Journies to Laie and Pearl Harbor

Day 2: Laie
On day two of our Hawaiian adventure, we boarded the express bus to Laie. It was a lengthy bus ride, but we saw the entire beautiful windward coast. It was so tropical and secluded compared to the bustle of Honolulu. Our destination was the Polynesian Cultural Center. After hearing plenty of buzz about that place, I still had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised!
The dancing and shows were beautiful and every employee was kind and friendly.

It was like stepping back in time watching the demonstrations and learning about how any Polynesian cultures live. They are so resourceful! I could learn a think or two about conservation from them.

We all got excited about the ukulele lessons. I suppose that because it's a tiny instrument I underestimated how difficult it would be. Let's just say ukulele performances won't be in my future. Just ask the man sitting next to me during the lesson! He could barely contain his laughter at my horrendous playing.

The Laie temple and visitor's center was beautiful and serene.

We hitched a ride on the city bus back to the city. A sweet, but dozy, Korean woman fought falling asleep the entire ride. Her bobbing head kept landing on my shoulder and she would profusely apologize. I should have just offered it to her.

By the time we arrived, my lunch of macadamia nut ice cream wasn't cutting it. I was desperate for food. I was that American sprinting through the food court toward the Chinese buffet.

Day 3: Pearl Harbor

I loved this day. A lot. Honestly, I was surprised by how moving and emotional the experience was.

Pearl Harbor is beautiful. We decided on the audio tour and I would HIGHLY recommend doing that every time. Every display and exhibit meant a lot more when listening to actual veterans retelling their experiences.

It's hard to believe all that violence and disaster happened in such a serene place.

I took roughly eleventy billion photos, but I decided to spare you. A few of the most remember things were...
Looking into the water and seeing the actual USS Arizona sunk in the water, oil still leaking into the harbor.

And President Roosevelt's original speech, still in the rough draft stages. Complete with slash marks, edits, and revisions. Very powerful.

Nowadays, I'm not always happy with my country's choices, but visiting this memorial made me so proud to be an American.

Before heading back to the beach, we ate at Schooners overlooking the bay.

Scallops, shrimp, calamari, and sole. Yum.

We were just in time to take a quick nap on the sand before catching a gorgeous sunset at Ala Mauna beach.

I love these girls!

"Let's Go to the Beach, Each, Let's Go Get Away..."

Two or three days ago I returned from my first Killian sister vacation. We had been planning this Hawaiian excursion for some time...like, a year. It was SO. WORTH. IT. Not only should every group of sisters do something like this, I think every mom should have a kids-free-husband-free vacation every few years. Being away just made me miss them and love them much, much more.

My vacation started on a Monday, when Devon, D'laney and I drove from Rexburg to Ritzville. Doesn't sound like much fun, but it was bliss. Nice, long car ride...free to read or sleep or do what I pleased...no one touching or whining to me. Ahhh...

The following day all five of us packed up, had an impromptu photo shoot in the tie-dye shirts the younger sisters made, and hit the road to Seattle where our flight to paradise was waiting.

(I'm not sure if Dakota has forgiven us yet for going without her)

We got to Oahu super late that night. The adventures didn't start until the next day.

I love the part of visiting a new place when you just set out on the city and see what you can see. That's exactly what we did our first day. On our gaunt to find Waikiki, we walked by rows and row of high end designer shops. I loved that. Believe it or not, we don't have a Gucci or Louis Vuitton in southeastern Idaho.

Everything in the island is gorgeous. I've been to a different island once before, but I was still amazed at how unique and lovely Oahu was. Even the decorative flowers and rocks along the streets are beautiful.

And then we found the famous Waikiki. It was grand.

People everywhere. We could have been in any number of foreign countries based on the scads of different languages we heard.

After settling in, the relaxing began.
Dalyn whipped out her D-90 to capture the moments.

When the beginnings of our first sunburns were beginning to show, we kept exploring and stumbled on this massive tree. Looked like something our of Avatar or Fern Gully.

The zoo was right by the beach, and we always enjoy staring at a few wild animals, so we went for it.

After lunch (the best spaghetti I've EVER had), it was back to the beach. I've never had so many naps before this trip.

Other Favorites About This Day:

*** Riding the bus to the movie theater and watching Dark Knight. Missing the bus back to the hotel and walking through Ala Moana park***

*** Watching the girls in disgust after they chose the Asian buffet for breakfast. Apparently, there aren't breakfast foods in Asia. Tofu, bean curds, and corn were on the menu at 9 a.m.***

*** Getting in the salty ocean. It amazes me how #1. salty it really is #2. Warm it can feel.***

Red Fish Lake 2012

Riley's family goes to Redfish Lake every year. For the last 16ish years, Lorie (my MIL) and her siblings meet with their families for an entire week of camping. It's a pretty cool family tradition.

I'm not quite as hardcore about the camping scene, so we only stayed a couple of nights. But it was beautiful and relaxing nonetheless.

Hinder LOVED hanging with his cousin J.J., getting into all sorts of mischief and riding their scooters all around.

The lake and mountain there are outstanding. This is heaven for Riley.

More cousins and the scooter brigade.

Card games are a staple at these reunions. As well as Ray's infamous multicolored cap.

Cute J.J helping out with the water.

The kiddos waiting for dinner.

One of the best parts of Redfish are the meals. Uncle Carl and Aunt Shellie really outdid themselves this year.

Grandma Lorie snuggling with Vy. So sweet.

It was so bittersweet to say goodbye to these people, knowing that we will only see them a one last time before we head across the country.

I think Riley actually teared up more saying goodbye to the Sawtooths.

Fourth of July

Our final 4th of July in Rexburg was pretty spectacular. I really couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The weather is always the wild card in eastern Idaho, but it was beautiful the entire time.

The festivities started out at the local parade. We crossed our finger and toes that display would be better than last years pathetic debacle. We were pleasantly surprised.

Our ward even represented with a little float. Rexburg 8th Ward is where it's at!

The bulk of the day was spent with some of our favorites hanging in our backyard. Lots of splashing, trampoline jumping, water balloon throwing, game playing, laughing, talking, relaxing, and eating.

Preston, Meghan and their new little one, Grant, were visiting from Washington.

We've certainly missed having them around.

Second cousin cuties. Grant was born just a month after Vy Leigh.

Watching them interact was precious.

No party is complete without the Wilsons.

Ugh...how are we going to move away from this family?!

I think Riley and I are going to go into serious Wilson with drawls in a few short weeks.



Father and son.

Matchy matchy

Ultimate croquet

(how's that for an oxymoron?)

Pre-fireworks playtime with Hinder and Ava.

Box of sparklers= $.88

Content kids for an entire hour= Priceless

Riley and I ended the day talking about how grateful we are for this perfect day, wonderful friends, our quaint patriotic town, and our free country.

And I think that's the point of the holiday, right? To feel gratitude?

We really do have so much to be thankful for.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed.

 The list of things to get done before we move (just eight weeks away!) is lengthy, to say the least. And regular life hasn't slowed down one bit.

The kids still have needs, the house still gets trashed, and relationships still need to be maintained.

Sometimes I want to crawl in the back of my closet and take a thirteen hour nap.

It's times like these when I turn to my trusty friend, Google Images, to help me out.

This is where we get to end up. These are the sights we get to see.

It helps me feel excited again, and I remember that we are just blessed to have all these things to do, plans to prepare, miles to travel.

Life is good.