Last day in Hawaii

What a great last day in Hawaii! The weather was the best yet, and we had more adventures. We started with more surfing, this time the guys tried using the kayak paddles to get themselves out to the waves. We all had bruised rib cages after the last time we went surfing. It looked like a blast but they said it was still a lot of work. Darren and I swam at Temple Beach, and rewarded ourselves with Malasadas (donuts with filling) and a Diet Coke and hung out at Bikini Beach. What more could you ask for in life? Troy taught us breathing techniques to build your lung capacity. No one passed out, but Darren held his for 1 min. 10 sec., I did it for 1 min. 20 sec. and Troy for 1 min. 45 sec! This is so relevent because we will use this skill everyday when we go diving - oh wait, we live in Idaho!

The adventure for the day was a hike to Malakehana Falls. You know the Smith boys, no hike is going to be just a hike, just like diving isn't good enough when there is daylight, you have to do it at night. Well, this hike was no exception, it was so cool! It was a total jungle! It took us a total of about 3 1/2 hrs. Darren swam through a pool of water to climb to the upper falls, while Troy and I decided we didn't want to risk getting the parasite said to live in the water. Wait how did Diane get out of this? Something about responsibilities and teaching piano lessons (whatever). I had new sandals that didn't fit right, so that added a whole new dimension to the hike, but I survived! At least my feet looked the cutest! The price of beauty is high.

We have to say many thanks to Troy and Diane. Hawaii is so much fun with them. Mahalo! See you in Idaho in June!

We're heading to a BYU-Hawaii basketball game, then off to catch our plane at 11:30pm. See you tomorrow afternoon kids! Ready to eat some squid?

Sight seeing and night diving!!!

What a whirlwind of a day! Diane played tour guide today and took us to Honolulu. We saw so many things and would never have found any of them without her! We went up the Pali highway and to the over look where King Kamehameha ran hundreds of warriors over a cliff during the fight to unite the Hawaiian islands, we saw a blow hole, and hiked a few miles in the hot, very hot sun to the lighthouse on the most western point of Oahu. From there we could also see Maui in the distance. We did some shopping in China town and at an Asian grocery store. There were many interesting things there (yes Brady whole squid) including a deli where you could buy what looked like spaghetti sauce but it was called "fish gills." We opted for a hot dog and salads at Costco instead. Even at Costco they sold a deli selection of seafood, including tako with onion. (Tako meaning octopus).

We also went to Kailua Bay, supposedly the world's most famous beach. It was really nice. A lot of people windsurf, kite surf and kayak there. There were even some swimmers (like cap and goggle swimmers).

We got home just in time to eat dinner with Megan Miller. Megan is from Twin and used to be one of my Young Women. Her parents are friends of ours. It was fun to see her! Troy made us a gourmet dinner of, you guessed it, Tako with onions! It was actually pretty good!

At 8:30 we went out night diving. This was a first for Diane and I. It was pretty intimidating to stand on the shore in the dark and know you were going in the ocean. Putting my head under water the first time took a little encouragement from Troy. "OK, let's go. Let's go. Ok get let's get going." It's easier not to think. But it was really cool. I saw 4 or 5 big turtles, they are so graceful, but when they come lurking out of the darkness my heart would jump for a second until I realized what it was. You can pretty much only see what your light is shining on. Like I said it is better not to think too much. Troy caught a squid, and Darren shot a Polani. It has fierce spikes on it's tail. The funny thing is we had just heard Andy's nightmare story about a Polani and actually saw the scars on his stomach from it! Apparently they whip around, even after they are dead! Darren brought it to shore VERY carefully. Diane and I came home after this little adventure and the guys went out to Laie point to do some more diving. They just got home with a slipper lobster and two other fish.

We are having so much fun and we really appreciate Grandma Harrison for missing work and coming from Utah even when she was sick. The kids love her so much and we felt so good knowing she was there. Now it's Grandma and Grandpa Smith's turn, we know they are in good hands and that everything will be taken care of. We called last night and they were having Family Home Evening. Even the details are being taken care of. We also appreciate Grandpa Harrison for dropping us at the airport so we didn't have to leave the care there all week! We'll see you Thursday at 10:45ish! Thanks and we love you all!

Diving and fishing

Good morning Justin, Brady and Paige!!! Make the bus! Have a great day at school! We told the kids if they checked the blog in the morning we would have something to show them what we did the day before. Today I went running and then walked to get some lunch and go sit on the beach while Darren, Troy and Andy (a friend) went diving. When I was about to cross the street to Temple beach I saw three guys in wetsuits with spear guns walking along the road. I knew who it had to be. I caught up to them at the showers (all the beaches have showers) and took their picture. I am also going to post some pictures and a video of a blow hole/cave where the guys swim in to get out to the ocean. It is right below Andy's house. One picture shows Diane and I standing in the cave when most of the water is out (it comes in and out with the waves) the hole they swim down and through is to my left - yes it is small, yes they are crazy. I also have a picture of Darren in the cave, and then the second time they did it, Darren filmed it while he was swimming through. You can't see a lot but you get the picture of what they did. I bet you'll want to try it Brady. (Do you really wonder why we don't bring you to Hawaii?)

SURF'S UP!

Troy, Diane, Darren and I went to Castle's to try to surf. We debated professional lessons by "Sunset Suzy" at Haleiwa, but decided to give "Tricky Troy" a chance first. He was a great teacher. If only you could hook up a motor to your surf board to get you out to the waves. It is actually a lot of work to get out to any sort of decent waves. Then once you get to them you're not sure you want to be there - it is intimidating, especially when the wave breaks on you and your board when you're trying to go over it! Darren stood up twice, he's awesome, I got up a few times but not necessarily in the right spot of the wave, I did surf one good one on my knees. Troy said I was the queen of pearling - which means when your board noses in and you get trashed. Yea, I didn't enjoy that part.


Tonight we stopped at Giovanni's road side shrimp truck and we finally found the Malasada truck!!! They sell hot donuts filled with chocolate or haupeia (coconut). YUMMMMMM! The truck drives to different locations and we hadn't seen it yet this trip, what a sight for sore eyes. Then we went and saw "Fool's Gold".

A laid back Sunday

Today we went to church in Laie. The people were very friendly. It was cool to see some of the deacons passing the sacrament in white shirts and lava lavas and flip flops. One nice man introduced himself and his name was Brother some name with about 20 syllables. We then drove up to the North shore and watched the surfers then drove to the western most part of Oahu. It is a lot drier there, and the beaches are rocky. The mountains are very pretty. We saw a dad and his son whale watching, we thought it was cute that he had set up a short telescope for the little boy. We saw some whales too! We also found out there are rednecks in Hawaii too. We watched some jeeps get stuck.

Here are some pictures of Paige's mitten doing different things in Hawaii. Eating a shaved ice in Haleiwa, sitting on the beach on the North Shore, hanging with some of the many wild chickens, and at McDonalds, we think it is a cool looking McDonalds.

These are the fish Darren and Troy caught last night. They are two Roi, one Moano, and a aweoweo. We ate some of them tonight, they were delicious! Troy and Diane feed us well everynight!

Saturday in Hawaii!

Saturday in Hawaii!

Another fun day on Oahu! Darren and I went running on the beach from Hukilau to Castles Beach, we felt a little guilty running past all the people involved in the beach clean-up, but we were still tempted to attend the potluck we overheard people talking about. We spent the afternoon with Troy, Diane and the kids at Malakehana State Park beach. Cody, Alena and kate built an awesome shelter, which we took advantage of when it started to rain! We debated whether or not to walk out to Goat Island, which normally you just wade out to, but today the waves were way up. Diane and I decided to go anyway, the guys snorkeled out. We saw a turtle on the beach of the island that had been washed up and thought it was dead, but it was alive but in bad shape, it had weird growths all over it. We were amazed at the huge waves crashing up the back side of the island, it is eery, there is so much power there! We snorkeled a little and I saw an eel! He had a creepy, mean looking mouth. On the way back to the beach the waves had risen a ton and there was a strong current pulling across, we were laughing until it started pulling us out were we couldn't brace against the floor! I'll just say we were glad to make it back! I have a picture above taken from the beach looking to goat island, in real life those waves are big and we waded/swam through them! After the beach we headed up to the North Shore to check out the big waves. There are people crazy enough to surf that stuff, it is fun to watch. We ate at Haleiwa Eats Thai food, yummy! And had a shaved ice with ice cream in the bottom. Diane tried the beans in hers, not so good. Tonight Darren and Troy are out night diving, there is a picture above of them all geared up to go, knives and all. I also finally met George, Diane's pet Cane spider. Oh my! He is huge and they let him roam around because he eats the cockroaches and centipedes. She was very nice tonight to put him in the laundry room and jam a towel under the door so he won't come eat me in the night, he already got out once, she assures me she has fixed the problem. Sleep well everyone. (Pass me the Tylenol PM!)

ALOHA!

After a nail-biting drive to Utah through a blizzard, a little stop in LA, we made it to Laie, Hawaii! It is so green and beautiful! We are so grateful to Troy and Diane for sharing their home with us! Plus they know all the cool stuff to do! We went snorkeling, or hunting as the guys call it, with the Hawaiian slings. Once we got through the surf it was a lot of fun!