Happy Graduation Ethan!

Congratulations to Ethan and Sarah! After much dedication and study by Ethan and Sarah's loving support Ethan graduated today from Brigham Young University in the Construction Management Program. We are so proud of them. After completeing a few more credits, they will be moving to Virginia where Ethan has accepted his first job in the industry. Welcome to the next phase of your lives! We love you all!

First day of 2024 boating on Lake Mead!!

First weekend out on the boat in Lake Mead. Brynn had asked us to come and take her and a few friends tubing for her birthday on Friday and then we went out again with Tanner and Molly with a friend on Saturday. The weather was perfect and such  beautiful days enjoying each other on the boat. Sadly, Gary got in a car accident  before we  left  for  Hawaii and we have no idea  when we are going to get the truck back  (another story), which is a real bummer cause we have been really looking forward to using the boat this summer and our only other option is  borrowing Kristi's  car.  Gratefully Gary was not injured, just a lot of truck repairs!!

Oahu Last Days

We had so much fun enjoying everyone. We have wonderful children that all get along and are patient and forgiving when our plans don't completely align. It was so great to watch the grandchildren  all get to know each other better (Amy lives in West Virgina, we don't get see them enough!). Not sure how often we will  be able to pull this off, but it truly was a blessing and wonderful for so many of us to be together in such a beautiful setting. 

North Shore Oahu

Thursday we had a fun day on the North Shore. Lauralee had gotten us discounted tickets to the Polynesian Cultural Center. We stopped in Haleiwa for sandwiches and shave ice before heading to Sharks Cove for some snorkeling and sun. Lauralee's husband (Joes sister that lives on the North Shore) got there just in time to take some of the older group to a cool snorkeling spot that included some cave diving. They ended up going a little longer than we had planned so only had about an hour at the PCC villages before they closed, but it started raining anyway, so wasn't the perfect day for it. We found a cool hamburger spot, Seven Brothers, that could accommodate all us for dinner. Sadly, our van wouldn't start at the end of dinner and it was a little crazy trying to figure it out. We ended up leaving Gary with the van, in the rain, while the rest of us went to the show at the PCC (no reason for everyone to miss it, right?) Gary was the hero as always, after alot of back and forth with the rental company and what was starting to look like an overnight in Laie, he was able to get a nice guy from the hamburger shop to help him jumpstart it and get it going. He was able to watch the end of the show and we all returned to  the resort as planned with no more car problems. Yay!

Hike and Boat Charter in Oahu

On Wednesday we had a boat charter reserved for snorkeling and diving. Before that I went with Kristi to cool hike by the lighthouse. It was a beautiful drive early in the morning and a hike I'd never done before (kind of a secret spot), with a great reward of tide pools that we could swim in and lots of waves rolling in. Really glad I was able to go with them. With all the little ones, it was not a hike everyone could do. We met the  rest of the group in Waikiki for the boat charter. Sadly Tanner was sick, so his family wasn't able to come. We had a great time, although a little disappointing. It wasn't a great dive spot for the divers (Gary and Collin) and most of the kids were really too little for snorkeling off a boat and it wasn't too smooth that day. Everyone was good sports and we had fun, but next time we will rethink that one. 

Mermaid Caves/Electric Beach Oahu

 Tuesday we had a lot of fun exploring the Mermaid Caves, Electric Beach,  lounging around the pool and dinner together at end of day. Not too much driving and good weather, a perfect day!

Oahu Family Trip Day 1

A year ago I was able to reserve three rooms at the Ko-Olina Marriott Vacation Club on Oahu for April 7-14. I wasn't sure how many would  be able to  make it,  but told them to let me know before January how  many were coming  (so I could still cancel unused rooms). Miracle of miracles, we had all but four people. Craig, Mike, Ryan and Ethan were (sadly) the only ones that couldn't make it. The  first day was a travel day and going to  Costco  to fill the fridges for the  week. The next day, we explored the resort, played in the pool and on the beach.  We were  lucky enough  to  have a room that  opened  up to the grass and pool which was perfect for all the little ones to be able to go  in  and out during  the  day. We also had two 3 bedroom units upstairs. Kristi and Amy's families shared a three bedroom, and Kelly,  Tanner  and Sarah's families shared a three bedroom.