I Miss You, My Hawaii...

Eight years and 3 months ago I moved to Hawaii. Two weeks ago I moved away. Home is where the Army sends us, and Hawaii is my home. I never lived anywhere in my life as long as we lived in Hawaii. I cried as we drove to the airport and cried as we flew over the islands. I haven't cried alot since we got here becuase I am at my mom's and we are busy and it kind of feels liek a dream. I uploaded "a few" of my favorite photo memories. That is a hard thing because every picture of Hawaii is beautiful and of course my children are even more beautiful and I have watched them change and multiply from 2 to 4. Above is the Laie Hawaii LDS Temple.

Above are my girls on a hike to Makapu'u lighthouse.

This is in Moanalua Botanical Gardens. We only went their once, but I wish I had gone again.

Below is part of the NaPali coast on Kauai. We hiked a little ways into it.

A cockroach graveyard at the kids' school. I had seen enormous ones in Texas, but the flying Hawaiian ones were new. Once shortly after we moved there, a huge cockroach flew onto my head and hit my plastic hairband and it broke in two! It really hurt. We moved out of that house after one year and didn't have the roaches as bad. The one below was very large. I should have put a quarter next to it.

My oldest in a hula performance at school. I love hula. It is so beautiful when the masters do it and so sweet and cute when the children do it.




When Lee came home from Iraq on R&R we went to the beach often. I think this is KoOlina, one of our favorites for the kids.

Favorite memories? Well , we picked up 2 souvenirs in Hawaii. A 3rd little girl and our only boy. Here is his blessing day in 2006.

Here's that little boy in his first Aloha shirt. I bought this shirt the day before he was born. I walked the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet trying to go into labor. Oh man! Didn't go into labor, but I found this sweet little outfit for him.

La'akea at age 2! Her name is about sacred light and she was a little miracle and well worth the wait.

Some favorite pics of my older girls in our earlier years in Hawaii. The one at the temple is blown up and framed and hung on a wall. They are so cute!






What do serious sewers do on vacation? They find fabric shops! We went to Kapaia Stitchery on each trip to Kauai and enjoyed it so much. (Well, I did. Lee was just patient) The best part was talking to the local ladies

(and drooling over the fabrcic of course. Can you say BATIKS! WOW!)

Overlooking the taro fields on the way to Hanalei. I love this spot.

Of course, I love the flowers of Hawaii, but I dig some of the green plants even more. Monstera leaves and breadfruit have the coolest shapes to me. Below is monstera on the Big Island




Protea


A sunset on Kauai. It is my wallpaper on my laptop. Looks just like a postcard.


Near Hilo on the Big Island

Is it bouganville or bougainvillea? I don't know but I love it and always loved seeing the bright vivid colors on the side of the road and in parking garages and in haku leis.

I took these flower pics in Lahaina, Maui



White hibiscus like this aren't common. I think they are specially bred. My favorite has to be the yellow ones that grow at our chapel and the red ones outside my house.





Plumeria is probably my favorite island flower because of the beauty and scent (Jasmine and Gardenia are hard to beat though) I love all the colors of plumeria but the classic yellow and white is my favorite.

I think these last pics are Maui but I don't remember and it really doesn't matter. They are beautiful and perfect and I miss it. And I probably always will. I live in Washington State now and it is gorgeous here, especially this time of here. We are blessed to move here.

But Hawaii is in my heart and I miss it.