Still Alive & Blogging!

It's been quiet on here lately, hasn't it?!  I've been resisting blogging about not blogging, but don't want anyone to think I've come upon terrible misfortune or that I've abandoned this little spot on the internet, because neither is the case.

Sometimes I don't blog because I don't have much to blog about and other times it's because I've been too busy doing fun things to blog about them.  This time it's the second of the two reasons.  But soon I'll start catching up and share our many summer adventures with you.

My most recent adventure, however, wasn't on Oahu and it wasn't with my kids, so it won't get a blog post of its own.  Here's a picture so you can see where I was - very far away from Hawaii in so many ways!

More island adventures coming soon, I promise!

4th of July Parade in Kailua

We went to Kailua's 4th of July parade yesterday.  Yes, yesterday was July 5, but when the 4th is on a Sunday they move the parade to a different day.  

This is the second time we've gone to the parade in Kailua.  BK (before kids) parades weren't as high on our event calendar as they are now.  The Kailua parade has lots of politicians in it.  Most of them are up for reelection and hope the shaka they flash you or the candy they pass out will win your vote.  This is definitely not a political blog and I'm not going to give free promos to anyone, so here's a picture of a candidate not up for reelection, Governor Linda Lingle.

The Kailua parade also is a chance for people to get all dressed up.  I missed Abe Lincoln but here's Uncle Sam and a very patriotic lady.

Missing in this year's parade were floats, with a few exceptions.  Here's one of the few and it was really beautiful.

I didn't get any pictures but there were a couple bands in the parade and a number of veterans groups.  Getting to applaud them was worth going for, in and of itself.

We hadn't made any specific parade-viewing plans, but ended up with a whole group of friends in the shade of pop-ups a wonderful person had gone early and put up for all of us.  The shade and the friends definitely made the parade.  Otherwise it would have been a pretty long and lonely two hours sitting in the sun.  Our boy gave the parade mixed reviews and come to think of it, our girl sat in my lap most of the time and whined a bit which isn't her usual happy social self so I guess she gave it mixed reviews too.  But all in all we were glad we went and it was a fun and festive way to spend part of the holiday.

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!  Bring on the red, white and blue!  Actually we will be bringing on the yellow as we work on a bedroom painting project.  One of these years we will pull out all the stops for our 4th of July celebrations and make those cute little flag desserts made of strawberries and blueberries and host a big BBQ or something, but this year it's projects for us with fireworks at the end of the day.

I hear the fireworks at Ala Moana Park are not to be missed...but we'll be missing them.  Decided we didn't feel like parking miles away and fighting the crowds with the kids in tow.  So it's Kailua's low-key show for us with some sparklers left over from New Year's.  And then tomorrow we'll go watch the parade in Kailua.  I'm feeling content with our low-key plans for this great holiday.

Hope you enjoy the 4th, whether your celebrations are grand or small in scale!

Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe

What do you do when you want to go on an afternoon adventure but there's not that much time between the end of nap time and the beginning of supper time?  We decided to go to Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe. The kids had never been before and the only time we'd been there was ages ago so it was practically a new place for all of us.

Haiku Gardens is adjacent to a restaurant and is a popular spot for weddings.  It feels very private but it's open to the public.  It's a beautiful little spot, a hidden gym, an oasis...whatever cliché you might use would probably fit.  It really is a spot worth visiting.

Our boy's favorite activity was playing tag with Daddy and Grandpa on the big lawn.

Our girl's favorite activity was looking for fish in the pond, which meant that my primary activity was making sure she didn't accidentally join them in the water.

A little trail leads around the pond and we all had fun walking on that, checking out the plant life, looking at the koi fish and listening to the bullfrogs.

A fun place to spend a bit of time!  If you live on Oahu or come here to visit, stop in and see it.  If you live somewhere else, look for an overlooked place in your town and pay it a visit!


Do it yourself on Oahu:

• First off, a map link.
• And then a link to the website for Haiku Gardens.

And now, my thoughts/advice/tips:

• Haleiwa Joe's is the restaurant located next to Haiku Gardens.  Haven't eaten there so can't give you any info on it, but if you see the restaurant you're in the right spot.
• To get to the gardens, walk like you are going to the restaurant and just before you go in the entrance turn right. There's a sidewalk there that turns into a path that takes you along the side of the restaurant and down into the gardens.
• Probably wouldn't be quite as much fun for kids to visit here when a wedding is underway or when a bridal party is taking pictures, but when you have the place mostly to yourself it's great!