Aloha!

This month Luke and I spent 9 wonderful days in Hawaii, thanks to Grandma Liz, the Galloways, and the Spanglers, who pulled kid duty for us. 

We had a fantastic time. We spent our first evening there watching the sun set while whales spouted and breached out in the ocean.

                       Throughout the trip, We had lots of golf time, spa time (well, I had lots of spa time), reading time, and pool time. We ate at several great restaurants (Mama's Fish House was our favorite), and spent too much money on presents for the girls (I'm the one guilty of that). 

One morning we did a scooter dive from the beach. Because we held on to scooters which propelled us, we could forgo a boat ride and just leave from beach, but still get far enough out to see cool things. My favorite things from that dive were some spotted damsel fish swimming around an antler coral, and hearing whale song. Just when I thought I was too cold and had to head in, we saw a red pipe fish, which is quite rare according to our guide. Another morning we rented a kayak and paddled around. Just when I decided to  head in, Luke spotted a big sea turtle that surfaced right by us.  A different day we decided to snorkel for a while and, just when I decided to start heading in, Luke spotted an octopus.  I'm afraid I will expect him to spot some grand finale in all our excursions, from now on, just when I'm ready to quit. 

If I had to pick my favorite day, I would say Sunday. We attended church with the congregation in Keihei. For lack of a better description, it was just really nice. The people there were so friendly and listening to them refreshed my perspective. After church we went for a walk in the Iao Valley, checking out the native garden display there and hiking around in the rainforest. Then we met up with our friends for a bit of scripture discussion, and concluded the day eating dinner on the balcony, watching the sun set. 

 If I had to pick my favorite moments they would be seeing a whale breach at sunset, and walking along the beach in the mornings while listening to performances of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on my Ipod- that may not sound like very invigorating music but it fit the scenery perfectly. My favorite activities were the ones I did with Luke, like snorkeling and golfing. I played lousy, but the course of beautiful and I loved it when a little mongoose ran right across our path.  

We slept in in the mornings, laid by the pool in the afternoons, and relaxed in the hot tub in the evenings.  I missed the girls, but I didn't worry about them. I was surprised by how much I missed their hug and kisses, but they gave me plenty of hugs to make up for it when we got home! 

Overall it was just great - great company, great food, great scenery, great weather, and reuniting with our girls was a great conclusion. I'm already looking forward to next year. . .