Highlights of our Trip

Happy little Honu! Turtles were everywhere. We were lucky to swim with them in Hanauma Bay. The last night we were in Oahu we sat on the beach eating Killer Tacos with the family and watched them feed in the bay. It was an amazing experience. Sadly a couple of weeks ago up on the North Shore someone killed a female named Honey Girl. Atrocious! When you see such a beautiful animal, how could you kill it? I grabbed this shot of a little female and found it to be my favorite one.

I'm working on a slide show of photographs for everyone who wants to see all the photos. Can you believe we took nearly a thousand photographs?

Sam was such a trooper on this trip. We've decided that he's just the perfect little traveler. He's always so patient and willing to do new things. It helped that he's walking really well now and he was able to explore and play. He loved the water (once he got use to the temperature) and he splashed and played. He was our water baby. He tried eating the sand a couple of times, but decided against it. We all came home with a good tan considering we were building up color on transparent skin, especially me. Jordan's always been able to tan up, but I do wish we spent more time lying out on the beach. We kept busy while we were there. We pretty much experienced everything you could imagine, short of surfing. We saw the most beautiful fish while snorkeling. It was my first time ever snorkeling and Jordan was a pro so he helped me out and now we're addicted. Think we'll take up scuba.

The best part of being in Oahu is there are so many members. We stayed in a vacation home on the Windward side in Hau’ula, which is 5 min from Laie home of the Temple and Polynesian Cultural Center. When people asked where we were from they assumed we were LDS and when confirmed their eyes would light up. I loved that feeling. Amazing things happen there in Laie. The people are blessed so much and you can really tell how much the students love the many opportunities they've been given. The church has established such a wonderful program there and everyday is a celebration of culture and giving thanks to God. The Temple is heavenly. The grounds of the Temple are covered with beautiful hibiscus and plumeria flowers. The sister missionaries give each woman a flower for their hair when they visit. I kept thinking, "this must be what heaven looks like". I've never seen such turquoise water. It was so clean and perfect.

We were very humbled by the memorials and the many sacrifices made in the name of freedom. You couldn't help but feel reverent when speaking of Pearl Harbor. We were fortunate to go over to Ford Island with military clearance, see the USS Utah, and take pictures of the Missouri and a very up-close shot of the Arizona. It was amazing to see the WWII era buildings and see that there is still damage on many buildings to this day. The Punchbowl was sobering and so very beautiful. Waikiki was definitely not our place. It's sad that so many think that Waikiki is what makes Hawaii, when there is so much more to see and experience. We spent a couple of hours on Waikiki, just to say we did, but Windward was more our style. The funny thing was we went all the way to Oahu to meet an artist who uses to live on our current street here in Taylorsville. He painted Sam a honu with is name on it. We went a little overboard on the Macadamia nuts. We have plenty, anyone want some? We took a tour of the Mac farm, learned about all the fruits, and flowers that grown in Hawaii. We also recognized so many of the movie spots and on our last day came upon the show "Lost" being filmed in Ka'ena. If you've read about it, we probably did it. One of our favorites, well my favorite...was ByodoIn Buddhist Temple in the Valley of the Temples Cemetery. It was amazing and a must see. It was so peaceful and calm, you really feel transcendental there. We are a little sick of rice right now. We could go without a plate lunch until our next trip there. We experienced the Shrimp trucks, not bad, but messy, and nothing there for Jordan. We loved Lei Leis at Turtle Bay; I finally got my Arnold Palmer, Yum! Ted's Bakery was always great. Haupia pie is amazing. Sam's favorite thing was the ice-cold coconuts you get on the side of the road and he really enjoyed the guava Puhle gave him at the mac farm. Sam was in the snuggly on Jordan's back and Sam noshed on a huge guava and managed to smash it all over Daddy's back. Jordan's favorite was the Dole Whip, just ask him. We really did have such a packed, relaxing trip. Next time, y'all come along, it will be a party.

We were lucky to have my parents there for the first week and they made the trip perfect, it wouldn't have been the same without them. Thanks Grammy and Papa. We managed to get one or two dinners paid for them, but you all know how they are. Staci got a good taste of how stubborn they are too. We love you very much and are grateful for all the many things you do for us. We were also fortunate to stay with Jordan's sister Staci and her family on the Schofield Army Post. Sam was able to play with his cousins he hardly gets to see and we were able to spend time with Staci and Rich and have great conversations and lots of fun. Thanks for being so accommodating Staci. You made our trip fabulous. (thanks for purposely forgetting your wallet you guys :) he he) We will have lasting memories forever. Thanks honey for working so hard so we can enjoy such wonderful family vacations.