Sunday, December 7:
Today was another great day! We went to a place called Kiholo Bay (Key-ho-lo). We walked along a dirt/lava path to the ocean. Along the way, we saw several wild goats! We hiked over some rough lava to the edge of the water. From there we waded through thigh-deep water, and then through another body of water that was (on ME) chest deep! The water was much deeper than any other time we have crossed. I guess the tide must have been in. We made it safely across and immediately found what we were looking for…giant sea turtles! I think they are one of the most magnificent animals ever created! They are so beautiful! The ones at Kiholo Bay come out of the water and bask in the sun. They turn completely white when they dry off. When they are in the water, they are dark brown or black in color. They must have been 2 or 3 feet in diameter. They were huge! We saw a few smaller ones too. It was so cool to see! I posted some pictures for you.
After we made our way back from seeing the turtles, we headed to Hapuna Beach (Ha-poo-na) to play in the water. This is a great beach for body surfing! The waves were really big at times, making the body surfing a blast! Jenna used her boogie board to ride the waves closer to shore. She did awesome! Jenna and Deena made a fabulous sand castle. I wish I would have taken a picture of it! I guess they will have to come back for another visit so they can build another sand castle!!
We had to hurry back from the beach so Jenna could shower and go to practice for the church Christmas program. While she was there, AJ, Rick and Deena went to the Kona Brew Pub so Rick and Deena could try some local brews and buy souvenir t-shirts. I waited at the house for Jenna to get home from rehearsal. When AJ, Rick and Deena came home, Deena showed me how to make a Thai dinner using fresh Ono and fresh Ahi (types of fish). It turned out great! It was so good!!
Monday, December 8:
AJ had to go back to work today and Jenna had to go to school, so I was terribly burdened with the job of taking Rick and Deena to the beach! It’s a tough job, but I think I lived up to the challenge! I took them to Kahalau Beach, the one we call “Turtle Beach.” It was kind of a cloudy day. The water was super high! Higher than I have ever seen it! There is a large lava rock area that we usually sit on to put our flippers on, but that was completely under water! I couldn’t believe it!! It was windy too, so the water was rough, but we went out snorkeling anyway. It was a little cloudy because the sand was stirred up since the water was so rough, but when you got out over the coral, it was awesome! I headed straight for the area where I found the turtle the last time. It was a little harder to find since the rock I use as my landmark was under water! I went in the general direction and it wasn’t long until I found him eating algae off of the bottom of the ocean!! It was so cool to see him!! I took some pictures with our underwater camera. I posted them for you. I went to find Rick and Deena. The water was so rough, I has a hard time swimming back to shore! I was getting tossed all over the place! I finally found Rick and I showed him where to find the turtle. When we got back to the spot, there were 2 turtles in the area!! It was so amazing!! I tried to take some pictures, but it was hard to get good ones because the water was so rough. I attempted to get some video too, but it didn’t turn out very well. I will try and put the video on my blog for you to see. But beware, you might get seasick! After a little while, I went to find Deena. It seemed like it took forever, but I finally found her! I took her to where Rick was, but the time we got there, one of the turtles had swum away. We all spent a lot of time watching the turtle eating off of the bottom. It was so neat to watch. I can’t remember exactly, but Deena read something about what the turtles eat…there are hundreds of kinds of algae, but the turtles only eat about 40 kinds! That really makes a person want to take care of the ocean! The turtles are so beautiful, graceful and fun to watch. I can’t imagine the oceans without them!!
Tuesday, December 9:
Today Rick and Deena went back to Seattle. Before I took them to the airport, we walked around Alli Drive for a while and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant. We sat on a rock wall and watched the ocean for a while too. It was nice. It was hard to see them go; we had such a great time with them! It was wonderful having visitors and we look forward to having more!!
Fastforward to Friday, December 19...We are getting ready to leave for Wisconsin in a few hours. We have been told that the weather has been bad. I have been praying that it gets better before we get there! I don't mind having snow; I just don't want to drive in it!! We will see many of you soon. I'll be back to blog after we get home. So, until then...aloha!
Hawaiian Sunset at Hapuna Beach
Friday, December 19, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Where does the time go??
WOW! I can't believe it has been so long since I have written! Time has been flying by! I haven't even told you about part 2 of Rick and Deena's visit. I will. I promise. It's too great not to tell you! But first I want to get you caught up on what's been going on.
I have been going into Jenna's classroom helping the kids make Christmas decorations. Each child made an ornament out of clay with their picture on it and decorated it with glitter. They turned out really cute. I actually stole the idea from Jenna's babysitter! Thanks Jeanette! We also made an "ojo de Dios," or "eye of God." The kids wrapped different colors of yard around popsicle sticks. This project was a little harder for the kids, but they turned out OK. Lastly, we made angels out of pinecones. It's kind of hard to find pinecones in Hawaii! As you can imagine, there just aren't very many pine trees around! One of the teachers had some from a different project that we used. The kids decorated the wings and drew faces on macademia nuts. This project ended up being mostly MY project because I had to use a hot glue gun to glue the wings and macademia nut heads on. Oh well, the kids enjoyed it and that's what matters most. I was in the classroom 3 days last week and twice this week (so far). Some of the projects took longer than expected, but the Christmas decorations will make nice gifts for the kid's parents.
We had our Christmas concert at our church on Sunday night. Jenna and the kids put on a really cute play. Jenna was a camel and an angel. She had 2 lines and did great! I was in the adult choir and we performed our songs too. It went pretty good. I think I could have done better, but I'm just not that good of a singer. Sometimes I have a hard time hitting the right note, especially when I want to join the sopranos! It was fun though and I would probably do it again.
Jenna's school Christmas program was Tuesday night. Each class sang songs and the girls that do hula performed too (which includes Jenna.) I was asked to make outfits for Jenna and 2 other girls. I borrowed a sewing machine from someone at school, but didn't get it until last Wednesday. I bought fabric, but then was told that I should use white sheets instead, so I didn't get started until Saturday. We both had rehearsal for our church Christmas program on Saturday and there was a Christmas parade that evening that we went to. I'll tell you more about that in a minute. I made 2 skirts on Saturday, but I didn't know the measurements of the girls I was making them for! I had an idea of how big they were, but I didn't have any numbers. The hula instructor gave me an idea of how much fabric to use, so I hoped that what I was making would fit the kids! Jenna had hula practice on Sunday afternoon and then we had our church program in the evening. I didn't get back to making outfits until about 9:30 Sunday night! I still had one skirt and 3 tops to make! I was up until about 2:45 working on them. When I went to bed I still had Jenna's shirt to make, but I figured I could make that on Monday. I needed to have all of the other ones finished by Monday so the hula instructor could hand them out to the girls. I found out Monday afternoon when I was in Jenna's classroom that all of the outfits fit! I was so relieved!! They weren't that hard, but it just took a while to do. I posted a picture of Jenna in her outfit. Anyway, all the kids did a great job at their school performance and the hula girls did great too!
We went to the Kona Christmas Parade on Saturday night. AJ said it was the first Christmas parade he has ever been where he could wear flip-flops! It was certainly odd. The parade was fun. There were some really cool floats! I posted a picture of a train. Jenna and her friend Enjolique made a haul on candy! Founately, she got a lot of candy canes which I am not crazy about, so I won't be eating too much!! It was strange seeing santa dressed like you would normally see him, while everyone else is wearing shorts and t-shirts! We were telling our friends about the Christmas parade in Darlington a few years ago when it was so bitterly cold. We have met so many people that cannot even fathom what that kind of weather would be like! I just tell them, "You don't want to know!" :)
We are in the process of planning our visit to Wisconsin. We will be there for 8 days and we will be spread between 3 towns. We will be busy, but we are really looking forward to seeing our family and friends. I've been told that the weather has been and is going to be bad! I don't mind having snow, I just don't want to drive from Chicago in it! Please pray that we have safe travels!
We had a huge rain storm go through the islands last week. It was so bad in Honolulu that there were flash flood warnings for the whole week. Many people in several different towns had severe damage to their homes - some lost everything. Fortunately we didn't get near as much rain on the Big Island. One day last week it rained for about 10 hours straight, but that was as bad as it got. It actually thundered for a while too, which is really unusual for Hawaii. The rain was snow on top of the mountain. For several days after the storm people were going up to the top of the mountain to bring snow down to build snowmen! I heard of at least 3 snowmen in the area and saw one myself. It was kind of odd to see, but it helped to make it feel a little more like Christmas! I'm sure they didn't last too long! After we get back from Wisconsin we are going to take Jenna up on the mountain with her boogie board and slide down the hills. It should be fun!
AJ had a very interesting adventure recently. He was on his way home from work one night when he saw a cow running down the highway! He said it was really hard to see the cow and cars were swerving to get out of it's way. He saw another truck chasing it, trying to keep it on the shoulder and not in the road. The driver of the truck was driving from the passenger's seat and had a lasso hanging out the window, trying to lasso the cow!! What was he going to do if he did get the lasso around it!? Did he think he was going to stop it?!? He probably would have gotten into an accident! Anyway, AJ helped chase the cow for a while, trying to get it off of the highway. After about a mile and a half, the cow finally ran down a side road and they lost it. We found out later it ran through our church's lawn before taking off down the road! I wonder where it is now??
There is going to be some big excitement in Hawaii this month. President-elect Barack Obama is coming "home" to Hawaii for a memorial service for his grandmother and a vacation before the inauguration in January. He will be on Oahu, where Honolulu is, so we won't have to deal with all of the traffic and hoopla that his visit will involve.
Well, I think that gets you up to date pretty well. I will tell you about the rest of Rick and Deena's stay before we leave for Wisconsin. I didn't want to make this any longer than I already have!! So, until next time...aloha!
I have been going into Jenna's classroom helping the kids make Christmas decorations. Each child made an ornament out of clay with their picture on it and decorated it with glitter. They turned out really cute. I actually stole the idea from Jenna's babysitter! Thanks Jeanette! We also made an "ojo de Dios," or "eye of God." The kids wrapped different colors of yard around popsicle sticks. This project was a little harder for the kids, but they turned out OK. Lastly, we made angels out of pinecones. It's kind of hard to find pinecones in Hawaii! As you can imagine, there just aren't very many pine trees around! One of the teachers had some from a different project that we used. The kids decorated the wings and drew faces on macademia nuts. This project ended up being mostly MY project because I had to use a hot glue gun to glue the wings and macademia nut heads on. Oh well, the kids enjoyed it and that's what matters most. I was in the classroom 3 days last week and twice this week (so far). Some of the projects took longer than expected, but the Christmas decorations will make nice gifts for the kid's parents.
We had our Christmas concert at our church on Sunday night. Jenna and the kids put on a really cute play. Jenna was a camel and an angel. She had 2 lines and did great! I was in the adult choir and we performed our songs too. It went pretty good. I think I could have done better, but I'm just not that good of a singer. Sometimes I have a hard time hitting the right note, especially when I want to join the sopranos! It was fun though and I would probably do it again.
Jenna's school Christmas program was Tuesday night. Each class sang songs and the girls that do hula performed too (which includes Jenna.) I was asked to make outfits for Jenna and 2 other girls. I borrowed a sewing machine from someone at school, but didn't get it until last Wednesday. I bought fabric, but then was told that I should use white sheets instead, so I didn't get started until Saturday. We both had rehearsal for our church Christmas program on Saturday and there was a Christmas parade that evening that we went to. I'll tell you more about that in a minute. I made 2 skirts on Saturday, but I didn't know the measurements of the girls I was making them for! I had an idea of how big they were, but I didn't have any numbers. The hula instructor gave me an idea of how much fabric to use, so I hoped that what I was making would fit the kids! Jenna had hula practice on Sunday afternoon and then we had our church program in the evening. I didn't get back to making outfits until about 9:30 Sunday night! I still had one skirt and 3 tops to make! I was up until about 2:45 working on them. When I went to bed I still had Jenna's shirt to make, but I figured I could make that on Monday. I needed to have all of the other ones finished by Monday so the hula instructor could hand them out to the girls. I found out Monday afternoon when I was in Jenna's classroom that all of the outfits fit! I was so relieved!! They weren't that hard, but it just took a while to do. I posted a picture of Jenna in her outfit. Anyway, all the kids did a great job at their school performance and the hula girls did great too!
We went to the Kona Christmas Parade on Saturday night. AJ said it was the first Christmas parade he has ever been where he could wear flip-flops! It was certainly odd. The parade was fun. There were some really cool floats! I posted a picture of a train. Jenna and her friend Enjolique made a haul on candy! Founately, she got a lot of candy canes which I am not crazy about, so I won't be eating too much!! It was strange seeing santa dressed like you would normally see him, while everyone else is wearing shorts and t-shirts! We were telling our friends about the Christmas parade in Darlington a few years ago when it was so bitterly cold. We have met so many people that cannot even fathom what that kind of weather would be like! I just tell them, "You don't want to know!" :)
We are in the process of planning our visit to Wisconsin. We will be there for 8 days and we will be spread between 3 towns. We will be busy, but we are really looking forward to seeing our family and friends. I've been told that the weather has been and is going to be bad! I don't mind having snow, I just don't want to drive from Chicago in it! Please pray that we have safe travels!
We had a huge rain storm go through the islands last week. It was so bad in Honolulu that there were flash flood warnings for the whole week. Many people in several different towns had severe damage to their homes - some lost everything. Fortunately we didn't get near as much rain on the Big Island. One day last week it rained for about 10 hours straight, but that was as bad as it got. It actually thundered for a while too, which is really unusual for Hawaii. The rain was snow on top of the mountain. For several days after the storm people were going up to the top of the mountain to bring snow down to build snowmen! I heard of at least 3 snowmen in the area and saw one myself. It was kind of odd to see, but it helped to make it feel a little more like Christmas! I'm sure they didn't last too long! After we get back from Wisconsin we are going to take Jenna up on the mountain with her boogie board and slide down the hills. It should be fun!
AJ had a very interesting adventure recently. He was on his way home from work one night when he saw a cow running down the highway! He said it was really hard to see the cow and cars were swerving to get out of it's way. He saw another truck chasing it, trying to keep it on the shoulder and not in the road. The driver of the truck was driving from the passenger's seat and had a lasso hanging out the window, trying to lasso the cow!! What was he going to do if he did get the lasso around it!? Did he think he was going to stop it?!? He probably would have gotten into an accident! Anyway, AJ helped chase the cow for a while, trying to get it off of the highway. After about a mile and a half, the cow finally ran down a side road and they lost it. We found out later it ran through our church's lawn before taking off down the road! I wonder where it is now??
There is going to be some big excitement in Hawaii this month. President-elect Barack Obama is coming "home" to Hawaii for a memorial service for his grandmother and a vacation before the inauguration in January. He will be on Oahu, where Honolulu is, so we won't have to deal with all of the traffic and hoopla that his visit will involve.
Well, I think that gets you up to date pretty well. I will tell you about the rest of Rick and Deena's stay before we leave for Wisconsin. I didn't want to make this any longer than I already have!! So, until next time...aloha!
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Rick and Deena's Visit - Part 1
WOW! What a great 5 days! We had such a great time with AJ's sister and her husband! I reluctantly took them to the airport today. We were thinking about somehow missing the plane, but we thought we better not! I have so much to say about what we did. I'll tell you about the first few days and then finish it tomorrow. There are several pictures. Be sure to scroll down a long way to see them all!
Friday
I picked Deena and Rick up at the airport and then the three of us went and picked Jenna up from school. Deena and Rick got to get a quick glimpse of her school. We took a short drive down the main road through town which is by the ocean. The surf has been up lately, and the waves were HUGE! They were crashing on the beaches like mad! The beach that we call Turtle Beach was closed because it wasn’t safe to be out. Thankfully, by Saturday the surf had come down a bit. Jenna gave them a tour of the house and after a brief rest; we headed to AJ’s Christmas party for work. It was a lot of fun! I got to meet some more of AJ’s co-workers and Deena and Rick got to meet everyone! I think they had a good time. They fit in great! We had an awesome spread of food! Some of the girls that AJ works with made a traditional Hawaiian meal. It was like having our own personal luau. We had lau lau’s (rhymes with cow) and poi (rhymes with toy) which is made from the taro root. It’s not really very good, but I’m told it’s not too bad when it’s mixed with other food. Deena tried it mixed with some stir fry dish (I think). She said it was good. AJ said the poi was good only because she covered the taste of it! I'm told that poi tastes like wall paper paste, but how does anyone REALLY know what wall paper paste tastes like...? We had vegetable stir-fry, kalua pig, and rice. It was a great night. We went home with full bellies and went to sleep!
Saturday
Today was a great day! We borrowed some kayaks from Gus and kayaked across the Kealakekua Bay to the Captain Cook monument. It’s about a mile across the Bay and thankfully the waters were pretty calm. We each had our own canoe, except for Jenna. She rode with AJ. It was a beautiful day! The sun was shining and the water was a clear, deep blue in areas where the water was really deep and it was a crystal clear turquoise in the shallower areas. It’s such a beautiful color…it’s hard to describe! We were blessed to see dolphins on the way across!! Jenna was so afraid before we left. She thought the dolphins might tip the canoe over or we might fall in or something. But after we saw the dolphins and she saw that she was safe in the canoe with AJ, she did great! The dolphins are so amazing to watch! They’re so graceful when they swim. They swim in pods and they move together as a group…AJ called it synchronized swimming…! He’s so funny! We could see them cresting out of the water and we could hear them blowing out air when they surfaced. It was so cool!! When we got to the monument, we went snorkeling. It was great!! I love snorkeling at the monument! It’s AJ’s and my favorite place to snorkel. The water is so clear and the fish and the coral are so colorful! AJ, Jenna, Deena and Rick all saw an eel in the rocks before we started snorkeling. I just saw its head. Thankfully it wasn’t too big! We could see yellow tang swimming in the water just standing on the rocks! There were so many of them!! Jenna didn’t snorkel; she just played in the shallow water and watched the yellow tang from shore. There were so many beautiful fish to see! I took some pictures that I posted. We got a new underwater camera and we were quite happy with how well the pictures turned out! I tried to get some pictures of the coral and how it slowly goes deeper in to the dark ocean. I hope you can see it clearly. Of course, a picture does not do justice how beautiful any of it is!! There are so many different types of fish…all different sizes and colors. How fun it must have been to create all of them!! After we snorkeled for a while, we walked on the lava rock along the shoreline. We watched the waves crashing on the shore. One wave crashed so hard on the shore that Jenna ran and hid behind Deena! The power of the water is always so amazing to me!! It was great! On the way back from the Bay we were blessed again with seeing the dolphins!! This time they were in a playful, show off kind of mood! We saw a few of them jump in the air and spin in the air. It was so cool to see! Several of them went very close to AJ and Jenna in their kayak. Jenna said they went right under her kayak! One was so close she thought she could touch it!! Jenna got to see them spinning. She thought it was very cool!! Deena had several come close to her too. It was so cool!! I could make this trip everyday! The dolphins are so beautiful! The ones that we saw are called “spinner dolphins.” They weigh about 175 pounds and are about 6 feet long. The dolphins that are in captivity are usually much larger. It was so cool to see the dolphins in their natural environment. They don’t seem to be too bothered by having kayaks around them. We saw some people snorkeling around them too. I can’t imagine that you would see too much because they swim so fast, they wouldn’t be around where you were snorkeling for very long! We watched them for a long time. I took some pictures, but unfortunately I couldn’t get any of them spinning in the air! Oh well. Maybe next time!
After kayaking, we went to the Place of Refuge. This is the beach that AJ and I got engaged at. It’s a pretty special beach for us. It's a great place to whale watch. We didn't see any whales today, but it was still great to watch the water. We played in tide pools and watched small fish swimming in the water and crabs crawling on the rocks. We had lunch at the beach and then toured the historical Hawaiian grounds at the park. It was neat to see. We saw some sea turtles laying on the beach and swimming in the water. I took a few pictures that I posted. They are so cool to see. We stopped at a coffee store on the way home. The coffee always smells so good! Why can't it taste as good...??
We went back to the house and had a great dinner of fresh fish and salad and watched the sunset from our lanai. It was a great evening! I'll finish the rest of the story tomorrow, so until then...aloha!
Friday
I picked Deena and Rick up at the airport and then the three of us went and picked Jenna up from school. Deena and Rick got to get a quick glimpse of her school. We took a short drive down the main road through town which is by the ocean. The surf has been up lately, and the waves were HUGE! They were crashing on the beaches like mad! The beach that we call Turtle Beach was closed because it wasn’t safe to be out. Thankfully, by Saturday the surf had come down a bit. Jenna gave them a tour of the house and after a brief rest; we headed to AJ’s Christmas party for work. It was a lot of fun! I got to meet some more of AJ’s co-workers and Deena and Rick got to meet everyone! I think they had a good time. They fit in great! We had an awesome spread of food! Some of the girls that AJ works with made a traditional Hawaiian meal. It was like having our own personal luau. We had lau lau’s (rhymes with cow) and poi (rhymes with toy) which is made from the taro root. It’s not really very good, but I’m told it’s not too bad when it’s mixed with other food. Deena tried it mixed with some stir fry dish (I think). She said it was good. AJ said the poi was good only because she covered the taste of it! I'm told that poi tastes like wall paper paste, but how does anyone REALLY know what wall paper paste tastes like...? We had vegetable stir-fry, kalua pig, and rice. It was a great night. We went home with full bellies and went to sleep!
Saturday
Today was a great day! We borrowed some kayaks from Gus and kayaked across the Kealakekua Bay to the Captain Cook monument. It’s about a mile across the Bay and thankfully the waters were pretty calm. We each had our own canoe, except for Jenna. She rode with AJ. It was a beautiful day! The sun was shining and the water was a clear, deep blue in areas where the water was really deep and it was a crystal clear turquoise in the shallower areas. It’s such a beautiful color…it’s hard to describe! We were blessed to see dolphins on the way across!! Jenna was so afraid before we left. She thought the dolphins might tip the canoe over or we might fall in or something. But after we saw the dolphins and she saw that she was safe in the canoe with AJ, she did great! The dolphins are so amazing to watch! They’re so graceful when they swim. They swim in pods and they move together as a group…AJ called it synchronized swimming…! He’s so funny! We could see them cresting out of the water and we could hear them blowing out air when they surfaced. It was so cool!! When we got to the monument, we went snorkeling. It was great!! I love snorkeling at the monument! It’s AJ’s and my favorite place to snorkel. The water is so clear and the fish and the coral are so colorful! AJ, Jenna, Deena and Rick all saw an eel in the rocks before we started snorkeling. I just saw its head. Thankfully it wasn’t too big! We could see yellow tang swimming in the water just standing on the rocks! There were so many of them!! Jenna didn’t snorkel; she just played in the shallow water and watched the yellow tang from shore. There were so many beautiful fish to see! I took some pictures that I posted. We got a new underwater camera and we were quite happy with how well the pictures turned out! I tried to get some pictures of the coral and how it slowly goes deeper in to the dark ocean. I hope you can see it clearly. Of course, a picture does not do justice how beautiful any of it is!! There are so many different types of fish…all different sizes and colors. How fun it must have been to create all of them!! After we snorkeled for a while, we walked on the lava rock along the shoreline. We watched the waves crashing on the shore. One wave crashed so hard on the shore that Jenna ran and hid behind Deena! The power of the water is always so amazing to me!! It was great! On the way back from the Bay we were blessed again with seeing the dolphins!! This time they were in a playful, show off kind of mood! We saw a few of them jump in the air and spin in the air. It was so cool to see! Several of them went very close to AJ and Jenna in their kayak. Jenna said they went right under her kayak! One was so close she thought she could touch it!! Jenna got to see them spinning. She thought it was very cool!! Deena had several come close to her too. It was so cool!! I could make this trip everyday! The dolphins are so beautiful! The ones that we saw are called “spinner dolphins.” They weigh about 175 pounds and are about 6 feet long. The dolphins that are in captivity are usually much larger. It was so cool to see the dolphins in their natural environment. They don’t seem to be too bothered by having kayaks around them. We saw some people snorkeling around them too. I can’t imagine that you would see too much because they swim so fast, they wouldn’t be around where you were snorkeling for very long! We watched them for a long time. I took some pictures, but unfortunately I couldn’t get any of them spinning in the air! Oh well. Maybe next time!
After kayaking, we went to the Place of Refuge. This is the beach that AJ and I got engaged at. It’s a pretty special beach for us. It's a great place to whale watch. We didn't see any whales today, but it was still great to watch the water. We played in tide pools and watched small fish swimming in the water and crabs crawling on the rocks. We had lunch at the beach and then toured the historical Hawaiian grounds at the park. It was neat to see. We saw some sea turtles laying on the beach and swimming in the water. I took a few pictures that I posted. They are so cool to see. We stopped at a coffee store on the way home. The coffee always smells so good! Why can't it taste as good...??
We went back to the house and had a great dinner of fresh fish and salad and watched the sunset from our lanai. It was a great evening! I'll finish the rest of the story tomorrow, so until then...aloha!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Mid-week entry!
Yes, it's shocking I know! It has only been 3 days since my last post and I'm doing it again!! I wanted to give you a few updates before our company arrives because I think I will have a lot to write about after they leave.
I have tried several times to get the videos of Jenna on my blog. I can't get the camcorder to put it on my computer, but I full expected that. I tried to put it on a DVD and then onto my computer, but I can't get that to work either! I'm a bit technologically challenged, so I'm sure it's possible; I just don't have the brain power to figure it out! If there is anyone out there that can help me, I would really appreciate it! I'm planning to bring the video home at Christmas, so those of you that I will be seeing will be able to see it if you are interested.
I did manage to get the webcam hooked up! It helps when you put the CD in and it tells you exactly what to do, or even better yet, it just does it all by its self!! I haven't tried it with anyone yet, but maybe sometime next week. I can't wait to see how it works!
I went into Jenna's classroom again today. We made homemade cards using stencils. It was fun. The kids made Christmas cards and birthday cards. Next week we are going to make Christmas tree ornaments and angels out of pinecones. It should be fun!
I was at Walmart the other day and I saw the strangest thing. I saw a Menonite family...not that Menonites are strange, but that I saw them in Hawaii! I guess in all the times I have been here, I have never seen them. Not that they can't choose to live in Hawaii, just like anyone else, it just seemed odd or out of place to me. Anyway...
Tomorrow night is AJ's work Christmas party. They are having a traditional Hawaiian meal with lou lous and a bunch of other stuff. If you remember reading way back in September, a lou lou(rhymes with cow) has pork, chicken or corned beef, seasoned with spiced salt and is wrapped in taro leaves, which are then wrapped in either tea or banana leaves. They are placed in a steamer and steamed all day. To eat it, you take off the tea leaves and eat the rest. Jenna really liked them the first time we had them, so she is excited to have them again.
Rick and Deena (AJ's sister from Seattle) are coming in tomorrow. We are excited to have them visit us! They will be going to the Christmas party with us, so I hope they like the lou lous! We have a busy weekend planned with them. I'm really looking forward to it! I'll write more later, so until then...aloha!
I have tried several times to get the videos of Jenna on my blog. I can't get the camcorder to put it on my computer, but I full expected that. I tried to put it on a DVD and then onto my computer, but I can't get that to work either! I'm a bit technologically challenged, so I'm sure it's possible; I just don't have the brain power to figure it out! If there is anyone out there that can help me, I would really appreciate it! I'm planning to bring the video home at Christmas, so those of you that I will be seeing will be able to see it if you are interested.
I did manage to get the webcam hooked up! It helps when you put the CD in and it tells you exactly what to do, or even better yet, it just does it all by its self!! I haven't tried it with anyone yet, but maybe sometime next week. I can't wait to see how it works!
I went into Jenna's classroom again today. We made homemade cards using stencils. It was fun. The kids made Christmas cards and birthday cards. Next week we are going to make Christmas tree ornaments and angels out of pinecones. It should be fun!
I was at Walmart the other day and I saw the strangest thing. I saw a Menonite family...not that Menonites are strange, but that I saw them in Hawaii! I guess in all the times I have been here, I have never seen them. Not that they can't choose to live in Hawaii, just like anyone else, it just seemed odd or out of place to me. Anyway...
Tomorrow night is AJ's work Christmas party. They are having a traditional Hawaiian meal with lou lous and a bunch of other stuff. If you remember reading way back in September, a lou lou(rhymes with cow) has pork, chicken or corned beef, seasoned with spiced salt and is wrapped in taro leaves, which are then wrapped in either tea or banana leaves. They are placed in a steamer and steamed all day. To eat it, you take off the tea leaves and eat the rest. Jenna really liked them the first time we had them, so she is excited to have them again.
Rick and Deena (AJ's sister from Seattle) are coming in tomorrow. We are excited to have them visit us! They will be going to the Christmas party with us, so I hope they like the lou lous! We have a busy weekend planned with them. I'm really looking forward to it! I'll write more later, so until then...aloha!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Time flies!
Well, another week has just flown by! I had every intention of writing in the middle of the week and it didn't happen again!! I'll try and remember back to everything that happened. I went into Jenna's class for her presentation and her play. She made an Indian necklace out of clay and wrote a little report about it. She did a great job presenting. She was one on the few students that I could actually hear when she spoke! I video taped it and took pictures. I will post the pictures. I have tried to figure out how to get the video on to my computer, but so far it hasn't worked. I'll keep trying because I would love for you to see what she has been up to!! She had 5 lines for the play. She did great. She kept trying to tell the other students to stand still and where to stand. She's such a little perfectionist sometimes! Maybe she has a career in directing in her future!
Thanksgiving Day was a fun day. We went to AJ's boss's house along with several of the other employees. It was fun getting to know the people that AJ works with. It's nice to be able to put a face to the names. I talked for a long time to a couple from South Africa. It was interesting hearing about their culture, how their visas work and how many places they have traveled and worked. The guy from Moldova that AJ worked with last Monday ended up have his appendix removed last week Tuesday! He started to not feel well Monday night and by Tuesday morning he was asking to go to the hospital. He had surgery Tuesday morning and was released on Thursday morning. He came to the Thanksgiving gathering at Gus's because he feels like these people are his family and he wanted to be with everyone! I couldn't believe that he felt well enough to be there! He ate a lot of food too!! I was hoping that it wouldn't make him sick! He left a few hours after we ate to take some pain medicine and get some rest. I hope he recovers quickly! We were able to talk to members of our families throughout the day. It was nice to catch up with everyone. I hope all of you had a very Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for in this country!!
On Saturday, Jenna's school had a fund-raising auction and dinner. We helped get all of the auction items from the school and to the building where everything was being held. There were over 500 items donated for the auction! It was quite the event! The auction was a silent auction that went on for 3 hours. We bought a few things. Jenna wanted this basket full of party supplies that she thought she could use for her birthday. She stood by that bid sheet for half the night making sure that no one outbid us. When someone upped the bid, she came running to me to make sure that I upped the bid too! She's so funny! There was entertainment going on all night. Jenna and the girls in her hula class put on a performance for the crowd. It was so good!! Jenna joined the class late, so she had only practiced the dance that they did about 5 times. She did really good! I video taped it and I really hope that I can get it posted for you! It's so cute!! I posted a few pictures until I can get the video on here for you.
We are very excited to announce that we will be having our first visitors to the Big Island this week! AJ's sister Deena and her husband Rick are coming in on Friday and will be here until Tuesday. We are planning to spend a lot of time at the beach snorkeling and laying on the beach. We plan to go kayaking too! We are all really looking forward to it!!!
AJ commented tonight that he heard a Christmas song on the radio today. He said that it seems very odd to hear Christmas songs when he's wearing a t-shirt and sweat is dripping from his brow! Time is just an illusion for all of us! It's hard to comprehend that it is December 1st!! AJ's co-worker from South Africa told him that their Christmas is in the summer so this is normal to him. AJ and I commented that we had never thought of that before...the seasons in South Africa are opposite of ours! The things you learn!!! Well, I think I have you caught up with everything. I can't guarantee that I will write anything for another week since we have visitors coming, but I'll try. So until next time...aloha!
Thanksgiving Day was a fun day. We went to AJ's boss's house along with several of the other employees. It was fun getting to know the people that AJ works with. It's nice to be able to put a face to the names. I talked for a long time to a couple from South Africa. It was interesting hearing about their culture, how their visas work and how many places they have traveled and worked. The guy from Moldova that AJ worked with last Monday ended up have his appendix removed last week Tuesday! He started to not feel well Monday night and by Tuesday morning he was asking to go to the hospital. He had surgery Tuesday morning and was released on Thursday morning. He came to the Thanksgiving gathering at Gus's because he feels like these people are his family and he wanted to be with everyone! I couldn't believe that he felt well enough to be there! He ate a lot of food too!! I was hoping that it wouldn't make him sick! He left a few hours after we ate to take some pain medicine and get some rest. I hope he recovers quickly! We were able to talk to members of our families throughout the day. It was nice to catch up with everyone. I hope all of you had a very Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for in this country!!
On Saturday, Jenna's school had a fund-raising auction and dinner. We helped get all of the auction items from the school and to the building where everything was being held. There were over 500 items donated for the auction! It was quite the event! The auction was a silent auction that went on for 3 hours. We bought a few things. Jenna wanted this basket full of party supplies that she thought she could use for her birthday. She stood by that bid sheet for half the night making sure that no one outbid us. When someone upped the bid, she came running to me to make sure that I upped the bid too! She's so funny! There was entertainment going on all night. Jenna and the girls in her hula class put on a performance for the crowd. It was so good!! Jenna joined the class late, so she had only practiced the dance that they did about 5 times. She did really good! I video taped it and I really hope that I can get it posted for you! It's so cute!! I posted a few pictures until I can get the video on here for you.
We are very excited to announce that we will be having our first visitors to the Big Island this week! AJ's sister Deena and her husband Rick are coming in on Friday and will be here until Tuesday. We are planning to spend a lot of time at the beach snorkeling and laying on the beach. We plan to go kayaking too! We are all really looking forward to it!!!
AJ commented tonight that he heard a Christmas song on the radio today. He said that it seems very odd to hear Christmas songs when he's wearing a t-shirt and sweat is dripping from his brow! Time is just an illusion for all of us! It's hard to comprehend that it is December 1st!! AJ's co-worker from South Africa told him that their Christmas is in the summer so this is normal to him. AJ and I commented that we had never thought of that before...the seasons in South Africa are opposite of ours! The things you learn!!! Well, I think I have you caught up with everything. I can't guarantee that I will write anything for another week since we have visitors coming, but I'll try. So until next time...aloha!
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