A Waterfall, A Birthday Party. and A Whale Watch....

We've been busy around here! You may have noticed the lack of blog posts over the last couple of weeks...but I'm going to do a little catching up today!

First, a picture of the youngest Stickley...Can you believe how fast Jude is growing?

Grandpa, Grandma, and Mammaw Stickley arrived from the cold midwest this week, and we have been having a BLAST!!!  On Saturday we ventured out to explore a new waterfull hike near our house.  Juneau wanted to lead the expedition, and she kept running ahead and yelling "Guys, you have to see this! It's BEAUTIFUL!" I'm so glad they have started to enjoy hiking!

Nova wanted to hold hands for a lot of the hike...it was a little muddy and slippery!

I'm quite certain Juneau will hate this photo in about 10 years...but I just can't help myself!

Cris had to help Juneau find a makeshift potty.

The hike took a sharp turn at this tree in order to find the waterfall...the girls are pointing us in the right direction!

The waterfall at the end was amazing!

Daddy and Grandpa helped the girls cross over the slippery/mossy rocks

Nova was so funny on the hike. She was convinced that this was a magical forest where Fairies live and play. She would call out to them while we were walking, and she had an elaborate story about how the fairies would close the vines in the forest to prevent people who weren't kind from getting all the way through to the waterfall...The fairies let us through the forest, however, since we were with Nova, and they already know her really well.

This is a terrible picture...but I had to give our friendly readers a glimpse into the ailment that has dominated our household for the last month.

This, my friends, is no ordinary Pink Eye. This is some crazy virulent strain of Adenovirus that starts of with the traditional old pink-eye, then it causes "pox" (little ulcerations) to cover the surface of the cornea, which as you can imagine results in severe pain/irritation.  Cris had this for 2 weeks, then kindly passed it along to me. I am at about day 16, finally starting to be able to use my eyes somewhat normally again. Somehow this particular strain of pink eye only affected those in the home over the age of 30 :) totally weird, but i'm so thankful that none of the kids got it. And I think the infection was gone before the gang arrived from Ohio.

The original Nova, snuggled up with Nova 2.0. I thin, all 3 kids have been enjoying their special cuddle times with Mammaw. we are so glad she made the long trip to see us!

Next up on the photo agenda is the birthday party...CRIS' 40th!!!

Unfortunately after loading up 3 vehicles full of party gear, food, and bounce houses, when we arrived at the beach it looked like this...

Actually this picture does not do it justice. It was pouring rain, gusting winds, and downright cold! So after an hour of trying to somehow make it work, the party was moved back to our house.

After we moved the entire party, the sun came out :) We still had a great time! And words cannot express how thankful I was to have 3 extra pairs of hands to help relocate the party at the very last minute!

Who says bounce houses are just for kids?

This 40 year old kid had a pretty good time bouncing around!

Mammaw and Jude chilling out...

A photo from our Friday Night Fireworks festivities. We love seeing Cousins Tim/Beth/Melody every friday night, and enjoying the fireworks over Waikiki! It's always a highlight of the week.

Cris Birthday invite!

Grandma and Juneau worked for hours on valentines for Juneau's class! They are amazing!

 (Mahalo to Grandma for providing the following photos from her camera!)

 

We were so disspointed that neither Cris or would be able to chaperone Juneau on her big Whale Watch Field Trip. It worked out perfectly that Grandpa and Grandma were in town, and agreed to go along for the ride!

 Check out this gang of trouble makers!

 They definitely saw some whales!

This is what 40 birthday candles look like!

 The kids at the birthday party were SOOOO excited when Cris invited them to help blow out the candles!

 Grandpa and his little buddy

 A couple of great waterfall hike photos!

 Grampa and Gramma

The following photo is a rare opportunity for you, our friendly readers to see what very few people have seen.  Grandpa Stickley in shorts. This phenomenon may not be seen for another decade or more!

 Nova "taking a bath" in the fairy princess waterfall

 Grampa and Nova having some fun