So, my story continues… It was only a few days before the race and I was feeling pretty down. My swim was awful, my bike and run were OK, just really slow…but would my ankle hold up for the whole race? I was trying to look at the positives and not dwell on the negatives, but it was really hard. I had been working on a bible study that some ladies in my church were doing. I was reading about having a disciplined life and to not let our emotions get in the way of being disciplined. The author wrote “note the importance of not dwelling on our feelings but of exercising our wills to think the truth.” I pondered that for a long time. I thought to myself, “I know I can swim, even if it isn’t very good or very fast. I know I can do the bike and the run. I know that I will be slow, but I also know that I WILL finish.” Thinking about the race this way and praying constantly, imaging God guiding me through the water, pushing my legs on the bike, and moving my legs on the run really helped me to relax and not worry about the race so much. I had done a half-Lavaman two weeks before the race and it went OK. In fact, overall, I felt pretty good about how I did. It was hard to imagine doubling what I had done, but I really thought that I would be OK. I tried to forget about my swim training mishaps and focus on the fact that I completed a half-Lavaman and what I KNEW I could do. This actually worked quite well and the Lord really calmed my nerves.
The day of the race arrived! I was just a little nervous, but overall, I felt quite relaxed. We were up and on the road by 5:30am. We drove to Waikoloa, about 40 minutes north of Kona, where the race was taking place. I set up my bike in the transition area and tried to remember where my bike was among the 1100 bikes lined up in the parking lot! We only had about 2 feet to set up all of our stuff for the bike and the run. I was trying not to let my nerves get the best of me when I saw all of the other athletes getting ready. Thankfully, everyone was really friendly. I went and did a short practice swim which went OK. It was a little intimidating seeing how far out the buoys went. I have to swim WAY out there? Really?? I had to keep reminding myself of what I KNEW to be true, “I can do this. I’ll be slow, but I know I’ll finish.”
The time waiting before my heat to swim felt like an eternity. I just kept walking to try and warm up my ankle. I prayed and prayed for peace and strength and endurance. I kept repeating one of my favorite bible verses, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It was finally my turn to start the swim! I decided to swim with the novice swimmers since my skills and confidence were so low. It was a bit discouraging to see the pros finishing the swim while I waited to start the swim! I just kept praying and repeating my verse, and I managed to stay relatively calm the whole time I waited. As it turned out, there were only about 20 people in my group, so I didn’t have to worry about running into people, and getting kicking or passed by everyone. That was a relief right from the start! Overall, the swim went OK. I had a hard time staying on course; I kept veering off to the right, which made me have to exert more energy to get back on course. I couldn’t continuously do the free style. I just didn’t have the endurance. I would do the breast stroke for a while and then switch back to the free style. I could definitely go faster doing the free style, I just couldn’t keep going! There were 4 or 5 buoys that seemed a mile apart themselves! Each one, I would say to myself, “one down, 4 to go…” When I reached the last one and turned to return to shore, the sun was glaring off of the water and it was really hard to see where I was going. This made it even harder to stay on track! I ended up doing the side stroke for a lot of it because it was faster than my version of the breast stroke and I could swim straighter than when I did the free style. I swam to shore doing the free style and was so glad when I finally touched the sand. I knew I was finally finished!! Thank GOD! AJ and Jenna were there to cheer me on. AJ took pictures while Jenna ran with me to the bike transition area.
My transition to the bike went OK. I was trying to hurry, but my legs were already feeling a little weak because of using them so much during the swim. My ankle was already a little sore too. I got my shoes, helmet, biking gloves, sunglasses and sunscreen on, ate a few energy snacks and got started on the bike. The 2 times that I trained on the course, it was really windy, but thankfully it wasn’t too bad for the race. I felt good for most of the bike and pushed myself pretty hard. I was able to pass a few people, so that felt good. Of course I got passed too, but I didn’t mind. I was having fun! About half way through the bike, I started to notice that my toes on my left foot were feeling numb. I wiggled them around trying to wake them up. Then it felt like I had a rock in my shoe. I didn’t want to stop and lose time, so I decided to wait until I finished. By the time I finished the bike, it felt like I had a large rock under my second and third toes. I was hoping I wasn’t getting blisters! I finished the bike feeling pretty good. I felt like I had a pretty good time compared to the other times I rode the course. When I got off my bike, I could tell that I had pushed it harder than usual. My legs were like jelly for the first 10 feet or so! I checked my foot, but to my surprise there was no rock, and thankfully, there was no blister either! So, I was off on the run! Again, I had my cheering section cheering me on as I came back from the bike and as I started on the run!!
My legs were pretty shot from the bike, but I was determined to run most, if not all, of the 6.2 miles. The run course starts on the lava, so I didn’t run too fast. I ran the first mile, which felt like three! I was pretty tired by this point, so I ended up walking for a while. Also, by this time, it was really hot and there wasn’t much shade. I ran off and on throughout the course. I think I probably ended up walking about 2 of the 6 miles. Not really what I wanted to do, but I was getting tired and my legs were wearing out. At about mile 4.5, my ankle started hurting. The course moved from the road and sidewalks to lava, rocks and sand. I had to walk a good portion of this just because of the terrain. Just before the last mile, there was an aide station (with water, etc) that my friends from Hospice were running. It was such a boost in spirit and energy to see them! I ran most of the last mile, except for the part that was on sand. It’s really hard to run on sand when you are fresh, much less after doing a triathlon! The run course had to be changed slightly because the tsunami we had 3-1/2 weeks before Lavaman caused some damage to the beach where the run was supposed to take place. While I was sorry that the beach was damaged, I was really glad that I didn’t have to run on the sand as much as the original course called for! The course ended up on the pavement, going around a pond and then a little on the sand before the finish. I was getting so excited to be done, that I think I actually picked up a little speed the last half mile or so. It was so exciting as I got closer and closer to the finish line. I could hear the music, people were cheering, and the announcer was saying my name as I crossed the finish line! AJ and Jenna were there taking pictures and hugging me! They didn’t even care that I was hot and sweaty!!
It was such a great feeling to have completed the triathlon! I said to AJ, ”I can’t believe I just did that!” It was pretty amazing that I DID do it! It took me about 3-3/4 hours, a little longer than I was hoping for, but at least I finished AND I wasn’t last! After all of the training and injuries and frustrations, I had really done it!! I thank and praise God for giving me the ability, strength, and endurance to finish the race!!
I thought about doing the next Lavaman at the end of August, but I decided that instead of doing the whole thing by myself, I would do it as a relay. I’m trying to talk AJ into doing the bike; I’ll do the run; so all we’ll need to find is a swimmer. We’ll see what happens. I’m also thinking about doing a half marathon in August. I need to let my ankle heal up a little more. It’s been kind of sore lately and I haven’t even been doing anything! I felt great after the race. I wasn’t sore at all. I was really tired for about a week and I didn’t really do any training except a 2 mile run. Actually, all I’ve done since the race is one run and one walk. Pretty lame. If I going to do a half marathon, I better get moving!
Well anyway, that’s my Lavaman story. I’m sorry to be so long winded. I hope I didn’t bore you to sleep! Now, I think it’s time to catch you up on life BEFORE Lavaman! But, that’s another story!! :-) So, until next time…aloha!
Hawaiian Sunset at Hapuna Beach
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
LAVAMAN! -Part One
Well, here it is, April 5th already. I just can’t believe how fast time goes! For one thing, it’s been a long time again since I posted, but what really amazes me is that I have been training and anticipating the Lavaman race for months…and now it’s done! It’s a bit of a letdown, but it’s a relief also.
When I think back over the months, I guess it’s easy to see how time got away from me so quickly. I signed up for Lavaman in October 2010, only a few weeks before it filled up and they closed registration. I was committed. I hadn’t been running in probably 6 months. I hadn’t been on a bike for over 2 years, and all I had was a mountain bike. I needed a road bike to do this race. I didn’t really know how to swim. I could kind of do the free style, but I couldn’t breathe and do the free style at the same time! What was I thinking signing up for a race that I was not at all skilled to do and was starting at the bottom in ALL areas?! Could I really swim 0.9 miles, bike 25 miles and run 6.2 miles?? I wasn’t sure, but lots of people told me I had plenty of time to train…I hoped so…
So I starting walking, then slowly started running. Fortunately I was able to build up to 3 miles pretty quickly since running is something I have done off and on over the past 8 years or so. Then I joined a swim class for adults to teach me how to swim. I learned pretty quickly that this class was not really for beginners because the coach wanted us to swim 100-200 yards for a warm-up! I couldn’t even swim 25 yards without coughing and gasping for air! I was really out of shape for swimming!! The coach had me hang on to the side of the pool and practice breathing “hundreds of times” while he continued to teach everyone else how to improve their stroke! That was really discouraging and I almost quit the class, but my friend convinced me to keep coming. The coach was really supportive too, even if I didn’t know what I was doing! It was hard to watch everyone else swim so fluently while I struggled just to breathe! I wondered “Why are these people in this class? They’re already great swimmers!” I set goals for myself to be able to do so many laps without stopping by the end of each month. Unfortunately I learned that I couldn’t build up endurance for swimming like I could running. It’s a whole different sport!
I rented a road bike from one of the bike shops just to give it a try. My first attempt was pretty discouraging and embarrassing! I hadn’t been on a bike in over 2 years and I had never ridden a bike with so many gears before, so I didn’t really know what I was doing. I rode for maybe 4 or 5 miles and was working my way back to my house. I was climbing a hill and I just could not make it! I was getting passed by a kid on his scooter!! OK, NOT cool! NOT funny! I had to stop and push the bike up the hill. That was pretty humiliating until I got to the top and realized that I had put the bike in the highest gear instead of the lowest gear going up the hill! That was a good lesson learned! I rented this same bike one other time and it went much better. I decided that I wanted to buy a road bike and I was told that I could buy this one off of the rental fleet. It was nearing Christmas by this time and things were getting busy due to the holidays, so I didn’t act on it right away. As it turned out, my wonderful husband surprised by and bought the bike for me for Christmas! We moved on January 1st, so the bike just sat for a few weeks before I had a chance to use it, but finally, about the second week of January I went for about a 10 mile bike ride. It was great! I loved it and it wasn’t work at all.
I felt like my training was beginning to come together. I was running 2 days a week, swimming 2-3days a week (one day was lessons) and now I could start biking! My swimming was still slow, but by this point I could at least breathe. My technique was still awful and I still had very little endurance, but I was trying! I didn’t like to practice swimming. It was really hard work for me and not fun at all. I had to force myself to swim because I knew that’s where I needed the most work. I kept doing something wrong with my stroke and I would end up with tight muscles in my neck and shoulder. I was getting regular massages and going to the chiropractor, which helped but usually only until the next time I swam.
In early February I got aero bars put on my bike. Aero bars are the handles on the bike that you rest your arms on. I thought it would make the ride easier and help me to have less numbness in my hands. Well, the first time I used them was a couple of days after I did a short swim and running race. The swim was really hard for me even though I used my fins and snorkel gear. I think I did something to my shoulder and then by using the aero bars, I really injured my neck and shoulder. I didn’t have the aero bars adjusted correctly at first and I kept having to lift my head a certain way to see where I was going and I think since my neck and shoulder were already inflamed from the swim, the bike ride just did me in. I ended up with pain and tightness in my neck and shoulder for about 3 or 4 weeks. I couldn’t swim very well and I couldn’t bike either. During this time, I focused on my running. I was feeling pretty good about it and was able to run 5 miles pretty well.
At the end of February, I was finally able to bike again. The first time back, I rode 10 miles and it felt great! I was so excited to be back on the bike! Unfortunately, this same day I sprained my ankle doing something totally unrelated to training! It was like half of a baseball sticking out from the side of my ankle. It was awful!! It was only 6 weeks from the race and all I could think about was after all this time and training I wouldn’t be able to do it!! But with lots and lots of ice, a brace, massage and chiropractic, I actually healed up pretty quickly. Well, not completely. I’m still dealing with achiness and swelling, but I was able to be back on the bike after about 1-1/2 weeks and running after about 3-1/2 weeks. Fortunately, those two sports came together OK for me. I was never real fast in either, but at least I felt like I could complete them without too much difficulty.
Swimming, on the other hand, was a completely different story. I just could not get it to come together! I struggled through each training session. Honestly, I probably didn’t work as hard as I could have, or should have, but when you’re doing something you don’t enjoy and don’t want to be doing, it’s really hard to give it your full effort! I swam in the ocean a few times and each time I chickened out because the waves were too high, it was too rough, I was tired, my goggles fogged up…you name it, I thought of it! I had one relatively successful swim in the ocean about 2 weeks before the race. But unfortunately I follow that with two not so successful swims! I attempted to do a training session with a group of people that my friend knew. They were doing a half-Lavaman, and I thought it would be good practice. I realized very quickly, but too late, that I was WAY out of my league training with these people!! They took off on the swim like rockets! I couldn’t keep up, I panicked, I was sucking in water…it was so bad! I still tried, but I only swam about half the distance that they all did. Then we biked. I was slow compared to all of them, but it went OK for me. I didn’t run since I had just run 6 miles the day before and wanted to give my ankle a rest. I followed that adventure by having another training session in my swim class. The coach took out all of the lane ropes to make the pool like the open ocean. We had to practice swimming around buoys like we were in the race. Well, that was another disaster! I got passed by everybody except one person, I again panicked, I had to stop because I was sucking in water and coughing, and still my endurance was just not there! This was only a few days before the race…how in the world was I going to do this!??? What was I thinking? Did I really think that I could do this? Why am I not better than this after all this time? All of these thoughts swirled around in my mind the rest of the day. I left that training session nearly in tears.
Stay tuned for Part Two coming soon…until then…aloha!
When I think back over the months, I guess it’s easy to see how time got away from me so quickly. I signed up for Lavaman in October 2010, only a few weeks before it filled up and they closed registration. I was committed. I hadn’t been running in probably 6 months. I hadn’t been on a bike for over 2 years, and all I had was a mountain bike. I needed a road bike to do this race. I didn’t really know how to swim. I could kind of do the free style, but I couldn’t breathe and do the free style at the same time! What was I thinking signing up for a race that I was not at all skilled to do and was starting at the bottom in ALL areas?! Could I really swim 0.9 miles, bike 25 miles and run 6.2 miles?? I wasn’t sure, but lots of people told me I had plenty of time to train…I hoped so…
So I starting walking, then slowly started running. Fortunately I was able to build up to 3 miles pretty quickly since running is something I have done off and on over the past 8 years or so. Then I joined a swim class for adults to teach me how to swim. I learned pretty quickly that this class was not really for beginners because the coach wanted us to swim 100-200 yards for a warm-up! I couldn’t even swim 25 yards without coughing and gasping for air! I was really out of shape for swimming!! The coach had me hang on to the side of the pool and practice breathing “hundreds of times” while he continued to teach everyone else how to improve their stroke! That was really discouraging and I almost quit the class, but my friend convinced me to keep coming. The coach was really supportive too, even if I didn’t know what I was doing! It was hard to watch everyone else swim so fluently while I struggled just to breathe! I wondered “Why are these people in this class? They’re already great swimmers!” I set goals for myself to be able to do so many laps without stopping by the end of each month. Unfortunately I learned that I couldn’t build up endurance for swimming like I could running. It’s a whole different sport!
I rented a road bike from one of the bike shops just to give it a try. My first attempt was pretty discouraging and embarrassing! I hadn’t been on a bike in over 2 years and I had never ridden a bike with so many gears before, so I didn’t really know what I was doing. I rode for maybe 4 or 5 miles and was working my way back to my house. I was climbing a hill and I just could not make it! I was getting passed by a kid on his scooter!! OK, NOT cool! NOT funny! I had to stop and push the bike up the hill. That was pretty humiliating until I got to the top and realized that I had put the bike in the highest gear instead of the lowest gear going up the hill! That was a good lesson learned! I rented this same bike one other time and it went much better. I decided that I wanted to buy a road bike and I was told that I could buy this one off of the rental fleet. It was nearing Christmas by this time and things were getting busy due to the holidays, so I didn’t act on it right away. As it turned out, my wonderful husband surprised by and bought the bike for me for Christmas! We moved on January 1st, so the bike just sat for a few weeks before I had a chance to use it, but finally, about the second week of January I went for about a 10 mile bike ride. It was great! I loved it and it wasn’t work at all.
I felt like my training was beginning to come together. I was running 2 days a week, swimming 2-3days a week (one day was lessons) and now I could start biking! My swimming was still slow, but by this point I could at least breathe. My technique was still awful and I still had very little endurance, but I was trying! I didn’t like to practice swimming. It was really hard work for me and not fun at all. I had to force myself to swim because I knew that’s where I needed the most work. I kept doing something wrong with my stroke and I would end up with tight muscles in my neck and shoulder. I was getting regular massages and going to the chiropractor, which helped but usually only until the next time I swam.
In early February I got aero bars put on my bike. Aero bars are the handles on the bike that you rest your arms on. I thought it would make the ride easier and help me to have less numbness in my hands. Well, the first time I used them was a couple of days after I did a short swim and running race. The swim was really hard for me even though I used my fins and snorkel gear. I think I did something to my shoulder and then by using the aero bars, I really injured my neck and shoulder. I didn’t have the aero bars adjusted correctly at first and I kept having to lift my head a certain way to see where I was going and I think since my neck and shoulder were already inflamed from the swim, the bike ride just did me in. I ended up with pain and tightness in my neck and shoulder for about 3 or 4 weeks. I couldn’t swim very well and I couldn’t bike either. During this time, I focused on my running. I was feeling pretty good about it and was able to run 5 miles pretty well.
At the end of February, I was finally able to bike again. The first time back, I rode 10 miles and it felt great! I was so excited to be back on the bike! Unfortunately, this same day I sprained my ankle doing something totally unrelated to training! It was like half of a baseball sticking out from the side of my ankle. It was awful!! It was only 6 weeks from the race and all I could think about was after all this time and training I wouldn’t be able to do it!! But with lots and lots of ice, a brace, massage and chiropractic, I actually healed up pretty quickly. Well, not completely. I’m still dealing with achiness and swelling, but I was able to be back on the bike after about 1-1/2 weeks and running after about 3-1/2 weeks. Fortunately, those two sports came together OK for me. I was never real fast in either, but at least I felt like I could complete them without too much difficulty.
Swimming, on the other hand, was a completely different story. I just could not get it to come together! I struggled through each training session. Honestly, I probably didn’t work as hard as I could have, or should have, but when you’re doing something you don’t enjoy and don’t want to be doing, it’s really hard to give it your full effort! I swam in the ocean a few times and each time I chickened out because the waves were too high, it was too rough, I was tired, my goggles fogged up…you name it, I thought of it! I had one relatively successful swim in the ocean about 2 weeks before the race. But unfortunately I follow that with two not so successful swims! I attempted to do a training session with a group of people that my friend knew. They were doing a half-Lavaman, and I thought it would be good practice. I realized very quickly, but too late, that I was WAY out of my league training with these people!! They took off on the swim like rockets! I couldn’t keep up, I panicked, I was sucking in water…it was so bad! I still tried, but I only swam about half the distance that they all did. Then we biked. I was slow compared to all of them, but it went OK for me. I didn’t run since I had just run 6 miles the day before and wanted to give my ankle a rest. I followed that adventure by having another training session in my swim class. The coach took out all of the lane ropes to make the pool like the open ocean. We had to practice swimming around buoys like we were in the race. Well, that was another disaster! I got passed by everybody except one person, I again panicked, I had to stop because I was sucking in water and coughing, and still my endurance was just not there! This was only a few days before the race…how in the world was I going to do this!??? What was I thinking? Did I really think that I could do this? Why am I not better than this after all this time? All of these thoughts swirled around in my mind the rest of the day. I left that training session nearly in tears.
Stay tuned for Part Two coming soon…until then…aloha!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Christmas and New Years!
Aloha and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and I hope the New Year has started off great! We have been very busy over the past month. In mid December we drove around the mountain, Mauna Kea, with some friends of ours on a road called the Mana Road. It was beautiful! There were so many great things to see – we could see snow on top of the mountain, we drove through areas that reminded us being in northern Wisconsin, we saw Nene geese, the state bird (pronounced na-na, with a long a) we saw lots of dead trees that made interested pictures (I think there was a fire up there not too long ago.) We saw cows and horses. Most of the road was dirt, and in some areas the road split, so the “boys” had fun racing to see who could make it back to the main road first. Some people just never grow up! :-) We had a lot of fun and it was great getting to know our friends better.
Jenna and I had our Christmas programs. Jenna had one at school. They all did great. I think my favorite part was when the kids sang Silent Night in English, Hawaiian and Japanese. That was pretty cool! We both sang in the choir at our church, and Jenna also participated in the children’s program. She was an angel and had to recite a few bible verses, but after doing Annie, Jr., I think it was a breeze for her!
Christmas for us was a little different. Of course the biggest difference2 were that it was 80 degrees and we weren’t with family! We decided to make new traditions, our OWN traditions. AJ had the idea of going up on top of the mountain to play in the snow. So, we got up early on Christmas morning and drove about 1-1/2 hours to the top of the mountain. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold – only about 44 degrees and no wind. Unfortunately there wasn’t much snow, and what was there, had mostly turned into ice. But, we took along our little one foot Christmas tree and took some pictures. We found a small patch of snow/ice and decided to ride down the hill on our boogie boards. Jenna and AJ did great! I crashed and hurt my shoulder and ribs, but fortunately the pain only lasted a few days and then I was better! After being on the mountain, we went to the beach. I didn’t realize EVERYBODY would be at the beach on Christmas day! WOW! We couldn’t go to the beach we wanted because we couldn’t find a place to park. So, we went to another beach not far from there. It wasn’t quite as nice, but it was OK. It was better than being cold, that’s for sure!! Jenna and I made a “sandman.” We think he turned out pretty good. I’ve posted a few pictures. After the beach we went to some friends house for a late lunch/early dinner. We didn’t stay too long because we went home to call our families on Skype. It was so great to see everyone! Of course, in person would have been better, but by video is better than not at all! My niece and nephew thought it was pretty cool to see us that way – or maybe they just liked seeing themselves on the camera, I’m not sure!! :-) It was fun to see everyone and I hope we can all talk like that more throughout the year.
New Years Day was moving day! We worked really hard the weeks and days leading up to January 1st, and I am so glad we did! We had 21 people show up to help us move, and 10 different vehicles moving stuff (8 trucks, a car and a van!) It was absolutely amazing!! It was like a tornado came down on the house, picked everything up and moved it to our new house. We started about 8:45 and we were done moving everything to the new house by 11:00. The cleaners finished about 11:30. I couldn’t believe how fast it went. Thankfully we were ready and had all the boxes labeled because there was NO time for last minute packing!! Now we are slowly unpacking, deciding where we want things, sorting, and getting rid of stuff. It’s surprising how much we have accumulated in just two years! We feel very blessed to have so many friends willing to help us and even more blessed that we have such a lovely home. We can’t wait for you all to see it, so get your reservations in! :-)
The busy times and big moments don’t stop there! Our little Jenna (or maybe not so little anymore) turned 10 on January 6th. It is so hard to believe that 10 years has gone by so fast! She is growing up and is such a great girl! She’s a joy to us and full of so much love and laughter. I have a funny story to share… I have been letting her sleep in my bed because AJ is at a bee convention in Texas right now. The night before her birthday, I was telling her that she was born at 2:23am, and I asked her if she wanted me to set the alarm and wake her up. She declined. BUT, she just happened to wake up at 2am, so she kept herself awake until 2:20, then she said she sat up in bed and stared at the clock until 2:23am. Then she woke me up, saying “Mom, Mom, look at the clock!” I looked and saw that it was 2:23! I wished her a happy birthday and just had to laugh when she told me what happened. She’s so funny sometimes. I hope you all have lots of love and laughter throughout this New Year! Until next time…aloha!
Jenna and I had our Christmas programs. Jenna had one at school. They all did great. I think my favorite part was when the kids sang Silent Night in English, Hawaiian and Japanese. That was pretty cool! We both sang in the choir at our church, and Jenna also participated in the children’s program. She was an angel and had to recite a few bible verses, but after doing Annie, Jr., I think it was a breeze for her!
Christmas for us was a little different. Of course the biggest difference2 were that it was 80 degrees and we weren’t with family! We decided to make new traditions, our OWN traditions. AJ had the idea of going up on top of the mountain to play in the snow. So, we got up early on Christmas morning and drove about 1-1/2 hours to the top of the mountain. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold – only about 44 degrees and no wind. Unfortunately there wasn’t much snow, and what was there, had mostly turned into ice. But, we took along our little one foot Christmas tree and took some pictures. We found a small patch of snow/ice and decided to ride down the hill on our boogie boards. Jenna and AJ did great! I crashed and hurt my shoulder and ribs, but fortunately the pain only lasted a few days and then I was better! After being on the mountain, we went to the beach. I didn’t realize EVERYBODY would be at the beach on Christmas day! WOW! We couldn’t go to the beach we wanted because we couldn’t find a place to park. So, we went to another beach not far from there. It wasn’t quite as nice, but it was OK. It was better than being cold, that’s for sure!! Jenna and I made a “sandman.” We think he turned out pretty good. I’ve posted a few pictures. After the beach we went to some friends house for a late lunch/early dinner. We didn’t stay too long because we went home to call our families on Skype. It was so great to see everyone! Of course, in person would have been better, but by video is better than not at all! My niece and nephew thought it was pretty cool to see us that way – or maybe they just liked seeing themselves on the camera, I’m not sure!! :-) It was fun to see everyone and I hope we can all talk like that more throughout the year.
New Years Day was moving day! We worked really hard the weeks and days leading up to January 1st, and I am so glad we did! We had 21 people show up to help us move, and 10 different vehicles moving stuff (8 trucks, a car and a van!) It was absolutely amazing!! It was like a tornado came down on the house, picked everything up and moved it to our new house. We started about 8:45 and we were done moving everything to the new house by 11:00. The cleaners finished about 11:30. I couldn’t believe how fast it went. Thankfully we were ready and had all the boxes labeled because there was NO time for last minute packing!! Now we are slowly unpacking, deciding where we want things, sorting, and getting rid of stuff. It’s surprising how much we have accumulated in just two years! We feel very blessed to have so many friends willing to help us and even more blessed that we have such a lovely home. We can’t wait for you all to see it, so get your reservations in! :-)
The busy times and big moments don’t stop there! Our little Jenna (or maybe not so little anymore) turned 10 on January 6th. It is so hard to believe that 10 years has gone by so fast! She is growing up and is such a great girl! She’s a joy to us and full of so much love and laughter. I have a funny story to share… I have been letting her sleep in my bed because AJ is at a bee convention in Texas right now. The night before her birthday, I was telling her that she was born at 2:23am, and I asked her if she wanted me to set the alarm and wake her up. She declined. BUT, she just happened to wake up at 2am, so she kept herself awake until 2:20, then she said she sat up in bed and stared at the clock until 2:23am. Then she woke me up, saying “Mom, Mom, look at the clock!” I looked and saw that it was 2:23! I wished her a happy birthday and just had to laugh when she told me what happened. She’s so funny sometimes. I hope you all have lots of love and laughter throughout this New Year! Until next time…aloha!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Fall Update
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!
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!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Summer activities update
WOW! This is definitely the longest I have ever gone in between posts! Life has been unbelievably busy this summer! I wrote this while we were on the plane on our way back from a vacation to Wisconsin. I had about 3 or 4 hours before we got to L.A. to try and catch up, which I did, but then we got back into life and…well, now it’s almost 3 weeks later!! So, here is the update through August 3.
We just spent the past 2-1/2 weeks in Wisconsin visiting family and friends and going to 2 class reunions. We had a great time, but are tired and ready to be home. We went to the fair and watched the tractor pull and gauntlet races and were able to see many people that we know. We stayed at the hotel in Darlington the first few nights and Jenna and her friends were able to go swimming. We stayed at AJ’s sister Sue’s house for several days and visited friends, and got to meet our new “great-niece” Leah, who is very cute with tons of hair! (If we have a great niece, does that make us old??? –naw!) I asked AJ why is the grandparent called “grand” and the aunt and uncle called “great”? I think we should be called “grand-aunt and uncle!” That makes sense doesn’t it?? I don’t know, I guess my logic doesn’t apply here!
Anyway, we dubbed this vacation the “ever-changing vacation.” We called it this because almost everything we had planned changed! AJ was planning to redo the cement in our front porch at the house, but the date got changed 3 times due to his help changing the date or because of rain! He never did get it done! AJ was also planning to take a friend of his to Green Bay to see Lambeau Field, but that unfortunately didn’t work either. Lynn was going to go to Monroe for a day, but that changed too! We did manage to see lots of friends and pretty much everyone in our family. AJ and I both had a class reunion too. It was fun to see our classmates and catch up. I hadn’t seen many of my classmates for 20 years and AJ saw a few he hadn’t seen in many years too. I was on the planning committee for my reunion, so I was busy with last minute preparations the 3 days prior. I had my reservations about how it would all turn out, but fortunately everything fell into place and it ended up being a really great evening! We stayed with my parents for a few nights and got to see the family. We got to see my sister Lisa and her family from Milwaukee – her kids are 3 and 5 now and as smart and cute as ever! I was able to see my brother Al and his wife from Colorado too the first weekend we were here. It would have been great to have everyone together at once, but at least I got to see them! We visited my 93 year old Grandma for a while. She is still witty, but is getting a little forgetful. She still lives alone in her own house – not bad for 93 years old! We visited my cousin Sam’s grave. It was hard, but I’m glad I did it. We left him some flower leis, which is nothing compared to the paradise he is now enjoying, but it’s a little something I guess.
Jenna got to stay at Peach and Papa’s house and got to see many of the babysitting kids she grew up with. Peach and Papa’s grandson, Kaden is 3 months younger than Jenna and he is about an inch shorter than me! Next time I see him, I’m sure he’ll be taller, but I’ve still got him this time!! The last few nights we stayed at AJ’s Mom’s house. We had great meals of sweet corn and fresh veggies from Karen and Dave’s garden. I think we all ate too much the whole time we were there, but it was great! Our niece Melanie and her boyfriend Tom announced their engagement while we were in Wisconsin and we were able to get together with them for dinner at Karen’s. We are very happy for them and it was great to see them!
It was a great trip. We were on the run a lot, but not quite as much as when we are there at Christmas. We’re pretty tired and ready to be home. I think we got rested up a LITTLE…we were pretty wiped out with everything going on before we left. There’s been a lot going on that I will try and summarize without writing a book and/or putting you to sleep!
I think I left off at the end of April. May started off with Lei Day at Jenna’s school (May Day in schools on the Mainland). Jenna’s class performed a hula and sang a song in Hawaiian. It was very well done. The kids choreographed the dance themselves and they did a really good job! I wish I could get it to attach, but the file is too big. Then each child put a lei on a big wooded cross – it was a very nice ceremony.
Jenna’s last day of school was June 4. Unfortunately, I was not able to be at her promotion, but AJ surprised her and showed up in time to see her get her promotion certificate. She did very well in school this year and we are very proud of her! It’s so hard to believe that she will be in 4th grade next year!! Where does the time go??
The first full week of June, our church had Vacation Bible School. The theme this year was a ranch/cowboy theme. The kids were taught how to "round-up" answers they had by asking God. I helped with the snacks in the kitchen. It was a fun week and we are already looking forward to next year - the theme is New York City! That should be fun!!
At the end of June, AJ’s boss again took his managers to the Kona Village for a weekend getaway. Kona Village is the fancy resort we went to last summer that is like “old-time Kona.” It’s meant for people to get away and relax. There are no TVs or phones in the rooms and you can only be on your cell phone in your room. The rooms are like huts, but they are very nice and come with everything a normal hotel room would have except the TV and phone. We even had a hot tub on our porch. We had a pretty good ocean view too! We went swimming and snorkeling and were able to relax. It was really great and we didn’t want to leave!!
In July, Jenna and I were in the 4th of July parade for Hospice. We had fun throwing candy to people and then went out to eat afterwards and stayed to watch the fireworks. It lasted a whole 10 minutes! AJ and I were both off on July 5th for the July 4th Holiday, so we went snorkeling and kayaking with one of AJ’s co-workers, David. We went snorkeling at a place called "two-step." It's called this because there are two steps to get in and out of the ocean - pretty original, huh? Someone took white rocks and wrote "aloha" on the bottom of the ocean. I tried to get a picture, but unfortunately it didn't turn out very well. Oh well, maybe next time! Then, we went paddling around looking for the sea arches, but the water was getting rough and I was starting to get sea sick, so we turned around and headed for smoother waters. We paddled past the City of Refuge, one of our favorite beaches. It was neat to see it from a different point of view. While we were making our way back to the boat landing, David said, “Hey AJ, look to your left.” Of course, I looked too and we saw a black fin sticking out of the water! It was a little scary at first, because, of course the first thing you think of is …SHARK! You could see this dark image in the water; it was very wide but not very long. Then we saw 2 fins sticking out of the water, kind of at an angle and equally spaced. I was thinking, “What is that??” AJ thought it must be a manta ray. David tried to paddle closer to it, but it could swim so fast, he couldn’t get near it!! It was a little scary, but exciting too! We would like to go on a night tour to snorkel and swim with the manta rays. We hear it is very fun, so hopefully someday we’ll get to see them up close and personal!
The following weekend I worked at Camp Erin again. In case you forgot, Camp Erin is a bereavement camp for kids that have lost a loved one. This year we were at a different location which was really nice! It was at a lower elevation so it wasn’t as cold and rainy. We did get a little rain, but it wasn’t cold and damp like last year. We were in cabins this year also instead of tents which made a huge difference! The biggest pest this year was mosquitoes, which was really nothing compared to what we endured the past few days at Karen and Dave’s! (They live near a swamp, which is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes!) I again had the 6-8 year old girls in my cabin and it was amazing! Almost every one of the girls in my cabin had lost a loved one in some tragic way – it was very sad, yet amazing to see how they were coping. AJ again helped with archery and Jenna even helped this year. She helped get water balloons ready for the obstacle course and got soaking wet! Hard to imagine, I know! She had fun and felt like she was helping in some way, so it was OK. We all enjoy working at Camp Erin and plan to again next year.
Earlier in the year we were dealing with a very severe drought. In fact, we learned that it was the worst drought Kona had had in 50 years! It caused a lot more work for AJ and Kona Queen, but they managed to get through it. Thankfully we were getting rain on a pretty regular basis before we went on vacation and things were starting to look green again.
So as I mentioned, AJ was very busy with the bees because of the drought. He is responsible for 3000 hives of bees and he usually feeds them once every three weeks. Because of the drought, he had to feed them every week! To make matters worse, the Big Island now has the mite (a parasite that affects the bees) and the hive beetle (which affects the bee larva). Both of these pests are new to the Big Island in the past year. AJ has been responsible for his 3000 hives plus the testing and treating of the mite and the beetle. Kona Queen hired a new person to deal with the mite and the beetle, so AJ will finally get back to doing one job instead of two! It’s been pretty stressful and extremely exhausting, but I think things should be getting better now.
My job has been very stressful also. We hired a new person, but she quit and so did one of our other nurses, both for various reasons, so we are short staffed. We have had 1-2 people on vacation all summer so we have had to work longer hours and take more call than usual. We are taking call 2-3 times a week, which was really beginning to take its toll on me before our vacation. They were supposed to be hiring someone new while I was gone. I sure hope so because I’m not sure I can continue to take call like this and still be sane and have my family like me!
Jenna finished swimming lessons just before we left on vacation. She was in level 4 this year, which was stroke development. She still needs a little practice, but overall I think she did well. Her last day of lessons was the day we left for Wisconsin, so were running up until about an hour before we left! We also discovered we had a water leak somewhere in the house or under the ground the day before we left! We got a notice from the water company telling us that we had doubled the amount of water used from what we usually do! AND to make matters worse, the dishwasher quit working the day we were leaving! We talked to our realtor before we left, and while we were gone, so hopefully everything is fixed before we get home!
So we were all a little stressed before we went on vacation. Even though we were busy on vacation, I think the stress level was definitely lower! We did have a little excitement in Chicago…we almost missed our plane!! We flew from Madison to Chicago, but only had a 40 minute lay over. We got into Chicago a few minutes early, but we taxied for 15 minutes!! I’m not sure why, but it took forever to get to our gate! We had to gate check one of our bags, so AJ waited for that while Jenna and I took off running for our gate. We had to change concourses to catch our next flight so it was a long way to go! We were going to take the shuttle, but there was a line and I didn’t want to risk missing our flight. So Jenna and I ran most of the way to our gate. We walked a little, but when we got to our gate, they were already boarding and AJ hadn’t gotten there yet! He arrived a couple minutes after we did. He had to run the whole way! We boarded and the plane left in less than 10 minutes. It was a little stressful, but we certainly got our blood flowing and got a little exercise before our flight to L.A.! I hope that is the end of our stress for a while!
Well, I think that’s it! That’s the update so far this summer, so until next time…aloha!
We just spent the past 2-1/2 weeks in Wisconsin visiting family and friends and going to 2 class reunions. We had a great time, but are tired and ready to be home. We went to the fair and watched the tractor pull and gauntlet races and were able to see many people that we know. We stayed at the hotel in Darlington the first few nights and Jenna and her friends were able to go swimming. We stayed at AJ’s sister Sue’s house for several days and visited friends, and got to meet our new “great-niece” Leah, who is very cute with tons of hair! (If we have a great niece, does that make us old??? –naw!) I asked AJ why is the grandparent called “grand” and the aunt and uncle called “great”? I think we should be called “grand-aunt and uncle!” That makes sense doesn’t it?? I don’t know, I guess my logic doesn’t apply here!
Anyway, we dubbed this vacation the “ever-changing vacation.” We called it this because almost everything we had planned changed! AJ was planning to redo the cement in our front porch at the house, but the date got changed 3 times due to his help changing the date or because of rain! He never did get it done! AJ was also planning to take a friend of his to Green Bay to see Lambeau Field, but that unfortunately didn’t work either. Lynn was going to go to Monroe for a day, but that changed too! We did manage to see lots of friends and pretty much everyone in our family. AJ and I both had a class reunion too. It was fun to see our classmates and catch up. I hadn’t seen many of my classmates for 20 years and AJ saw a few he hadn’t seen in many years too. I was on the planning committee for my reunion, so I was busy with last minute preparations the 3 days prior. I had my reservations about how it would all turn out, but fortunately everything fell into place and it ended up being a really great evening! We stayed with my parents for a few nights and got to see the family. We got to see my sister Lisa and her family from Milwaukee – her kids are 3 and 5 now and as smart and cute as ever! I was able to see my brother Al and his wife from Colorado too the first weekend we were here. It would have been great to have everyone together at once, but at least I got to see them! We visited my 93 year old Grandma for a while. She is still witty, but is getting a little forgetful. She still lives alone in her own house – not bad for 93 years old! We visited my cousin Sam’s grave. It was hard, but I’m glad I did it. We left him some flower leis, which is nothing compared to the paradise he is now enjoying, but it’s a little something I guess.
Jenna got to stay at Peach and Papa’s house and got to see many of the babysitting kids she grew up with. Peach and Papa’s grandson, Kaden is 3 months younger than Jenna and he is about an inch shorter than me! Next time I see him, I’m sure he’ll be taller, but I’ve still got him this time!! The last few nights we stayed at AJ’s Mom’s house. We had great meals of sweet corn and fresh veggies from Karen and Dave’s garden. I think we all ate too much the whole time we were there, but it was great! Our niece Melanie and her boyfriend Tom announced their engagement while we were in Wisconsin and we were able to get together with them for dinner at Karen’s. We are very happy for them and it was great to see them!
It was a great trip. We were on the run a lot, but not quite as much as when we are there at Christmas. We’re pretty tired and ready to be home. I think we got rested up a LITTLE…we were pretty wiped out with everything going on before we left. There’s been a lot going on that I will try and summarize without writing a book and/or putting you to sleep!
I think I left off at the end of April. May started off with Lei Day at Jenna’s school (May Day in schools on the Mainland). Jenna’s class performed a hula and sang a song in Hawaiian. It was very well done. The kids choreographed the dance themselves and they did a really good job! I wish I could get it to attach, but the file is too big. Then each child put a lei on a big wooded cross – it was a very nice ceremony.
Jenna’s last day of school was June 4. Unfortunately, I was not able to be at her promotion, but AJ surprised her and showed up in time to see her get her promotion certificate. She did very well in school this year and we are very proud of her! It’s so hard to believe that she will be in 4th grade next year!! Where does the time go??
The first full week of June, our church had Vacation Bible School. The theme this year was a ranch/cowboy theme. The kids were taught how to "round-up" answers they had by asking God. I helped with the snacks in the kitchen. It was a fun week and we are already looking forward to next year - the theme is New York City! That should be fun!!
At the end of June, AJ’s boss again took his managers to the Kona Village for a weekend getaway. Kona Village is the fancy resort we went to last summer that is like “old-time Kona.” It’s meant for people to get away and relax. There are no TVs or phones in the rooms and you can only be on your cell phone in your room. The rooms are like huts, but they are very nice and come with everything a normal hotel room would have except the TV and phone. We even had a hot tub on our porch. We had a pretty good ocean view too! We went swimming and snorkeling and were able to relax. It was really great and we didn’t want to leave!!
In July, Jenna and I were in the 4th of July parade for Hospice. We had fun throwing candy to people and then went out to eat afterwards and stayed to watch the fireworks. It lasted a whole 10 minutes! AJ and I were both off on July 5th for the July 4th Holiday, so we went snorkeling and kayaking with one of AJ’s co-workers, David. We went snorkeling at a place called "two-step." It's called this because there are two steps to get in and out of the ocean - pretty original, huh? Someone took white rocks and wrote "aloha" on the bottom of the ocean. I tried to get a picture, but unfortunately it didn't turn out very well. Oh well, maybe next time! Then, we went paddling around looking for the sea arches, but the water was getting rough and I was starting to get sea sick, so we turned around and headed for smoother waters. We paddled past the City of Refuge, one of our favorite beaches. It was neat to see it from a different point of view. While we were making our way back to the boat landing, David said, “Hey AJ, look to your left.” Of course, I looked too and we saw a black fin sticking out of the water! It was a little scary at first, because, of course the first thing you think of is …SHARK! You could see this dark image in the water; it was very wide but not very long. Then we saw 2 fins sticking out of the water, kind of at an angle and equally spaced. I was thinking, “What is that??” AJ thought it must be a manta ray. David tried to paddle closer to it, but it could swim so fast, he couldn’t get near it!! It was a little scary, but exciting too! We would like to go on a night tour to snorkel and swim with the manta rays. We hear it is very fun, so hopefully someday we’ll get to see them up close and personal!
The following weekend I worked at Camp Erin again. In case you forgot, Camp Erin is a bereavement camp for kids that have lost a loved one. This year we were at a different location which was really nice! It was at a lower elevation so it wasn’t as cold and rainy. We did get a little rain, but it wasn’t cold and damp like last year. We were in cabins this year also instead of tents which made a huge difference! The biggest pest this year was mosquitoes, which was really nothing compared to what we endured the past few days at Karen and Dave’s! (They live near a swamp, which is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes!) I again had the 6-8 year old girls in my cabin and it was amazing! Almost every one of the girls in my cabin had lost a loved one in some tragic way – it was very sad, yet amazing to see how they were coping. AJ again helped with archery and Jenna even helped this year. She helped get water balloons ready for the obstacle course and got soaking wet! Hard to imagine, I know! She had fun and felt like she was helping in some way, so it was OK. We all enjoy working at Camp Erin and plan to again next year.
Earlier in the year we were dealing with a very severe drought. In fact, we learned that it was the worst drought Kona had had in 50 years! It caused a lot more work for AJ and Kona Queen, but they managed to get through it. Thankfully we were getting rain on a pretty regular basis before we went on vacation and things were starting to look green again.
So as I mentioned, AJ was very busy with the bees because of the drought. He is responsible for 3000 hives of bees and he usually feeds them once every three weeks. Because of the drought, he had to feed them every week! To make matters worse, the Big Island now has the mite (a parasite that affects the bees) and the hive beetle (which affects the bee larva). Both of these pests are new to the Big Island in the past year. AJ has been responsible for his 3000 hives plus the testing and treating of the mite and the beetle. Kona Queen hired a new person to deal with the mite and the beetle, so AJ will finally get back to doing one job instead of two! It’s been pretty stressful and extremely exhausting, but I think things should be getting better now.
My job has been very stressful also. We hired a new person, but she quit and so did one of our other nurses, both for various reasons, so we are short staffed. We have had 1-2 people on vacation all summer so we have had to work longer hours and take more call than usual. We are taking call 2-3 times a week, which was really beginning to take its toll on me before our vacation. They were supposed to be hiring someone new while I was gone. I sure hope so because I’m not sure I can continue to take call like this and still be sane and have my family like me!
Jenna finished swimming lessons just before we left on vacation. She was in level 4 this year, which was stroke development. She still needs a little practice, but overall I think she did well. Her last day of lessons was the day we left for Wisconsin, so were running up until about an hour before we left! We also discovered we had a water leak somewhere in the house or under the ground the day before we left! We got a notice from the water company telling us that we had doubled the amount of water used from what we usually do! AND to make matters worse, the dishwasher quit working the day we were leaving! We talked to our realtor before we left, and while we were gone, so hopefully everything is fixed before we get home!
So we were all a little stressed before we went on vacation. Even though we were busy on vacation, I think the stress level was definitely lower! We did have a little excitement in Chicago…we almost missed our plane!! We flew from Madison to Chicago, but only had a 40 minute lay over. We got into Chicago a few minutes early, but we taxied for 15 minutes!! I’m not sure why, but it took forever to get to our gate! We had to gate check one of our bags, so AJ waited for that while Jenna and I took off running for our gate. We had to change concourses to catch our next flight so it was a long way to go! We were going to take the shuttle, but there was a line and I didn’t want to risk missing our flight. So Jenna and I ran most of the way to our gate. We walked a little, but when we got to our gate, they were already boarding and AJ hadn’t gotten there yet! He arrived a couple minutes after we did. He had to run the whole way! We boarded and the plane left in less than 10 minutes. It was a little stressful, but we certainly got our blood flowing and got a little exercise before our flight to L.A.! I hope that is the end of our stress for a while!
Well, I think that’s it! That’s the update so far this summer, so until next time…aloha!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Easter, AJ and Jenna
Happy Easter to you all! We had a beautiful day here! We got up bright and early and went to the community church service called the Sonrise Service. It started at 6am. We arrived at 5:30 so we could get a seat. The paper said there was about 1000 people in attendance!! It was a beautiful service! There was great music and hula dancing, but the best part was the pastor’s sermon to the children. He was talking about 2 crowns for Jesus – a thorny crown and a crown made of plumeria flowers. At the end of his sermon a HELICOPTER flew over the crowd and dropped plumeria flowers all over us!! It was so cool!! The kids were running all over the place trying to catch the flowers. After this service, we went to our regular church for our Easter Service and then had a potluck afterwards. It was a long, but great day! Praise God for the Resurrection of our Lord!
AJ has been very busy with his bee work lately. We are in the middle of a severe drought right now. People that have lived here for a while say that this is the worst drought they have ever seen. There is very little moisture for the plants so there is not much nectar for the bees to collect. AJ is working hard to keep the hives growing. He and his crew have had to feed them more than usual. We have been praying for rain and have gotten a little lately, but we need a lot more to get things going again. AJ says that there is a lot of pressure to keep his hives going because the nuks where they produce the queens need the bees from his hives. It’s such a snowball effect – he needs to have a lot of bees so they can be used for the nuks for queen production which beekeepers around the world need in order for their hives to be productive. AJ describes it as his operation is the root for so many other businesses and people’s livelihood. It’s very stressful. I pray that we get more rain soon!! I don’t like seeing him so stressed, but am impressed that he is handling it pretty good overall.
Jenna had a Science Fair at school recently. Her subject was “How to Read Invisible Ink.” She did a great job with her presentation. We didn’t spend as much time preparing as we probably should have, but we/she pulled it together nicely. She fortunately has her Daddy’s gift of public speaking! She placed 5th and got a nice ribbon. She was happy with that. Third quarter has ended and Jenna did very well in all of her classes. We are very proud of her! Every time Jenna gets a report card, AJ says “They must grade differently now than they did when I was in school because I never saw grades like this!” Maybe his grades were letters a little further down the alphabet…hmmm. :-)
I'm working on my note about our latest guests visits. I'll be posting soon. Until then...aloha!
AJ has been very busy with his bee work lately. We are in the middle of a severe drought right now. People that have lived here for a while say that this is the worst drought they have ever seen. There is very little moisture for the plants so there is not much nectar for the bees to collect. AJ is working hard to keep the hives growing. He and his crew have had to feed them more than usual. We have been praying for rain and have gotten a little lately, but we need a lot more to get things going again. AJ says that there is a lot of pressure to keep his hives going because the nuks where they produce the queens need the bees from his hives. It’s such a snowball effect – he needs to have a lot of bees so they can be used for the nuks for queen production which beekeepers around the world need in order for their hives to be productive. AJ describes it as his operation is the root for so many other businesses and people’s livelihood. It’s very stressful. I pray that we get more rain soon!! I don’t like seeing him so stressed, but am impressed that he is handling it pretty good overall.
Jenna had a Science Fair at school recently. Her subject was “How to Read Invisible Ink.” She did a great job with her presentation. We didn’t spend as much time preparing as we probably should have, but we/she pulled it together nicely. She fortunately has her Daddy’s gift of public speaking! She placed 5th and got a nice ribbon. She was happy with that. Third quarter has ended and Jenna did very well in all of her classes. We are very proud of her! Every time Jenna gets a report card, AJ says “They must grade differently now than they did when I was in school because I never saw grades like this!” Maybe his grades were letters a little further down the alphabet…hmmm. :-)
I'm working on my note about our latest guests visits. I'll be posting soon. Until then...aloha!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Visitors!
We have been enjoying having many visitors this winter! In February our friends Steve and Diane came for a short visit in between visiting other Islands. Jenna and I took them to see the volcano and we all went kayaking to the monument. We didn’t see any dolphins, but the snorkeling was awesome as usual!
In mid-February we had our dear friends Brock and Karen visit. We did so many fun things! We went to Parker Ranch and went horseback riding. Neither Jenna nor I are real comfortable riding horses, but the horses were trained so well that most of them could have walked the trail by themselves. Jenna’s horse was named Buzzy, mine was Geronimo, I can’t remember Karen’s, but hers was a little testy. I’m glad she was on him and not me! Brock rode Tiny, which was one of those paradoxical names for a horse…”Tiny” was huge! We had a great time riding through the pastures of Parker Ranch. It was so beautiful! It was a sunny day and the mountains looked amazing!! Jenna did so good riding her horse! I was a little nervous for both of us, but she was very brave and did awesome! By the end of the ride, she was having her horse trot! She did great! I’ve posted a few pictures.
After horseback riding, we went to Hawi (pronounced ah-vee.) We drove way off-road to see a lighthouse. The lighthouse wasn't much to see, but the scenery was beautiful! There used to be a lot of equipment along the shore for some project, but the coastline has eroded over time and all of the equipment fell into the ocean. You can still see parts lying on the ground. I posted some pictures. After the lighthouse, we went to a look-out at the most northern part of the Island and hiked on a trail to the ocean. The trail was kind of rough, but it was worth it! The sites were beautiful!
We also went kayaking with Brock and Karen. As usual, the snorkeling was awesome! On our way back to the landing, we saw a humpback whale out in the ocean just a little way from the Bay where we were kayaking. We decided to paddle out and get a closer look. I couldn’t see for sure where it was I was nervous that we were getting too close. I kept telling AJ, “I think we’re close enough!” Jenna and Karen were nervous too. As we got closer I realized that we weren’t that close and now I wish we WOULD have gone closer! It would have been cool to see a whale close up! While we were sitting in the kayaks watching this whale, ANOTHER whale came up behind us!! If we had stayed in the Bay like we usually do, we would have been VERY, VERY close to it!! That would have been scary, but really COOL too!!! We had a fabulous time with them and didn’t want them to leave. It was really hard to say good-bye and we look forward to seeing them again soon. We didn’t have much time to lament Brock and Karen leaving because one week later, our next guests arrived!
My other dear friend Julie and her brother Kevin came for a couple of weeks at the beginning of March. We had a great time just sitting on the beach talking, and spent a lot of time snorkeling. After the first week, Julie’s husband John came for a week. We were spoiled by their service while they were with us—we had a live-in nanny, cook, and maid! All of our guests are wonderful and help with things around the house, but I think I relied on them to take care of Jenna more than our other guests – and I am SO grateful for that! We enjoyed their company so much and were very sad to see them go. After they got home, Julie called to tell me that they almost missed their flight out of Kona! United had 2 flights leaving within 30 minutes of each other, so it took a while for them to get through security. I think it was God’s way of telling them they shouldn’t be leaving! :-)
We are now awaiting the arrival of our next guests. A classmate of AJ’s is coming today and Jenna’s babysitters from Darlington are coming on Sunday. We can’t wait to see everyone! It will be fun to show people around the Island we love so much! I will post another update after they all leave. Until then…aloha!
In mid-February we had our dear friends Brock and Karen visit. We did so many fun things! We went to Parker Ranch and went horseback riding. Neither Jenna nor I are real comfortable riding horses, but the horses were trained so well that most of them could have walked the trail by themselves. Jenna’s horse was named Buzzy, mine was Geronimo, I can’t remember Karen’s, but hers was a little testy. I’m glad she was on him and not me! Brock rode Tiny, which was one of those paradoxical names for a horse…”Tiny” was huge! We had a great time riding through the pastures of Parker Ranch. It was so beautiful! It was a sunny day and the mountains looked amazing!! Jenna did so good riding her horse! I was a little nervous for both of us, but she was very brave and did awesome! By the end of the ride, she was having her horse trot! She did great! I’ve posted a few pictures.
After horseback riding, we went to Hawi (pronounced ah-vee.) We drove way off-road to see a lighthouse. The lighthouse wasn't much to see, but the scenery was beautiful! There used to be a lot of equipment along the shore for some project, but the coastline has eroded over time and all of the equipment fell into the ocean. You can still see parts lying on the ground. I posted some pictures. After the lighthouse, we went to a look-out at the most northern part of the Island and hiked on a trail to the ocean. The trail was kind of rough, but it was worth it! The sites were beautiful!
We also went kayaking with Brock and Karen. As usual, the snorkeling was awesome! On our way back to the landing, we saw a humpback whale out in the ocean just a little way from the Bay where we were kayaking. We decided to paddle out and get a closer look. I couldn’t see for sure where it was I was nervous that we were getting too close. I kept telling AJ, “I think we’re close enough!” Jenna and Karen were nervous too. As we got closer I realized that we weren’t that close and now I wish we WOULD have gone closer! It would have been cool to see a whale close up! While we were sitting in the kayaks watching this whale, ANOTHER whale came up behind us!! If we had stayed in the Bay like we usually do, we would have been VERY, VERY close to it!! That would have been scary, but really COOL too!!! We had a fabulous time with them and didn’t want them to leave. It was really hard to say good-bye and we look forward to seeing them again soon. We didn’t have much time to lament Brock and Karen leaving because one week later, our next guests arrived!
My other dear friend Julie and her brother Kevin came for a couple of weeks at the beginning of March. We had a great time just sitting on the beach talking, and spent a lot of time snorkeling. After the first week, Julie’s husband John came for a week. We were spoiled by their service while they were with us—we had a live-in nanny, cook, and maid! All of our guests are wonderful and help with things around the house, but I think I relied on them to take care of Jenna more than our other guests – and I am SO grateful for that! We enjoyed their company so much and were very sad to see them go. After they got home, Julie called to tell me that they almost missed their flight out of Kona! United had 2 flights leaving within 30 minutes of each other, so it took a while for them to get through security. I think it was God’s way of telling them they shouldn’t be leaving! :-)
We are now awaiting the arrival of our next guests. A classmate of AJ’s is coming today and Jenna’s babysitters from Darlington are coming on Sunday. We can’t wait to see everyone! It will be fun to show people around the Island we love so much! I will post another update after they all leave. Until then…aloha!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Daylight Savings Time
Just a reminder that Daylight Savings Time starts today! We are now 5 hours behind Wisconsin time. It will make it more difficult to call, but we will do our best! We are enjoying having visitors and I hope to post an update soon!
I will be making a short visit to Wisconsin at the end of March. My cousin has a brain tumor and he is starting to get weaker. It will be a very quick visit but I am looking forward to seeing him and his family.
I hope to post an update on our visitors soon, so until then...aloha!
I will be making a short visit to Wisconsin at the end of March. My cousin has a brain tumor and he is starting to get weaker. It will be a very quick visit but I am looking forward to seeing him and his family.
I hope to post an update on our visitors soon, so until then...aloha!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Tsunami alert!!
There is a tsunami heading our way because of the earthquake in Chile! So far, there hasn't been much action. We are watching the events on TV. Most of the action is on the other side of the Island from us. The water has sucked out from the shore and is now coming back in. The water will keep on doing that until the event subsides. The weather man says it could take hours to days before we see the full effects of the tsunamai. I will keep posting updates as things happen. Thank you for your prayers, emails, and calls. We appreciate your concern.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Jenna's Birthday
January 6 was Jenna’s 9th birthday. It’s so hard to believe that she is that old already! Where does the time go?? We let her have a birthday party with her classmates…thankfully she has a small class!! We had 13 kids there and it went really well. We held it at a park not far from our house. The best thing about that is that I didn’t have to entertain the kids! This park is awesome and has tons of things for the kids to do. I had a hard time getting them to come back for cake and ice cream! Jenna wanted a Hello Kitty themed party, so I asked a friend of mine to make her a Hello Kitty cake. It turned out sooo cute!! I provided a few snacks, the cake and ice cream, and that was it! The park provided the rest of the fun! It was great and Jenna had a lot of fun. AJ and I bought her a stand up paddle board for her birthday. Stand up paddle boarding is just like it sounds. You stand up on a board and paddle. It takes a lot of balance and core strength, which I don’t have much of! We tried it before Christmas and thought it was a lot of fun. Jenna was a natural! AJ tipped over a few times, but he was being a lot more daring than me! I was just glad that I could stand on it and not fall over! The water has been pretty rough since we got it, so Jenna has only had it out once since we got it, but I’m sure we’ll get out there more. That's all for now. Until next time...aloha!
Friday, February 19, 2010
2009 Year in Review
I actually had a little extra time this week so I finished writing my "year in review." It's really long, so you might want to grab a cup of coffee! :-)
2009 – Year in Review
January – We began our first full year in Hawaii! It was strange to have mid-70’s to 80 degrees for temperatures, but we were not complaining after just spending Christmas in Wisconsin with below zero temps!! AJ was busy at Kona Queen, working 5-6 days a week, 10-12 hour days. Jenna started school again after a 3-week break. Lynn was busy working on her resume and applying for jobs.
February – AJ continued to be very busy at work—working long days. This is the busiest time of the year for Kona Queen. Lynn started working for Hospice of Kona the first week of February. She had her first day of work the same day our first visitors came! Dick and Jody from Darlington stayed with us for 10 days and we had a great time showing them around the Island. After they left, more friends came. This time, John and Julie and their 3 kids from Iowa came. It was so great to see them! Having visitors is like having built in babysitters for days when Jenna is off school and AJ and I are both working! It’s awesome!!
March – AJ was still busy at work, but not working quite as many weekends. Lynn was in full swing with her job at Hospice. She had 2 or 3 weeks of training and then was given a full load of patients and was completely on her own. It was quite stressful, but it all worked out. On the job training is often best in hindsight! We continued to have visitors - Jeff and Karen from Mineral Point, and Tueschers and Vitures from Darlington. We love sharing the beauty of this Island with our friends and taking them to our favorite places to eat!
April – More of the same for AJ and Lynn – keeping busy at work, and Jenna at school. AJ’s Mom and her husband came and spent time with us. Jenna was on Spring Break, so she got to spend more time with them than AJ and I! She was their personal tour guide which we discovered she is very good at and had done several times since!! I got my hair cut just before Easter. I realize that getting my hair cut is no big deal, but the story behind it is actually pretty funny and worth putting in the “year review,” especially since I didn’t tell the story when it happened. I had been thinking about doing something different with my hair, but wasn’t sure what to do. I’m not real talented in that area! The day I got my hair cut, I had gotten a massage in the morning. After the massage I took a shower and just let my hair dry on its own. When I do that it just hangs in my face, flat as a pancake! It looked pretty bad when I went into the salon. I was a little nervous when I first walked in the door because I thought the lady cutting my hair only cut “older” people’s hair. Now before I get myself in trouble with the “older” generation, let me explain! She had red hats and purple things everywhere in her salon! I was really hoping that she would know how to cut someone’s hair that was not a “red-hatter!” She asked me what I wanted done with my hair. I told her I wasn’t sure, but I was open to suggestions. She promptly said, “Good, ‘cause I’ve got some!” I was a little taken back at first, but then I was like “well, she’s right. I do need some help!” She showed me a picture of the style she was thinking of and I liked it, so I told her to go for it. I figured it I didn’t like it, it would always grow back, right? Well, she cut and she cut and the end product is what you see in the pictures. I like it and it is really fast and easy to style, which for me, is a huge bonus!!
May – Our friend Marleen and her cousins came for a visit. It was great having them, but it was way too short of a visit!! School…work…etc…some things don’t change!
June – Jenna finished her first year at Kona Christian Academy. She did great and made a lot of good friends. We learned that it is quite expensive to have babysitters in Hawaii! Thank goodness I only work part time! AJ’s Aunt Tudy and her friend Rosi came for a visit. It’s always so nice to have family come and see where we live. Jenna was again the tour guide and she did a great job! Except that I think she talks too much! I wonder who she gets that from…?
July – Jenna took swimming lessons. She got through Level 3 without any difficulty. On to Level 4 next year! We took a family vacation to Maui and since I never got around to telling you about it then, I will give you the story now. Sorry it took me so long to tell you and I’m sorry it’s so long!! Enjoy! It was a short, but fun trip…that almost didn’t happen! We were scheduled to leave on Thursday. I was verifying our flights online on Tuesday night (at about 10pm) and I read that we should check in 24hrs in advance. I thought this was kind of strange, especially for an inter-island flight. I called the airlines and shockingly discovered that this particular airline no longer flew out of Kona! The airline had made the change about 2 weeks before and apparently didn’t feel the need to inform any of their customers!! Our options were minimal and awful! We could fly out of a different town, but we would have had to get up at about 3am and drive for an hour to catch the plane. Plus we couldn’t come back until Monday, which would have caused problems for both of our jobs. So after much discussion at 10:30 at night, we decided to cancel the tickets we had and book on another airline. Of course that airline had closed its ticketing office at 10pm, so I had to wait until the next morning to book them. And because I was booking them so late (we were planning to leave the next day) of course we paid an enormous amount of money for them!! But we had a car and hotel already booked, so we decided to just book them anyway.
Thankfully, we didn’t have any other problems and had a very enjoyable trip. The first day, we left before daylight and arrived in Maui as the sun was rising. It was very pretty. We rode on a 9 passenger sesna plane. It was actually very smooth and the flight was only about 20 minutes. We picked up our rental car and drove to the other side of the Island to a town called Hana. The “Road to Hana” is actually a well known tourist attraction. It is a very winding road and claims you will cross 56 bridges. We tried counting, but lost track. Some of the bridges were very cool. There were dates on most of them – some dating back to 1908! Many of them were made of white cement…There are many beautiful overlooks, one in which we stopped at specifically because I was getting car sick after driving around so many curves!! Unfortunately for AJ, he had to drive the whole thing while I took a nap so I could get over feeling sick! When we finally arrived in Hana, we went to the Haleakala National Park (pronounced Ha-lee-uk-a-la). We hiked 2 miles up a rough trail, over rocks, tree roots, over a couple bridges and through a beautiful bamboo forest. It’s my favorite part of the hike! Jenna liked it too-she thought it was “fun, great and cool!” I’ve posted a few pictures. At the end of the hike we were treated to a view of Wiamoku Falls--a beautiful waterfall!! It flows 400 feet down a rocky wall. It is really worth the time spent hiking! We hiked the 2 miles back out with Jenna, our fearless leader leading the way! She did such a great job and didn’t get tired or cranky at all! We checked out an area called the “Seven Sacred Pools” where we could have gone swimming, but we didn’t have our suits on and we needed to get driving to the hotel. We headed back up the “Road to Hana” and just about the time I was getting sick again, we had to stop for road construction. We were stopped for about 45 minutes, which got really old, but we all took naps and I got over feeling car sick! It was a pain, but it worked out OK in the end!
We went to a couple of different beaches. One called “Big Beach” was appropriately named as it was a VERY big beach! The water was pretty rough. Jenna didn’t want to get too close the water for fear of getting pummeled by the water or swept away! She had a ball just getting tossed around in the water after the waves broke on shore. I joined her in letting the waves push us and roll us around. One time I had my back to the ocean (exactly what I am NOT supposed to do!) and a wave took me by surprise. I did several summersaults before I could get myself back on my feet! That’s not very fun…trust me! The other beach we went to was nice too; not quite as rough. We tried to snorkel, but the water was not real clear. There was a race going on while we were there. People were swimming in the water and running on shore so we tried to stay out of the way! Even though the beaches were great, they did not compare to the pool in Jenna’s eyes! She would have stayed at the hotel all day and swam in the pool if we would have let her!
Our second day in Maui we went to the Maui Aquatic Center. It was a great aquarium and we had a lot of fun! It was shark week, so we learned a lot about sharks and saw the biologists in the tank WITH the sharks! That would have been so scary!! They didn’t seem scared at all. They claimed that there is only something like 5 deaths per year worldwide from shark bites. They didn’t mention how many attacks and injured people there were each year! I don’t think I really want to know that anyway! We saw them feeding the sting rays. That was pretty cool. I got some good pictures. I posted a few.
We strolled along Front Street, which is the street that goes right along the ocean. There are all kinds of shops and restaurants along the street. One whole block along Front Street contains a HUGE, GIGANTIC banyan tree. The tree literally takes up the entire block! It’s so cool! Banyan trees continue to grow by putting more roots down into the ground from their branches. It’s hard to believe that this is really just one tree, but it really is! Pictures don’t do it justice, but I posted a few just to give you an idea.
One of the last things that we saw was the ‘Iao Valley and ‘Iao Needle. This is a historical place in Hawaii where the people used to watch for their enemy from the ‘Iao Needle, a tall projection of land that allowed the warriors to see the enemy coming from a long way away. The story goes that the king from the Big Island came to battle the king on Maui and a terrible war ensued. So many people died that the valley was full of dead bodies and the river was clogged up! That’s amazing… and gross too!! It wasn’t super exciting, but it was neat to tour and learn a little more history of the Islands.
August – Our friends Scott and Sharon from Darlington visited. We got to “meet” their baby and we looked forward to meeting her for real in December! Jenna was not in school yet, so she was again the tour guide. She affectionately became known as, “J”PS instead of GPS! She started 3rd grade at the end of August. She’s growing up too fast!!
September – We celebrated our ONE YEAR anniversary of living in Hawaii. We were amazed at how fast it went! AJ’s work got busier this month as the mite was discovered in bee hives on this side of the Island. He spent many hours with Gus and Bob going to meetings, and learning from researchers and experts about the best ways to treat their hives. Even though treating for mites was not new to AJ, treating them in a queen bee operation was different and he learned there are different things to take into account. It was a busy time for him, but things went well.
October – This year all three of us helped at the Ironman Triathlon again. Jenna was at an aide station for the volunteers and AJ and I were fortunate enough to be at the Finish Line! We were “catchers.” We got to help the athletes after they crossed the finish line. We got to be there when the “Pros” came in. We saw the winners cross—Craig Alexander for the men and Crissy Wellington for the women. They both set records. Craig for the fastest marathon (the 3rd leg of the race! I don’t know how he had the energy left to run that fast!) and Crissy for the fastest time for a woman to finish the race- in less than 9 hours! That’s amazing!! It was so cool to see all the athletes finish the race. It was fun to talk to people from all over the world. Some of them were disappointed in how they did, but I think anyone that even tries to do this race is amazing!! It’s such a grueling competition and a really long day! Some of the athletes needed the entire time to finish—17 hours!! I went back at the end and saw the last few people finish. It was so amazing to see their resolve to finish. I got to see a former Biggest Loser contestant. He finished with only a few minutes to spare! I was paired up with a man for catching who was waiting for his wife to finish. She didn’t finish the race on time (she missed it by about 20 minutes) but she was so determined to finish that she had people helping her to walk. When she crossed the finish line, she was crying, her husband was crying, her children were crying and of course when I saw all of them crying, I had to join in too!! It was an amazing, beautiful sight! After they put her on a stretcher and started wheeling her away, I could see her lift up her arm to check her time on her watch! Always a competitor, even when she was down! It was so wonderful to be a part of the experience! A few weeks later, Jenna and I dressed up for Halloween. She was Dorothy and I was the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. It was a lot of fun! We also got Midnight, our pet guinea pig, this month.
November – This month was a time for celebrating. My Birthday and our Anniversary! We were able to get dressed up and go out for a nice dinner - something we don’t do very often. For Thanksgiving we went to our church for dinner and after that, we went to Gus and Sandy’s for more food! Don’t you just love the holidays!?
December – We enjoyed Jenna’s Christmas concert for school and AJ and I participated in their churches Christmas program. Aj ran the sound booth and I sang with the choir. I actually sang a duet/solo too! Scary I know! I’m not a good singer, and it was really scary, but it actually wasn’t too bad. I don’t think I will do that very often…too much stress! We had a great time over Christmas spending time with family and friends in Wisconsin.
We can’t believe how fast the year went by! It was a great year and we were blessed in many ways. In addition to what is listed here, we enjoyed many hours of fun in the sun, snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, watching dolphins, fish, and humpback whales…all interspersed throughout the year. Thank you for keeping up with what’s going on in our lives and we look forward to sharing more with you as 2010 unfolds! Until next time...aloha!
2009 – Year in Review
January – We began our first full year in Hawaii! It was strange to have mid-70’s to 80 degrees for temperatures, but we were not complaining after just spending Christmas in Wisconsin with below zero temps!! AJ was busy at Kona Queen, working 5-6 days a week, 10-12 hour days. Jenna started school again after a 3-week break. Lynn was busy working on her resume and applying for jobs.
February – AJ continued to be very busy at work—working long days. This is the busiest time of the year for Kona Queen. Lynn started working for Hospice of Kona the first week of February. She had her first day of work the same day our first visitors came! Dick and Jody from Darlington stayed with us for 10 days and we had a great time showing them around the Island. After they left, more friends came. This time, John and Julie and their 3 kids from Iowa came. It was so great to see them! Having visitors is like having built in babysitters for days when Jenna is off school and AJ and I are both working! It’s awesome!!
March – AJ was still busy at work, but not working quite as many weekends. Lynn was in full swing with her job at Hospice. She had 2 or 3 weeks of training and then was given a full load of patients and was completely on her own. It was quite stressful, but it all worked out. On the job training is often best in hindsight! We continued to have visitors - Jeff and Karen from Mineral Point, and Tueschers and Vitures from Darlington. We love sharing the beauty of this Island with our friends and taking them to our favorite places to eat!
April – More of the same for AJ and Lynn – keeping busy at work, and Jenna at school. AJ’s Mom and her husband came and spent time with us. Jenna was on Spring Break, so she got to spend more time with them than AJ and I! She was their personal tour guide which we discovered she is very good at and had done several times since!! I got my hair cut just before Easter. I realize that getting my hair cut is no big deal, but the story behind it is actually pretty funny and worth putting in the “year review,” especially since I didn’t tell the story when it happened. I had been thinking about doing something different with my hair, but wasn’t sure what to do. I’m not real talented in that area! The day I got my hair cut, I had gotten a massage in the morning. After the massage I took a shower and just let my hair dry on its own. When I do that it just hangs in my face, flat as a pancake! It looked pretty bad when I went into the salon. I was a little nervous when I first walked in the door because I thought the lady cutting my hair only cut “older” people’s hair. Now before I get myself in trouble with the “older” generation, let me explain! She had red hats and purple things everywhere in her salon! I was really hoping that she would know how to cut someone’s hair that was not a “red-hatter!” She asked me what I wanted done with my hair. I told her I wasn’t sure, but I was open to suggestions. She promptly said, “Good, ‘cause I’ve got some!” I was a little taken back at first, but then I was like “well, she’s right. I do need some help!” She showed me a picture of the style she was thinking of and I liked it, so I told her to go for it. I figured it I didn’t like it, it would always grow back, right? Well, she cut and she cut and the end product is what you see in the pictures. I like it and it is really fast and easy to style, which for me, is a huge bonus!!
May – Our friend Marleen and her cousins came for a visit. It was great having them, but it was way too short of a visit!! School…work…etc…some things don’t change!
June – Jenna finished her first year at Kona Christian Academy. She did great and made a lot of good friends. We learned that it is quite expensive to have babysitters in Hawaii! Thank goodness I only work part time! AJ’s Aunt Tudy and her friend Rosi came for a visit. It’s always so nice to have family come and see where we live. Jenna was again the tour guide and she did a great job! Except that I think she talks too much! I wonder who she gets that from…?
July – Jenna took swimming lessons. She got through Level 3 without any difficulty. On to Level 4 next year! We took a family vacation to Maui and since I never got around to telling you about it then, I will give you the story now. Sorry it took me so long to tell you and I’m sorry it’s so long!! Enjoy! It was a short, but fun trip…that almost didn’t happen! We were scheduled to leave on Thursday. I was verifying our flights online on Tuesday night (at about 10pm) and I read that we should check in 24hrs in advance. I thought this was kind of strange, especially for an inter-island flight. I called the airlines and shockingly discovered that this particular airline no longer flew out of Kona! The airline had made the change about 2 weeks before and apparently didn’t feel the need to inform any of their customers!! Our options were minimal and awful! We could fly out of a different town, but we would have had to get up at about 3am and drive for an hour to catch the plane. Plus we couldn’t come back until Monday, which would have caused problems for both of our jobs. So after much discussion at 10:30 at night, we decided to cancel the tickets we had and book on another airline. Of course that airline had closed its ticketing office at 10pm, so I had to wait until the next morning to book them. And because I was booking them so late (we were planning to leave the next day) of course we paid an enormous amount of money for them!! But we had a car and hotel already booked, so we decided to just book them anyway.
Thankfully, we didn’t have any other problems and had a very enjoyable trip. The first day, we left before daylight and arrived in Maui as the sun was rising. It was very pretty. We rode on a 9 passenger sesna plane. It was actually very smooth and the flight was only about 20 minutes. We picked up our rental car and drove to the other side of the Island to a town called Hana. The “Road to Hana” is actually a well known tourist attraction. It is a very winding road and claims you will cross 56 bridges. We tried counting, but lost track. Some of the bridges were very cool. There were dates on most of them – some dating back to 1908! Many of them were made of white cement…There are many beautiful overlooks, one in which we stopped at specifically because I was getting car sick after driving around so many curves!! Unfortunately for AJ, he had to drive the whole thing while I took a nap so I could get over feeling sick! When we finally arrived in Hana, we went to the Haleakala National Park (pronounced Ha-lee-uk-a-la). We hiked 2 miles up a rough trail, over rocks, tree roots, over a couple bridges and through a beautiful bamboo forest. It’s my favorite part of the hike! Jenna liked it too-she thought it was “fun, great and cool!” I’ve posted a few pictures. At the end of the hike we were treated to a view of Wiamoku Falls--a beautiful waterfall!! It flows 400 feet down a rocky wall. It is really worth the time spent hiking! We hiked the 2 miles back out with Jenna, our fearless leader leading the way! She did such a great job and didn’t get tired or cranky at all! We checked out an area called the “Seven Sacred Pools” where we could have gone swimming, but we didn’t have our suits on and we needed to get driving to the hotel. We headed back up the “Road to Hana” and just about the time I was getting sick again, we had to stop for road construction. We were stopped for about 45 minutes, which got really old, but we all took naps and I got over feeling car sick! It was a pain, but it worked out OK in the end!
We went to a couple of different beaches. One called “Big Beach” was appropriately named as it was a VERY big beach! The water was pretty rough. Jenna didn’t want to get too close the water for fear of getting pummeled by the water or swept away! She had a ball just getting tossed around in the water after the waves broke on shore. I joined her in letting the waves push us and roll us around. One time I had my back to the ocean (exactly what I am NOT supposed to do!) and a wave took me by surprise. I did several summersaults before I could get myself back on my feet! That’s not very fun…trust me! The other beach we went to was nice too; not quite as rough. We tried to snorkel, but the water was not real clear. There was a race going on while we were there. People were swimming in the water and running on shore so we tried to stay out of the way! Even though the beaches were great, they did not compare to the pool in Jenna’s eyes! She would have stayed at the hotel all day and swam in the pool if we would have let her!
Our second day in Maui we went to the Maui Aquatic Center. It was a great aquarium and we had a lot of fun! It was shark week, so we learned a lot about sharks and saw the biologists in the tank WITH the sharks! That would have been so scary!! They didn’t seem scared at all. They claimed that there is only something like 5 deaths per year worldwide from shark bites. They didn’t mention how many attacks and injured people there were each year! I don’t think I really want to know that anyway! We saw them feeding the sting rays. That was pretty cool. I got some good pictures. I posted a few.
We strolled along Front Street, which is the street that goes right along the ocean. There are all kinds of shops and restaurants along the street. One whole block along Front Street contains a HUGE, GIGANTIC banyan tree. The tree literally takes up the entire block! It’s so cool! Banyan trees continue to grow by putting more roots down into the ground from their branches. It’s hard to believe that this is really just one tree, but it really is! Pictures don’t do it justice, but I posted a few just to give you an idea.
One of the last things that we saw was the ‘Iao Valley and ‘Iao Needle. This is a historical place in Hawaii where the people used to watch for their enemy from the ‘Iao Needle, a tall projection of land that allowed the warriors to see the enemy coming from a long way away. The story goes that the king from the Big Island came to battle the king on Maui and a terrible war ensued. So many people died that the valley was full of dead bodies and the river was clogged up! That’s amazing… and gross too!! It wasn’t super exciting, but it was neat to tour and learn a little more history of the Islands.
August – Our friends Scott and Sharon from Darlington visited. We got to “meet” their baby and we looked forward to meeting her for real in December! Jenna was not in school yet, so she was again the tour guide. She affectionately became known as, “J”PS instead of GPS! She started 3rd grade at the end of August. She’s growing up too fast!!
September – We celebrated our ONE YEAR anniversary of living in Hawaii. We were amazed at how fast it went! AJ’s work got busier this month as the mite was discovered in bee hives on this side of the Island. He spent many hours with Gus and Bob going to meetings, and learning from researchers and experts about the best ways to treat their hives. Even though treating for mites was not new to AJ, treating them in a queen bee operation was different and he learned there are different things to take into account. It was a busy time for him, but things went well.
October – This year all three of us helped at the Ironman Triathlon again. Jenna was at an aide station for the volunteers and AJ and I were fortunate enough to be at the Finish Line! We were “catchers.” We got to help the athletes after they crossed the finish line. We got to be there when the “Pros” came in. We saw the winners cross—Craig Alexander for the men and Crissy Wellington for the women. They both set records. Craig for the fastest marathon (the 3rd leg of the race! I don’t know how he had the energy left to run that fast!) and Crissy for the fastest time for a woman to finish the race- in less than 9 hours! That’s amazing!! It was so cool to see all the athletes finish the race. It was fun to talk to people from all over the world. Some of them were disappointed in how they did, but I think anyone that even tries to do this race is amazing!! It’s such a grueling competition and a really long day! Some of the athletes needed the entire time to finish—17 hours!! I went back at the end and saw the last few people finish. It was so amazing to see their resolve to finish. I got to see a former Biggest Loser contestant. He finished with only a few minutes to spare! I was paired up with a man for catching who was waiting for his wife to finish. She didn’t finish the race on time (she missed it by about 20 minutes) but she was so determined to finish that she had people helping her to walk. When she crossed the finish line, she was crying, her husband was crying, her children were crying and of course when I saw all of them crying, I had to join in too!! It was an amazing, beautiful sight! After they put her on a stretcher and started wheeling her away, I could see her lift up her arm to check her time on her watch! Always a competitor, even when she was down! It was so wonderful to be a part of the experience! A few weeks later, Jenna and I dressed up for Halloween. She was Dorothy and I was the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. It was a lot of fun! We also got Midnight, our pet guinea pig, this month.
November – This month was a time for celebrating. My Birthday and our Anniversary! We were able to get dressed up and go out for a nice dinner - something we don’t do very often. For Thanksgiving we went to our church for dinner and after that, we went to Gus and Sandy’s for more food! Don’t you just love the holidays!?
December – We enjoyed Jenna’s Christmas concert for school and AJ and I participated in their churches Christmas program. Aj ran the sound booth and I sang with the choir. I actually sang a duet/solo too! Scary I know! I’m not a good singer, and it was really scary, but it actually wasn’t too bad. I don’t think I will do that very often…too much stress! We had a great time over Christmas spending time with family and friends in Wisconsin.
We can’t believe how fast the year went by! It was a great year and we were blessed in many ways. In addition to what is listed here, we enjoyed many hours of fun in the sun, snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, watching dolphins, fish, and humpback whales…all interspersed throughout the year. Thank you for keeping up with what’s going on in our lives and we look forward to sharing more with you as 2010 unfolds! Until next time...aloha!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
AJ saves the day---AGAIN!
Yes, it’s true. He did it again! Well, OK, he didn’t save a co-worker this time, but he did save 2 stranded kayakers. We had friends visiting from Darlington a couple weeks ago and we went kayaking across the Bay. We were on our way back and we saw these 2 people in the water next to their kayak. We didn’t think anything of it at first because a lot people get out of their kayaks to snorkel or swim with the dolphins. But then we thought we saw somebody waving to us. AJ decided to check it out. It turns out these people had a crack in their kayak and it was filling with water. They couldn’t get the water out because it was in between somehow. AJ tried to pull them, but with the weight of the water and the 2 people it was very difficult! He decided to pull them to shore and go back to the boat dock area and have someone bring them a different kayak. By this time, Steve, Diane and I had paddled over to see if we could help too. I took Jenna from AJ’s kayak and had the lady hang on to my kayak so AJ’s load was lightened a little. It didn’t even look like he was moving, but eventually he was able to pull the man and the kayak to shore. He pulled the kayak up onto the rocks and then we went back to the boat landing to get them help. It all turned out OK thankfully! We’re going kayaking again this coming weekend and I’m a little nervous about what we might get ourselves into!! But, on the other hand, I guess AJ has proven that he will take care of us whatever the situation!
While we were over by the Captain Cook Monument in the Bay we saw 2 humpback whales swim by! It was so amazing! They were so close to shore!! I got some pretty good pictures and I took some video. I posted some pictures and I tried to post the video, but I think it’s too big and it wouldn’t upload. Oh well. I think you’ll get the idea from the pictures. Better yet, come visit us and you can see the whales for yourself!! We have visitors here again now…our good friends Brock and Karen. We are having such a good time! I’ll try and post a summary of our adventures, and hopefully it won’t be 6 months from now!! Well, that’s all for now. Until next time…aloha!
While we were over by the Captain Cook Monument in the Bay we saw 2 humpback whales swim by! It was so amazing! They were so close to shore!! I got some pretty good pictures and I took some video. I posted some pictures and I tried to post the video, but I think it’s too big and it wouldn’t upload. Oh well. I think you’ll get the idea from the pictures. Better yet, come visit us and you can see the whales for yourself!! We have visitors here again now…our good friends Brock and Karen. We are having such a good time! I’ll try and post a summary of our adventures, and hopefully it won’t be 6 months from now!! Well, that’s all for now. Until next time…aloha!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Wacky Weather!
How is the weather on the Mainland? We are in the middle of a drought here. Winter is typically dry, but we are VERY dry! People that have lived here for a long time say this is the driest it has been in a very long time. In late December and early January we had REALLY nasty weather! We were on the Mainland so we missed most of it. We were told that there was thunder and lightening. Out in the ocean, near the airport, there were 2 water spouts spotted. Apparently, water spouts are like tornadoes, only made of water. I wish I could have seen that! That would have been scary, but cool to see!! The thought is that the lightening started fires up the mountain from us. The fires burned for several weeks. There were 2 fires--one north of us and one south of us. The smoke was so bad, you could smell it almost everyday. It was really hard on people that have respiratory problems. Most of my patients were affected in some degree. Thankfully, they are pretty much out now. But, since it is so dry, I imagine they could start again!
AJ has begun his busy season. He works 10-12 hours a day now and most all day on Saturday. It not fun having him gone so long, but we know it's only for a few weeks. Work for me is getting better. My hours have been a little more manageable. That really helps with the stress. Jenna continues to do well in school. She just got her report card and we are very proud to say that she made the honor roll!
I still need to tell you about Jenna's birthday party, and I am almost finished writing up a "2009 year in review." I hope to get them both posted this next week. We have friends coming to visit starting on Friday, and we will have people here off and on for the next 3 weeks. I can't wait! It's so fun having visitors!!
I need to run now. AJ, Jenna and I are leaving to go to a movie...Alvin and the Chipmunks, I think. AJ and I are REALLY excited about that!! I hope it's good! I hope to be back very soon. Until next time...aloha!
AJ has begun his busy season. He works 10-12 hours a day now and most all day on Saturday. It not fun having him gone so long, but we know it's only for a few weeks. Work for me is getting better. My hours have been a little more manageable. That really helps with the stress. Jenna continues to do well in school. She just got her report card and we are very proud to say that she made the honor roll!
I still need to tell you about Jenna's birthday party, and I am almost finished writing up a "2009 year in review." I hope to get them both posted this next week. We have friends coming to visit starting on Friday, and we will have people here off and on for the next 3 weeks. I can't wait! It's so fun having visitors!!
I need to run now. AJ, Jenna and I are leaving to go to a movie...Alvin and the Chipmunks, I think. AJ and I are REALLY excited about that!! I hope it's good! I hope to be back very soon. Until next time...aloha!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
AJ--life saver!
Aloha! AJ had some excitement at work yesterday. A new employee started that claimed he had worked with bees before. Well, appearently he got stung a few times and didn't tell anyone. He went into the shop to sit down, but nobody knew it. Thankfully, AJ went into the shop a while later to get something and saw this co-worker lying back in a chair. He was not responding! AJ called for help and one of his other co-workers brought in an Epi-pen and they gave him a shot! They called 911, but were afraid that it would take too long so AJ got the van and he and 2 other workers started up the hill with this guy. They met the ambulance on the road and were able to stop them. AJ told the EMTs what happened and they took him to the hospital for further treatment. He stayed a few hours and then went home. AJ thinks the Epi-pen saved him because the guy was not responding at all, although he was breathing--but you never know if/when that might have stopped! Needless to say, the guy is no longer working at Kona Queen! Thankfully he was OK!! The guy said he remembered going into the shop and sitting down, but doesn't remember anything until he felt the needle of the Epi-pen going into his leg. WOW! What a day!
We also have some sad news to report from the Howery Household. Jenna's pet betta fish died on Sunday. We've had him for almost a year. Of course, Jenna being the tender hearted little girl that she is, was/is very upset. She wants to keep him and bury him at our new house if we ever buy one. We're still discussing funeral arrangements... :-) She still has her pet guinea pig, Midnight, whom we discovered is a HE, not a SHE! Jenna is glad that he has a name for a boy or a girl! :-) I pray that he lives a good long life! Pet deaths are hard for a little girl!
Well, as usual I have more to say, but it's getting late so I better get to bed. so, until next time...aloha!
We also have some sad news to report from the Howery Household. Jenna's pet betta fish died on Sunday. We've had him for almost a year. Of course, Jenna being the tender hearted little girl that she is, was/is very upset. She wants to keep him and bury him at our new house if we ever buy one. We're still discussing funeral arrangements... :-) She still has her pet guinea pig, Midnight, whom we discovered is a HE, not a SHE! Jenna is glad that he has a name for a boy or a girl! :-) I pray that he lives a good long life! Pet deaths are hard for a little girl!
Well, as usual I have more to say, but it's getting late so I better get to bed. so, until next time...aloha!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Happy New Year!
WOW! I can't believe it has been one and half months since I last posted! Where does the time go?? Well, I have a really long one for today, so be prepared to sit awhile! Today is Jenna's 9th Birthday. I can't believe she is that old already!! Again, where does the time go?? We are having a party for her and 13 of her friends today. I will post about that later. Today I want to tell you all about our trip to Wisconsin over Christmas. We had a terrific time!!
Of course, it was very busy, but we saw lots of family and friends. We stayed at the new hotel in Darlington and got to see many of our friends the first 3 days. Jenna and her friends swam in the pool, which she loved, being the little fish that she is. But since she is not used to swimming in chlorinated water, her face and eyes were sore and red for several days. It didn’t bother her too much—she loves the water!!
We stayed at AJ’s sister’s house for a few days and got to relax and watch the winter weather. We enjoyed spending time with Sue and the family and got to “talk” to our niece’s baby (through her belly—but I’m sure he/she will recognize our voices some day! :-) We worked on puzzles and read and played with Eb, their big, fluffy, lovable dog.
We spent the next few days in Cuba City at my parent’s house. The days of quiet relaxation were done! There were 10 people staying the house-two of them being our niece and nephew that are 2 and 4 years old. Lots of noise and excitement!! Jenna had a ball playing with her cousins Ben, Jackson and Reese. AJ and I had lots of great family time talking and catching up with my parents, brothers and sisters. We put together a 1000 piece, nearly impossible puzzle that took several days! It was the most challenging puzzle I have ever made. My Dad is going to frame it so no one has to suffer through making it again! :-) We had “professional” family pictures taken the day after Christmas. I think it went very well. I can’t wait to see them!
I had a “pre-reunion” reunion with my classmates while in Cuba City. It was great seeing so many old friends that I haven’t seen in years! I counted 32 of 88 classmates, give or take a few! I can’t wait for the reunion planned for July 31, 2010. It will be great to see everyone again and hopefully some that I didn’t over Christmas!
We spent more time with AJ’s family for Christmas and went snowmobiling. I actually drove one and got up to almost 40mph! That’s pretty good for me! I’m a chicken when it comes to driving too fast! Jenna went sledding with her cousin Melanie and loved that too. Jenna enjoyed the snow –especially when it was snowing big flakes and she could catch them on her tongue!
AJ went home a week before Jenna and me. He was back at work the next day! No rest for the wicked I guess! :-) Jenna and I spent the remaining time spending more time with family and friends. We went to Milwaukee and stayed with my sister Lisa and her family. Jenna and I both loved having more time with the kids and Lisa and Aaron. Jenna spent some time with her friend Kaden and his family. It’s amazing to see how much the kids have grown in a year!
We spent New Year’s Eve with my friends Karen and Brock, and several other of our friends from our church in Darlington. It was a fun evening and so great to spend more time with everyone! I’m so excited that Brock and Karen will be coming to visit us in Hawaii in February!! I’m already counting the days!!
We were planning a birthday party for Jenna the day before we left, but unfortunately had to cancel it because Jenna got the stomach flu!! She starting throwing up about midnight and didn’t stop until 5am! Neither one of us got much sleep, but she was able to sleep the next day and finally starting feeling better about 7:30pm. She was really disappointed to miss her party, but she didn’t want to get everyone sick either.
Thank God she was better by Monday morning so we could get on the plane to head home. Thank God also that I did not get sick!! It was a long flight and I wasn’t able to sleep much. Jenna did. Of course. It seems she can sleep anywhere, in any position! We were really glad to be home. It was so good to see AJ. He met us at the airport with a beautiful flower lei for each of us! I think he missed us!??
It was a little weird being home. It seemed so surreal… sometimes I still have this mental battle within me about actually living here vs. just visiting. Everything looked like “home,” yet it sort of seemed like I was just on vacation and I would have to get on the plane again soon and leave. But then, the next day, I was doing laundry and getting groceries, and it was like “oh yeah, I do live here.” It took me most of the day to feel like I was really “home.” You probably think I’m really strange, but it’s hard to describe. “Home” used to be Wisconsin, and I was just there, feeling like I had never left, and then all of the sudden, here I am again…”home.” But the surroundings are VERY different! I’m weird, I know. I can say I now feel like I am “home” again in Hawaii and still loving it!
We home you have a wonderful New Year, full of God’s blessings! Until next time…aloha!
Of course, it was very busy, but we saw lots of family and friends. We stayed at the new hotel in Darlington and got to see many of our friends the first 3 days. Jenna and her friends swam in the pool, which she loved, being the little fish that she is. But since she is not used to swimming in chlorinated water, her face and eyes were sore and red for several days. It didn’t bother her too much—she loves the water!!
We stayed at AJ’s sister’s house for a few days and got to relax and watch the winter weather. We enjoyed spending time with Sue and the family and got to “talk” to our niece’s baby (through her belly—but I’m sure he/she will recognize our voices some day! :-) We worked on puzzles and read and played with Eb, their big, fluffy, lovable dog.
We spent the next few days in Cuba City at my parent’s house. The days of quiet relaxation were done! There were 10 people staying the house-two of them being our niece and nephew that are 2 and 4 years old. Lots of noise and excitement!! Jenna had a ball playing with her cousins Ben, Jackson and Reese. AJ and I had lots of great family time talking and catching up with my parents, brothers and sisters. We put together a 1000 piece, nearly impossible puzzle that took several days! It was the most challenging puzzle I have ever made. My Dad is going to frame it so no one has to suffer through making it again! :-) We had “professional” family pictures taken the day after Christmas. I think it went very well. I can’t wait to see them!
I had a “pre-reunion” reunion with my classmates while in Cuba City. It was great seeing so many old friends that I haven’t seen in years! I counted 32 of 88 classmates, give or take a few! I can’t wait for the reunion planned for July 31, 2010. It will be great to see everyone again and hopefully some that I didn’t over Christmas!
We spent more time with AJ’s family for Christmas and went snowmobiling. I actually drove one and got up to almost 40mph! That’s pretty good for me! I’m a chicken when it comes to driving too fast! Jenna went sledding with her cousin Melanie and loved that too. Jenna enjoyed the snow –especially when it was snowing big flakes and she could catch them on her tongue!
AJ went home a week before Jenna and me. He was back at work the next day! No rest for the wicked I guess! :-) Jenna and I spent the remaining time spending more time with family and friends. We went to Milwaukee and stayed with my sister Lisa and her family. Jenna and I both loved having more time with the kids and Lisa and Aaron. Jenna spent some time with her friend Kaden and his family. It’s amazing to see how much the kids have grown in a year!
We spent New Year’s Eve with my friends Karen and Brock, and several other of our friends from our church in Darlington. It was a fun evening and so great to spend more time with everyone! I’m so excited that Brock and Karen will be coming to visit us in Hawaii in February!! I’m already counting the days!!
We were planning a birthday party for Jenna the day before we left, but unfortunately had to cancel it because Jenna got the stomach flu!! She starting throwing up about midnight and didn’t stop until 5am! Neither one of us got much sleep, but she was able to sleep the next day and finally starting feeling better about 7:30pm. She was really disappointed to miss her party, but she didn’t want to get everyone sick either.
Thank God she was better by Monday morning so we could get on the plane to head home. Thank God also that I did not get sick!! It was a long flight and I wasn’t able to sleep much. Jenna did. Of course. It seems she can sleep anywhere, in any position! We were really glad to be home. It was so good to see AJ. He met us at the airport with a beautiful flower lei for each of us! I think he missed us!??
It was a little weird being home. It seemed so surreal… sometimes I still have this mental battle within me about actually living here vs. just visiting. Everything looked like “home,” yet it sort of seemed like I was just on vacation and I would have to get on the plane again soon and leave. But then, the next day, I was doing laundry and getting groceries, and it was like “oh yeah, I do live here.” It took me most of the day to feel like I was really “home.” You probably think I’m really strange, but it’s hard to describe. “Home” used to be Wisconsin, and I was just there, feeling like I had never left, and then all of the sudden, here I am again…”home.” But the surroundings are VERY different! I’m weird, I know. I can say I now feel like I am “home” again in Hawaii and still loving it!
We home you have a wonderful New Year, full of God’s blessings! Until next time…aloha!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Birthday/Anniversary weekend
Well, we made it through a busy, but wonderful weekend! As most of you know, my birthday was Sunday, the 15th, and our anniversary was Monday, the 16th. We started celebrating our anniversary LAST weekend! Jenna was invited to a birthday party, so AJ and I decided to go out for dinner. It was the first time since Valentine’s Day that he and I had gone out to eat by ourselves! We went to this small bar/diner near the ocean. It was very nice and the food was great! Jenna was invited to a birthday party again this past Friday, so we went out for dinner again. It was great! I love it when I don’t have to cook! We went to Ruth’s Chris Steak House, which is similar to Morton’s Steak House, if any of you are familiar with that. It’s a restaurant where you order the entrée, potato, vegetable, etc all separate. It can be quite expensive! When I made the reservation, they asked if it was an anniversary or birthday. I told them it was our anniversary, and then after I hung up, I thought…”Oh I should have told them it was BOTH!” Oh well. They were very attentive to us. Everyone that came to our table asked how “The Howery’s” were doing. We were given glasses of champagne at the beginning of our meal and chocolate covered strawberries at the end of our meal. I also got a rose. I saw someone get a piece of cake, so it must have been his birthday. I doubt they would have given us both!! We did tell them it was my birthday too, but I guess they only let you celebrate one thing at a time! It was a very nice evening. For my birthday, we went to the beach after church. We met some friends of ours and grilled burgers and hot dogs while the kids played in tide pools. It was a very relaxing afternoon. I told Jenna and AJ that all I wanted for my birthday was for them to complete the “job lists” that I gave both of them. They both did pretty good getting everything done. What a great gift! We both worked and I ended up being on call and worked until 7pm on our actual anniversary, so I’m glad that we celebrated the weeks before! We’ve been married 13 years for those of you who can’t remember. It’s gone by fast; it’s been trying at times; but overall, it’s been great!!!
Thank you everyone for all the cards, calls, and emails. You are all so loving! I appreciate everything very much! That’s all for now…until next time…aloha!
Thank you everyone for all the cards, calls, and emails. You are all so loving! I appreciate everything very much! That’s all for now…until next time…aloha!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Two months gone by...
I can't believe how fast time goes! I thought I better get another note posted before it has officially been two months since I wrote anything! I'm so sorry about my loooonnnnggg absence in writing. Believe me, I have thought about it many times, but thinking about it and actually DOING it are two VERY different things!!
Things have been quite crazy around here! My work schedule has been busier than usual the past 6 weeks. I usually work about 24-30hrs per week--48-60hrs per pay period. I had two pay periods in a row where I worked way over that! One pay period was 83hrs and the next was 93 hrs! I was exhausted, a little cranky and had a hard time finding the time to do anything else! Thankfully things have settled down a bit and the last two weeks have been better. I continue to try and be involved in activities in our church and help in Jenna's classroom once a week. It's challenging when my job consumes so much of my time, but I still try and continue all the other activities too...I guess that could contribute to the exhaustion! :-) Over all things are great and I really do love my job even if it is crazy busy and stressful at times!
AJ is also busy at work. As you may know, the bees here on the Big Island now have mites. It's a little parasite that attaches itself to the bee and weakens it. There have been mites on the Mainland for several years, but this is the first time they have been in Hawaii. It's causing a bit of anxiety for those who have never worked with bees with mites before, but AJ is handling it pretty well. The state of Hawaii has had some researchers from the Mainland over to do testing on hives on the Big Island, so Gus has learned a lot and AJ has been a reassuring voice of experience too. Of course, the mite causes more work, so Kona Queen is preparing for that. AJ and Gus and the other foreman are doing a lot of the leg work, but AJ is not worried. It will cause more work, but it shouldn't cause a decrease in production. AJ also recently bought a one-man outrigger canoe. He has taken it out in the ocean a couple of times. The last time the water was really rough! He said he had 3 foot waves he was trying to go through. He was a little worried that he might end up in Japan, but thankfully he was able to turn the canoe around and make it back safely!!
Miss Jenna continues to love school and is doing very well. We have parent-teacher conferences this week. I expect that she will do fine. I can't believe all that she is learning! She writes in cursive all the time now. She is learning multiplication, division, and just started long division with remainders!! I'm pretty sure I didn't learn all that in 3rd grade! You may have heard about "Furlough Fridays" here in Hawaii. In an effort to decrease the state deficit, the state decided to cut 17 days from the school calender this year. I think it is a terrible idea and a very poorly thought out solution! We're talking about the education of future leaders!! Hawaii is already at the bottom of the ranking for schools meeting educational standards for all the U.S.! Thankfully it only effects the public schools!! Jenna is getting a great education and I'm so thankful that we don't have to worry about missing so much school!
She just finished learning about New Zealand. The school had an event called International Day, where each class studied a country, prepared presentations and transformed their rooms into that country. It was pretty cool to see how each class decorated their rooms! Jenna's class had a volcano, a sheep farm and many other displays about New Zealand in their classroom. Jenna did her presentation on the sheep in New Zealand. She made a really cool display board and did a great job with her presentation to the class. All the kids in her class dressed like the Mowrey people of New Zealand. I've posted a few pictures of her, her presentation and some of her friends.
For Halloween, Jenna dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She designed her outfit herself, with the exception of the red slippers that her Mama bought for her. I dressed up as the Scarecrow. We tried talking AJ into being the Tinman, but he didn't want to...it would have been very hot and probably uncomfortable. He took along his nerd glasses and teeth and was going to wear them, but he lost his teeth somewhere along the way! If any of you have seen his teeth, you know he didn't have many teeth to loose, so it was quite disappointing!! We had fun. It's very strange trick-or-treating when it's like summer out. We checked the weather in Darlington and figured it was about 45 degrees warmer here for trick-or-treating than it was there! Sorry, not trying to rub it in...just making an observation!!
Well, I have a lot more that I could say, but it's getting late and I need to get to bed. Just a reminder, the time difference is only 4 hours now, thanks to Daylight Savings Time. We plan to be in Wisconsin over Christmas. We're still working out the details of when and where we will be, but hopefully we will see many of you in about 7 weeks or so! Time flies, so it won't be long! I'll try and write again before then. So until next time...aloha!
Things have been quite crazy around here! My work schedule has been busier than usual the past 6 weeks. I usually work about 24-30hrs per week--48-60hrs per pay period. I had two pay periods in a row where I worked way over that! One pay period was 83hrs and the next was 93 hrs! I was exhausted, a little cranky and had a hard time finding the time to do anything else! Thankfully things have settled down a bit and the last two weeks have been better. I continue to try and be involved in activities in our church and help in Jenna's classroom once a week. It's challenging when my job consumes so much of my time, but I still try and continue all the other activities too...I guess that could contribute to the exhaustion! :-) Over all things are great and I really do love my job even if it is crazy busy and stressful at times!
AJ is also busy at work. As you may know, the bees here on the Big Island now have mites. It's a little parasite that attaches itself to the bee and weakens it. There have been mites on the Mainland for several years, but this is the first time they have been in Hawaii. It's causing a bit of anxiety for those who have never worked with bees with mites before, but AJ is handling it pretty well. The state of Hawaii has had some researchers from the Mainland over to do testing on hives on the Big Island, so Gus has learned a lot and AJ has been a reassuring voice of experience too. Of course, the mite causes more work, so Kona Queen is preparing for that. AJ and Gus and the other foreman are doing a lot of the leg work, but AJ is not worried. It will cause more work, but it shouldn't cause a decrease in production. AJ also recently bought a one-man outrigger canoe. He has taken it out in the ocean a couple of times. The last time the water was really rough! He said he had 3 foot waves he was trying to go through. He was a little worried that he might end up in Japan, but thankfully he was able to turn the canoe around and make it back safely!!
Miss Jenna continues to love school and is doing very well. We have parent-teacher conferences this week. I expect that she will do fine. I can't believe all that she is learning! She writes in cursive all the time now. She is learning multiplication, division, and just started long division with remainders!! I'm pretty sure I didn't learn all that in 3rd grade! You may have heard about "Furlough Fridays" here in Hawaii. In an effort to decrease the state deficit, the state decided to cut 17 days from the school calender this year. I think it is a terrible idea and a very poorly thought out solution! We're talking about the education of future leaders!! Hawaii is already at the bottom of the ranking for schools meeting educational standards for all the U.S.! Thankfully it only effects the public schools!! Jenna is getting a great education and I'm so thankful that we don't have to worry about missing so much school!
She just finished learning about New Zealand. The school had an event called International Day, where each class studied a country, prepared presentations and transformed their rooms into that country. It was pretty cool to see how each class decorated their rooms! Jenna's class had a volcano, a sheep farm and many other displays about New Zealand in their classroom. Jenna did her presentation on the sheep in New Zealand. She made a really cool display board and did a great job with her presentation to the class. All the kids in her class dressed like the Mowrey people of New Zealand. I've posted a few pictures of her, her presentation and some of her friends.
For Halloween, Jenna dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She designed her outfit herself, with the exception of the red slippers that her Mama bought for her. I dressed up as the Scarecrow. We tried talking AJ into being the Tinman, but he didn't want to...it would have been very hot and probably uncomfortable. He took along his nerd glasses and teeth and was going to wear them, but he lost his teeth somewhere along the way! If any of you have seen his teeth, you know he didn't have many teeth to loose, so it was quite disappointing!! We had fun. It's very strange trick-or-treating when it's like summer out. We checked the weather in Darlington and figured it was about 45 degrees warmer here for trick-or-treating than it was there! Sorry, not trying to rub it in...just making an observation!!
Well, I have a lot more that I could say, but it's getting late and I need to get to bed. Just a reminder, the time difference is only 4 hours now, thanks to Daylight Savings Time. We plan to be in Wisconsin over Christmas. We're still working out the details of when and where we will be, but hopefully we will see many of you in about 7 weeks or so! Time flies, so it won't be long! I'll try and write again before then. So until next time...aloha!
Friday, September 4, 2009
ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!
It is with great pleasure that we celebrate ONE YEAR of living in Hawaii!! The time has gone so fast! Sometimes it's hard to believe that we have been here this long already! On the other hand, it feels like we have always lived here. We are so comfortable here and we love it so much! Of course we miss our family and friends, but it amazes me to look back over the last year and a few months and see how the Lord has blessed us! From AJ getting the call to making the decision to emptying the house to packing and flying, it is really very amazing how everything fell into place! And in such a short time!!
We couldn't have done it without the guidance of the Lord and help from our families and friends! WOW! What an amazing adventure it was! AJ and I still working; trying to sort through everything we owned; deciding what to keep, what to sell, what to get rid of, what to take with us. Finding renters (which we scored big on!), deciding to leave the dogs behind (very sad time) DECISIONS! DECISIONS! DECISIONS! We were really sick of making decisions by the time we moved! Then throw in a fabulous trip to Seattle for a wedding (Yeah Karen and Issac!) and another fabulous trip to Disney (despite the hurricaine we endured!) You'd think we'd had enough! But oh no, we, apparently, are gluttons for punishment! We then had a two day garage sale AND THEN a two day party! Again THANK GOD for family and friends!! Those two ventures NEVER would have happened without their help!!
It was so hard to leave the house, the yard and the dogs. (And yes, the people too! I just mean the moment we left the driveway!) To me, it didn't seem real. It just felt like we were going on a vacation and we would be back. It didn't really hit me what had just happened until we landed in Honolulu. I remember that all of the sudden I just started crying. I looked at AJ and said, "What have we done?" I cried and he was so good to me. He assured me that everything would be alright. Of course I knew it would be, but I realized that I hadn't really taken the time to let it really sink in what we were doing. And when it did, WOW did it hit me! I suppose I was probably a LITTLE tired too! That might have had something to do with my emotions! But now, looking back, I can honestly say that is the only time I have questioned our decision to move. Of course I still miss everyone and sometimes I cope best by not thinking about the people and events that I am missing. We are slowly building friendships and memories here, which is the healthiest thing to do in my opinion. I praise God and thank Him for guiding us and paving the way here and making everything fall into place! What a blessing!!
OK. Now that I have babbled on forever, it's time for some thoughts from AJ and Jenna.
Jenna...My favorite thing about living in Hawaii is being able to go to the beach whenever I want (except when her parents say no or she has school...etc.) and making new friends. I also feel weird living on an Island in the middle of nowhere! I like to make sandcastles and tell people all I know about turtles. Turtles can get to be 100 years old. If they have a long tail, they are a male. If they have a short tail they are a female. It's pretty easy after you get to know it! I can also tell their age. And I forgot to mention how much I love to go to Captain Cook Monument and hopefully see Spinner Dolphins on the way! Aloha!! Oh, I forgot...I really miss all of you!!!
AJ...It's hard to believe that the time has gone so fast. It's hard to realize that time is getting away because we don't really experience changes in the seasons. We're happy that we have been able to build a life here with new friends and experiences. It's not that we have forgotten our other friends, it's just that we have made more friends. It's been great!
Each of us still comment that somedays it still hits us that "we LIVE in Hawaii!!" We are not just vacationing...WE ACTUALLY LIVE HERE!!! It's an amazing adventure and a true blessing. Come visit anytime...our doors are always open and you are always welcome! Until next time...aloha!
We couldn't have done it without the guidance of the Lord and help from our families and friends! WOW! What an amazing adventure it was! AJ and I still working; trying to sort through everything we owned; deciding what to keep, what to sell, what to get rid of, what to take with us. Finding renters (which we scored big on!), deciding to leave the dogs behind (very sad time) DECISIONS! DECISIONS! DECISIONS! We were really sick of making decisions by the time we moved! Then throw in a fabulous trip to Seattle for a wedding (Yeah Karen and Issac!) and another fabulous trip to Disney (despite the hurricaine we endured!) You'd think we'd had enough! But oh no, we, apparently, are gluttons for punishment! We then had a two day garage sale AND THEN a two day party! Again THANK GOD for family and friends!! Those two ventures NEVER would have happened without their help!!
It was so hard to leave the house, the yard and the dogs. (And yes, the people too! I just mean the moment we left the driveway!) To me, it didn't seem real. It just felt like we were going on a vacation and we would be back. It didn't really hit me what had just happened until we landed in Honolulu. I remember that all of the sudden I just started crying. I looked at AJ and said, "What have we done?" I cried and he was so good to me. He assured me that everything would be alright. Of course I knew it would be, but I realized that I hadn't really taken the time to let it really sink in what we were doing. And when it did, WOW did it hit me! I suppose I was probably a LITTLE tired too! That might have had something to do with my emotions! But now, looking back, I can honestly say that is the only time I have questioned our decision to move. Of course I still miss everyone and sometimes I cope best by not thinking about the people and events that I am missing. We are slowly building friendships and memories here, which is the healthiest thing to do in my opinion. I praise God and thank Him for guiding us and paving the way here and making everything fall into place! What a blessing!!
OK. Now that I have babbled on forever, it's time for some thoughts from AJ and Jenna.
Jenna...My favorite thing about living in Hawaii is being able to go to the beach whenever I want (except when her parents say no or she has school...etc.) and making new friends. I also feel weird living on an Island in the middle of nowhere! I like to make sandcastles and tell people all I know about turtles. Turtles can get to be 100 years old. If they have a long tail, they are a male. If they have a short tail they are a female. It's pretty easy after you get to know it! I can also tell their age. And I forgot to mention how much I love to go to Captain Cook Monument and hopefully see Spinner Dolphins on the way! Aloha!! Oh, I forgot...I really miss all of you!!!
AJ...It's hard to believe that the time has gone so fast. It's hard to realize that time is getting away because we don't really experience changes in the seasons. We're happy that we have been able to build a life here with new friends and experiences. It's not that we have forgotten our other friends, it's just that we have made more friends. It's been great!
Each of us still comment that somedays it still hits us that "we LIVE in Hawaii!!" We are not just vacationing...WE ACTUALLY LIVE HERE!!! It's an amazing adventure and a true blessing. Come visit anytime...our doors are always open and you are always welcome! Until next time...aloha!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Coming soon...
New pictures and an update about our adventures in Maui! Stay tuned! Until next time...aloha!
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