More Everyday Life

Hailey has always loved to draw.  My friend Kendra told me about a youtube channel that teaches kids step by step how to draw tons of characters and animals.  She loves it.  I do too.  Here are a couple of pics.

Hailey had to do some "interrupting" comics for school.  She came up with these.  I thought they were pretty cute.  My favorite is the cat.  She told me the bubble is the cats dream being crumpled to pieces.  HaHa.

Every Friday the Sister Missionaries put on a storytime at the visitors center.  They choose a gospel principle and center the stories about it.  This day it was honesty.  They read, act out, and have finger puppets for the different stories.  Brayden and Caleb loved it.  Brayden sat still and watched the whole production.  If you know Brayden you know that that is a major feat for him.  

This was just too cute not to post.  Caleb put the hat on and was running around the house like he was Mr. Cool.  When he sat down I had to get a pic.

This pic was from a walk we took.  The weed on the bottom is "Sleeping Grass".  When you touch it it turns red and curls up in slow motion.  It's really cool.

Bo found this snail for Conrad.  It was huge and disgusting!

Nature's Gift

I should probably preface this by saying over the past year or so I've grown to LOVE sunsets.  Idaho has gorgeous sunsets.  June seemed to be exceptional.  I went outside almost nightly just to see what the setting sun was decorating the horizon like.  Each night was always a new gift and an end to another day.

This was taken a couple of nights before we left.  It doesn't do justice, but that sunset was amazing!  I remember thinking this is a gorgeous good-bye.

When we got here we saw pretty sunsets, but there wasn't a lot of color in them.  Of course over the ocean it's going to be pretty but, it's a different kind of pretty.  We've had a lot of rain lately.  I mean a lot.  About five inches in less than twenty-four hours.  With all of the clouds tonight's sunset was different.  As you can see below it was really colorful and beautiful.  There was also a haze all around us that added to it.  Definitely the best sunset so far.

Here's another pretty pic. This was the northern horizon at sunset on 8/26

Sounds in the night

The first night we slept in our house here I woke up to a baby crying.  I thought to myself that that must be Caleb but it doesn't quite sound like him.  So, I laid there for a bit to see if he'd go back to sleep.  The crying didn't stop so I got up and checked on Caleb.  He was sound asleep.  I decided to take a peek at all the kids.  All of them were sleeping so I went back to bed a bit bewildered.

The crying didn't stop and I decided it was just a neighbor with a new baby.  As I laid there I thought to myself, "Oh, I'm so glad that isn't me.  I bet that new Mom is so tired, that baby never stops crying."  I kept waking up to the crying for the next few nights feeling bad for that new Mom.  Then I realized it wasn't a baby.  It was a bird!!!  Crazy!

If I don't leave a fan blowing they still wake me up in the middle of the night and I can't go back to sleep listening to them.  I guess the Mother in me can't sleep through the crying.  Now that I know what it is it's a bit creepy!

I learned the name of those crying nocturnal birds last night.  They are Shearwater birds. Here's a youtube video for your own entertainment.  Enjoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNi1sSy8G9Q

How is Life Going for Bo?

Since we are here for Bo's service mission, I guess I should fill you all in on how things are going in Bo's life.  :)

People have asked how he is doing and if it is what he expected.  He's just getting started but, he says that he likes it.  Although, it's hard to talk for an hour and a half.  He's adjusting and it's getting easier.  It's also really out of his comfort zone to teach and meet all of the new people he's working with.  It is pretty much what he expected and it is a big growing experience.

Bo is teaching one class this semester.  The class is on online business start ups and he is also mentoring student entrepreneurs. He is still working with the business with the rest of his time.  Next semester he will also teach a "Search Engine Optimization" class.  He's now taught four times.  It was challenging to put together a syllabus and begin teaching when he hasn't done that before.  But, he has gotten it all put together and he feels more comfortable now.   

Bo is his duds for Convocation.  (these are Master's robes and he doesn't have a master's but he got to wear them anyway. )

If you're interested here's his bio on his faculty page.  https://willescenter.byuh.edu/bo-porter

A Visit to the Temple Visitors Center

Laie Hawaii Temple.

View looking down from the temple.  

When the weather is nice our Sunday family tradition is take a walk.  We decided to take a walk to the Visitor's Center.  I had no idea how cool it would be.  It is like a mini SLC visitor's center.

This room was cool and I just love these men!

I walked by this painting and had to take a picture.  It so amazing!

This reminds me of SLC

I'm pretty sure temples have the most beautiful trees on earth.  This one looked fake it's so perfect.

The kids loved the fountains

Bo's Hike with the Three Older Boys

After we went to the macadamia nut farm some of us were ready to stay home and rest.  But Bo wasn't and either were the three boys.  They decided to take a hike.  It was way harder than Bo thought it would be.  But, the boys and Bo had a blast and I got some much needed rest. :)

This guy must not like people going on his property. :)

Ready to go

This was a pretty good time

Strawberry Guava

Nice view

They had to walk through a hallway of brush.  That is super thick!

See that huge centipede in there?! 

Yeah, they had to climb with ropes

This kid is so cute!

A Quick Trip to a Macadamia Nut Farm

I thought this sign was awesome!

This place doesn't take long to get to or get through and it is full of samples.  It's great for the kids.  Oh who am I kidding, the samples are awesome.  We all love it!

This picture is a bit better but it didn't have the statues. :)

You can also crack your own macadamia nuts.  They have two shells and they are pretty hard to crack.  The kids had fun trying. 

When We're Hanging Out at Home

So, we don't have a grassy yard.  A lot of our time outdoor is on our deck.  But it's a big deck so we are grateful for that.  The kids have also discovered how fun it is to catch gecko's.  Conrad is getting really good.

 The business sells these hot tubs.  We've been melting here so he had it sent over.  It has been a life saver.  We call it our "cold tub" because it's not heated and it really cools us off.  The kids love it and it's crazy sturdy.  It's way nicer than I thought it would be.

 We have also been able to see sea turtles down from the deck.  I was taking pictures of a huge one swimming by and went to load them and realized I didn't have a card in there.  DANG!  But, I got a pic of a couple of smaller ones.  I'll keep trying for a big one.

How am I Really Doing?

It's been just over three weeks since we moved into our new home and life has been interesting.  We've seen a lot and had fun times.  I've posted about many of them.  I don't like to make it look like life is perfect on here because it's far from that.  I don't want to forget the hard times I've learned from either.  So, here's a sliver what life has been like up to this point.

Being here in Laie has been harder for me than preparing to come was and that was hard. "Paradise" as everyone calls it is a great place to visit.  But living here has been difficult with a many new challenges for me personally and for our family. Even though life has been harder for everyone here so far, we've seen the Lord guiding and blessing us as we go.

One of the major blessings I've been given so far is the fact that although I know things have been rough, I can't remember all of the struggles that have encompassed this move.  I just know it has been crazy.  My plate has been overflowing for about three months now and it's been fuller than normal for awhile. There have been times when it has gotten the best of me.  The only way I've made it through is when I've finally accepted that I can't do this on my own and I've prayed for help.  The Lord is waiting with his arms reached out.  He brings instant peace when we ask. It's a peace that only the Lord can give.

As I've felt alone here and felt like I couldn't take anything else on, I still felt that peace when more had been added to my plate.  I had to seek it.  But the Lord was there waiting.  I knew everything would work out and there was light at the end of the tunnel. I know there will always be light as long as we follow Him.  My other saving grace has been a beautiful view out the back window.

I can sit out there and watch the waves and literally see the power of God in this beautiful world he has given us.  It makes me think of Him and wonder why on earth he wants us here in Hawaii.  Of course Bo is serving at the school and many people will be blessed.  But, why us?  Why now?

I'm sure we'll come to know why at least a little bit more.  But for now, I will just live on the faith that I know we are suppose to be here.  So, here we'll stay.

All of that said, yesterday was a good day!  We met a couple of people Sunday and I went on a walk with a new friend in the morning.  I finally felt like my mind was no longer a paper shredder slicing any "to do" or thought passing through. My thoughts began to feel more like a filing cabinet again. Everything in its place.  My patience was much better, we had scripture time before school, the kids had a great day at school, homework wasn't a nightmare, and we had a great Family Home Evening.  It was just a great day and I knew things were going to get a bit easier.  I'm sure more challenges will come but the craziness of the recent past is in the past.

I just have to say thanks for the phone calls of encouragement and especially for a patient, loving, husband who will take the time to listen and just give me a hug for as long as I need.  I love you babe!

Crazy Surf!

Hurricane Guillermo was headed toward Hawaii last week.  Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing but a high surf by the time it passed.  We had a great time watching the huge waves.  You can't really tell how big the waves are. They look about half the size as in real life but you can kinda tell if I post a picture I just took today at around the same time.  No waves breaking.  A typical day

Right now from our deck

The rest of these are last Thursday afternoon from our deck

I'm just beginning to learn the power that the ocean has.  It's gorgeous!