Reason Five Why I Love Hawaii; "The Aloha Spirit"

All the visitors in RS were given a lei made out of
shells as a welcome gift

The people of Hawaii make leis from beautiful
flowers of all types and in many different
colors. One way to show friendship and/or love is to
present someone with a lei. Our Polynesian friends, Adam
and Drena, gave us leis before when we were flying out
headed for LV.

The people of Hawaii are happy and easy going. It's rather
contagious. Here's Steve on Father's Day getting ready to enjoy
breakfast before heading to church. No troubles, no worries; just
"hanging loose."

When we arrived at church, I noticed all the men had leis on.
I didn't realize that it was a Hawaiian tradition to give your
husband/father a lei to wear to church on Father's Day.
I made a mental note that the next time I'm in Hawaii on
Father's Day, I will make sure Steve has a beautiful floral lei.
However,  someone tapped my shoulder during Sunday School
and gave me a lei made from nuts.  The man told me it was for my
husband so he too could have a lei on Father's Day.  The aloha
 spirit of love and friendliness is alive and well
in the Kahuku 2nd Ward.

Reason Four Why I Love Hawaii; "Water Sports"

Shark's Cove

This is our favorite place to snorkel on the North Shore.

Shark's Cove is better than Haunama Bay. We see tons
of fish and often see turtles while snorkeling. It's
only a few miles from Turtle Bay.

Here's another pic of Steve at Shark's Cove.  He just
can't get enough of it!

We love to drive out to Kainea Point and watch the wind
surfers. They are so skilled, and it is so fun to watch
them gracefully move through the water.

This is Turtle Bay where a number of surfers are waiting
 to catch the next big wave. There are boogie boarders and
 two women standing on surfboards paddling. We have
had so much fun sitting on the shore watching
all the "free" entertainment!

Here's another view of Shark's Cove.
We enjoy swimming in the tide pools when we
get tired of snorkeling.  The water is really warm,
and we see lots of small fish in the little pools.



Reason Three Why I Love Hawaii; "Activities"

We enjoy shopping at the swap meet in Honolulu; great deals &
great prices.

We love to hike to Waimea Falls and then swim under
the falls.

A trip to Hawaii wouldn't be complete without a train ride
around the Dole plantation and then ending with a tasty
pineapple ice cream waffle cone.

We attended our Sunday meetings in the Kahuku 2nd Ward on
Father's Day.  Then we strolled around the temple and took some
pics.  We actually attended a session and participated in sealings
at the temple on Tuesday.

We spent all day Monday at the Polynesian Culture Center.  We
had time to visit four villages, attend a luau, and watch the
new evening show called "Breath of Life."  I have a new boyfriend!

Dad is pictured here with Kap who is a famous
Samoan warrior that has been performing at
the PCC for many years.  Dad says he sees Kap
every day at home because he is on Dad's screen
saver.

We hiked Diamond Head again.  It's a lot of fun and a good
workout.  We picked a day that we thought it might rain, but
no raindrops.  It wasn't too hot this year.  The view
is spectacular.  You can see Waikiki all the way to KoKo Head.

Here's Steve from the top of Diamond Head.  In the
background is Honolulu.

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We spent the entire day at Pearl Harbor although we didn't
actually go into the memorial over one of the sunken ships called The Arizona.
We, however, spent hours walking around the USS Missouri also called
The Mighty Mo.  This is the battleship where the treaty was signed

that ended WWII.

Reason Two Why I Love Hawaii; "Yummy Things to Eat and Drink"

We love the fruit stands along the North Shore;
we have stopped often for mango, pineapple,
papaya, bananas, avocados, tomatoes,and corn on the cobb.
We call the clerk "Grandma." She wanted to
 "make a picture" with me.

This is the best shaved ice on the island;
It's from a little store in Haleiwa.

I love all the different flavors of yogurt in
Hawaii; I wish we could buy them in LV.

We love all the different tropical beverages here

Garlic shrimp to die for from Ted's Bakery on the North
Shore near Sunset Beach



Reason One Why I Love Hawaii; "Our Home Away From Home"

Our Turtle Bay condo on right

Turtle Bay Resort;
We like to walk down to the point and sit on one
of the benches facing the ocean

Our living room

Another view of our living room
We have a patio off the living room
as well as one off the bedroom facing
the golf course.

Our swimming pool at the condo;
we swam every night before going to bed.
It was fabulous and sooooo warm and relaxing!

At the point by the Turtle Bay Resort;
We've played quite a few Scrabble games by this tree.
It's always breezy here and really a wonderful place to
watch the ocean and enjoy the beauty
of this magnificent island.



Aloha from Hawaii

Steve and I are vacationing in Hawaii on the island of Oahu.  We are enjoying this beautiful, tropical place as we have in past years.  We were fortunate to reserve a place to stay on the North Shore of the island at Turtle Bay Condos.  We've stayed in this particular condo before, and Steve and I both agree it is our favorite unit.  We're about an hour or so from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu and city life.  Today is Father's Day; and although we are not with our children, we certainly are thinking of them and hoping they are happy, safe, and enjoying their summer too.  We're going into Kahuku today to attend our church meetings.  This should be a quiet, peaceful day.  I can feel the trade winds blowing through our condo from the sliding glass doors in the bedroom, down the hallway, and out the sliding glass doors in the living room.  In addition, looking out the windows I can see palm trees swaying in the wind, beautiful tropical flowers everywhere in every color you can imagine, and raindrops falling periodically.  Yes, I must be in paradise! 

Bass Pro Shop

Monday afternoon Julie, Sheldon, Jace, and I headed over to the Bass Pro Shop.  Julie and her family had never been there before, so it was fun for me to show them around.  As we anticipated, Jace was excited to see all of the different animals.  He loved the big aquarium, and basically he just sat down on the floor glued to the tank watching all the fish swim.  It was really cute.  After dinner later that night we went to "Cherry on the Top" for frozen yogurt to celebrate Sheldon's offer of employment in the State of Washington in a small town near Seattle.  It has been really fun having them so close this last year.  I am sure I will really miss them.  I am very proud of Sheldon and I look forward to visiting them after they get settled. 




Having Fun Being a Grandma

Last Saturday evening we had tickets to the Thomas & Friends train show at the Orleans Arena.  Although I was expecting a little more, I enjoyed sharing quality time with some of my family.  Julie, Sheldon, Jace, Natalie, Ashton and I went to the show.  It had a lot more music and singing that I expected.  I must admit that I expected train tracks, but such was not the case.  Thomas and Percy were there in rather large form; and, of course, these great engines saved the day and the lantern festival for the town.  Ashton and Jace were so cute, and seemed to totally enjoy themselves.  Even today both boys are still talking about the show.

The Last Bell Rang

I am as bad as my students when it comes to counting days when school is over and summer begins.  I think everybody gets tired and needs a summer vacation including the teachers.  Anyway, finally school ended Friday and summer began.  I am proud to say that I just finished my 25th year of teaching.  I plan to retire sometime within the next four years, but meanwhile I needed to celebrate the end of the 2010-2011 school year.  Since Steve is in Hawaii and unavailable, I invited Sheldon, Julie, and Jace to my celebration.  As soon as I was finished checking out at school on Friday morning, we headed for The Cracked Egg for a delicious breakfast.  Jace then needed a nap; so when he was rested, we went to The Shark's Reef at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on the Strip.  We enjoyed the day's festivities, and I for one was glad that the last school bell had finally rung.