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.