Foreign Shopping & Manoa Falls Rainforest Hike

 

Where Joe lives and where we stayed- the yellow house on the left of the picture. The road you see is the driveway.

Joe's kids still had school, and Missy still had to work, so we had to wait til late afternoon to hang with the clan, but we were blessed to have Joe around to really show us the best foreign shopping experiences in the morning.  Due to Joe's company's relocation and subsequent layoff, he was looking for work and had time to drive us around and be our personal tour-host.  I'm glad he was the one driving, because the parking and narrow streets and one-way roads all get a little congested and confusing, but he was used to it.

A Look Around the Place

How would you like to wake up to this beautiful green mountain each day? Yes please.  This is the view from inside the home.

We took over Joe and Missy's master bedroom.  The girls got the air mattress and Steve and I were on the bed.  That was so nice!

In Manoa, it rains everyday a little here a little there.  There were rainbows daily.  I'm pretty sure that's a requirement for paradise.  The photo below is a zoomed in view from the house.

Joe took me outside to hunt for any avocados that fell in the night.  He was successful.  These avocados were huge, way bigger than the ones at our grocery stores!  You better believe we made a big bowl of fresh guacamole!

Joe with his avocado tree

Joe has a neighbor with a fun and unique rock retaining wall.  They put out hundreds of plastic toy animals/insects/creatures/figurines and let the neighborhood kids create scenes in their rocks and on the wall.  It's awesome!

Foreign Budget Shopping

Joe took us to a couple places that he thought I'd like- Daiso (like a japanese dollar tree), and Don Quixote (like a Japanese Walmart).  He was RIGHT!! Those places were awesome and had so many things I loved!  We also did go to Walmart and Sam's Club to find inexpensive souvenirs.  Daiso was also on our bucket list, so CHECK!

I could spend a lot of time at Daiso.  The products were all listed in a foreign currency, and there were conversion charts all over the store to help determine the US $ price.  Most things were $1.25-$3.75.  I particularly loved the dishes and if I lived there, I'd definitely be stocking my kitchen cabinets from there. I ended up buying a neck pillow for travel, something I could take on the plane and use at the airports.

Don Quixote, you'd think it would be some latin market, but no.  It's 100% Japanese.  Why they have that Spanish name is beyond me.  They had groceries, fresh produce, clothing, hardware, etc..  My favorite though- their "deli" was sushi and bentos and Hot Hawaiian food! I'm used to seeing the dry corndogs, potato logs, pizza sticks, and fried chicken behind the hot deli case, but here... shoyu chicken, ginger chicken, shoyu pork, garlic shrimp, spam musubi!  Are you serious?! This needs to be where I live.  I think this is another requirement for paradise.

A whole square section dedicated to sushi.  YES!

Fresh mochi!  Now we're talking! We bought Oreo mochi, and 2 peanut butter mochi!  There's nothing quite so soft and delicate as fresh mochi. 

We purchased $20 in fresh mochi-- check that off the bucket list!  The girls also wanted to get their lunch here, so we got them sushi and teriyaki chicken bowl.  Steve purchased some Andagi (japanese donuts) from a vendor, "da ANDAGI Guy", out front.  Those were delicious too!  And 3 for $1 is a fantastic price, especially in paradise where everything costs more.  Our next stop for lunch was Sam's Club for the best-priced fast food.  Here they had a Kalua pork plate lunch for $6, which is what I got because I know of no other Sam's Club that puts out Kalua pork.  Yum!  Steve stuck with his usual big slice of pizza and a drink.  I think we got ice creams too.

We had to rush to get the kids from school.  All our shopping made time fly!

Manoa Falls Rainforest Hike

Greeting us in the parking lot was the infamous HEY-HEY  from Disney's Moana!  Haha!

Stephen and I went part-way up the trail to Manoa Falls last time we were in Hawaii, 4 or 5 years ago.  It was a rainy day, we were pressed for time, and only got to see some of the trail.  It was too rainy to trek up to the falls.  But this day, was perfect.  We didn't have rain and we made it all the way up to the falls.  My favorite was not the falls, but the rainforest plant life that we got to admire on the way up.  There were some GORGEOUS landscapes and some incredible formations, and interesting intricacies in the plants all around.  We experienced another world walking in that rainforest.  

Malia, Amara, Maisie, Lily posing in front of a wild Peace Lily flower.

Now sit back and enjoy a look at some of the majesty we walked amongst-

If you're ever in a rainforest.  Look up.  It's beautiful.

This vine climbing the tree!

bamboooooooooo

Look carefully and you'll see Manoa Falls!

Mushrooms anyone?

go ahead and grow like that!

I don't know how Maisie survived, but she hiked on all those rocks in her slippas! Every flip-flop-step flicked more and more mud onto her legs.

Um.  I found the portal to heaven.

Thanksgiving Turkey Prep

Joe volunteered to cook the turkey for Thanksgiving.  He takes his turkey seriously.  The night before, he soaks the bird in a homemade brine.  Then he uses all manner of fruits and herbs to stuff in and around the bird when it bakes.  It's a labor of love and the meat is a masterpiece when he's done with it.

Malia helping Joe pour the brine into the turkey

Aloha! Ala Moana Must-Eat-Snacks and Settling In

We got off the plane in Honolulu at lunchtime and Joe didn't waste any time in helping us check off our Hawaii bucket list.  I wanted to show my kids the Shirokira Market at Ala Moana Mall, but turns out that market went under during COVID, so Joe showed us the next best thing.  Ala Moana has an awesome food court, and Mr. Cow is a Korean cheese-corndog place that Joe said we had to try.  We all got the mozzarella stick deep fried in a delicious sweet batter (much like a corndog but sweeter like a donut), dusted with powdered sugar.  Those were tasty!  The cheese was deliciously melted and pulled like a good slice of pizza.  The dipping sauces we got were good too, my favorite was a sweet/sour spring roll dipping sauce.

Check out the cheese pull on Lily's

Next stop was Liliha Bakery for their chocolate cream puff with Chantilly frosting.  It wasn't the diamond head coco-puff that Shirokira Market used to have, but it was also delicious and beautifully made.  

After Ala Moana, we settled into Joe's house and waited for the kids to come home from school.  It was fantastic to surprise them, though some of them had their suspicions we were coming.  There wasn't long before the kids had to get ready for swimming.  I was glad we could go and watch them warm up for a minute.

JJ warming up in the pool

Hanging out at the park by the pool

Found this beautiful flower in the nearby community garden.  It is a lilikoi flower.  So unique!

In the evening we all just enjoyed being together.  Joe and Missy gave up their room for our family to stay in while they crashed in the living room on futons.  That was an unexpected and very kind generosity.  Needless to say, we slept well.  Lily said the air mattress was more comfortable than her bed at home.

The girls giggling with Malia at dinnertime

JJ showed Steve some funny dad jokes on Youtube.

 

Off To California & Hawaii for Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for family vacays and the chance we had to go to California and Hawaii.  Our trip this year wasn't planned very far in advance, it just sort of happened.  We had to use the flight vouchers we got from our trip this summer when they overbooked our flight home from Maryland.  We wanted to go to Hawaii, but Frontier doesn't fly there, so we chose California since the Redwoods are there which we'd like to see, and there was also the possibility of finding affordable flights to Hawaii.  Well, after talking with Joe, my brother in Hawaii, he said we could stay with them if we were able to make it work, and he also said he'd look for good flights.  Well, he found a great 2-day deal on roundtrip flights through Southwest from California to Hawaii.  True, we'd have to take a lot of flights to travel from Utah to Las Vegas to California then to Hawaii, but the fares were less and we could make it work.  YAY!  So, it was off to destination Sacramento, California first, then off to Hawaii 2 days later. We were gone 10 days: November 20-30.

We actually went to church in the morning before driving to April's church in Springville to have her drop us off at the airport.  Our timing worked out perfectly.

Desert Mountains from the airplane window

PS- We had a 6 hour layover in Las Vegas, so we arranged to have dinner with Doralee's family while we were there.  It was awesome, except that Doralee was fighting a cold, so she kept her distance and wore a mask.  Isaac picked us up from the airport and Steve Gull made dinner- a delicious Kirkland lasagne and salad.  Steve then took us back to the airport.  We only got to visit for a couple hours, but it was sure nice to have that opportunity!  

Sacramento airport, Steve chivalrously carrying Lily's heavy load along with his own.

California Trip

We were blessed to stay with my Aunty Cheryl and Uncle Bob in Vacaville, California.  They were so kind to be our airport cheuffer and give up their living room to be our Airbnb ;)

Hanging on the door at Aunty Cheryl's is this sign.  She said it was rumored to have been made by my great-grandpa, Papa Lauret (Henry).  I love it!

Aunty Cheryl, Amara, and Frannie (dog) admiring the backyard lemon tree.

Aunty Cheryl and Uncle Bob created this fun yellow brick road in their front yard, and their wishing well planter box has a basket hanging with toto in it and some ruby slippers hanging off the edge.  I LOVE their creativity!

These types of pine trees don't look like Utah pine trees.  The needles are soft, too!

Aunty Cheryl made biscuits, recipe from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook, for breakfast! YUM! My favorite!

The backyard lemon tree was loaded and beautiful!  

After brunch, we got dressed and helped out with some little projects while there.  The weather was fantastic! Steve hung Christmas lights around the perimeter of the awning, we did some cleaning and weeding, even helped install a new outdoor light, and Steve helped sand down the bathroom door so it would close better.

Amara beating the dust out of the door mat

The oranges were just beginning to be in season.  We picked a few and ate them fresh from the tree.  They were SO GOOD!  Aunty Cheryl cut up a few more and we took them on the plane to Hawaii to share with Joe's family.  They loved them, too!  

Steve using a special "picker" to get the oranges that were high up

As evening approached, we took a 15 minute ride to go see grandma and grandpa's gravesite.  I had never been there before.  Grandpa's name is on one side of the stone, grandma's on the other.  The markers at this military graveyard all looked identical and lined up perfectly.  It was a humbling sight to behold, and the cemetery was peaceful, immaculate, and beautiful.

I wanted to see where Aunty Cheryl worked, See's candies, and it did not disappoint!  It is situated in a cute strip mall lined with trees that were every shade of fall foliage.  It reminded me of a Hallmark movie set!  It was awesome to meet Aunty Cheryl's boss and coworkers.  I picked up a few of their nostalgic suckers to gift to my nieces and nephews in Hawaii, and they gave me her employee discount.  How generous!  I've always loved See's because my grandma Lauret would always bring us kids See's suckers when she'd visit.

For dinner, we went to Black Bear Diner, a delicious experience.  Everyone liked their food, and it was the perfect meal to end a perfect day.

Aunty Cheryl impressed by the size of her taco salad, Uncle Bob enjoying his Salmon and pesto pasta.

Steve said his meal was really good and he'd order it again.

I love me some slow cooked pot roast! This was their light portion!

We crashed for 2 nights in the living room on air mattresses and a couch. Aunty Cheryl was a saint for rising at crazy o-clock AM to take us to the airport.  God bless her and Uncle Bob for their kindness and sacrifices for us!

A Father's Day Tribute

Dad in the background building a garden plot in our backyard

Dad standing at our front door.

I feel such gratitude for my father, Jim Lauret.  I have flashbacks of him working under the hood of a car in the garage while listening to a BYU football game on the radio.  That scene morphs into him building a master suite in the basement, then into him building my dream bedroom complete with a loft bed and a stairway.  Next I see him gathering up zucchinis and tomatoes from the garden.  His jeans are dirty, his old holey shirt is dirty, and his brow is wet with sweat.  This is dad on Saturdays.  

Next we see dad in his suit helping his boys tie their ties, then his hands are wrapping wads of newspaper around the beam on his bike to create another seat.  We are riding our bikes to church today, just until dad finishes fixing the van.  Dad packs one kid in a backpack thingie and another balanced on his makeshift bike seat between his legs.  At church, he whispers to us to think about Jesus as we take the sacrament.  Then it's time for Sunday school.  He's the favorite teacher.  As his students answer questions correctly, they get to toss rolled up socks into colanders balanced on their classmate's heads.  There's homemade chocolate chip cookies for the winners.  When we get home, dad's already in the kitchen chopping veggies and frying onions for a warm dinner.  This is dad on Sundays.  

Me (age 9ish) and my dad, just a snapshot in the van in between parade of homes stops

If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, then you're hearing the front door creak at 5:50am as dad sneaks out to play basketball at the Stake center.  He comes home a little after 7am and wakes up all the kids for prayer time.  By the time we all gather in the living room, he's well on his way to having a hot breakfast ready for us.  Sometimes it was pancakes, sometimes biscuits, often egg omelets or breakfast burritos.  He's often helping with last minute math problems or finding missing shoes before we head out the door to school and he to work.  When we come home from school, mom ensures we don't eat too many snacks because dad will be home to make dinner at 5:10.  I liked to be near when dad made dinner so I could help.  If I was there, he'd give me jobs.  "Stir the onions until they're translucent" (What's translucent, dad?), "Peel 6 carrots,"  "Wash this lettuce," "Hold out your hand (pours salt and spices into it) now sprinkle it on the meat."  Within moments, we were having a hot dinner as a family.  As the news came on at 10, we'd stay up to watch the weather report together.  If Mr. Eubank, the weatherman, was wearing his white coat, we knew there was snow coming.  Then it was time for scriptures and prayers before going to bed.  This is dad on the weekdays.

As we got older, dad got busier keeping up with us, but he kept up!  He went to everyone's everything- band, choir, and dance concerts, football, soccer, softball, basketball, and baseball games, plays, fairs, awards ceremonies, etc..  He took us camping in the summer, on road trips to the national parks on school breaks, and to ghost towns to hunt for fool's gold on weekend getaways. 

Then, we kids got really older, moved out, and had families of our own.  He still gathers us for dates, cooking competitions, dinners at his house, reunions, camping, Easter egg hunts and gingerbread house building.  Dad taught me that relationships are important and shared experiences are what build those relationships.  So true.

As far as fathers go, my dad is the best.  I love him so much!  Happy Father's Day!

April, me and dad on a date at Mongolian bbq place in Springville, Utah.

Dad putting some details onto this toy story 3 gingerbread house

A hike with "grandpa Jim" at a campout

Dad cooking to feed an army of family kalbi pork!