May 13, 2013

Dear Children,

            Well, we had to take a round about trip to our travels to Kona but it was, of course, worth it. Our round about trip made me a little nervous about getting home in a timely manner since I had to cook the chicken for the Relief Society stake dinner the afternoon that we were to return. I was being forewarned!

            The night before we went to Hawaii, we traveled to Woodburn in hopes to see Alina play softball with her high school JV team. Unfortunately, with Friday evening traffic, we arrived late and her coach had just pulled her since she has been injured several time  (and they were so far ahead). Oh well, we had more opportunity to visit with her behind the dug out. Sunhee was there so we got a chance to see her and visit with her also. Alina was headed to the Moore’s home for the weekend after her game.

The closer we got to our flight to get to Kona, the more the flights filled up. We were taking an airline we had not used before so we didn't know what to expect. We had to get to Phoenix to fly to Kona on US Airlines. We learned our flight from Portland filled so we went in a day early to Las Vegas. On the evening that we arrived in Las Vegas, we quickly learned that the morning flights to Phoenix were too full to take a risk so we dashed home with Morty so he could pack and return to the airport in less than an hour to fly out that night on Southwest to Phoenix.

            Aaron had planned a great dinner and I was looking forward to relaxing at Aaron's for the evening, even playing some games. But, Nate quickly met us at the boys' home, we rushed dinner, Morty packed and found a hotel in Phoenix and then we raced back to the airport right after having Aaron's yummy tri-tip and sweet potato meal. We stayed in a nice hotel, called Drury, making our flight to Kona the next morning much more secure. Plus we met a Kona Native at breakfast and he gave us lots of tips.

            We couldn't have asked for better conditions in Kona. Our condo was great; we even had a small ocean view with beautiful sunsets from our porch. We enjoyed very sunny mornings that made snorkeling wonderful. Some of the afternoons clouded over but, when so, we had had enough sun and headed to the condo for some pool time.

            One of my favorite times was the first morning breakfast on the deck in the warm sun, just relaxing and talking. Of course, we were talking about how to gather the family in a sunny warm location so everyone could join us and enjoy each other. Morty loved his trip to an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic and I love the idea of not cooking on vacation if I had my choice (but I do enjoy being able to cook so that we may travel more with less money). It is fun to dream as every time Dad and I travel we always think of how fun it would be if all of you could be with us.

            We explored several different beaches and snorkeling sites; they were all beautiful. The first afternoon there, we headed to the closest beach to watch the sunset. My favorite was a beach right in front of where Blake and Adrianne will be staying (the Severson's condo) this week! In fact, we were trying to

figure out where that condo was so we were slowly driving past one of the places we suspected when we saw Blake's mom and dad driving out of the parking lot! It was such a fun surprise! They invited us up to see their place; they have a fabulous location.

            Kahalu’u Beach Park, the favorite snorkeling beach, had more varieties of fish in a small amount of space that is very easily accessible. In fact, Morty walked through the tide pools at lower tide and saw lots of turtles and tropical fish without even putting on a snorkel and fins. He was the first one to spot a turtle.

            Katie joined us Tuesday afternoon, after we toured the perimeter of the entire island so that we could see the volcano. We could have spent all day at the volcano; we will have to return. I would like to go back at night to see the glow of the volcano.  I would love to return to this island; can you tell? There were lots of things I would like to do again but now that I have seen Hilo, I would just concentrate on the Kona side of the island.

            After picking up Katie, we stopped at a place Blake and Adrianne suggested, Killer Tacos and headed north to see some spots suggested to us by a native of Kona we met at the Phoenix hotel. We stayed at the second beach which was a beautiful white sand beach, Hapuna Beach. It extended for miles. There was a small reef so we saw turtles there and stayed for the sunset.

            Katie snorkeled with us at a preserve, Honaunau Bay, south of our place early the next morning. The water was very clear and all the coral was incredible. There was no beach; we got into the water from the lava-like rock bed that surrounded the bay. We decided to move up to our favorite snorkel beach since we knew the rocks would start getting hot and that was the only place to lay a towel down. Besides, a black crab came crawling up from the rock crevasses that looked too much like a huge spider! We spent all afternoon at the second beach and then went to a farmers' market in town for papaya, mango and avocado.

            The first hour we were in Kona, we followed the rest of the rental cars from our flight towards Costco and bought a large bag of chicken and fish so all nights we had some variety of chicken. Tonight was chicken taco salad with fresh avocado. We played some games on two of the evenings but most nights we were pretty exhausted when we returned to the condo.

            It was a great trip and a warm, wonderful break even though Portland had the best weather of the year during the time that we were gone. Our last day was very relaxing starting with an early snorkel trip and then checking out. We stayed at the condo pool until we left for home. We did go to a Worldmark owner education for the purpose of getting an American Express card to pay for our dinner that night. I usually learn some new tricks that help use our WorldMark service but not this time. It was a waste of both of our time but we did enjoy an incredible dinner at Jackie Rays Grill. Then the adventure began . . .

            We arrived very early to the airport after we drove to see the Kona Temple. We didn't want to take a chance not to get off the island on our first try. We were told there would be a delay until almost midnight. Apparently, when the plane landed at 2:00 in the afternoon from the mainland, the toilet overflowed. But, there are no US Airways workers in Kona so it was just left to “brew” in the warm Hawaiian sun all afternoon. Of course, they couldn't get the smell out that evening and finally sent the plane back empty. All the passengers were given transportation to a hotel, food vouchers and a night's stay except all of us non-revenue ticket holders. We agreed that we would have been willing to ride that stinky plane back to Phoenix to get home!

            There were several Southwest employees stranded with us at the airport. The Kona airport is small and there is nothing around it. Everything was closed by the time the decision not to fly the plane was made and they were doing some electrical work on the airport so we could not stay there. Across the street there was an old ticket counter area that was no longer used. There were benches and we found a bench for the night. It took a couple of hours of being on the lap top to figure out our way home and then we tried to sleep. It was an adventure. I didn't imagine sleeping on a “park bench” as being part of our vacation but with the mild weather it was better than it sounded. I just don't want to ever do that again!

At 5:00 in the morning we stood in line to get the first flight out on Hawaiian Air. We flew to Honolulu and waited in that airport for a little over seven hours for our flight to Portland. We did learn how to buy a stand-by seat on another airline; that might be valuable again! Plus, the Honolulu airport actually has some garden areas so we didn't have to stay inside the whole time. Morty didn't have the benefit of being able to buy a discounted stand-by ticket. He bought a full price ticket to another island, Kaua’i, and flew US Air back to Phoenix so we beat him home by about 12 hours.

            The hardest thing for me was having to enlist many of my friends to do the work I was going to do Friday afternoon: grill the chicken for the Stake Relief Society dinner. I had to walk Cathy Crandall and Kathleen Westhora around my kitchen by phone. It was hardest to tell them that I was stranded in Hawaii and could they change their day's plans to bail me out. Being stranded in Hawaii isn't everyone's picture of a feel sorry thing! Even with the ending of our trip fresh on our minds, we are ready to go again!

            We had a quiet Mother’s Day with Katie having to work. Plus, early that morning, Dad took Grandma Maldonado to the airport to head to Vancouver, Canada for her Alaskan cruise. I was teaching the four year olds in Primary so I avoided the smart remarks in Relief Society about being “stranded” in Hawaii an extra day.

            I hope you had a great week also. Love, Mom

May 4, 2013

Dear Children,

            Lately it feels like we are either on a short trip or trying to get things in order to leave on a short trip. I am not complaining though. And today I am trying to finish this in a hurry so we can leave with all family newsletters caught up. We are headed to Hawaii. Yes! We finalized our decision just last Sunday and we are going to Kona. Morty was here when we were making plans so he is going to join us and Katie may come over for a couple of days. The plans of course, started with Katie.

A couple of weekends ago we were in Martinez with Shawn and Aubrey and the boys. That was a power packed weekend. At the last minute, Morty decided to join us. Now, he can really rile up Gregory and Bryson. There was never a dull moment. We picked that particular weekend so we could see Gregory play on his baseball team. Having grown up going to so many Oakland A's games, he LOVES the sport. He looks so cute in his Nationals uniform and is an enthusiastically ready team player.

            After the game, we all headed for Bryson's late birthday pick of breakfast restaurants, the Original Pancake House. The funny thing is, the “original” one actually started in Portland and we have never been to it here. But that is going to change! It was SO good! We will have to go sometime when someone is visiting.

            It was a beautifully sunny day in the Bay Area so I was a little disappointed to be going to a movie theater on Saturday afternoon after the game and breakfast. But, they have an old theater there that is being torn down so they wanted to go one last time and we just like to do anything with our children anyway. They were showing the Sound of Music. I loved it; it was SO fun watching it in the big screen. We only stayed for half of it since we wanted to go swimming before dinner time.

            They have a beautiful YMCA pool and we stayed in it until closing. They also have a not tub which we enjoyed. The rest of the evening was a little play time in their community back yard and then games with Shawn and Aubrey (after a fun rendition of children's Cranium with the boys).

            On Sunday we relaxed in the morning and after church, we went on a walk to a beautiful park by their home. A barbeque with the neighbors awaited our return. I think we even squeezed in one more game before heading to the airport. The Oakland flights were full so Shawn had to drive us to San Jose. That flight was delayed so we got home very early in the morning.

            While at Shawn's we learned that Aunt Eleanor passed away. That is Grandma Bitter's last living sister. We crammed in some work on Monday and part of Tuesday and flew into Salt Lake Tuesday night for the Wednesday afternoon funeral. Luckily, we were able to get in a short visit with Blake and Adrianne before we headed to the funeral. Our visits are never long enough!

            The funeral was wonderful. There was almost enough close family there to fill the entire middle section of the church pews. In all the remarks about Aunt Eleanor, it felt as if they were describing Grandma Bitter. They are so much alike. I guess their family loves chocolate roll as much as does ours. At the luncheon afterward we learned that it is ALSO a favorite with Aunt Marion's family. I am glad that Aaron and Adrianne have learned from Grandma how to make it so our family can carry on the tradition. Even though it was for a funeral, it was a great gathering. The Bennion cousins are all such wonderful people to be around.

            At Morty's suggestion, we flew home to Portland after the funeral through Las Vegas, stopped and had an early birthday dinner with Aaron, Morty and Nate at Aaron's favorite Indian restaurant, and then flew home arriving after midnight again. It is always great to see the boys and hear what they are up to.

            Heidi and William were at our home that very week. Heidi came just as we were leaving for the funeral so she picked up our car from the airport parking garage. Luckily, Katie was available to watch William on her day off so Heidi could still go visit Scott and then Kyre the day we were in Utah. She is here to visit for Scott's birthday week so we get to have lots of time with William.

            It was so much fun to play with William; I bet his sisters missed him! He is such a good baby also.  He is FUN and ACTIVE; he gets himself to whatever attracts his attention. He plays with cords and boxes over toys!!! Heidi and I took turns swapping car use between my work and her travels so she could go for as many visits as possible. We even had some quiet time in the evening for a few games!

            Morty was supposed to come here later in the week when Heidi would be here but he had Katie do some magic and changed his flight at the last minute so he traveled home from the Las Vegas birthday dinner with us. That was very convenient so it gave him more William and Heidi time. He was here for an Oregon Duck football spring scrimmage game. I made the mistake of asking who won!

          We caught Katie home in Oregon long enough to have a quick celebration for her birthday downtown. Morty was still here; we went to a restaurant called Mother's and it was really yummy.

            The rest of the time we have been scrambling to get ready to vacation again! Dad’s work has really picked up; he is doing lots of bids right now. That would be great if he could get more work. Possibly Aaron may come for part of the summer and work with him if we can give Aaron enough hours. Blake and Adrianne are going to Kona in just a couple of weeks. Adrianne created a whole list of things that we could do since that is where the Severson’s condo is.

            We love you!

2012 Christmas Holidays and Winter 2013

  Dear Children,

            As promised, I am going to try to describe our 2012 holiday season and the events in the beginning of 2013. I realize it is old news but I write these not only to inform all family members of what is going on but to record a historical dairy of sorts of our lives.

            As always, the holiday season is a busy and fun time of year. My highlight for the past several years has been the visit from Sunhee and Meeja at the beginning of December when we have some fun girl time and they help me with baking and neighbor gifts. I love working with them as they love to help. This year Heidi, Rebekah and Jenna came just after the creation of our gifts and joined us in some of our deliveries. The girls had a lot of fun together; Sunhee and Meeja need to make some trips to Utah to develop that fun cousin relationship.

            While here, even though the girls have admitted that they get tired of going to the zoo, all the girls wanted to go see the zoo in the evening for Zoolights. It was our second visit to Zoolights in just a few days since we had already gone there for Kyre, Alina, Adam and Klaire's Thanksgiving visit.

            The grandchildren visit helps my Christmas season get off to a great start. Christmas is my favorite holiday . . . well, actually Thanksgiving is probably my favorite but part of that excitement comes from some pre-Christmas preparations. My goal is always to sit back and ENJOY the holidays by being prepared early in December. That usually doesn't happen and it wasn't the case this year either. So, I am usually pretty tired when Christmas rolls around. Maybe someday?

            We didn’t know until the last minute that Heidi and the girls were coming to Oregon in December so we had already planned a quick Utah visit right after the girls’ visit, the main reason being to see the families that weren’t coming home for the holidays and to take Christmas gifts to Utah . Kind of a fun idea that it is cheaper to fly with gifts instead of shipping them! I was giving the Seversons an ironing board so I wanted to purchase that in Utah. While there we were also able to go to a church basketball game of Blake’s.          

We always love having our children come home for the holidays and feel VERY lucky that so many are able to do that. This year, we looked forward to Gregory and Bryson here on Christmas morning. Their animation always adds to the fun. Santa left them “bubble gum and candy”: their most requested wish. Santa was very clever. They received candy kabobs filled with Starbursts, gummy candy and more!!! One of the funniest gifts of the season was from Adrianne and Blake. It was too bad that they could not be in Oregon to watch the opening of the gift. They gave Nate a Squatty Potty. If you do not know what that is, you will have to look it up on the internet and watch the videos and testimonials!

            Dad received a smoker for Christmas so we had fun testing that out for pulled pork and more. Of course, we had all our traditional meals around the holidays plus tons of desserts. We had more food than time. I remember feeding the missionaries Oreo dessert in January since we had leftovers. Speaking of food traditions, Adrianne served cioppino on Christmas Eve to the Severson family and they loved it. Adrianne makes the best rolls with a Severson family recipe so they really had a treat that night.

            Gregory and Bryson were disappointed that it didn’t snow on this Oregon Christmas trip but we did have lots of fun outside. Dad and the boys had a great time burning things in the fire bowl. I think the boys could have done that all day! I think the idea was to roast marshmallows while their parents were off on a run but it turned into “keep the fire going” with finding anything they could burn! Katie had fun outside with them also!

            We had an interesting winter season. Dad was without work for several months. Part of that time he was recuperating from his LAST hernia surgery. Yes, his doctor said that he needs to work differently so that he doesn't disrupt the repairs this time as he can't repair it again. This recuperation was a little slower than last but the reason may have been that the doctor was repairing lots of scar tissue from previous operations. His stomach area looks so much better! In Dad's ever positive outlook, he remarked that he was pretty impressed to have so much “bling”  on his body after his surgery (he was referring to his staples)! The photo below shows him with his fruit arrangement from Aunt Julie that she sent through Edible Arrangements. It was so darling and so yummy . . . chocolate dipped pineapple in the shape of a cupcake!!!

            Hopefully, we will have him retired from such physical labor by 2016. That was always our goal for retirement until we hit 2007. That is our biggest SendOutCards goal: to recuperate and rebuild our retirement funds from that devastating year when the downturn of the construction industry and family crisis changed our direction for a time. I am determined! I heard someone in church one day talk about stumbling and stepping stones as they admonished us to quit stumbling and use those stones to lift us!

            We celebrated Alina’s birthday with her in Beaverton for the weekend. Kyre and the family traveled up on train. First they visited another friend in the Lake Oswego area and then came here. This winter there were many job changes in the family. Adrianne was lucky to stay working for her same company, Thrive Life, when she decided she wanted to work less hours so she could continue to do volunteer work for the Hoofbeats to Healing therapy barn. She is very valuable to them as she prepares the new horses for the children. Right now, she is also working with a stallion there to get him ready for shows so they can make more money on his stud fees. She was made a manager in the marketing department and now has just received another promotion working with the strategic initiative department. They say she can work as many hours as she likes but she is still sticking to part time work. She is much more relaxed.

            Another big job change from the winter months was with Nate. A start up company lured him away from Zappos. He tried to explain to me what he does but I didn't quite understand. It has something to do with short term office space. He is still working over by Fremont Street as the owner of Zappos is one of the investors. He is excited about his new work. He had planned to go to London next year for an intensive MBA program at Cambridge but feels like this new job gives him some of the education variety that he was hoping to get with those plans.

            I had a fabulous trip to Anaheim in January for SendOutCards. It is a VERY good idea to get away from the cold and warm my bones in the sun. It felt so wonderful to step out of the Anaheim airport and stand in the warmth. I wish that I could have stayed longer outside. My meetings were inside of course. It was worth being inside; it was excellent training.

            In February we had an inspiring stake conference. I appreciate that we still get to hear from our old stake president, President Childs, since he is the Temple President. I really enjoyed the message from Sister Childs as she taught that our Father's plan doesn't leave anyone out. You might know that Jason Orme is in our stake presidency. I liked what he said, “We have the option to turn the gospel check list we’ve been given to CHANGE our lives or use the check list just as a list.

            We were able to catch a volleyball tournament of Sunhee's early in February. She is a natural athlete; she is good at everything. Sunhee has a high level of integrity in striving to do her best at what she is learning.

            In between Adrianne's position changes at work, she came to Oregon! It was fun having her here and Dad was healed enough to go skiing with her. They went night skiing at Timberline since they knew that would be enough skiing for both of them. Morty was able to catch the end of Adrianne's visit when he came up for some Trailblazer games. Lucky for him, it was close to his birthday so she made him a beautiful apple pie . . . his favorite!

            Well, that takes us to the end of February when we left for our cruise, about which, I have already written. So now, I am caught up on this year; whew! My apologies for the lack of descriptions! Love, Mom