Whoooop Whooooop We Picked Our Colleges!!!!!

This has been a HUGE challenge to select the schools we would visit for my sabbatical work.  We needed to select 10 colleges, universities or trade schools that would appeal to our local students.  We will visit each campus and create a virtual field trip to appeal to our local students.  It's been so hard because we really wanted to pick the schools that were best for our students.  We used many resources including:  Washington Monthly, Inside Colleges, US News and World Report, Hawaii Association of College Advising Counselors, the Aspen Institute, and  Community College Week. We also interviewed the college counselors at Honoka'a High School, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, and more.  We interviewed teachers, students and college students.  We also showed various websites to our current students to see what appealed to them.  We rated schools on tuition, location, proximity to other schools for transfers, housing, athletics, crime stats, programs and academics, requirements, membership in WUE, and overall appeal. We selected large schools, small schools, rural schools and urban.  We wanted some familiar schools but also some our students never heard of.  We considered over 200 schools and FINALLY have narrowed it down to 15.  We only have to do 10, but will visit 15 and select the top ten in which to create the virtual field trip.  This has been an ongoing task that has taken well over a hundred hours.  So....here's the list!!!! (In No Particular Order)

1. Northern Arizona University
2. New Mexico State University
3. Oregon State
4. University of the Redlands
5. Colorado Mesa University
6. University of Northern Colorado
7. Portland State
8. Vermillon Community College
9. Santa Barbara City College
10. University of Nevada Las Vegas
11. Skagit Valley Community College
12. Yavapai College
13. Snow College
14. Taft College
15. Wisconsin Indianhead Tech College

So glad this part is done!  It will really help us with our travel plans!!!!!

All Over the Place

I will hopefully get better at this blog, but for now, I'm too scattered to be together.  So I'm writing in a way to demonstrate how I'm feeling...
Yes!  We're set to depart in about 45 days!  I can't believe it...I've gone from saying that I would do this trip in, "8 or 9 years, to 45 days!"  Yikes!  I wake up every morning and go to bed each night planning and planning.
I can't believe how unprepared I actually am.  I realize so much is on my shoulders and I keep praying that it will all just work out.  As I put together the first couple of weeks, I begin to realize this is going to be a very very busy trip!  We will be on the move, a lot!  It's also very exciting.
As I try to choose between activities and itineraries, I also try to determine what's the most important parts of this trip.
Always, first is the time I spend with the girls.  I SEE the growing up happening and I am craving the time away from school, activities, commitments, chores, and other distractions to be together.
Second on my list of what's important is visiting family and friends that I haven't seen in years and years!  I absolutely can't wait!  I'll even have the chance to get to know new family members which is super cool!  Third is the chance to share our lives with others through visits, hula, and help.  We want to serve others as much as we can as we travel.
So, again, I am so close, and plan and plan...but I know that we can only plan so much and that life is what's happening while we're busy planning.  Life has a way of changing on us and exceeding our expectations and sometimes throwing us a huge challenge or difficulty.  I know that no matter what, God will be our ever present source of strength and guidance.
I'm anxious, but grateful.  I'm humbled by the opportunity.
Most of all I'm going to miss my wonderful, supportive, funny, and very handsome husband!
Hope gas prices go down some more.  Sledding in Oregon!!!  Skiing-No Way, we'll break something, or at least Hana Girl will.  Yosemite in the snow?  YES!
Yep, I'm all over the place.

Trapped with Eyeball Rolling in a Moving Vehicle

When you plan something to occur in eight years, you try to imagine what things will be like, but it's not an easy thing to do, when one of those things is your child.  I started planning this trip when Hana Girl was five years old and Kealia was two.  I planned the trip to occur just prior to Hana Girl starting high school, and then I realized...that meant she would be 13!  The dreaded age when girls start to hate their moms and talk sarcastically and listen to loud music and Roll their Eyes!  Surely this won't happen to me I thought...but what if it does???  Then, I tried to see it from her perspective, trapped in a minivan with her mom and little sister for five and half months, while being 13. Ugh!
Here we are three months before we're set to depart and I have a happy, joyful, enthusiastic soon to be 10 year old named Kealia.   So soon, her BIG double digit birthday is in two days.  I also have a full fledged thirteen year old.  The good news is...it's not so bad.  Yeah, she is starting to figure out that I don't know everything and that I make lots of mistakes, too.  She is getting sarcastic and at the same time witty, so I try to appreciate her humor and let the sarcasm ease by (like a spoonful of sugar with medicine).  The loud music is mostly Bieber which is not as bad as it could be, AND, the eyeball rolling, well, let's just say it's a good thing those beautiful big brown peeps are attached to their sockets.  They go round and round.
The truth is, Hana Girl is one very special girl. She's 13-ish, but still a joy!  She is beautiful, smart, compassionate, talented, hard working, patient, determined, kind, and funny.  I love my Hana Girl and I wouldn't have her any other age.  I kinda like this 13 year old thing.  She won't be 13 forever.  In fact, she should have her 14th birthday somewhere around Colonial Village Williamsburg.  She was complaining about that and her aunty told her but it's such a great place to learn about history and our nation and proud traditions.  Her response, "I was hoping for Mall of America."  Of course you were Hana Girl.  That's just as it should be!  

Connecting to My Country

When 9/11 happened, ten years ago, I was pregnant with Kealia, and trying to sleep in the early morning.  Darel came running into our bedroom just before he left for work at 5 am or earlier.  He said I had to turn on the tv and couldn't believe what was happening.  Of course, nobody could believe it!  It was so horrible.  I was so scared and devastated for all the families losing loved ones and for our country.  While living in Hawaii can be somewhat isolating and separate from the American experience we all felt united by this horrific attack on our citizens.  It's still so difficult to believe that it even happened.
Life in Hawaii is different than the mainland.  There are so many examples I could name.  A couple of weeks ago, the girls and I watched the movie, "The Help."  I asked Mike afterwards what it was like during the Civil Rights movement, in Hawaii.  He said, it was nothing.  They hardly even knew it was going on.  Everybody in Hawaii was all different races all coexisting as one.  I didn't believe him, because it was so amazing to imagine such an idea.  I asked my friend, Cindy, if he was right, and she said the same.  Again, life in Hawaii is different.
One of the goals of our trip, is to connect with our country.  The U.S.A. has so many proud accomplishments and so many challenges it has and will continue to overcome.  I want my girls to connect with their country.  They are island girls, through and through.  They love Hawaii, its culture, its people, and lifestyle.  But, we belong to more than our state, and as we travel around, I want them to see the beauty of their country as well.  We look forward to going to the memorial for 9/11.  We want to see the amazing strong spirit that is the foundation of our great country.  We want to pay our respects and honor those that were lost.  We want to connect with the others who love the U.S.A.  We want to connect to our country that we are so proud of.  Can't wait.

Coffee Cup Of Coins

So, our friend Lisa, from New York, who was living in Hawaii and teaching for two years, left behind her Starbucks Ceramic Travel Coffee Mug, when she moved home in June.  It fits perfectly in my van's drink holder and so we decided to make it a secret savings weapon.  We no longer try to come up with the exact change for purchases and we also try to always pay with cash.  So, if we drive through McDonald's and the order is $3.18, we pay with $4.00 and the .82 cents, is deposited into the opening of the coffee mug.  It's great because we think of Lisa each time, it's not obvious to potential thiefs, and we love planning for our trip.  We promised not to count the coins til the cup was full.  Finally, today we were able to cash in the coins.  We all made bets on how much there would be...I guessed $72 (overly optimistic), Kealia guessed $29, and Hana Girl guessed $50.  The winner would get $1.00.  Our credit union has a machine that counts the coins for free.  Hana Girl was closest as our total was $49.28.  We deposited the money directly into our trip account and now we are already filling up our coffee cup again.  Hope it fills up soon, and we also hope Lisa will join us for part of our trip.

Getting Carded

Today was a Kona day.  For all of you who live more than 45 minutes from a, "Town," you know that when you go to town, it's a day long affair.  So, after Kealia's soccer game, we headed to Kona.  We did the usual...Costco, A Mart Type Store (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, or Target), Sport's Authority (we only do that if Mike's with us) Food, and We Even Had a quick jaunt to Macy's.  While in K-Mart, I got an idea!  They have a wide selection of Gift Cards there, and it's kind of strange because most of the businesses associated with the gift cards are not even located on our island.  Anyway, I decided we should buy some gift cards for our road trip to give our daily budget while on the trip, a bit of a break.  I bought cards for The Olive Garden, On the Border, IHOP, Cracker Barrel, Jack In the Box, and Subway.  Next time we see a gift card, we'll buy just one, but this was our "Getting Carded Kickoff."  We won't really feel $25 here and there, but on the road trip with our daily budget, I'm thinking that  a $25 lunch at Olive Garden, that we don't have to pay for, will be a great relief.  We also have our National Park Pass which is a "card," and a $250 gift card to Costco we earned with rebates.  Even our Passports are the new Passport, "Cards."  Kealia has built up quite a collection of hotel key cards.  She has over 250.  It's pretty amazing and reminds us of great memories.  I think she'll love adding in our empty gift cards to her mix.  So, we plan to get, "Carded," many more times...at least every time we see them for sale at WalMart, KMart, or Target.
That's all for now,
Alana

Sunday...A Day of Rest

Tomorrow is Sunday and we thought we'd try a new idea.  We will honor the Sabbath.  My friend, informed me that the Sabbath was not a new idea, but it will be new to us.  As I complained in an earlier post, we do so much and are always so busy, that we hate being busy!!!!!  Today, we did all our chores, house cleaning, homework, and grading and recording papers.  Tomorrow, we will go to church, and then...relax.  We aren't doing like a true Sabbath, with no leaving the house and no activity, but we are doing only fun family together type activities that aren't, "Work."  For example, Hana Girl needs a special fern from the forest for hula so we are going on a quick hike after church to collect it.  Then, in the late afternoon, the girls have a hula performance.  It's kind of sounding busy...but I think the goal is no stress, like "Oh my gosh, I have to do this before tomorrow, or I have to do that."  Just a day of Sabbath that is a day to let go all the worries and stress and focus on our Saviour and Heavenly Father.  I have to admit, I'm not so sure about this.  I didn't accomplish half of what I hoped to accomplish today and I'm already thinking I really need to do somethings tomorrow.  We shall see if I can do it...anyone taking bets?  
Alana

Slumber Girl Reunion !! :)

Heyyyy :) it's me, Hana Girl,
So, as you know, we are taking this super cool trip around the US...Im soooo excited!!!!! In about mid-February, we will be in Stockton, CA. My super, awesome, cool, amazing friend, Reagan, lives there, and I haven't seen her in like two and a half years!! This girl is the BOMB!!! We were the Slumber Girls at a sleepover one time, and to this day, we still are. I remember the time we went outside and jumped on the trampoline at 5 in the morning...Maybe this time, we'll go into the pool. We will probably freeze our butts off, but the memory of doing this is so worth it. :) And even though we live far away, that's where phones and FaceBook come in handy. They keep us close, even though we are hundreds of miles apart. It's like having a pen pal, but with an immediate response. I'm going to be so sad when we leave her, but I know for a fact, I will see her again. I LOVE HER AND CAN'T WAIT TO SEE REAGAN!!!!!! <3
Hana Girl :)

Top 10 Reasons Why Our Minivan is the Perfect Road Trip Vehicle

Sooooooo, the original plan was to buy a car for our six month road trip. However, as life happens, (And It Always Does), we spent our car money on our house. Now, we have switched to Plan B which is turning out to be the "B" Better Plan. We are shipping over our beloved 2005 Toyota Sienna Minivan for the six month journey. Trying to turn whatever situation we are in into the BEST situation, hasn't been difficult in this particular case.
10. The Minivan is Comfortable. You can even lay down if you needed to, and completely stretch your legs.
9. It's Easy to Park. It could just be that I'm used to it, but I can swing into a spot or parallel myself pretty well. My girls have gotten really good at "visualizing" a front row spot to park in, and then it happens...now that's talent.
8. As # 9 Said, I'm Used to It. I don't have to figure out where the windshield wipers are or anything.
7. It runs great! Not scared of jinxing it either. I believe in my Toyota to carry me at least another 100,000.
6. Decent Gas Mileage. It's not a hybrid, but it's not a giant SUV either.
5. Great Safety Ratings. Side Airbags and All.
4. No Monthly Payments. The shipping charges, both directions, will total $2500. That's cheaper than any rental and way cheaper than buying a car.
3. That Homey Feeling. Just in case we get homesick or tired of being in a new place each day, we can retreat to our car and it's familiarity.
2. There's a semi-big dent in the back bumper, compliments of my husband, so it takes off all the stress. I think I might be grateful for that dent.
1. I won't care if the kids spill something...wherever the spill lands, won't be the first time something spilled there.

A minivan is a perfect road trip car. Can't wait to send our Sienna across the Pacific to meet us in Seattle, our starting point. It will be weird at first to drive our own vehicle in the mainland...but it's going to be good!

Too Much

I need some balance...
Really, somebody tell me how you do it?  I am so excited about the trip and I just want to plan it, and study it, and ruminate on it, and dream about it....but I'm too busy teaching, grading, planning, cleaning, driving kids, cooking, laundry...Is this how it is for everybody.  Why is teaching still taking so long...shouldn't I have these same lessons from past years?  I do, but somehow, they don't fit the current students, so I start again.
Is it that I'm a workaholic or something?  Any tips for slowing down out there..I'll take them.  Anybody else crazy and non stop like me...let me know so I can commiserate, not with you of course, there's no time, just can feel that I'm not the only one in this motor boat.
At least, and it's not really at least, because it's pretty good....today....I walked for 45 minutes with two friends-and talked the whole time!  That was good.  I also made a mighty fine dinner if I do say so myself and the four of us actually sat and ate together with a pre meal blessing and all.  That was good, too.  I checked Kealia's homework...and....I wrote a blog.  Now back to planning one last lesson.  Goodnight.

Getting Started

Hi! My name is Kealia and I'm about to go on a long road trip, for six months! I'm going in about five months. My mom got a sabbatical and some of the things we have to do are visit a few colleges and high schools.We also have to do a couple cooking classes.  I think that this is a big opportunity for me to go on this trip because not everyone gets to do this. I'm really excited and I can't wait! More posts to come.
                                                                                              Aloha,
Kealia, age 9



Heyyyyyy :)
I'm Hana Girl, the happy-go-lucky thirteen year old. I am super excited for this trip!! Right now, we are in the middle of all the planning, or what I call the hard work...:P. In the end, though, I think this is going to be one of the greatest experiences in my life. :D

Aloha!  My name is Alana and as you already heard, we are going on a LONG road trip all around the United States.  Since we live in Hawaii, it will be a great experience to visit so many parts of the mainland, especially for my girls, since they were born and raised on the Big Island.  I have some tasks to complete for the state of Hawaii Department of Education, and I'm pretty excited about that work.  I'm also excited about visiting so many of my family members and friends.  Most of all, I'm excited about doing this adventure with my girls at a time when they are really starting to understand a lot about life. Thirteen and nine years old...it's a big time of change for girls, and I'm hoping its a good time to be stuck in a minivan together..for six months.  Hmmmm...we shall see.  
It's been a plan and dream for a long time and God willing, it's finally coming to pass.  There's lots of little plans, goals, and ideas for this trip, but right now, we are still working out the route, the budget, and a rough schedule.  If you have any ideas for us or suggestions on things we MUST do or see and ways to raise some additional funding, please let us know.  Keeping a Blog will be a big part of this and so we invite you to join us and keep up with us as much as you wish.
Aloha,
Alana, The Mom