From Mountains to Sea

            Saying goodbye to our dear teachers and buddy at WSRF.  We miss them dearly. 

                                               Kai having the time of his life at cub scout camp early this summer.

                                         Early summer fun in the mountains. 

                                             Choosing their most favorite books for the big move.

                                                     Choosing their most favorite costumes for the big move.

                                                       Last hurrah with my ladies!!!

                                                           Sopris is a magical mountain indeed. 

                                                      80's themed going away party. 

             Glad to have some pictures to document how much we got rid of.  EVERYTHING, even our cars.  Craziest move I have ever done and ever hope to do.  I am NEVER accumulating that much stuff again.  You DON'T need it. 

                                                 One last hike up the Crystal River Valley for a while. 

                                          Our last Carbondale Rodeo until next summer.

              Saying goodbye to our most favorite people  (Amber and Leti) at the Smithy.  The best breakfast around in Carbondale.  Our family ritual - every weekend for 8 years.  Sad to leave this tradition behind. 

                                                  Gettin' down to the end.

Badger wants to be sure he doesn't get left behind.  Poor thing had no clue what was coming at him. 

                      The things we decided to keep.  All our earthy belonging now fit into one closet. 

                            Driving to Denver to catch our flight. 

                                       See you on the flip side Badger. 

                                           And the journey begins. 

Three flights, 13 hours, 14 bags and 1 lost dog (for one flight) later, we arrived at our new home.

This was our longest, hardest day.  Thanks to our friends Brad and Amy we had a car for our first week on Maui which was a God send.  In that week we moved into our new digs, completely furnished it and bought two cars.  For the first 2 1/2 weeks I went to bed at 8pm, woke up at 8am and napped for an hour midday.  I was WIPED OUT!!

4th of July parade in our new town of Makawao and our new little casita, just a block away from the little cowboy town of Makawao.  We have great neighbors on all sides which makes eveything much easier. 

Fun exploring snorkeling and big sea turtles.

                               Fresh coconut water at the Farmer's Market. 

Obon is a centuries-old Buddhist tradition to honor the deceased. Every summer in Hawaiʻi, Buddhist temples come alive with colorful celebration: kimono-clad dancers, music,  local foods, drumming and lots of fun. 

                                                         YUM- Shaved Ice.

                                                  Gifts from the property we live on. 

                            Family Hike up to Haleakala Crater, 10,000 ft. above sea level - house of the sun

   Haleakala Silversword, endemic to the crater.  It is in the daisy family.  Who would have known?

                                           Trying out stand up paddling.

 So far, our favorite creatures of Maui- The Jackson Chameleon.  The boys find them everywhere now. 

                                                      IAO Valley and the famous IAO Needle

                                        We see rainbows from our house almost every day.  It never gets old. 

                                                 Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees.

                                                Bamboo Forest

                                            Everything is in rainbows here, even the pine needles. 
We love watching the sea turtles and monk seals come in to bask in the sun. 

                                              The boys are showing off the playground at their school.

                          This was the most turtles I have seen come up at once since we have been here.  A fun thing to observe. 

                                                       Kai's coconut drums.

                                                       The boys got new bikes - yeah!!!

                                                  I joined the Hawaiian Canoe Paddlers Club and LOVE it.  I go every Sunday morning at 7:30 and we paddle for 1 1/2 hours.  They go in all conditions and over the past two months, I have experienced some crazy waters (12 ft. swells).  I wasn't so sure we were going to make it back to shore in a boat. 

                                            Beauty abounds in Makawao Forest.

                            Alas, summer ends and school begins.  Kai is in 2nd grade and Isaac is in Kindergarten.  Both have adjusted really well.

                                                My new workspace.

                                                         Badger's new sleeping preference. 

                                               Fun time out with the ladies. 

                                            So you saw what we sold before coming over.  The one box of books, toys and costumes the boys had shipped over busted open and everything was lost.  Kind of crazy and sad.  These boys have done so well though.  Simplicity!  They have one basket of blocks, a tupperware of legos, a small art box and some books from the library.  They don't complain and they are outside playing almost all the time. 

                     Meet Lilikoi (passionfruit) man.  This is my FAVORITE fruit  So yummy in smoothies. 

                                     Lunchtime at school  I LOVE lunches.  Everyday hot, organic lunches are offered.  I will never pack another lunch again.  Whoot! whoot!

                                                       Rainbows, rainbows everywhere.

                                       An adventure to one of Papa's new climbing crags. 

                                               A very cool mushroom.

                                               Kai is getting to know his 6th grade buddy. 

                                                           This is a lilikoi (passionfruit) flower.

                              So every year there is a 56 mile relay race along the Hana highway.  I was fortunate enough to be invited by our neighbor to be on his team.  This was a great way to see the island and a fun way to stay in shape and have a big ole' party.

           Kai and his friend Elena have created new beings called Biyoyos.  This is what they look like. 

     I have also taken up Hula and I went to see some of the Hula dancers from my Halau (hula school)

                       I love to see the pictures the boys are drawing now. 

                      The boys' beeswax creations. 

                                  Fun at the county fair.

                            For Fall break I was invited on a woman's trip into the crater to hike into a cabin 7 miles in.  The scenery is so diverse.  I want to go back and further in to the other huts. 

                                              About to enter into a lava tube.

                                           The Nene Goose. 

                                          The Cabin in the crater we stayed in.

                                                     

                                             The biggest grapefruit I have ever seen.

                                                    My new paddle!

                   HWS Michaelmas Festival.  Read more about it here: http://kimberton.org/michaelmas

                   Who knew that in a year's time my life would have had such a huge shift.  41 years and always surprised at what my destiny holds.  I would have never guessed a year ago that I would move from our home in Colorado to Hawaii. 

                                      This is Koni, my dear Ethiopian friend who catered the Libra Birthday feast. 

                                   Look at the next little Libra who had a birthday!  5 whole years old!!!!  All he wanted was to go zip lining, so we found a zip line that was for 5yrs old and up at the Maui Dragonfruit Farm.  The boys had an absolute blast going on the Zipline and taking rides in the aqua ball.  Issac ate to his heart's content of dragonfruit.  His favorite toy he got is called a perplexus, which is a 3D maze in a globe. Pretty cool.

                                                Fall is here and so glad we are able to still experience a pumpkin patch.  We are gearing up and getting so very excited for Halloween time. 

We are grateful for friends and family near and far.  Keep us posted on your lives and travels.  If you ever venture to the middle of the Pacific, look us up. 
Lots of love,
The Jacksons