My Blonde Experiment

I have wanted to try bleaching my locks blonde for several years.
First of all, I can't believe how fast a person can be transformed by just changing their hair color! Second of all, I am so glad I finally did it!
BUT I think I will either dye it back to brunette, for a month has passed now, and the blonde girl looking back at me in the mirror still looks pretty strange (even though I know in the past few weeks she has had some fun!) or I will lighten it much, much more, so I am really, obviously blonde (might as well I'm already half way there!).
Any thoughts?

The Market

Groceries are really expensive here. We pay a lot for shipping. So I try to buy as much as I can from the local farmers market. I'll be honest--it really isn't much cheaper than Safeway-- but it IS fun, usually much tastier, and a cool experience. So far I have experimented on passion fruit, guava, apple bananas, star fruit, avocados (similar on the outside, but they are yellow on the inside, not green), papayas, mangoes, pinneapple (of course), breadfruit, rambutin, lychee, manoa lettuce, and oranges (they look like limes on the outside). Next Up: dragon fruit, jackfruit, jicama, coconuts, and figs.

A Fish Named Chun Li

Notice our new beta fighter fish, Chun Li (named after Chun Li from Street Fighter, by Melia). He will be our friend while we live here in Hawaii. He will also go by 'She' because Melia never intended for the fish to be a boy. Chun Li is a girl fighter, after all, not a boy one. We are all very excited about our new pet!

Kayak Attack

Danny and I kayaked in Kealekekua Bay today. We kayaked to the Captain Cook monument, where the famous Captain Cook was slain by the Hawaiians many years back.  The monument was dumb, but the scenery amazing. We snorkeled, too, and it really clear and beautiful.

Hawi

Ironman was last week. The athletes biked up to this town, 112 miles round trip. The wind blows so hard up there, I don't know how they stayed on their bikes! We felt like we drove through 5 different terrains to get there. Southern Utah, Nevada, Africa, Ireland, Hawaii.  Amazing.

Baby Hazel

Our new niece! Born just a few days ago to John and Shelly Hyde.

Hazel Anne

Sushi and Snowcones

Danny used to disdain sushi rolls and raw fish.  Now he loves it!  It is his new hamburger. He craves it all the time. We walked along downtown for snow cones after dinner. Gotta love Scandinavian Shaved Ice!  ...Notice all of the Ironman stuff?

Four Wheeling to Green Sands Beach at South Point

Beautiful scenery. Lots of wind. Melia hated the bumpy roads...the rest of us loved them. Sophie cried, "Weeeee!" and raised her hands in the air.

When we reached Green Sands Beach, it was too windy to climb down the hill to the green sand as the kids too little and Sophie was feeling sick, so we got back in the car and four wheeled the long loop home. Danny picked wild papaya and my legs got chafed from rubbing on my shorts so much from all the bumps. The kids fell asleep with one hour of the trip remaining, and Danny and I discussed topics like church voice vs. regular voice, the happily-ever-after syndrome in marriage, and the real definition of love. Sorry about the chest shot.

Fishing with Uncle CJ

Here is Danny's Surfer friend taking us out on his family fishing boat. He is kind, talks in Pigeon to other locals, and tells us stories about ancient burial grounds and pro surfing. 

Everyone on this island is related somehow. He says he is a descendant of the man who killed Captain Cook.  CJ is a kind friend and Uncle (all older men and women here can be called Auntie and Uncle. It is very endearing and fun, plus oh so handy when you can't remember someone's name!)

Harold H Higashihara Park