Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger

I feel like a huge failure.  I want to write every day but I never do.  So many thoughts and deep feelings and I don't record them.  Not here, not anywhere and I am sure it will be a regret.  So, I last wrote on March 11th and of course it's been over a month and many things have happened.  Most of all, I have enjoyed time with my family and friends.  It's been incredible.  Normally when you visit home, you have limited time and you must only visit the immediate family.  This trip has allowed time with people I wouldn't normally get to see.  It's allowed for connections and time to sit and talk.  I love my family and friends and as I leave each one, I feel sad.  I hope for renewed chances to connect and grow deeper relationships with each one.  Technology can allow this chance to stay in contact, but time may not.  I hope when I return home and get back to real life....I will have more time to stay connected.
I know this is not the greatest blog, but at least it's a return to the forum and maybe I'll do better.  I'm going to try.

Church is Like a Box of Chocolates

So, we have tried our best to attend church every Sunday, wherever we are.  In the words of my friend Erika, after all we do each week, shouldn't we spend a couple hours focused on God on Sundays? We've been fairly successful and have attended 4 out of the 5 Sundays in the mainland.
It's been a very interesting part of our trip. Each Sunday has shown us a new town, type of church, and each church has had it's own personality or style.
The first Sunday found us in Tacoma.  We attended a church that happened to be having a breakfast and though we were late, five different people offerred us food.  There was a guest speaker and he recited entire books of the Bible, acting them out.  It was amazing and interesting.
For the second Sunday we were in Ashland, Oregon.  It was a beautiful building with a very slow paced service.  There was slow hymns and a long long message.  The people were friendly but we lost Kealia to slumberland half way through.
The third week we went to church in Monterey and that was the funniest of all.  It was SPEED church.  So fast! The music was fast and loud and like a rock band.  The message was spoken by a speed talking preacher.  The welcome of guests was a quick spin around of, "Hello, Hello, Hello."  The closing and departure were the funniest of all as everyone was half way out the door before the preacher could be done.  Don't get me wrong we liked it, we were on our way to the aquarium...it was just funny.
We skipped the fourth Sunday, but we attended today, in Phoenix Arizona.  Actually, I think the church we went to was outside Phoenix in a smaller area and it was a Methodist church. It was our first traditional service in a giant church with everyone all dressed up and organ and piano music with a choir.  I think it was my favorite church so far and I loved the message.  It was about how suffering leads to character...
I'm so glad we went.
Over the years I've discovered that for me, there's no perfect church.  There always seems to be parts you love and parts that are a bit different than you are used to.  The main thing is...at church, you find yourself amongst fellow believers.  It's a comfortable place, if you let it be.  You truly never know what you're gonna get, but like chocolate...it's gonna be pretty good, no matter what.

Kissed by a Camel

Yesterday was a very fun day.  We started the morning by working on some writing assignments the girls had and I must say they weren't easy.  They were at it for about five hours and I was helping them and doing my own work as well.  That part wasn't so fun, but it was productive which is always a good feeling.  Then, as a reward for our hard work, Kealia really wanted to go to a place called Bearizona.  It was a bit pricey and it is just getting started as a business.  They have the nicest employees with great friendly customer service.  They also have lots of bears...as you drive through the wildlife park.  It was ok.  Not really the greatest, though the girls and I were having the greatest time just enjoying ourselves and trying to find the animals.  After we left, we decided we would go to the Deer Farm Petting Zoo.  Now, only I wanted to go to this but I must say, I made a good call.  It was much more affordable than Bearizona and you could buy a huge bucket of food for the deer.  When you step outside on the path, the deer come running.  You feed the deer and walk around to see a pig, a camel, a bison, reindeer, miniature donkeys, a coatamundi, and more.  It's very fun and the animals are up close and all around you.  As we were leaving, the owner arrived and she's a very fun and enthusiastic lady.  We immediately liked her.  When she found out we were from Hawaii she insisted we kiss a camel.  Coming off of our missing Hoover dam experience, we all said "Yeah, we want to kiss a camel."  This meant putting a carrot in our mouth and letting the camel take it out of our mouth with hers.  Her name was Gracie (the camel).  So, that's what we did.  I'm sure in our entire lives we will probably never kiss a camel again.  I'm proud of my girls for doing it and me too.
As I planned this trip for eight years, I often would wonder if it was going to be like what I expected.  I would try to imagine it.  So far, it exceeds my expectations!

Avoid Hoover Dams

            So, if you have been following our trip, then you know that we had a little mishap that led us up a logging road and it really, really scared us. In one way, it was a really good thing because it taught us to not blindly trust our GPS. It also taught us to listen to our instincts, to be cautious, and to not go in too far before turning around. That experience on the logging road has kept us from similar dangerous situations. We are doing our best to not make the same mistake twice.

            On the other hand, because we were scared, sometimes now we let fear keep us from seeing wonderful sights. Today, we were supposed to see Hoover Dam. As we turned off on the road to go to it, it was along the edge of a mountain and we started making references to the logging road. As the road went further, we discouraged ourselves. Finally, we turned around. We weren't sure if we were going the right way. We weren't sure if Hoover Dam was coming yet. We let our fear dictate our path. In the end, we missed the dam. We are not coming back this way, so we have missed this opportunity. It's not like it was the Grand Canyon, but it was Hoover Dam, a marvel of engineering and human ability. So the lesson is to not let fear steal the opportunities of our lives. We only get one shot for each day. I want to make the most of each day. I want to love my kids the best I can. I want to love my husband the best I can. I want to serve God the best I can. I don't want to almost do things. I want to avoid Hoover Dam from now on. Not the actual place, but the experience I had or rather, didn’t have, there.

I'll see you at the Grand Canyon, where I'll be taking it ALL in.  

Proud Road School Mom

Thought I'd take a few minutes this morning, as a quick break from my work, to write a short blog about how proud I am of my family...Not really bragging, but just a moment for me to acknowledge to myself and whoever may choose to read this that I am incredibly impressed with my loved ones.
This morning, we had to drop Hana Girl off at this beautiful private school in Claremont, California to take a standardized test, in hopes of becoming eligible for potential academic scholarships.  It's not the way she wanted to spend her morning, but she went willingly and with her best effort to do her best.  Kealia and I are waiting for her in a nearby Starbucks, where Kealia is working diligently on her math.  I'm writing thank you letters and reports.  I just feel proud of their school efforts even on the road.  They are reading, doing math, and taking the science they learn from various science discovery centers seriously.  Kealia even read a book to me while I drove and it was so enjoyable.
We've also taken the time to pray together daily, read scripture from the Bible together regularly, and share little gifts of Hawaiian candy or other items with strangers.  These random acts of kindness are often initiated by the girls.
Also, I'm very proud of my husband.  I know it must be hard to be without us, though his blood pressure has gone down, and I'm not sure what that means...
He's been so supportive and encouraging and we talk all the time.  I know not all husbands would be like this and I'm very grateful he wants me to live my dream.  Each time I become scared or discouraged I call him and he is there to keep me going and lift my spirits.  I know we are only one month in and challenges may come and go, but I'm so grateful for all he does for us.  We even prayed together with him on Face Time and it was almost like he was with us.  I'm also glad he has his kids back home that visit him, help him with the land, and make sure he's doing well.
I guess that's it for now, just having a moment where I stop and look at what's happening and think...
Thank you Lord and this is good.
Aloha,
Alana

Happiest Place on Earth

"We're Going to Disneyland!"  My girls have heard this several times in their lives.  They and I do realize we are extremely fortunate to have had the chance to go to this wonderful place about eight times.  It's more than most kids (living in Hawaii) get to go.  We love Disneyland.  We went there for the first Christmases after losing Darel....it made the holidays a little easier to take.  We went there with Darel when Hana Girl was little.  We went there with my students and it was fun to see the big kids really get into the spirit.  We went there about a year and a half ago to regroup after Mike's surfing accident.  It's been more than just a good time for us.  It's been a place to treasure the moments of having a toddler, a place to reignite a spirit of happiness, a place to acknowledge our family unit.  It might sound cheesey but we love the feeling of Disneyland.  Each time we go, we are grateful.
I was thinking about the slogan of Disneyland, and I realized that what makes Disneyland the Happiest Place on Earth, is that it's a time to be with people I love with only one plan....to enjoy.  Life is so busy, we rarely have the chance to just enjoy.  This entire road trip has so far been like that...except for all the work...but I am really enjoying my time with my girls.  You'd think at some point we'd run out of things to talk about or laugh at hysterically...but not so far.  (The most recent was in Target...I thought these people were from Hawaii, but they weren't- so it was a huge Uncle Jimmy moment)
Anyway, I digress...but my thought for today is:  We're going to Disneyland, the happiest place on earth.  Fact is, anywhere with my family is the happiest place on earth.

Tired, So Tired, So Tired

Each day, at the end, I pray thanks and gratitude for the day.  Usually, it's about all I can utter because I'm so very tired.  This is exhausting, but very wonderful at the same time.  Right now, the work schedule is heavy, but I'm hoping it will slow down a bit at some point.  Not exactly sure when that will happen.
We had our first bout of sickness.  I knew it would happen, it was bound to.  Hana Girl got a stomach bug, but seems to be fine now.  She was a trooper, saying she's fine, even when she was green.  Her color is back and we only missed one school visit, so she could get the rest needed to recover.
So, yesterday we worked all day and today we took life easy easy.  I did quite a bit of planning and arranging and the girls some homeschooling.  We had a nice lunch a mellow evening and will get back to busy, tomorrow.
There are so many things I'd like to write about as I drive, but can't type and watch the road at the same time.  I would like to quickly comment on my experiences with driving here in the mainland....It's a challenge, but not as bad (so far) as I predicted.
Bye for Now...I'm going to bed.