Playing Catch-up Again

Kierian and Kylee receiving their graduation certificates.

Haven't done a post for a while, so I guess I should do some catching up.

First thing is school is out for the summer and Kierian passed the 8th grade! YAY! It's so frustrating because he's so smart but he's so lazy and won't do his homework! UGH!

But in the end, he graduated and here is a picture of him AND Kylee at their 8th grade graduation. Now on to High School!

Kierian and Kylee @ their 8th grade graduation.

On June 6th we went to military appreciation day at the Honolulu Zoo. It was free to get in and the USO even provided us with a free lunch and ice cream. The MWR here on post even had a free bus that took us down to the zoo so we didn't have to worry about parking or traffic or anything. Kylee spent the night at a graduation party in Waiane with her friends so she wasn't with us, but we really had a lot of fun!

Andi near the flamingos

Andi and the chimps

Kierian, Dave and Andi...lost in the Hawaiian forest?

Kierian, Andi and Mom at the Honolulu Zoo

Dave looking lost and Andi looking silly

And finally Independence Day...the 4th of July!

The kids and I walked down to Sills Field for the 4th of July Spectacular. They had booths with games, food, drawings, vendors etc. It was a fun afternoon. Then we came back home and rested for a while before I started our special "All-American dinner" hehe We had hot dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans and jello salad. For dessert, we got out of smores maker and roasted marshmellow and made smores while we waited for the fireworks show to start. We also played a couple games of Apples to Apples which made for a lot of fun while we passed the time. Dave is currently in GA at school, but he went to Savannah with a friend, so I'm sure he had a lot of fun too:)
Here are some pics, enjoy!

Kierian climbing the rock wall

One of the units here on post had a great idea for a fund raiser. They brought in a couple of old cars and for $1 you could whack the car 3 times with a sledge hammer! Here is Andi taking her whacks. The "rule" was if you knocked something off the car you had to take it with you, so we saw a lot of people walking around with trim from the doors, mirrors and bumpers...haha. And as you can see in the next picture, Kierian ended up with a steering wheel!

Andi, Kierian (with a steering wheel on his head that he knocked off one of the cars with a sledge hammer) and Kylee.

Andi and Kylee rode on a ride they liked to call "The Spinning Bathtub of Death"! Andi started to get sick about half way through and Kylee wouldn't stop spinning it...Andi was cursing her the rest of the day...hahaha, just kidding. Here I'm not sure if they're having fun or if they were delirious or what!

Here we are towards the end of the day. Roasting marshmellows for smores while waiting for the fireworks to begin.

This and That

This past Saturday Dave and I attended our first luau here in Hawaii. It was a "Welcome back to Paradise" luau for his unit. Normally when a unit comes back from an overseas tour (as Dave's new unit just did) they have some kind of welcome back celebration for the whole battallion...sometimes even the whole brigade. This was just a battallion level event, but his Company had a formal ball a few weeks ago.

I'm not sure if I like the formal balls better or the casual setting better. Usually, the formal ones seem more structured and intimate. I guess because you are forced to sit in a certain place with certain people and you are served your meal by a waitstaff and there's dancing and everyone is in their uniforms and fancy dresses. You have a Keynote speaker usually. It's as formal as one can get with a bunch of drunk soldiers I guess.

Now the luau was something different. It was more relaxed obviously and my feet weren't killing me because I had to wear heels all night. It was entertaining as there was a hula show. They still had pictures as you can see here.

And of course there was still the mandatory drinking and acting stupid by most of the soldiers. Dave and I usually get a good laugh out of watching people getting silly drunk...as long as we know they have a ride home who ISN'T drinking.

The food at the luau left a little something to be desired though. But maybe that was just the venue...like I said, this was our first luau so who knows. It was served buffet style and I learned that poi is not very tasty at all! I know that you're not supposed to just eat it by itself so I even tried dipping my pulled pork in it, but it just made the pork taste nasty! I learned that purple sweet potatoes aren't bad, but would probably taste better warm rather than cold. I tried chicken long rice for the first time...it was ok, but kind of bland. I have also come to realize that the Hawaiians eat white rice with everything! Must be the Asian influence here in the islands.

Dessert was good though...I love haupia and haupia cake:)

Ok, enough rambling about the luau, here's a picture of Kierian on Memorial Day at the Schofield Barracks cemetary. His troop helped put the flags on the graves and then they performed the flag ceremony that morning. This is the only picture Dave got of him and his troop. (the girls and I stayed home). I know that he enjoys doing scout stuff, I just hope it continues and drives him to get that Eagle!

Middle School Showcase

Last night, Kylee and Kierian's school held a Student Showcase. Kierian had built a CO2 car and I think they will be racing them before the end of the school year. And personally, I think his red, white and blue car was the coolest car there! But then I might be a bit biased;) Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of it:( But I will take one when he races it.

Kylee's drama class put on a play that was really cute. It was about peer pressure and she played a cute "pink lady" pig:) You can watch her in the clip below. She is the one directly to the right of the main character (in case you couldn't tell;)

Other than this little song and dance, she was in one other scene. I tried to take pictures, but she was moving around a lot so they didn't turn out very well.

They were supposed to be at a party...notice the beer bottle and cigarette in her hands...eww! Dave was concerned that she acted a little TOO well during this scene...LOL

I think Kylee is going to be our performer. Maybe a cheerleader, dance team, drama, choir or maybe even just a softball star. She likes being involved and in the midst of it all.

All in all it was a fun night.

More Good News!

Yesterday we confirmed something we had already suspected, but Dave was "officially" on the list to be promoted! He is finally going to be a Sergeant First Class! YAY!

He is number 221 on the list, so it will be a few months before he is actually promoted, but at least now we know it's coming! We are so proud of him!

Dave receiving his Drill Sgt of the Cycle Award in 2007



Then today, we got some great news from Andi's school. The high school mailed her report card out and she got her first 4.0 GPA! All A's! Way to go Andi!

Silly mom made a deal with all three kids that if they EVER got a 4.0 GPA she would pay them $100...of course I was thinking it would probably never happen...LOL Not that I don't think my kids are capable of it, but let's face it, it's a lot of work to get straight A's, ya know?

We are very proud of Andi too:)

Andi next to one of the birthing stones near Wahiawa

Punchbowl

The first service member buried at Punchbowl. Notice he was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Yesterday our family took a trip to Punchbowl Cemetary. Technically it's call The National Cemetary of The Pacific, but it's in Punchbowl (or Puowaina in Hawaiian) crater.

It was a very humbling experience. I have yet to visit a National Cemetary and not feel in awe of the sacrifices made.

Punchbowl is no different. When you first drive in you are struck by the awesome sight of the Honolulu Memorial at the end of the bowl. We were also able to visit some notable grave sites.

Henry Hansen (One of the Marines in the famous flag raising on Iwo Jima)

Ernie Pyle (A Pulitzer Prize winning journalist during WWII)

Ellison Onizuka (One of the astronauts killed in the Challenger tragedy in 1986)

The mass grave of the Wake Island Defenders...really interesting story about how group of mostly civillians defended Wake Island against Japanese invaders.

We got some great pictures of the city from the look-out too.

The kids are now on Spring Break so we are looking forward to visiting more fun places here on Oahu:)

Honolulu with Diamond Head in the background.

Honolulu/Waikiki

Kierian at the base of the Courts of the Missing

DisneyFreak

I recently joined a group of bloggers who on Wednesdays all take a trip down memory lane. If you would like to join in, or just read other peoples memories, click on the link and follow the directions!

Most of my friends and family know what a Disney freak I am. When I found out that we were moving to Georgia in 2005 the only good thing I could find about it was that I would be that much closer to Disney World.

We actually ended up going twice in the 3 years we were there. I feel so lucky and the memories of those trips always make me smile.

Now don't get me wrong, I still love the original West coast version. (Disneyland) In fact, I have been to DisneyLAND about 7 times. We have taken the kids there twice as well.

When you're at the Disney parks it's like you just forget reality...you're in a fantasy world and EVERYONE feels like a little kid again. It's WONDERFUL! The downside is when you go back home and reality sets in again:(

I treasure our vacations no matter where we go, but the Disney trips will always be my favorites.

The kids with Tigger. Disneyland 2001

Our first trip to Disneyland was in June of 2001. Andi was 9 years old and the twins were 6. We were living in Fort Lewis, WA at the time so we decided to make a full fledged vacation out of it. We drove down the Oregon coast and made a stop at the Sea Lion caves near Florence. Then a stop at the aquarium in Cresent City, CA and that night we camped in The Redwoods. The next morning we made a quick stop to visit Paul Bunyan and Babe the Big Blue Ox at the Trees of Mystery park. We also took a tram ride up to the top of the mountain there and were able to see whales breaching in the ocean. It was beautiful. We then traveled further south and visited Great Grandma and Grandpa Allen who were serving a mission in San Leandro, CA. Finally we made it to Disneyland and it was wonderful!

The kids with Mickey. Disneyland 2005

Our second trip to Disneyland was in February of 2005. It was during California's monsoon season or something, but we still had fun. Even if we were wet most of the time;) The things I remember the most about this trip is it was the kids' first time on an airplane (we flew down from Seattle) and it was our first character breakfast. Since then, we haven't been able to take a trip to Disney without at least one character meal. They are always the hightlight for me:)

Dave and the kids with Mickey. Disney World 2006

Our first trip to Disney WORLD was in July of 2006. We were new to the south at that time and we foolishly chose to camp at Fort Wilderness to save some money. Don't EVER camp in the south in the summer...especially if you're not accustom to the humidity! We took Cosmo (our dog) with us and just trying to sleep at night was a chore! We were miserable when we weren't at the parks. Thankfully, we were only at our campsite in the evenings and we were too excited to sleep at night anyway:)

Amy and the kids at Epcot. Disney World 2007

Our last trip to Disney World was in March of 2007. It was just before mine and Dave's 16th anniversary, so we got to wear buttons saying we were celebrating our anniversary and got a couple cute "perks" as well as lots of cast members giving us their best wishes and congratulations. It was a lot of fun. Plus, this time we stayed in a hotel on property. (the Port Orleans Riverside) and we knew what we really wanted to see and what things we could skip. It made for a much more relaxing trip. Oh yeah, we also left the dog in the kennel at home this time;)

I keep hoping we can go back again sometime. Maybe in a few years when we leave Hawaii we can stop by while we're in CA;) Or maybe I'll win the lottery and we can go anytime we want! Hey, I can dream, right? :D

Paying It Forward

Ok to win on another site I had to post this on mine.. Paying it forward The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a hand made gift from me during this year. When and what it will be is a surprise. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift. Let's see who looks at my blog!If I don't have your home address, please leave it for me. ...and don't forget I get a whole year! SO maybe when you least expect it!!!!

President's Day Weekend 09

Punalu'u Beach

As I've said before, I'm bound and determined to get this family out experiencing Hawaii whenever we get a chance (or an extended weekend as the case may be:)

This weekend was the first weekend since Dave got his bike back so I suggested we take a road trip. Me and Andi rode in the van all the way and the twins took turns riding with Dave on his bike.

We decided we would drive around the northern end of the island and down the east side to the macadamia nut farm. The drive along the coast alone was worth it and somehow we missed the farm entrance. So we decided to just keep going and we ended up stopping at a place called "The Valley of the Temples". Basically, it's a cemetery, but it's a beautiful, BIG cemetery with cool little Japanese temples scattered through out. At the very back of the cemetery is a Buddhist temple called Byodo-In Temple. It is the biggest temple there and you actually have to pay to get in to see it. It was pretty cool to see though. I had never been in an actual Buddhist temple. It had a cool pond in front of it with lots of coi fish and black swans.

Byodo-In Temple

We then took the H3 Freeway back towards home. The H-3 is probably one of the most scenic freeways you'll ever take. It had some beautiful views of the mountains and it has a big long tunnel the takes you actually through the mountain.

For today we had decided to go to the beach. We wanted to try one of the beaches we had seen the day before on our drive. Dave participated in the Great Aloha Run (an 8.15 mile run that the city of Honolulu puts on every year) with his unit. But when he got home, we headed for the beach. Made a quick stop in Laie at McDonalds for lunch. (right between the Polynesian Cultural Center and the BYU Hawaii Campus entrance) and then on to Punalu'u beach.

The first thing we noticed as we set up our beach towels was a dead sting-ray laying on the beach. It was interesting...never seen one like that before. It's head almost looked like a dolphin head. All the rays I've seen before were just flat. Anyway...here are some pics from our weekend.

Cownose Ray?

Good News All Around

Here's some of the latest happenings in our happy home...

The best news of all is that last Sunday Kierian was ordained a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. We are very proud of him! Now we just need to get him to work on his grades...Eagle Scout and Missionary here we come!! :)

The next good news came in an email from the principal at the twins' middle school.

The high school that Andi now attends and the one the twins will attend next year, Leilehua High, was voted Parents Choice for public high schools in the state! To view the award you can go to www.greatschools.net, click on the tab about a quarter of the way down the page that says "top high schools" then click on the tab that says "view top schools in your state" scroll down to Hawaii and you are there!

Also awarded to Leilehua recently is the US News and World Report Bronze award . To access that go to the US News and World Report, click "top High Schools" and then scroll down to Hawaii.

YAY! GO MULES!!

And finally, the biggest news of all in Dave's mind...he FINALLY got his Harley back yesterday! He was SO excited! Of course it's supposed to rain all weekend, so he may have to wait to ride it again, but he probably had a lot of bugs in his teeth just from the ride home because he couldn't stop smiling!!

It still needs to have the gas tank replaced, but the bike shop said that could take another month or so and Dave just couldn't wait any longer!

Dave's bike the day we brought it home (in Georgia)

Pro-Bowl 2009

Our family had the oportunity to go down to Aloha Stadium today for what they call "Ohana Day" (Ohana means family for those who don't speak Hawaiian or have never seen Lilo and Stitch..hehe)

I wish we could have got tickets to the game as well, but our budget just wouldn't allow for it this year.

Anyway, I'm going to put a few pics up here, but if you want to see them all you can check out this link to our Snapfish album. http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=263640094/a=1529554/t_=1529554

Chris Cooley- Washington Redskins TE - Went to high school in Logan then went to Utah State before making it to the pros:)

AFC Players practicing

David Archuleta performing

What do Raiders Fans wear for Halloween?


Us at the Aloha Bowl

Leis

Today our Relief Society enrichment activity was lei making. Of course, me being new to Hawaii, I was ALL over that!

So I made one at the meeting and when I picked up the kids from school the girls decided THEY wanted to make leis too. So we ran to Wal-Mart and got the supplies and the pictures below are what we came up with.

Kylee holding and modeling our leis

Our girls

Last night was the girls' New Beginnings night for Young Womens and it was great! I was so proud of my girls.



Andi had to give a talk about Individual Worth and she did a really good job. She has also accepted the calling to be the Youth Council Advisor for our ward. So she will be helping at the stake level to plan their upcoming Youth Conference. She also received STRAIGHT A's on her last report card! That's the first time ever and now that she's a junior, it's a good time for it! That will look good on her college apps. Let's hope she can keep it up. Her english teacher also suggested that she take the test for AP English classes next year! That's another good thing to have on her record when trying to get into college...plus then she won't have to take it once she does get into college.



Kylee also is doing really well in school. She has a 3.9 GPA. She had all A's and one B last quarter. This morning I was able to attend a "Breakfast of Champions" at her school where she and all the honor roll students were honored. She has such a sweet spirit and good attitude about things. I know that she will go far in life as well. She can't wait to start softball again, maybe she'll be the one of my kids that goes to college on a sports scholarship? hehe



Don't get me wrong, I'm not forgetting about Kierian. Things have just been a little slower coming for him. He seems to be fitting in great at school and has already been to sleepovers at his friend's house. Strange enough, he seems to be my most social child. Usually girls are all about the social stuff, but he's got a girlfriend (from back in Georgia) that calls him EVERY day and a couple of boys that still call and talk to him. He's so eager to learn and grow and meet people. Deffinately not shy. He's a good boy and I can't wait to get him going in boy scouts again.

He did fairly well on his grades, but I think he's so smart that the homework bores him and he just doesn't do it. So while he does well on tests, he still gets D's in math! He is actually the first one of my kids to be on the honor roll back in Georgia. Infact, he made it 3 times back there, so we KNOW he can do it here. We just have to stay on him about doing his homework.

All in all we have 3 great kids and are very lucky and proud of them all!

Turtle Beach

Today is the last day of the kids winter break, so we decided to go check out turtle beach on the North Shore. It's a beautiful beach and when we got there, it wasn't exactly what I expected.

Honu = Sea Turtle in Hawaiian

I'm not really sure what I expected...maybe a whole bunch of little turtles crawling around? No, there was just one really big turtle! They say the most they usually have at one time is 5, but that doesn't happen very often. Usually, during the warm day light hours there are a couple though.

Kierian watching the surf for more turtles

While we were there we only saw one. She had pulled herself up onto the beach to sun for a few hours. When the waves washed up close enough to touch her back-end, she scooted farther up the beach and that was that. Other than that one time, she just laid there...LOL

Andi posing outside the "perimeter" they had set up around the honu


We did see another turtle in the surf and thought he might be trying to come on shore, but he kept washing back out, so we finally gave up and just called it a day. We'll try back another time and maybe we'll have better luck:)

The girls anxiously watching the surf for another turtle

Happy New Year!

Or as they say in Hawaii, Hau’oli Makahiki Hou!

Dave and I went to a dinner show at the Hale Koa the other night, and just being in Waikiki for that little while made me want to go back and see more. And THAT made me think about all there is to see and do while we are here and while I KNOW we have 3 years to take it all in, we still have life going on here. Also, while following this train of thought, my mom called and reminded me that my family is coming to visit next year and so I need to scope out all the tourist spots and attractions so I know where to take them when they get here.

So I have decided that at least every time we have a long weekend, like we did this week, we should go and visit at least a couple of the hot spots here on the island. Who knows, maybe somewhere down the road we'll save up enough to catch the superferry to one of the other islands:)

Yesterday, Dave and I took the girls to a couple of cool places. (Kierian was being a poop and didn't want to go). First we stopped and visited a site that is very sacred to the Hawaiians, it's called the Kukaniloko Birthing Stones. Fifty generations of Hawaiian royalty was born here. The women would come out here and give birth on these stones in various positions with 36 high-ranking men or "priests" standing around them...talk about awkward!!

Anyway, it was a very peaceful, beautiful and humbling place.

Then we went down the road a little way to the Dole Plantation. This is really more of a tourist trap than anything, but we did learn about how pineapples grow and are harvested and how they first came to Hawaii etc. We also did a garden tour while we were there and learned about some of the different flora here on the island. But the best part was the Dole whip...basically it's like a soft serve sorbet;) But very YUMMY!

Today we decided to visit the Bishop Museum. This museum was funded by the last direct decendant of King Kamehameha the Great. Unfortunately the Hawaiian Hall was closed, so we will deffinately have to go back another time. But we did get to see some pretty awesome displays. I think our favorite was in the science building where we got to see a lava melting demonstration. Although the Megladon shark display was pretty cool too:) And the Polynesian Hall wasn't too shabby either!

I am going to TRY to get them all to go with me to Turtle Beach up on the North Shore tomorrow...but I think they're starting to get tired of my enthusiasm already! Party Poopers!