Baking Beauties

After a wonderful Thanksgiving day together, we once again reunited for a baking day.  It was the only Saturday when all of us could be together at least for part of the day.

These ladies all wore their new aprons from Hawaii.  We made cut-out cookies which Evelyn and Adam cut out and many of us decorated.  Eli decorated until there were no more.  We baked GF peanut butter cookies and Snickerdoodles.  Cierra and I made fudge as well.  There were also turtle candies made.

I have no idea if any of it will survive until Christmas and it doesn't matter.  It was fun just getting together and doing something fun!

 

A New Sister

November 24th is the day before Thanksgiving in 2021.  That's the day Pat and Melody decided to get married for time and all eternity.

My husband and I were the only people that went to the ceremony.  

As the sealer pronounced the words of the ordinance, it felt as though it was off the cuff.  It felt so personal which is exactly what a couple wants.

It was a long ride over to St. Paul for a few short minutes but so worth it.

I'm grateful that they have found one another.  Each is so happy when they talk about one another or when they are together.  It is a good thing to have a new sister!

 

A Bachelorette Party

My brother Pat and his fiancé Melody planned to get married as soon as he heard he had clearance with a cancelation of sealing from Diane.  They planned to get married the next week.  I thought it would be nice to have some kind of a shower for her so we put one together in a hurry.  Only Susie and Lauren and me and my girls came.  Pat's daughters were invited but couldn't make it.

With the blending of two households we figured they didn't need anything of that nature.  This was a honeymoon basket party.  The future Mrs. Hoffman.

Chocolates, sparkling ciders, chips, snacks, a picture frame for a wedding photo and gift cards, candles and a fancy new t-shirt were part of what we put in the baskets.

She said she loves Dove chocolates.

Also a favorite kind of drink.

We had a nice meal of soup and salad and then we painted boards so we could create some new decor.

Baskets were gone through while the boards dried.

Then back to our crafting.  It was a wonderful evening spent with the best women!  Pat got her there without her knowing anything about our party.  We all decided we won't wait until some other big event before we get together to craft again.  

Waikiki Beach

The last thing we did before going for some lunch was to visit Waikiki beach.  We didn't swim as all of our things were packed and I was not taking wet swimwear and towels home.

It was not very busy, but then it was a Monday.

There is a concrete break where the waves can crash over but the tidal pool is very quiet compared to anywhere else that we swam or played in the water.  

Someone has to go wading.  He couldn't swim which would have been nice, so he did the next best thing. It is another beautiful spot.  I can see why it gets very crowded.  The water is so nice and quiet.

 

Honolulu Stake Tabernacle

Did you know there is a Honolulu Stake Tabernacle?  I didn't.  

The front of the building is quite beautiful with the reflecting pool.

A close up of the Savior.

These Banyan trees are crazy to me.  

There are a lot of them and they seem to be dripping branches. 

The root system seems like nothing I've ever seen before. They can be very large and wide!  Hawaii has opened my eyes to a different set of creations.  God is in the details!

Honolulu Zoo

We decided to go to the zoo as long as we were right there.  I was at the NEW zoo earlier this year and that made me think that I didn't need to visit another zoo for the rest of my life.  Well, it was a way to get some walking in and spend more of our day.

Some kind of white monkey.

Brown elephants.  Usually they're gray.

Ring-tailed lemurs.  

These old tortoises can be up to 700 pounds.

I think tigers are very beautiful.

I've never seen a zebra and giraffe in the same enclosure.  It makes sense as neither is a predator.

Some kind of prong-horned critter.

Now I am officially done with going to a zoo!

 

Aquarium

The last day we were in Hawaii we needed to do some things to take up time.  Our car had to be at the airport by 2pm.  We packed and drove to Honolulu and went to the aquarium.

This little guy is a unicorn fish.  

Seahorses have always intrigued me. 

So many colorful fish in this tank.

I enjoyed watching this ray.  It would slowly climb the wall of the aquarium and then slide to the bottom.  Then it would do it all over again.  

Not sure what kind of shark this is but I was able to tell the kids that I saw a shark.

Not sure what these things are but they look like they should be in Jurassic Park.

Isn't this one of the fish from Finding Nemo?

Another angle of the shark.

I really enjoyed this time.  It wasn't a very large place but it was fun.  I love seeing the marvelous creations that have been made.

Mission Friends

This is Divine Galeai.  She was one of the young sister missionaries that I got very close to.  

She is currently living in Laie until December when she gets married.  

What a blessing to be able to reconnect with her!

The Stapleys were also there visiting their daughter and family for their grandson's baptism.  What a treat to be able to be with them too.

Divine's fiancé Tame joined us.  He's a good guy.  I'm very happy for them.  It was a beautiful day spent with wonderful people.

Laie Temple

We couldn't attend the temple as only those who live in the temple district are allowed.

So we decided on Sunday that we would make that the day to go to the temple grounds and visitor's center.  

Pat created two videos to send to his seminary students from the lawn of the temple. 

I love the flags flying among the palm trees. 

It is such a beautiful setting.  I loved walking the grounds and walking through the visitors' center.  There's is great film about the locals and the building of the temple.

 

Chickens

One thing we found in Hawaii which was totally unexpected was chickens.

They were everywhere!  In dumpsters, along side the road.

We found chickens when we went to get ice cream.  They were walking around the outside seating area.

They were on the seats and tables.  A person had to be careful where you sat or stepped.

If I wanted chickens I just have to look out our front window.  

 

Nauvoo in October

Gregg Draney served as a teamster in Nauvoo.  We didn't know him but learned that he is a cowboy poet.  He wrote a poem about Elder Meyocks when he passed.  Elder Munoa asked him to pen some other poetry and then he put it to music.  These two have created some wonderful music about the people in Nauvoo.  While still in Nauvoo and pre-pandemic, several missionaries went to local nursing homes and performed music.  When they got home, they put together those musicians and began doing "Nauvoo Musical Firesides" all around Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.

Late October brought this group to Nauvoo so we had to go see them perform.  They did not disappoint.  It was an amazing concert and so moving.

  While there, Pat had Sister Rizley do some live tours which he recorded for his seminary class.  Maryjane tagged along .

Of course we had to visit the oxen.

We got to take the carriage ride with Elder Flanders and Elder Bowman.  It was so nice to be with those friends once again.

We were there for the Bootiful Nauvoo parade.

Of course the Ghostbuster car was the finale of the parade. 

We even got a ghostbuster walking along.

We had a wonderful breakfast at the Red Front.  I had a "Breakfastdilla" which was delicious!

We enjoyed a tour of the Sarah Granger Kimball home with the last two young sisters left in Nauvoo.  They left for their outbound assignments just prior to Thanksgiving. 

We stayed with Jared and Cheryl Willyerd (my painter boss) in Fort Madison.  We were so busy that we only got to spend Friday night with them.  Still, a wonderful visit!