Tuesday, April 2: The Polynesian Cultural Center

On Tuesday, April 2, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Centre after having a picnic lunch on a beach at the North Shore. This was one of our excurions, all paid for by Make-a-wish. The Polynesian Cultural Centre is basically sponsored by the church (or an affiliate). It provides jobs and scholarships to Polynesian students so they can attend BYU Hawaii. Many or most of the employees there are LDS. It is a theme park where you go to different "villages," each representing different island culture--Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, Tahiti, New Zealand and Fiji. At each village there are little activities you can do to learn about the culture there. There are also shows at each village through the afternoon. At suppertime, you can get a prime rib buffet or Asian buffet or you can go to a luau, which is what we did. In the evening they have a huge show, "The Breath of Life" with dancing and lots of pageantry, including those who perfom with fire. The whole day ended around 9 or 9:30 and then we drove an hour or so back to our hotel. It was our first really nice warm day there and we all really enjoyed it. Mark did great until about 20 minutes before the night show ended when he had a complete meltdown and was screaming. I took him out and he settled a little and was fine on the way home.

The first show we went to was Samoa and it was really funny. This guy made fire from rubbing sticks together and then caught the fire onto a coconut shell. 

In the Samoa show  guy climbs a coconut tree. They are really quite high.

I am trying to make fire at one of the activities in Samoa. Pretend you see smoke.

We made "fish" by weaving leaves at an activity in Samoa. This was  Preston's favorite thing.

Learning to play a song on the ukelele in Hawaii. Mark is enjoying the music!

Spear throwing in Tahiti

A stick throwing game in New Zealand

Another game with sticks in New Zealand

A game with twirling balls in New Zealand

Tatts in New Zealand

Hula dancing in Hawaii

As we entered the luau we all got flower leis. Mark was quick to get rid of that baby!

Our family at the Luau

The pig roasted in a pit.

Preston got called up to participate in  performance during the luau

Does it almost look like Mark is drinking the smoothie in the pineapple? It was super delish.

Monday, April 1st--Day of the fools

Our original plan for Monday, April 1 was to go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. Actually Rob suggested Pearl Harbor, but I was so anxious to make sure we got to Hanauma Bay that I insisted to do that first. We spent some time in the morning at the hotel pool, but by late morning, after being a little cold at the pool as it was cloudy and cool, and after evaluating the forecast--which called for a chance of rain, I pulled the plug on Hanauma Bay. Unfortunately, by this time it was too late to go to Pearl Harbor which has to be done early. So, we went shopping at the hugest Ross store ever which was about a block from our hotel. Then we went down Kalakaua--the main drag along the beach-- in search of lunch. I suggested going West, but the food court I knew about was closed for construction. So we went further, but no luck--mostly Asian food and you know how adventurous our gang is. So then we decided to go back to the Cheesecake factory which was a block east of our hotel. When we got there the line up to eat was about 1-2 hrs long, so we went further. Rob finally took over the fiasco and suggested the McDonalds another couple of blocks down that we had been to last time we were in Hawaii. Unfortunately, it had been torn down and was being rebuilt. We ended up at a little Burger King way down the road. The kids were tired of walking, and since it was 2 pm (and who knows what time for their stomachs which were still jet lagged), they were quite fed up. Of course, the burgers didn't end up "ketchup only" as asked. I tried to sweeten the situation with soft serve ice cream from Burger King, but the cones were more the texture of ice milk than soft serve and ended up tipping off the cones and onto the shirts of both Rob and Alyssa. Mine also tipped, but I saved it from falling all the way.  By the end though, we were all having a good laugh.

Though it stayed a little cool, it never did rain so we went back to the beach and later drove to Sizzler for Dinner.

At the pool in the morning. Preston, Alyssa, and Austin behind the waterfall.

Alyssa coming off the waterslide in the pool

The pool had a warm hot tub and a hot one. We had Mark in the warm pool which he loved for a long time. Eventually Rob got tired of everyone being lazy in the hottub. He took Mark and told us all to go play in the pool. We all left the warm hot tub and since it was at an angle Rob couldn't see we sneaked in the other hot tub. The pool was just a little too cool that morning.

Mark enjoying the hot tub

This is Mark's beach wheel chair. The wheels are just huge  blow up  tubes. The chair can go into the water and even floats.

It's great to be Eight! Preston with his ice cream from Burger King. At least it didn't fall onto your shirt , right Preston?

Hawaii Trip, Part III: Sunday March 31

On Easter Sunday we went to 9 am church at the historic Honolulu tabernacle. It was testimony meeting and we heard excellent testimonies about the atonement. Interestingly enough, the first testimony was from another tourist who talked about growing up in Magrath (He currently lives in Calgary). In all we saw at least 5 families at church who were from Southern Alberta, all of whom we knew or knew of at least a little. What a small world. 

Another interesting note about church. In primary, Preston was called up to the front for the welcome song. While up there he pulled out a tooth! His poor teachers--a young couple with their first baby--didn't quite know what to make of that!

I don't know if it was appropriate for Easter Sunday or not, but we decided to go after church over to the Dole Plantation and then to the North Shore to see the temple and visitor's centre. 

I wasn't that excited about the Dole Plantation, but actually it was really fun! There are basically three things to do there--go on a 20 minute train ride through the plantation to see pineapples growing and also lots of other tropical crops and to hear a narration about the history of the pineapple and plantation industry in Hawaii. There is also a tour of the gardens which is just a manicured garden with a wide variety of tropical plants and flowers, all labelled. Finally, there is the hedge maze which is the world's largest maze. They give you a map and you have to find 8 different locations and fill in the clue available at each location. Then you have to find your way out. The time is stamped as you go in and as you leave. We divided into two groups--Rob, Mark and Austin vs. Preston, Alyssa and I. I am sad to report that Rob's team won. Still it took both teams over an hour!

At the temple visitor's centre, we happened to run into Preston's teacher from school of all people. She was in Hawaii for a wedding. She had just retired from teaching before spring break due to failing health. The temple was beautiful and it was nice to take the long scenic drive all along the north shore and all the less commericalized parts of the island.

A panarama shot of some of the common area of out hotel suite.

At the Dole garden.

Mark, is that the HI-biscus or the LOW-biscus?

Pineapple plants. It takes 20 months for a pineapple to mature.

Mark really enjoyed the maze with his dad. This is in an open area in the middle of the maze. Mostly it is more closed in.

This is the sign welcoming you to the world's largest maze!

I'm taking this picture of the rest of the family in front of the Dole Plantation  gift shop.

Our family at the Laie Temple

Hawaii Trip Part II: Saturday, Hotel and Surfing

In Hawaii, we stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki which is an awesome resort right on the beach at Waikiki. They put us in a beautful suite with two ocean view balconies. The suite had a bedroom with a king bed and in the large living/dining room area, there was a double murphy bed and two single beds which had been brought in. So everyone was perfectly comfortable while we were there. Also, unexpectedly, our parking, breakfast, wifi, evening appetizers and even long distance phone calls were included with our room. With all that included we splurged and got Valet parking while we were there.

On Saturday, we went to the beach in the morning. It rained around lunch time for a couple of hours, but cleared up later. Rob accompanied Alyssa and Austin as they went for surfing lessons in the afternoon. The days was overcast at times and a little cool, but, obviously not too cold.

The view from our bedroom balcony

A view from the living room balcony. The coral you can see in the picture was close enough to make for pretty decent snorkeling at the hotel beach. (The fish live and feed around the coral).

The living room balcony, again

From the bedroom balcony at night

On our first day, we went to the beach at the hotel. We rented a canopy and lounge chairs for Mark. This gave him a comfortable place to hang out.

First experience with the ocean!

The tide coming in on Austin who was buried in the sand.

We paid the money for pictures of the kids surfing. They did great. Great expression, Alyssa! (Incidentally, you can see our hotel in the background of this picture)

Austin was a natural at surfing. He made it look so easy and he loved it. The only thing was the instructor had to tow him out each time as he was not much for paddling his board out to deeper water.

Rob surfing with Alyssa also surfing in the background.

The surfing instructor gave us a tip. At high tide, the giant sea turtles come in and feed on the mossy rocks (which at that time are submerged in the water) right by the shore right outside our hotel. This picture was taken from the ledge at ground level, but we could clearly see the turtles from our balcony. We saw several there over the course of the week.

Hawaii Trip Part 1: Travel to Hawaii

We stayed at a hotel in Calgary on Thursday, April 28th and flew out on the 29th. We left Calgary at 11 and arrived in Vancouver at 12:30 with a stop in Kelowna. Our flight from Vancouver left at 6:05. The Vancouver airport was a challenge for Mark. We were there for 5 1/2 hrs between flights. Mark's chair got damaged on the flight to Vancouver--the metal on the support for the right foot rest got bent so that that mechanism wouldn't attach to the chair. I was freaking out a bit,having that dreaded feeling of, "oh no, the nightmare is beginning...." I was stressed because Mark's right hip is in bad shape (he's having surgery on May 6th), and with the footrest broken, his leg was just dangling and likely to get bumped or caught in the wheel. Anyway, the Westjet people were really good to us. The arrival people worked with Rob to try and fix it, and then they called in an airplane technician who had tools and a mechanical mind. He was able to jerry rig a temporary fix until we can get new parts. Also, they gave us vouchers for free lunch at the airport and have agreed to pay to properly fix the chair. All the confusion and jostling around was hard on Mark and he had a big meltdown partway through our layover, but later settled down and was good on the flight. Anyway, our flight to Hawaii left a little ahead of schedule and we got in to Hawaii around 9pm (1 am out time). The kids ll slept a little on the flight which made it easier to survive the fact that is was easily 3 am MDT before we were tucked into bed Make-a-wish had arranged a lei greeting for us at the airport and a wheelchair van. The hotel was also awesome and with unexpected extras which, though we may not have fully comprehended and appreciated them that night, we sure did through the week.

 

On the Sunday before our trip, a volunteer from Make-a-wish came to our house and showered us with gifts--balloons, beach towels, t-shirts, a blanket for Mark, t-shirts, a back pack and more. In addition she presented us with spending money for our trip, a parking pass for the airport and travel insurance.

Make-a-wish also sent April and her kids, who are volunteers, to see us off at the Calgary airport.

When we went through security and customs at Vancouver, Mark was starting to melt down. Luckily  we found a quiet spot near our gate where he could lay on the floor and play. He was happy the rest of the day!

While Mark played on the floor, the kids took advantage of electrical outlets and free wifi to pass the time during our 5 1/2 layover. Just like home!

The seating arrangement for the flight to Hawaii. I don't know if it was because of Make-a-wish or the broken wheelchair, but all our food was free on the flight, and the kids got to go see the cockpit after the flight.

Mark on the airplane, sitting up big between mom and dad. He travelled remarkably well. I am so thankful!

The kids with their leis at the Honolulu airport. Our Lei greeter happened to be  LDS (and polynesian) from Laie. His brother was the main character in the Breath of Life evening show at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

All-Star

This weekend was the Panda Classic--in other words the Magrath Girls Home Varsity tournament. Alyssa plays on the team and had a great weekend--her best showing yet. Her team beat Mt. Baker from Cranbrook, lost to Winston Churchill from Lethbridge and beat WR Myers from Taber. They finished third. Alyssa scored 11, 8 and 13 points in the three games respectively, but her biggest contributions are on defense and rebounds. She was named player of the game in the Mt. Baker game and was awarded a Second Team Tournament Allstar. This is pretty impressive since she is in grade 10 playing on the varsity team! It is fun to watch her play and witness her development. I don't think she will mind me noting that she was not born a basketball star. I don't think she scored any points in Grade 7 or many in grade 8. She did better in Gr. 9 and is now coming in to her own. Her strengths are  toughness, passion and intelligence. She always plays hard, and always knows where to be to run the play or the defence. She helps organize the other girls on the court to do their jobs too. There are seven grade 10s on the team and they are all doing remarkably well. They have had lots of good coaching this season and in the past.

Teesha Olson is Alyssa's good friend. She was named a First Team Allstar. Incidentally, they are both top academic students and happen to be third cousins. Her grandma, Lois (Prete) Lawlor is my dad's first cousin.

Notice in this caption the size of girls Alyssa has to defend and, in this case, try to score on. Alyssa is not quite 5'7", but she plays post, which means she has to fight it out under the hoop. She very often is matched up against girls over 6' tall.

Alyssa talking to her teammates just before the start of a quarter

I believe Alyssa is scoring in this picture. 

DEFENCE! It is hard for this girl to do much when Alyssa has her guarded so tightly.

Jump, Alyssa! 

Alyssa is playing a zone defence. She is in the middle protecting under the net.