WOW! Here it is, almost Christmas! I have thought about posting an update several times, but have never taken the time to do it. So, I thought I would try and give you a brief update of our activities since my last post…FOUR months ago!! Let’s see if I can remember back that far!
Jenna started 4th grade. It’s been a little different, but she is doing well. Before school started, she got her ears pierced. We have attempted to change them one time since them, but it didn’t go very well. Now, she’s too afraid to try again. Hopefully someday! She got braces put on her top teeth 2 days after school pictures were taken. It’s amazing how quickly they are straightening her teeth! We can see a big change in just the few months she has had them. Jenna was in the school production of Annie Jr. in November. She played the part of Molly, the youngest orphan. She had 18 lines to memorize and a few short solos. She did really well, especially considering she cried on the way to auditions and I could barely hear her singing to the directors. She overcame that stage fright pretty easily and performed like a pro! We were so proud of her! I’ve posted a few pictures. I’ll try and put a video of her up too, if I can figure out how to do it!
We have had some great adventures over the past few months. We keep saying we are going to explore the Island more, but we never take the time to do it. We have made more of an effort the past few months. In August, we camped at a military camp for a few nights, then we went to Hilo (the other side of the Island) to go to the zoo. The Hilo zoo is not the most exciting zoo I have ever seen, but at least the tiger was there this time! The last time his exhibit was closed for some reason. From Hilo, we traveled over Mauna Kea (the mountain) to home. We did this same drive last year and got to see baby feral hogs, but not this year. I guess we scared them too much last year! We’ve spent a few Sunday afternoons at Hapuna Beach. We have some friends that go late in the afternoon and then stay for the sunset. We joined them a few times and it has been such a blessing. It’s so relaxing and the sunsets are amazing! I’ve posted a few for your enjoyment! One other adventure we went on was a 7-mile hike the day after Thanksgiving. It was 3.5miles up to the top of a cinder cone, and then of course 3.5 miles back down! That was very challenging! We were pretty exhausted afterwards and our calf muscles hurt for days! Jenna and I were in the Christmas parade with our church. It was fun, but exhausting to decorate the float and then walk in the parade. It’s fun being in a Christmas parade when it’s nearly 80 degrees out! Jenna and I also participated in our church’s Christmas programs. We both had fun and the performances went well.
We just had a winter storm last weekend. A winter storm in Hawaii consists of lots of rain and wind. And we got a lot of both! It actually felt kind of cold! It snowed on top of Mauna Kea, so we are driving up there this weekend. We, and several other families, are going to drive around the side of the mountain on a road called the Mauna Road. Our friends tell us it is quite beautiful, so we are looking forward to it! Someone told us they have seen truck loads of snow coming off the mountain so the kids can make snowmen. Maybe we’ll do that too! That would be fun! Since we have lived here, I have had a hard time making Christmas feel like Christmas since it doesn’t snow and it’s not cold. I have been resistant to decorate because I thought it was weird and “wrong” to have snowmen and Santa Claus when it is 80 degrees! But, I came to the realization that maybe if I decorated, it would feel more like the holidays! So, next year I will decorate and see if that helps. We have a few things up this year, but since we are moving, we decided not to put too much stuff up. That brings me to...
Our newest and most exciting news is that we bought a house! We put an offer in at the end of September and, praise God, everything went great and we closed on November 19. I have never bought a house before, but I have heard that it can be an awful experience. Well, the Lord blessed us with a great experience and we are now the proud owners of a beautiful new house! We are moving in on January 1. The previous owners wanted to stay living there until Dec 31, so they are renting back from us. That was OK with us, especially since we haven’t started packing yet! The house is 12 years old. It’s a single story with a great ocean view. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We will use one of the bedrooms as an office, until we have guests. Then it will become a guest room! (Hint, hint!) The main living area is open, so the kitchen, living room and dining room are all in one big area. There is also an atrium with a water fountain in it. I wasn’t too crazy about the atrium the first time I looked at the house, but I think it has a lot of potential, especially after we cut back some of the plants that are overgrown. The yard is actually quite large, but most of it is landscaped either up the hill or down the hill. We have several fruit trees – 2 avocado trees, a mango tree, papaya trees, a lemon tree, a lime tree and pineapple plants. We plan to plant bananas too! Jenna and I are excited about having REALLY fresh guacamole! We’ll just go out and pick avocados and limes and “wa-la” guacamole! We’d love to show off our new house, so get your reservations in now! :-)
I think that is the latest update. I’ll try and write more often, but you know me...it will probably be 3 or 4 months before you hear from me again! Until next time...whenever it is...aloha!
