sabbath

detail of mosaic

ida collecting some type of pod and sporting a very full diaper

bronze horse {looked like it was made of driftwood}

contemporary museum honolulu, ida in the air
eli in the gardens

a little history, read up

c.j. flying off the ledge
blowing in the wind. do you see ida? she was asleep in c.j.'s hoodie...
as legend goes, the chief ended up jumping off the cliff but was brought back up by the wind. i believe it. it was so whippy windy.

looking down into kaneohe bay from the nu'uanu pali lookout

eli on waikiki
sunset on waikiki

isn't sunday a great day?

yesterday we decided to attended the tongan ward just for the heck of it but when we got there the time listed on LDS.org for sacrament meeting was incorrect and we had missed it. so we decided to head down to the place we really wanted to attend, the Honolulu Stake Tabernacle building {no times were listed on the website for that building}. as luck would have it, we could hear them singing the sacrament hymn as we walked up so we popped in just in nick of time. what a deal. the building was gorgeous. we had driven by it earlier in the week and were excited to get to check it out. the mosaic of christ on the exterior glitters especially at night with a beautiful gold sheen. i loved it.

the rest of the afternoon we decided to spend some time at the contemporary museum honolulu. the art was so-so and the exhibit was small, but the grounds were amazing. the museum sits high above honolulu in a residential area. it was fun to drive up the windy streets and discover this gem.

after the museum, we had a little bit of time before supper so we drove up to the nu'uanu pali lookout. it was also well worth the venture. when we parked and got out the car we thought it was windy, we soon learn that that was only a taste of the wind. by the time we walked to the cliff edge/lookout, about 200 yards from the car, we were almost blown off our feet. i was worried about my sunglasses, then i turned around and this old lady was almost losing her wig. it was misty and windy and slightly eerie. but very fun to experience. when we finished up we headed back into honolulu, ate supper on the beach and watched the sun go down. i couldn't believe how fast it goes, just sinks into the ocean, big and gold. very cool. great way to end the day.

iphone-oahu

view from our room, i love the detail in the mountain range. thank you phoney phone

traveling lap




windy beachy idy
snoozy buddist temple idy
3 tonne bell to be rung for good luck before you enter the temple

9 foot hand carved buddha

my phone has been taking some sweet shots over the last few days. thought i'd post them as well.

the windward coast

birdies!
dolphins!


byodo-in temple

this temple was constructed without a single nail

waikiki beach, dusk

today has been one of our favorite days.

we decided to explore east oahu and up the windward coast. we spent some time at a sea life park where the dolphins put on a show. ida oohed and aahhhed at the sparrows on the stadium seats. it was funny that the birds grabbed her attention and not the 500 pound dolphins flying through the air. we did see a "whalfin" there, which was a cross between a dolphin and a killer whale {an unplanned pregnancy that occurred there at the facility}. that whalfin was the highlight for me. it looked like a dolphin but was dark grey and had a killer whale dorsal fin. sweet "accident".

when we left there we began to drive and the mountains around us grew taller and greener and funky and the shoreline became insane and all of the sudden we were in this amazing town, kaneohe. there was a place called the "valley of the temples" that i had wanted to visit which happened to be there. it was amazing. c.j. claimed that it was the most beautiful place he had ever been to in his life. i would have to say, it just may well have been.

we ended the night strolling around honolulu and finally walking on the sands of waikiki beach. it was a great day.

packing it in

sandy panty hose
the line up, out the door

connoiseur
sister missionary placing a flower in idas hair, she LOVED it



maternity



playing with flowers


BYU-Hawaii
Ha - the show

we are still waking bright and early at 6:00 am every morning. this is working to our advantage as we have been packing so much into each day. for example yesterday...

our first stop was the beach in front of our hotel. we lathered ourselves up with sunscreen, swam, played in the sand and layed in the sun. ida doesn't like to walk on the sand, but will sit and dig and occasionally lick it. by about 11:00 we were done, so we cleaned up and decided to drive to the north end of the island. we stopped in haleiwa for lunch and shaved ice at matsumoto's {north end of the island = ehhh, matsumoto's shave ice = ehh}. we continued on until we hit the temple. hooray! we walked all around the grounds and thought it was just lovely. it is currently being renovated, so i am sure that it will be super duper when it is re-dedicated and back in action. one of the sister missionaries suggested that we see the new show "Ha" at the polynesian cultural center, then come back another day to see the rest of the park. it was a good idea. we got to the park and ended up eating right before the show in the most expensive/nasty buffet dinner EVER. it was a cross between a ward potluck and a bathroom at a truck stop. the show "Ha" made up for the lousy grub and we left happy. we saw a lot of fire, hula hips, chest slapping, spears chucking, yelling, sweaty muscular guys who could dance! dance? dance!, long flowing hair and grass skirts. we are going to go back on monday to experience the rest of the center as you have 3 days to use your ticket. what a bargain. when we got out it was late and we were whipped. the hour drive back was long, but the kids slept and we made it.

speaking of the kids, they have been so good and have seemed to enjoy everything. occasionally as we are in the car for a while, eli wonders why we aren't swimming in the pool back at the hotel, but in general they have been troopers. eli keeps us on our toes thinking of the next meal and novelty drink and ida just keeps her eyes peeled for birds or a rock to hold.