Dear Little Lovelies,
Aloha! That is how you say “Hello” in Hawaii.
Hawaii is a set of islands in the middle of the pacific ocean. Here there is a unique and beautiful culture. We are staying on an island called Oahu. It is the capital of Hawaii. We are staying in a small town called Laie. In this town there is a college called BYU-Hawaii. That’s right! It’s just like BYU that is by us, only it is in Hawaii! There is also a very pretty temple here. Daddy and I went to the temple the other morning. Also, our place where we are staying is right by the beach, just like when we went to Newport. So in the mornings or evenings we go out on the beach.
One day when we were here we went snorkeling in “Sharks Cove.” Snorkeling is where you swim in the water with a tube in your mouth so you can breath under water. This way you can see all the beautiful fish and sea life. We saw bright colored fish and even a big sea turtle. The turtle let us touch his shell, and swim all around him. But when we tried to grab onto him he would swim away so fast that we would have to let go. It was a lot of fun.
//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.jsAfter snorkeling we went on a hike in a canyon to a big waterfall. The hike was gorgeous! There were flowers and beautiful giant trees. You kids would have climbed every tree. They were like the tree at Tarazan’s treehouse in Disneyland, except without the tree house. We jumped in the pool at the falls and swam. The water was cold, and there was a strong current, so you had to wear a life vest even if you were a good swimmer. But we had a great time. //embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js
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The next day we went to the Laie temple. It is a beautiful temple that was the first temple built outside of Utah. It was dedicated in 1919! When you stand on the steps of the temple you can see a straight view right out to the ocean. It was very pretty.
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That afternoon we went and did a ropes course. We put on these special ropes all over our body, called a harness. Then we got into these funny cars that were kinda like our four-wheelers, and they drove us to the top of the mountain jungle here in Hawaii. When we got there we climbed this big set of stairs to the top of a platform – kinda like your playhouse in the back yard, only a lot higher. When we were at the top, they tied our ropes to a wire, and we jumped off the platform and ziplined down through the trees and farms of Hawaii. We went on 8 different zip lines, two different belays (where you climb down from a really high place), and even two suspension bridges across the jungle. On the zip lines we even did some tricks, like riding backwards, or upside down. It was a lot of fun. You have to be 7 years old to do it, and the whole time I was thinking how much fun you kids would have doing something like that!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ILtYoBR0iA?rel=0&w=560&h=315]
Yesterday we spent the morning snorkeling at Turtle Bay. We saw fish just like in “Finding Nemo.” We saw a nemo fish and a lot of others.
In the afternoon we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, or the PCC. It is owned and operated by the church. It is a lot like Disneyland except without any rides. Kinda like Tom Sawyer’s island or something. We went on a canoe ride, watched a movie where our seats moved and water got sprayed on us, and watched shows about the different cultures of Polynesia. We even tried to make fire by rubbing two sticks together. That night we went to a fun dinner at the PCC, and then went and saw a show about all the different Polynesian Cultures. At the show they had fire dancers who spun sticks of fire around and threw them all over. It was so cool!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS6J7KqKAac?rel=0&w=420&h=315]
Today we are going to the market to look for Ukulele’s and Tiki’s and other fun things to bring home to you cute kids. I sure do miss you guys, and I know daddy does too. Every activity we do we thing “Oh, wouldn’t the kids just love this!” — and we wish you were here with us.
I love you! I know you are being extra helpful to grandma. I think about you every day!
Love you all,
Mommy & Daddy