Alaskan Ashton in Hawaii. Temple and more

Brian being silly

Brian posing 

 We don’t live close to a Temple so whenever we travel we visit the nearest one.  I have learned long ago to make the Temple the first activity.  Lucky for us we had a friend living there and she offered to watch Noah so we could go.  She lives in a part of the town that rains every day. It is very beautiful and as you would assume very green.  We passed him off very easily- Noah will go to almost anyone.  He doesn’t cry when I leave just as long as there is someone there to play with him. As we were driving the 40 min to the Temple we passed a few venders.  Thinking it would be best not to be hungry and thinking about my stomach during the session I asked to stop and eat before we went.  Once we got to the temple they informed us that the session just started and the next one would be in an hour.  How ironic that my actions to make the session better caused me to miss it.  Brian and I chose to do sealing instead.  I am so happy that we did.  We had never done sealings together before.  What a wonderful feeling to know that you are helping families see each other again.

After the Temple we picked up Noah and went to the Dole Plantation with my friend and her family. (side note:  I LOVE pineapple.  When I lived in Caracas Venezuela I would eat pineapple till my tongue went raw. so this was lots of fun for me) We walked around looking at all the pineapple in there many different stages of life, style and size.   It is very interesting.  It is all cultivated by hand and each plant produced a limited about of fruit.  Over about a three year period then the plant is replaced. I had posted about 12 pictures of different pineapples but thought that was a little zealous, not to mention crazy and so I cut it down for you.    You can thank me later.

The Plantation has a Koi Pond. We had fun so much fun feeding them.  But there is a trick.  You place the food on the side of the pond.  Not the water.  The fish will climb on top of each other to get it.  It is really crazy to watch.  After we walked around and I took TONS of pictures we ate pineapple ice cream and browsed the shop.  The Plantation has a maze and a train but we were pressed for time- shopping was now on the list – and we only rented the car for one day.  A girl has to have her priorities.

Alaskan Ashton in Hawaii. Getting There

It is not easy traveling with a nine month old who is teething.  I had two full packs busting with all the necessities.  (no need to tell you them all but I was prepared )I knew it would be an adventure.  We flew from Juneau to Anchorage, an hour and a half flight.  Noah was entertaining everyone around us.  He was laughing, smiling and playing peek-a-boo. He loved all the attention but his teeth were getting the better of him.  We were lucky that he went to sleep quickly after the plane took off.  We then had a four hour layover in Anchorage.  We found a little corner in the airport and tried to keep him busy and safe.  Safe is the hardest thing.  He seems to have no fear and is very curious.  Brian had to hold on to his pants to keep him from falling off the bench.  This was a happy compromise.  We played with toys, walked around the small airport and ate some food. 

Our flight from Anchorage to Honolulu was a little harder.  Six hours long and not as friendly of people.  The lady next to us kept glaring in our direction and complaining to the flight attendant that she had an awful headache.  Noah was not as happy on this flight.  I think it had to do with the decrease of attention and increase of time in the airplane.  We tried the best we could to keep him happy.  He does not like confined spaces.  He likes to explore.  We were all happy when we were about to land.  I was ready to escape to paradise before the wheels hit the tarmac.   

I love the feeling of leaving the air-conditioned plane and entering a hot humid climate.  SMACK!! Welcome to Hawaii!!!

  

We got our bags and headed to the Taxi. It was a 15 min drive to our hotel.  When we got to our room Noah wanted to go exploring.  Brian and I were unpacking and getting everything organized when I noticed that Noah was a little too quiet.  I found him in the bathroom playing with the toilet paper --- inside the toilet.  I started to laugh.  As I pull out the toilet paper I realize that this will be the first of many things I get to go fishing for.