hiking: ko'olua mountains & the pali trail

 this plant was incredible! it had three leaves per 'row' and they twisted upward kind of like a staircase. God is so amazingly creative.

it might be hard to believe, but we ARE on a path.

 sleeping grass and its pink flower. 

 shortest to tallest

 under the highway

 i got this picture before they came up from under the highway. (yes, this is an official trail.)

 ma bros 4 lyfe (minus e).

 that big building in the middle-ish/left of the picture is where our church meets.

"falling rocks!" and underneath are the words: tripping is just ok. haha :) get it? it took me awhile.

the trail head for this hike literally starts in our church's parking lot. we rose early, went to the earliest service (8 am) then hit the trails. the waterfall is only a little over a half a mile in, so it didn't take long. :) last time we hiked up to the falls, we used the waterfall as a slide... just like the movies, but i think the movies make it look umm, effortless? and they do it more gracefully too.  we ate an early lunch there, then left when it started to get crowded. my mom went back down to the car with elias, and drove up to the pali lookout. my dad, three brothers and i hiked up the mountain and met mom and e at the beautiful windy lookout. great hike. definitely doing it again soon. probably this weekend. :)

new button!

i think it's about time for an updated button. like it? :) 

you can get the code from the left column.

i'd love to do a button swap with you. 

just email me: rosalais[at]yahoo[dot]com.

*a little about this picture: 

1. my brother took it. 

2. we were hiking. 

3. those "mustache" ferns were everywhere. 

4. we hiked for a long time. 

5. i loved it.

lucy, elias and his o's

that little highchair was for my baby dolls many years ago. my mom still has it (awww.) 

we put elias' cheerios on the highchair for snacking, because it's just out of lucy's reach. 

when e was born, he was the same weight as lucy, but he quickly out grew her. 

i still think they'll be best friends. 

(AFTER elias realizes she doesn't like to be pulled across the floor by her tail.)

keālia trail

we made it to the top!

nate was telling us all about the runway and the planes that were taking off or landing.

do you see that little neon green dot in the middle of the picture? that's kai. :)

one of my favorite pictures

cousin amanda, me and kai

an airplane pulling a glider

lunch on the beach.

according to my phone app "mapmyrun", the hike was 4 miles roundtrip [from the car, to the top, to the car again.] this hike didn't have much shade but the view was gorgeous the whole way up. umm, 19 switchbacks? i think that's how many we counted. it was great that my dad had the day off, so he AND my cousin (she actually lives near it on that side of the island so she mentioned/recommended going on this hike... she was our 'tour guide') were able to come! 

p.s. i hope all these hiking posts aren't getting too boring, because i'm going to keep posting about them. if you do get bored, you can just ignore them. they're mostly just for me and my family (but mostly just for me.) i want to be able to remember all the great times i've had here. :) i think i go on a different hike at least once maybe two times a week... i have to get my hiking-fix before heading back to grand forks. haha. hiking even just a small hill in that state is nonexistent.