What's been happening here in Hawaii

One of the pleasures we have living here is to have the Laie Temple close by. Unfortunately it is being renovated. But we can still enjoy seeing it and all of it's historic charm. If you look closely you can see that the temple does not have any windows. I noticed this Sunday going to church that they are being installed now. The construction should be done right about the time that we will be coming home. We will miss the rededication. But we are grateful for it's presence.

This past month has been full of many activities and adventures. One day we decided to explore the windward side of the island. This is Makapu'u State Park at the Southeastern end of the island. It is gorgeous with incredibly blue clear water.

Along the way we made many stops to capture the beauties on film. This seems to be a typical pose of Craig's as he has enjoyed taking pictures everywhere we go.

Here is the quilt that I recently designed for the outgoing president of the Board of Directors of the Polynesian Cultural Center. It seems crazy that I would have gotten so involved so quickly after working here for only about a month. But the director of the PCC asked the Mission Settlement (where I work, we are standing in front of the Chapel at the Mission Settlement) to make a quilt for outgoing director in less than three weeks so that they could present it to him at General Conference time. The two ladies in charge, Mele, on the right front and Sister Pulley on the left front were lost as to what to do. They knew that I quilted and asked if I could help. I told them I would but that I was leaving the next day to visit Amanda in Seattle for the weekend. We got the creative juices flowing and designed and cut out all of the applique squares. We then gave them out to workers to applique in 5 days. When I returned I pieced it together and found a lady in Honolulu to machine quilt it. She put a rush job on it and had it done in a week.

Thank goodness she did a great job of quilting it. I got it back on a Friday and had it bound by Saturday. On Tuesday it found it's way on an airplane for Salt Lake City. It was presented to the outgoing president on the Monday evening after conference. Ironically, it was presented at Dick Marriot's home in Park City, about 1 mile from my home there. Isn't that how things usually go? Anyway, a friend of mine was there and said that they wept when they recieved the quilt. So our 2 1/2 week miracle was worth it.

Each square represents one of the villages here at the PCC. The boy getting the coconut from the tree is Samoa, the grass skirt and pearl is Tahiti, the temple is Fiji, the poi balls is New Zealand, the canoe is the Iosepa, the symbol of the PCC, the ukulele is Hawaii, the Hawaiian quilt square is the Mission Settlement and the drum is Tonga. Many hands went in to completing it. It was a challenge, a blessing, a miracle, and a lot of fun to do!






SEATTLE

We took the time off between semesters to visit Amanda and Seth in Seattle. We took a walk along their trail behind their house and enjoyed the good weather and grassy hill.

Kayla is such a cute little girl. She says "Poppy" and "Tootsie" really well. She loves to play with the boys next door and to ride a tricycle. It was a pleasure getting to know her better.

Back in Hawaii. This is what happens when you need to get rid of termites at the local Catholic Church.

And lastly, this is my most recent addition to my quilt that may or may not get finished in this lifetime. I loved it and wanted to share it.

If you lasted this long, thanks! We love you all!