Lost lost, loss, and the turtles

Okay, so here's the deal. We heard so much about "Lost" a couple of years ago that we started to watch it and were hooked! It has a great story line and I like how flashbacks show us some of the background of each major character, but - There are some things about this tv show that have bothered me, like the fact that these people are stranded on an island without law. They have no one to answer to so sometimes they take matters into their own hands and do things that they would not do if they were living in regular society. There is a little immorality and fairly frequent violence including taking life in order to solve problems. So now, with only one season left, I have felt the need to stop watching it. I still like most of the major characters and I still want to know how it all comes out but I am not going to watch it. This being said, I am ready to get on with today's post!

We actually picnicked on "The Plane Crash Beach", right there in the very spot where the plane sat on the sand. Suzanne has a table that we set up for lunch. It was great!

After we left the plane crash beach we went to

"Turtle Beach", so called by the locals because sea turtles go there to sun themselves. It's rocky and not frequented by very many people so the turtles get a measure of privacy. But this is not the only reason we went there; it is the beach where some of the crash survivors decided to set up camp. It is also the site of Eko's church. So we went to see all of these things, and we did! We saw the camp site, the church and sea turtles.

The turtles were amazing! There had to be dozens of them. The water was so clear that a couple of times when a wave rose up we could see a whole turtle rise up with it. We could see them raising their heads and legs out of the water too. And some were close enough to the shore that we could see their backs. It was quite the show! There are two smooth backs just visible in the center and to the right of the center of the picture.

When we got back to Suzanne's car we found a shattered and smashed in passenger window. Suz and I had left our purses in the car where they could be seen and someone stole them! They also took the backpack that she leaves in the car that has stuff for the kids like diapers, wipes, snacks and file folder games that she made herself. Suzanne is the one who is suffering the greatest loss because she has to replace the window ($500 deductible!), but really, they must not have seen the camara that was under her purse, and neither of us had much money, about $20 between the two of us. Police took our reports, they dusted for finger prints, etc.. Some nice people gave the kids snacks. We were able to call credit card and bank card numbers right away to freeze accounts, etc.. I had our tickets to the Polynesian Cultural Center in my purse but we think they, too, may be able to cancel them and reissue new ones. If not, we only paid $35 apiece for them because of military discounts when we thought we would be spending over $100 for them. So our thief got very little from us. At this point it is mostly inconvenience on our end but the thief has to answer for his crime at some point. Once again, we have been very blessed.

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping!

Today we did the entire walk around Aloha Stadium for the Swap Meet. (If you go, be sure to slather on the sunscreen!) It's really no different than the many others I've been to except the merchandise is Hawaiian souvenirs. When I went the first time I couldn't believe all the fun and beautiful things for sale! I wished I could buy far more than practical. All in all, I'm glad we went, and I'm especially glad Dave is getting to go to all these places this time. We really got in on some pretty good prices, too.
It was hot and we're beat, so for dinner it's chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese from a box and frozen veggies, but it fills the empty space and keeps the natives happy! Adam was so glad to be home that he danced all over the living room!

Learning To Photograph Flowers - and what better place to do it?

Pineapple Tuesday!

Today we toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We rode a train through the fields where we saw masses of pineapple plants growing as well as other things like bananas and cocoa beans. We also took a walking tour through the garden. Everything was beautiful.

We finished the day off with a pineapple sundae that we all shared. It was huge! It's called pineapple whip because it's non-dairy. Cream would sour with the addition of pineapple juice!

It was a pineapple cut in half and scooped out with pineapple chunks in the bottom, three "scoops" of pineapple whip. The toppings are raspberry, coconut and pineapple. Yum!!!! And as is my tradition, I bought a cook book - a pineapple cook book!

Monday at Waikiki

The boys built "Grass Mountain" while Suzanne fed Kamryn.

This is a great spot for kids because there is a wall that reduces the waves to child-size!

We ate at "The Counter". One of the owners of this build-your-own-burger restaurant plays Jin on Lost. (Locations also include Salt Lake City and Southern California.) This sandwich has to be at least 6" tall and can only be eaten with a knife and fork!

Makes GREAT left overs! :)

Toppings include Avocado, mixed baby greens, grilled pineapple, grilled onion and red bell pepper, and bacon.

The bun is whole grain.

On Oahu Friday, Saturday and Sunday

We are greeted at the airport by Suzanne, Kamryn, Jacob and Adam.

Later on Friday we picked up Chandler from YMCA summer camp at Camp Erdman.

Saturday we went to the beach and a barbecue at Iroquois Point where I taught Chandler to body surf. Jacob got into it, too. We had a blast!

David enjoys a few moments with a book.

Adam loves his freedom but this water is swift and gets deep in a hurry. At least with a leash he can run on his own - to a point!

The barbecue was great, we got to meet some of Suzanne's friends, and just relax.

Sunday we all went to church.

Sunday evening David read scriptures with the family.

In The Shoes of Honorable Men

For decades women have been trying to free themselves from being dominated by men. While equal pay for equal work is only fair, somehow advancing "the cause" has muddled the very essence of womanhood.
Much is taught in church to clear this up but what about the role of men? They have not been ignored. The world has belittled, maligned, and pushed away men as the source of all of women's problems. Even in the schoolyard, "girls rule, boys drool" is an offensive attitude promoted on clothing and in sports, etc., and now manhood, it seems, has become as equally unclear.
As I get ready to teach the Book of Mormon in Seminary, I am reminded of what it means to be a man of valor. Example after example resides within those pages and as I read, my gratitude increases for the righteous men in my life:
First - My own father, who is steadfast and immoveable. I am grateful for my heritage......a long family line of faithful descendants of Abraham and the House of Israel. Thank you, Dad. I love you.
Second - I am blessed to belong to my husband, David. He also comes from the House of Israel and righteous parentage. He has never even once exercised any unrighteous dominion. He teaches me both by example and word and I am grateful. He is a worthy man of valor. I love him, too.
And Third - My children and their husbands who all love the Lord and are committed to the cause of righteousness.

Today being Father's Day, I want to express love and appreciation to my Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ, who bought us with a price, for the atonement that makes possible our forever family. And I want to thank the men in our family who set worthy examples for my grandchildren. I am grateful for the love and kindness they show to their families - I love them all for it.
Happy, Happy Father's Day!

We're going to see Suzanne and the kids!

Today is packing day. We're excited about this trip because we will be able to go to some great places and make lifelong memories with Suzanne's family in Hawaii! They live between North Oahu and Central Oahu, near the city of Wahiawa which is in small bold print on the map. We are leaving home tomorrow morning around 7 a.m. for the airport, flying out just after noon and then arriving at 3 p.m. Hawaii time. The flight will take about 5 hours.
David and I are escaping by ourselves to the Polynesian Cultural Center for part of our trip. (A belated anniversary celebration!) And with the family we want to go to Pearl Harbor, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, Waikiki Beach, and other not-as-populated beaches, if they aren't tired of sight-seeing in their own backyard. I'm sure we will be heading off to Aloha Stadium for the swap meet where we can get great prices on souvenirs. This time I will post pictures :)
Aloha!

We love you and will miss you, Jared. We pray for your safety as you are there in Iraq. Thank you so much for your service!

Aaahhhhh, finally made it........ :)

Celestial here we come!

Horray! We've reached the Terrestrial (and still rising!)