Christmas in Hawaii

Our exciting spring break adventure that was cancelled for Covid shutdowns in the spring got to be rescheduled for Christmas time--we had the opportunity to go see Aunt Amy and her family rather than stay home and be socially distanced for the holidays. Hawaii instituted pretty strict limitations, but we had our pre-flight covid testing check out, and with that, formal permission to enter the island and spend a week with our cousins!  Despite the changes and restrictions, we still had a wonderful time.

Air travel with strict requirements on masking and distancing; lots of hand sanitizer included!

Beach time!  Sun and Sand and Surf!

Festive decor even up in the pillboxes, we added to the tree on our hike!

Christmas cookie decorating with cousins

Snorkeling day!

Tasting Dole Whip at the source!

Hiking to see beautiful waterfalls; lots of mud included!

Beach is still great, even during a global pandemic crisis

Almost no one was on our flight back to the mainland on Christmas Day; the amount of tourists on Oahu was greatly reduced from normal with the restrictions in place during our time there.

Harvest Time 2020--Socially-Distant Halloween and Thanksgiving

The surge of hospitalizations around this time in our state was pretty high; some of the local critical care doctors were begging people not to get together in large groups for the holidays--our family is taking this pretty seriously; here are some pics of our harvest time "holiday celebrations" which have looked very different from normal for us this year.  It starts with harvesting the potatoes we started growing back when homeschool began, includes some pics of our only immediate family turkey dinner, and our fabulous masked-costumes for trick-or-treating.

Pandemic Tiimes-Outdoor Fun is safest

 

Enjoying a sunset at home with my little brothers

Definitely sailing is considered a safe, socially-distant activity

If we were hanging with friends or extended family, it was mostly in the out of doors setting

My siblings--I can tolerate them sometimes, especially if they are my only playmates at the moment

We were able to go on a road trip with friends to do some white water rafting/camping this fall;
probably this is the highlight of this crazy year so far.

Homeschooling memories

I have slacked off on documenting my memories over a long period of time, but I want to go back and add some updates from the missing time.  Around this time, we started our homeschooling adventure to avoid the pitfalls of virtual learning through public school, and there have been good sides to this and bad.  Overall, we have been able to spend more time together as a family and been able to go at our own pace and on our own schedule, so that Dad and Mom could still do what they need to do for their jobs.  Here are some photo memories from this time from our at-home learning--using a combination of online resources, useful everyday skills thought up and presented by mom and dad, and a Sonlight curriculum recommended by my aunts.  We really enjoyed all the family readings we were doing, but a lot of togetherness can bring some discord, as well.  Sam is missing out on professional instruction during his most formative years for reading/writing, but we all were doing our best.

Homeschooling 2020-2021 Decision

Mom got into the library-organizing spirit after our decision was final!

With the pandemic still rolling through with no signs of stopping, Mom and Dad announced this weekend that our school plans are now set.  Soon, we will beginning a homeschooling adventure.  Our regular school has a plan for distance-learning only for at least the first month and potentially longer, depending on how things go.  Mom and Dad needed a plan that they could put in motion and follow no matter what, and apparently they feel they are qualified to teach us something...even though we all know that parents don't know anything.  

We mailed off of our notification and letter to the superintendent and they bought a bunch of books; here goes nothing!

Summer Camp-Pandemic Style

So many people have had their plans cancelled or postponed this year; and our family has felt the inconvenience and disappointment also.  We still haven't quite gotten over the cancellation of our extended Hawaiian spring break that we never got to experience in March.  But we are making the best of the circumstances.  We have been tentatively planning on summer camp, hoping that virus cases didn't increase so much that we would lose out on that too.  Thankfully, this past week, we were able to have a blast at one of our favorite places!!  Of course, it wasn't quite like normal summer camp; with only half the campers, much more physical distance than normal, limited activities, and masks in place for most kids and the adults.  The camp counselors and staff made it super fun, despite the limitations, and we made some great memories.  Here are few highlights:

Pandemic Mom Cuts

There are many struggles we have to deal with on a day to day basis--one of the mostly silent struggles over the last few months has been dealing with "pandemic hair."  Early on in the widespread stay at home orders, all of the salons and barbers had to close, which has left people looking a little more scruffy than usual.  At our house, this brought back some relatively unfortunate changes.  My mom has often, over the years, been called to step outside her comfort zone and perform hygiene practices for various members of our family.  She was called back into duty so that the boys could continue to see out from under their hair.  Today's post is dedicated to her efforts to keep the boys looking reasonably clean cut during these crazy times...a role that she had un-regrettably given up before COVID-19 changed our world.

Sam "before"

Sam "after"

Apparently we forgot to get the before pic taken; here is Isaiah "after"

Let's just say, I am thankful that mom is afraid of MY very thick hair...I got to go to a qualified professional to get my mass of hair trimmed (otherwise, I would not be looking so fabulous as I am here)