Hawaii - Day 4

I MESSED UP: I forgot to add three pictures before I started this blog and now I can't get them to move without dragging them a few inches and having to start all over again. And of course they belong AT THE BOTTOM of this post! So, since I'm pressed for time and want to get this day over with before I leave for WA on Thursday (we are so excited to see you guys and celebrate Tate's birthday!) please pretend that these first 3 pictures are actually at the end of this blog which would have been at the END of day 4. (you can skip them and come back if you like continuity).

Gorgeous isn't it? It's the view from our all time favorite restaurant HALEIWA JOES in Kaneohe, HI and we were lucky enough to only live 3 miles from this beautiful place back in 2002-2004. We knew we wanted to take the boys and Boagie with us to this one. Our timing worked out perfectly as we got there right at their first seating and it was on the way back from the cultural center (if you didn't skip these picts you have no idea what that is....see you should have read it in chronological order ;) )

In the gazebo looking up at Haleiwa Joes. The boys were able to run off some energy in the gardens before our food came.

START HERE:

Michael's work convention was over, so now it was really vacation time! Like most days, we woke up bright and early but this time we actually made it down to the lobby area of the hotel where the boys watched (and petted) the penguins at their feeding time (8 am).

Then we drove across the mountains and up towards the North Shore to take the boys to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Zachary fell asleep on the way, so Boagie sat with him in the car for over an hour and half (Thanks Mom!) so that Michael and I could enjoy some time with Mikie.

In this video, they are practicing a stick game that the warriors of this tribe (sorry..forgot which one) perform to improve their coordination skills.

Another demonstration of uncoordinated Mikie twirling poi balls.

Zachary woke up and tried his hand at poi ball twirling too.

Now here's a skill he's really good at. He managed to throw his spear the closest to the target out of a group of school aged kids.

Making music in another tribe using hollow sticks and pounding them on the floor.

Before getting to the cultural center, Mikie was convinced he didn't want to go. We knew he would enjoy it and finally persuaded him by telling him that he would be able to bowl in the Hawaii village. From the moment we walked through the gates he was asking where/when he could go bowling. When we finally got there, I was afraid he would be disappointed at the ancient Hawaiian bowling alley (dirt, boards, and 2 sticks) and the pucks of wood instead of balls, but he wasn't. You can tell from the two videos that they both loved this experience (and we were thankful there wasn't a crowd so they could play as much as they wanted).

Does this count as a strike?

Time to go fishing in the Tahiti village.

We enjoyed a leisurely canoe ride back to the entrance and called it a day.

(Now you can go back up and read about the first three pictures)