Give thanks!

This Thanksgiving we were once again far, far away from family and friends. It wouldn't be the first time we'd had a Thanksgiving dinner with just the 3 of us. The foods always great, but the conversation wouldn't be any different than any other day without anyone else there to mix it up. Well, wouldn't you know it, the day before Thanksgiving, some diode inside our gas oven went out. No oven for Thanksgiving! NOOOOO!

Then I got the dreaded call from the Bishopric to give a talk in church this Sunday. Not the rest of the family, just ME! Yea! But out of that phone call Bro. Birch (a podiatrist) invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner. Goodie! It's always fun to have new people to chat with and get to know over good food.

My assignment was to make a pie or two. She knew the oven was out so she asked for cream pies. Anything without baking involved. So I made a chocolate cream pie with the oreo cookie crust. And then, since my bananas were beyond the enjoyable eating stage (you know, too sweet, a little too mushy, but great for a cream pie), I decided to make a banana cream pie. Luckily Scott bought one of those electric broiler oven things. Because you still have to bake your pie crust for a cream pie like that. Boy, did it turn out delicious! YUMMY!

The dinner itselft was good. The turkey they had cooked in an imu wrapped in ti leaves. It was a little dry, but that wasn't our host's fault. It was cooked at the high school with many other turkeys. We also had ham. And this family liked to have cherry pie filling with their ham (it was on the side, you didn't have to eat it that way). They also had a dish of ground beef with raisins and something else in it. That was something new. The rolls were wonderful! There was corn, green bean cassarole (a staple for any Thanksgiving dinner), some jello salad that I thought was a the cranberry sauce, some other long green bean dish with bacon that was pretty tough to chew, and stuffing that didn't even make it out of the oven so I didn't get any because I was done eating by then. (I snuck one bite of it.) All in all, it was a wonderful dinner and it was nice to get to know some people in our ward a little better than just passing in the halls on Sunday.

After dinner we watched a video of Cirque du Soleil (sp?). It was quite entertaining to say the least. Then we whipped out the pies! There was coconut cream, banana cream, chocolate cream, apple and pumpkin. I had a piece of the banana and coconut, with just a bite of the chocolate!

Luckily we baked our turkey so we can still have our turkey sandwiches, turkey enchiladas, turkey tacos . . . and any other turkey dish I can think of. And I will definitely be cooking some stuffing to get that part I missed out on. And of course we'll be baking the green bean cassarole again, can't get enough of that.

We're thankful for friends inviting us over and making our day a little more enjoyable. We're thankful for family even though we miss them terribly and can't be with them this holiday season. We're thankful for such a beautiful world to enjoy. We're thankful for our health. And most of all, we're thankful for our Savior!

Tag AGAIN?

Ok, miss Kate, who can't get enough of this tag stuff. I guess I'll answer these questions (since I don't have anything else to blog about, unless you want to hear how Scott ruined a really good pot!)

1. What is something you really want to learn right now?

Well, let's see . . . there are so many things. My continuing desire is to be fluent in Spanish. But I guess more pressing would be how to get a charred pot back to pristine, shiny usefulness!

2. One random question I have:

Will we ever be able to travel to other worlds that are inhabited by people? Or just be able to travel by thought would be nice!

3. What craving do you have right now?

This french vanilla yogart I'm eating is blocking any other cravings . . . I'll get back to you on that.

4. One famous person I like.

Just one? I'm not sure I can limit myself like that. Um . . . Kristen Chenoweth, and Sandra Bullock, Ralph Lauren, oh and well . . . does it count if you like their tastes but not them? If so, Martha Stewart. I can't help myself!

5. What is one thing you got lately that is pretty cool to you?

A white, cotton wrap shirt! I've always wanted one but none of them would cover "the girls". I finally found one that fit just right at Sears for $3!! Wahoo!!!

6. What's one thing you really want to do right now?

Hop on a plane and visit my family! :( (miss you guys)

7. What's one thing you probably need to do?

Geneology?!?! I'll settle for make my bed!

8. What's one thing you'd love right now?

I would absolutely love to be living in my dream home (that has a huge kitchen and family room combo that's perfect for entertaining, and plenty of rooms for guests, crafting, exercise and food storage, with a huge yard for gardening and playtime.) back east but with my family nearby. So get packed up - you're all moving back east! Trust me, you'll love it there.

9. What's one thing you hate having to do everyday?

See myself in the mirror - Yikes!

10. One reason you blog every day.

So family will remember I'm still alive and won't forget about me.

11. One reason you'll send this to 5 people. . .Uh, I won't - Katie already tags all the people on my list.

Thanksgiving Tag

So Miss Kate tagged us for Thanksgiving.

10 things I'm thankful for:

1. the Gospel (of course, I hate to give the "sunday school answer" but I can't imagine life without it.)

2. my hubby (a.k.a. McGiver - give him a dime and he'll fix a broken accelorator cable!)

3. my sweet daughter (a.k.a. Millie the elf, what's your favorite color?)

4. my health (though I ignore it so much, I could be better)

5. technology and all that encompasses

6. my wonderful friends all over the place

7. Haupia ice cream

8. deep sleep

9. my extended family (don't let my distance make you think I'm running away from you)

10. HGTV


6 places I've eaten Thanksgiving dinner:

1. At the Irby's in Virginia

2. At the Magre's in Essex, VT

3. At the Neerings in Mesa, AZ (Scott's parents' house)

4. At home alone (the 3 of us) in Milton, VT

5. At Patty Edwards in Stowe, VT

6. At home in Daybreak joined by Jill, Michael, Degory, Chris, Megan, am I missing anyone?


5 favorite Thanksgiving foods:

1. Green bean cassarole

2. Pecan Pie with whipped cream

3. A bite of turkey/stuffing/cranberry all at once

4. Pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream

5. A turkey/stuffing/cranberry sandwich followed by more pecan pie and whipped cream

My tummy aches just thinking about the food . . . I'm doomed!

The big injury!

Here's my big GASH! And yes, that's a chunk of my flesh sitting there. I had this in the post about snorkeling but accidentally deleted it and then I couldn't get it back to the right location. So it gets a post of it's own. It's nothing that a hello kitty bandaid couldn't fix.

Snorkel anyone?

On Veteran's Day, Scott and Camille were off so we decided to go snorkeling. The only other snorkeling we've done was in Castaway Cay on our Disney Cruise. That was a little more of a controlled environment than this. I think they call this place "the fish bowl". As you can see, the beach is all rocks. It was a little unnerving thinking about putting on your gear, getting knocked around by waves. You couldn't really go out past the waves to gear up because it's all reef and you're not supposed to stand on the reef. There was, however, a section of rock that jutted into the water that was level and had a nice carpeting of moss (it really did feel like carpeting, it wasn't all slimy like I thought it would be) and the edge of it dropped off past the waves. This made a nice launching location. We still had to time it just right with the waves. Sometimes the waves weren't bad at all, then they would pick up a bit and you'd get tossed all over. Anyways, we sat on the edge of this reef and got geared up and slipped into the water. My heart was racing because I do have a fear of things in the water. And wouldn't you know it, the first thing that happened . . . I slice my hand on a piece of shell or something on that ledge. So now I'm paranoid that my blood is going to attract sharks! Go figure. I kept my fingers clamped down on the cut as much as possible to keep that from happening.

This is Camille before going out. She has the same apprehension I do about the ocean. But she was a trooper and made it in.

After Camille and I figured out how to get our masks from fogging up we saw lots of fish. We were hoping to see some turtles and octopus, but no such luck. Scott and I saw some really big blue fish (really big being about 2 ft. long and fat). We saw a lot of smaller fish like the bright yellow ones and some striped ones, lots of see urchins and coral. It was kind of windy so I think it was stirring it up a bit. It wasn't as clear as I thought it would be. But still clear enough to see the bottom. I wish I had a waterproof camera to show you what we saw but no such luck. Maybe Santa will get me the "Little Tykes" camera that is able to go under water! I better write him a letter and tell him before it's too late!

Here's Camille after snorkeling in her triumphant stance!

A step back in time!

I absolutely love Sunday afternoons. We always like to take Sunday drives when we're in new locations that has a lot to be explored. Scott said that the first LDS chapel in the Hawaiian islands was here on the slopes of Haleakela. So he googled it and found that it wasn't too far from our house. It turns out to be only 5 miles up the road. This first picture is taken way back in the day (the chapel was built in 1850).
Then this is the building today! The little cottage in the back is where the missionaries live. How cool is that? We have a friend in Daybreak that lived here on his mission. He said he used to study in the chapel in the mornings.

This is inside the chapel. It's very simple, and that's all there is too it. Just an entryway and the chapel.

There's a guestbook in the entryway that people sign. Of course we glanced thru it and someone had said "we rang the bell", so of course Scott immediately searches for the bell pull and rings the bell.

It is a very peaceful place. You can really feel that it's truly special. They've made it very green and lush since the beginnings. It's really beautiful now.

Saturday's Outing!

As usual, our Saturday consisted of a trip to the beach to our favorite little spot. Since it's the only day that Scott can go to the beach, you can bet your buttons that we'll go, rain or shine. It's usually cloudy just to make Scott complain that it's always cloudy on Saturdays. Every other day will be sun, sun, sun. But come Saturday, clouds stick around. He's trying to get a tan. But thankfully, this Saturday was beautiful and sunny.

When we got there, the surf was really perfect for boogie boarding. So we headed right out. I had 3, yes 3 perfect waves in a row that I rode all the way in. Then I was tumbled like a little rag doll by a big wave that I didn't catch just right. It gave me a thorough nasal flushing. Not to mention a hefty serving of sand in the swimsuit. But all in all, it was fun to catch some great waves. Right after I decided I wanted to try and tan these white legs that seem to be totally resistant to tanning, Scott and Camille were hit by a wave. I have to preface this by stating that Camille, maybe I've mentioned before, does not like the beach. None of it! She doesn't like the sun, the sand, or the water because it's so salty. We keep trying to get her to try boogie boarding, of course, her first wave (a couple weeks ago) she went over the board and totally tumbled in it for a while which scared her to death. That was the same day that I said I'd gotten slammed to the ground. So immediately I sympathized with what she went through. It can be rough rolling in a wave like that. Ok, so back to yesterday, I had just gotten out and Scott and Camille got hit by a wave - they were just standing in the water past where the waves normally break. But this one broke on them. And of course Camille didn't like that at all - not to mention, she lost her sunglasses in it. So I ask myself - why is it that she, who doesn't really like the ocean, seem to keep having these bad experiences? Poor girl, my heart really goes out to her. So she sat it out for a while. But then she found something that she enjoyed:

Writing messages in the sand and watching them get washed away!

This is the ravishing Camille with her writing implement.

This would be a little less than glamorous picture of me and Scott - Camille being the photographer. There are so few pictures of me. Actually we have video of me riding a wave in, but it looked to much like a whale getting washed up on shore that it will not be posted!

This is Scott actually Body surfing. (without the board) He actually rode that wave all the way in. Pretty cool, I'll have to try it sometime.

Scott went out with the snorkel gear and swam around for quite a while. Camille and I were just relaxing trying to catch some rays. Our favorite spot for boogie boarding is just sand - I've looked around with the snorkel before and there's really nothing to look at, (I had to do that for my own peace of mind) hardly even a fish. So anyways, Scott comes out of the water (I really wish I had the camera) triumphant. He had found Camille's sunglasses that got knocked off her head. How cool is that? He's so awesome!

After that we headed to Costco! We did a major shopping. I was going to take a picture of my pantry but the battery was dead. That will come later.

I couldn't wait to get in the shower. I could feel the sand everywhere. But I never realized how much sand was in my swimsuit until I lifted up my top and sand POURED out! Oh the sweetness of a shower after the beach!

Happy Birthday Camille!!!

October 21st was Camille's 17th birthday (my where does the time go?). So I thought it would be fun to check out this shopping area we had seen over in Wailea, just past Kihei. Now, for those of you who don't know Maui all that well, Wailea is like the Scottsdale area of Phoenix. It is where the snobs are apparently. This shopping center was all high end stores like Tiffany's and Versace. A t-shirt was around $100! So we weren't too excited about it. But we did find this store that Camille just loved. It was called The Enchantress Boutique. Camille really liked these masks.

You look mah-valous dahling!

Then we took her over to Lahaina for dinner to the Hard Rock Cafe!

The Long Over-due Update!

OK, OK - I know this is long over-due. So here it is, a new update with lots of pics. I didn't want to update before I was able to have something good to tell you about. I was in "da puka". (that's "the hole" in Hawaiian). And this (pic below) is the hole I was in:

and this would be the view of the back yard thru my bedroom window:

But we're in a much better place now. We all feel totally at home and comfortable here. From the pics you'll see why. It's way better. This is a picture of the front of the house. It has a wrap-around porch that's very spacious on the front:

This koi pond is in the back of the house:

This pic shows the enclosed lanai:

This is on the front side of the house on the more spacious deck. The gleaming grill is Scott's birthday present!

Another pic of the front of the house:

The back deck:

Vegetation in the backyard:

This picture is taken from our front deck. The ocean down there is where Kihei is. We can also see the other side of the island where Kahului is. On a clear day we have a beautiful view of the Iao Valley and mountains. And then Haleakela is behind us.