We're in Oz!

We arrived yesterday afternoon and were greeted by Peter and Fiona at the airport. They took us to their home in Oatley Park. Last night we went to the Oatley Pub where son James works and had some of Peter's homemade pizza - delicious!

We're not too jetlagged, just a few hours off... only this morning both DH and I woke up at 4:30 am - oops! Fortunately we got back to sleep quickly!

We headed off to Cronella beach today and less than 24 hours after stepping off the plane, DH got to go surfing with Ben! Fiona and I wandered up the beachwalk - it's gorgeous!

Well, we're off to see the city of Sydney this afternoon! I'm using Ben's computer as mine isn't catching a wireless signal... hopefully I can post pictures sometime...

Aloha!

Last few days on the Big Island

We've had an exciting last week on the Big Island - DH's family arrived on Monday and the last of them left today. The movers come tomorrow to pick up our stuff, and we leave bright and early on Thursday morning. Here are a few highlights...


The entire family at the Waipio Valley Overlook







Chad, Ashley, DH and Sean hiking out to the Green Sand Beach













DH holding some green sand












Green Sand Beach - we were there by ourselves and had tons of fun!!

We bodysurfed in the waves - DH and Sean are really good. Chad, DH, and Sean proved their manliness by running down the steep sand hill - Chad is the king of the hill though.







Ashley, Sean, and DH by Onomea Bay (one of the best places to find sea glass)













Sean, Ashley, DH and I drove up to Mauna Kea to watch the sunset. We were also treated to see silversword - even silversword in bloom! It was beautiful :)

I was really excited to finally see it in bloom - I had seen silversword on Haleakala when I visited Maui with my parents, but the flowers are gorgeous!! Now when I wear my Sig Zane Kupapalani pareu it's extra-special!











Beautiful bloom of the silversword













Bottom of the silversword plant - can you tell why they called it a silversword?













Silversword in bloom with Mauna Loa rising above the clouds












Venus? Some planet glowing while the sun fades into the distance as viewed from Mauna Kea

















My surfer boy catching a wave

We're so blessed :)

Disappointment

So DH was kind and let me use some of the money saved up from working to buy a new digital SLR camera. I've been wanting one for a long time, and finally we had enough saved up to buy one. It came in this week, and I can't figure it out! All of the pictures I take outside end up being really washed - out, even if I have it set to a really low ISO. I know I'm not an expert, but I was hoping that I could just put things on an automatic setting and take some decent shots. But alas, that's NOT the case with this... is it me, or the camera? Is it both? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Our house:

One of my favorite places... well, two of my favorite places

I have to say that Hawai'i's beaches are incredible. They have made me fall in love with the ocean in ways this fresh-water-loving/native-great-lake-state-girl never thought possible. And here are some of the reasons why. Beach 1





















Beach 2:















Posting pictures in blogger stinks. Should I switch to somewhere else?? Anyone know of an easier picture posting system??

Realizations of the day...

There is a whole stinking lot of lava on this island. As much as I would like to think that I've seen a lot of it, I keep finding unexplored lava fields. What's really astounding to me is that few lava fields are without some form of growth - whether it be ferns, ohia trees, or whatever, growth isn't too long in coming. It's so cool how vibrant green ferns or strikingly red lehua blossoms can contrast so distinctly against the black lava. I'm truly amazed at how God set the whole lava/growth thing in motion!


I was walking through Volcanoes National Park today - it was a great time! On several trails, I was by myself. Or so I thought. Apparently there were tons of birds there, and they were amazing. All of their different calls and songs were beautiful. Almost immediately the song from preschool Sunday School popped into my head

The Birdies in the Tree Tops:

The birdies in the Treetops sing their song.

The angels chant the chorus all day long,

The flowers in the garden blend their hue.

So why shouldn't I, why shouldn't you, praise Him too?

It was a great reminder to thank God for all that he's done and for all of the generosity he has shown toward me in letting me see these beautiful things he's created.

'Uli 'uli??

For those of you wondering what an 'uli 'uli is, here you go...

It's a hula implement made from a gourd with seeds on one end and then a cap decorated with feathers on the other end. It's often used in songs dealing with rain. It is very appropriately used when dancing to songs about Hilo, the rainiest city in the US. My halau, Halau Na Pua 'O Uluhaimalama uses 'uli 'uli with the song Nani O Hilo (Beauty of Hilo, basically), among others.

Here is a picture of some girls from my halau holding 'uli 'uli...

First post...

Well, this is it :)
I think this name will work - stay tuned for our adventures!