Hiking in Hawaii

Woke up our first morning and did what I do every morning: go for a walk around the neighborhood. And what a beautiful morning for a walk!

the view from the front porch

  these flowers were so pretty but I’m sure I wouldn’t think so if they were all over my cars and driveway… :)

Chris and I loved how the sidewalk went right around the tree! 

The Osbornes love to hike! We love to hike! So hiking seemed like just the way to spend a Saturday in Hawaii. And Karen knew just the spot…

The trailhead was right on the side of a major road right across the street from the Byodo-In temple. We crossed the guardrail and walked up to the “trailhead” hidden in the brush behind an apartment complex. It was only about a half a mile and only took about a half an hour. I knew it was going to get even steeper when Karen said, “When you reach the rope, you’re almost at the top.”

Even on the way up the views were very nice!

This sign was at the end of the final climb. I was really thankful for the rope!

There was also this WWII bunker up there. There are bunkers everywhere in Hawaii!

But I have to say that the view from the top did not disappoint!

the sand bars had lots of people and several boats on it

 

we weren’t the only ones who made the trek to the top

Thanks to the guy from the neighborhood who took pics of the 4 of us!

I was even more thankful for the rope going down! I do fairly well uphill but I HATE the downhill!!!  

Back in Paradise

God once again opened the door for us to visit the Osbornes in Oahu before they leave for Chicago in July. And once again, it was an amazing place to be with some fantastic friends!

We left Portland at 7am and arrived in Honolulu at 11:15, giving us the whole day to enjoy Hawaii! Much better than arriving at 8pm…

I miss the old carpet but I like the new one, too.

Good choice PDX!

Karen picked us up and we went to get Shawn’s car from the base and get some lunch. We picked up some Japanese food at the mall, had some Dole Whip for dessert and then went to Hilo Hattie’s, the official store of Hawaii.

It was kind of in the industrial/port part of Honolulu. We’d never been there before, but we were there a whole lot during this trip! Lots of good stuff down there… (and it was right on the way to the Osbornes’ new house on the base)

Hilo Hattie’s is more than just a store, it’s a tourist destination!

the world’s biggest Aloha shirt!

   

Chris really liked the free Trader Vic’s mai tai they served on the flight, so we picked up a bottle while we were there. A few days later we saw it at Costco (we got cheap gas and picked up some chocolates for souvenirs) for $7 less. But it’s good enough that it was worth it!

After that we were ready to head back and visit with our awesome hosts and eat pizza! We were already off to a great start!

We Don’t Have Children Anymore

My Facebook post on Saturday says it all…

It finally happened. Today I officially don't have children any more. Now I only have adults. Today my baby turns 18! I am so proud of my three men and who they are becoming but I have no idea how to parent grown-ups. But God has gotten us this far and I had no idea how to parent babies or toddlers or grade-schoolers or teenagers either. I will just have to keep trusting Him in this next stage, too. Be patient with me, boys (sorry, men). I'm sure I'll keep on making mistakes... But I love you and I mean well.

Being a grown-up meant Will had to spend his special day doing “grown-up” stuff like chores, homework and taking his written portion of the driving test…

But since we’re not totally mean, we did take him out to Chinese after the test…

Great pic, huh??? LOL

And eventually, we let him open presents…

Since he got a lock pick set for Christmas, I couldn’t let him practice on our doors…

 

He had it down to well under a minute to unlock the next day and 15 seconds by Monday!

We also got him a new wallet and The Lego Movie, which we promptly watched while eating birthday ice cream.

The following day was Super Bowl Sunday, and since we didn’t care one snit about the game, we took advantage and took Andy to Sykart to do what he wanted to do for his birthday.

It was really fun! Especially since we were the only ones on the track! Some of us are more competitive than others… ;)

Then we went to Olive Garden for Will’s birthday… Mmmmm!

  To top off an already super fun great day, the Seahawks lost the Super Bowl! :)  Go Pack! 

Who says you can’t have a super fun birthday, even when you’re a grown up???

Happy Birthday, Will! We love ya!

2015 March For Life

The weather for this year’s March for Life was gorgeous!

It was also very nice that I didn’t have to park and got Anne Marie to drop me off and pick me up at the capital! Thanks, Anne Marie! Next year we’ll go together… and I hope to have a van full, too!

There weren’t as many marchers this year but there were a lot more representatives that spoke and took a stand for life. We were told there was a good group of pro-life freshman this year which was very encouraging! So don’t forget to pray for our politicians who take a stand for life. They need them!

 

I liked this sign!

found my place on the steps

 

I also had a card for each of our reps that included this quote:

“We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving.”

― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

After it was done, Anne Marie picked me up and we ate some fantastic eclairs by the water and just talked. It was a lovely day!

Pastors’ Wives Hit the Road

Thanks to the generosity of some families up north, we got to have a pastors’ wives’ retreat again this year! This year, my friend Cheryl came up from Portland and we drove up to pick up AnneMarie in Olympia and went shopping on the way north in Seattle.

The ladies were kind enough to indulge me and go to Daiso. I LOVE Diaso (which is obvious by the large sums of money I spent there and the fact that we stopped by the other one on the way home… LOL)! We also had Thai food for lunch.

We had a great time of fellowship, laughing, fun, crying, encouraging, shopping, crafting, studying the Word… I loved it all! Even the waiting 3 hours for our lunch on Saturday. ;)

my roommates for the weekend (Cheryl, Sharon & Michelle)

Cheryl led our time of study

this was before we waited hours for our food…

we all fit!

It was just the time away that I needed! I came home relaxed, refreshed and encouraged! Thanks to all of the ladies that put in so much work and time to make it possible!