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.

Sheldon Graduates

Introducing Dr. Sheldon Olsen

Last Thursday evening Steve and I flew into Portland, rented a car, and drove to Forest Grove, Oregon to attend Sheldon's graduation from Pacific University.  He now is officially Dr. Olsen, and he will be seeing patients soon as an optometrist. 

Julie and Sheldon went a day ahead of us as they flew in on Wednesday.  They checked us into our rental home that we were sharing.  That night Julie hosted a party with the other LDS optometry couples that they shared the last four years with in Oregon.  On Thursday Sheldon attended a capstone seminar at the university followed by a picnic luncheon and then a recruitment dinner that evening.  Friday Sheldon attended one last capstone seminar, and then he enjoyed the afternoon playing basketball at the university gym with his optometry friends.  Meanwhile, Julie, Jace, Steve, and I went shopping at the Columbia Employee Store compliments of one of Julie's friends who works for the company and could get us an entrance pass.  We've shopped there before, so this was one last time to take advantage of the discounts.  Then we headed for Costco and bought the items we needed for dinner after the graduation on Saturday.

Friday night Julie hired a babysitter so the four of us could drive into Portland and attend a formal sit-down awards banquet at the Convention Center.  It was a very nice event including a guest speaker and slide show.  We had lots of fun.  When we returned to Forest Grove, Sheldon's mom, sister, and aunt and uncle had arrived in time for Saturday's ceremonies.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early and attended the ceremony where the doctorial hoods were placed on the arm of each candidate.   This presentation was at one of the buildings on the university campus.  It was a very nice affair.  There were 87 students graduating with their doctorate in optometry.  After the hooding ceremony the college hosted a nice luncheon on the grass.  We thought we would have time to go home, but everything took longer than expected.  We then headed for the outdoor university stadium to attend the final ceremony.  It was at this last ceremony that Sheldon actually received his diploma and the doctorial hood was placed around his neck.  Midway through the ceremony it started sprinkling, but that was no surprise to me.  It ALWAYS rains in Oregon.  After the final ceremony there was another reception on the grass.  Dessert was served. 

After a full day the formal graduation events were over, and we headed back to where we were staying.  Julie had planned a nice dinner  thanks to Costco.  Sheldon opened his graduation presents after dinner, and the graduation celebration lasting a number of days came to an end.  Julie and Sheldon began packing and got things organized as they had plans to leave for Long Beach, California at 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning.  As a reward for all their hard work and dedication for nine long years of studying, they had booked a cruise to Mexico for one week.  The best part of this trip was that the LDS couples that they had become so close to also went with them.  Steve and I took care of Jace while they vacationed with their friends in Mexico.  We are so very proud of Sheldon and admire his dedication in this long journey as he achieved his degree.  Way to go, Sheldon! 

The Sun Room
Jace was pretty taken by the bird cage.

No trip to Forest Grove is complete until you shop at the
Columbia Employee Store.



Everything in FG is so beautiful; we were on our way
to the Portland Convention Center for the
awards ceremony.



This is the slide they showed of Sheldon.  There was
one slide for each of the graduates.

Portland Convention Center, location of
the awards ceremony

Pacific Univeristy, on our way to the hooding ceremony.
Jace has both his grandmas with him for
this event.

This is one of Julie's close friends.  Her
husband also graduated with a degree
in optometry.

I took Jace outside to play for 30 or so minutes
before the ceremony began.  It is a little hard
to sit still when you are two.  The kids were
all very interested in the squirrels that ran up the tree
trunk as soon as they saw the children.

This is Sheldon receiving his hood.  They placed it
on his arm.  In the afternoon ceremony the
doctorial hood was placed over his neck.

After the morning ceremony

Maybe Jace will be an optometrist too

Sheldon's mom on the left
Norm and Annemette, aunt and uncle, on the right
along with his sister, Heidi

The campus is absolutely beautiful; it's so
green.  The trees are all huge.

Sheldon is walking up to the stand where his name
will be read and the hood will be placed on him.

Sheldon is on the stand and has just
had the hood placed on him.

What a great couple!

The happy Olsen family

Sheldon's fellow LDS optometry students which he
shared four years of schooling with

LDS optometry students along with their wives;
this is the same group of couples that went
cruising together in Mexico for a week after graduation.

The supporting and loving wives of
the graduates

The dinner party Julie threw for Sheldon at our rental home.

Can't have a party without a graduation cake!

Jace on the shuttle as we drove back to the airport on our way
to Las Vegas after the graduation.  Little did he know that
his mommy and daddy were off and away and Grandma
and Grandpa were the babysitters for the next week.