Always read the signs

Did you catch that last sentence? Barracuda are present. So many people who come to visit totally bypass the signs/information that is hanging out there. Tell you what--we read each one just to make sure!

Waimea Valley

Our last family outing was to Waimea Valley--it's filled with beautiful native plants and flowers.

At a hut, the girls learned how to make fish out of leaves--look closely and you can see their fish hanging on "poles".

At the end of the trail, there is a waterfall which one can go swimming in (I plan on doing that with the kids this summer--it's simply not warm enough yet).

Dude, this plant just looks dangerous, like it has a spikey mouth or something.

Can't not get the beautiful hibiscus!

Aren't these things groovy? Like someone splashed a bit of pink in the middle.

This particular plant is sporting Evelyn's favorite colors: pink and brown.

Can you see the face on the rock? I can pick out the eyes, nose, and mouth. Like Grandmother Willow off of Pocahontas.

Interesting and very beautiful lily pads.

John Dominis

Before Ry left for training, he surprised me with one last date--to a secluded find dining restaurant right on the beach (called John Dominis).

I can hardly describe how beautiful and simply tranquil it was inside. When we sat down, the sun was still going down (we watched through the windows right behind us). We had the perfect view of Waikiki beach, Diamond Head, the sunset....but from our own private setting. There was a small waterfall inside with live fish. There were also huge boats displayed in glass windows. Simply beautiful!

Our meal was excellent. I had shrimp that were about the size of my fist with fresh vegetables and stir-fried rice. Ryan had some ahi that was insanely delicious. We topped it off with some yummy dessert--apples w/cinnamon topped cheesecake for me while Ry tried the fresh strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar. We'd never had that one before and wondered at the comination. Then Ry decided to just go for it. OH. MY. GOSH. Dude, when the strawberries come in season, I highly recommend buying some and then try dipping them first in some sour cream and then rolling them in some brown sugar. SOOOOOOOOO yummy!

Black Sand Beach

Besides going to the temple (pix to come), this was one of the other things we wanted to do on the big island--black sand beach. I've heard that we have a very small one on Oahu, but I haven't gotten directions yet.

Lots of people fishing here.

Dude, if the sand were a different color, this could be a set for LOST. :)
As pretty as it was, we actually didn't care for it all that much. It was very rocky and pebbly. Not soft at all. Definitely a place just to look but not lay out and enjoy the water and sand type.

I think the poor thing was actually dying. It was missing part of it's hind leg. I hadn't ever seen a sea turtle up close before.

Yep, missing part of the leg. :(

It's a conspiracy

Thank goodness we don't pay that on our island! But, that was the going rate over on the big island. Yuck! I think we're holding steady at 3.23-3.33 off post. On post is 3.11. Yeah, I know, still quite a bit more expensive than the mainland. :P Though I remember paying this amount (actually a bit more) in Springfield right before we moved.

Pretty!

As in PRETTY EXPENSIVE!!!! Ok, this is for the ladies. So, a couple weeks ago Ry and I hit the big island for a 4 day weekend. We stayed at the Marriott hotel right on the beach (gorgeous!). Ryan wanted to pamper me so he set me up to get a pedicure done at the hotel. Yay! I love those. :) So the lady has me go and pick my color and I'm thumbing through them. I spy my favorite color (yes, Joycelyn, you know which one--the color of my lipstick) but then I decided to go with a darker color to be a bit more adventurous. Well, as I'm bringing the bottle up to the lady, I spied a price tag on the back of it. Ok ladies, here's where the fun begins.

How much would you pay for just one little bottle of toe nail polish?

Cause I gotta tell you, my mouth dropped open and I about dropped the bottle itself when I saw the price of that thing.

So let's be bold and play the guessing game. I did this with Mom when we got back. She was like "$10?". Nope, not even close.

"Uh, $15?" she asks, her eyes huge.

"Times what?" is my reply.

Mom's mouth dropped open by then. And then the real fun began.

So, how much is a certain color worth?

$50?

Times what? (evil laughter right here). Yeah, I said TIMES what?

$200?

TIMES what?...Yeah, that's right--times what?

$400? (I'm really repeating my conversation with my mom here).

$400 x what?

$800?!?!

Hmmm, try $1,000. Yeah, seriously. If some crazy wanted to buy that bottle of polish, that was the going price. HOLY COW! I certainly didn't pay anywhere near that for my lovely pedicure nor would I EVER, but I had a great laugh about it for a long time.

Jacob's Baptism

On Feb 13, Jacob was baptized by Ryan (just before Ryan had to leave for training). We were all so excited for him and he was just all grins. He was baptized along with another 8 year old boy and an 18 year investigator. The other boy's mom gave a talk on the holy ghost while my mom spoke on baptism (I was already giving a welcoming talk on behalf of the primary). In the bishop's closing remarks, he had Christopher, the other little boy, stand up front and surrounded him with his mother, siblings, primary presidency, bishopric, young men president, ect. He had us all hold hands together to represent who all will be supporting him (along with Jacob and the other new convert) throughout the rest of their life--who all will be teaching him, encouraging him, and helping him to choose the right and get prepared to serve a mission some day. It was so powerful and so uplifting to see it put that way. Everyone was able to feel the spirit so strongly.

Don't they look wonderful? They're actually standing in front of the font at the stake center. So, funny story--Jacob isn't a fan of water. Sure, we go swimming and all at the beach all the time, but he won't get in unless he has his floaties on. So he gets into the water here, and the water is FREEZING. He's so scared that he's shaking (even though he'd practiced with his dad). After Ry gives the prayer, Jacob FREAKS OUT. Like, trying to climb his way up Ryan to get out the water freaking out. He was struggling so much that Ry had a hard time keeping a grip on him. He finally just dunked Jacob under while he was protesting and begging to get out. :-O! Everyone felt so bad, but we were also trying so hard not to laugh. When they got out, Jacob pointed to his heart and told Ry "it's warm here, but everywhere else is COLD!". :) That's my boy.

Tradition here is to give a lei on special occasions--and this was definitely a special occasion! His primary teacher presented him with beaded one and a candy one while I gave him one which I made out of his favorite candy.

I LOVE this picture!



My mom took this picture--I'm going to cherish this one for a long time. :)