While we were gone...

Ashlyn took a few pictures of what the boys were up to while we were in Hawaii.

Jonah helping himself to someone's left over yogurt.

Jack opening and loving his gift for the day: Toy Story 2

When my mom made a gourmet meal of sesame chicken Jack asked for pancakes... his wish was granted. My boys were rightfully spoiled while we were gone!!

Playing OUTSIDE in ARIZONA in end of AUGUST leads to only one thing... hose and the trampoline!!

Looks like they didn't even miss us!! Thanks for everyone who took turns with our boys.

Final Day in Hawaii

We packed most of our stuff last night so we would have time to actually go down to the beach an watch the sunrise. Unfortunately it was a very cloudy day... so we couldn't see a darn thing. Just our luck!! Oh well, watching the clouds rise from the ocean surface was really cool.

Mahalo means Thank You!!

Anytime Hawaii :)

We flew from Kauai to Oahu and had 6 hours until our flight left for Phoenix. So we took full advantage of those 6 hours and went to see this Island. We wanted to go to get around, but didn't know the best way. The city bus was our first thought. It's the cheapest, it goes directly to Pearl Harbor (which was our chosen destination) but city buses don't allow luggage and we each had a suitcase. Our next thought was a taxi, but it was about $40 round trip PLUS once we get to Pearl Harbor we would have to check our bags for a fee because they don't allow ANY bag/purse inside the site (they even questioned my camera case/bag). So then we called a rental car place (so we could leave our luggage in the trunk) but that was like $100 for one day... So, to make a long story longer... we were sitting here debating how to do this and the lady behind the "Go-Airlines" desk over heard us talking. She said, "I'm working all day long, right here behind this desk and I would be happy to store your stuff up for you while you go enjoy yourselves on your last day here in Hawaii". Well, can't argue with that. She walked us to a to a little storage unit she had a key to, locked up our stuff, and said "I'll be here when you get back". We trusted her... A LOT, but she seemed pretty trust worthy. So, we grabbed our camera bag, our wallets, hopped on a city bus ($2.50/person), and headed to Pearl Harbor.

We are so glad we were able to go. It was such a neat experience. I learned so much... either that, or I had forgotten a LOT of facts and incidents that I was taught years ago.

The attack at Pearl Harbor is what brought the US into WWII.
This is the anchor of the USS Arizona. The ship hit the worst during the attack at Pearl Harbor.

The attack happened early Sunday morning (December 7, 1941). Many of the men were still asleep on board. Pearl Harbor is the headquarters and naval base for the US fleet. The attack completely crippled the US having little damage done to Japan.

Of the eight battleships that were bombed, all but the Arizona and Oklahoma were eventually repaired and returned to service. Here is where the Arizona stood the day of the attack and where it still sits at the bottom of the ocean.

Here is the ship. Same place it was when it went down 69 years ago. We saw tonz of those yellow fish when we snorkeled.

There were 2,403 people killed, 68 of those were civilians. 1,178 were wounded. And many of the survivors requested to be buried in the ocean along with their ship men who died many years before.

The thing I found most interesting was that the men at the watch station reported that static on their monitor showed "a large fleet of planes coming towards them". The captain ordered to dismiss their concern because a large amount of US aircraft carriers were expected to arrive from CA, coming back from a practice run. They just assumed that it was them... just minutes later, they knew it indeed was not.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy," in reference to the attack.

We left Pearl Harbor with greater gratitude, appreciation, and respect for our country and the people who fought for this great nation. If you don't know much about Pearl Harbor, you should check it out.

We still had several hours until our flight left. So... we hopped back on the bus and gave ourselves a little tour of Honolulu. When the stop said "Waikiki" We jumped off and headed for a little walk along this famous beach. We had a wonderful time. John got his one last shaved Hawaiian ice. He was a happy man.

We can't wait to get back to out Jackers and Jonah Bug.

We had a great time! John's friend told us that "no matter how high your expectations are when you go to Hawaii, they will ALWAYS be exceeded". And they were... WAY beyond what we could ever dream of. Hawaii was amazing!! We can't wait to someday bring our kids back.

POST HAWAII
In case you were worried, ALL of our luggage was there, sage and untouched. Thank goodness because the boys loved their "prizes" we brought home for them. Shirts and a ukulele (Who knew we should have gotten two? I should have known. We just thought Jonah wouldn't really know what to do with it... WRONG!! He totally wants his own. I guess the stuffed sea turtles we brought home for him, named Crush and Squirt from Nemo, didn't quite excite him the same way!!)

Jonah thought he was so cool!! Good thing Jack is so good at sharing.

We're so happy to be home to our boys. Thank you everyone and most of all Ashlyn for spending your "in between semesters" time to take care of our boys.

I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ

Today at church, Jack sang his heart out during the primary program. Here's a little taste of what you missed out on!!

Hawaii-- Day #6

Sunrise, Day #6

We stopped for breakfast on our way to North Shore at a cute place called "Coconut Market". With a name like that how can you NOT stop??

I ordered a short stack of banana pancakes with coconut syrup... they were SCRUMPTIOUS!! I'm thinking coconut syrup needs to become a staple on the breakfast table from now on.

We stopped at several really pretty beaches on the way up to North Shore... just to take pictures (not to soak up the sun... it was a little cloudy for that!)

This "Ivy on Steroids" (as John calls it) was everywhere and so pretty.

I learned a new fact while in Hawaii... their state bird is the chicken!?! Isn't that wild? They roam everywhere and run around and peck at everything. They were walking around the restaurant we ate at breakfast this morning, they are walking in and out of our (very open and breezy) hotel lobby, and all around the beaches... it was crazy.

Tarzan at the start of our hike. We found these cool vines hanging all over the place.
I was a little frustrated at something all morning and I couldn't pinpoint why. After a long drive up the coast and talking it through over banana pancakes, I realized I didn't want to spend our last day in Hawaii hiking. All I really wanted was one more day being really lazy and lounging at the beach. Is that so bad of me? I was bugged that hiking would result in sore muscles, no sun, energy output instead of input, another book on my shelf that hasn't been opened, ... I feel like such a brat even thinking those thoughts... I should have been SO grateful to even be in Hawaii, it shouldn't matter what we're doing!! (Don't get me wrong, I was VERY grateful to be there. We were having a blast!) As I sorted through my feelings and tried to change my perspective, we started the hike. Not long after we started, we came around the corner and saw this...

My frustration was very quickly dismissed with yet another "take your breath away" moment. I took back all those thoughts and realized that this hiking experience could be far more "rejuvenating" that just sitting on the beach, as long as I let it be... and it was. It was amazing!!

We made it!!

We had this river to cross. We debated for a while whether to take our shoes off and just walk across, or try to rock hop... we chose the latter. It was a little scary and slippery but we made it across with 4 dry tennis shoes.

We stopped for lunch at Bubba's Burgers. The teriyaki burger with a slice of fresh pineapple is a MUST (if you ever eat here.) It was greasy goodness!

These gorgeous birds (red-crested cardinals) were flying all over the place while we ate outside on our picnic table. I was so intrigued by these birds I Googled them when I got home and turns out they are found only in Hawaii and various parts of South America.

On our drive home, we searched all over for one more shaved ice place but it was failed attempt... John was very sad. We stopped at Hilo Hatties for a few more souvenirs for the boys before we returned our rental car. Sweet John (being sensitive to my frustrations earlier in the day) forced me to simply lay by the pool at the hotel and read. So, that's what I did for an entire hour while he returned the car all by himself. He's so thoughtful and always so good to me!

That evening we took full advantage to being "stuck" at the resort. After the sun set, it got too cold to stay pool side and when the hot tub was too hot to handle, it was time for dinner! We were going to order room service... but when we accidentally walked past the fancy restaurant at the hotel, we knew there was no going back. They were serving ALL YOU CAN EAT prime rib, king crab legs, salmon, shrimp cocktail, pulled pork, purple mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus, Caesar salad,... oh and about 10 different desserts (fruit tarts, cheesecake, pineapple upside down cake, apple crisp). We simply couldn't turn it down!! We enjoyed our lovely meal outside on the patio with the ocean breeze tickling our face and the only light was the full moon and a single candle in the middle of our table. After we ate all that we possible could we STILL got a soft serve ice cream for the walk around our beautiful resort. It was the best dinner I'd had in a LONG time. It would have been fun to get all dressed up to eat at such a nice place but we honestly thought we were just going to order a pizza... So I went with no make up, no curls, no jewelry. Plain and simple, just the way we like it! (Except for this adorable headband that Ashlyn made for me. I love it!!)

As we walked around the grounds of the Kauai Beach Resort everything was lit with tiki torches. The setting was absolutely perfect. There was a cement walk way (lit with the torches) that ended where the sand from the beach started. We walked out to the beach and just sat there. We had one of those uplifting/strengthening/fabulous/spiritual conversations that seem don't come often enough in the everyday hustle and bustle of life. We just sat under the moon light and talked and talked and talked. I love being married to my best friend. Hawaii was... Magical.