My family trip to Hawaii started with a very, very, very, long trip on the plane.  I felt like we would never get off of the plane.  When we first got to Hawaii we had to find our hotel.  My mom had to find the person she worked with as she was there to do some work at first.  My dad and I got to explore Hawaii initially when my mom was at work.  

Hawaii is a very beautiful place.  I was surprised by how many people live there and were visiting.  There were so many people, I had to work hard to keep up with my family.  There were some great things and some crazy things that happened when I was in Hawaii.

Starting with the great things, going to the biggest mall was fun because they had one of the biggest arcade I ever seen.  There was also a great big swap shop at the Aloha stadium.  At the swap shop I got some really great toys and gifts for my family members who were at home.  We also visited the Waikiki Aquarium and saw some really neat tropical fish and even saw a sea horse.  We also went to the beach and watch the sun set each night.  We learned that Hawaii had many customs that were different from ours.  There were a lot of things that were focused around their native dances.  We also went to the Paradise Cove luau and saw how the cooked a pig under ground.  In Hawaii this type of cooking is called Kālua.  Kālua is a traditional Hawaiian cooking method that utilizes an imu, or underground oven.  The word kālua literally means “to cook in an underground oven” and also describes the flavor of food cooked in this manner in the ground.  We also saw fire dancers and saw a man climb a tree.  But the greatest thing that happened was that we were there during Halloween and I dressed up like a private.  My dad dressed up like a Hawaiian native and none of us can remember what my mom was dressed as.  In Hawaii many people celebrate Halloween.  There were many people out on the streets when I went trick or treating. 

On the flip side there were some crazy things that happened.  First of all, a bird attacked me when I got my food.  Then we saw two women fighting on the street and nobody stopped the fight.  But the most crazes thing was when we were at the luau after I went to the bathroom I forgot to buckle my belt and when I walked out of the bathroom my pants fell down.  Luckily, I pulled them my pants fast before anyone could see.  Okay my dad did see.

Overall I would say I had a great time in Hawaii with my family and I would like to go back one day.  However if I could make a wish I would want the plane ride to be shorter.

By Ross

I read a book titled Stars and Stripes and learned some interesting facts about the American Flag. 

• Did you know the first flag to fly in the thirteen American colonies was the English flag
• Did you know the American colonies use to belong to England
• Did you know it was only after the colonist and British went to war then some Americans thought they should have their own flag
• Did you know that the seven red stripes and six white stripes stand for the thirteen original American colonies
• Did you know that some people believe that Betsy Ross made the first flag
• Did you know that the stars are lined up in a special way so that one tip of each star on the flag is pointed upward
• Did you know that there is still room for more stars if we get more states but never will the stripes change because it would make the flag to long

Just some facts I thought I would share.

From Ross