Jillian started gymnastics in September. We took Nana and Papa Dan to a class during their visit. She loves gymnastics and looks forward to every class. She is jumping on the big trampoline in this picture.
Coach Nanette is helping Jillian do a backbend.
Back Rolls (Jillian HATES them!) on the beam. Now she says to her coach "no back rolls please!" 
Bar work. Jillian is working on holding her weight up herself.
Going through the course with mom and dad.
The Ironman finish line.
Nana and Papa Dan in front of Thurston Lava Tube.
Papa Dan and Jillian walking along Puna Lu'u...the black sand beach.
Jillian and Nana enjoying Kukio...our #1 fav beach.
Papa Dan and Jillian swimming at Kukio.
Mama, Jillian and Nana playing a fun game at Place of Refuge.
Jillian is playing all by herself.
The kids lined up to head out to the race start. I love this picture because Jillian's classroom is half inside and half outside, and this shot shows much of the outside area. All arts and crafts are completed outside. All of the classrooms in her school only have 3 walls and utilize a separate covered outdoor space for part of their learning. It is so cool. However, since this is Hawaii, you can only imagine the bugs. Hmmm, actually I've only seen ants....which in my opinion are the least horrible. And before you feel jealous and wish you could go to school here too, I should mention that since the cubbies are also outside, by the time I pick her up from school her lunch box is full of a zillion ants eating her leftover lunch out of zippy bags that weren't completely closed. And they start crawling up my arm before I can get to the car. Yuck.
The kids started the race with a bike ride.....Jillian is riding the red and yellow trike on the far left....only four girls in this group. The kids were split into groups of 4-5 all girl or all boy racers.
Go Speed Racer!
Miss Anna, our preschool director, is helping Jillian around a turn. We LOVE her and Jillian can't leave school without giving her a hug.
Since there were 4 of us attending the race, we volunteered to help. Nana ran with Jillian every step of the race and Jeremy followed taking video and pictures. Papa Dan and I were assigned corners for the run/walk portion. Our job was to clap and direct the kids where to go next. I loved cheering the kids on...but I missed running with Jillian and taking pictures. Jeremy did an awesome job though and snapped this shot of Jillian running to my corner....she is almost done!
The two pools were at the very end. Some kids dove right in and others ran through....Jillian ran through. :)
Finish Line! They used toilet paper for each child to run through. Jillian's time was 4 minutes even.....go girl! Which I think was about average.... :)
After the race the kids snacked on cold water, peanut butter crackers, and frozen yogurt pops.
Circle time after the race. The kids are waiting to get their medals.
Mrs. Desiree and Miss Karen are handing out the medals. Every racer received the same medal, personalized with their name and race time.
Jillian LOVES Athena! Athena is getting over being very sick, we have been so thrilled to see her feeling better and acting playful again.
Backyard walks.
We went to the farm fair this year and Jillian really loved the animals. :) The sheep were so friendly!
The baby piggy's barely moved. :)
The chickens were fun too!
Jillian in the bounce house....she was not a big fan. Maybe next time....
Jillian started preschool last month. This is her first experience with school and we are so pleased that she is loving it!
Jillian doing a project with Miss Karen before morning circle time.
Today is Jillian's half birthday. She helped me make 1/2 a cake....and from the moment we took it out of the oven she was so excited to have a piece! I'm sure she inherited her love of cakes from her father! :) We started a new fun family tradition tonight that we are looking forward to doing again next year.
Jeremy took Peg and Dave to see the Volcano Park, Puna Lu'u (black sand beach) and South Point. Jillian and I had been sick all week, so we opted out of the 15-hour day and decided to stay home and rest instead.
Peg and Dave walking on the lava.
One afternoon we went to feed the manta rays. They are so neat and Jillian LOVED them!!!!
Peg and Dave stayed at the Marriott their first and last nights in town. On their last day, we went up to play with them. We snorkeled in the ocean, swam in all of the pools and ate lunch at the cute cafe. Thankfully, we remembered Jillian's floaty...she feels comfortable swimming anywhere with it.
During Uncle Dave and Auntie Peg's visit we decided to try the Atlantis Submarine. It was a pretty fun excursion!
We rode a shuttle boat out to the sub....I was holding on so tight to Jillian!!!! :)
The Withrow's on the submarine.
This is what the sub looks like....
We didn't get to see anything big-big, but we did get to see 2 ship wrecks. They were a gathering place for all the little fish.
Jeremy's Aunt Peg and Uncle Dave came to visit us from Orlando, FL....and to celebrate their 25th (I think) Wedding Anniversary. We had so much fun playing tourists with them! On their first day, we toured Kona Joe's, a local Kona Coffee Farm.
Then we visited Place of Refuge. Peg and Jillian are scary Ki'i! :) (warrior guards)
Jillian is checking out a turtle in the bay at Place of Refuge.
