Black Rock Beach

RIGHT outside our hotel was the top-ranked Maui beach, Black Rock.  Seriously, our location could not have been better-- just steps away from our hotel room we enjoyed awesome snorkeling, great waves, and the nightly tiki-torch lighting, cliff diver prayer ceremony.  We spent as much time out here in the ocean as we did at our resort, and it was perfect!

At Black Rock is where the girls learned to love snorkeling.  They caught on quick and were very adventurous, swimming out long distances into the deep with Dave and I to see the rainbow of fish living around the underwater coral reef.  I'll never forget the early evening we arrived, we were so excited to get in the ocean. We ran to Black Rock, tossed on the masks, rushed into the water, and listened with delight to the girls who came up screaming, "It's warm!!! And THERE ARE FISH RIGHT HERE!!!" having immediately and gleefully spotted tons of exotic fish right off the shore!

Black Rock is also famous for its many sea turtle visitors.  We saw them every day-- so many I actually lost count, maybe 10 or 12?  The best was when they'd swim right up shore in the shallow water.  Delia had a good 10 minutes of actually swimming face to face with one!  She and Dave were the only ones to spot it for a while and they just hung out looking at the turtle with mere inches between them!  She will tell you this is her favorite Maui memory and is now the proud owner of a souvenir stuffed sea turtle.

Dave also taught the girls to body surf in the perfect sized waves.  They did this for hours!

We'd read a little on the beach, but not as much as at the pool.  It was more fun to be in the warm ocean playground right at our toes!

Delia also got on a coral-collecting kick.  Here, instead of shells, this is what washes up with each wave-- awesome, twisty pieces of bumpy, white coral!

Those million shades of blue and turquoise out here at Black Rock are the mental picture of Maui I want to always keep with me.  It could not have been more gorgeous!

And because we were mere steps away from this fantastic beach, we'd run out here every night to catch a view of the setting sun.

  

The next time we're in Santa Cruz, or even LA, we'll be feeling our cold side of the Pacific Ocean and missing the week we spent in Paradise, I'm sure!

Our Ka'anapali Beach Resort

Aloha!  If you are a faithful reader of the blog, you may remember my posts from our 10 year wedding anniversary, chronicling the best trip we've ever taken...destination Hawaii.  I wrote a post for each of the 5 days Dave and I spent in paradise and concluded each one with the phrase, "Day ___ was perfect."  I also ended the Maui series by admitting that though we called it "the trip of a lifetime", the magic and perfection of that trip had us already yearning to take our girls back some day.

Well, fast forward 9 years and here we are!  Back in Maui, this time all 4 of us!  This was a trip almost a decade in the waiting and it did not disappoint!  It had just the right amount of familiarity that we could share a piece of that perfect anniversary trip with our kids, yet enough new stuff to make it a totally different trip with totally different memories.  I'll never be able to capture all the sights, sounds, smells and feelings, but I'll try over the next few days and posts!

The thing Delia said she was most excited about was "our fancy hotel".  It wasn't actually that fancy, but it was super family friendly and just right for us!  We tried a couple long hikes and drives with the kids and realized that, though they tolerated it for their parents' sake, it wasn't necessarily their favorite.  Everyone seemed happiest to just chill at our resort and the amazing beach right outside it, so this is where most of our time was spent.

Our lanai had this incredible view!  Dave and I woke up before the girls most mornings and sat out here reading and drinking coffee for an hour.  Sigh.

Our hotel was so great! The whole property was covered in exotic gardens.  The girls were excited to find actual banana tress!

We also had a really fun pool.  The girls were in it constantly, making new friends from Florida, San Diego, and Australia!  Their favorite was night swimming, when all the tiki torches around it were lit and the live music was playing.  Since they are strong, independent swimmers, Dave and I did not have to life guard, but could instead stretch out in lounge chair under the palms and plumeria trees and read!

Each morning as we walked to our incredible, and free!, breakfast buffet, the girls would pick up flowers that had fallen and tuck them behind their ear.  Later in the day, those fragrant plumeria tree branches made a great perch for reading when a break from the pool was needed. :)

Our hotel was gorgeous, had fabulous free food, and an amazing location on the beach, but a favorite thing about it may have been all their programs for kids.  My girls were each given a Hawaiian name and passport upon arrival and had to spend the week running around the resort finding things and getting stamps in their passports which led to free prizes (like hats, frisbees, beach totes, cookies, gift shop dollars, flashlights and stickers).  They had a blast with this!  There were also lots of lawn games and places to pause in the shade and spend time together-- like this hand carved coral and black rock checkers game board.

On Sunday morning our hotel hosted an intimate church service at their "Chapel on the Sea".  About 25 of us from all over the country got together to pause in our vacations to praise God and hear the Word preached.  We sang to the ukulele and the worship leader did hula to the familiar songs, like "This Is the Day" and "What a Mighty God We Serve".  When she asked for helpers, guess who was quick to jump up front with her?

On our last day, the hotel staff held a "Farewell Ceremony" for all of us leaving.  They sang a Hawaiian blessing song over us and gifted each of us with a Kukui Nut necklace.  For each of our return trips to Maui, they will restring our necklace and replace a brown nut with a white one.  For this reason alone, Delia is already planning our return visit! :)

To be perfectly honest, not wanting our kids to miss a single thing, before the trip I had read a Maui guidebook cover to cover and actually had a daily itinerary written up for us!  We did a few big outings, but quickly learned to be flexible with that busy plan and just follow our kids' lead and desires.  This had us hanging around the resort more than I thought we would, but resulted in a much more relaxing vacation for all of us, which, to borrow the language of my Hawaii posts from 9 years ago, was PERFECT!

The Annual Interview with the 13 Year Old!

(Incidentally, these are Ella's last portraits.  I decided to stop at age 13.   I might hire a photographer to take her 8th grade graduation pictures outside somewhere next year, but no more trips to JCP Portrait Studio for this teenager.  The time is right to stop, but oh how I love the album I have documenting her growing up each year!)

Age: 13

Favorite colors: Red and teal

Favorite food: Strawberries, Boeter Koek, and artichokes

Favorite books: House of the Scorpion, The Wild Robot, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Harry Potter, and Les Mis

Favorite movie: Greatest Showman and Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Favorite songs: Greatest Showman Soundtrack and They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love

Favorite thing to play: Minecraft, Pandemic and Slamwich

Favorite part of school: PE, art and English

What I want to be when I grow up: Counselor in a school

The perfect day is: Any day that combines rollerblading, biking, swimming, and talking with my friends

My best friends are: Maya, Emily, Ruth, Avery, Marina, Ava, Kacy,and Sydney

The best part of this year has been: Getting Ivy!

The worst part of this year has been: Getting braces!

I hope when I'm 13, I will: "Be an officer on Student Council (hopefully President), be in the play again, and get good grades."

13 for 13

In celebration of Ella's 13th birthday, here are 13 of my favorite pictures of her.  With each photo, I will also include 13 favorite character traits we see in Ella

.

Magnetic.  Even since she was a baby, Ella has always drawn people to her.

Creative.  If you are playing with Ella, expect something special!  Rooms in my house are still often left covered in scraps and messes from the things she's creating or setting up for you!

Funny.  Especially as she matures, Ella is hilarious in a witty, clever, smart person way.

Pure/Innocent.  I love that Ella is deep, but also playful and silly.  She will still play with toys, or dress up and put on performances with her sister and friends.

Adventurous.  This is our child who is up for almost anything.  She shows bravery when exiting her comfort zone and trying new things.

Independent.  We can trust Ella to be responsible and handle things on her own, with little nagging or oversight.

Generous.  She is very giving with everything from empathy to hugs to words of encouragement.  It is one of the many things that makes her such a good friend.

Mulit-talented.  Art, music, academics, leadership, drama, some sports...there is not much this girl can't do and isn't naturally good at!

Servant-Minded.  Ella loves to serve and blesses her teachers and our church with her great attitude about volunteering and being helpful.

Kind.  I have never heard Ella say anything bad about anyone ever.  I remember one dinner conversation this year about our favorite and least favorite teachers.  Ella was uncomfortable and unwilling to name a least favorite.

Grateful.  As she hugged me goodnight last night, on her birthday, she said, "Thank you for raising me so well."  Ella is quick to notice both huge things and details and thank me and others for taking care of them and her.

Intelligent.  Not just in a getting good grades kind of way, but in a critical thinking kind of way too.  Her Sunday School teacher and youth pastor tell me regularly how much insight and good discussion she contributes to what they're trying to accomplish.

Jesus-Loving.  Best of all, Ella loves her Lord and lives a good life, not just because she is an obedient kid, but out of love and gratitude for her salvation.  And she encourages others to do the same.  She has always "gotten it" when it comes to understanding and seeking God.

Summer Vibes!

For one whole week now, it's been summer!  What have we been up to, you wonder?  Not much and it's been fantastic!  

We've already finished several books each.   The girls and I are halfway through the next Harry Potter.  We take a lot of walks with Ivy.  We've gone to 7 of the 9 grad parties we were invited to. And we already kicked off wedding season with one wedding, and have another one next Saturday.

I've been shuttling these girls to friends' houses every other day for sleepovers, pool parties and ice cream shop dates.  

Yesterday we celebrated our NOW TEENAGE Ella!!!  Even though this is a giant milestone, we actually had a very low-key day.  Ella wanted to make her own cupcakes, so she put these cool butterfly creations together.  She also opened some awesome gifts from generous family members.  We have a big vacation coming up later this month, so we've been intentionally keeping Mother's Day, anniversary, and birthday celebrations pretty mild.

So that's it.  These are the things that make up a very typical last week of May: catching up on reading, enjoying the not-too-hot-yet weather, friends, grad parties, weddings, a birthday, and adjusting to a wide open schedule and, as my friend Amy says, "a healthy dose of boredom"! :)

Peace Out 2017/18 School Year!

And just like that, another year is done!  Our school year ended with a few fun events I wanted to share.

 In preschool, one of our last units is the always-popular Farm Week.  We invite families to bring their farm animals and pets into preschool and its pretty much a giant petting zoo all week!  Cuddling baby goats while cute little 4 year olds oooh and aaah over them-- how great is my job?!  I had another one of my best classes ever and left with the familiar bittersweet feelings and choked up voice as I prayed over them for the last time.  

 One of the girls' last weeks was a dress up week.  They could ditch the uniforms and dress as different fun themes each day.  I was especially tickled with their "Career Day" choices and outfits.  Delia is a teacher, Ella is a mom.  LOVE!

Because I finish 2 days before the rest of the school, I actually had the opportunity to help in Delia's class for the first and last time this year.   They have a big field day, BBQ, and awards ceremony.  Her teacher, who is quite creative, had her class all make matching 5A shirts for their field day team.  At the awards ceremony she called each of her kids up to hear some words of encouragement and a character award picked out specially for them.  Mrs. M. said Delia is a kind friend, a special project enthusiast, and has personally been a big blessing to her.  She said she loves to watch Delia love to learn.  She presented her with the Compassion Award, which I could not be more proud of.  Getting my own kids and my students to understand and respect how other people are feeling is something I work on every day.  I love that this particular trait is one my child is known for!

With an amazing teacher, a day full of fun and encouragement, and a sweet treat with friends, Delia ended her days in the elementary.  It couldn't have been a better year for her and we're feeling thankful again.

Seventh grade was a harder year for Ella.  Mostly we're glad it's done.  But she too kept her grades up, grew closer to her great group of friends, blessed her teachers, and tried new things-- excelling at some (like Fine Arts or switching to the bigger tenor saxophone) and accepting with grace when her plans didn't work out (like not winning her Student Council seat back, or a broken finger at the start of basketball season).  We celebrate all the ways she grew this year too!

Red Carpet Night

Our girls' ministry is done for the school year, but had its big grand finale this May also with a spectacular Red Carpet Mother Daughter Night.  We were invited to dress formal, so the girls and I had lots of fun picking out our outfits.  I am actually wearing a bridesmaid dress from 1998!  I guess you can wear these things again!  Might take 20 years, but it is possible! :)

Besides the fancy treats, fellowship, and photo booth, this night is special because each class goes on stage for a special game or presentation.  Ella's class read keepsake posters they had made about their moms.  I kinda liked Ella's answers, especially the one thing she apparently hears me say a lot...

I love being a leader in this ministry.  I love sharing this with my own girls. I love my class of now 6th graders.  I love all the fun things we get to do, like badges, outings and camp.  And I looooove the other ladies on the leadership team.  We laugh a lot and have a great time together!  To be perfectly honest, my experience with other church ministries I've lead has felt obligatory at times.  This one has just been a blessing all around!

Delia's Dance Recital

Once again, our May was highlighted with the BIG Dance Recital Delia works so hard all year to perform in.  Once a week for the entire school year she meets with Miss Bethany, her teacher, and a class of fellow 10 year olds to stretch and learn the choreography for one show-stopping jazz number.  The recital's theme this year was "Rhythm of the Eras", so Delia's group represented the 70's with their dance to "We Go Together".  It was high energy and super fun, full of kicks, flicks, hand jives and even a little solo for Delia.  They sell out the local college's performing arts center with 800 in attendance.  It was Delia's best dance yet and we were delighted to watch the impressive show our little town's dance studio puts on. 

As always, no photography on performance night, so these are all from dress rehearsal...

Afterwards we went out for some celebratory special dessert.  Delia's eyes were bigger than her tummy when she ordered!  Nope, even our sweet-toothed gal couldn't eat all this! :)