Scout Camp

(Tylers tadpoles Max and Speedy)

Garage Sale and Girls Camp

Garage Sale and Girls Camp

June 26, 2011

Girls Camp

The girls attended girls camp this week and it was cooler and a bit rainy. But they seemed to have a wonderful time and came back exhausted.

Baby Birds

Our birds have been flourishing! They all took flight this week and I would be lying if I said this wasn’t heartbreaking. I miss watching them grow and develop.

Garage Sale

My goodness was that a TON of work or what?? We had 4 families all selling stuff and we had it all set up and looking great. We did sell a few things and it rained on Saturday. Tyler and Alayna had their own stand to sell snow cones and shells from Hawaii. I bet it would have sold better if it wasn’t raining!

We couldn’t talk anyone to buying the “Square” chair. So, I put it on the driveway with a sign that said “Free”. Later that night, we saw all the neighbor boys had taken it, put skateboards underneath, and were pushing it and RIDING it down the street. I wish I could’ve gotten a picture. Dorks. Kayla went today to deliver something to someone and the boys followed her down the street in the Square chair!!

Fun in the Sun

What the Hawk??

What the Hawk??

June 19, 2011

We have this nest on our drain pipe. The babies hatched recently and we have been watching them grow and the mommy feeding them. Yesterday, this giant hawk (or falcon or whatever it was) dive bombed it and knocked it off to try and get the babies. The babies went flying to the ground. While the mommy and daddy continued attacking and dive bombing the head of the hawk, we got the nest (over the fence at the neighbors) and picked up the 3 babies, and carefully placed them back in the nest. When the hawk finally left, we prayed hard that the mommy and daddy would find the nest on our grill platform (since there was no way we could secure it back on the drain pipe). Thank goodness they came back. When I woke up this morning, I found that the nest had flipped over. Babies were ok, so I flipped it back and moved them in a bit to make it more secure. All are doing well. Whew!

(I actually caught the little mom attacking his head)

Stake Conference

Richard G Scott came for an unexpected stake conference today. It was wonderful and the girls stayed to shake his hand.

Getting back on our feet

The carpet guys showed up Thursday morning and were done only 6 hours later and it looks amazing. We spent the next few days taking the nails out of baseboards, putting the baseboards back up, and trying to get the rooms put back together.

We are all exhausted but its coming along. We are preparing to do the garage sale next weekend.

(yes, this is where she actually fell asleep!)

Home Sweet…Home?

Home Sweet…Home?

We made it home, even if it was to not ideal circumstances. Our sump pump malfunctioned while we were gone and flooded our basement. Our friends gathered together, cleared out the basement, saved what they could, took out the smelly carpet and started drying out the floors and drywall right away.

More people came today and helped us get ready for the carpet people coming tomorrow and we have an inspector coming as well to make sure everything is dry. Its exciting to get new carpet, but sort of a nightmare otherwise.

(Exercise room)

(living room)

(Girls room)

(Tylers room)

Thanks to the Alands and Hansens!!!! We came home to an amazing Hawaiian Stew and dessert as well as groceries in the fridge!

My heart is so full of gratitude for the friends we have here that took care of our home while we were gone and took care of us when we came home! We are truly touched by your kindness and generosity!

Remember the hours I spent spring cleaning and organizing?  The next week will be full of fun…

The Final Day

The Final Day

June 14, 2011

We checked out of our house (boohoo!) We took the scenic highway through the beautiful mountains. It has quite a view from the top.

Pearl Harbor Part Deux

Our biggest goal was to get back to Pearl Harbor and take the ferry out to the USS Arizona Memorial. We went through this wonderful museum and it was so fun for me to see my children excited about history. Kayla was particularly interested. I always hope that we have been able to teach them to respect what has happened in our history and respect those who have served and who do serve in the military to protect us.

(Using the code breaker machine)

(Torpedo wreckage found in the 1990s when they dredged the harbor)

(A piece of wreckage from the USS Arizona)

The tour starts out with a very informational movie which really explains why the Japanese attacked and included real footage which I always find fascinating. Then we took a ferry ride out to the USS Arizona. The memorial is beautiful and touching as you can see the actual ship beneath you. It is humbling to think of all the soldiers entombed there and see the thousands of names engraved on the wall. We were able to see the USS Missouri from a distance as well.

(The view if you look up from the memorial)

We also hit Walmart for some awesome souvenir shopping and I even broke down and got a sarong and Marisa got the ukulele she has been wanting.

We made it Home!

Our plane left Honolulu at 6:40PM and we had a long, bumpy flight that arrived in Dallas at 7:00AM. Our flight to Cedar Rapids was delayed, but we made it home safely. We were all a little home sick and happy to be home again. But we miss Hawaii terribly!