Digging into the local scene

Friday August 3, 2007

It was a beautiful day for a hike. The trade winds have come in and it keeps pretty cool so we headed to Wiamai Falls. It was a stunning hike of about ¾ a mile. It was a perfect distance for the children. The flora and vegetation were breath taking. I could not get over all of the unusual shapes, sizes and colors of the flowers. The variety of trees and the various ways their roots grew was also impressive. It reminded me of the rain forests in Australia.







The waterfall was beautiful. Brenner and Keyan could not wait to swim to the base of the falls. Ammon chose to wade in the shallow end and attempt to catch fish with his hands. He has been trying to catch a fish since we arrived in Hawaii. I hope he gets one. They have begun to master lizard catching so naturally fish will be next. The water lilies were unbelievable. I enjoyed photographing them and messing around with all of the various camera settings.

After the hike we were ready to cool off and get some lunch. Acia bowls have become our favorite meal. They are extremely yummy and nutritious not to mention cool. We finished our lunch and decided to hit three tables once again for more snorkeling. Keyan decided to venture out with me this time. We swam together all the way to the first table and climbed on top. Keyan had a great time. He is much more comfortable with the wild life. We saw needle fish, angel fish, parrot fish, and much more. He is so cute in the water. If the fish get too close to him he starts flapping his hands trying to scare them away until they are at a comfortable distance. Ammon enjoyed doing his “surfer moves” and blowing bubbles with his snorkel and Brenner was able to see more wild life and go for a good swim.

Later in the evening we had the missionaries over for dinner. Elder Abrams and Elder Stuart are wonderful missionaries. We have always enjoyed having the missionaries in our home for dinner and we were thrilled for the opportunity to have them over while here in Hawaii. I must admit this must be a beautiful mission. They shared a lovely message with us. I pray my children will be able to serve missions and bring the joy of the gospel into many people’s lives.

Saturday August 4, 2007

Today was a thoughtful and emotional day. We drove into town and toured Pearl Harbor. We toured the Pearl Harbor Museum, explored various authentic torpedo’s, periscopes, and viewed an operating submarine. We were privileged to watch a video summarizing America’s entry into WWII and the attack of Pearl Harbor. A lot of the movie was actual footage. It was a moving video. After the video we rode a boat to the USS Arizona memorial. Over 2200 service man were killed on December 7, 1941. All of the visitors were reverent and respectful at the memorial. I was struck by the spirit I felt there and grateful for our opportunity to live and raise our family in this country. I am always impressed with how much visiting an actual site impacts you. No matter how much you have studied something or see it on television the real version is always much more impressive and influential. Keyan is having a difficult time understanding war and the necessity of it. He has asked a million questions and I think he will remember this experience. On our way home we stopped at Costco for necessities and then the boys headed to the beach to cool off and watch the sunset. We were exhausted after dinner and slept like angels.

Sunday August 5, 2007

Another week has passed in paradise. Church was once again wonderful. The spirit in this ward is incredible and the people are wonderful. After church we snuggled on the couch watched a movie and then headed to the beach. I just adore watching the boys play in the surf. I especially enjoy watching Ammon try and walk in his flippers and wear his mask with snorkel. It has been a wonderful week and I think Brenner and I are finally getting rested. It is nice feeling well again. We just have to figure out where the next phase of our life will take us. I love reading to the boys in the evening. They smell so nice and snuggle up so close to me, it is a mothers dream. Mahalo.

Monday August 6, 2007

What an exciting day. We had the opportunity to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. Kathy Krebs friend, Mele offered to use her friend and family card points to help us with our entry. We are so grateful for her generosity.
What a magnificent center. It was wonderful to learn about all of the various islands and their cultures. The music and dancing was amazing. Brenner was selected to join the Tahitians during their hip shaking, knee scissor segment. I think all of the Persian dancing finally paid off. He did fantastic and we enjoyed cheering him on. Ammon loved the spear throwing activity at the Tongan Island and the IMAX reef film. During the movie he said, “Mom they put the shark in their for me. I love sharks. There’s like 100 of them”. Keyan loved it all and has mastered the art of sticking out his tongue and yelling when he is happy. Each village had various activities, games, and native dance and musical performances. It is an amazingly well done presentation of so many cultures. I am so grateful for this experience. It was a wonderful day.

Photo Catchup - here some shots of the Dole Plantation from earlier in the trip.