Guests, WI, updates

WHEW!! What a whirlwind of activity we had over the past several months! We started with guests in February and continued through the end of March. I’ve already told you about most of our guest’s visits; there are just two left. AJ’s classmate Brian, his wife Stacy and their daughter Alyssa came and stayed with us for about a week. We had a great time with them! Jenna and Alyssa hit it off right away! AJ and Jenna went with them to Hilo to see Mauna Kea and the waterfalls (Lynn was working.) Lynn and Jenna showed them around town and AJ enjoyed a luau with them. It was fun having them here and we look forward to seeing them again this summer at AJ’s class reunion!

While Brian and Stacy were here, our friends and Jenna’s babysitters, Kevin and Janette came for a week. It was so good to have them stay with us! Jenna was on Spring Break, so she was their tour guide. I think they ALL had fun with that! I was told that she did a great job as a tour guide. I believe it…I’m sure she knows her way around the Island better than I do!! I think it was a pretty relaxing vacation for Kevin and Janette, as Kevin was recovering from knee surgery. Hopefully, nothing got damaged from Jenna sitting on his lap so much! She loves her Peachy and Papa! It was fabulous having them stay with us and maybe next time, some of the kids will come too!

Kevin and Janette were Jenna’s babysitters in Wisconsin from the time Jenna was 3 months old until we moved. They are like family to us. In Hawaii, they would be considered “hanai” grandparents. Pronounced (han-eye); it’s like an adopted child or grandchild without the legal paperwork…someone who you are very close to, but not related to. They always took such good care of Jenna, and I had to ask them to do it again while they were on vacation! I decided to go back to Wisconsin to see my cousin who has a brain tumor. I left while they were still at our house. I felt really bad leaving, but at the same time, I really wanted to see my cousin. The timing was not great, but it’s what worked at the time, and in hind sight, I’m glad that I went when I did. I was able to spend a lot a good quality time with my cousin and I got lucky enough to have Easter dinner with my family and AJ’s family too! I also snuck in a quick lunch date with my two best friends! All in 2-1/2 days!! Not too bad! Of course, traveling to Wisconsin and back to Hawaii in less than 4 days in not real smart, but it worked. I was very tired and not sure what day it was for a while, but that’s OK! I am very grateful that Kevin and Janette were here because I’m not sure it would have worked otherwise with AJ’s busy work schedule! God is good and He will always provide a way!!

So, now you are updated on our guest visits. We don’t have anyone else scheduled to come at this time; however we have a few people talking about coming! We look forward to having more company!! Maybe by the next time we have guests, we will be in a different house! We have started looking at buying, but we haven’t made any decisions yet. I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

AJ continues to be very busy with work. We have had some rain, but it is still very dry. Things are looking good for him despite the dry weather. I continue to keep busy at work too, but not crazy. Just nice and steady. I’m sure that will change, but I’m enjoying it for now! Jenna is doing great in school. She is ready to be done for the summer. She is in Awana, an organization that teaches kids about the bible. She had to memorize about 30 bible verses this year! She had a book that she had to work through and if she finished the book, she would be eligible to go on the camp-out with the rest of the group. She just finished her book last night and she was sooo excited when she came home that she could hardly sit still. It took her about half an hour to settle down before she could go to sleep! We are very proud of her!

I think that’s the latest update! I hope everyone in the Midwest is enjoying the Spring weather. I’m beginning to learn/see the differences in the seasons here. Right now, the plumeria and jack-aronda trees are all in bloom. The Plumeria smell fantastic and the jack-aronda have these beautiful purple flowers on them. They are so pretty! Well, that’s all I know for now. Until next time…aloha!