We had a lovely Thanksgiving.  We hope you all did too.  Saturday evening we had four other missionary couples here for a big Thanksgiving dinner.  The only problem is that they didn't eat enough.  We have leftovers!  I was all excited because getting the turkey out of the freezer gave me some breathing room.  Well, guess what?  It is all filled up again.  (But there are many more problems in life than a full freezer!  So I won't complain.)

Sunday, Jerry had to talk in another ward, so we went to 8 o'clock church.  Afterwards, we got to "hangout" with Rebekah and kids.  It is fun seeing them and familiar surroundings.  After our dinner of...yep! turkey!, we decided to decorate for Christmas.  That took a whole hour or two.  We have a lot less decorating, and decorations, here.  But I think our tree is cute!  We were given a tree and it was all decorated, but I wanted to make it ours.  Besides, all of the lights did't work.  So we took it apart and redid it.  I've gotten a few ornaments here in Hawaii, at the bookstore and the swap meet.  But we also made some using keychains.  Here is a picture of our cute little tree.

Here are a couple more pictures of decorations we inherited.  (And the total of our decorating.)  We hope to make a few more decorations and get another set or two of lights.

This had big red apples on it.  I know apples are a Christmas thing, (but so are oranges, and you don't see whole oranges on wreaths) but I am not a big fan of them.  So off they came.

We also went down to the Point.  We have been having strong trade winds from the east and also eastern swells.  So I keep getting the warnings on my phone about high surf.  We like to go and watch the waves.  Therefore, so do you.  I keep taking pictures and videos of the water and waves coming in.  I think it is so beautiful!

You can hear...and see...the strong wind.

And you may be tired of our toilet paper escapades, but it gives me a chuckle every day.  Trust me, you don't see all of the configurations it seems to get itself into!  This morning, it was a challenge finding the beginning.

I'm off to work!  I hope you have the loveliest of days!

Look what I just found!

Hey!  Look what I just found!  I forgot all about it.  I will have to put this info on the website if I can make it all work.

New news from Hawaii:

I have a  very old new  computer.  The boys said it might be as old as 7 or 8 years.  But it allows me to work on something (like this) while Jerry uses the other computer (like he is right now).  It is now downloading pictures from my phone and taking about 1/2 hour to do so.  Granted, there are a lot of pictures!

Other news:  I played chicken with a chicken.  We both blinked.  (But I blinked first.)  😒  I swear,  Hawaii has THE dumbest birds.  They walk around in front of you and then fly off... IN FRONT OF YOU... when  you get close enough to them and can't see them anymore.

SIX SIGNS I HAVE BEEN HERE TOO LONG

1.  I am wearing long pants.
2.  I have been chilly enough in the evening to wear a sweater.
3.  I leave  my sweater on as I am walking to the car.  (The buildings are FREEZING!)
4.  There are times when we  turn off the air conditioning in the car.
5.  I am taking warm showers.
 And the number six reason?  I am starting to wear chapstick!!
 

HAPPY NEWS/SAD NEWS

Happy news:  McKay and Kristen were here for a really fun 11 days.

Sad news:  They are now gone. 

Happy news:  Adam and Catherine and family, and Jared and Anne and family, have tickets to come.

Sad news:  It isn't until June and March respectively. 

Happy news:  We are leaving December 15th  for Utah! (That would be 21 days if I were counting!)

Happy news:  I got new glasses in less than a week from when I ordered them!

Sad news:  They cost $260. 

Happy news:  A new semester has started!

Sad news:  It isn't a whole lot better for Jerry/dad.  (But we have hope!)

Happy news:  Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Sad news:  There isn't any.  We are incredibly blessed.  (Other than we are away from those we love best!)

Sad news, happy news, happy news:  We had to talk in church.  They said we did a good job.  We won't have to do it again.  (Except for dad/Jerry.  He's on the High Council.)



Of course, I have a bunch of pictures to share.  (If they have downloaded yet.😁)

More Variations on a Theme:

It had been raining.  (And windy.)

On the way home from Costco, we saw this incredible rainbow!  I have never seen one like it ever before.

A closer view.

And another.

The same day.  Closer to home.

Many times here, as I drive, I have the sun beating in on me from the side window as the windshield wipers are on to get the rain off the windshield.

With McKay's and Kristen's arrival imminent, I got busy and made some leis.  I've made plenty of flower ones before, but not the green ti leaves ones.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love the internet???

The biggest problem I faced was finding flowers.  It is not the season for Pua, Plumeria, Frangipani.  (Depending on where you are from.)

Ti leaf lei.  Very traditional for men - especially royalty.

 

Another kind of Ti leaf lei.

 

They arrived!!!

In the Tahitian Village at the Polynesian Cultural Center, Kristen and McKay celebrated their marriage in the traditional way.

At the Ohana (Family) Luau at the PCC.

At the beach, McKay and Kristen were enjoying the waves as they came in.  This is titled "Before"

Titled: "During"

Titled:  "After"

We thought we were at a beach called "Sunset Beach"  because they have beautiful...sunsets!  But we weren't.  We were at "Three Tables" beach.  Watching the video, you will see why.  The "tables" have little blow holes in them that you can see.

Here are some pictures of the sunset.  Might be the wrong beach, but beautiful none-the-less.

The "Shaka"

Hawaiians use the shaka to convey the "Aloha Spirit", a concept of friendship, understanding, compassion, and solidarity among the various ethnic cultures that reside in Hawaii, lacking a direct semantic to literal translation. The shaka can also be used to express "howzit?", "thanks, eh?", and "all right!" Drivers will often use it on the road to communicate distant greetings and gratitude.
In American Sign Language, the shaka is one of the two signs used to refer to surfing

The Super Moon Hawaiian Style.

 I posted this picture on Facebook.  You may have seen it.....three times.  If so, make this four.  It was beautiful, but I have seen the moon appear bigger other times since we have been here.

Down at the "Point" today.  A storm was rolling in.  We have had several wind and high surf advisories.  It is a beautiful sight!

Another angle.

I took a video Tuesday of the ocean down at the "Point".  I am sorry for the "wiggles"  but the wind blows hard there and I can't hold myself still, let alone the phone.

 And that's it for today!  We hope you have all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Now it is time to prepare for the Christmas holidays.  I like to go shopping because I can see the decorations in the stores.  I am having a hard  time thinking that Christmas is just around the corner.  It still looks like summer here!  We love you all!