Polynesian Cultural Center

Tuesday morning Kenedy snapped this picture of Ryker studying his scriptures. 

Kelsey and his family left early to go on a hike which with Kefford's foot in a boot we were not able to do. Instead when we got up we headed over to Leonard's Bakery for some doughnuts that we had heard were really good. There was a line out the door when we got there so lot's of people must have heard or knew these were good doughnuts. Rylee wanted a picture with an authentic Hawaiian license plate, she liked the rainbows on them, so while we waited in line I took her picture in front of one.

Only a limited number were allowed in the store, so we told Kefford what we wanted and he and Rylee went in while the rest of us waited outside.

We took the doughnuts back to our Condo mandate them there while we finished getting ready for the day. It was nice to have such a beautiful view of the Ocean and of Diamond Head Mountain, I loved being able to eat my doughnut while sitting outside on the balcony enjoying the view.

We had tickets to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center this day and so once we were ready we headed out that way. The PCC didn't open until 12:45 and we got there at about 11:30 so we decided to stop at the Laie Hawaii Temple to walk around the grounds. Going inside and having the kids do Baptisms would have been amazing but because of Covid it was not open to visitors, we couldn't even go inside the Visitor's Center, Covid ruins everything. 

When we got done at the Beautiful Temple we headed over to the PCC, the shops and food trucks were open and we were starving so we wanted to get something to eat before anything else. When we bought the tickets I was under the assumption that who meals were included with our ticket price. But that morning I looked at it again and either they changed it or I misunderstood but we only had one dinner buffet included so we needed to get something to eat for lunch. We found a food truck that sounded good and we each got a meal. At first Kefford and I were a bit shocked at the prices, it was a bit more then we would have wanted to spend, but once we got our food and saw how much we were given we felt a bit better about the prices. Ryker and I got burgers and those were massive, Rylee and Kefford got chicken, and Kenedy and Avynlea shared a meal, super smart of them, of hamburger patty with eggs on top called a Loco Moco. Everyone really enjoyed their lunch and it filled us up so we could continue on with our day of fun.

Coconuts and a bathroom selfie

We knew we were going to be doing a lot of walking and for Kefford this not the best of ideas, he could walk some but all day walking would not be good for his achilles so he rented a scooter for the day. It was actually really nice for him to have it and helped him to be able to keep up with the rest of us and not hurt his achilles more. He took little breaks form it and let the rest of us who wanted to try it out have turns with it. It was a fun thing to have.

Rylee liked all of the statues and wanted me to take her picture with each one she saw.

They had a really voyager boat that the BYU-H students built and they have on display for when it is not being used in the ocean by the BYU-H students. It was really cool to see a real working one and to hear the process of how it was done. 

We got to learn a stick rhythm and tossing game which was really fun. I was not as coordinated as I wanted to be but Avy was my partner and she was pretty patient with me and helped me find the rhythm.

We learned about coconut tree climbing and gathering and watched a demonstration on how the locals open up the coconuts. 

Then we got to watch a Tahitian wedding

We found a fun waterfall that we all wanted pictures in. The idea was cool but the execution not so much, the falling water does not cooperate like it should.

We got to go on a Tram tour that took up past he Temple and BYU-H, we really liked seeing all of these spots and hearing about what it is like to live and go to school here in paradise.

Avynlea spotted a pig walking down the sidewalk and took a picture of it while we were on the tram. She thought that was just delightful

WE got to eat our buffet dinner before the "Ha, Breath of Life" show and it was good food and nice to sit in an Air Conditioned room and relax for a while.

The show was really good. It celebrated nd show the culture of all the Polynesian Islands. I love Polynesian music and ancient so even though I was exhausted it was an enjoyable show.

 

Flying to Hawaii and Waikiki Beach

About a month before spring break Kefford and I were talking about needing to meet with Brit and Kelsey abut Barnyard plans and I jokingly said we should do it in Hawaii and we can use it as a tax write off. Kefford didn't dismiss the idea and we got to talking about it and talking to Brit and Kelsey about it and decided we should do it. I wanted it to be a trip with our kids and Brit and Kelsey agreed but they would only bring their oldest 3, ideally doing it during Spring Break was the option we wanted but prices were too high and so we started looking into May. I was not thrilled with the idea of the kids missing a week of school but if we didn't do it then it wouldn't have happened for us what with the summer being too busy. We found some online deals and booked out tickets for May 10th through the 16th with our two families flying to Honolulu Hawaii. Kenedy would fly to Hawaii from San Antonio Texas while the rest of us flew together from Boise.

Because of covid we had to get covid tests within 72 hours of us flying out and luckily we all passed with negative results and we uploaded our results onto the  Hawaii Travel Safe website. Kenedy was flying through LA on American Air while the rest of us were flying through San Fransisco on United. I wanted to try to have our layovers match up but I couldn't make it work. 

When we got to San Fransisco we had to find our gate and then show our negative covid tests to get a wristband that would grant us safe entry into Hawaii, without it we would not be allowed on the flight. We got ours and went to find seats while Kelsey's families was getting theirs, I went to the bathroom and when I came out I saw that Kelsey's family was sitting way from us and when I asked Kefford why he said he didn't know but they looked pretty concerned about something. After going over to talk to them we found out that they unknowingly took the wrong covid tests and had to either go back home or take a test at the airport and take a later flight. The covid tests we took in Meridian were free but to take one at the airport was going to cost them $250 each, ouch. We were so confused because we all went to Wal-greens to take our tests but it seems there is a rapid diagnostic test which we took and a rapid antigen test which they took. Nobody told them it was the wrong test and when they uploaded their results to the sight it didn't flag it which would have been nice if they did. I started worrying that maybe Kenedy took the wrong test also and called her. Sure enough she did but American Air didn't check beforehand and while we were trying to figure it all out she boarded her plane and took off. We did the same leaving Kelsey's family and hoping for the best. 

We figured out that upon landing Kenedy would have to show her results and if it was the wrong test, which it was, they would possibly send her back to LA. Having her fly to Hawaii only to be sent back to LA was ridiculous, Kenedy didn't have covid and it wasn't her fault the test was not one they accept, she should have been told when it was uploaded to the website. After we landed we walked the 10 million miles to the American Air genial to wait for Kenedy to get off. As the passengers were disembarking airline employees were guiding them to an area to check their covid tests and when Kenedy came out she came over to us and we huddled around her and started to go the other way. We were stopped but we had our wristbands on so she could see we were legal and Kefford distracted her by asking questions about where the baggage claim was and somehow we made it through. I felt really bad about being deceitful but we didn't feel like we had any other option without taking a risk that they would not send her back and I wasn't going to take that risk. Hopefully we will be forgiven for this but in the meantime we were all together and now we were going to find out about getting car rentals.

We didn't get a rental car pre trip because the prices were high and Kefford figured we could find a better deal just getting one when we got here. We got all of our baggage and headed to the car rental place, Kefford went inside while the rest of us sat outside and waited. Getting to the car rental place was a bit confusing and required quite a bit of walking. We were all already tired after trekking across the entire airport a couple of times so by the time we got to the car rental building we were all so tired and ready to sit. We sat there for quite while as Kefford had no luck inside, he waited in a bunch of lines only to not find anything. He came outside and he and Ryker went to the bus station because we thought we could take the bus to our hotel and then find a car the next day. He figured out which bus we needed to take and after sitting and waiting some more Kelseys family arrived and we went to catch a bus. The bus came and we lined up to get on only to be told we couldn't get on with our luggage, what in the world? A bus picking up at the airport but we can't take our luggage, makes no sense. We were stuck at the airport. A shuttle for a car rental place came by and Kefford went to talk to the driver. She said they had rentals and they were cheaper then any of the ones Kefford could find. We loaded up and she took us to her car rental place where we got two cars, and finally could get our vacation started.

WE headed to our condos and then met back up outside, our rentals were in different buildings, to get some dinner at the subway and play at the beach for a while. 

Kefford is in his boot and was really feeling pain from all the walking so we was sitting on the bench eating his food and a bum stopped by him, took his beach hat off his own head and placed it on Kefford's telling him he had a gift for him. He was clearly not right in the head, probably drunk but it was pretty funny. He was so happy to give it to Kefford and did it in such a way that Kefford couldn't turn him down. Kefford wore this beach hat for a bt and then took it off once we moved down the beach a bit. Nice of th ebum to help a bald guy out but watching him take it off his greasy head and place it on Kefford's was a little gross.

We all got in the water, except for Kefford, he sat on a bench to watch and Kelsey and Brit waded a bit but didn't get in so I swam with my girls. The water was really nice and I loved being in the ocean but it made me miss my sisters a lot. I always have fun swimming in the ocean with them and wish they were there with me. 

After the sun went down we went back to our Condos to get to bed. It was a long traveling day and we were happy to finally be able to get to bed and get some rest. Our Condo has two bedrooms, Kefford and I were in the one with the queen bed, Ryker and Kenedy were in the other bedroom that had a trundle bed and Avynlea and Rylee were on the pullout couch in the living room. The bedrooms have beautiful views of Waikiki beach and the living room has a balcony the faces Diamond Head mountain. Beautiful views all around us!

 

Cinco De Mayo and Mother's Day

Wednesday May 5th was Cinco De Mayo and I couldn't let Cinco De Mayo go by without a yummy taco dinner. My family seems to be sick of taco's and so I made chicken tacos and bought hard shells hoping that with these differences they would eat them and they did, phew. I also made Spanish Rice, so yum, and I tried making homemade guacamole for the first time, success! The guac was really good, it was missing cilantro because Wal-Mart did not have any when I checked for some that day, but it turned out delicious even without it. 

Sunday was Mother's Day. Our Ward time was recently changed to 9 am from the 1pm we were at and so there was not any sleeping in for me, not that I would have anyway, thank you internal alarm clock. All the women got to go to Relief Society and the elders Quorum had muffins and fruit for us to eat. WE visited for a bit and then the new Relief Society Presidency introduced themselves, they were just out in the week before, and then they had us all go around the room and introduce ourselves. I did not like that part but I did my part by saying my name, how many kids I have, how long I have been in the Ward and then that I am a dance teacher and I love doing hair. It was a good church meeting despite being forced to introduce myself, I don't like doing that.

After church Rylee was really anxious to give me her mothers day gift to me, A sonic gift card with a card she made which had a sweet letter to me inside. I love Rylee's enthusiasm for gift giving and appreciate that she thought of me and knew what I would like. I love Sonic drinks!

Avynlea had me take a picture of her dress blowing out as she was standing on the vent.

Kenedy and Ryker both posted some sweet messages to me on Instagram. I loved seeing them and they made me feel special and loved. Ryker also left a nice letter to me on my bed.

For dinner my family made me steak, French fries, watermelon and brownies.

Ryker got his golf letter from last year a couple of weeks ago and I wanted him to take it up to his room so I took a picture of hi with it so it could finally be put away off my counter. I had it there so I would remember to take a picture, it took me a while but I finally got the job done.

 

Mothers Day Book

I follow Al Carraway on Instagram and I really loved her Instagram post with tips on how to make our prayers more meaningful. I struggle sometimes with praying and knowing what to say and I love the ideas she gave and hope that as I implement them I can develop a better relationship with my Heavenly Father.

On Sunday May 2nd we went out to Nyssa to spend some time with Bob and Alison and to give Alison her Mothers Day gift. Every year I make a photo book with pictures of our family from the past year for my Mom and Kefford's Mom for Mothers Day. Mother's Day always sneaks up on me and I am usually late getting my Mother's Day book out. This year I was surprisingly on top of it and got the book done and delivered weeks in advance. The kids gave Alison the book as soon as we got to the farm and it was fun to see them surrounded her looking at the pictures with her as she perused the book.