There's no place like home!

After an awesome 9 days in California, we are happy to be home in our own beds!  DJ was so excited to get home that he drove all the way from San Diego to home (15 hours) with only 3 stops!!!!  The kids were troopers and we all had the best time at Disney, Sea World, the beach, Universal Studios, and the 4 different hotels/motels we stayed in!  The only "major" mishap that happened was on our last day in San Diego we had plans to go to the zoo but instead we spent 3 hours in the E.R. waiting to get stitches in Porter's chin.  He was getting out of the bath at the motel and slipped on the tile and fell right on his chin and we knew immediately that he'd need at least a few stitches.   Anyway, compared to all the things that could've gone wrong on the trip, this was pretty minor so we feel really blessed and happy!  I can't wait to weed through my 100's of pictures and post about our trip!  Hopefully that will happen soon.

Our first day at Disney California (the day w/out dad's help)  Long day but totally, totally, fun!!! The little kids were so excited to meet Woody and Buzz but unfortunetly, Buzz left just before it was our turn and was replaced by the green army men.  Oh well, they were so cute and made the kids laugh so hard!  Kamryn wasn't sure what to think of the green guys! 

Waiting in line to ride Toy Story Mania--the BEST ride at Disney California besides maybe Sourin' over California!  Every one of the kids loved this ride because you get to shoot at all kinds of targets and it keeps score for you until the end of the ride!   

Our first day at DisneyLand with Dad!  I think DJ even had a great time at the happiest place on earth! 

          Waiting in line again--some lady offered to take our picture--sorry Kaleb, you got cut off and who knows where Porter is?

Morg's and Reg waiting in line for a fun ride! 

The Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland!  Regan offered to ride with the little boys-and secretly, I think she enjoyed it as much as they did!  She's such a great kid!  

We spent 1 day at Universal Studios and had a great time!  The rides were amazing but our favorite was the Studio Tour!  This is overlooking LA--pretty smoggy but really a neat site!

Hawaii-Day 4

It will be a stinking miracle if I blog about our entire Hawaii trip, especially since I'm severely behind on Family History Friday, kids updates, and...the millions of other projects outside of blogging that need to be attended to. But, for now, I'll concentrate on day 4 of our fabulous trip and hopefully while I'm immersed in beautiful Island photos, I'll forget all about my "to do" list for a few moments!

Day 4 was booked with a bus tour around the Island which was fun and relaxing especially since my dear husband didn't have to drive and I didn't have to navigate along with the annoying GPS lady. We just sat back and relaxed on our bus while listening to our tour guide/bus driver rattle off tidbits of information about the Island and every so often we pulled over for photo opportunities and pit stops. DJ and I particularly enjoyed the full day of near silence in a vehicle (something that rarely happens in our Toyota Sienna! Some of the stops we made along the way were Turtle Bay, Hanauma Bay, the blow hole, Chinaman's Hat, Kualoa Ranch, The Macadamia Nut Farm, Valley of the Temples, Dole Pineapple Plantation, North Shore to name a few. It was another extremely windy day so I guess we picked a good day to spend the day viewing the Island from a bus. It really is a beautiful Island with so much to see and I could've taken pictures of just about everything. I really wanted to video tape the entire trip and take it home to my kids so they could be a little part of it but I'm praying that we'll get the opportunity to take them someday.

Believe it or not, we weren't the youngest people on this bus!

Hanauma Bay- We later went snorkeling here where we swam right by two big turtles!

This was Pali lookout on Pali Highway which provided a gorgeous panaramic view of the windward coast of Oahu. The wind was out of control that day, I think our tour guide mentioned 50 mph which explains the crazy hair-do. My glasses literally blew off of my face. DJ and I were laughing our heads off as we tried to snap photos in the hurricane.

Mom got back on the bus after being out in the wind and everyone was laughing at her crazy hair (including me) sorry mom, like I had any room to talk! She was a good sport as you can tell by the photo!

This was a pretty stop, the lighthouse directly in back of DJ was fun to see and I just couldn't get over the beautiful blue color of the ocean!

Next stop was the Valley of the Temples, a beautiful valley located at the foot of the 2,000 foot Koolau Mountains. We visited the Byodo-In Temple where we took a turn ringing the gong, we passed over a little bridge where there were 100's of fish below waiting to be fed. We removed our shoes before entering the temple, I took a few photos inside (I wonder if that was okay) and then spent a little while wandering around enjoying the beautiful view. I really enjoy learning about what other people believe so I really enjoyed this stop.

Next stop, Macadamia Nut Farm. One word, YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really, I am a little obsessed with Macadamia Nuts so I was giddy when the tour guide said we would be making this stop and added that we would be able to sample many flavors while wandering through the gift shop. Well, he wasn't kidding, we passed through a long line with little bowls full of the yummiest coatings you've ever tasted, caramel, toffee, garlic (not my favorite), honey roasted, sugar. chocolate, etc. I guess I could've purchased my souvenirs at this little shop but resisted because you can actually purchase the same size bag for a couple of dollars cheaper at the flea market, Walmart, or the infamous ABC stores which I spent way too much time in, by the way!

Day 4 isn't over...I'm just out of time....more to come tomorrow (hopefully)

continuing Hawaii

Day #3- Pearl Harbor & Punchbowl Cemetery

Pearl Harbor is one of those places that I've always wanted to visit so I was grateful that we had the opportunity to spend as much time there as we did. We first took a ferry boat out to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial which was a really humbling and sacred experience especially as we viewed the huge wall at the end where all the names of the Americans who lost their lives that day were engraved. It was so sad to look down and view the remains of this Battleship and think about these men that lost their lives that day. We took the ferry boat back and then caught a bus over to the Battleship Missouri where we had a 30 minute guided tour and then wandered around on our own. That is quite an experience to walk through the halls of the ship where these men once made their home. I have to admit I got a little claustrophobic and was glad when we made our way out to the light of day. But, I learned so much and I'm so grateful that I had this opportunity.

Next we made our way to the Punchbowl Cemetery which is really a beautiful area but so sad to see all of the thousands of headstones lining the grass as well as the thousands of names engraved on the walls as you head up the long set of steps leading up to the monument. We took a hike up the path above the Cemetery to the lookout point.

In the evening we did more walking up and down Waikiki which was both relaxing and alarming. It's such a pretty place but so crowded by hundreds of people walking the streets and some people doing any thing they possibly can to make a buck. We saw the strangest guy dressed in a suit, top hat, glasses, etc., spray painted silver from head to toe standing as still as a statue with a collection bucket at his feet. If you looked too long at him he'd freakishly point his finger in the direction of the bucket so as to invite you to donate. You have to wonder about some people!! Other than that, it was just fun to wander in and out of the hotels, checking out all the shops and live entertainment that was available.

More Hawaii to come!

Hawaii Vacation!

DJ and I enjoyed an amazing week long vacation with his parents in Hawaii on the Island of Oahu last week. I seriously amazed myself at how well I did w/out the kids. Don't get me wrong, I missed them like crazy but I didn't worry and fret about them the whole time but enjoyed absolutely everything we did, well, everything except the driving around Honolulu part of it. DJ was the driver and I was the navigator with the help of the GPS lady (which by the way WAS wrong a time or two. DJ teased the whole time about having to listen to two women giving him directions. (poor guy) We started the exciting trip with the Tsunami scare in Hawaii due to the Earthquake in Chili. Thankfully we were not on the plane to Hawaii yet when we heard the news, and I was actually grateful for the 3 hour layover in Portland where we sat watching the news awaiting the outcome. An hour before we were to board the plane, they announced that the Tsunami never hit and that it would be safe to land. In the back of my mind I was recalling all the times the weather men have been wrong (no offense weather men) but you know how it is?? We left Portland at 5:15 and arrived in Honolulu at 10:30 p.m, picked up our rental car, and made it to our Condo a little before midnight. Needless to say, were were all exhausted and ready to hit the sack! The next morning we got up and went to church and were greeted with "Aloha's" in every meeting. People were so warm and friendly and we enjoyed each meeting in the neatest setting. The chapel was really beautiful but then you went outside to the prettiest garden area where you entered each classroom. Am I allowed to say that I totally enjoyed sitting beside my husband not wrestling little monkeys and just enjoying every meeting to its fullest? It really is a rarety in this stage of my life so I particularly enjoyed that day! That afternoon we ate, rested, walked along the beach, and just relaxed!

Day #2- We visited the Honolulu Zoo, had an upclose encounter with a Hippo, not the cutest animal but fun to see that close up! We probably could've done w/out the zoo but it's always fun to check out the new surroundings, plus the flower's and trees were gorgeous! I always used to make fun of my parents when they would marvel at the mountains, trees, flower's, etc. and use words such as "majestic, grandeur, gorgeous, amazing," but I found myself having many of the same thoughts as we visited the many places on the island. Sorry for making fun of you, mom and dad!! That afternoon we went for a Submarine ride and went 101 feet down to the bottom of the ocean! I thought I would be freaked out but it was so much fun and we saw so many different kinds and colors of fish as well as two sea turtles hanging out on a sunken ship. Our tour guide was the funniest and kept us laughing the whole 45 minutes. I loved the ride out to the Submarine on the Ferry boat but got just a tad sea sick, nothing serious, but it makes me wonder how I would do on a cruise. Anyway, the ocean was the most beautiful blue color and it was fun to view the island from that standpoint.

Ignore my goofy face in this picture but look in the background at the hotel with the rainbow on it. The rainbow is formed with thousands of colorful tiles all down the side of the hotel!

More on our amazing trip to come..........