Aloha!

We recently returned from our excursion to the Paradise known as Hawaii! Dave's work had their annual President's Club on the Big Island and then we extended a couple of days and spent some time on the sandy shores of Maui. It was Dave's first time to Hawaii and I had only been to Oahu before so we enjoyed exploring together. We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa on the big Island where you have to ride a boat or hitch a ride on the monorail just to get around the resort because it is so huge. We went to his work banquets...where people tracked him down from across a crowded ballroom by following a waiter carrying glasses of milk, knowing that with an open bar, there are few people they know of that would order milk-sure enough it was their milk drinking Utah friend, David McArthur!
We went to church in Waimea, saw the Kona temple, explored Kona...
We went snorkeling where I swatted fish that I am sure were ready to attack...I am not too keen on the aquatic life, they make me a bit nervous. We went to a working cattle ranch and rode ATV's on the rolling hills overlooking the ocean. From the top you could see the other surrounding islands, it was awesome.
We drove all around the Big Island with our friends and saw waterfalls, the Waipi'o Valley and hiked to different views of the volcano. Apparently when our friends went before you could go right up to the flowing lava...this year, the volcano has a new steam vent and it is really unstable. The fumes are deadly and the crust is ready to fall into the ocean, so you can only see the lava from about a mile distance. We prefer not to fall into the waves to our deaths, so we decided to view the red from a safe view point!

I believe I am pondering the meaning of life here!

In Maui, we rented a car and they upgraded us to a convertible, so we cruised the island with the top down, venturing to Lahaina and relaxing on the beautiful beaches of Wailea.



Ahh...the sunsets, the luau, the fresh flowers, the pineapple, the tropical drinks...it was heavenly! We certainly missed our little ones and send a big thank you to Grandpa and Grandma McArthur for coming and staying with them. They took them all over: the zoo, aquarium, the park, the dinosaur museum, and with very little trouble from the mischief makers! Grandma said the secret of keeping my kids happy and good was to take them out all day, everyday! Sounds good to me-who wants to do my housework!? We thought about them often, especially when we saw other babies or garbage trucks passing by! (See previous posts about Grant's future in the sanitary arts). But, we knew they were in good hands!