Climbing trees never gets old

Singing in the Rain

--and boy has it been raining! I'm starting to lose count. I can't remember how many day, weeks in a row it has rained. Yes, there have been a few hours here and there that it's been sunny, but mostly not.
We've had a LOT going on around here, which I won't go into now, but some very exciting things indeed!

I snapped a shot of Lucy singing in the rain today. And we found an orchid blooming along one side of our driveway.

Difficult beginning

Ella and SJ started school on August 1st. Ella is in 3rd grade, and St. John in 1st. Sadly, in the first 2 weeks of school SJ has already missed 3.5 days of school due to health issues. Since returning from his 6 week visit to the mainland to see his Dad, he has been showing signs and symptoms of asthma. We are so fortunate that we have healthy kids and I have mostly taken it for granted....until now.
SJ has seen a doctor here, and is scheduled to see his regular doctor in Birmingham when he goes there in December. Let's hope and pray that we get this thing under control and he can live like a normal 6 year old boy(that wants to run around and play constantly).
Thank you Lord for inhalers! because it's very scary not being able to breathe.

Grandma and Grandpa are here from Birmingham!

And we are having a great time visiting with them.
Grandma bought Lucy a new swim suit, that she immediately wore to swim in the hotel pool.

$10 for 10k Run

Help me help the women and children of the Congo! Go to:

http://www.active.com/donate/runforcongowomen/emilycarder

Here are a couple of photos of my friend Meria who is from the Congo! She is a great friend and I really love getting to know her. She came to the US as a refugee, but many of her family(those who haven't been killed) remain in Africa. She hopes to one day be reunited with them.

The smell of sulfur

There are cracks in the earth that start down near the liquid hot magma that lead to the surface where gas escapes. That gas has a high sulfur content which is obvious from the rotten egg smell and the strange colors it stains the surrounding rocks.

One of the following photos is of a steam vent, can you see the difference?

You can't stop flowing lava-

and it obviously took over this road.

Ellen and Matt

Ellen and Matt are visiting from LA and we have been having lots of fun showing them around the Big Island. I haven't had a chance to take many photos, but here are a couple from our walk along the coast in the National Park.

Running on another planet

I ran the Kileuea Iki trail in the Volcano National Park yesterday, and it was like running on another planet. I started running on a trail in what looks like a rain forest, then at the bottom of the trail it turned into a black cinder rock cooled lava lake. Kileuea Iki (iki means mini or little) erupted about 60 years ago and when it erupted it created a lava lake 300 feet deep, that lava is still cooling and putting off steam(which I saw on the trail). If you come to the Big Island I would recommend this trail!

running again

Since returning from Birmingham about 3 weeks ago, I've started running again. Yesterday I ran 6 miles. The amazing thing is that I can run any time of day and it's not too hot up here where we live, and coming from the heat in the South it's really different. In Alabama, even if I were to get up at 5am to run, the heat and humidity would still be almost unbearable.
I've enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's a time when I zone out, talk to God, listen to the birds, feel the breeze, and organize my thoughts.
I run here most of the time:

Abby and I went horseback riding

For Abby's 10th Birthday present I took her horseback riding in Waimea. She said it was a dream come true. Abby's horse's name was Maui, mine Bradda(which is Brother in local Hawaiian lingo).
We had a great time.

4th of July rainbow walk

These photos were taken on a closed road (because lava flows have cut it off) which runs along the coast in the Volcanos National Park. It's about 40 minutes from our house, 30 minutes of that being in the N Park. We go there to watch the big swells crash into the cliffs, and it's always VERY windy.

We arrived about 45 minutes before sunset. The weather was perfect, with a wonderful breeze and a sky full of rainbows. We kept seeing one after another, growing in intensity. These photos just doesn't show it, but it was by far the most intense, brightest rainbow I have ever seen. Likely because we were in the shadow of the mountain and direct sunlight was hitting this patch of sky only on the exact spot, relative to us, that caused maximum effect.

Morning at Pohoiki

Sunday morning before church we stopped at Pohoiki so that Abby and Mason could do some boogie boarding. Lucy and I wandered around a bit so I took some pics in the morning light.

Bamboo teepee

Mark made an awesome bamboo teepee for the kids to play in--

Coast exploration

Yesterday after visiting a new church in Pahoa, we took the kids to the coast for some lava rock exploration. The tide was high and the waves were quite big, so we enjoyed watching the power of the ocean. Lucy fell asleep in the car within a few minutes of us leaving.

Coconut Island

We went to Coconut Island today, the first of many trips while Abby and Mason are here.

Peaceful walk

Unfortunately Mark wasn't feeling well the first day Abby and Mason were here, so I took all of the kids to one of our favorite spots, Bird Park. Here a couple of pics from our enjoyable hike.

America the Beautiful

While in Alabama this past weekend I was very busy. I got to see dear friends, family, and meet new friends. My parents drove up to Chattanooga with me to visit my brother and his family and on our way we stopped at Noccalula Falls near Gadsden, Al. I am always pleasantly surprised by the beauty of God's world. The beauty is endless, even here on this sin filled earth.

Heading to the Ham

Ella, SJ and I are heading to Birmingham tomorrow. I'm only staying about a week, but they are staying for 6 weeks. But I will be bringing Abby and Mason back to Hawaii with me! We are going to have a great time while they are here.

Discovered a new place to play!

We had fun!!