Family portrait with all the grandkids

May Day (Lei Day) at Island School

Hi all,

I was thinking of all of you and wanted to share some photos from the May Day celebration at Island School. Wow! is all I can say. Each class (pre-K to 12th grade) performed a chant or a hula. Each year the kumu (Hawaiian Studies teacher) focuses on a different part of the island. The kids take field trips to learn first hand the stories and chants and legends of the area. We were really lucky this year. Ellie's kumu chose Koloa, which is where we live, and we felt we got to learn so much right along with the kids. What an experience!

(Ellie getting ready to perform with her class)

The instrument you see Ellie holding is called an "ipu". Ellie and her friends each went out with the kumu and found their own gourd. They brought the gourds back to school and spent several weeks cleaning them out, drying them and polishing them with the oil from fresh kukui nuts. During the mele the kids keep their movements synchronized by keeping up a steady rhythm on the ipu.

Early Hawaiians did not have any form of written language. Therefore, their entire history had to be memorized and passed down orally and often took the form of songs and chants. (I've read that there are some chants that took over 2 days to recite!) The whole thing was incredibly moving and very powerful. What an experience!

Lots of love to all of you. We hope to see you this summer!

Susanne, Dave, Ellie and Kate

A Special Message

Happy happy birthday! We love you!

Ellie and Kate



Mom, we're thinking about you and wishing you a happy birthday! I know you were busy racing cars, but you missed some killer waves at the beach and a sunset picnic that "broke da mouth". Wish you were here with us!



Please play the movie below:

Easter - Island Style

Can you believe that crazy Easter Bunny?! He hid our eggs at the bottom of the swimming pool!

Praying mantis

Hello friends!

We've had a (relatively) subdued week here on the rock. This weekend the girls and I made an interesting discovery in front of the Koloa Post office -- a Praying Mantis! I don't know that they are rare here on Kauai, but in all the time we've been here, I've only seen one (about 20 years ago).

Praying Mantis are really cool! They have 5 eyes and they are the only insect that can turn their head a full 180 degrees (just like a human)! They're born in the spring and live only 1 season, so this little guy is probably a fairly new hatchling.

This photo made the Kauai newspaper!

Generally, Praying mantis are not aggressive, but Kate wasn't too sure. She really wanted to get a good look, but her sister kept telling her to watch out... the Mantis was going to leap off this post and land on her head. And you know what?! It sure tried. It was too heavy though and awkward in flight... Kate had time to duck and run. The Praying mantis landed safely in the grass and we left it to continue where ever it was headed.

(Hey, if you're interested in learning more about Praying Mantis, check out this website: http://www.instanthawaii.com/cgi-bin/hawaii?Animals.pray)

P.S. Just a few updates from our last few posts: Several of the north shore beaches were closed this weekend. Seems we weren't the only ones interested in the turtles... Several large sharks were spotted this weekend in Hanalei Bay. One apparently came 15 yards from shore (yikes!) and was as wide as a jet ski! Dave says they don't go after people, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable relying on their eyesight... Seems to me we look enough like a turtle flopping around in our snorkel and fins. I think I'll be taking a break for a few days...

Also, on the Big Island, the lava flow is literally gushing into the sea a few hundred feet from where we hiked at Christmas. At the top of Kilauea there were several large explosions last week and the park center had to be closed for a bit as the sky was literally raining rocks! Glad we missed that storm! I know my sister's home isn't in any danger (at the moment) but it feels good to have her and the twins here visiting this month. :-)

Aloha for now... S,D, E and K

Honu: Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

Honu: Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle

Hi all,
Just a quick hello... Dave's brother Rob and sister-in-law Tonya have been visiting us this week from Tennessee (now that's a long flight!) Yesterday was one of the most amazing snorkel experiences we've had yet on the islands in terms of swimming with turtles.

Ellie and Uncle Rob

We drove all the way to Ha'ena (the end of the road on the North Shore). The ocean was uncharacteristically calm for this time of year and we were able to snorkel on the outside perimeter of the reef. Turtles, turtles, turtles by the dozens! I asked Kate how many turtles she thought she swam with. She held up 10 fingers twice. It think she was probably right... There were so many turtles, at points it seemed they were swimming fin to fin. It's great to see such a healthy population as Hawaiian Green Sea turtles are currently still listed as threatened.

Tasty algae covers the reef

If you're interested in learning more about Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles, check out this link:
http://www.turtles.org/hawgrnd.htm

Susanne and Kate

Just flying along

Lots of love to all of you and we'll be in touch soon! S, D, E and K

Big Island Volcano

Inside the Thurston lava tube (about 500 years old)

Hi there,

In December we travelled to the Big Island to check out a live volcano up close. We learned LOTS of interesting things... The Big Island is actually made up of 5 volcanoes, 4 of which are not currently active. The tallest, Mauna Kea is nearly 14,000 feet above sea level, but the base of the mountain lies more than 18,000 feet below sea level making it almost 32,000 tall!... That's significantly taller (by nearly 2800 feet) than Mt. Everest! (In November when I was on the Big Island for the birth of my nephews, I drove up to the snow line. Boy was that strange to touch snow the same day I laid on the beach in 80 degree weather! Did you know people ski and snow board up there?!)

Above the Kilauea Caldera

Kilauea holds the title of being the world's most active volcano. It has been erupting continuously for the past 25 years! During our visit in December the live flow had moved further down the mountain. We spent a few days at the top exploring the old flow and learning about volcanoes before we ventured toward the live hot stuff! Even though it was a cold rainy day, we found many steam vents around which we warmed ourselves.

Hiking along the Ka'u Desert trail

Steam vents

In December the only way to reach the active flow was by helicopter. For me, the most memorable part of that flight was my door opening as we leaned into a turn right over the vent. Logic told me I was strapped in, but survival instinct left me white knuckled clutching the dash. I could really feel the heat and had less than no interest in becoming a human marshmellow!

Hot lava!

Thoughtfully, the pilot flew us out to an old flow... landed the copter... and securely fastened my door before completing our flight. The bonus was an unscheduled tour over a 1980's subdivision cut off by the earlier flow. All that remained were about 15 homes surrounded by a desert of black hardened lava. That's a real bummer of an investment!

The end of the road...

Shaka from our pilot

(Check out the video below)

Sunset surfers

Aloha friends and family!

Sorry we have been so lax in our "blogging". We've been seeing and doing and visiting and learning and travelling so much, it's been hard to find time to sit down at the computer and write. Yesterday we returned from an overnight camp out with the kids at Anini Beach (beginning of the North Shore). The kids begged Dave to put his surf board in the water and they "practiced" surfing literally until the sun went down. The next morning they were up with the sun (6:45am), and back in the water until we had to drag the kids home Sunday evening.

While the kids played, Dave snorkeled and tested out his new underwater camera. Anini Beach is surrounded by one of the largest reef systems on Kauai. In addition to the variety reef fish, Dave was thrilled to spot many types of thriving coral and several curious eels (all in only 4 - 6 feet of water!) Too bad we couldn't peel the kids away from the surfboard to take a look!

Lots of love to all. We're looking forward to seeing many of you soon!

D,S,K, & E