Adventures After Hawaii: The Queen Mary

After Hawaii, Merril arranged to bring a car back from Long Beach and because we're the worst, we stayed in Long Beach and sent off our children at 10 p.m. to drive home from L.A. Alone, all night long.

This is the story from Jack: Maxine drove out of southern California for an hour. Jack was asleep. Juliet drove for another hour and they got to an exit before Baker, CA and there was a huge traffic jam. Traffic was stopped and they were getting pulled off the road and and told to park and wait. Juliet pulled off and a cop waved her to a road on the right, so Juliet turned right. Then the cop freaked out and yelled, "NOOO! Do NOT turn that way! No right turn, you're not supposed to go down to the left." Juliet had her window down and said, "You said to turn right!" He apologized and said it had been a long night. Juliet was frazzled from getting yelled at by the cop so Jack took over driving. They were supposed to park and wait until the freeway reopened. Jack wasn't having it. He went on Google maps and found a dirt road that went 3 miles North and then connected with Route 66 and went East for 7 miles and then reconnected with the freeway on the other end of Baker, on the other side of the closure. They went around and the dirt road was fine for the Expedition. They got back on the paved road and drove through town and got gas. Mikayla wants it known that it was a sketchy gas station. Then, Jack got on the freeway and got them all home. I'm glad they made it safe. I'm sure it will be one of those adventures that binds them together but yikes. I know, I know, children used to do way harder things and this makes them stronger but I still struggle with it.

Merril and I didn't stay at just any hotel, we stayed on the boat, The Queen Mary. It's an old British ship that's been converted into a hotel.

It had a lot of the feel of the Titanic. It's about the same age. 

We were lucky, I guess it's been under renovation for a while and just reopened. It was a fun little adventure. I'm glad the children didn't die. I'm glad they banded together and took care of each other. That makes me happy. 💓

I want you to note my water bottle. This is the last time a picture is taken with it. I have no idea where is went. So long, I've been missing you!

Hawaii 2023!

We were so excited to go to Hawaii after Maxine got home! We used COVID stimulus money to buy the plane tickets and we had a good time and we had some bumps. We reserved an airbnb on the North side, right by the temple.

A friend recommended Giovanni's shrimp truck. It was good. A lot of starches. Rice or macaroni salad.

The Polynesian Cultural Center!

They had a killer buffet for dinner! We were so jetlagged that I was sleeping through the night show. Maybe we shouldn't have planned that on the first evening.

Maxine and I did initiatory at the temple, early in the morning.

Later in the morning, Merril took Jack and Juliet to do baptisms.

We purchased a lei at the grocery store and the girls took some pretty pictures.

We met Sister Langi for lunch. She's from Maxine's mission and she's home and attending BYU Hawaii.

And we hit the beach! Our Airbnb had a ton of beach toys and chairs.

We've missed veggies so we found a grocery store and bought a ton of fresh veggies. We might have gotten food poisoning from the veggies. 

After the beach day, Merril and Juliet started to feel queasy. Then me, and Jack for a second, and lastly Mikayla. It went through us for a few days. But we still managed to have some fun. The girls had to ride the bus because the boys were getting mountain bikes.

Jack found this bike. He was ready to take it home.

We hiked to Manoa Falls.

Jack fell in the river.

Mark got a cold coconut. I don't think it was as good as he thought it was going to be.

Maxine and Merril did some hikes because some of us didn't feel very good and the boys were tired from mountain biking.

Our Airbnb ended up having a scheduling conflict so we had to leave early. We ended up getting a little hotel by Waikiki. It was pretty divey but Waikiki is so beautiful. 

We went to the Arizona Memorial. On the ferry back, Mikayla still wasn't feeling well and needed to throw up as we left the boat. We only made it to a garbage can by the visitor's center. Then we bought a drink for her, poor girl. She threw up again on the way back to the hotel. She was in the front seat and we were in traffic. I just had her roll down the window and throw up again. 😭

Maxine tried the pool at the hotel but it was cold. 

Merril and Maxine went to find some live music. Maxine never felt ill. Blessings from serving a mission? Mikayla got it the worst. Most of just felt queasy but she actually threw up. 

And then we flew home.

Thoughts about the trip? It was great to have all my people together again. Some of us had a bit of a tummy ache but my family makes me laugh. I love them. 💓 

Mikayla's Last Days of Elementary School

This is Mikayla's teacher, Mrs. Goodson. Mikayla really liked her and wanted to bring her lizard to the 5th grade drive by graduation. There were lots of kids who loved Sandy! 🦎

Next near Mikayla goes to the intermediate school. She has to be to the bus around 6:55 a.m. It's going to be hard. Lol.

Mountain Bike Season 2023

I can't believe it's time to start mountain season again but here we are. Jack and Juliet are racing again! 

The first event is the Four Hours of Flying Tigers.

Kai and Talon got roped into joining this year too! They all look excited.🚲

Wahoo! Get out there are have some fun! There were prizes and after a while, Juliet felt like she had a shot at completing the most laps by a female.

She did it!

She won $100 and received this plaque! Wow!

 

Wifey Dirt Bike Ride

We've talked with Wade and Sheri about doing a chill dirt bike ride that isn't too technical. It finally happened on Thursday.

We rode out to see the one giant Sequoia tree in Washington county. A dozen or so were planted back in the 1930s but only one has survived. It was a beautiful afternoon for a ride. We were up by Browse.

This is the old ranger station, closed because of hantavirus. 💀

Here's the tree. Even though it's been growing for almost 100 years, it's not nearly as big as the Sequoias in California. As a person who loves plants, it's fun to see.

I almost ran the DR off a ledge. Poor Merril. He has to watch me ride and I'm sure it's terrifying. I didn't end up crashing and it was fine. Made my heart race a little and I said a prayer of gratitude. Thanks for still taking me!

Mother's Day 2023

The kids made me a delicious and beautiful breakfast for Mother's Day! I planted a bunch of wildflower seeds under the peach tree last year. They waited until this year to sprout! The kids made a lovely bouquet for the table. I have the best kids.