Hawaii--Part Three

On Sunday, we went to church with the Islanders.
Oh my goodness...that was FUN!

They were SO welcoming, and of course, they all knew we were visitors.
When we told them we were only visiting for a week, they all told us that was WAY too short of a time.
It was such a neat experience though.
The church had sliding glass doors on one side, which were all open.
They also had the ceiling fans going, so it felt good in there.
After the service, they all fellowshiped together {which also included food}.
We had the opportunity to chat with lots of the church members!

Right after church, we headed to Diamond Head.
I was super excited about hiking the mountain.
I even packed my heart rate monitor because I wanted to see how good of a workout I got, rather than just feeling it.

The climb was tough, but we made it!!

We look dead...I don't remember if this was on the way up or down.

The views were spectacular!!

I just love the panoramic function on my iPhone.

There was a pirate ship!  Evidently they do dinner cruises.

You could think my Dad was a nerd for bringing his binoculars, but he was GENIUS!!

Yep!  It was a GREAT workout!!

That afternoon, my parents and their friends went exploring the other side of the island, while Tyler and I drove to the North Shore.

Of course we had to stop at a food truck.  I tried Mahi Mahi for the first time! And it wasn't the last, either!

We stopped several times...one of those being at Turtle Bay Beach.  Gorgeous!

And again at another beach...

Then drove by right as they closed...besides, we don't like Dole Whip.  Didn't hurt our feelings!

We did stop for supper at this place...uh...delicious!!

Notes about Oahu:  it was not my favorite island.  There were a LOT of people there.  Waikiki reminded me a bit of Las Vegas...and remember my attitude about it? :)  Next time I think I would skip Oahu.

Sunday night we flew over to Kauai.

So come back tomorrow for pictures from my favorite island.

Hawaii--Part Two: Pearl Harbor

We decided to get up super early and take the very first tour at Pearl Harbor on Saturday.
We were still on Missouri time, so it seemed like it was 11 am already. 
I think I was most excited about this part of the trip, but it was nothing like I had imagined in my head.

If I had to pick a favorite war {too morbid?  sorry...}, I would pick World War II.  
It's my favorite to learn about.
So I enjoyed the history.

Looking out into the harbor

I found out that my Granny had a cousin who died on the USS Oklahoma.

His name was Walter R. Pentico, Sea2c

We watched a video with real footage from the actual bombing.
Then we took a boat out to the USS Arizona memorial.
In school, we had football coaches who taught American History.
Actually, the coach who taught freshman American History when I took it had other things on his mind, so he didn't teach much.
I never knew about any of this, so it was really great to learn.

The USS Arizona was hit so bad that it sunk straight into the harbor.
The men who were on the USS Arizona were all buried with her.
The memorial was built over the ship (width-wise) and has a wall of all the names.

Tree of Life

One thing I found odd is that the ship is still leaking oil...72 years later.

One end of the ship is where that buoy is out there.  The USS Missouri {which we unfortunately didn't get to tour} is in the background.

The other end of the ship is marked by that buoy.

They put markings where each ship was in the harbor.

That bridge is sinkable...should they need to hide it or get to the harbor.

USS Bowfi

Touring Pearl Harbor was very humbling.  So many families lost loved ones who were fighting for our freedom and protecting our nation.  It was definitely worth the visit, and I'm so glad we got to go.

We went with a tour group to Pearl Harbor, so when we were done, we also got a tour of the city.

We also got to visit Punchbowl Cemetary, where lots of men and women are buried from Pearl Harbor.

Come back tomorrow for more pictures from our trip!

Hawaii: Part One

I figure that it's past time that I share my Hawaii pictures.
I mean, it was only 3 months ago that we went. :)
Time has just flown by and I haven't made myself sit down and write about it.
Here we go!

My parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on February 4th.  
30 years! 
Holy moly.
That is stinkin' incredible.  Seriously.

My mom had started talking about going to Hawaii for their anniversary several months ago.  Tyler pretty much flat out invited us to go along.  So we went!

Tyler had been traveling for his job the week before we left, so we met up in San Diego the night before we flew to Hawaii.  I had never been to California before, but we stayed at a hotel on the pier.  It was beautiful!

Tyler was so tired that he made himself sick...so for the next 24 hours he was not very fun to be around.  He took a nap as SOON as we got to the hotel in Waikiki Beach.

I decided that I was gonna hang out with my parents and their friends that came along.  We walked down to Waikiki Beach and enjoyed the afternoon together.

The next day, Saturday, we went to Pearl Harbor.  I will talk more about that tomorrow because I truly believe that it deserves a post all on its own.

After Pearl Harbor, we went to eat at a buffet.  That was fun!

There were so many things to choose from and I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try it all!  I'm so glad I did!

After that, we drove around town!  We headed to the Swap Meet, which we got there just 30 minutes before closing.  So we did a quick look-through.  I loved seeing all of the things they had for sale!

Then we headed around the east side of the island.  We stopped to see Hanauma Bay.

 More pictures of the east side of the island.

Come back tomorrow for pictures of Pearl Harbor!

Why I Have a Cleaner House with a Dog

The day we brought Scout home, we were unprepared.  
He was definitely a spontaneous decision.
We knew we would get a dog eventually, but I wasn't ready yet.
Applesauce had just passed away and my heart just wasn't ready.
And actually, I still wonder if my heart is ready, because I keep calling Scout, "Apple."
It's rough...but Scout has definitely worked his way into my heart...so I just hope that there's room for two of them.

When I saw Scout's picture online, I knew I had to have him.
We saw him and had possession of him within 36 hours.
We had nothing for him...Tyler actually went to Petco on the way home to get a kennel, food, treats, and toys for him.

When we got home with him, we realized how many little things were on the floor.
I knew then that I had to be a better housekeeper.
A few days later, after he decapitated his duck and started chewing on the fur of it, I knew that I would have to vacuum a couple times a week.
So I knew that I needed to come up with a system.

Besides, I was so tired of doing chores on the weekend.
I wanted to be able to enjoy the weekend without having to work.
So I came up with a list of all the things that needed to be done on a weekly basis.

Then I made a rough outline of when I could do them throughout the week.  I rearranged some stuff to make sure it all went well together.  I only scheduled a few tasks each night so that I could get them all done within an hour (with the exception of laundry).  I printed out my schedule and laminated it.

I hung it below our family calendar so that I could utilize the dry erase marker.  I love to-do lists.   I love lists in general.  I love the feeling of marking things off!  

I have been using this schedule for 2 and a half weeks now, and our house is SO much cleaner than it was when we didn't have a dog.  So I guess we can say that Scout keeps me accountable to cleaning. :)

Who knew?!  

P.S.  We love Scout so much...he is the sweetest little puppy.  Ornery as all get out, but sweet nonetheless.