Spring Break in Hawaii: Surfing in Keihi

Each of the kids had an opportunity to chose their own adventure while on the island.  Tanner went the surf lesson route. He and his Uncle Steve showed up early one morning in the town of Keihi to take a lesson from Maui Beach Boys.  Their surf school consisted of a lone van at the local beach park surrounded by a dozen surfers and two dozen students.  After donning a rash guard, Tanner, Steve and their instructor spent twenty minutes surfing the park grass.  They looked quite competent jumping up onto their boards as an imaginary wave was breaking.

It turns out surfing grass is much easier and less taxing than trying to surf waves for two hours.  The first hour was spent getting a feel for the board, learning balance…and falling off.  Tanner eventually got the hang of it and was able to ride waves into shore without falling.  He said it was one of the most tiring things he has done (then we reminded him of Mount Adams and he had to change that statement), but he loved it despite the surfer’s rash tattooed on his legs.

While Tanner was busy learning to surf the rest of the family rode the waves a little closer to shore on body boards.  I decided I wouldn't do that again until I had a swimsuit that fit a little better.  I guess some of the weight I lost did make a difference in how the suit fit :0!  (Note to self: buy a new suit before the next vacation.)

Before we left for our vacation, Austin wanted a haircut.  I just couldn't make it happen with everything else going on so he left without getting one.   All we heard about was how he was going to have a funny tan line for prom when we got back home and he got it cut.  A BIG THANK YOU goes out to Aunt Cathy for finding a salon and taking Austin to get his hair cut before we spent too much more time in the sun.  We were all glad we didn't have to listen to it anymore.  Doesn't he look good!  He couldn't mess it up with body surfing...

Spring Break In Hawaii: Maui Snorkeling

Maui was in one word – Relaxing.  We couldn’t have asked for better weather and the water was so warm.  It was the first time the kids had every really spent much time swimming in the ocean.

The view from our room.

Good times happen here!

We stayed at the Westin Villas, located just north of well-known Black Rock on the Kanapali Beach side of the island.  Our family of six was a bit cramped in the one bedroom villa, but with an added roll-a-bed for Austin, Tanner and Carson sharing the pullout bed and McKenna with a make-shift bed using a combination of the living room lounger and a few kitchen chairs, we just made it.  The room included a full kitchen that we put to good use making all of our own breakfasts and a few lunches and dinners as well.

McKenna getting snorkel instructions from Gpa and Dad.

Carson and McKenna - the hardest part of snorkeling was getting in and out of the surf.

Carson learning to back into the water with his fins on.

Tanner gives two humbs up for snorkeling the reef off the resort shore.

Thank goodness for snorkel gear.  The gear we rented worked great and got quite the workout.  The kids spent much of their vacation with mask and snorkels attached to their faces.  They all loved it, though Tanner seemed to experience a strange jaw pain if he spent too much time doing it.  The Hotel had a great reef right off shore to explore, though our favorite place to snorkel was at a sea life preserve just to the north where we saw several huge turtles and a snowflake eel.

It was a beautiful hike to the nature preserve.

Back row (L to R):  Gpa Sork, Eric, Austin Tanner Cathy and Steve
Front row (L to R):  McKenna, Carson and Keri

There was a sign right next to this one that said, "Watch for Falling Coconuts".
We thought that was pretty funny, until we saw and heard one drop.

Austin, Gpa Sork and McKenna at Honolua Bay

Time to get the gear on! - Tanner

Austin, snorkeled up and ready to dive in.

Spring Break in Hawaii: Our Too-Short Time On Oahu (

When we took our Disney cruise to Mexico last Spring break, we thought that would be our last big family trip before Tanner left for college, but then Jim offered to put us all up in Maui for Spring Break 2012 if we could make it there.  That was an offer we could not refuse.  When purchasing our tickets, the flights were cheaper to go to Honolulu and then on to Maui and we figured, since we were going  to have to stop there anyway, we might as well spend a few days on Oahu too.

On March 28th, after the kids got out of school, we jumped on a plane bound for Honolulu.  We arrived in Honolulu at 10 PM (felt like 1AM to us) got our rental car, stopped for a few groceries and then drove across the island to the Turtle Bay Estates.  The kids slept the whole way there (which was fine since it was dark and there wasn't much to see).  It would be fun to see the surprise on their faces when they woke up in the morning and got a good look at their surroundings.  We just hoped they wouldn't wake up too early.  Eric and I were beat, and our bodies were screaming by the time we dropped into bed at what felt like 3 or 4 AM.

The next morning we woke up and went for a little jog around the golf course and on the beach.  Watched the movie Pearl Harbor while we ate some breakfast, got Tanner's BYU housing secured and then took off to visit BYU Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC).

Paddling around the lake like pros.

Palm frond weaving.

Tanner, master fisherman.

Spear Throwing

We had a great time at the PCC learning about all of the different islands and cultures.  We played fun games, enjoyed the shows, paddled a canoe around the lake and enjoyed an authentic luau.  I am sorry to say I fell asleep in the evening show.  I am sure it was spectacular, but the travel from the day before, the fresh air and sunshine, walking all over the PCC and a full tummy did me in.

A friendly game of Hawaiian checkers.

Family Ukulele Lessons

Poi Balls-done successfully...

...and not so successfully.

Poi Tasting

Rhythm Sticks

Hawaiian Luau Welcome

We loved the little condo we stayed in at Turtle Bay.  We were sad to leave it on March 30th. There was still so much we wanted to do on Oahu and not nearly enough time.  On our way to the airport and our flight to Maui we packed in a trip to the LDS Temple, Waikiki Beach, Leonard's Bakery for world famous malasadas and of course a visit to Pearl Harbor.  We made it back from the Arizona Memorial in just enough time to run to the airport and catch our flight to Maui.

Tanner, McKenna and Austin Chill-axing in the condo.

Harmony Talent Show

McKenna and one of her best friends, Sage McKague sang “The Rainbow Connection” in the Harmony Talent show this year.  They did such a wonderful job.  McKenna’s voice has really developed over the last 5 years of performing.   This year we chose to write parts into the end of the song.  It proved to be quite a challenge, but the girls took it on and it turned out great.  The first show was a little rough but we worked on a few things before the evening performance and they were able to amaze the audience.

The end of this show marks the end of an era for me.  After being involved with this production for 7 or 8 years, it is time to move on.  I think this was the first time it really hit me that I won’t have a child in elementary school next year.  I even got a bit teary about it, if you can believe it. 

Wicked

Several years ago Eric surprised me with tickets to go see the Broadway production, Wicked.  I loved it!  I came home and shared the story and the music with my kids.  I thought about how much they would have loved to see it with us.  Well, when I heard it was coming to town this year I wanted to get them tickets so badly.  With our recent family vacations, we just felt it wasn't in the budget. I was so disappointed.  Wouldn't it be great to be made of money?

My mother-in-law knew how much I wanted the family to see it together.  For Christmas she surprised the whole family with tickets to attend the show.  I don't know if you can imagine the calendaring that took place to find tickets to a show we could all attend together.  In the end we still had to buy and resale tickets due to overlooked schedules.  Half the family went one weekend and the other half of the family followed the next weekend.

Carson, McKenna, Eric and I enjoyed the show with Cathy and Steve.  My parents and a neighbor bought Tanner, Austin and Lani's tickets for that night and attended with us, so Lani, Tanner and Austin could attend another weekend due to choir conflicts.  It was a wonderful evening.

Lani made us a delicious St. Patrick's Day dinner before the show then we piled into the van and headed downtown for the show.  It was so fun to take Carson and McKenna before the show to look into the orchestra pit and then watch their faces throughout the elaborate production.  Needless to say we all loved it.  McKenna was singing the songs for weeks leading up to the performance and she still hasn't stopped singing them now that she has seen it.

Republican Precinct Caucus

This year the state of Washington was holding Caucuses for presidential candidates.  Eric and I went to our precinct caucus and were able to participate in the delegate selection process.  It was so neat to see democracy work on this level and be a part of it.  I was able to help organize our precinct, count votes and then be the representative of the Romney campaign in the straw poll tabulation for our area.  This caucus event was also a great way to get to know people in our area that we normally don’t get to rub shoulders with.  I would have loved to be a delegate for my precinct, but my schedule wouldn’t allow it this time.  Maybe sometime in the future I will have the opportunity again.