Day 3-Hawaii

Good news...we didn't wake up until 5:45 this morning! I guess that is better than 4:30.  The time change has been a lot tougher than I thought! I'm sure when it is time to go home we will be finally sleeping late. :)

Last night was the welcome dinner. It was in a beautiful setting right on the ocean with hula and fire dancers. The food and entertainment were great.

The following morning (Sunday morning) we all got up early and headed to Pearl Harbor. I have to admit this wasn't something that was at the top of my list of things to do. I knew that Toby really wanted to so I was following along. I am SO glad that I went! I can't imagine coming here and not seeing this great piece of history. It was very emotional and sad but you walk away so thankful to live in America! Today was really special at Pearl Harbor because it was Survivors Day. There are only 4 remaining survivors left on Hawaii  and all of them were there but one. I think there are 1500 nationwide. 

This man has written a book about his experience so we were able to buy it and he got to sign it for us.

This was in the middle of the memorial that has been built over the USS Arizona ship that was sunk. The ship is still underneath the water.

We came back to the beach and decided to paddleboard for the first time.  We only rented one board so we took turns to begin with.

                       We decided that Toby was either too tall or too uncoordinated.  So this is what the rest               of the hour looked like. Me, rowing him around while he sat on the front of the board. We                    definitely had a good laugh over it and I think others around us did too!

Later that night the whole office went out to eat. We sat down to eat at 8:00 and didn't leave the restaurant until 10:30! Everyone had to keep saying "Hailey, wake up!" I could not keep my eyes open! 

Today we are heading to the North Shore to watch the surfers. More pictures to come!

Love and miss you all!

Day 2- Hawaii Beach Day

We had decided before even leaving for this trip that on our first full day we 
would hang around the resort and lay by the pool/beach. After traveling over 12 hours yesterday we knew we would be exhausted. What we didn't know is that we would be up at 4:30 this morning since our body is still on North Carolina time. So we were down at the beach laying out in the sun at 8:30 this morning! This was all after face timing the kids, working out and eating breakfast. Amazing what all you get done when you are up at the crack of dawn! 

 We have had a fun, lazy day. We ate lunch from a food truck. I have always heard that Hawaii has awesome food trucks. This one did not disappoint!

 

Tonight we have the welcome dinner which is a luau here at the resort and I'm sure by the time it is over we will be fighting to keep our eyes open. Pictures of that to come tomorrow! Miss and love you all! Trying our best to not get homesick and just enjoy this blessing from God! Or I should say I am trying to not get homesick. Toby shows no signs :)



Here are some pictures taken throughout the day...

Pictures from Day One

Here we go!

                                                                                       

                                                       Breakfast on plane

                                                       Flying over New Mexicco

                                                               Finally leaving Pheonix!

                                                           Fish pond outside of our resort.

DAY ONE

Hey guys! Hope you all have had a great Friday! We already miss you so much.  Our day began very early this morning. We were up at 3:45 and arrived at the airport and got checked in/through security with about 30 minutes to spare. This worked out perfectly for that "someone" who is a nervous flyer and does not do well sitting and waiting. 

The first leg of our trip from Charlotte to Pheonix was a  bumpy ride.  Thankfully towards the end it evened out and was clear and beautiful. Toby and I enjoyed looking out the window over New Mexico and Arizona. So different from our neck of the woods. 

We were supposed to have 1 hour and a half before boarding flight to Honolulu. This turned into a 3 hour layover because of mechanical issues on original plane. They ended up  transferring us to another plane that came in from Cancun.  This flight was much calmer with little to no turbulence. After six more hours in the air we were very ready to get off the plane. We arrived in Honolulu at 3:50 which would be almost 10:00, normal time. 

Right now it is 8:34 which would mean we are  1 hour away from being up for 24 hours! It is time to go to bed! Hopefully I will be able to post pictures tomorrow. The computer is not letting me log on to the website so I am having to update on my phone.  Talk to you soon! Love and miss you all!

-Hailey 

Back to School

It's that time of year again! We have been back to school now for 2 weeks. I feel like we are finally getting in the groove. So hard to believe I have a 7th grader and a 2nd grader. They are growing up so quick!!!  My son went from an
                                      11 year old to looking like an
                                     adult!

Our life these days consists of school, football, and church. Repeat.  I do love this time of year but it is very busy!!  There are moments in the day that I miss the lazy days of summer. We had a great summer. I am hoping to do a post soon about all the wonderful times we had.  Lasting memories were definitely made! 



~Hailey

Merry Christmas! (a little late) We had a different Christmas. It all started with Payton getting sick last Monday with the stomach bug. It didn't last long, just your average 8-10 hour bug. Then in true brother/sister fashion Grant got it on Wednesday. His was horrible and did not go away completely until this past Tuesday. We were at the doctors office 3 times in those 6 days. I worried myself sick about him.  He only threw up once but had horrible diarrhea and did not get off the couch. He lost 6 pounds!  We finally got him better on Christmas Eve. Christmas day after lunch Payton decided she was going to get the stomach
bug again. This was Wednesday and today is Saturday and she is not totally over it. This
morning your's truly woke up with it. Everyone is at Granny Libby's for Christmas except me. I am feeling better, just weak. We have been dealing with this for almost 2 weeks! I am so ready for everyone to get back to normal!  Even with all the sickness it was a Merry Christmas. The Lord helped me through each day. Instead of praying over and over for everyone to get better I tried something new. I praised him. Even through the storm and worries, I praised him. I realized how much worse it could be.   

We were very fortunate to go to New York City over Thanksgiving. We had a great time! We only stayed Wednesday-Friday and it was SO cold! The Macy's parade was worth it all. It was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience!  Payton fell in love with the city, Grant not so much. He wasn't crazy about the crowds. He is my country boy! 

I am ready for a new year. I always enjoy "starting over" with exercising, eating right, and beginning new devotionals.  Hard to believe it will be 2014!!

Back to School

The kids have been back to school now for almost 3 weeks and it has flown by! The first week was so hard. No more late nights outside playing or late mornings sleeping in.  They started on a Monday this year and by Friday they were completely exhausted!

But we succeeded and now I feel like we are on a really good routine. That routine is school, football and church. This is pretty much what our lives consist of. And I love it, I truly do. I get a little excited for Friday to come so I can take a break from driving the bus. :)
 

Here are some more pics from over the summer...