Hawaii - Pearl Harbor

Michael and I recently returned from our vacation in Hawaii to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I thought I might touch on a few of the highlights of our trip.

We first went to Honolulu, where we visited Pearl Harbor. Michael soon learned that I love to read every single plaque about any monument, and every scrap of paper in any display. (I'm not exaggerating.) I don't remember a lot of what I read, but it was all very interesting, and very time-consuming. Now I know more about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and I have an even greater appreciation for those who sacrifice so much so that we may continue to enjoy our liberties, as well as for the freedom that we are still blessed to have.

Here is a shot of the Arizona Memorial, as we approached it. I was amazed at the size of it, and even more by the size of the ship beneath.


We also visited the USS Bowfin submarine. She was launched a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and is known as the Pearl Harbor Avenger. She is credited with 44 hits, and even sank a bus!
I couldn't get over how cramped it was inside. I kept trying to imagine 80 men working and living in there for weeks or months on end. I don't know how they did it. Michael got worn out on the tour, so he took the first opportunity to catch a little shut-eye.

We ended our day by visiting the USS Missouri, the ship on which the "Instrument of Surrender" was signed, thus ending WWII. Michael was intrigued by all of the workings inside the ship. I took lots of pictures, but I couldn't tell you much about them. I just thought it was cool to stand where the Japanese surrendered, and learn about the symbolism involved in that significant moment.

Here is a shot of the Arizona Memorial from the USS Missouri, the two "bookends" of the US involvement in WWII.

Hawaii - Polynesian Cultural Center

The next day, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. (Yay!) This was the whole reason why I wanted to go to Hawaii. I felt a little guilty, though, because of the recent earthquake and tsunami to hit the South Pacific. There we were, enjoying ourselves on vacation, while some of the performers had loved ones who had just lost everything, but they needed to stay here and entertain us. I wanted to inquire after their families, but it seemed a little intrusive. Anyway, guilt trip aside, we had an AWESOME time.

We got a personal guide, and that was absolutely the best way to go for someone who likes to look at every single thing. Loana, from Tahiti, took us to every performance just before they began, and sat us in the front row. She knew right where we needed to be and answered all my questions, yet I never felt rushed. It was an awesome day. When we return with our children one day, we will definitely buy the Super Ambassador package again!

This guy reminded me of my kids.

(They are always climbing things. Before we left on our trip, I found Megan sitting on top of the fridge, and there was no chair on the counter for her to have propped herself up with!)

My favorite village was the Tahitian one simply because I love their fast hip-shaking hula. Even the men have a fun dance. They tried to teach us how to dance like they do. After they taught the women, they taught the men:

Then they invited two men and a woman to come up and show off their new dance skills. Michael was one of the lucky contestants. This is how he shakes his booty Tahitian-style:

He also got to play the part of the tourists' chief as we entered the village of Aotearoa (New Zealand). He had to pick up the peace branch and slowly walk us in, and then greet the chief once we were all inside.

I was so excited to see the Polynesian Center's evening show, and I was not disappointed. It was recently changed from Horizons to Ha-Breath of Life. They didn't have a DVD of the new show for sale, so I bought the Horizons one. I think the new show is so much better. I look forward to getting the Ha-Breath of Life DVD when it is available.

This kid was so cute. He danced at the Luau and then for part of this show.

This was my favorite part. It was a Tahitian wedding!

On Friday, we visited the Pacific Arial Fleet museum (that we had missed on Wednesday due to someone reading every sign in sight). It was a quick visit. Then we drove to the other side of the island to visit the Laie Hawaii Temple's Visitor's Center. We returned to the Polynesian Cultural Center to see what I missed the day before. Not much. Michael practiced throwing a Tongan spear

and tried to start a fire without a match,

while I got some temporary tribal tattoos. We felt like we got all we wanted out of our visits to Pearl Harbor and the PCC. (Though I could have read a little more, but isn't that what the internet is for? Information overload.)

Hawaii - Maui

On Saturday morning, we checked out and flew over to Maui. There, we checked out the Maui Ocean Aquarium. I have never seen so many crazy fish in my life! This was the coolest aquarium I have ever been to! (And I haven't been to that many.) We saw boxfish, unicorn fish, raccoon fish, soldier fish, frog fish, weird-unidentified-fish (at least, I don't know what they are, and they really look weird!), trumpet fish, jelly fish, neon fish, seahorses, sea turtles, sharks, stingrays... you get the idea. We pet a starfish and a sea cucumber. The sea cucumber felt like velvet.

We went snorkeling a few times. My favorite place was at Molokini, a partially submerged volcanic crater. We saw many of the same fish at the aquarium in the ocean while we snorkeled. I was glad that we had picked up a disposable underwater camera before we went. Unfortunately, it's been so long since I've used a traditional camera that later, when I thought I was winding the film into the canister, I wasn't, and I accidentally exposed half the roll. Good thing I had all those pictures from the aquarium! We also went to 5 Graves/5 Groves/Turtle Town/a million different other names for the same place, and swam with sea turtles. Michael learned that you don't actually have to be ON the boat to get seasick. Poor guy.

(That's Molokini in the distance, to the right of the sun.)

On Wednesday, we drove the Road to Hana. How many of you have been to Maui and driven the Road to Hana? Well, now we can say we did it, and we survived, and I don't think we'll ever do it again. It was pretty, and exhausting, and Michael got carsick even though he was driving 15 mph and had taken 2 Dramamine. At the end, we wound up at O'heo Gulch, or the Seven Sacred Pools (that name is an acknowledged marketing gimmick.) That was pretty cool, but the warning signs on the way there about flash floods, and the family who had lost their father and brother to one freaked me out. I did not want to go home a widow. Michael jumped in and swam a little. I finally got in at the end, but when I swam to where I couldn't feel the bottom nor see the bottom, all of my fears of the dark reared up and I suddenly wanted out. When it was all said and done, we wished we had just spent the day laying out on the beach. Now we know!

In Lahaine, we caught Warren and Annabelle's magic/comedy act. It was the first time we were greeted with an "Aloha Y'all!" Warren was HILARIOUS. I haven't laughed so hard in a long, long time. It was amazing to see the tricks he pulled, and his jokes were non-stop. It was one of the best dates I've been on. I didn't bring my camera, because I assumed they weren't allowed, but he welcomed cameras, camcorders, whatever. So, if we're ever in Maui, we will definitely return to Warren and Annabelle's, and bring the camcorder!

Friday was our checkout day, so we squared everything away and headed to the airport. We arrived on the "mainland" at 10:20pm, and got to our car some time later to find the battery completely dead. The shuttle driver (from Guatemala) helped jump our car. We got home around 3:30am and were in bed by 4am. At 8:45am, we were awakened by the demanding ring of our doorbell. Some guy was there to blow out our sprinklers for us. Michael had scheduled the appointment before we left. We quickly got ready, and then set out to pick up each of our children from their various sitters. It was such a strange feeling to be back from vacation. Before we left, it was so hectic, plus both of us got sick, so I kept thinking, "Boy, I could really use a vacation!"

We scheduled our trip so that when we got back, we could ease back into life. However, children don't let you ease into anything. It was full throttle until we left, and full throttle as soon as we got back. These past two weeks have been full of doctor appointments, flu shots, school activities, classes, piano, etc. It just keeps going, as many of my friends know. (We're all in the same boat.) And now I have laryngitis. Fun times. We appreciate so much the 4 families who each took in one of our children. We felt confident the whole time we were gone that our children were in good hands, so we didn't worry too much about them. I just missed them. I wanted to share all the cool things we saw and fun things we did with them. Maybe when they're older. This was a good trip for Michael and me. I'm glad we went!

In Search of the Great Pumpkin

I had the opportunity to go with Thomas' kindergarten class on their Pumpkin Patch field trip. Mason hid my camera this morning, but fortunately, Vanessa loaned me hers. (THANK YOU!!!) It rained some, but we had a fun time. The kids went on a hay ride, picked out pumkins, had snacks, planted some kind of seed, checked out the animals, and played on the hay pyramid and maze. It was a busy field trip!

And More Success!

Once he saw how fun it was and how fast Thomas could go with just two wheels, Mason wanted to give it a try. Michael tested him out on McKenzie's first bike before he took the training wheels off the little boy's bike we've been borrowing from the Davises. As you can see, he passed with flying colors!

Success!

Soon after school started, Thomas began playing with some of our neighbors who are also in his kindergarten class. They all love to ride their bikes, but none of his friends use training wheels. When Thomas realized that he was already balancing pretty well on his bike, he decided to try shedding the training wheels again. This time, he was ready.

I included this picture because I absolutely love the moment surrounding it, even though I wasn't fast enough to really capture it. Mason was standing a little to the side, waiting for Thomas to successfully take off. Once he did, Mason ran alongside Thomas until he couldn't keep up anymore, and cheered "You're doing it! You're doing it! Whoo-hoo!!!" It was awesome.

He could not wipe this huge grin off his face!

I really like this picture because it was so spontaneous. Thomas got off his bike and asked his dad for a hug in gratitude for teaching him how to ride a bike! What a sweet moment. And I love Mason's expression, as well.

Summer 2009

Finally: OUR SUMMER 2009 HIGHLIGHTS POST
(It's broken down into several smaller posts to accommodate all the photos. Just keep clicking on older posts until you get to the end. The pictures should really be there this time. I hope!)

June was a full month. It began with a performance of Dinosaur Valley, performed by the entire second grade. McKenzie was a baby dinosaur. We learned about the importance of not trashing our earth.

Thomas graduated from preschool (actually, at the end of May), and McKenzie said "goodbye" to the second grade.

We attended Michael's annual work picnic where McKenzie and her friend waited an hour and a half in line to get their faces painted. We ate lots of cotton candy and the boys and Megan thoroughly enjoyed the bounce houses and slide.