Fun in the pool in Hawaii

Near our condo, there was a warm pool, and a hot jacuzzi. Since the day we arrived, my siblings and I have been working on a synchronized dance in the pool. We had to stay together, and every one had to memorize their parts. We also had to practice all the lifting, and put together the dance. This dance was difficult, as it was long, and it was hard for all of to agree on the routine and not fight. We worked on it every evening during our vacation, and at the end, my mother recorded our final dance.

At the end, we all held hands and bowed. We had a fun experience trying synchronized dancing, and we hope we will get together, and create something else soon.

Here is the video of our synchronized dance. 

Have you ever tried coordinating something with your siblings or friends? 

How did it go?

Surfing

A few days ago, we were feeling very energetic, and decided to try to surf. We went to Mana Kai Beach which is supposed to be a very good beach for going on boogie boards, body surfing, and for going on paddle and surfboards. In the mornings between 7:00am  until lunchtime the waves are small, but the winds start picking up around noon until 5:00 pm.

 

 

We rented our surf board  from across the street, and carried it to the beach.  We didn't have anything on our roof in the car to hold the surfboard, so we couldn't go far with it. As we put the board onto the water,  we had to pass through the shore break into the deeper part of the ocean where there were no waves so we could stand on the board. When we watched other people go surfboarding and paddle boarding, it looked so easy, but when I tried it, I found it to be a lot harder than it looked. The board is very wobbly, and it is hard to stay balanced. I got knocked off the board many times and it became very tiring to have to get back onto the board over and over again. We each took turns trying to get up on the board and counted the seconds to see who can stay on the longest. When we became cold, we rode a wave on the board to get out. Then we built a few very tall sand castles, and dug many deep holes. We had a wonderful day, and will never forget this experience. 

Have you ever tried to surf?

 How did it go for you?

Haleakala National Park

We recently drove to the Haleakala National park, which has a volcano crater. We had to drive through winding roads, and up to 10,000 feet elevation. As we reached about 8,000 feet we were so high that we were driving through the clouds. Finally we reached the volcano. The volcano  forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian islands of Maui. The western 25% of the island is formed by the West Maui Mountains. As we drove through the entrance, we went straight to the visitor center to pick up a map and a Junior Ranger Booklet for Haleakala National Park. To receive a Junior Ranger badge, we had to complete a certain number of activities in the booklet based on your age.

Finally we were prepared for our long hike called Keonehe'ehe'e (Sliding Sands). It was called sliding sands because along the trail were loose gravel. There were many signs showing the way of the trail, so nobody went off.  When we started our hike, the clouds were coming in, and we couldn't see the volcano. After about ten minutes everything cleared up and we took many  beautiful photos. We saw all different colors of mountains. At the bottom, there was some green grass growing, and to the right of that, there were some pink and red mountains. It was very windy above the clouds, so we put our long-sleeved shirts around our head, so it would cover our ears. We felt much nicer and warmer with the sweaters around our ears. In the beginning of the hike, we went straight down for about 40 minutes but then we had to go back up. It took double the amount of time to go back up, so that hike back up took another about 90 minutes with a few short breaks.   All together we hiked approximately 3 miles.

After we finished that hike, we ate lunch, and got ready to go back to the visitor center to get our badges. The ranger checked all our booklets, and corrected our mistakes. Then she told us to read the pledge that was written on our books to always take care of nature. Finally, we earned our badges, and took a photo together with the ranger. We are now official Junior Rangers of Haleakala National Park.

Have you ever visited a volcano?

Spectacular Beaches and Amazing Views

Fleming Beach

Recently, we flew to Maui, Hawaii. It was a long flight, and we were kept busy doing our homework, reading and playing games like Uno and cards. When we neared Maui, we saw lights of the city. The island is large with many sandy beaches and warm calm waters.

Wailua Falls

One day we took a trip to the city of Hana located on the eastern part of the island.  In the middle of the drive it started pouring, but it rained warm rain. It wasn't surprising to us because it was a rainforest and everything was very green. While driving, we saw many tropical fruit trees such as Guava and apple bananas. To keep us busy on the drive, we bought a CD, that talked about all the sites and guided us around this part of the island. Check out Miriam's post for more details about our drive.  It was about a 3 and half to 4 and a half hour drive through the amazing rainforests.

Black Sand Beach

As we approached Hana, we stopped at Waianapanapa State Park, also known as the Black Sand Beach. It has black sand from the volcanic rock.  While the black sand was nice and soft, the water had large black rocks that hurt are feet. We therefore wore our water shoes when swimming. In this beach, the surf was high, pulled us in, however, the water was very nice and refreshing. We couldn't go out far because of the huge waves. Only our dad went in all the way in the water, and he didn't even have water shoes.

Black Sand Beach

Red Sand Beach

When we left, we drove a little more, and parked on the streets near Hana School. Our next stop was Kaihalulu known as the Red Sand Beach. We had to to hike a few miles to get to this beach. We hiked up the hills and down the mountains. It was a very hard hike because it the sand was slippery, and we were high up. When we finally reached the beach, we saw gigantic red boulders above a beautiful blue pool of water. Although the waves were high, the large boulders blocked all the big waves. It was a very nice and refreshing swim before our trip back home.

View of the Volcano from the car driving back

For our long drive home, we decided to take the other way through the barren volcanic land.  While driving, this road took us high up, and there was a gorgeous view of the ocean. The ocean was turquoise near the shore, and gradually became darker blue. The other side of the road had a view of Haleakala Volcano.  It was hard to keep our eyes on the road. The rode was bumpy and unpaved for part of the trip.

Do you enjoy going to the beach? 
What do you like to do there?

Exploring the West side of Maui

View from the top

Recently, we went to explore the West tip of the island. We drove through the center, and then up the coast and around the tip. The road was very bumpy, narrow, and high up in the mountains. This road was not well paved and the car was moving back and forth like trees swaying in the wind. There were sharp turns, and we never knew if another car was coming around the corner. It turned out to be a dangerous road, but we drove carefully and really enjoyed the gorgeous views of the mountains and oceans.

We drove by a Taro field



Hsnging from a tree branch



 As we drove on, we kept getting closer to the beach, and saw a small parking lot that had many cars. It turned out to be one of the best places to snorkel on the island. The beach was called Honolua Bay. It is a protected reserve so fishing is not allowed, which means more fish for us to see. We took out all of our snorkeling gear, and started walking. We had to walk 1 mile and a half to get to a secluded beach. The walk was  through a thick, green rainforest, and we saw many beautiful trees and flowers. We also saw many avocados, apple bananas, guava, and papaya trees.

Honolua Bay

When we finally got to the beach, we didn't dawdle, but quickly put on our snorkeling gear. There were many rocks, and we had to swim past them befor reaching the beautiful coral reef. While snorkeling, we saw many fish such as trumpet fish,, parrot fish, the humuhumunookunookuappua'a with its blue lips, an eel, and of coures the best part, a turlte. As we swam deeper in the ocean, we nearly bumped into this huge turtle. It swam so gracefully, and many people were crowding around it pushing to see it. We had never seen such a big turtle. Hannah, our little sister, was so close to it, she could touch it. Of course, touching wild life is not allowed, and we let it swim by us. 

I'ini bird

After a nice refreshing swim, we sat down for lunch on the rocks. As we sat down, numerous birds began to surround us. Most of them were chickens and roosters making loud noises, nearly taking the sandwiches from our hands. We gave them pieces of bread, so they would move away. We even saw one Red-rested Cardinal. It had a red face, a yellow beak, and a grey and white body. We quickly ate our lunch, and while eating, one lady that was sitting next to us, told us that she saw a small shark. It was a White Tip about 3 feet long!

Red-crested Cardinal

Fleming Beach

After snorkeling, we started to look for a sandy beach to play in the water. We stopped at Fleming Beach park. It had small waves, and very soft sand. We built big sand castles and deep holes. We also went surfing and rode the waves. 

Kaanapali Bay

When we finished our lunch, we continued our drive to explore the island. We came to another beach called Kaanapali Bay. It was surrounded by expensive resorts and the water was very calm. We just relaxed in the water and played Monkey in the Middle with a football. It was very fun. The teams were my Dad, Mom and brother in one team, and Miriam, Hannah and I in the other team. Our team was the one that was mostly in the middle because my Mom and Dad through the ball over our heads.



We were then ready to head back home but we first stopped in the historic town of Lahaina for dinner, and to watch the sunset. This city used to be the capital city of Hawaii during the period of King Kamehameha. The capital was later moved to Honolulu. In Lahaina, we found a nice restaurant that had a spectacular view of the ocean. We were seated and served quickly, and the food was delicious. When we left, our stomachs were full, and we were very hiper. We walked around a little, and went to a famous 137 year old banyan tree that was planted in 1873  . It was a huge tree with many branches for us to climb. 

Banyan Tree in Lahaina

Finally, the sun was almost down and all the people lined the street along the ocean to watch the sunset. Each second, the sun went lower and lower until it disapeared into the clouds. It was a clear day, so there was a beautiful sunset. We took some family photos until it was finally dark. We had a long day, and while driving home, we all fell asleep.

Have you ever been to so many places in one day?

Have you ever climbed a tree?

Congratulations to My Cousin Ron

My cousin Ron just graduated high school. He has studied and worked hard to achieve his diploma.  Ron has completed 12 years of schooling, and will be going on to college to study engineering. We all wish him the best there, and we will miss him very much.

The graduation started with many speeches by students, teachers, and the principal. They talked about the school year, and about all the students graduating. Finally, they got to announcing the diplomas. They went class by class, until finally it was Ron's class. He was second to last to get his diploma because his last name started with a Z.When they finally got to him, they shook his hand, as the principal gave him his diploma.  We all cheered as loud as could as he was called up. The ceremony went on and on, until every kid from each class received their diploma.

Celebrating at the restaurant

Ron is the middle child of his siblings. He has an older brother named Ben who graduated last year, and has finished his first year in college. Ron also has a younger sister, who will be graduating in three years. Ron is a very loving and intelligent boy. His favorite subject is math, and he is very good at that subject. He works very hard at everything he wants to achieve, and in the end, all the hard work pays off. He always plays with us, and is there when we need him. He is especially good at fixing our toys and putting things together.  I will miss him a lot when he starts college.

When the ceremony ended, we all went to a restaurant to celebrate. During dinner, we each took turns saying some nice speeches to Ron. We wished him 4 great years in college, and we hoped he would make many new friends. We also told him how much we would miss him when he goes away.

Here are some photos of Ron with the family doing some fun things together. He used to be a really small and skinny kid, and he grew into a tall, handsome and strong young man.  

CONGRATULATIONS RON. WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

Showing off his "muscles"

Ben and Ron getting ready to go kayaking at Oxnard

David (Dad) Ron,  Luba, Hannah and I

Ron, Miriam and Luba

Ron, Luba, Miriam and I hiking

All grown up and celebrating New Year

Please leave some nice comments for Ron on his graduation.

Hannah's New Piano Pieces

I learned many new piano pieces over the spring months.

• Waltz Of The Flowers (from the Nutcracker Ballet'') by Peter Tschikowsky  
• Sonatina in G Major by Kuhlau
• March /Marche Op. 65, No. 10 by Sergei Prokofiev
• Dance by Dmitri Shostakovich
• Anna Polka by E. Strauss

First I played Waltz Of The Flowers ( from the Nutcracker Ballet'') by Peter Tchaikovsky. I had to press the pedal while playing the piece. This was my favorite piece because its from the Nutcracker Ballet and I like to watch the ballet. In the ballet, Clara is dancing with the nutcracker who turned into a prince.

The second piece my mother recorded was Sonatina in G- major by Kuhlau. For this piece I had to practice it slow, count, and play with strong fingers. Next my mom recorded the song March /Marche Op. 65, No. 10 by Sergei Prokofiev. For the is piece I had to keep the beat because it is a march.  I had to practice it with the metronome and it took a long time for me to learn. This  piece sounds like solders marching in a parade.

Next I recorded the piece called Dance by Dmitri Shostakovitch. For this piece, I had to play loud and quiet and also not rush the melody. My piano teacher wanted me to count out loud, but I never counted because I do not like to.  I also had to play with all the right fingers.

The final piece  I recorded was Anna-Polka by E. Strauss. For this piece, I had to count, and I to play staccato with strong fingers.  Both Dance and Anna Polka are  happy pieces because it sounds like people are dancing at a party.

I hope you enjoy the songs that I recorded. I have been practicing all of these songs very hard.

Which piece was your favorite?