"Wherefore be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, the I was, that I am, and that I am to come." D&C 68:6
One of the highlights of our trip was the three of us attending a session inside the Hawaii Temple while Isla was at her camp. No matter how wonderful a vacation can be, there is always some trepidation of going back to life's daily challenges. For me, tomorrow is a new month and new responsibilities at work. A bit of the unknown awaits me, but this scripture and the memory of being in the temple I think will help.
I just can't get enough of this place! It has so many different tours that there are still some for us to do in the coming years (I hope). This year we did the UTV vehicle again, but this time with a driver, who took us places we had and hadn't seen before. Just beautiful.
Though only one scene from Jurassic Park was filmed at Kualoa Ranch, much of the Jurassic World movies were filmed there. This is the paddock of the Indominous Rex.
Friday Isla few in to San Francisco and on Saturday we flew to Honolulu. We gained 3 hours because of the time change and tried to do as much as we could. Maybe too much as we were very tired and Isla felt a bit sick by the night. Thankfully she was better by Sunday morning.
Saturday we sent straight to get some lunch and then the Swap Meet for some shopping. Isla bought herself an aloha-patterned skirt which she wore to church on Sunday. After the swap meet we headed to the North Shore. We stopped at the Temple and watched a video in the Visitor's Center about the church's beginnings and growth in Hawaii.
Next was a short rest at our condo, and then snorkeling at Shark's Cove.
On Sunday we went to Sacrament Meeting at a local chapel and then to Waikiki for the big drop off at the Kamehameha School. It was such a priviledge for us to be a part of this great adventure for Isla. We've been thinking about her all week and hoping she's having a great time!
Reggie, Samantha & I are in Hawaii right now! Meanwhile Luke is home getting the welcome mat out for Julia, Lester and kids!
Gradually I have developed an "interest" in Shark's Cove, on the north shore of Oahu. When we first passed it I thought it looked intriguing - different than a beach - but we didn't stop. Then last year Reggie Julia and I spent time there, which was fascinating.
This year we went all out with snorkeling masks. I have never been snorkeling and thought it would not be for me. But, I want to make myself do new things, and most importantly, I wanted to have a memorable moment with granddaughter Isla. She came with us, and we had 2 days together before dropping her off at her week long Kamehameha camp, and will have 2 days together after we pick her up. So she and I put on our masks and headed into the water. I hope to NEVER FORGET her saying to me, with excitement as we were in the water "Grandma, I saw lots of fish from Finding Nemo!". This did my heart SO good - that I was close enough to her in the water for her to tell me that. I have been so worried that my body will not let me do adventurous things anymore, so the fact that we did this together makes me so happy.
As far as snorkeling goes, the face mask version was so easy to wear. I was so pleasantly surprised that I could keep my eyes open to see things underwater, and still breathe normally. However, I must admit I have never liked swimming in the ocean because I feel the tide moving me. So even though I could stand up in the water, I found it difficult to do so after being in a swimming position. But it was worth it and I would do it again - and hope to do it again with more and more family. The masks came in a double pack from Amazon - about $20 a pair, so we got one adult set and one child set. I hope they will get used quite a lot by the family over the next several years.
Today Reggie & I went back while Samantha slept in at the condo. Remember the line "Only worry in the world is the tide going to reach my chair"? No? Well, listen to the song below (which is also my ring tone). That came true for us, as the tide was really low, but then came creeping up on us and got our bags wet. We did have to move our chairs. We didn't use the masks today, but just standing in the water I saw lots of beautiful fish - including Dory and a bunch of yellow striped ones.
One last side note - when we were dropping Isla off she said "Grandma, I forgot my water shoes!". So Reggie, Samantha and I made a quick trip to Walmart to get her some new ones and dropped them off. This turned out to be a very lucky thing for me. I decided to get myself a pair and what a difference it made when Reggie & I went back to Shark's Cove! Along with my hiking pole, it made going over the rocks and going out farther so much easier!
First half of the year I've been looking forward to a summer vacation, which has kept me going. BUT, I am determined not to get depressed when it is over! So, I will be taking a page from Mariah's book of life and making a rest-of-the-summer-bucket-list; it will have things like Berry Picking, Beach Sitting, State Park Visiting with the free parking library pass, scrapbooking, etc.
And the - the rest of the year I am going to let it be all about Christmas preparations! I am DETERMINED to pull out my new-to-me sewing machine (thanks Lynette!). I saw these on Facebook today and just HAD to post them as a reminder!
The Lasts came to visit last weekend and we had a great time!
- Dinosaurs at the Academy of Sciences:
- Grandparents/Grandaughters date to Lilo & Stitch
- Dioramas - I have a grand-scale idea, taken from my school, that I hope all the grandchildren will do. Avonlea, Emy and Lillian started it off. The instructions were to look through a couple of nature books and pick an animal, insect or sea creature. Then pick a box from downstairs. Next, mold your creature out of air dry clay. While it is drying go on a nature walk and gather stuff to make your creature's habitat in the box. Finally paint your sea creature when the clay is dry, paint the box and add your bits of nature to represent your animal's habitat.
Mommy, Daddy & Grandpa helped with some of the molding. I just happened to get a lot of good shots of Lily and just couldn't choose which ones to post! Pictures of the finished products to come!
They got most of it done. Now it us up to their Hanaike cousins to do there's next time they are in town. My challenge will be to find places to put the dioramas and then finally display all 12 when they are done, which should be at least by the end of summer. It will be our own little museum!
