TURTLES and snorkel CrUiSe

turtles... how adorable are they!?! I don't know why I find them so cute??? I think it's because they are so mellow and gentle and I rarely get to see them! Pretty sure I took more pictures of turtles than any other thing! ;) So, we got to snorkel with those turtles and see some amazing fish right off a nearby beach but we also thought it would be fun to head out on a snorkel cruise! What a fun afternoon relaxing on the boat searching for more whales, spotting dolphins and just enjoying more time with my sissies and mom.

Clear blue water~ that is the kind of water I enjoy swimming in where you can spot a sea creature coming from a mile away! More unforgettable times... boy, do I treasure all these memories and miss life on the beach. Don't get me wrong, I love, lOvE, LOVE being back with my family but 80 degrees with sand or 0 degrees with snow... Ah yeah, definitely prefer the first choice WITH my li'l family in tow!!!!! ;)

volcanO!

Us 3 in front of these cool Banyan trees... love that there is a tree wider than all of us combined!!! ;) I can't wait to see our boys climb these trees on our next Kona visit!

Off we went to the volcano as we got bored after waiting for the tsunami for 3 hours! I know none of us girls would have wanted to "waste" a sunny day driving in the car to a volcano but I'm glad that we were "forced" to go see it! And, it did give us more memories and gorgeous scenery!

Ha... this is a bad picture of us but it still makes me laugh!

There's my cute parents with the smokin' volcano... the layers of craters were pretty amazing!

So, not a day any of us would have scheduled but it was definitely our most memorable day... tsunami and volcano!

pseudo tsunami

Silly dad! We were glad my dad could extend his stay in Kona so us 4 women weren't complete basket~cases when those tsunami horns started blowing. Us ladies were all just a "little" on edge... I was packing my suitcase but my dad was able to be humorous and pose with his essential tsunami emergency food... licorice!

So, the tsunami day started off scary but then it just got humorous and very memorable!!! We had already driven our rental car up to safe ground because we wouldn't have wanted to pay the flood damage... hehehe! So, when we were told to evacuate from our condo we had to HIKE up the hill with our bags in tote! Ha~ not exactly the best planning on our part and nobody else was walking but just another story that makes our "Hogan" gang... unique!!!

Then, once the women knew we were safe... there was plenty of time for humor and pictures. Yep, we're dorky... in our snorkel gear waiting for the big wave, it was fun!

And, none of us "Hogans" last long in the sun without a blended mocha so we drove up to the closest gas station! All in all, it was a day full of emotions and waiting! We were; scared of the wave, sad to be away from our hubbies and families, annoyed by the tsunami sirens, happy to be sitting in the sun, frightened that our beaches would be destroyed ;), worried that people would be hurt, ready to go sit by the pool or beach, disappointed that we didn't see a tsunami, AND overjoyed that the tsunami was PSEUDO!

Blue Lagoon

Sigh... the blue lagoon! I love that my parents and Charis have been to Kona b4 our trip as they were able to take us to some amazing places! You can't drive to this lagoon so you get to take a mile+ jaunt on a lava~rock~beach. So cool! Once you get there... you just HAVE to jump in this fresh water lagoon!

No, that is not a "cow~pie"!!! That would be a lava flow... I couldn't believe the lava cools off in flowing~form!

Those are my cute parents with the biggest turtle~ "he" looks kind~of ugly but once they swim in the water their shells are much prettier. There were about 10 of these turtles just basking in the warm sunshine! And, since I knew that turtles are a very s~l~o~w creature... I was OK with sitting next to one for a photo~op with palm trees! Might be the only live "wild" animal I ever sit beside! ;)

mile 88~ my fav beach

I LOVE this beach! It isn't super big but I love the variety of; lava rock, turquoise water, body surfing, whale watching and soft white sand for sun~burning!!!

Charis and I had a blast catching a few waves reminding us of our childhood days... bodysurfing in Indonesia waters. Charis went to YWAM on Kona some 17 years ago and this used to be her fav beach. She used to hike into this beach and only have to share it with a few people but now just a "few" more people know how amazing Mile 88 is!!!

The 4 of us after a relaxing day on our fav beach!

Kona 2010

We did it! My sisters, mom and I escaped to Kona for 9 days... just the girls! It was difficult to leave our li'l families behind BUT we still managed to have a blast! It was great to reconnect as girlfriends as that is hard to do with all our sweet kiddos running around! So many laughs, crazy fun memories and super refreshing!

Traveling is so much more relaxing when you don't have to worry about any of your toddlers... throwing up, screaming, yelling, having a potty accident, getting bored, pooping their diaper, having friendly people nearby... and the list goes on! I dearly LOVE my toddlers but travelling in an airplane with them is stressFUL! So, here I am with my 2 sisters~ I actually got to finish reading my magazines AND order cranberry juice and Coke without worrying about it being spilled!

My parents were in Kona for a week before us so they met us at the airport with these beautiful leis! That was the last time you saw me in long sleeves for 9 days! The weather was perfect 80s and I enjoyed every second of the tropical warmth and time with the girls!!! My dad treated us all to my belated bday dinner on the beach! Thanks dad~ it was fun to have you join us for 2 days!! Scrumptious mahi~mahi dinner and a fabulous start to our vacation.

This is just the start of many more Kona posts! Believe me... I am not trying to make anyone jealous but I do want to have the posts for memory sake!

mastered the chairlift

Parker is all smiles on the Hilltop chairlift! Woohoo~ another breakthrough in his bravery!

Parker learning the "tuck" so he can go faster on his little skis! Kep said it was pretty cute watching him tuck at random times down the hill!!

Layne and Parker will be great skiing buddies! Actually, they don't have a choice because their daddies enjoy tearing up the hill together!

Crazy boys!

Hot cocoa~ this is the REAL reason they go skiing! Well, maybe it's the reason I would be skiing!!! ;)

quite odd!

(the boys thought it was fun to paint on the wall b4 we painted it blue!)I'm still surprised over what happened last night...

We got home wayyyyy past bedtime and I had asked Parker to run downstairs to get his PJs on while I got the younger 2 ready for bed. So, N&S were all set for bed... PJs, brushed their teeth, fresh diapers, bottles... and I was beginning to wonder why Parker was not back up to brush his teeth. So, instead of yelling down the stairs to ask him to hurry and obey... I decided I'd go see which toy was distracing my 5~year~old. And, boy am I glad I did not choose to get frustrated with him because when I walked down the stairs, there was Parker folding my mountain of laundry (that had been there for 3 days!). In pure shock, I said "Parker how come you're folding the laundry? That's so nice of you!" Parker's explanation, "Well, I just wanted you to be able to 'do your thing'!!!" I was still in shock, "Oh yeah, what's my 'thing'?" (I totally thought he'd respond with... the computer or watch Olympics) But, no he said, "You know mom, help the younger 2" ;) WOW, how sweet, helpful and innocent they can be! It was most definitely an encouraging end to a LONG day!

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So, to any of you thinking, "OMGoodness, Rachel is so fortunate"... THIS has never happened and probably NEVER will again! BUT I am writing this down so I can remember that our little ones ARE so sweet, they ARE thinking of others, AND they ARE watching/copying what they see their helpful daddy do for their momma! On the days (which are many) where I get discouraged with my mothering... God sends sweet little reminders that melt my heart and give me more hope! I hope this story reminds you of those precious moments with your own toddlers!

uncOnventional vAlentine's doUble datE

WARNING: If you're not a fan of hunting... this post is not for you to read!
We had a blast on an early Valentine's date, "bunny" hunting with some of our friends. Popeye and Mo~mo were super gracious to watch all of our kiddos for 9 hours while we went for a drive and hiked around on a gorgeous day.

My first "kill". So, I don't have a very accurate shot... it took me 3 shots to kill my first bunny. The guys made fun of us gals because we felt horrible for killing them but, yet, we weren't opposed to pulling the trigger.

This is the same place Kep went bunny hunting with my dad at Christmas time. I was excited to see this gorgeous scenery and sparkly snow~ in person!

And, this is my kind of winter hike... a plowed, flat trail!

And, here are us gals with the day's success. OK, Allison and I were only responsible for 2 of the li'l bunnies but since we planned the day... we needed a picture with our hubbies' "kills"!

Not a very traditional Valentine's date, but it is definitely our most memorable and humorous one! I LOVED every minute of it... being with my LOVE and doing what my hubby loves to do, by being outdoors!

happy VALENTINES to YOU!

Our kiddos got a joint Valentine's gift... a fleece~tied table tent! We got this pub~table off of Craigslist and our li'l ones have loved playing under it. So, I went and got them each a yard of their fav~colored fleece and tied them together to make a "cave"... it was a HIT, to say the least!

And, even a bigger HIT... eating pink Swedish pancakes in our "cave"! Happy Early Valentine's to YOU~ we're celebrating a day early because we have trouble getting to church on time on a normal Sunday!