Home Schooling

So as everyone must know by now, we are home schooling Ella and Eli. We chose this, not to "protect" our children, which seems to be needed nowadays, but we chose this because the school systems are really behind mainland schools (including Mississippi...yikes). We chose the Abeka curriculum, which is a wonderful Christian based education and aligns itself with the highest state standards. This program can be bought in kits, to include the lesson plans for parents. The total cost for everything was around $700.00, which is what we would have spent on all the school supplies for both kids public education and school uniforms. This curriculum is great, except kindergarten is not challenging Eli as much as I like since he is so brilliant :) Ella is loving her classes, but there are so many books we keep getting off track, which I hope to get more organized soon. I have also added in an additional science book to the Abeka curriculum to get the kids more "involved" in the work they do. I chose Botany by Apologia books, which shows children all the science behind plants and trees and how it aligns itself with God's creation of the earth. It is phenomenal and the kids are learning Latin words as well. I will also be teaching them Spanish, as soon as we gain access to Rosetta Stone (free to military!) For all the followers of my blog, I will try to post more information if Home Schooling is something that you may want to do in the future.

Ewa Beach park

Today was exceptionally beautiful. I wish we would have brought our swim suits because it was quite hot also. We had a great day and we spent most of the time searching for sea shells and sea glass, which is Ella's funnest hobby! Its just too bad that most of the sea shells are on the bottom of the ocean!

Enjoy the beautiful site and sound of the beach, but ignore the gun shots from the nearby firing range!

What Emmy taught herself

I finally got the 4 wheeler out for ELLA and ELI! Well, I ran inside to get something and as soon as I came back out, I found the little sister trying to drive. Needless to say, she taught herself within minutes. I am pretty sure Eli was 2 1/2 before he could figure out how to drive one of these things... Enjoy the video!

A day at Ewa Beach

All boy. All he wanted to do the whole time at the beach was climb this tree!

Trying to follow the big kids to the wild ocean!

After being smacked right in the face with a huge wave, she decided the sand was a much safer place.

After Randy practiced boogie bording, Ella wanted to try it.....

And the amount of sand that covered her from head to toe was more than I have ever seen! She wansn't too happy....

Randy trying to get Eli past the waves so they could ride a wave back into shore.

It was just easier carrying him to the deeper water!

Date night

A wonderful friend said she and her husband would watch the kids so Randy and I could have a peaceful night out. It has been so long, we didn't even know what to do. So, me, loving a good dinner and ambience, decided a dinner and shopping! We ate at the Moana Surfrider's restaurant called the Beach House. It was right on the ocean and we had a hula dancer and band the whole time we were there! The traffic was horrible getting there, but the food, service and view were totally worth it! We must do this more often!

A day at Hale Koa

Last week we decided to join some friends at the military hotel on Waikiki called Hale Koa. We had a blast and will go back as soon as we can. This is where we can get anyone a room if they visit! Besides Eli picking on Ella half the day, everyone had a great time! Our kids are definitely beach bums!

The rainbow is a picture we took after shopping one day. It was the fullest rainbow we had ever seen! Everyday there is a rainbow and we are reminded how much God loves us!

Eli at Karate

Taekwondo

It has been Eli's dream to join Karate and I finally found one by our house! This place is so wonderful, it is Christian based and each lesson is filled with Bible verses and lessons on character and integrity. Yeah for Hawaii!

Dinner at our new home

Before we even were unpacked, we set up the lanai and bought a new BBQ so I could cook dinner outside. We may not have a big yard, but the house came with lawn service and a view of a golf course. Pictures of the house when I get it all put together!!!

Ewa Beach "beach"

As fearful as we all are of "sea creatures" we mustered up enough courage to gather three sea slugs and touch them!

We decided to hit the beach here in our new city of Ewa Beach. I didn't realize at the time, but the waves are really big on the southern side of Oahu during the summer and small in the north. So, with the waves being so big here we just played in the sand, chased hermit crabs and played with new friends!

A busy weekend...

While we were looking for a home, we were able to stay in a hotel in Waikiki. On the day we went to the beach, Randy decided to do what all the "cool kids" were doing and lay on the retaining wall and try to hold on for dear life as the waves crashed over him. I have to say, he did pretty well!

Emmy and Mommy sunbathing...since Emmy prefers sand over water!

We even were lucky enough to stand in line for 2 hours waiting for Emeril to sign our cookbook!

USS Airzona, where Emeril was signing books!

Waikiki Beach

We decided to go to Waikiki beach just to see what all the fuss was about. It was so nice there and the white sandy beaches were awesome. This was a view from where we were sitting, by the Hale Koa military hotel.

We forgot (or more like I forgot) Emmy's swimsuit, something that doesn't happen very often since we pack extras now! Who needs a suit when your in Hawaii?!? She loved it anyway!

Randy with the bigger kids. Boy, they aren't' afraid of the water at all and want to surf already. Randy and I, on the other hand, are scared of whats in the deep water!!!

Aloha from Hawai'i!

Emmy was done and our day at the beach was over!