Catching Up!

March 29/13   Fellow Canadians!  Was fun to visit with Ruth Walburger our Canadian relative!  She brought us our favorite green & white mints & red ones for Christmas.  So good to see her. The next week we enjoyed listening to the Cardston Band play @ the PCC.  Grant Cahoon was their conductor.  Re-lived many childhood memories talking with him.

April 1/13 -  April Fools Day is always fun, even in Hawaii.  I told everyone our famous Green Bldg. @ Give & Take Burned down. Wow, what crazy believers!!!


New Missionary Couple from (Hyrum) Logan area. Dennis & Shirleen Cooper.  Sis. Cooper is helping me in the a.m.@ G&T. Elder Cooper works close to Gary.  He is an electrician. We are a crazy pair.  They have been taking us to the Military Commissary Bases to shop.  These are shopping centers with EVERYTHING from food to clothes etc.  Great prices.  I love finding new shopping places. 

Ryan and Angie Visit!

March 17, 2013 

What a fun week with Ryan & Angie.  So happy they came to share some paradise with us.

Greeted them @ the airport Sunday afternoon with leis & lots of hugs.

 Enjoyed a fun day @ Kualoa Ranch seeing various movie sights & taking tours.   

 
Took a little boat tour out to Chinaman Hat Island and watched turtles swim beneath our glass bottom boat.

Shopped @ Flee Market then hiked up to Diamond Head.  This time we did it in 25 min.  Had to keep up to our cute "billy goat" leading the way.  Elder R & Ryan sat in the "bunkers" pretending to watch for Japanese Ships coming into the harbor.

Enjoyed  a cheeseburger in paradise & strolled along Waikiki Beach while we watched the gorgeous sunset. 

We ate @ the PCC then watched HA.  I love that show, especially the fire dance & flame throwers.  The next couple of days, Ryan & Angie went to Pearl Harbor and snorkeled @ Hanuma Bay.  I think they had a great time but the days went by  too fast.  Was really hoping they could stay an extra week but Allegiant Air wasn't too cooperative.

We tried to bribe them to come back soon and promised wonderful pork sandwiches. 

Felt so sad when they left and heard they arrived home to 17 degrees.  We hope they can come back again soon!  Aloha

Albatross Adventure

March 2/2013


Sat. a.m. Sr. Missionaries  hiked up to the end of the Island.  It's called Ka'Ena Point. It was 5 mi. round trip on a rocky dirt road.  We watched for Whale Blows on the way and enjoyed the beautiful ocean.

The Albatross are in a protected fenced area where they mate for life, hatch their young chicks and won't be eaten by mongoose etc.

Baby black Albatross

When we reached the point we saw seals sunning themselves on the rocks and sand.

Was a great adventure and fun day.  Lots of wind to mess up our hair and keep us cool. 

Thanks to Eugene & Candace for being our personal photographers.

They treated us to Pumpkin, Cocoanut Pie from Ted's Bakery.  Ted's makes the best pies on the Island!!  Aloha

February Visitors!!

February 10 - What an exciting Sunday to greet our daughter, Robyn & family at the airport.  We were all excited to see each other.  In just 5 short months, Logan & Saydee have changed!!!  Oh my!!

We got to play/work for 4 days.  Had great fun showing them around the PCC.  Eugene offered his past "tour guide expertise" and we laughed lots as we enjoyed our open air limo ride.  We took tickets @ night but it was so crowded (500 guests @ Prime Dining) we had to wait until Wed. to eat there.  Everyone enjoyed watching "HA" especially the fire dance!!   Logan doesn't ever want to sit on fire with a grass skirt!

We went to Kualoa Ranch and had great fun on the various tours.

 Everyone agreed the Jungle Expedition Tour was the best!  Our driver was so reckless, we thought he would roll the jeep we were in.  We hung for dear life and had terror & excitement tears rolling down our cheeks as we  learned about the various plants & trees, marine life.

Other favorites were various movie filmed sites like Jaurassic Park,  Lost, 50 first dates, Godzilla etc.

Kahuku Grill is a favorite eating spot.  Elder Grandpa, Logan & Saydee enjoyed huge snow cones.  Cocoanut Shrimp is a favorite!!

 Saying goodbye is never fun. Saydee hugging me goodbye.

Celebrated Valentines Day by attending a  dinner concert called "Due West," a country group from Tennessee.  They were great, but our dinner was not!!

Sunday, Feb. 17 -  Happy  Birthday to our son, Randy!!

 

Just want to say how much we enjoy attending our college student ward.  These worldwide kids are so amazing.  We learn from them whenever we are around them.  They exemplify courage, commitment and strong testimonies of our Savior by trying to pattern their lives after Him.  Most are so very far away from home.  Many are receiving their mission calls and are so excited to go serve worldwide.  We're trying to improve the ward here in Hawaii by offering suggestions we learned while serving at BYU-Idaho.  Elder R. attended the PEC meeting today and offered advice to help improve their priesthood.

Forklift Driver

Feb. 1 - Forklift Driver 

This is a new requirement for "Give & Take" Sr. Missionary Managers.  I must be able to sit on a fork lift, put my hands on the steering wheel and look like I know how to drive.  I passed this test with flying honors.  Hopefully when I return home I can get a job working with my son Ryan as his assistant.  Another option is to work as a part-time employee for Steven Longhurst Farms.  I might fail his required language test, which says I must be able to speak Spanish.  He says it doesn't count that I am fluent in many Polynesian Dialects as well as Mandarin Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese, Korean and English. I'm sure I'll be able to at least come up with "Mamaseita"!

New Companion - NOT!

Feb. 1 - Thurs.   New Companion - NOT

Look who was watching me cook supper?  Scared me to the point of using bad words! And then left me hoping I wouldn't be sent home from this mission early because of my choice of language!!!!   He is NOT going to be my new companion nor will he ever be welcomed in our apartment!!!!  He is now deceased and will never receive a Hawaiian Aloha Welcome.  Sister Maples (missionary friend) is sure his cousin in living with her.  Neither one should be allowed to enter a missionary's apartment, ever!!!!

Rain Storm

Sunday Jan. 26 - Historical Rain Storm
It started raining Sunday afternoon.  We ate dinner with our friends, Maples & Mickets then drove through the wet roads to a Stake R.S. Mtg.  Rained all night & all day Monday.  It came down like torrential rain Mon. afternoon. I didn't open Give & Take, just put Halloween buckets and shirts on the floors to soak up the rain.

 I had to drive through 2 feet of water to pick Gary up at the front of the PCC. I couldn't even get back to his work area which was swimming in 2 plus feet of water.  It was coming up through the manholes.  Many fields in Laie were flooded. It was pretty exciting but we were so glad we didn't get flooded or washed away into the ocean.