One more great week down, 9 more to go!

We've been decorating our little Chrsitmas tree and getting in the Christmas mood. It's definitely odd here without it being cold pretty much ever and not having our typical Christmas decor, family nights, work & homegroup Christmas parties and such. What we miss in our normal life back home, we're making up for by extra time together as a family. The 5 of us and Christina took off to a drive up through the middle of the island to the North Shore to check out the surfers. The waves were bigger than we'd seen them yet, but we're still waiting for the really big ones! We checked out a few more beach parks on the way back down the Windward coast where Christina dropped off Derek & I and took off to play wiht the kids. Then Derek & I took a 3 mile hike up through Sacred Falls State Park. A few years ago there were flash floods and rock falls that they deemed too dangerous to keep the park open, but all it takes is walking around the gates and you're in. These quieter closed sections of Hawaii are fun because they are more local secrets. We still saw a dozen or so people on the paths but it was for the most part very quiet. The hike took us along and over a stream and up into the spectacular Ko'Olau Mountain Range. After crossing the river a few more times, we found ourselves in the valley with tall cliffs up both sides of the river and then turning the corner to see the amazing Sacred Falls in front of us. What a spectacular hike and the views were again amazing. After getting back with the kids, we all went to the nearby Kualoa Ranch where some of my favorite show "Lost" was filmed and the kids got a chance to do quick little rides on the horses, which of course, they loved. It was so fun to watch their reactions to being on the big horse. :)