Aloha!

Hello!

Aloha from the Cunningham Family! I am calling this blog installment "Aloha" because it means "hello" and "goodbye". Since our last update, we have had some life changes that have had us saying goodbye to some things and hello to others. Without further ado, I will dive right in!

1. In mid-July, Quinn swam backstroke and freestyle in the city-wide Swim Championships and his boys 8 & Under relay teams took home two gold medals! We're really proud of him and it was fun to cheer his team on.

Quinn kicking off Champs relay with the backstroke!

2. Jason was researching current selling prices for RV's and decided that we should list our camper and see what happens. After about a month on the market, we ended up selling it for more than we paid for it 3 years ago! I guess the demand for RV's is really up due to Covid. We miss the camper but enjoyed it tremendously. Someday we may get another one.

3. Also in July and somewhat spur of the moment, we decided to take a peek at what other houses were on the market. I've absolutely loved the home I bought in KCMO back in 2006 and since I met Jason, so much has been done to improve it. But after 16 years, it was time to see what else is out there. We found a house nearby on the Kansas side and took the leap! The new house has been recently remodeled and has ample space for 2 home offices and other amenities.

We were able to close on the new house about 6 weeks after putting it under contract and we moved Labor Day weekend! Packing and moving was fairly exhausting, but it has been well worth it. Jason's mom Patti came out for several days to help set everything up and that support was so much appreciated :) 

We are completing some final touches on the old house (renovating two bathrooms and a bedroom) before we will list it for sale later this year or next year.  

4. Amidst all of this moving, we actually had a 2 week trip to the Big Island of Hawaii during the first half of August. Getting there was quite an adventure with the COVID testing delays for the kids and all (thank heavens for airport testing!), but we made it work. We stayed in a condo with a nice kitchen and probably ate half of our meals there which was important since island restaurants were pretty slim pickings and reservations were pretty scarce.

Setting up for another (slow) day at the beach!

Enjoying the fruits of the island - another incredible meal!

Gorgeous black sand beach

Chocolate farm outside Hilo

Dolphin Quest!

On this trip, we had our share of beach days but we also explored all over the island. One day we drove to Volcano National Park and hiked the volcanoes. That night we stayed at a B&B in the middle of a Hawaiian forest with all kinds of critters chirping and bleating all night long. 

In a rare turn to experience the more touristy side of the island, we took a sunset dinner cruise that was quite interesting! The seas were pretty rough and by the end, I believe about 40% of the people on the boat, servers included, had gotten seasick! Luckily our group was fine but we had some good laughs and stories to tell.

The day after we got back from Hawaii, the kids were off to school - first day at St Paul's for another round. This time 3rd and 4th grades. Here's a picture of Olivia ready to go take on her first day of school! When I was a kid, I would get nervous on the first day of school, so I love seeing her all ready to go tackle it!

Love always, Claire & Family (including Murphy 🐾)