and at the Polynesian Cultural Center Marketplace for Dole Whip and window shopping. We also drove through the Valley of the Temples to see the Byodo-In Temple.

The next day Daddy, Monkey, and Lion hit up an iconic hike once again and took Uncle K up Diamond Head, while Bug and I went to her therapy session. That afternoon we met up to go the Arizona Memorial Museum and actually got to set foot on the memorial itself this time--such a beautiful, well-done memorial (the dock broke just after we moved here and was only recently repaired).

The king's sitting room

Our next tourist stop was another new one for us--a tour of Iolani Palace, the only official royal residence in the U.S. A docent walked us (and a couple from Sweden) through the palace explaining the history and artifacts and answering any questions.

We finally got in a photo op with the Kamehameha statue on Oahu!

 On Saturday we spent the morning watching the girls' soccer games and the afternoon at Bellows Beach walking, sandcastle building, and boogie boarding.

Sunday started early--Uncle K decided to tag along and watch Lion run in a cross-country meet (she smoked the competition as usual!). Fortunately, the meet is early, so they could still join Monkey and Bug and I for church. It was a special week: the girls--joined by Auntie L on the cello--played "Amazing Grace" for the offertory.

Happy Halloween!
Just in case you missed the Facebook photos--we did a group costume for the first time this year. The girls were SO excited! (And I was thrilled that the costumes were so easy and awesome.) Happy Halloween from Gru, Lucy, and the minions!

Because trick-or-treating is always more fun with friends, we invited our favorite homeschool friends to join us (their neighborhood isn't really trick-or-treat friendly). Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were happy to join the minions in gathering massive amounts of candy!