October and November to remember...

We had an unusual amount of storms pass through/close to the islands this season. Our latest one in October called for rain and high winds, but as it passed and we realized it was safe to go out... so we took a chance and headed to the local pumpkin farm!

 

Besides being a little muddy and damp, it was EMPTY! Perfect!

 

Besides, the "Seattle" weather let us practice bundling up for our trip in December!

 

Pumpkin patch view 

 

We bribed Kenny to be Troy Polamalu for Halloween! It was a hit!

Unfortunately, October was a very sad month for both my family and Garrett's family. My grandpa passed away suddenly at the beginning of the month. Then, our 18 year old dog, followed by Garrett's beloved Aunty Lorraine. It has been interesting to teach the kids about losing loved ones and what happens.  

 

We spent time on Oahu for my grandpa's service and his famous Donna Kimura cattleya orchid bloomed. 

 

Cade wanted to go ice skating and Kenny really wanted to hang out with Aunty Jocelyn instead

 

Look, even Gammy can skate! :)

 

We got to spend a little bit of time with Jake and Sydney!

 

We recently had the chance to hang out with Garrett's cousin from San Jose, Derek, and his wife Claire; Garrett's grandma and Derek's grandpa were siblings. Their two kids, Colten and Gemma, are adorable and play well with ours. 

 

Aunty Jocelyn, Uncle Les, and Great Grandma decided to come to Maui for Thanksgiving

 

Aunty's favorite spot to visit is the Kula Lavendar farms

 

Dinner with Garrett's grandma and dad too!

 

Through all of our losses this past month, we've had the chance to spend more time together. It's been a good reminder of the reason why we moved home. 

(Garrett has a PT student from CA doing a rotation here and invited him to Thanksgiving lunch- he's on the far right; you can't tell in the pic but he's SUPER tall!)

October Hilo trip...

I know, I'm a little behind in posting. This semester has been crazy so I figured I needed to catch up a little before Winter break starts! 

For our Fall break in October, we decided at the last minute to head to Hilo for the weekend for Cade's first judo tournament. Garrett and I haven't been to Hilo for at least 20 years, so we decided it was a good excuse to go and visit friends too!

 

We got to see Levi and Lily in passing at the airport before we left

 

Cade did very well in his first state judo tournament. He placed 2nd... out of 3 in his novice division! :) He was thrilled, and so were we! 

 

 

Hilo has soooooo many yummy places to eat! Daddy and Cade enjoyed gravy burgers several times! YUM!

 

We were lucky that the Shih family invited us to stay with them! We had so much fun hanging out with Esme and Chan-man (and their parents too!)

 

Cade said he wants a younger brother just like Chan-man. We told him a brother wasn't guaranteed and he said, "I dunno what you mean!?" 

 

We played tourist and checked out the water falls. Hilo was very hot and muggy! It rained a little, but it was humid!

 

The kids loved catching fish at Lilioukalani park. We went back a couple times just to catch the little guppies. 

 

Hanging out at the zoo

 

Slushy floats! YUMMY!

We've been busy...

Yep, school started in August, but I didn't post new pics of the school year.

 

 

Cade started soccer!

 

 

Kenny did too! Of course they have to have the same color uniform to make it harder to find in the laundry! :(

 

Garrett ran his 3rd half marathon. It started at 5 am on the other side of the island! AGH. So we decided to stay out at a hotel the night before so we didn't have to wake up as early

 

It gets really hot in September and October here... so strange that's it's actually hotter now than in the summer! It was nice to spend the weekend in the pool. The kids have become so much more comfortable in the water since their month long swim lessons!

 

 

We participated in the annual keiki fishing tournament

 

Oh, and sometime between all of the other stuff- Cade participated in his first judo tournament! We were a little worried that he'd clam up and not compete, but he did good! Although he lost both his matches (the boy and girl were bigger than him), he tried his best! We decided to travel to Hilo for a state judo tournament. That'll be the next post...

Last day of Portland...

 

Yes, there was still more eating to be done in Portland on our last day. 

Aunty Lori and Uncle Brandon joined in on our feast- we tried out a biscuit place. 

Then had some ice cream! (There was bone marrow ice cream on the menu! hmmm...)

 

Then we met up with the Reyes family for the last time! 

 

Kenny posing for Aunty Lori. 

Such a short but fun trip to Portland! The kids were great and are ready for a trip back; we had a lot of fun exploring a place we spent years living, but didn't really venture out of Forest Grove too much. Plus we were poor college kids then... well, not much has changed! :)

Portland, Day 2...

When we travel, Garrett loves to find good places to eat. He actually will do research and watch the Food Network. Coincidentally, they always showcase the city we're heading to.  

We woke up early and headed to breakfast with Uncle Brandon and the Reyes family. 

Got the "mancakes" that he wanted

 

Goofballs!

So the reason we took a quick trip to Portland was for a good college friend's wedding. 

 

 

It was at a location called Bridal Lake; beautiful day!

 

Love this picture of these two!

 

Remembered to take a family picture!

 

Lots of open space to run around!

 More of the goofballs

 

Congrats Derek and Laura. College roomies- just missing Darin! :(

 

Oregon sunset... not bad! :)

Thank you Uncle Cisco and Aunty Kaui for taking Cade on the canoe with you guys!

Sparkler send off!