We made memories this Christmas. We left behind the cold of CC town and headed to the middle of the Great Pacific- the Hawaiian Islands to celebrate the Christmas season. We stole these moments from our schedules sacrificing school, church callings sports teams, and jobs to make time for what mattered most- FAMILY!
Oahu has our hearts. We dipped our toes in the great North Shore- I even tried a little boogie boarding. I “turfed” it pretty good- my poor foot. We took time out to remember the great warriors of this nation as we visited Pearl Harbor, The USS Missouri, and the punchbowl Cemetery. We wandered among the flora, climbed “Diamondhead,” and hiked to the Manoa waterfall in the jungle rain forest- very different for our little corner of the desert in Utah. Our senses were delighted and our hearts filled to overflowing as we “muddied” ourselves in the rain.
Seventy degrees and perfect! We ate Malasadas like they were penny candies, devoured shrimp at Bubba Gump’s, and sipped Pina Coladas as if it were summertime.
We built sand castles and more sand castles, snorkeled at Hanauma Bay ( I even found my courage- thanks Seleck), and played basketball in the pool at the K’olina as if we were in the NBA.
Yoga on the beach as the sun rose and ball tag in the “Lava Rock” pool until the sun sunk behind the horizon. We watched movies and ate treats, played games and laughed. It felt so good to be together.
We saw as many sights on Oahu as possible- being sure not to miss the famous blow hole, the beach at Waikiki or peruse the shops, waves and food at Haleiwa. We enjoyed a stop at the Laie Temple and a wonderful day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The spirit of the islands is contagious- we enjoyed learning about various cultures and sporting floral tops, sarongs and leis.
We reminisced a lot about our trip to Oahu in ‘09- Maleck was one year old. So much growth has come to our family- most of it not easy. In ’09 Emma wasn’t much old than a toddler and now she is a teenager. Madsen was mixing it up as a 2nd grader on the playground, today he is on the high school basketball court and the baseball diamond, Stockton has left behind the school fields of play and prepares for his future field—not sure where that will take him. Seleck has played on all sorts of field- his most recent the mission field and now preps for his field of study in Peru. Seeing our “Fab Five” play together was the best Christmas present of all!
Until next time Oahu- Mele Kalikimaka!
PS we met Elder Utchdorf and his wife Harriet from the Quorom of the twelve apostles in the Honolulu airport- it was amazing.
Yep we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Enjoy viewing our photo gallery.