Beaching, Baseball, Bishopric and Brittiny!!!

Saturday/Sunday was a little busy this weekend...  BUT fun!

Saturday was OUR #9 anniversary, we went to the beach, 

with the Alvarez kids, 7 of 'em---entertaining!

Becky and Ray and Chloe took us out to dinner for fish/chips---delicious!

They also bought me a Webkin!  I'm SO in!!!  Web sight and all!!

THIS is 9 yrs. later...sittin' at the beach!

Our ward had a softball game/potluck in the park for Ward Conf.  

Jesse hit a triple & a double...

played barefoot-turning more "island/local" daily.

Tried to video it...didn't take?  I will have to practice this!

Dad Michael didn't play this year-sore shoulder and this is an annual event.

Ward Conf. got Michael called into the Bishopric as FIRST counselor .  

He got to wear a dress coat AND bear his testimony...  This is a WARD picture.
Brittiny and Bayleigh landed 7:40pm!  Revolving door for company, how fun for us!!

Becky/Ray/Chloe left this morning at 7am, had a really FUN time with them for 1 week!

Thanks for coming to visit!!!  Who's coming NEXT week???  ALOHA

We've GOT company!

Becky and Ray came and found us for this week!  Fun rental car!!

NO, they didn't bring SHAVED ICE OR Boysenberry syrup w/ 'em...
They brought Chloe, she's all dressed up to go out to dinner and a movie w/ grpa-grma.

So cute and smart and is 10 yrs. old now!
We "resorted" at the Marriott today, SO NICE!  Hot over here!

Registered Jesse for college at KCC too, 

Jenna returned from Maui visiting the Moss's family reunion.

It was Isaiah's #13 birthday, so candles, and party time!  Chloe on the end.

These are the kids I babysit over here.
Another picture of the bday boy... and some Stennett's at the beach party this Mon. night.

Jesse is off to the side?  Potluck at the beach, fun!  It did rain on us at 8pm, party over!

Dinner at the Beach...

Volleyball FINALLY at the beach!  Michael in the green shirt.  Jesse in the red shirt in the video, short, but action...  I guess I wasn't doing the video very well?

A New DRIVER License...

About 2:30pm this afternoon...  Appointment for driving test 2:45!

NO nerves in this picture?  Forms in hand, ready to take the behind the wheel test!
PASSED!  $11 later and a picture on the new license!
Smile and breathe, it's all OVER!  And he just needs to get his insurance

now, to drive!
We celebrated the HS graduation at Taco Bell, SO THIS time we went to COSTCO!!

$4.50 a gallon!?!?!  MOM, aren't you paying for MY gas too?  I'm the BABY!!

The UPS and DOWNS of Standby...

OK, yesterday, Jenna and Jesse stayed on Kauai and played "Coppertone Kids"

nursing and aloe-ing their sunburns...
Michael and I flew STANDBY from Kauai to Honolulu to rent a car, 

picked up his BIG contra alto bass clarinet at the music shop after getting it repaired 

AND got to drive around the island to the temple...  Beautiful day!  Session at 3pm, relaxed,

dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant following and getting back to the airport

at 7:30pm to fly HOME! at 9pm...
SLIGHT PROBLEM...  The plane was over booked!!  BY NINE people.

Last plane of the day for us...  Jenna was at work, could do NOTHING,

we were last in line on the OTHER island.

NO train, boat, kayak, car...

WHAT DO YOU DO?

We checked hotels, $200 or sold out.

We checked Hawaiian Airlines, $106 each for one way home, 20 min. flight...

We tried out the chairs in the "carpeted" airport areas, all closed at 11pm.

We moved down the pavement to the International terminal, 

a nice custodian said, "You can rest DOWN there..."  It's kinda "Zen-like"...

THANKS, these are HARD benches, but they are close together and out of

the way...  Note Michael's instrument on the tote cart.

NO pillows, blankets or air mattress anywhere.  

No food areas open, there was a bathroom

available after the custodian cleaned it and reopened it for us...
SO, Michael used my reading glasses and read his book and I got my slip out of my

temple bag and covered up in "warm" Honolulu and used the temple tote bag for a 

pillow and slept on a HARD piece of marble stone...  

There are times that standby does seem like an endurance test!  

GO with the FLOW was our motto, life's an adventure!

The morning plane was overbooked at 6:45am, and we flew out on the 10:20am plane to

arrive Lihue at 10:45am, TIRED.  

I guess that some of you, would have JUST paid the $200+ and flew home last night...  

MAYBE we WILL too next time???  

LAX was at least an indoor terminal waiting room the night I was there...  

15 hrs. later FROM Atlanta thru Denver!

BUT I did get the hotel and that was worth it!  AND got to fly 1st class home to Lihue, 5 hrs.

Thanks Jenna for working United and letting us fly! 

Hopefully we have more UPS in planes than DOWNS overnighting in airports.......! 

Goin' to SLEEP!  Need a good night's rest!!!

OH, what do you do in the SUMMER TIME, when all the world is HOT!?

Visit cute grandgirls, Michael/Rebecca's two girls, Grace and Anne in their NEW shirts...
Buy an NEW race car, minus the RUST?? and get it to the barge for delivery to Kauai?
EAT out over and over again, and then go hang out in Target for the air conditioning

and shopping for cute little granddaughters!!
How about, fly FROM Kauai, standby, over night into LAX and commuter plane up

to SFO and Bart to Walnut Creek and picked up by Michael's sister and husband to 

Pleasant Hill for a quick Family Reunion...

Getting on the train to Sacto. to visit, SMOKEY air and heat!!

The trains were delayed due to a repair need, 3 trains in the station, a man

fell and paramedics had to come, and police and the trainman...  Action on the rails!!

I was picked up by Teri and her mom in Sacto, and slept up in Auburn for a night, 

GREAT visit--NO picture...  SOOOO smokey!!!
Ate lunch with Joy, Brit, Dallas and Ashley (she had already gone by pic. time)

at Black Angus.  Thanks Joy!  Yummy!
Sat in line at Costco for gas, NO lines like this on the island...
Watched 3 of Casey's softball games.  He plays well and wants to go up to pros!!  (maybe?)

He did fall and dislocate his shoulder later this day in between bases...  

But, he popped it back in and seems to be fine, just sore.

Our little "economy" truck, loaned by Troy, Michael's Harley buddy and WE 

SO appreciated it, running the miles around the bay area with gas SO high!
We went into SF to play tourist SINCE it was SO hot in the bay area!

A MOST beautiful day, note the absence of sweatshirts in summer!!

Michael, Melodee, and James in front of the cable car.
Stopped for sourdough bread bowl at Fisherman's Wharf, NOTE the sun!!
Yeah, salt water taffy in the WHOLE store!?  Michael picking out his ONE favorite

taffy, VANILLA??  My bag of choices already purchased...
OHHH!  THIS one doesn't have a motor, but the surf idea is good!
Rode IN and OUT on Bart...  Good idea, no parking hassels!!  Tired on the way home!
Anne eating her chips.
Grace running this way and that.
Everyone having a hotdog bbque on the patio, cooler that Sunday!!
A family picture, minus Kit and John, pictured here below with Jake and Josh.

Melodee/James, Dad Michael, Barbara/Adam, Grma/Grpa...  
The boys have JUST started playing the ukulele!!!  YEAH!  

Kit had JUST returned from directing Girls Camp for her ward!! and she survived!!!!

Jesse and Jenna went to EFY for the week and Michael and I flew to SF for the week.

Michael's dad ordained Michael a High Priest last Sunday.  This was a very special thing

for his dad to do.  Grpa has spoken of it for a few years now, as a wish of a father...  

They (Michael's parents) are not able to make the pilgrimage to Kauai now, BUT they are still 2 days in the Oakland Temple sealing and working at 6am sessions, Sat/Tues.  Amazing!!!

We crashed at their home and slept in the camper, which has an air conditioner! 

Really need one in the smokey heat of 112 degrees measured on their patio for 

a couple of days!

Grace is walking Grma out of church, she kept saying, "Let's GO, Grma!"
After church, "family" picture time...  Grace, 3, Anne, 17 months and cutting a molar.

Michael freshly shaved, head and all!  and Rebecca still smiling at the end of 3 hrs. church!!
Casey and Amber showed up at Grpa/Grma's for lunch and pictures???  

It was good to see the whole family for the summer FAMILY reunion...  HOT in CA!!

EFY BYU-Hawaii style-July 7-12, 2008

Jesse and Jenna with the director couple, Shumways at EFY.

Jesse went with ALL the LDS youth from our island as a YOUTH CONF.

and Jenna was a counselor.  They both are thinking it was one of their BEST

experiences in life thus far...
This is Jesse's whole "camp" group.  They were in groups of about 12 girls/12 boys.

Jesse's counselor was Isaac Stennett and his "buddy" was Aaron.  Could it have been

any better?  NO, he says!  

They had one boy group and two girl groups in their whole

company...  Sounds like a pioneer wagon troop to me... 

just this time, Jenna reported that the girls were LOVIN' Jesse and he was "girl crazy"!?  

Jesse just said "huh?" when I asked him about it...  

He said the girls were VERY nice.  He says the classes and lectures were AWESOME!

Andy Stennett flew over and taught for two of the days.
Jenna and Jesse "EFY-ing"...  They stayed at the BYU Hawaii campus.
Jesse and Aaron completing their service project of making beanies...?
Jenna with her group of girls.  She was their dawn to midnight leader!  GO, Jenna...

She said she was exhausted when she got home!  Flew back standby on full planes and

had to be at work 2pm that afternoon.  Good choice of service, Jenna!!

Off the line!

The BIG Day at the RACES!! Happy 4th of July...

Race Day EVE...  By the car at the shop.  Jenna and Jesse and I stopped by to support

Michael in his final stage of prep...  WOULD it run!?!?
The shop with the car lifts and a couple of the other racer guys working on their cars.
ON THE TRACK!  Just coming up from the water mark.  Not quite spinning tires with smoke,

but squealing could be heard on the starting line approach~~~  Got off the line pretty well,

the car wasn't ALL that fast, 78mph all three time trials.  That just makes Michael want to pump up the engine???  GO FIGURE?!!!

Oh man!  That WAS exciting!  Talk about an adreaneline rush!!!  Officially a race car driver!

All afternoon/night Michael kept saying "This is just SO fun!  I just can't believe I'm doing this!?!?"  Neither could I!!!  

This is the family camp set up by our friends, food, camping, lots of family.

The night race with real competition and elimination...  Michael won his first run!!!

Second race had to be "re-run" and he lost to his friend from the shop.

LOTS of cars out there and we got home at 11:45pm.  Watched fireworks over the ocean

down the race track.  Really a fun day!