The Dole Plantation

I took the kids to the Dole Plantation, in spite of their professed hatred for pineapple.

Sorry, kids, but I remember the first time I saw a pineapple plant, and I thought it was amazing and weird.

I had to pass that moment on.

We stood in line for the "Pineapple Express".

I think my kids aren't as impressed by trains as they used to be.

Remind me to take them to Cabin John Park and make them ride the train tomorrow.

Cozy and I, listening to the very informative history of Dole, as we took selfies on the train.

James - looking like he's listening intently....when he's really just thinking about something entirely different. If you interrupt such a moment for James, he typically answers with something like, "Mom! Stop talking to me! I'm trying to think about the evil farmer!"

Cozy - looking equally unimpressed by the biggest sundae she's ever seen in her life. Cranky pants.

The older kids were more appreciative. I actually have an adorable picture of Annika having a similar sundae placed in front of her AT DOLE, and, at just 18 months, she thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Much to my surprise, it was the maze that garnered the most enthusiasm.

I was on a team with the little kids, while the four oldest ran off together. They beat us soundly, but we still had a good time cutting through gaps in the hedges, searching for the markers.

Grumpy pineapples:

Hula pineapple:

Ukulele pineapple:

...and thank goodness we have a big brother to carry a tired, tired little girl to the car.

McHawaii

We had an afternoon flight to Oahu - thank goodness! I'm so tired of having to rush places early in the morning. A 4pm flight gave us plenty of time to drive up to Bellingham and check in.

I bribed all of the children with movie players on the flight, so the were great, and we arrived to see Tony waiting for us at the gate!

(He always manages to sweet-talk his way past security.)

Ooo...I looove Hawaii! It's so beautiful. Just being there makes me take a little happy sigh and relax.

We stopped to get some fast food on the way to our place.

You know you've left the continental US when they have region-specific items on the McDonalds menu. (Think they serve Salmon or Moose in Alaska?)

Saimin, which I ordered with no knowledge as to what it might be.

Taro pies: much yummier than their cousin, poi.

I was crushed that they stopped serving the haupia pies before I got there!

You can also get a local breakfast, but we just had ours at our townhouse. My cooking skillz are good enough to make spam, eggs, and rice myself. :)

And...ahhh....Hawaii....

It's hard to be sad while you're looking at rainbows.

Pioneer Day in Snohomish

The day we got back from Cousin Camp wasn't Pioneer Day; however, it was the Snohomish Stake's Pioneer Day activity, an event that was much talked of and looked forward to by everyone except my tired teenagers.  Sadly for them, it was also mandatory, as their Uncle James and Grandpa were going to be performing as part of the entertainment. :)

They were great, of course.

Yee-haw!

Really, it was an amazing activity. There were about a billion booths, where you could do things to earn "pioneer pennies".

You could haul water from one "well" to another, hunt buffalo (yes, they had archery and pellet gun booths), make butter, do laundry....

(Annika and Cozy, earning a penny or two. I gave each of the little kids buddies, so that I could roam and keep an occasional eye on all of them....even the lazy teenager, reading and declaring he was much too sick to be there...He wasn't.)

...pan for gold...

...work at the mill...

...fish. The kids even got to brand "CTR" onto a slice of wood at the blacksmiths.

At the end, you used your pennies to buy your dinner and dessert (and play some of the games).

The whole thing made me want to plan out a pared-down version for our ward next summer. 

Think I could talk anyone into it? 

...and, of course, it made me want to sew bonnet after bonnet after bonnet.

I was responsible, resisted the urge to sew period garb (for the time being), and packed for our flight to Hawaii the next day.

The Luau Finale

Why haven't I finished writing about our Hawaiian Cousin Camp? ...because I've been much to busy enjoying our trip to the actual state of Hawaii. 

Still, I'm determined to squeeze out one final post about camp:

On the last evening of cousin camp, Grandma and Grandpa had planned a big luau, to which all of the parents....

...., great grandparents (Grandma Cozy).....

(Little Cozy really wanted to tease Grandma Cozette and play with her hat. Naughty.)

....., and local cousins (Allicia and her kids - we were so lucky they were there visiting, with all of their moving craziness!)....

...were invited.

The Mom/cooks tried to make sure everyone had a brush run through their hair. All of the camp shirts had been washed and the campsite tidied and decorated.

My Mom's friend Paulette (along with her sister and niece) cooked us an authentic Hawaiian feast, with laulau, poi, haupia (the best I've ever had), fried rice, and all sorts of other dishes! Yum!

The campers provided the entertainment for the evening. They sang songs, danced, performed very silly skits, and Grandpa even did the Hawaiian war chant (which sounded very pretty and not at all threatening. It must have been performed differently back in the day.)

I still catch myself humming "pupu, hinu hinu". (Guess I'd better learn the lyrics. Then I could at least sing it as a sweet lullaby instead of having a phrase of a song just stuck in my brain!)

My parents have been working their master plan all year, to get the luau together. Beyond finding hula lessons, they made sure each family got a ukulele for Christmas.

Grandpa worked on learning to play enough chords and songs on his ukulele, while a few of his grandkids were doing the same.

The result was adorable.

All week, there were kids sitting around, strumming their ukuleles (which has to be the perfect camping instrument - so portable.) 

I often think that part of enjoying your family is developing enough common interests that you like hanging out together. 

And isn't it darling seeing Chloe sharing sheet music with her Grandpa!

Sofia, of course, cranked out her version of Imagine Dragons' Apocalypse. Just wrong. 

I told her it wasn't a happy enough song to play on that instrument. 

No one is going to be playing the ukulele during an apocalypse. No one. 

One Direction songs were a little more compatible.

And all of the work that went into this week...

...you could see it working...building and strengthening relationships between relatives who are usually far apart. They don't get to swim and camp and play together as often as we would like, so I hope they remember these fun times.

I know Cozy was loathe to give up her "buddy", who she never, ever wanted to share with anyone.

(Autumn may just become the sweetest Mom ever...someday.) 

Those sweet cousins were definitely all worth the drive. :)

I'm pushing for a "Camping on the High Seas" theme for the year after next. Then we can feed the kids hard tack and teach them sea shanties and knot-tying.

The Entertainment

Grandma arranged for some professional entertainment on one of the evenings.

Sofia and Anthony, preparing for a special night at cousin camp.

Annika and Chloe, squeezing in some last-minute crafting before the festivities began.

A couple of Hawaiian expatriates, who do entertainment on cruises and such, came and performed for all of the rowdy cousins.

Ok, they weren't that rowdy....in fact, they look quite sedate.

Don't let them fool you. They had plenty of energy for hula lessons. The Moms were even peer-pressured into learning the "Hukilau".

...but we adults were at a disadvantage. The local cousin have been doing hulu lessons all year!  Cheaters. (I could have used a few private lessons to get me ready.)

I'm sure our rag tag camp wasn't their dream venue, but they were fun and gracious and we all enjoyed it very much!

If you happen to be having a Hawaiian wedding reception or sweet 16 or 25th anniversary....

....my Mom can give you their number! :)