The Other Side of Life in Hawaii

My month in Hawaii is almost over.  I realize that from what I've posted you may have gotten the impression that all I've done here is play every day.  That's not the reality, though.  We get out and play, but I've been living in a family that has to do lots of normal, everyday stuff.  I try to help where I can.  Those things don't normally lend themselves to pictures, though.  Trips to the commissary (grocery store) don't make good pictures.  It's been good for me to experience life in a busy family with four kids.  I get opportunities to help with things that I didn't have back home--like reading to somebody or watching the baby.  I also do a little bit of my own school and try to keep up violin some.  So while those things don't really get on to my blog posts, they are happening. 

I Must Be Acclimating

When I checked my little weather gadget on my computer today, I was surprised at what it showed for today.  Right now it shows 68 degrees.  When I saw that, I had some thought of "I wonder if I'll need a sweater when I go out today."  Sure enough, when I opened the front door to go out and get some groceries, a coolish breeze was blowing.  I decided  to skip the sweater, but I did comment to Anna "It's chilly today!"  She agrees--this is like January and February weather for Hawaii, cloudy and "cool." 

Well, all that to say, I think I'm adjusting to Hawaii weather.  At home we would call 68 a nice, warm day.  Here its chilly.  80 is the perfect temperature! 

Out and About with Mack

Tuesday I went out with Mack to take pictures.  We went to different places on base to snap shots.  We ended up wandering around on the beach.  It was fun and I think some of the pictures turned out pretty well.

"Painting Your Nails" Takes on an Added Meaning

Until this week, I'd never done a pedicure before.  Anna tells me that in Hawaii they buy cheap shoes and spend more money on their nails.  Makes sense.  So we went to this nice place and got our pedicures, complete with extra nail art.  I don't think I've seen this before, but they paint little pictures on your toes with tiny brushes.  And they put little rhinestones on, too!

So maybe this is a little weird--but here's my toes.  I love the way they turned out.

Makapuu Lighthouse

Thursday I had the opportunity to go on a hike with a new friend from church.  We hiked around the Makapuu Lighthouse area.  The view from the lighthouse viewpoint was just amazing. 

This is the view looking north.

The Makapuu Lighthouse.  We couldn't go inside; we only looked at it from above (and later from below). 

Heidi graciously took a picture for me. As you can tell, it was really windy up there.

 Afterwards we hiked down the cliff to the rocky tidal pools below.  I know this picture looking up the cliff makes it look really dramatic, but it was pretty steep.  

At the base of the cliff there's a rocky shelf with tidal pools.  The waves crash up against the rocks, sometimes shooting up very high.   

The water in the tidal pools was so clear!

Heidi knew of this neat place where there's a log sticking out into the water that you can jump off.  After getting hot on our hike, a good swim was the perfect thing.  The whole day was a ton of fun.