Back to School 2017

Hayden's first day back to school was on August 28th.  Lincoln went back to school from a break, although not the start of a new school year, on September 1st.  Eventually we won't be on the Japan school schedule so I like to document his time after the summer.  Hayden started in the 3rd grade at Mendel Elementary and his teacher is Mr. Robinson.  He is excited for another year at Mendel and loves the fact that he can walk to and from school on his own.  Lincoln was also excited to go back to school and has gotten pretty comfortable with his Japanese school experience.  It has been just over a year since he started at Fuji Youchien and the teachers tell us he is even starting to speak a little Japanese!  We are very proud of both of our boys and are grateful they like school and look forward to going.  Here are some pics from their first days.....

First Day of 3rd Grade!

He looks too big in this photo

Daddy ran home for a quick see off...the benefit of the hospital being a 1/4 mile away.

Brother love

First day school assembly

Found his teacher!

Sort of first day of 4's class!

Cheese!

Showing off his new shoes on the walk to the bus stop

Conquering Mount Fuji!

At the end of August Eric, Hayden and I planned a trip to climb Mt. Fuji.  Because of weather conditions you can only attempt to make the climb July thru early September.  We knew this might be our only shot to do it so Eric took off a weekday, we got a sitter for Linc, and we headed out at 3:00am in the morning to start our day.  The weather predictions seemed to be changing day by day but we thought we had a good shot at a clear morning with chance of afternoon rain.  Hayden was super pumped, mommy was a little nervous, and daddy was cool as a cucumber as usual.  We really had no idea what to expect!  The climb started out cool but nice.  We had a little bit of a view in the clouds for about the first hour.  Then it started to rain.  Just a sprinkle here and there to start, but it progressively got harder and more uncomfortable.  The higher you get, the colder it gets so the rain only made us feel that much colder.  The climb was tough in spots, but the weather conditions were really what made the day a real challenge.  Hayden was cold and tired about 4 hours into the hike and pretty much stayed in tears the last two hours to the top.  I had to keep moving to keep warm so I would go a little ahead while Eric stayed back with Hayden encouraging him to keep moving.  It was hard to watch and hear, but so many people passed us and offered him an encouraging word.  At the top it started to get a little more crowded so moving was slow until the finish.  I waited for Eric and Hayden at the last Tori Gate at the top and watched Hayden make his final steps to the summit.  The pics really say it all!  At the top it was so cloudy and rainy we did not get any good views, and my hands were so numb I could hardly hold my phone to take a picture.  We sat in a large tent with many other climbers and waited for a hot bowl of Ramen.  It was the best Ramen of our lives and warmed us up a little.  Since it took us a little longer than planned to reach the top we wanted to get moving to hike back down so we wouldn't be too late getting home.  Hayden was a champ on the way down despite the continuous rain.  The trek down was harder on me and Eric since it's pretty steep and hard on the joints.  My knees were in pain but we just had to keep moving.  We all took a few falls down the mountain which we tried to laugh off.  We made it back down the mountain in about 4 hours so overall we conquered Mt. Fuji in 10 hours.  If you ask Hayden if he will do it again, he will adamantly say no way.  We were super proud of him for sticking it out, and he is happy to have the bragging rights.  We all carried Fuji sticks which got stamped along the way up so that is also a great memento we will always have and display proudly.  In the moment I thought why am I doing this and I will never do this again, but the next day I was already trying to plan another trip with Eric on a nicer day after seeing so many friends get an awesome view at the top.  Who knows...maybe next July before the move.  Most of the pictures I did take were in the first two hours before conditions went downhill.  Eric took some GoPro footage also that I combined into one video. 

Starting at 5th Station

Let's do this!

Let's go!

Nice views at the beginning

A & E on Mount Fuji

Still smiling

Hayden liked the rock climbing portions

 

Fast forward 5 hours and I am at the top....I can hear Hayden crying down the mountain.

Almost there buddy!

Trying to smile through tears

That face!  I hope he forgives us.  :)

Best Ramen ever!

Aloha Hawaii!

The 2nd half of July we spent a fabulous 9 days in Hawaii.  Both of our parents joined us, and we all had a blast exploring the island.  Eric planned out our entire trip and was our family chauffeur.  It has taken me a while to sit down and do this blog because I had so many pictures and videos.  This is going to be another long one as we had so many great experiences, I want to remember it all!

We flew out of Tokyo at 7:00pm and arrived in Hawaii 7:00am local time.  The boys got a little sleep on the plane and were able to stay up the entire day.  Our first two nights we stayed at the Hale Koa Hotel which is a military resort.  We spent most of our first two days enjoying the hotel pool and beach.  We rented beach chairs the 2nd day, and Eric took Hayden and I out on a paddle board.  We also enjoyed the hotel's Luau dinner and show.

View from our hotel room

Linc buried by daddy

Snacking with Nana & Papu

Grammy & Pops

Hayden ready to paddleboard

My turn

Family Photos!

Hale Koa Luau

Cute boy made it about halfway through the show

The next day we did a little shopping near the Hale Koa and then headed to our rental home where we would stay the remainder of our trip.  We decided to do the house so we could all stay together and have more meals in than out.  The house was beautiful and in a great location for all of the fun day trips we had planned.  The sunsets were amazing and we enjoyed many dinners outside together.

The boys spent a lot of time in the pool!

One of the beautiful sunsets

Family dinner with an awesome view!

About a mile walk from the house there were some cliffs Eric had looked up as a good spot to check out.  There were many cliff jumpers there, and Eric and his dad decided to take the plunge.

A & E on the cliffs

Eric and his dad are crazy

Fighting the current to get back up on the rocks.

That night we celebrated everyone's survival thus far on Hawaii with dinner out at Kona Brewing Company which was right in our neighborhood.

Day 4 we headed to Hanauma Bay which was only a 15 minute drive from our house.  It is known for its snorkeling, and Eric, Hayden, and George were able to see some great sea life.

Hanauma Bay

Linc and Nana playing in the sand

Heading out to snorkel

Snorkel instruction

Day 5 we had two stops in mind....Dole Pineapple Park followed by a trip to the North shore to get lunch at the food trucks and check out Sharks Cove for more snorkeling.  The boys were able to get a good view of a few sea turtles!  This was the only real uncomfortable weather day as it was hot and humid with no breeze.  We packed it up and went home when it started to rain and decided we would come back on a nicer day.

Grandparents on the Pineapple train!

Vaillant Fam

Pineapple Icecream is the best!

One of the many food trucks to choose from at North Shore.  We all enjoyed fresh seafood!

Sharks Cove

The guys in the cove

Day 6 we woke up early to climb Koko Head which was also right in our neighborhood.  The 1000 plus step-like walking track consisted of abandoned railroad ties that run along the crater's west side to the top of the Koko Crater.  The military used them previously during World War II as part of an incline tram to transport supplies to a lookout post at the summit.  It was a very steep and difficult climb to the top but we all made it.  

Looking down the track

Beautiful view at the top

A & E

Here comes Pops!

Papu taking in the view

We finished!

After our big accomplishment of the morning we headed to Bellows Air Force Station to check our their beach.  It ended up being one of our favorite beach days since the breeze kept us cool and the waves were big enough for boogie boarding.  The boys had a blast riding the waves.  Lincoln even taught himself how to catch some waves!

Headed out

High five Lincoln!

So proud of himself!

The dads enjoying the water

Day 7 we were excited to go to Pearl Harbor and visit the museums and memorial.  We started by exploring a submarine, followed by a boat ride out to see the Arizona Memorial.  We then drove over to the USS Missouri to tour the battleship.  It was a beautiful day and it was a great experience for everyone to remember the history of that day.  It amazes me how much the relationship with Japan has changed since the attack on Pearl Harbor.  We hope to visit the Hiroshima memorial in Japan before we leave. 

Beautiful day and views

Submarine

The boys enjoyed walking through the entire sub.

Vaillant Fam

Headed out to the Arizona Memorial

Leaving the memorial

The boys did a good job of being respectful and quiet

U.S.S. Missouri

Don't mess with Linc

Photo opp in the museum after

That afternoon Lincoln stayed back at the house with Grammy and Papu while the rest of us drove out to hike Diamondhead.  Hayden was excited to conquer a mountain on Hawaii.  This was a much easier hike compared to Koko head but the views were just as awesome.  

View from the top of Diamondhead

Hayden is a beast!

We made it!

Another great view

No mountain too high for Pops

Eric and his mom at the top

Day 8 was our last full day on Honolulu.  Eric and I were up early so we decided to do one last hike near our house.  Pops was up too so he joined us.  This was not a very challenging hike up a paved path but the sunrise view at the top with a lighthouse was pretty awesome.  

Lighthouse hike selfie

Beautiful sunrise

Later that day we planned to take another trip back to North Shore to hit Waimea Bay and its cliff jump which Hayden was super excited about.  I was a little nervous about him doing it and then was only more anxious when Lincoln was adamant about doing it too.  Everyone survived but I was pretty stressed out watching the boys jump multiple times. 

Hayden had no problem jumping

Eric jumped with Lincoln and then threw him out before hitting the water.  The crowd gasped the first time they jumped.

There goes Papu!

They survived Waimea Bay!

We all flew out the next day.  We were all sad to see this trip come to an end!  We are so blessed to have had this experience and time with our parents!