Hawaii

We had a wonderful time in Hawaii! This was the first time that Shayne and I have ever truly vacationed in almost 13 years (house-hunting doesn't count). Shayne was invited to BYU Hawaii to discuss ways to improve business studies and student employment opportunities. So, being that BYU Hawaii is in Laie(lah-ee-ay), we stayed on the north shore at Turtle Bay, which was awesome. It is on a peninsula, surrounded by water, and those waves were HUGE!!

So, the first day we got a tour of the campus and I was able to listen in on Shayne, Nate Henderson and his friend, Lance during a student presentation. I have to say that the three of them were inspiring, and I was considering businss and computer science...for a mini-second! And, I was thinking how good my husband looked giving his presentation, hands off girls! We met the coolest people, and the wives got to sit in on a meeting discussing future plans for the school. I felt the spirit really strongly as they discussed what could be done to "build up the kingdom" in the asia/pacific region. Jim Richey is a wonderful LDS business man that is dedicating his time to help the school, and he personally made sure that our entire stay was great. We were invited to the president of the school, President Wheelwright's home for dinner. His wife, Margaret, was the picture of graciousness and we were served by the students a wonderful meal.
We were treated to a luau at the PCC(thats what they all call it), the Polynesian Cultural Center. The pork was yummy, but I was grossed out when I realized that the pico de gallo I mounded on my plate, was actually a salmon salad, bleh! The show was great, I am all for bare chested Hawaiin guys doing anything, oh yeah, they danced good too!
So, while Shayne was away on business I ate macadamia nuts by the pool and read. Does is get any better than that?
We tried out snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. It is a nature preserve, so the park employees warned us that there were 50 sightings that day of jellyfish. In my mind, the jellyfish had all met together and had a meeting and were out to get me. Drama, I know, but I am the center of the universe, so why not? Luckily, we weren't stung, but I did kick Shayne in the head, and he didn't appreciate me pulling on his shorts when I panicked. I did enjoy it, and had fun.
We went to Pearl Harbor on our last morning. I always find it interesting that we see grainy, 2 dimensional black and white pictures and the people don't seem real... when they actually had pink cheeks, smelled like aftershave or grease, and smelled the same salty air that I did.
North Shore is awesome, and I loved staying up in that area. Surfers everywhere, and all I could think was "where are they all from", "where are their shoes" and "do they ever work?"
The best part of the trip was just being a couple. My favorite memory will be us going to the beach, and driving home, with sandy hair, in our bathing suits, windows down, along the north shore. sweet.




my thoughts on this picture...I shall never wear that bathing suit again, especially in a picture!

what a reverent place to be, 23 sets of brothers were among the fatalities that day
we were on the way to the luau, wearing 'tiki clothes' as Drew put it
President Wheelwright, Shayne and I after dinner at his house, he was funny!
the morning view at the hotel, this is the bay that you would snorkel in
the picture of hawaiian vacationing....business attire!
I just really love the flowers, and especially birds of paradise