Twelve-Hour Tour

Touring the island with Cindy and Derek began with breakfast at Sweet E’s, a casual café with yummy and unique dishes. Then we drove along the east side of the island, stopping along the way at the typical tourist spots for a quick view and photo.

Next we stopped in Kailua for shave ice at The Local…all natural made from fruit gown locally in the Hawaiian Islands...awesome flavor!

Then we traveled the beautiful North Shore coastline and made our way to Laie for garlic shrimp at Giovanni’s, the original shrimp truck, and BBQ corn from Uncle Woody’s (so good!). We also had sliced ripe mango…the best I think I’ve ever had!

From there, we headed to “Turtle Beach”, but didn’t stop because it was pouring rain. About that same time traffic slowed to a crawl after a major accident. After spending over an hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic, we decided to spend some time in Haliewa until the traffic cleared.

We shopped at a little boutique, had dinner at Luibueno’s for the first time, and then headed home at sunset.

Although it was a longer day than we all original planned, we had a fun time with friends and enjoyed some fabulous eats! And we have a list of places to visit on several Saturdays to come…thanks to Cindy and Derek!

Meaningful Relationships

Sterling and I have the opportunity as senior missionaries to stay in touch with our family via phone calls and FaceTime, and I’m so grateful because I realize more and more that meaningful relationships (with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, my family, my friends…everyone I know) are really what mean most to me.

Last month I was having a “moment” of missing my Stampin’ Up! family, so I asked if I could be included in our next company update, and I’ve been looking forward to seeing familiar faces ever since. It was only for a few minutes that I was able to connect over FaceTime today, but it did my heart good.

I also wish to extend my love to all of you. We may not get to connect as often or in the ways we like, but I am grateful for the relationships I’ve been blessed by. When I know of your happiness, I celebrate with you. When I hear of your sadness, I cry with you.

Hugs from Hawaii to all who read this, and please share my love with those who don’t.

Thinking of You

I don’t believe I’ve shared this card with you. The image from Timeless Love is used in a unique way, and the card is nice for extending sympathy or perfect for a quick note to a friend. It's beautiful with a hint of gold and easy to make too. Enjoy!

Rise and Shine

Getting up at 4:30 AM during the week isn’t too unusual, but on Saturday we like to sleep in a little and wake up on our own. This weekend, however, began with an early-morning trip to the Laie Temple with some of the members of our branch. When we arrived, these were the happy faces that greeted us and asked if we wanted to take a selfie with them.

And this was the group that attended the temple with us and did baptisms for the dead. It was a sweet experience. Afterward, we all went to breakfast at Papa Ole’s, a well-known local place. It was a beautiful morning, and we were glad to get up early to serve with and spend time with friends!

Birthday Blues

Sage’s favorite color is blue…Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise…pretty much most shades of blue! She wears a lot of blue, she has a classic turquoise Bronco, and her home décor is sprinkled with blues. So, for her birthday, I asked my artist and friend to include some of the blues when she created Sage’s box. I was delighted to see more than one blue and some silver in the mix too! Enjoy.