CAMP (YMCA) ERDMAN-North Shore Hawaii

Mele Kalikimaka!
We are so lucky to be living in Hawaii and can take advantage of all the great adventures here.
Our family got to attend an awesome YMCA camp located on North Shore. We had a Makai (ocean) cabin with a beautiful view.
We stayed 4 days and enjoyed every moment we were there. While some families rested and went to the POOL (I know, who does that at an OCEAN camp?), we went and did every scheduled adventure available to us and our family.

Our girls relaxed with some target practice. Thorin seemed to be a natural at that too....she is very athletic!

We went on a beautiful 2 hour hike and watched the waves below.

Sorenna made it to the TOP of the alpine tower (50 feet in the air!) and was so excited to tell us about the amazing view. The girls climbed trees waiting for a turn to climb. Cannon made it half way and we were just happy she tried!....it is a little scary up there when you look down.

Of course we did some hula photos

The big girls helped daddy build a gingerbread house (Cannon had to sit out because the icing had raw eggs, the decorations were peanuts and chocolate and it was just a mess) She ate candy canes and cheered! The bonfire was so fun and everyone sang and laughed....then we ate SMORES (Cannon had a SMA.....no chocolate!)

Then we did the GIANT SWING...it is a 35 foot drop and SUPER fun!...Cannon did it and had a blast. Everyone, even Robert did the swing! Robert and I actually got to do an obstacle course and this time I didn't get a HUGE bruise! We have no proof (YET), but we were working on getting some of the awesomwe photos from that adventure from the other campers.

After all the fun was over we were really sad to say goodbye to our favorite camp staff volunteer Paulo. He is from Brazil and he is a wonderful guy. All the kids love him and he has such a love for adventure and kids. They all cried (even Paulo) when we wished him the best on his return home. All the campers were sad to leave.

We had the best time. A chef made all the desserts, the kitchen staff made amazing food! We had set-up and clean-up of the tables, but everything else was done for us! We got to focus on family and fun. We did the obstacle course, the tower climb, 2 hikes, kite flying, gingerbread houses, game night, watched a movie (ELF) on a HUGE outdoor screen with the sounds of waves behind us, had a campfire with SMORES, did crafts (ornaments, family board, tiles and a coconut) and hung out with young volunteers from all over the world. Italy, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, ....and more.

The photos can never tell the story of what an awesome experience we had and the memories we talk about every night. It was a great Christmas.

DANCE PHOTOS....This was a great show!

Cannon has grown up so much since we left California. When we left she was barely big enough to ride the kiddie rides at Disney and now she is almost 42 inches. She has grown 5.5 inches in the time that Robert was in Iraq. The other day I was looking at her and the baby is grown. Her maturity has always been there, but now she looks big too. This photo shows how much grace she has in her dance class. They performed so well. Everyone came up to me after the show and raved about how they were really performers! They LOVE to dance!

MY baby turned 5 years old!

Miss Cannon had her big COOKIE party with ALL GIRLS...it was a hit!

Her closest friends were in attendance and all sugared up by the end of the party. We rolled out cookie dough which is really hard during rainy season in Hawaii! The dough only lasts long enough for one set of cookies. There is just too much moisture in the air. The baked cookies were decorated with sprinkles, and the different designs were funky. They had a messy, gooey blast and Cannon was the happiest kid all day.




All the cookie professionals ready to go.

Father/Daughter Ball

Ok, just look at all the fun these crazy girls had!
Robert had to dance all night trying to keep up with 3 girls!
They were so excited about the event and I can't wait to get the professional photos back soon. These were taken by the girls since moms were not allowed anywhere near the building!

Redeployment ceremony

This was a huge event. The entire field was full of returning soldiers, flags, a band and the commanders.
Oh, and LeeAnn Womack! She came to perform a huge concert for the returning soldiers and their families, but first she sang the National Anthiem during the redeployment ceremony on Sills field.
As she started singing, everyone was very quiet listening to her perform. Then the sound system failed and the crowd could no longer hear her, just those of us close enough to hear her voice knew she was still singing.
The soldiers remained still, the families quiet, then faintly people started to sing. Before the middle of the song the entire field of war heroes was singing in what sounded absolutely beautiful.
It really brought new meaning to the song, took it to another level and left many people crying in the stands because of the flood of emotions on that field.
The soldiers on the field had returned safely, but there were so many others who did not. Some of those families were in the crowd. Soldiers recovering from injuries were there to receive medals for their duty. One lost both arms and both legs. It was too much for some to take all at once. The General was clearly emotional when he gave his speech minutes later.
He commented that he wants to hear it sung like that every time from now on because it was so touching.
This field was full of bravery, courage and honor. These are the men and women who protect our freedoms and help us sleep soundly at night. If you are given a chance, thank a soldier for what he does.

FOR ALL THOSE WHO DIDN'T RETURN....

Time to catch up with the world... and the blog.

I have posted some random events because they were moments that were racing through my mind, such as the kayaking "adventure", but so much of the daily grind is amazingly wonderful and fun too. I finally have a small moment in my schedule to play catch up so this is the stuff that happened in between Robert's return and the end of November.....

We had a great time at the girls' first Songfest. They toasted marshmallows, sang songs and had a great time. The songfest was in prep for the Veteran's Day parade they were walking in last month. They won first place (their service unit) for best of show. The campfire photo made the paper. That makes 3 photos this year.

Cannon had a great time in her Halloween parade with her friend Alexia (the mad kitty).
Sorenna got to tour an old Sugar plantation. During the event they were allowed to dress in period costumes and I got my little puerto rican girl looking stylish.
The big adventure was when the girls went ice skating. We had never been and I still have never been on ice skates, but the girls had a blast and learned how to stay up in short time. We were attending a friend's birthday party.