August

Hawaiin “Workation” 

A while ago Adam’s cousin asked if we would like to trade some home improvement work on a condo in Maui, for the opportunity to stay there for a bit. We agreed and invited Richard and his family to join us. 

Day 1

After we landed in Maui, the guys went and got the materials, we got to work right away removing the old carpeting.

(This is how these guys showed up in Hawaii 😆)

That evening we walked down to the beach and saw some sea Turtles!

Day 2

After a long day of hard work we drove up to the top of Mt.

Haleakala. 

Day 3

We all had a blast on our snorkeling excursion. First, the boat took us out to Molokini Crater where we saw hundreds of Beautiful, colorful fish. Then, after a delicious lunch, the boat anchored off the Wialea shore and we saw several friendly sea Turtles! 

Day 4

We decided to take the very, very long and very winding road to Hana. We loved the beautiful falls and enjoyed some hikes 

(One hike was extra adventurous and a bit off the beaten path, we were enjoying it until we realized we were on someone’s private property and we hustled out of there.) 

Maui is a Beautiful island. 

We explored a cool lava tube cave along the way. 

Day 5

We played on the beach near the condo in and the morning while the dads did more work on the condo. 

We were scheduled to Parasailing that afternoon, but the wind was a bit too crazy so it got canceled. We walked around Lahaina for a bit. And saw the most amazing Banyan Tree! 

Afterwards we went to the Local trampoline park for a bit.

Day 6

We spent the morning playing and snorkeling some more at the beach close to the condo and saw dozens of Turtles!  

The weather was perfect for our re-scheduled parasailing adventure! It was so beautiful, and fun to float over the ocean! 

I rode with Eliza, Sarah rode with Halli and Adam rode with Rick! 

Day 7

We went to church, then finished up all the detail work and painting on the condo. We think the place turned out pretty great!  That evening we took a beautiful evening walk on the beach. 

Day 8

We flew over to Oahu and drove to Laie where 

We spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

We enjoyed visiting the island villages, and the show that evening was fantastic! 

We loved visiting the Temple grounds. Sarah’s friend Kaili Burk was able to join us for the day. 

Day 9

In the morning, Adam and I enjoyed a walk on the beach, while the girls stayed at the hotel and played in the pool. That afternoon we drove Pearl Harbor and visited the museums there along with the AZ memorial.  We flew back to Maui that evening. 

Day 10

Nothing to see here. Just a long flight back home to AZ. 

I’m so glad we got to go and make more wonderful family memories. We sure missed Caleb though. 

Speaking of Caleb, he’s still living his best life in the mission field. 

Here is some of what he’s written to us this month:

Hi all!

I was able to have a discussion with a non member for the first time this week! It was with an older couple who is Christian, they have gone to so many different churches! We were able to sit down and have that first discussion thanks to a great relationship they have with a sister missionary. Before she went on her mission, she worked for these people at a bank. She didn't push the Church on them at all, but she did tell them how excited she was to go serve. I love the idea that we can all do small good things, like be great friends and bear our testimony, and because of it, others are so much more willing to accept the gospel. I encourage you all to continue to make friends and bear your testimony often. There is nothing but good that comes from it. I love you all

 Hello all! I have had a great week  getting a little more use to being a missionary. We have deer in our back yard almost every morning! I want you all to know that I believe in our church. There are a lot of people here who think all they have to do is believe in Christ and they are saved. This is false. We are automatically saved from death because of Christ, but we can only be saved from our sins through Christ by working our individual hardest. Christ expects nothing more or less than our best, and a desire to constantly improve. I know you all know this. I love you all.

In February  Eliza enlisted in the army. She has had a goal to become a physical therapist. After a lot of research and fasting and prayer, both individually and as a family, Eliza Came to the conclusion that the army is the best fit for her to reach her goals. She enlisted as a physical therapy specialist.  She originally thought she reported for basic training in Oklahoma on August 22nd, but Eliza got an unexpected call from her recruiter, informing her that she’d be reporting for duty a whole week before she originally thought she would. 

We scrambled to get her all packed up and ready to go. She was able to say goodbye to most of the family on the evening of Sunday the 14th, but the Hulses had other important plans so the kids got together Monday after at a trampoline center and then we had dinner with the Hulses before dropping Eliza off. 

This goodbye was harder than we ever imagined it would be. She’s off to Oklahoma for a week at reception then 10 weeks of basic training. We know she’s strong, we know she’s capable. We know “She’s got this!”. We also know we’re going to miss her SO MUCH!!!  I hope the next 11 weeks fly by! I can’t wait to see her again.

This is a photo we received from Sister Hill. She’s a military relations missionary and serves in the branch Eliza attends on Sundays.  She lets us know that Eliza is doing good and is happy. 

We wrapped up the month of August with Sarah and I taking  a weekend trip down to the valley. We went to the Mesa Temple and did a little back to school shopping. 

It was so nice to get to spend some one on one time with Sarah before she heads to BYU-I next month.