In San Francisco. Thought it was Oct in CO when I awoke today

(Star) Trek

Today Austin left for Wyoming. He is going to be a pioneer for the next 4 days. To get ready for this day we had to buy him special pioneer clothes. Austin loved them, just kidding!
He got really sick this past weekend so we weren't even sure if he would be able to go. Austin hasn't really wanted to go on trek. He's been hemming and hawing about having to pull a hand cart and sleeping outside and crossing a river pulling a handcart. All of the work. It was too much he thought. Then he found out that some days they would be walking up to 10 miles in a day! Well that kinda helped home decide he didn't want to go. I helped him get ready to go and it seemed to me that he wasn't complaining as much. A good sign right? Maybe he was too sick to complain or maybe realizing that he might not be able to go. This morning when he woke up he didn't look that great. Blood shot eyes and a pretty rough cough. I said "AJ maybe you shouldn't go." He looked back at me and said "But I want to go." I was happy to hear that. He had changed his mind. He perked up a bit after waking up. And was happy to go.

Here is is in his pioneer clothes. Thanks Nina for the hat!

Austin and Cody ready to go!!

Austin with his Ma for the next few days

My handsome boy

Here is Austin with his family. They divide up the youth into families. They don't get to choose who is with them. Austin lucked out to get a great family. They chose the name Star Trek for their group name. I can't wait to hear about all of the fun he had when he gets back!

Visitors

This summer the missionaries moved into our basement.
Here they are playing crossfire with Nate.

We have green beans!

Nate and I were looking at the garden and discovered these beauties! There are so many green beans in the garden. We look at the plants everyday, I don't know how we missed all of them. They are really yummy! I'm thinking green bean casserole.

Austin boogie boarding

Nate boogie boarding

jumping off wall at Waikiki beach

Hawaii

Last night on Oahu

We had a blast in Hawaii! (Thanks Paul and Holly for letting us stay with you!) It was great being on vacation and not having anything else interfering with family time.Our family quickly adjusted to island life. We loved having the ocean so close to us and being there everyday of the trip. Here are some pictures to show you what we did.

Sorry guys.....no waves. I guess we can't go surfing.

Nate stood in for the strong guy at the Polynesian culutral center

Family Picture

Hanging at BYU Hawaii

Did you know that pineapples grow in the ground? I didn't.

Guess what? Pineapple frozen yogurt with fresh pineapple is the best!

I think I'd like one of these fields behind my house!

I'm trying to boogie board

These next pictures are of Brian and Austin. They jumped off of a wall at Waikiki beach. They would wait for a large wave and then throw themselves into it. It looked like fun. Austin convinced me to sit down on the wall and feel the waves. He said to hold on tight. We'll I sat on the wall and was blown over backwards by a huge wave so I decided jumping into the waves wouldn't be a safe thing for me to do.

Trying to convince Nate that he would be safe jumping off the wall. He didn't even try it. He saw what happened to me so he thought standing on the wall would be enough for him.

A look at Waikiki beach


Austin and Nate had a blast boogie boarding. If you look carefully you can see that AJ is pulling Nate back out so they can catch some waves

Paul and I flashing our shakas

Isn't this a great shot. Looks like we are going to be blown off of this cliff!

Stanford is awesome, but I'm ready to go home!

Never thought I'd find myself spending the night in a Stanford dormitory. Awesome campus.

I haven't lived here 4 over 11 yrs but landing n Sac on a hot summer night with the delta breeze feels like home still.

Rockies won yesterday so I got my Taco Bell on: 4 tacos and a drink for $2.39!

We're home! Time to get back 2 work.

At Waikiki beach. Flying home tonight.

At the beach watching our last sunset on Oahu. : (

Going snorkeling then free Slurpee's at 7-11 since today is July 11th.

Saw 2 turtles and an octopus while snorkeling today.

Paul just hit a hole in one!!!!

Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!!

Going 2 play some golf.

Jumping off the rock at Waimea Bay on the North shore.

At Oahu temple, BYU Hawaii, and Polynesian Cultural Center.

At Dole pineapple plantation. Had pineapple ice cream with pineapple topping. Sooooooo good!

Going snorkeling and boogie boarding at Waikiki beach again!

Hiking Diamondhead.

Day 5 in Paradise

Day 5 in Paradise was packed full of amazing events. First, we headed over to Pearl Harbor to visit the National Park/Memorial. It was a solemn and memorable experience that made an impression on our family. Here are some pictures of our visit:

Upon entering the park we passed the USS Bowfin submarine.

Another view of the USS Bowfin.

Behind Nathan are currently active Naval ships while over Austin's shoulder we see the USS Arizona Memorial (see more about this below).

This abnormally large torpedo (called Kaiten, and translated as "the turn toward heaven") contained a 550hp motor and was driven by a single Japanese soldier. The torpedo had an escape hatch to be used when within 150 yards of its target, but despite the multiple missions these torpedo's were employed in, the escape hatches were never used.

A nice family photo of some BIG GUNS! The shells for this gun were 2 lbs each and this gun could shoot over 150 per minute!!

Photos of currently active Naval ships docked in Pearl Harbor.

Time for us to head over to the USS Arizona Memorial.

The bell salvaged from the USS Arizona (no one wanted to stand under it since it weighed 1500 lbs).

A photo of a photo of the USS Arizona Memorial from the gift shop.

We took a Navy ship over to the USS Arizona Memorial, which was built over the sunken wreckage. On the left side of this picture is the USS Missouri.

1,177 soldiers were killed on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Even today small amounts of oil leak from the wreckage. In this photo you can also see the USS Missouri. The surrender treaty was signed by the Japanese on the deck of the USS Missouri at the end of WWII.

Next, we headed into Honolulu for lunch and to rent snorkel gear for the week. We ate at a great hamburger joint a block from Waikiki beach called Teddy's. Teddy's is what In-N-Out would be if they opened a chain in Hawaii - good burgers with a Hawaiian flair:

Paul and I ordered the Hawaiian burger which had grilled pineapple and teriyaki sauce on it.

The french fries and pineapple milkshake were also delicious.

As we left Teddy's we saw the Oscar Meyer weiner mobile.

After our feast we headed on to Waikiki beach in order to work off some of the calories.

Nate and I had a great time viewing all of the colorful fish just below our feet - no shark or turtle (honu) sightings yet. Lisa, Austin, and Uncle Paul also came out.

After snorkeling, Austin and I went to do some boogie boarding. After a lot of trial and error we eventually caught a lot of good, long rides.

Here is a video of Austin catching one of the waves.

When we were done we hopped onto the wall that protects a section of Waikiki beach from the waves so that little kids can play there.

We had a great time and could not stop thinking about how much we had missed the ocean - even if the ocean we remember was ice cold!