4-7-14

Saturday noon on March 29th, we picked up Brandon and Brady and their families at the airport.  There was eleven in all.  We had looked forward to this day for a long time.  They were going to spend a week with us and see all the sights on Oahu.  This was the first time in Hawaii for all of them.  We were so excited.  The plane was right on time and we weren't.  They had their luggage and were waiting for us when we got there.  I had leis for all of the girls but Kynlee did not like hers.  She tried pawning it off to the boys.  Each wore it for about 1 minute and then passed it on to the next boy.  Don't know where it ended up. 

Kynlee

Easton

Chance

Grandma & Dax

Kyla

Mya

When we got home all they could talk about was going to the beach.  We took each family to their apartment.  They were about 5 minutes from us and only 1 block away from each other.  There was a hidden beach in the middle of their places.  I think they checked that out first thing.  I came home to heat up their lunch and they got unpacked and explored things.  We ate together, talked about what we would do for the week, and then they went home.

Brandon, Brady & Denis just outside of Brandon & Andrea's apartment

Sunday they all went to their little beach and played in the sun and sand.  They planned to meet us at church at 2 P.M.  When they got there all of the little kids were sunburned.  Brandon and Brady came in their shorts and sandals.  The kids got to see all of our little brown friends and they got to meet our family.   That night we went to the visitors center and to the temple grounds.  It was a beautiful night and very peaceful.  We toured the visitors center and saw a film about families.  Several of us (including Brandon and Brady) had Kleenexes wiping tears.  Your could not help but feel the spirit. We walked around the temple grounds and all of the fountains of water.  The kids really wanted to jump in.  We took a lot of family pictures.  

Monday we set out to see many of the beaches.  When we arrived at Waimea Beach the kids all wanted to stop and play in the water.  The water was out quite a ways so there was a little hill we sat on above the water's edge.  The kids played and played on the boogie boards.  Chance and Brady figured out how to ride the board down the little hill and into the water.  Chance was able to balance himself until the board sank.  Daxton did not like the feel of sand on his feet.  I sat him between my legs and showed him how to shovel into a bucket.  Pretty soon he was throwing sand on everyone.  The kids loved it.  We were there for about 2 1/2 hours.  I was worried about more sunburn on top of sunburn.  We rode down to another beach and they got to see a turtle that was 45 years old and about 200 lbs.  His name was Brutus.  His back fin had been bit off by a shark.  That was the biggest turtle that they have seen.

Playing at Waimea Bay

 

Monday night we went to Prime Dining at the PCC and the Breath of Life show.  They loved the fire dancing and all of the other dancing and singing.  Grandma got to show off a lot of her handiwork with the costumes.  I knew the guy who is in charge and he sat us about 6 rows from the stage. We could see really good.  I saw a lot of faces of kids I know, several from our ward.
 

The next day we planned to go to the PCC at noon and visit all of the villages.  They kind of relaxed in the morning and Brady finally got to fish.  We met and went to several villages and learned of many of their ways and customs.  Brandon got really sick right at the beginning and had to lay out in the car.  He never did get to come in and see anything.  I was disappointed that he didn't feel good.

Kineykin with Easton and Kynlee.  He is in our ward.  Really a nice guy from Fiji.

Kineykin with Kyla & Dax

A girl from Fiju holding Daxton.  He was really trying to be social but having a hard time.

Wednesday we got up early and were gone by 8 A.M.  We went to the swap meet and had a couple of hours before we needed to be at Pearl Harbor to see the Arizona and learn about that.  First we saw a movie explaining the bombings on Dec 7th, 1941, telling about the ships that went down.  The USS Arizona had about 950 soldiers on it that died that morning and are entombed inside the ship. We rode over on a boat to the monument which is built right over the ship.  They show how long the ship was by markers in the ocean.  You can look down and see old rusty parts that are still there.  Also bubbles float up which is oil from the ship.  Inside the  monument you can look down into the water and see a round turret.  They explain that scuba divers take the remains of several other soldiers who have died in the years since and place over this round  part of the ship.  They say it is like something just sucks the containers down into the ship where they also become a part of the USS Arizona.  They too have been buried alongside their friends who were soldiers.  It is a very solemn place and you feel so sad and want to show your appreciation for all they have done for us to give us our freedoms.  You spend about 15 minutes there and then they take you back.  The kids were very good and I think it made an impression on even the little ones.

Part of Arizona in ocean

Place where they put the remains of soldiers that have died since the war on the Arizona

Names of those that are entombed in the Arizona

Down in the left corner are names who have died since war and chose to be buried in the Arizona

USS Missouri

Thursday was another beach day for the kids.  Denis, Brandon, Brady and Chance went back down to Pearl Harbor to tour the big ship USS Missouri and went thru that.  It has been refurbished.  They seemed to enjoy it.  Meanwhile, we were back at the beach having a picnic and playing in the waves.  Thursday night Denis and I had to take tickets at the PCC so the family came over and went to Island Buffet for supper and did a little shopping at the stores on PCC.

Friday we planned for an easy morning and then we would go to the Macadamia Nut Farm and take a tour on an old bus like the one on Gilligans Island.  In fact, this was the place that all of those shows were filmed.  The kids seemed to love this.  The bus driver was a very funny guy in nothing but a short sulu.  He had tattoos from his waist down below his knees.  Almost solid.  He got them when he was in Samoa as a teenager.  They have a serious meaning, nothing like why the kids get them today.  He took us out on a catamaran and we sailed around a small part of the island. As we came home he stopped and showed the kids how to crack a coconut, shred it, eat it and then he did some fire dancing for them.  All the time he was cracking jokes and we were all laughing hard.  We really did enjoy it.  The kids were still wanting to play in the ocean.  They went down to a beach just below our apt. and rode the waves in and out.  Grandpa and I got hotdogs and we went to the beach and we had a picnic.  We ended up eating in the dark. 

Kids at the Macadamia Nut Farm cracking the nuts

Our little guide who was so funny

Us standing on the catamaran (canoe)

Gilligan's bus with all of us ready for a ride

 

Kynlee holding shredded coconut

Watching the fire dancing

 

Kids with their headbands made from tei leaves

 By the way,  we also got in a wreck in our car at noon.  We had gone to PCC to get some mosquito repellant from the cart that Denis works on and we backed into a parking spot.  As we were sitting in the car waiting, along came a big freight truck.  The guy was looking at something besides the road and veered over and took the front of our car right off.  Denis and I were in total shock.  The bumper and headlights were dragged off.  It crunched our hood also.  The guy just kept going.  We tried to follow him but we couldn't go too far.  We were dragging the bumper.  He had no back license plate.  We went back to PCC, called the cop and he was there in no time.  He radioed another cop who caught the guy down in another town.  Said he had no idea he had hit anything.  They brought him back and got all of his information.  It really was kind of funny.  We are without a car but thanks to Elder Nielsen he had just bought a second car and let us borrow it.  Hopefully we can get a rental car until ours is fixed.

Saturday was our last day.  I feel like we kind of wasted it.  Didn't do anything but got ready to go home.  Brady and Stacey had to be out of their apartment by 11 A.M. so they came over here.  I had lunch and Brandon and his kids came for it.  He and Andrea went back and cleaned their place while the rest stayed here.  It was so hot and muggy.  Pretty soon it started to rain and the kids played out in the rain.  More showers, clean clothes etc.  We went early to get the famous shaved ice's for the kids and then on to the airport.  Kind of a sad drive knowing we wouldn't see them again for 5 months.  We had a good time and I think all of them did too.  We will be back to real life tomorrow.  The kids were worn out from the night flight home.  They flew into Boise and then had to drive on home without too much sleep.  I am sure they are exhausted tonight.  I told all of them that a vacation is hard work and the memories are what makes it so wonderful.  You forget the small hard things and only remember the good things.  Have a good week and be good.  

Love, Sherleen