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?