Hawaii

Well, to all who don't know, I made an unexpected trip to Hawaii this past weekend. Grandpa Pierce was blessed to be released from his failing body and was taken home to his Heavenly Father and all of those who went before him, including his beautiful wife. I can only imagine the blessed reunion they all enjoyed.  It was a very sad day last Thursday. But I was blessed to have some friends visiting me when my dad called to tell me. During the phone call he asked if I could come out for the funeral. So Thursday night at midnight my siblings and I all arranged flights to Hawaii. Friday, I somewhat frantically arranged babysitting, did laundry, packed for me and the kids, cleaned the house (sort of), went shopping for stuff for Justin to eat, and lost my mind. Saturday morning, I took the kids to the babysitter and went to the airport.

Let me start by saying you never realize how truly wonderful your friends are until you really need them. I knew I had friends here, but it is amazing how wonderful they are!  Jessica Jeppson took all 3 kids and the dog for 5 days. Jamie Austin helped get the kids to and from school and let them hang out quite a bit. I am so blessed to have friends who would be so willing to help me. So thank you so very much for all you did for our family!

So my brothers arrived on Friday night, Michelle and I arrived together on Saturday night. We went and had some dinner and then went to Uncle Keith's house. We took a walk on the beach in the dark and then went to bed. I thought i would sleep alright, but I was up at 5:30am.  On Sunday we spent the day covering the North Shore of Hawaii!

First we hit Sharks Cove


Then we hit the Heiau and looked down over Waimea Bay.


Then we drove up around Waimea and back down to the beach that is commonly referred to as Turtle Beach. It is a common place to find Sea Turtles resting on the beach. We were lucky to get to see one sea turtle up close!


On the way back to Laie, we stopped at Pipeline and watched the waves...There was a high surf advisory at 12-16 feet, which I was informed are no where near big waves, but they were still cool to watch!


Then we stopped at Temple Beach and I took a little detour into the Temple Gardens.


On Monday morning, we got up super early (i was up anyway) and walked up the rode to Laie Point. We watched the sunrise and it was amazing!


Then later in the day we went and saw Blow Hole on the south side of the island. You can't see it, but we actually got to see a seal down on the rocks. It was cool!


Then we drove past Hanauma Bay.


And finally over the Pali Lookout! What a beautiful view of Kaneohe Bay.

Tuesday morning was the funeral. It was an absolutely beautiful service. Grandpa was very well loved. Everyone knew him and everyones heart ached that he was gone. We heard many stories about Grandpa and what a wonderful man he was. He left behind a great legacy that will live with each of us forever. I hope that in some small way I can live half the life he lived. What a wonderful man.


I had to leave on Tuesday night to get back to my family. On the way into town to go to the airport, we stopped at "turtle beach" and watched the sun set. It was a georgeous way to end the trip.


I should mention that this was the first time that the 6 of our family was in Hawaii at the same time. While it was a very sad occasion and reason for being there, it was wonderful to be able to share so much of the island together with my 4 siblings. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to have Mom and dad both with us travelling the island. We made it a point to not do nothing while we were there, because Grandpa would not want us too. So we enjoyed the island and the time together. In many ways, I wish that the week could have been longer. I would have loved to have spent more time with my cousins and their families, and my aunt and uncle. But it was wonderful to be able to see them, even if it was for a very sad reason. But we celebrated Grandpa's life and what he meant to all of us.

I sure missed my kids and hubby though. It was great to see Liccy and Jaicie run to me after school yesterday when I picked them up. Collin was mad at me when I picked him up, but he warmed up eventually. It is nice to be home, and some day soon, I hope that I will recover. Between the time change, the all night flight and not sleeping the whole way, I am pretty tired. I even slept for 11 1/2 hours last night and still just want to sleep. My alarm woke me up for about the first time ever this morning and it was nice!

Now that I have written a book, I shall return to real life.