What a little time will do

Today we carved pumpkins. A great Sunday activity if you asked me. As I helped the kids with the activity my mind wandered back a few months...

...to when Halley began school. Here is a picture on the school bus. I remember walking Lindsay to that same school bus, with the same Mrs. Rose as a bus driver. I was pregnant with Evan and Halley was a difficult toddler. I couldn't even imagine the day when it would be her turn to climb on that same big, yellow, bus.

As I gaze at this picture my heart can scarcely remember when this very bright child would drive me to tears with her head strong ways. She knew what she wanted and she could hold out as long as it would take to get it. My mom used to tell me that she will probably need that determination later in life to remain true to her beliefs. I would cling to that...because sometimes it was all I could understand. She is now such a joy to have around. I miss her when she is gone, and can't wait for her to come back. She comes home with such tales of adventure like trips to the Farm with Mr. Bill the bus driver, and to make the "TH" sound you think of Thadius Thickknees, and the life cycle of a pumpkin. I love to see how much she wants to read during scripture study because a world of jumbled letters has now opened a door for her to climb in. I love to hear her quote movies and try to stump me....happens a lot...and every few nights when she can't quite make it until dawn in a bed by herself she tiptoes in and snuggles by my feet...(because she knows if she climbs in by our heads daddy will have her sleep on the floor.)

I am amazed what a few years will do to change a life, or a perspective. I have learned in Motherhood to squeeze every ounce of joy from where you are because soon you won't be there any more. As we carved pumpkins tonight and the craziness that ensued I had a flash forward to a time when there would be no more little hands wanting to scoop pumpkin goop out with a spoon and no more giggling at the sight of brightly lit pumpkin faces in the moonlight. Treasures I now keep.

Hawaiian Addendum

It is inexcusable for me to exclude one of the most exciting things I have ever done. On the first day of our Hawaiian adventure we went diving at night with Manta Rays. In the hour or so we were in the water we had at least 10 of these hugh creatures swim past us -- sometimes so close they skimmed across our stomachs. It was unbelievably exciting and a great introduction for Jeanne to prepare her for "swimming with fishes". Although a member of the shark family, Manta Rays have no stinger and no teeth. We had to remind ourselves of that frequently when one of those monsters came swimming towards us.

Aloha to Hawaii

Whereas we didn't take much time for swimming, the world-class beaches and amazing waves were unbelievable.

We visited the memorial to the servicemen who lost their lives in the Pearl Harbor attack. It was moving to think of how close to our shores the attack came, and how many unsuspecting servicemen still lie at the bottom of the harbor.

This is the battleship Missouri. It has been deactivated since Desert Storm in which it fired the first volleys. It is more renowned as being the site where the Japanese surrender took place when WWII came to an end. It is docked in Pearl Harbor adjacent the the USS Arizona memorial.

Before leaving Ouahu we visited Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. This sunset scene was taken from there.

In Kauai we were driven to the highest lookout in Waimea Canyon, and then biked the 17 mile distance to the bottom. It was all down hill, and a nail biter at times. Mark burned out his brakes and had to get a replacement bike.

Perhaps the most impressive sight we saw on our trip was the cliffs at the Napali Coast. We paralleled this coast in a catamaran for 19 miles of the most beautiful scenery I can imagine. Many movie scenes have been filmed in or around these cliffs. They are the second highest in the world -- topped only by the cliffs of Molokai, the next island south of here.

This picture was taken during our catamaran cruise of the Napali Coast.

Jeanne had to make sure we all ate enough fruit -- here seen raiding a banana tree. The fresh fruit here was to die for. We had no problem satisfying our nutritional needs.

I have never seen a more beautiful golf course. How would you ever concentrate on your game. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to find out.

One more lighthouse before heading home. Leaving Paradise was not easy -- especially knowing we were going back to October in Petersburg.

This last glimpse of Oahu was shot from the plane on the way home. You can see Diamond Head very clearly at the bottom of the picture.

More from Hawaii

This is our time-share condo in Oahu (the taller one). We were on the 11th floor, overlooking the ocean. There were interesting fish for snorkeling and great waves for just watching and listening to the ocean.

We decided that the Oahu Temple would be a good place to watch General Conference. We found a room full of missionaries in the visitor's center and joined them for the broadcast.

The Polynesian Culture Center was marvelous. Costumes, characteristics and customs from five Polynesian nations were explained and displayed.

There was beautiful dancing from various Polynesian nations as well.

The ocean was 78 degrees and waves like I have never seen before.
We went snorkeling with manta rays and scuba diving in world class coves.

We posed for a picture at a luau where we honored with lies. The food was all Hawaiian, and I found nothing I didn't enjoy -- except perhaps the poi.

Blue Hawaii -- First couple of days

Here is Jeanne hard at work at the time-share condo Uncle Ron made available for us. This posh house has three huge bedrooms, with all the amenities, and we have found ourselves so busy seeing the sights that we haven't even tried the pool yet.

After off-loading all our luggage we hurried back to the airport to pick up Mark and Cindy. Then it was off to the dive-shop to experience what it is like to dive at night with manta rays. No pictures here in the blog, but we have an unbelievable video to share later.

Day two included volcano observation. Here we are strolling through a lava tube -- luckily there was no lava flowing at the time. We hiked on, and around, and down into calderas and other volcanic structures the better part of the day.

The following day we decided to observe the volcanoes from a more lofty point of view. We chartered a helicopter. This is one of many falls visable during the flight to the caldera of Mauna Kea.

While flying over the caldera our pilot spotted a new run-off into the ocean. We flew over to check it out and saw this. Lava flow into the Pacific starts and stops unpredictably. We were lucky enough to have one start-up while we were in the air. It was pretty spectacular.

This picture was taken enroute to a botanical garden that was labled a "Must See" on our tour book. There is not enough room on this blog for all the pictures taken of orchids and other tropical flowers and vegitation.

The quick walk through the botanical gardens took a couple of hours. It was kind of like the Garden of Eden -- only with clothing.

Just before sunset (which, by the way, occurs at about 6:30 when you are this far south) we visited Akaka Falls. This is the tallest falls in Hawaii, falling an impressive 450 feet. We felt like we were in Jurrasic Park. By the way, we were not far from where much of it was filmed.

More later . . . . . . .