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| The kids standing in front of Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku's monument. Duke was a native Hawaiian olympic swimmer and surfer. |
On Saturday we made plans to hang out with Diane, Danny, and Keoni. Jim trained Diane and her long-time boyfriend Danny to work for Roma Designs while in Hawaii. Diane has a little boy named Keoni, so before they were done working, we all made plans to hang out together, let the kids play, and have some fun.
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| Meeting Keoni |
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| Look who's not afraid of the water anymore! |
Our plan came into effect on Saturday the 29th of December. The aim for Saturday was to meet at Baby Queens Beach, have a picnic lunch, swim, play, visit, AND teach the youngsters to surf! Diane and Danny's roommate, Bill, brought his old-school all-wood boards to Baby Queens so he could help teach Tralee and Keoni to surf on the ankle-busters there. Bill is an islander and super nice.
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| Bill teaching Tralee to surf |
Tralee and Keoni hit it off right away. Hunter tagged along joyfully as well. The kids played in the sand, in the water, and eventually the time came for Bill to take them out to surf. I watched as Tralee attempted several times to catch a wave, with the help of Bill, and wipe-out. I was so proud as I saw my little betty jump right back on, and try again. After several attempts, my baby girl rode her a wave! She charged it ALL THE WAY IN!! In fact, she just about took out another surfer as she cruised her way in. She never made it to standing position, but sure had fun riding a wave on a real surf board.
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| New buddies |
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| Tralee catching her first wave of the day |
After Tralee and Keoni finished their surfing lessons from Bill, Jim took a go at it. He wasn't a total Barney, and actually stood up and rode in some minty mushburgers. I was proud of my whole family as I remained a gaper on the sand, snapping pics of my crew!
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| Playing in the water |
Diane's mother also joined us on the beach after a bit, and brought with her some yummy Philippine food. Seriously yummy! It was so fun to hang out with new friends native to the island. They were so friendly and inviting. Diane's mom introduced herself with a hug and kiss, and told my kids to call her grandma as well. Every time we saw each other after this, we were also greeted with a hug. So friendly!
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| Just playing in the waves |
We met another islander at the beach who was playing with her beautiful granddaughter. After exchanging pleasantries she looked at Hunter and asked, "He was breast fed for a while, right?" When I replied, "Yes." She said, "I can tell by the way his body looks. He's healthy and strong -- a breastfed baby." That made me laugh, and I wondered if there really was a different "look" between breastfed and non-breastfed toddlers. We continued talking about babies, breastfeeding--specifically how long each of her children and grandchildren were on the boob, and my own experiences with my wee-ones. As a strong advocate for breastfeeding, I wasn't at all taken aback by all the lactation talk. It was actually nice to see that little grandbaby of hers, crawl up to her mommy and have a little snack. It made me miss the days when my bambinos did the same.
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| Going right in! |
I got a little off-topic there. The main point of our day at Baby Queens was that we all really enjoyed ourselves whether it be through cruisin' on a wave, playin' in water, or meeting new friends and advocates!
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| Hunter almost in over his head! |
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