Dole Pineapple Plantation

Who knew pineapple grew "up"... not me! The pineapple ice cream was amazing-however the sugar roasted macadamia nuts were to die for! Truly! Wish I had bought a case.

Fumi's Shrimp Farm

Up on the North Shore there are all of these shrimp farms. The enterprising Hawaiian's set up a trailer and some tents and start cooking shrimp for the tourists. We had garlic and butter (no calories) with sticky rice and a salad and pineapple! YUMMY!

Polynesian Cultural Center

One of our favorite days was spent at the PCC - it was an awesome experience! The first person we met as we arrived was a girl from Fiji. She remembered "Sister Maaachbanks". She was in a ward Jen served in! It was so fun to see the different cultures and learn more about the islands. Our favorite show was Kap from Samoa! His show was hilarious! He taught us how to make fire and climb the coconut trees and how to husk a coconut!! We could have watched him all day! The luau was wonderful and we had GREAT seats! Lizzy... we got the coconut drink just for you! It was really fun to try all the different foods... however I stopped at poi...just couldn't quite do the purple goo. The Horizons show at night was amazing! I can't believe Jenny was so blessed to spend 1 1/2 years with these wonderful people! The cultures and traditions are amazing! What a fun day!

Hawaii 2009

Vacation of a lifetime!
A month or so ago... Matt called and told me he had sent me a cool email and to go look at it while he was still on the phone. I was so surprised to see tickets to Oahu for Spring Break with them! It was our honeymoon in Hawaii finally after 38 years! (My folks had told us if we would wait to get married until April -instead of January they would treat us to a trip to Hawaii.. We just didn't want to wait..) So we ended up waiting 38 years for this trip!! It was so fun! It really got us hooked! I better start saving some money ...there are a lot more islands to check out! We haven't quit smiling since we came home. We stayed at the Marriott Ko Olina... Amazing! Everything was perfect. Pictures to follow! Love you Matt, Angie and Sadie! It was such a fun trip! We loved being with you three!

Can I buy this place?

Such a beautiful resort! Lots of pools and a private beach...yummy food!...We need to go back!

THE CHEESEBURGER IN PARADISE

When Lizzy and Dallas were on their honeymoon they told us about this restaurant... "Cheeseburger in Paradise" on Waikiki Beach. They had some delicious coconut shrimp.. We checked it out and it was DELICIOUS! Seriously the coconut shrimp was YUMMY! Thanks Lizzy for the tip!

Hanauma Bay

We got to Hanauma a bit late in the day... But it was awesome snorkling. Hal and Matt tracked down some big turtles and hung out with them for a while. It was a bit cold and windy (Hawaii?) but once you were in the water it was great! First time for Sadie and Hal and I to snorkle! It was quite the adventure!

Pearl Harbor

I love my country and Pearl Harbor was really special for me to see! I love what America stands for... and I am not happy about the direction it is taking right now. I don't ever want to forget the sacrifice that men make every day to defend our nation. I didn't really understand the sacrifice of those at Pearl Harbor until I witnessed 911 and saw those brave men that gave everything to protect others. We live in such an amazing country and I pray everyday that our Heavenly Father will continue to bless our nation. Pearl Harbor was awesome!

On Our Way!

Quick flight to LA.. breakfast and on to Honolulu!

Jaxson's Party

It's so much fun when we get together with the Horsley crew! Yummy food and great company! (We almost had everyone there...but we sure missed Becca and Levi and the girls!)
What a great day!

Jaxson's Baptism

Jaxson and Mckay!

Brotherly Love.... Can it get better than this?

Grandpa and I love you both and we are so proud of you!

(notice those car keys in Mckay's hand? Yes he drives!

Baptism Quilt

When Mckay was baptized 8 years ago I started a "tradition" of making baptism quilts for each of the grandkids. To date I have made 5 with only 10 more to go (yeah...right)
This is Jaxson's Quilt.

Each quilt has 17 pictures from their 1st eight years.

Around the quilt I embroider the words "When Jesus Christ was on the earth.. He promised He would send the Holy Ghost to comfort us.. Our true eternal friend"

I tell the kids that this quilt will make your body feel warm, just as the Holy Ghost can give your spirit a feeling of warmth and peace.

On the bottom I put his name and the dates of his baptism and confirmation... and the name of the person performing the ordinance.

Jaxson was baptized by his brother Mckay! That was really special!

Get off the roads and hide the ladies! Our grandson turned 16 today!

HAPPY BIG 16 MCKAY! !
We love you so much! You are such a great kid! We are proud of you for making good choices and for being such a great example to all of your family and to us! It seems like just yesterday when you were born! Your mom invited me to come and be there when you were born. Grandpa was so excited he said it wasn't "safe for him to stay at work" so he came to the hospital! He snuck in and hid in the corner of the room saying "I won't be any trouble over here".... He just wanted to be there when you arrived! What an amazing memory! You have blessed our lives for 16 wonderful years... and we can't wait to see the next 16~! I hope you know how precious you are to us and how much we all love you! What a blessing you are to our family! Happy 16th Birthday!

IT'S GREAT TO BE EIGHT!

Happy Birthday Jaxson! This is one of my favorite pictures of YOU! If there is something fun going on...You will always be in the middle of it! I love to watch you playing with all the cousins! We all LOVE YOU! We can't wait to come to your baptism! I have a fun surprise for you!

Grandpa Caught a Leprechaun!

Grandpa Hal caught himself a leprechaun...and what a story he had to tell!

Happy Birthday Preston!

Happy Birthday Presto! We sure love you!
We had so much fun with you at lunch!

HAPPY 24th LIZZY!

Happy Birthday Lizzy! We sure love you!
You make us proud every day!

Princess Academy

Being involved with Miss Pleasant Grove is always an adventure. This year as a fundraiser we held a "Princess Academy" for 130 little princesses! They all received a beautiful crown, a fun treat bag and completed 3 fun projects. They had a yummy lunch and watched Princess Staci dance with her Prince Charming. As they were leaving the "Fairy Godmother" (Betty) gave them a magic wand and a "kiss" (chocolate kiss from the princess treasure chest)It was a great success thanks to Staci's mom, Lois! She is amazing! What a fun memory for all of the darling little girls! I overheard one little girl say "This is my favorite day ever!" How fun!

Millie's Blessing

Look at those eyes! What a darling baby!

Hang on tight Ryan... Macie is off and running again!

Ryan and Mom

Super Bowl 2009

I found it funny that Becca has almost the same picture on her blog. I can't believe you found the same glasses... Great minds think alike!