Visiting Friends

 The day I got home back from California, our GREAT friends the Boettichers came to visit Hawaii and stayed with us at Hotel Endecott! We had so much fun having them here (hopefully they did) :-) Haans and I realized after the fact, we were glad they brought their little boy because we have kids. So when we had to deal with temper tantrums or waking up in the night, they completely understood! We sure love them and are so glad they came to visit us, ok well maybe it was to celebrate their anniversary, but we will just say they came to Hawaii because they couldn't live without seeing us any longer! :-)

We did a lot of the the tourist things which is always fun because sometimes Haans and I just wait to do some of them because we live here and we will do it another day, but with friends visiting we cross things off our list.

Pregnant Debra found an easy hike (so says the tour book) at Manoa Falls so off we went. Curly is into these crazy faces right now!

 Daddy found her a walking stick! Super cute!

 It was so lush and green. But sadly that means LOTS of mosquito bites even though we sprayed ourselves. Darn sugar blood of mine! My bites turn into big ol' itchy welts.

Lots of fun things to explore!

There were cool bamboo forests along the way!

We have concluded that whomever decided that Manoa Falls was an easy hike didn't bring along 3 toddlers. The Boettichers and us ended up caring our 1 year olds for the last half mile because there were a lot of boulders/big rocks and mud steps to climb. 

 But we succeeded and enjoyed this beauty!

 Curly was being a nice big helper (sometimes a little too protective) of her friend!

 We also went to the North Shore to watch the big waves! They did not disappoint!

Remember Curly is into these crazy face pictures right now, so Debra went along!

 Got a good one!

Since he knew he couldn't go swimming in these waters, I guess he did the next best thing - put sand in every single place so mommy would have lots of fun cleaning him off!

We enjoyed the beauty of the LDS temple! Well shushing screaming toddlers and chasing them down so they didn't fall in the reflecting pool was not quite the calm, relaxing environment we thought, but luckily the temple grounds are family-centered and so very understanding!

 These two were born 2 weeks apart, and since we are such good friends, we have already decided they are betrothed!

We hit up the Polynesian Cultural Center and enjoyed their luau, dinner and show.

Here is Silly Curly at it again!

  

Well Loo Who isn't quite enjoying it!

 Another day, we went whale watching on this big ship. 

 Poor Haans had to be the responsible one and work so he missed out. Luckily all three kids were free because we had three paying adults, but in retrospect I don't think I'd take the girls again. When all you see of a MASSIVE animal is some water spouting, for my 2 little toddlers that can get boring pretty quickly! If you look closely you can see the water spray from the whale!

 And for me, the mommy, I got to follow/chase them all over the ship! At least it was a BEAUTIFUL day and I love being on boats! It was also fun watching tourists who have never been whale watching get so excited! I have been fortunate to have been whale watching many times before, and I still get excited! I was even the one to spot the first whale and got to yell out "whale!"

 And this was our sad good-bye! We sure love you Boettichers! Thank you for coming to visit us, we have missed you tons! Can't wait to see pictures of your new little one in a few months!

Another trip home!

My Bedstefar (grandpa in Danish) passed away in November and my wonderful Bedstemor followed him in January, she was 94. I sure miss her and think about her a lot especially since Curly's middle name is from her. She was a wonderful women and I am grateful I got to go home again to be with my family as we celebrated her life. She had the best sense of humor and she always made you smile with her wit! She was unselfish and always giving and caring for others. Haans and I decided that I needed to take the girls with me this time, so I stayed a little longer. Traveling with two little ones, especially flying with one on my lap for 5 hours was let just say, "stressful!" But we can do hard things and I was excited to visit home again.

 This was our first hiccup on the flight. They double booked our seats so the girls and I got to wait in the galley while they fixed it. Luckily on both flights we sat next to a patient person who didn't mind that one of my girls slept with their legs almost on them. Or didn't mind that we had to get up more than 4 times for diaper changes and potty breaks. But I was grateful to get off the plane for sure! Those seats are WAY too close together.

I did have a miracle happen when I was on my way home. I fly back to Hawaii on a Thursday and my flight was at 6:30 pm. That morning I woke up with the stomach flu. It was awful and I didn't know how I was going to travel all by myself and entertain my girls for 5 hours while feeling this way. We looked into changing my flight but because I booked it on Priceline they couldn't do anything for me so I would have had to buy all new tickets for us to fly home which would have been $600. I decided to ask my dad for a Priesthood blessing. He did and and within 30 minutes (after throwing everything up, sorry for the details), I felt better! A little nauseous still, but I knew I could make it home. I didn't eat anything all afternoon and into the evening, but by the time we landed back in Hawaii, I was actually hungry and kept food down. I believe in miracles and I believe in the power of the Priesthood, and I am grateful my faith carried me!

Beautiful arrangement by my talented sisters! Danish colors are so pretty together! We love our Danish heritage!

Saying their last good-byes. It was hard to see my amazing daddy so sad!

 Till we meet again sweet Bedstemor! I sure love my family!

I am so glad my girls were with me this time! Curly constantly prays that we can move back to CA when daddy is done with school! Graciously a dear friend threw a play date party for our kids and us mommys! We had tons of fun making mini pizzas and decorating cookies. Whenever there is lots of mess there is lots of fun! 

 This little bundle is my namesake! (sort of, but I like to pretend)

Of course dress up has to be involved! 

I am so grateful I got to come home again to be with my family for my Bedsetmor's funeral! She really is a remarkable lady and one I hope to emulate. Thank you mom and dad for letting us stay at your place again. And thank you dear friends and family for hanging out with me and making me feel so loved!