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I wanted to visit Punchbowl National Cemetery while we were living in Hawaii, but I couldn't stand to do it while Mike was away. Visiting a veteran's cemetery during your husband's deployment just felt like teasing fate.
We decided that visiting on Memorial Day would be a perfect way to pay respect to all the heroes who gave their all for our country. It was humbling and beautiful all at the same time.
Jillian and I had a wonderful day of excitement. First we went out parasailing. I can't prove that right now, because I can't find the pics. Maybe later.....
But then we went jetskiing. I started off, but then let Jillian take control. She LOVED it. There was much screaming - her's was joy, mine was fear. LOL
Here and there, I get to slip away and have some fun on my own. I was super glad that I made time to climb Diamond Head. The stairs were killer, but the view was completely worth it!
Another day, my friend, Ruth, and I went out for a little shark swimming. It was more amazing than I expected. The water was a brilliant shade of blue and the sharks were beautiful in a silent, creepy way.
One of our favorite places on Oahu is the Waimea Falls Valley Park. It has so many wonderful plants and pathways to explore. This time we even got to create a fish out of palm leaves with the resident Auntie.
Marisa and I got to swim under the waterfall. Another mark off the Hawaii bucket list!
Mike and Jillian had a blast taking tons of nature shots. They are so good!
We had a fun family day at a carnival-like event on Schofield. Jillian got to beat up a car and color her hair; Marisa got to slide and pose with the Geiko Gecko (a total thrill for her.) Lots of fun!
On a Furlough Friday (Hawaii's answer to budget problems), I took all my girls out for one of my favorite hikes - Kaena Point. It's so beautiful!
In April, Marisa was in The Wizard of Oz. She played a munchkin and a citizen of the Emerald City. She had lots of fun at the practices and loved being in the play! And she was adorable, of course.
Mike and I were excited to show the girls where the family began. In June of 1995, we got engaged at the Fern Grotto on Kauai. It's a wonderful memory that we wanted to share with our sweeties.
Some things were pretty much the same as we remembered. There was entertainment on the boat up the river and all us tourists were encouraged to try a hula.
We were pretty happy to be there!
When we got to the grotto, we were surprised to find that no one can go into it anymore. They've build a platform from which visitors can observe the grotto, but it's not nearly as special as being able to walk right into it. Sigh.... times change.... But we still got our picture with Picard. (who cares if we're blurry!)
The girls had different spring breaks, so we had to get creative to have a mini-vacation. We took off for Kauai over the week-end between and called it the family spring break trip.
Our first stop was the Kauai Sugar Plantation and their railway. It went through their land and highlighted the different crops, but our crew loved seeing the animals best. The train stopped to let us feed their boars, which the kids thought was great. I was a bit sad for them until I was assured that these pigs don't have starring roles in the local luaus. We also got a close look at the first of several hundred chickens we would see during our stay on Kauai. The whole island is overrun with the loud, annoying things!
After the train, Mike got to have a little taste of the local rum...
and I got to buy a handcrafted sea turtle clay art piece and meet the artist.
After this, we drove to the other side of Kauai to visit a lighthouse, the name of which I don't remember. It is in a park area that is home to a gazillion protected birds, so there was lots to watch. We even saw a few nene wandering around - those are the state bird of Hawaii.
Jillian was selected for the district beginner's honor band and attended extra practices for a few months leading up to the concert. We were so proud! Here's our awesome tuba player...
Look for a blonde..... it's probably her!
Here's a little bit of video of her favorite song to play that evening. It's pretty blurry, but it does have sound!
