Oahu Fun!

June has gone by so quickly!  It has brought us some summer fun and we've been a little busy trying to get everything ready for an upcoming move to Japan.  We have known for a bit that Japan was probably the next destination we'd be headed, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that the actual orders came.  The army kept changing their mind about where to send Jake to work.  After a roller coaster of different possible assignments Tokyo, Japan is the winner, or maybe we are for getting Tokyo?  We were sad to not get some of the assignments a little closer to family, but we are excited for the adventure this new assignment will bring to our family.
Although the passports, setting up the movers, getting housing, and working out the details to bring Penny to Japan have been stressful, most of our moving "preparation" is spent just getting in as much beach time, tropical hikes, and Oahu bucket list items.   We love Oahu and it really is the only home our boys really know.  We love the people, the places, food, and beaches.  And Jake had a job that he loved.  This will always be a home to us.
The biggest family bucket list item we have been meaning to cross off for a few years was our visit to Kualoa Ranch.  We did the Movie Sites tour.  It was fun to see the beautiful valley and remember the scenes from Jurassic Park, Jumangi, and other movies as we did it.  Also, because COVID-19 quarantine is still in effect there were all kama'aina.  That made it a nice small tour.  There were only 3 other families with us.  We had a blast.  Here are some fun pictures from the tour.

We enjoyed the horses on the ranch while we were waiting for the tour to start.

Pace in front of the famous hill (it's been used in mayny movies).  It is the hill where the stampede of dinosaurs are chasing after them in Jurassic Park and where the motorcycles jump out at them in Jumanji (2017) - actually Jumanji uses that hill at least 3 different times in the movie.

A whole valley view

The old Hawaiian village replica of the ranch

A stellar view of Chinaman's Hat

We also loved the Ma'akua Ridge trail so much we did the hike right next to it: Hau'ula Loop Trail.  It was a lot different because there were a lot of norfolk pine planted on the loop which actually made it feel less tropical and more like a normal pine forest.  It had some pretty spectacular views and was different than many other hikes on the island.

It's hard to tell, but the sea arch off Laie Point is in the background of these pictures

This could be in Washington State couldn't it?!

Pace had the best pictures on this hike

I was also able to knock a big bucket list item off my list:  Hiking the back way to Stairway to Heaven.  I went with my friend Betty, while Jake watched all of the kiddos.  A big thank you to him for making this possible.  We were a little sad it was clouded in, but at least I did it and we had some unique experiences because of it.  I was on the stairs by myself for a while...which wouldn't have happened on a clear day.  We saw clouds roll by at race car speeds, and the fog definitely added an eeriness to the stairs.

A few of the other highlights from June:

Isn't our neighborhood the best?!

Pure joy

Another gem in our neighborhood....I love this place.

His clubhouse

Pace made lunch for Jake on Father's day

Lychee are in season!!!

Plumeria are in season at Koko Crater

I just love this crew so much.  So glad to share these  fun memories.

And happy late 4th of July!