Wednesday in Hawaii

Today we went on a helicopter tour of the island. I kept wishing it were Rick Bourne, my chopper flying nephew, at the controls. The island really is very beautiful and some parts untouched from much of humanity. We also went to the farmers market. We ended the day with Dave and I hitting the restaurant here at the resort. Laur and Steve had gone earlier and following their recommendations we had a great dinner, with a beautiful view and atmosphere. After dinner we were tired and sleepy but walked the long way back to the room. We stopped at a hammock and laid there for about 45 min rocking in the breeze and talking and relaxing. It was the best 45 min I've had here. We decided we totally need to come back and do the hammock chillin again. It was a great night, and a great day.

Tuesday

After 3 1/2 days in Oahu seeing the visual offerings in Kauai came as a welcome relief. Not that Oahu is not beautiful, but it also is so big city, has heavy traffic, and difficult parking. I woke up to a more tranquil setting and had breakfast with a great view. We spent time in the room and around the grounds, then ventured out to go surfing. The 4 middle kids had gone out close to where we were staying earlier and all but Jacob wanted to go back out. David and Steve went out and made a great effort as well as Kim and Joseph. Laura and I didn't bother with the board rash on the tummy and arms not to mention the sunburn risk. While we were waiting I was playing with Jack There was some drumming in the nearby park so we walked over and saw some sort of hawaiian dance class going on. There were about 5 adult drummers and 20ish kids between 6-15 doing the hip shaking moves. the guys in the group were doing the guy moves. It was interesting and I would have watched longer, but I felt like an intruder. I ended the night stroking little man Jacks arms, legs and back. He fell asleep as we waited for his folks. That is incredibly satisfying to this granny. Oh ya, speaking of granny, see if you can see my shadow in the picture. Teeshirt and hat! You can call me shade-seeking-Connie.

Monday

Our Sunday

Today had a few jewels that I'd love to share. Got up, went to church and found a beautiful old large building. At the end of the meeting, after the prayer, the congregation stood and sang a traditional song to a departing couple in the ward. It was very sweet and loving, and sad. Ee stopped at pearl harbor but didnt stay long. We went to see where Kim lived when she was here, then to the Temple. While in the visitor center, I really thought sitting down somewhere comfortable and cool would be nice. I saw someone open the door to a big room I figured was for a nice church film to be shown in. I called to the fam to see if they wanted to see a film. We went in among a bunch of Hawaiians. When they started I realized we has invited ourselves to their extended family home evening. They did show a movie- Remembering Kirtland- which we all enjoyed. There was a beautiful spirit there and we joked with them later about not realizing it was just their family thing. It was very good- a rare unexpected jewel of am experience. We drove around BYU-H then went by Temple Beach. Kim said they sometimes do baptisms there. The sand was soft and the water warm. It was a nice day.

A song glued in the back of the hymn book

Pearl Harbor

Kims old place on the point

The FHE we crashed

Temple beach

Saturday

Today was great! Sleeping in in Hawaii is such a pleasure. We went to the Dole pineapple plantation, Teds bakery and then to the Polynesian cultural center. We had lots of good times. Steve stole the Samoan drum show when they asked him to come up on stage. Several people commented on how well he did following the head drummer. I didn't pick out any mistakes but if steve made any, he covered well with enthusiasm--to be sure. He won the crowds approval and was known as "Utah" I'm sure they will have more on their blog about it.
We also tried poi and it wasn't too bad. We enjoyed the luau at the "PCC" and surprisingly I was ok with the raw fish. It was really perky and tasted a bit like sesame oil. (I am softening towards the sushi thought actually). We ended the night with the PCC show which was very enjoyable. I always want to fall asleep sooner than the clock says it is time, but THAT what makes sleeping in in the morning such a pleasure!

Hawaii. The first day

*timing* has not been our strongest suit this year- none the less the scheduled vacation time has arrived. We had a pretty good, yet long, flight. Everyone took care of themselves and helped with the little guy too. Jack did great! All day he was a little trooper. There were a few glitches getting the rental cars that made the actual settling in rough but we got here safe and everyone is happy. We'll stay in Oahu a few days. Were in a great place. Clarks in one room, Kim Aub in another. And Dave and I and the boys in another. First impressions- flowers IN trees!! Funky trees- Got to see rainbow in the rainbow state the first day