Kalapaki Beach

We live about 5 minutes away from Kalapaki Beach and we like to go there when Spencer is on-call because he can get to a flight quickly. Spencer was "working" during the photos. The pictures don't show off how pretty the scenery is because it was a little overcast, but there is a beautiful mountain view and good waves for boogie boarding. We are so very blessed in the beauty that surrounds us here and so fortunate to have the opportunity to live in Hawaii.

Kids

Our kids had the opportunity to make ornaments and yesterday they were able to decorate a Christmas tree for a hospital. We have a great lady in the neighborhood that provides crafts and has the kids go to her home to make them to take to different hospitals on the island. I am so grateful for them learning how to serve and help others around them.

.http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2009/11/29/news/kauai_news/doc4b1224371c66d578237405.txt

Day of thanks

I just need to express my gratitude for my life. I have such amazing friends and family. My life is so beautiful and rich because of the wonderful relationships I have with them. Even the hard times in life have made me grow and become a better person and that makes me grateful for them. Life is such a beautiful gift and there is much joy to be found. I hope you all have a day full of family, friends, thankfulness, peace and joy. I know I will. Happy Thanksgiving.

Thankful

I love the Thanksgiving season. It is so special to me to take the time and sit and truly reflect on all that we have been given. I want to take some time this next week to post some of the many things I have been blessed with and am grateful for right now.

There are so many things in life to be thankful for and when you truly sit and reflect on how much you have been given it is overwhelming. Right now I am especially thankful for the opportunity we have been given with this new job and new life in Hawaii and all the extra time we have together as a family. I can't express my gratitude for this. That's what I am thankful for today.

Video of Aidan jumping off the pier

It's sideways and I have no clue how to fix it. Sorry. Hope it doesn't kill your necks!

Hanalei Bay

I LOVED this place! We were invited to go Hanalei Bay with our friends Heidi and Nic, Jeff and Amanda, and Matt and Mindee. Heidi's little boy Ty and Mindee's son, Ridge and Aidan have become buddies. Mindee has a daughter Aidan who is 10, that has become good friends with Sienna. We are so lucky to have already found so many great people and friends here.

It took about an hour from Lihue, where we live to get there, but the drive was amazing. Super pretty, green, just gorgeous. Even though it's on the north shore, which is supposed to have big waves in the fall/winter, it was a pretty mild day. We borrowed a paddle board and tried it. It was fun to try, even if I kept falling off. I'll get my balance down and be able to do it someday.

There was a pier right by us that a bunch of people were jumping off, so we wanted to do it too. It took Sienna a little while, but she has fun jumping with Aidan (the friend). My Aidan we talked into having us lower him over the edge and drop down into the water where I would help him up after. My little boy who is normally so scared totally did it, over and over again. He loved it! I was so proud of him.

Madelyn is in love with the ocean. She will see it and yell WATER!! as loud as she can. She would run into the waves and the get a little freaked out and run up for a little bit and then run right back into the waves again. She has no fear and would drown herself very quickly so we have to be especially careful watching her. I am glad that she loves it though.

The kids went out on a kayak with Jeff and loved that. Aidan (friend) and Sienna played in a tube for a while, they all made sand sculptures. It was the best day. We ended the day going for pizza at Brick Oven Pizza, (no, not the same, but still super yummy) in Kapaa. I love it here. We also went to Lydgate Beach the day before and Kalapaki Beach the next day. 3 in a row was awesome. We all love it here and are so lucky to have this opportunity.  (Thanks Heidi for the pics! I always forget my camera.) I have a video of Aidan jumping in the water, but I don't know how to post it with the new blogger set format. Any suggestions?

Hay ride

The kids and I were invited to our friend, Sheri's daughter's birthday party. While we were there the kids got to go on a hay ride around a little bit of Mapleton. The kids loved it. My niece, Kaitlyn, was hanging out with us that day and got to come along for the fun. It was a great party.

Friends

I have been so very blessed in my life with amazing friends. I was able to get together with a few and needed some pictures of us together. The top picture is of my friend, Kristin. We have been friends since we were 3 years old in Sacramento. She moved to Utah not long after we did and we were in contact for a while. After losing touch for a few years we found each other again and I am so glad. We even had babies not too far apart in age. The curly brown haired boy in the 2nd picture is Cole. He's adorable!

The other pictures are Sheri, Amber and the three of us. We were able to head down to St. George for a weekend a little while ago, but forgot to take pictures while we were there, of course! We were too busy having fun! All 3 of us only have brothers, so we say we are each other's sisters. Theses are just a few of the many great friends that I am so lucky to have and I am so grateful for all of them. I have learned so much, been comforted, strengthened, and just had tons of fun with all of them. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. (Don't think I've forgotten the rest of you, just because I didn't post pictures! )

Gardner Village

We went to Gardner Village with Nana for our tradition in October and did all sorts of fun things...swinging on a swing, making all sorts of crafts, getting balloons, getting faces painted, getting balloon toys made, seeing clowns, eating sugar cookies, candy and fudge. We also got a good look at the witches and had tons of fun. We love it there!

10 things I love about Hawaii (and a couple things I don't)

I am sure this will be a work in progress, but these are the first ones that come to my mind.

1. Having Spencer around all the time, (sorry, but nothing can beat that!)
2. The beauty all around. The mountains are breathtaking and all around us, the beaches and ocean are beautiful, the entire surrounding areas are green, almost all the bushes and trees have brightly colored flowers. Gorgeous!
3. Having friends and people we know already at church. The ward during sacrament was so reverent, the people so friendly, the lessons inspiring. "I know I'm gonna like it here!"
4. My house. It is so cute and convenient. I have a huge open floor-plan, tall ceilings, huge walk-in master closet, huge master bathroom, more kitchen cupboards than I know what to do with and it already feels like home, even with almost no furniture. (Pictures to come soon!)
5. The warm weather. It is so nice that my feet never feel cold and I don't need to take a hot bath to get the cold out of my bones.
6. Spencer loving his job. There's a lot to be said for having a job that pays well and you can enjoy doing.
7. Me just being able to be a mom right now. It's almost hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I am here and I have nothing else I need to be doing; no clients calling, no cleaning up from work, no trying to schedule meals and life around my work. I can actually start trying to have a hobby again!
8. Getting to go to the beach whenever we want!
9. The adventure of starting over somewhere new, where we can make our own new family traditions and become closer to one another.
10. The music. It is so great to hear new, different and beautiful music.

As a side-note, there are a few things we aren't too fond of.
1. Centipedes; Sienna was bitten on her hand our 3rd night here by a 6" centipede. They are very painful bites and the centipedes are almost impossible to kill.
2. Stores closing early. Everyone goes to bed really early and get up early. Most stores around here close by 7pm. I am hoping that this will help me learn to become more of a morning person and not such a night owl. So far it's working but I don't know how much of that is the time difference lingering.

I am so excited about our experiences so far and I am sure that we are going to love it here.