Rambo, Look Out

So this was our quiet Sunday afternoon. Kyle got out his new nerf guns he got from Grandma C. this last Christmas/Birthday and played with the kids. First he tried to get Brayden to shoot them, but he had too hard a time with the trigger. Then Brayden became the target. Kyle let him wear the vest and glasses, safety first of course, and then set him on the stairs.

Dinosaur Museum

We started off going for a drive to see some petroglyphs, but when we got closer we found a muddy/icy dirt road. Sam thought it would be better if we didn't get stuck on our drive so we turned around. On the way home there is a dinosuar museum. We've talked about stopping before, but just haven't done it yet. Well, no time like the present.

Brayden had a really good time. He ran and ran looking at all the dinosaurs. Many of them were the same ones just from a different view. It didn't matter to him, he was having such a fun time.

They had a children's corner and we spent quite a bit of time there. Brayden dug in the sand to find bones, played with puzzles, and colored. This little pink dino was really cute. All the appendages came off and attached with velcro so kids could make their own dino. Brayden had fun pulling him apart.

In the corner of this picture is grandma holding a dino egg. It was really a puppet with a baby dino inside. I know, shame on me, but Brayden got scared and grandma kept laughing. Brayden would cover his eyes and say "I scared, I scared." I finally quit when he said "no more, I scared." Okay, grandma wiped away the tears and quit scaring the baby.

Chad has a Date

I heard from Chad this morning. I love it when I do. He usually writes Monday mornings, but he had zone conference this last Monday and didn't write until this morning. Come to find out, he has known his fly home date for a short while. I'm wondering why he didn't share it with me sooner??? Maybe because he knows mom is a little more excited that he is. Oh well . . . His fly date home is August 18th. Now that didn't excite me as much as I had thought. You see, I was planning on him returning around the 1st, the same day he left. As I have found out, the church does not always exactly match the date they leave. So, as excited as I am to have an actual date, I'm a little (notice I say little) disappointed that it is almost 3 weeks later than I had anticipated.

Chad comes home August 18, 2009!!!!!

Tyler Update . . .

Okay, so another little chickie has flown the coop. Tyler graduated last year and has been living at home working for a phone company. It just wasn't going anywhere, so he decided to try life somewhere else, Washington. Allen's sister has lived there for 20 years or so and loves it there. Anyway, to make a long story short, Tyler left Thursday morning. Lucky for him, Sam's sister, Marilyn (and family) live along the way. He stopped there and spent the night.

Thanks, Marilyn!!!

I know, the pictures are several years old, but that's okay.

They went to see Clyde (cousin) fiddle and got to visit with Aunt Rachel and her older son Dan. Tyler said he had a really nice time visiting with family. I am fully aware of how blessed I have been to have so much family who have accepted me and my children.

Friday morning he got up early and finished his drive in to Federal Way (south of Seattle). Now Tyler is on the hunt for a job. I ask that you  keep him in your prayers that he will be safe and find a job that will support a new life in WA.

New to Facebook

Okay, so I was a little doubtful at first about this Facebook thing. I gave it a try and now I'm completely addicted. The crazy thing is how fast I found people I knew already on Facebook.

• Family
• Friends from high school (yes, I know that was forever ago)
• Friends from my neighborhood and church
• Friends of Chad, Tyler, and Kyle
• Former students of mine

I think the most exciting thing is finding high school friends and catching up with them. I'm coming up on my 25 years since I graduated. Really . . . where did the time go. So if you happen to be a fellow facebook addict, look me up and add me to your list of friends. I'd love to hear from you.

Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC)

Katy and I went to the PCC to visit all the villages. Once a day they have a canoe parade. Each culture has a boat with traditional dressed performers who dance. This particular one represents Tahiti. Their costumes really emphasize the hip movement.

We were learning how to make a fishing toy out of leaves, pretty cool.

It began raining on us and never quit. We were drenched by the time we went to the luau. The guys went to Waikiki for surfing lessons. They all said it was harder than they had expected, but they did actually stand and surf some. Corey thinks he's a pro-surfer now. I'd have to see to believe that one.

Our luau that the guys missed. Okay, don't feel too bad for them. Since they were late, there was no place to seat them at the luau. It was raining on several tables so they couldn't be used. Therefore . . . they were upgraded to the super ambassador buffet.

Katy and I had pork, rice and chicken.

The guys (upgraded) had prime rib, crab legs, mahi mahi, shrimp, and chicken. Katy and I were too full to enjoy any of their dinner. Oh well . . .

After the show we got some pictures with the dancers. Can you guess why both Spencer and Kyle have that giddy grin on their faces??

A Shark Cage??

Yep, that is a real shark. We went about 3 miles of the coast of Haliewa to find them. When the sharks hear the engine they expect to be fed. Fishing boats throw over any trash fish and the sharks love it. Now the tourist boats come, fortunately they don't throw over any tourist. There must have been 10-12 sharks swimming around.

Katy getting ready for her cage experience. The sharks weren't so bad, it was the motion sickness that got to several us that was scary.

Katy, Corey, and Kyle went together in the cage. Sam, Spencer, and I went the next time.

Once in the cage they let it out to float on top of the water. The sharks looked huge from this position. 2 sides of the cage had a large sheet of plexiglass so it looked as if there was nothing between you and the sharks. That was a bit freaky.

For those of us who were getting sea sick, the cage didn't help. We were tossed around in the cage and up against the cage. Sam, Katy and I were all glad to get back to land.

Sam waiting his turn. Cade was such a good little sailor.

Misc. Pictures

Here's Kyle and Cade playing on some tank or something. I'll ask Sam and give you the official name later. Have you ever seen two happier faces?? They were both this way for the majority of the trip. They may have just earned themselves another trip with us.

This is the sunset at Sunset Beach. What more can I say. Before you go on and on about how great a photographer I am . . . Sam took this picture. He's quite the shutterbug.

I know, Another Beach, Poor Us

The boys couldn't wait to hit the water.

We stopped at Sandy Beach after we tried to go to Hanauma Bay the first time. Who knew it was closed on Tuesdays, we do now. Isn't this breathtaking??

Cade was not so impressed. He didn't like the noise, the sand, or the water.

Gpa walked around and kept him warm and safe.

This was Gma trying to get him in the water. He had no part of it.

Corey and Spencer took thier first chance at burying Kyle.

Spencer was so glad to be taller than Kyle.

The USS Missouri

A copy of the document that ended WWII, the Japanese surrender. At least I'm pretty sure it's a copy. It was all very impresssive.

This marks the very spot where the surrender was signed, Wow.

Even while out to sea, Sam could have had his Pepsi, Lol.

The boys played with every button, switch, and knob they could find.

Our Rental Home

This is where we made camp. It was a four bedroom, 2 bath home. As you can see the view was spectacular. The house was already supplied with many amenities, such as sunscreen, first aid kit, shampoo, needle and thread, games, movies, water toys, umbrellas, beach mats, etc. It was kind of fun looking through all the cupboards and drawers to see what we would find. The house was located on the North Shore where things were very quiet.

Just about 2-3 miles up the road was the YMCA Camp Erdman. Some of you may know this place as the "others" campsite from the show Lost. Boy were we surprised when we saw the blue van and the cabins. Sam was the first to recognize the place (and I call myself a fan). Unfortunately, by the time we got around to taking pictures, the blue vans, all 4 of them, had already been removed. Shame on us for taking so long.

Where to Start??

We're home and wishing we weren't. The weather here is miserable and cold. Hawaii was beautiful and warm. I wonder when the next flight leaves?

Okay, so I'm stuck here until our next adventure. In the meantime, where do I start with the hundreds, maybe thousands, of pictures and stories. I know blogging was intended to keep family and friends updated with our lives, but it also is a type of journaling (good thing since I'm so good at my other daily journaling). So . . . I will include all of my favorites, maybe a slideshow to save space, or maybe not. Anyway, view what you'd like to or skip over. These next few post are mostly for us to remember what a great trip we really did have.

Pearl Harbor

Even though we've been here before, we are both so fascinated with Pearl Harbor. During the presentation we were told 1,177 men died on the USS Arizona.

This is their burial site and memorial. You can feel a reverence as soon as you head out to the memorial.

At the far end of the memorial is a wall with all the name of the soldiers who died that day. It is difficult to describe the feeling.

Cade on the ride back. He was such a good baby that day and every other day so far.