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. :)

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. 

awkward & awesome 6/7/13

let's have lunch together.

i haven't done one of these posts in a very long time, so i thought it was about time to do one again. but first, i'll update you really quickly on life in hawaii. i still can't believe i'm here all summer. i am beyond blessed. on monday, i started an online class: organic chemistry. I need to take it before i apply to my medical laboratory degree. (i apply in late july/early aug.) i've taken an intro class to o. chem before this, so i'm hoping it helps. thankfully, i don't need to take a lab with it... i'd say taking a lab would be close to impossible anyways- seeing as it's an online class. another thing that started on monday was vacation bible school at my family's church. this year's theme is kingdom rock! tomorrow is our last day. :( it went by so quickly. i feel like it always does though. i'm helping with games this year (kinda out of my comfort zone), but the kids love it! and that's all that matters, right? i haven't been able to swim or hike lately (because of vbs) which is ok, but i'm excited to do those things again. there's a pool 3 blocks from our house, literally. i love it.

*more about the picture above: my two younger brothers have had sailing lessons in that water for the past 4ish months, and they took us sailing last week! hopefully i can blog about that soon. :) i didn't take any pictures so i'm going to steal some from my mom. if that's ok with her. ;)

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okay, now for awkward & awesome time.

+awkward+

+people think I'm 17, and nate's 20 something. i'm ok with that. when i'm 50, i'll look 40, right?

+looking at pictures of winter and missing it already. 

+remembering those times as a 3-5 yr old. picking my belly button. a lot. bleeding, scabs and band-aids were involved. really? what was i thinking...

+crazy angry lady yelling at  me when i ran through construction area. it wasn't that construction-y, and she was in her mid 20's. i thought it was weird. 

+not "old enough" to have military orders. let me explain-- while checking in our luggage, i mentioned to the guy behind the desk that nate and i were on orders (reason: so we didn't have to pay the ridiculous fee for check-ins.) we were, but not in the sense he was thinking. needless to say, we technically are old enough. we're both over 18 years.

+awesome+

+ i have a lifeproof case for my iphone now! this means i can go on adventures, and i won't have to worry about it breaking/drowning/cracking/etc.

+mangos, mangos everyday. I will be sad when they are gone (if that day ever comes.)

+kids at vacation bible school. they brighten my day like one other.  "aunty, where do i put my water cup?" in hawaii, mr and mrs/ms are translated to uncle and aunty, fyi :) it's adorable.

+watching elias toddle around. he's getting pretty good at that. he also thinks every animal roars. 

+a hammock in the shade. sleeping in it two nights in a row is also fun. :)

+nate and his awesome computer skills. my online class (o chem) was not working because our computer had the wrong video player. after, frustration and a headache. he got it to work. yay!! now i can't procrastinate it anymore...

**for old awkward and awesome posts click here.

an afternoon at bellows beach

as the title suggests, we did go to bellows one afternoon. 

this is the place i did most of my boogie boarding eight years ago, and i would like to say i was better then than i am now.

this is also the beach i got stung by a jellyfish... twice. 

it hurt, yes. but it obviously didn't stop me from swimming there again. ha

 beach baby & my mom going out to catch some waves.

 hanging around

oh! my hammock finally came in! it's blue & yellow, and i've already taken a 2 hour nap in it.

 someone woke up from their nap and didn't know where mama was.