My sister's visit

My little sister Aly and her family came to visit us for 12 days. It was a lot of fun. I love showing people around the island and taking them to my favorite places. I especially like spending time with my sister. If my memory were better I could tell you everything we did, but one who wants to hear all that and two....I can't remember so I will list some of the places we went and then of course show you some pictures. Though do to a punch spill in the car, my second camera (eric's camera) went out of commission. We went one day to take family pictures and my old camera that spent some time in the toilet was resurrected :)...

Ok so some of the things we did:

-saw the dolphins at Kahala Beach

-went to the zoo

-went to the Bishops museum

-swam and swam in the pool

-went to Baby Makapu'u (twice once during the day with a bunch of other people and then once in the evening great time to go.

-took pictures and saw the dolphins

-hit the dole plantation for some dole whip and train ride.

-did the Polynesian Cultural Center and saw all the villages in a monsoon.

-hiked up to the top of Makapu'u (twice with kids in strollers)

-walked to Koko nuts

-saw the fireworks downtown and picniced with Zippys

-and just hung out and enjoyed our cousins

G-Man and Bee cried when they pulled out and left. They didn't understand why they had to leave and couldn't stay with us forever. My little nephew kept saying "can we stay forever?" I don't blame him it is fun to have them around and its fun to be with us :)

And who wants to leave Hawaii where you can swim, and when it drops to 60 you think it is freezing: G-Man just took the trash out and said "Man Dad I know why you didn't want to take the trash out, it sure is chilly out. No actually its freezing."

I asked "Is it really freezing?"

"No but very windy and chilly for sure. Glad I brought my jeans and my sweatshirt."

Site down due to Visitors

I know you have been popping in wondering when I am going to start posting my consistently funny an entertaining posts, but due to visitors and a big fat nasty computer virus, thank heavens everyone has been healthy and no human viruses, I haven't been able to get on the computer.



I have hijacked Eric's for a little bit just to say "Hi" and let you know that again I haven't been swept away in the tides, or drowned in self pity.



However I have been informed by Bee, who was staring at me while I was dressing on Sunday, that my breast are saggy and baggy and look like mashed potatoes. You may recall an earlier similar incident with her.

Also having two extra kids in the house, has made having four of my own seem so easy. We love having our cousins here, and they are so gosh darn cute, but six kids in 1400 square feet and a no back yard can cause a lot of noise.

So off we go to venture the great Hawaiian Outdoors.

And yeah in three weeks we will be back in Austin, so get ready to party all Y'all!

Be back soon with some fun pics...

Monday's Mumblings: Visitors

Have you been wondering if I was swept out to sea in a heavy undercurrent, left for fish food? Well luckily I wasn't, though Two and Eric came pretty darn close to becoming shark bait the other day. Two was just lazily floating in an inner tube inside the tide pools, Eric beside her, when the tide just flushed them out. I don't think my dad had run that fast since his college days, though the lava rock wasn't as easy to run on as a track. All are safe and well.

My parents were here all last week and we had a blast with them. We barely had a moment to sit and relax, and when we did we all fell asleep.

Some of the highlights: (pictures to come later, as I stole my dad's camera and shot pictures all week on it, and forgot to download them to my computer)

• After arriving on Sunday afternoon, we took them for a walk through our neighborhood, had dinner, and maybe did something else, but I don't remember...only a week and my memory is already gone.
• Monday morning sent the kids off to school, while my parents, T-Rex, Two and I hiked up to the Makapu'u Lighthouse. Then we had some yummy lunch at Teddy's Bigger Burgers and made a quick trip to Price Busters to find my dad a sun hat...I know you are jealous of the excitement. Then I believe we went swimming in our pool, had dinner and just hung out.
• Tuesday gosh my memory is so bad....oh yeah the little kids and I took my parents to the zoo, after which we headed home, and when the older kids got home from school we went out to Lanikai beach for a little swim and sand digging.
• Wednesday my mom and I went to Walmart and did some clothes shopping for Bee and then when the kids came home from school, they got out early, we finished homework. Then took Bee to Hula and watched G-Man play and win his basketball game. We then headed to the Kahala hotel and watched the dolphins and sea turtles. Everyone was starving on the way home so we grabbed Burger King, and my mom and I rushed to my ceramics class.
• Thursday we took the kids out of school and Eric took the day off. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to Makapu'u beach and played in the tide pools. We had the above mention scare, which made G-Man head to the shore to dig a hole to bury his dad. After the beach we headed to the Pali look out which was covered in tourists with huge cameras, none of which spoke English, the people not the cameras. I only mention this because every time my dad tried to take a picture one of them would jump in front of him and get in his way. After that we headed towards down town and got the Best, I mean the best shave ice!! So yummy! Just a little hole in the wall market but it was totally the best shave ice we have had....if only I could remember the name of it. My dad got a picture of the shop so later I can let you know. We headed back home and did some swimming...no wait we didn't we got a babysitter and the adults went out to eat at Roy's. We watched the sunset and enjoyed an outdoor patio dinner. It was tasty. Loved the chocolate souffle.
• Friday we woke up and I think my mom and I went to the store, and kids went swimming and then we went to the PCC. We had a great time there, especially on the haunted lagoon ride. It was pretty scary. Bee got off the boat, and started to cry and when she saw her friend from school she pleaded with her not to get on "because it was scary and they took a lady off and ate her." They didn't really eat her but it was a little frightening. Two kept her head in Eric's lap the whole time, and fell asleep. G-man moved from the side of the boat where guys kept jumping out of the water and grabbing his legs, to the center so his dad could be on the outside. The night show was amazing as usual, all the children slept through it though.
• Saturday we thought the kids might sleep in but they didn't. We all woke up tired. But ready to do something, yet so ready to just lay around. At one point, my eye really hurt, I thought something flew into it, but come to find out a blood vessel popped and my eye looks really yucky to say the least. We went to the doctor and he said everything looked just fine on the inside, so that's good. We (my mom, bee and i) headed to Costco for a few things. Then when we got home, we headed to the bishop's museum. Great museum. After that Eric showed us the capital and then palace. Then we went to a scary but yummy local bbq place.
• Sunday was the kids program at church. They did awesome, and some of our neighbor friends came to watch. Sunday was a lazy day, though the kids got in a little swim, I got in a little nap and the older two even learned to fish for a little bit from their Papa. Then we said good bye.

We had a blast, and it was a lot of fun having visitors in town to show them around. Though we never made it to the north shore, or the dole plantation to get some dole whip....oh well Thanks Mom and Dad for coming out and letting us show you around. We had a great time. Looking forward to my sister visiting us. Wish more family could come out and visit us. Wish we weren't leaving in a few weeks!

Guess Who we Saw today??

We were walking along the famous beach in Kahala, where you can see dolphins and lots of weddings. One of the bridal parties included someone famous. I said hi. Bethany shook the brides hand. And I am kicking myself for not just asking for a pictures. But I didn't want to be one of those crazed fans that says "oh I loved your show in the 80s." But then again maybe he would have loved to have had some adoring fans.

Maybe not!

I will never know.

But today I saw Emmanuel Lewis, better known as Webster. And I wish we had taken a picture with him.

The kids also had the chance to hang with the dolphins and order them to do some tricks. What a fun day. Here are some little videos:

Waterfalls and Fireworks

This weekend was filled with adventure, mud, fun and friends.

Friday evening we picked Eric up from work and headed towards Waikiki to the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Every Friday night they do a fireworks show, yes that is right every Friday night. We have been a few times, but never got pictures. The cool thing is just next to the Hawaiian Village is a little lagoon, where they let off the fireworks. (My BYU-H buddies may remember the Tahitian Lanai it had a little bar by the lagoon, though it has been replaced by a big fancy hotel--maybe I will share more about the Tahitian Lanai in another post.)

Anyway we grabbed a picnic dinner and ate on the grass and then walked around the water for a bit. The kids had fun playing in the sand and getting so wet in the water that they were "freezing." I don't think they really remember what freezing is but they did get a little cold.


We sat down on the ground and just watched the light show just above our heads. I think the noise frightened poor T-Rex a bit, and Two put her fingers in her ears. We were so close that you could feel the noise through your body. And since there are a lot of tall buildings around the noise echos off of them, it is really cool. Something totally worth doing. Cool thing is, its FREE! Parking can be tricky but it is free!

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed on a little Saturday morning adventure with our friends, the Williams. The kids really get a long well with each other, and their mom has become one of my closest friends. And one bonus is their kids love my little kids so much that its like free babysitting whenever we go out.

The hiking guide said it is for novice but I'd have to say it was a little more rugged than I had expected, a lot of up and downs, roots exposed on the path. Two barely could walk back, actually Dave was kind enough to give her a ride on his back. She was a little more worried about getting all muddy again than I think she was about walking. I had T-Rex on my back the whole time and when we finished I took him off and realized that 20 lbs is a lot of weight and that I need to personally take that much off. I was surprised at how light I felt after removing him.

It was beautiful, muddy too. Most of the hike was under the trees and towards the top, the sun graced us for a bit. Did I mention it was muddy? I don't know if it is always muddy, as we did go the morning after a really big storm.

The kids had fun swinging from the vines and then jumping from the falls. I didn't get any pictures of that, maybe I can get some from our friends. Even Two went off, I was so proud of her, and frightened at the same time as I waited for her to pop back up out of the water, seemed like forever.

My kids want to take my parents back when they come, but we might take them to the Waimea Falls instead--paved path and not all the steps and mud. Though if you are up for an adventure, or mud, sweat and most likely some tears (Bee and Two cried a lot of the way back, I think from exhaustion) I'd say do it.

We even got a chance to see some crazy guys climb super high and do flips and dives into the water.

Speaking of water, it is rather chilling to the bones at first, and well lets just say the little tiny fish like to nibble on your legs if you hold too still in the water.

I was Kidnapped!

And that is a good thing!

This morning I got up, started helping the kids get ready for school, and at 7:00 AM, still in my PJs, Eric told me that my friend Cheryl was watching the kids at 7:30 and we were going out. I quickly finished getting the kids ready, then showered, got dressed and made it down in time to meet our morning carpools (actually I am a terrible carpooler my friends are so wonderful and let my kids tag a long with them..Bee goes with one friend and G-Man goes with another.)




The babies were off and safe, and it was just me and my "kidnapper". It was nice and quiet. We talked a little, but mostly I looked in awe at the beauty around us. Eric's camera was in his computer bag and so I snapped some pictures as we drove along the Windward Coast. I just am amazed at the beauty there is in our world. Truly this place is my idea of beautiful.



We drove for an hour and a half to arrive at the Laie Temple. What a beautiful building, think I need to find another adjective other than beautiful. We went in for the 9:00 session, which they held for us since we arrived at a few minutes before the hour.



Some of you may not know what the temple is, and I tried to explain it to our friend Cheryl and I didn't do it much justice. You can find out more information on temples here as well (click the highlighted text.) But suffice it to say that it is a very sacred place that makes me feel at such peace. I really didn't want to leave. The beauty that surrounds me on this island doesn't compare to the beauty and feelings inside the temple. And if you are around the island, it is worth it to walk the grounds because they are amazing as well.



We grabbed a quick bite to eat, literally through a drive through, to make it home so that Cher
yl didn't have to hang out too long with our crazy munchkins, and well Eric had to go back to work. And we probably won't see him tonight. But it was a wonderful day.



Now we are just trying to finish up all our homework so we can go to the pool and grill some burgers and have an enjoyable evening. G-man has to re-do his spelling sentences from last night because they all started with I and that was "unacceptable." Oh well, so I wrote some for him and made him copy them because I really didn't want to spend another HOUR on writing spelling sentences....Oh the joys of school.