Dewberry Farm

On Monday afternoon, Grammy, Grandad, Finley and I headed up for our first ever visit to Dewberry Farm. It didn't take as long as we thought to get there and Finley was so excited to try everything once we got there. Her favorite things were feeding the goats, riding the roller slide and selecting a pumpkin. She liked to try and pick up all the pumpkins, I was surprised whenever she was actually successful, those pumpkins were heavy!

Happy Birthday Chloe!

Chloe's birthday party was a new one for Finley.  Chloe hosted a fantastic mermaid tea party at the Pink Pokka Dot.  All the little girls dressed up like mermaids, made necklaces and got their hair done.  After all that fun, there was a mermaid fashion show with Ariel.  Finley had such a lovely time, even though she was a little wary of dressing up at first.  Happy birthday Chloe!

Happy Birthday Avery!

On Sunday, Finley and Clifton headed up north to Bouncin Bears to help celebrate Avery's 4th birthday. Finley had a great time and loved playing on all the bouncy houses. Of course, she was a huge fan of the pizza and cake. Happy birthday to Avery!

Pretty Ballerina

Finley has been loving her dance class this year.  They start with tap and then it is onto ballet for the second half of the class.  We got her a little flower hair clip in Hawaii and she insists on wearing it in her ballet bun.  I finally got her a new pair of tap shoes, we were cramming her feet into her shoes from last year.  There was no class today since school was out and she is going to miss next week's class since we will be at Disneyland.  I am sure she will be very excited to return to her dance class.

Back to the Grind...

Now that Finley is in the three year old class at school, she has homework. She loves doing the homework that her teachers send her home with. This week she was working on writing the letter A and identifying things that begin with A. She did a great job!

Our First Helicopter Ride

On Friday we headed over to Blue Hawaiian Helicopters for our first ever helicopter ride.  Finley (Clifton and I too) was SO excited to ride in the helicopter.  We had spotted helicopters all week long and Finley kept asking if it was the blue one that we were going to ride in.  We booked the two hour Big Island Spectacular and boy was it ever spectacular.  Finley did great buckling in and getting her headphones on.  She was so brave!  Our pilot Noah was great with her and really kept her involved for the ride, at least for the volcano portion of the trip.  By the time we made it to the Kohala Coast for all the waterfalls and amazing valleys, Finley was fast asleep.  There was no waking her up.  The pilot said it was quite common for little kids.  I cannot wait to ride in a helicopter again!  If anyone wants to stop by and view the two hour DVD from our ride, feel free to stop by =)

If you ever get to the Big Island of Hawaii, I highly recommend taking a helicopter tour. It was the highlight of our trip. The best part was how wonderful the staff was with Finley, she was at ease the entire trip, even when our pilot was getting a little crazy with the copter!

Waves!

Sorry for the water smudge, Clifton had the camera in the water snorkeling just prior to taking the video.

Pu’uhonua o Honaunau

On Tuesday we visited Pu’uhonua o Honaunau, the National Historic Park of the "Place of Refuge."  The site is of an ancient Hawaiian temple and it is one of the most breathtaking spots on the big island.  Finley enjoyed investigating the temple a-frames and sitting in the stump chairs.  I can understand why the area was chosen by the kings and queens years ago.  We also stopped for a visit into the Painted Church on our way to Pu’uhonua o Honaunau.

Beach Time

The first couple days in Hawaii, Finley played on the beach by our hotel.  We built sandcastles and did some kayaking.  Finley was much more brave in the sand here than she was in Nevis last year.  Yesterday we visited the beach at Kikaua Point.  Clifton did some snorkeling while Finley and I played in the water and the sand. The best thing about beaches in Hawaii is that they are all public. Even in the fanciest of resorts, there is still access to the beach. This means you aren't tied to your hotel and you can really explore. I think we found our perfect beach today at Mauna Kea, pictures to come of that soon. Finley has really been enjoying the ocean this trip.  She has also really loved swimming in the pool (without noodles!)  She is finally ready to show off her swimming skills, it has been amazing to watch her gain the confidence to swim.