Maui!

Our time in Maui has been so wonderful. It's been the perfect mix of busy and relaxing. We are at a great location with a perfect beach just steps from our door and it's the perfect spot to sit and watch the whales jumping and spouting. They are everywhere. Derek & I did a snorkel trip at Molokini crater- a small isle 3 miles off the coast. We got to swim along with a 3-4 foot white tip shark. Crazy! On the way back the whales were everywhere. They were breaching, flapping their pectoral fins and diving. We got to see a mother and calf jumping out of the water over and over so close to the boat. Amazing. I could have watched it all day! We took a long day trip up to the summit of Mt. Haleakala at 10,000 feet. We could see the islands of Hawaii, Molokai, Lanai & Kahoolowe from here. It was beautiful to be above the clouds! Another day we took 11 hours to drive the road to Hana and back. We all started feeling poorly from all the turnbacks over and over. Jett threw up a bit and we started making extra stops to take in the beauty and hikes and let our tummies recover. We made it to black and red sand beaches and then all the way to the seven sacred pools- a line of small pools cascading into eachother. It was a beautiful and tiring day. We've seen a lot and had a lot of relaxing time and now we are ready to come home!

Family Time In Hawaii

It's hard to believe that we're only days away from being home in Orlando. 6 months have both gone fast and slow. I'll be doing several "wrap up" posts as we are nearing our trip home. Here's a compilation of our best family pictures together. Aloha!

Listen to Aloha Oe

January 2011- our last weeks here!

Since January is our last month here, we have been running around the island and finishing up everything left on our list that hasn't quite been done yet. We've toured the Dole Pineapple Plantation and taken the train around the property (the kids favorite!). We took a trip up to the North Shore to see massive waves. They were finally up to a good size- with a 20-40 foot face! There were a few brave surfers out there on them and it was truly amazing watching them risk their lives for the thrill of surfing something so large! The waves were so big and constant that they had a buddy on a jet ski who would pull up next to them and tow them out past the big breaks to catch the next big one. It was so cool! We had some time in Chinatown too watching the dancing dragons and listening to the music and eating some authentic food. All fun experiences! We've been busy, but we're quite happy to be ready to slow down and get home!

Kauai Vacation 2011!

At the end of December and the beginning of January my parents and my brother, Scott came to visit. After a few days touring around O'ahu, we hopped a plane for Kauai. This was our first chance to get to one of the other islands and we were so excited! My parents had an amazing place for us to stay and it was such a treat to get away from the busyness of Honolulu. Our kids were thrilled to get out and just run around for a few minutes and we were thrilled to not have to watch them every second to make sure they weren't falling off a cliff, drowning or getting hit by a car! We were staying on the North Shore and took a drive one day to the end of the road to visit the wet and dry caves and the areas where they filmed "South Pacific" and to take a 1/2 mile hike into the Na Pali Coast. It was a beautiful area! Derek, Dad & Scott got to get out on the golf course during the trip as well and enjoy a beautiful view while they golfed! With it being the winter, it's whale season and it was so amazing to sit on the cliffs above the coast near our hotel and watch the humpback whales spout and breach! We took a boat tour to see them and it was amazing! We didn't get to see them jump out of the water up close but saw plenty of their backs and tails flipping out of the water to be sufficiently awed! Bumpa & Grandmom had a day with the grandkids while Scott, Derek & I picked Christina up from the airport and took off on a small plane flight around Kauai. It was so beautiful from the air! The next day we took a long drive around to the other side of the island to see Waimea Canyon. It's called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific and it really was a lot like the Grand Canyon- except much greener as well! What a wonderful time with my family touring the 2 islands and doing amazing things together! Kauai was both a time of relaxing and a busy touring time but all of it was wonderful!

The Beaches of O'ahu

One of my goals for our time here on O'ahu was to visit every beach park on the island. To my count, that was 90 of them! It took a bit of time (and patience from my amazing Derek as sometimes he waited in the car with the kids and I jumped out for a few pictures!) but today we visited the last ones! Some were definitely on our daily treks but some were way off the beaten paths too! It was fun to find new parts of the island while going in search of them all! I never did find an official list of them all, but with my a little help of my gps, google maps and just driving past some all the time, I think I got them all. If I missed one, then it deserves to stay hidden! So, let's take a little walking trip around the island along some amazing beaches! The pictures start at the North West corner of the island and go South and then make it back up to the same corner of the island again! Aloha!

The Haiku Stairs Hike (The Stairway to Heaven)

Derek & I both agree that this morning's adventure of hiking up the side of a mountain on the Haiku Stairs was the most adventurous thing we've ever done together! The morning started very early at 4:15am. We had to arrive early because officially, the stairs are off limits. They spent major cash to replace the stairs to make them safe just a few years ago, but there are complications in land rights to the entry of it, so they post a guard at the entrance to the hike every day. Since he arrives at 6:30am, this meant that it was going to be an early day. (We attempted this hike the day before, but got lost on the entry to the hike and didn't make it in time). The guard suggested we start earlier next time! :) So, today we did. With flashlights in hand, we battled through the mud to the foot of the stairs and started up. We knew already that it was a 3,922-step stairway to the summit of the Koolau mountain range. The stairs climb 2,800 feet up a nearly vertical cliff from the base of the valley to the summit. We thought that some of those "steps" would be easier uphill type hike steps, but nope, they were steps right on a stairway! The beauty of this hike is that there are handrails on either side. I'm not huge on heights, but I wasn't struggling too much since there was something nice and sturdy on either side to hold on to. There were tons of people on the hike though and since the handrails pretty much hit you on either side of your hips, you have to climb over the rails and hold on or straddle them to let people by. Thankfully, there were portions of it that were flatter with a few feet beside the stairway before the major drop off. We used those spots to rest and let people pass. We got up to the first viewing platform just before sunrise and all I can say is that it was gorgeous. You could see the whole coast here and look way down under the interstate below to see where we started! Derek, being abundantly more energetic and brave than I, took the remainder of the steps to the top while I sat and clicked away with my camera and waited for him to come back. When we started the decent, it was easier than I expected, but there were a few areas that were so vertical when we climbed up that it was like climbing a ladder. These areas were fairly terrifying to me since and there was no way down but flipping around and backing down. Of course, now that it was daylight I could see that I was in fact, clinging to the side of a rock wall at the top of a very long drop. Down we went though, and I was quite proud of myself for making it down without freaking out! What an adventure to do with my best friend! There was nothing quite like it. On the way home, we took the I-3 interstate that went right past it and slowed down enough to be amazed at how steep it looked and that we just hiked it!

Christmas in Hawaii

Christmas in Hawaii was more relaxing than at home in some ways, but at the same time just as busy! Whereas we didn't have any parties or get together, we also live in a big city where it takes forever to get anywhere and we're still learning the stores. You spend just as much time circling in the parking lot as you do in the stores too! We had a great time playing with the kids and doing special things together like stringing popcorn and making ornaments.

We took a day trip up to the north shore to see a surf tournament. The waves were bigger than any that we had seen so far and it was quite a treat to see the pro surfers riding them.

We also took a camping trip the weekend before Christmas. It was a beautiful beach and pretty uncrowded, which is a nice treat. The kids loved running in the open area and Derek was able to get a few pickup games of volleyball and go boogie boarding on some large waves. I enjoyed sitting on the beach and painting while everyone played so happily! The 2nd night in (our last night), we woke up with a half wet tent. We got drenched loading up the car and heading home. An amazing treat awaited us though. Oahu in not prepared for rain like Florida gets. They don't have retention ponds and no fresh water. The rain determines the flow of the waterfalls and the height of the streams. So, when it rained for just 1 day the streets were flooding and as we drove through the passes that take you home between the mountains, I counted at least 30 waterfalls streaming down the sides of the mountains. It was breathtaking!

For Christmas, we got sick. The kids all had bad coughs and weren't feeling well generally. After presents on Christmas morning, we decided to take Jett in and found out that he had Pneumonia. Poor fella. At least the antibiotics kicked in quick and he was feeling better by the time my family got here on the Tuesday after Christmas.

Mele Kalikimaka! (Merry Christmas!)

Aloha friends!

This year, in lieu of a Christmas letter, we're doing a Christmas blog entry. This is one of many changes for us this year. The biggest one being that I am writing this from our apartment in Honolulu, Hawaii. How we got here, we'll get to shortly. But before that, let me catch you up a bit on our year so far.

The start of 2010 was normal for us. Derek was working in Celebration, Florida at a surgery center. Dena was homeschooling Mia in first grade. We were very involved in Metro Life Church, where Derek leads a small group in our home every week. We were involved in events with both family and friends and normal life with our 3 kids, Mia, Ella and Jett kept us busy.

In February, we were able to take a 5 night cruise to Mexico with 3 other couples who we have been friends with since my high school days. This trip was such a treat since all 4 of us couples treasure our friendships and yet living in 4 different cities have limited time together. What a blessed time laughing and enjoying our friendship!

During a date night in April, Derek and I had a conversation where we were dreaming about things we'd like to do and possibilities for the future. Out of this conversation came to idea of possibly taking a short term travel position as a nurse in a hospital somewhere in the US. Derek had done this several times before we were married so he had an idea of what this would entail. We knew that usually these positions would be for 3-6 months. In all of our possible locations to go to, Hawaii was pretty much always at the top of the list. Derek had been working a lot of hours at his last job and the 45 minute or more commute to work and then back every day added to the time he was gone. After a while we began talking more about whether or not he should be looking for a new job. Once we had decided to look for a new job, the idea of Hawaii kept popping back into our conversations.

Over the next few weeks we were both excited and scared by the possibilities. I, for one had to battle over my trust in God. He has always shown Himself faithful, but I love Orlando so much that the thought of leaving it greatly distressed me! Leaving for 6 months didn't bother me as much as the fact that I knew so well that once we left, we could possibly see more clearly God leading us in another direction than Orlando or possibly even staying in far off Hawaii. After God so graciously showed me how I was trusting in my plan for our future more than in His, He was so kind to give me peace for the prospect. Now we just needed to trust that He would provide the details to make it happen if indeed this was in His plan for us. Time and again we were shocked at how well everything worked out: we had a job offered to Derek exactly when we wanted to go, we found a place to live there, finding someone to rent our home in Orlando and watch the dog, getting someone to lead our homegroup & a myriad of other details that all worked out so perfectly. God was once again providing and He did so in a way that was so clearly orchestrated by his hand so that if we ever doubted that this was the right thing to do, we could recount these evidences of provision.

The next few weeks were spent in a frenzy of activity preparing to leave. We celebrated Mia's 7th birthday and then in the month of August we spent a week in Atlanta with some friends and Derek's family while his brother got married. A week later the 5 of us were on a plane to Honolulu.

Before we left, we asked Derek's neice to come with us and a month after arriving, once she was out of school, Christina joined us. We have been here over 4 months now but Hawaii still feels a bit like a dream. Derek and I are out doing things sometimes and just start laughing saying how we can't believe we are here and really doing this! O'ahu is beautiful and amazing. We've taken almost every weekend to do things all together as a family around the island. We've seen 3/4 ths of the beach parks on the island, watch so many sunsets, taken several hikes, seen so many historical places and places of amazing beauty that we never expected. We definitely had some time of adjusting at first and being the first time away from home like this for me was strange. We missed all of the known things and living in a 42 story building is quite a new thing to us too. The apartment has an amazing view of the ocean from every window and is in a great area to be able to walk to everything but there are definite things to get used to. For one, it's half the size of our home in Orlando. The girls room is a closed in porch and Jett sleeps in a closet. We can make a mess of our tiny kitchen in about 30 seconds! As the weeks wore on I missed my family and friends so badly. Thankfully, my Dad is amazing and he surprised me and my mom by sending her out here to see us. Derek's Mom & Sister and nephew (Christina's family) came out to visit too. What a blessing to help ease the transition for us.

As much as the weekends here feel a bit like a vacation, there is a large amount of time that is very un-vacation like here too. For starts, Derek works 5 days a week. Also, right after we got here, we started school again. We weren't sure about homeschooling again this year, but being here for just 6 months and right in the middle of a school year, it just made perfect sense. Mia went into 2nd grade and Ella started Kindergarten. Last year was a hard year of homeschooling Mia, but this year we were finally making some progress. Her attitude about doing school has gotten better and she has also finally gotten her head around some reading. It's so cute to walk in the room and find her reading her way through a book! Mia is still our most social child. She'll talk to anyone we find. She's very proud to tell everyone that we live here now but only for 6 months and tell them everything about our day. She's getting big too. We can hardly believe that she's 7 and isn't our little baby anymore! Doing school with Ella is a very differnt thing. God has given her a love for learning. She speeds through her books and does more that I have assigned for her every day and still often comes out looking for more. Ella had her 5th birthday here and is quite happy to tell everyone just how big she's getting. She's still our more emotionally charged one but she has a happy go lucky attitude towards most everything. Jett had his 2nd birthday while we were here and is loving life. He's pretty happy most all the time. He's happy playing on his own and then he's happy following the girls and playing with them. It's a lot of fun seeing the games he's coming up with. It's definitely a boy game with trucks and dinosaurs and even when he gets the girls dress up stuff it's to use it somehow in a boy game. He cracks us up with the stuff he does and he's talking all the more now and learning to make jokes. :)

The time here has been such a blessing. The obvious is the opportunity to see the world in a way that we wouldn't be able to in any other situation! The girls have taken some hula lessons and we've been learning some Hawaiian vocabulary and enjoying learning the culture of the place. The other goals and plans that we had for here have been the most beneficial though. From the already wonderful marriage that Derek and I have, we have seen so much growth together. The time spent together and with the kids is invaluable. We've loved having some changes of habits and reading more and just loving the way we're able to be more focused here without all the distrations at home. We're hoping we've brought in some good habits that we can now take home and implement. Now comes the holidays and more time to spend together building memories. The time will fly here now until the beginning of February when we come home. My parents and brother will be here to go on vacation to Kauai with us then right before we go home. Also, Derek, Christina, the kids & I we will be taking a family trip over to Molokai and Maui. How blessed to be able to see all of that too and how excited we are to be able to get some real vacation time in while we're here too. And then, at last to be home in our Orlando! :)

Aloha & ahui hou (see you later),

Derek, Dena, Mia, Ella & Jett

One more great week down, 9 more to go!

We've been decorating our little Chrsitmas tree and getting in the Christmas mood. It's definitely odd here without it being cold pretty much ever and not having our typical Christmas decor, family nights, work & homegroup Christmas parties and such. What we miss in our normal life back home, we're making up for by extra time together as a family. The 5 of us and Christina took off to a drive up through the middle of the island to the North Shore to check out the surfers. The waves were bigger than we'd seen them yet, but we're still waiting for the really big ones! We checked out a few more beach parks on the way back down the Windward coast where Christina dropped off Derek & I and took off to play wiht the kids. Then Derek & I took a 3 mile hike up through Sacred Falls State Park. A few years ago there were flash floods and rock falls that they deemed too dangerous to keep the park open, but all it takes is walking around the gates and you're in. These quieter closed sections of Hawaii are fun because they are more local secrets. We still saw a dozen or so people on the paths but it was for the most part very quiet. The hike took us along and over a stream and up into the spectacular Ko'Olau Mountain Range. After crossing the river a few more times, we found ourselves in the valley with tall cliffs up both sides of the river and then turning the corner to see the amazing Sacred Falls in front of us. What a spectacular hike and the views were again amazing. After getting back with the kids, we all went to the nearby Kualoa Ranch where some of my favorite show "Lost" was filmed and the kids got a chance to do quick little rides on the horses, which of course, they loved. It was so fun to watch their reactions to being on the big horse. :)

The wonderful and busy month of November!

Thanksgiving weekend. While being away from home and family during a holiday is not ideal, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Since we've always been with family, I've never had the opportunity to cook the entire meal in my kitchen (and a tiny one here too!) With Christina's help (and a bit from the girls too!), we accomplished a great meal and have been enjoying lots of leftovers ever since! Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving either without the Macy's day parade and I was so happy to see that it was on here at the right time too! After our big meal, we took our pies down to the pool deck and were able to share them with some neighbors and some of our security guards too. Black Friday shopping is tradition to me too and this year I had no babysitter, so the kids joined in with me at the mall... that made for an exciting day- nope probably won't try that again either! :) We picked out a tiny 3-4 foot tree for our apartment and are working on decorating it island theme too! After taking our kids out to see the movie "Tangled", we explored Moanalua Gardens and came across some of the most amazing trees we've ever seen. The trees here have been some of the most surprising and amazing things we've experienced. We love them! Our last bit of exploring for this weekend came in going to the far reaches of the Leeward (West) side of the island. There used to be a road that wound up and around the top tip of the island to the North Shore but the waves every year are so big that they destroy the road and in the end they never rebuilt it. So, we drove till the road ended and set ourselves up at a quieter beach park at Kaena Point State Park. Once again, the mountain backdrop was amazing. I just never get sick of being with my family and looking at these amazing island mountains!

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November 21st. A few fun things before I talk about the pictures. 1- The girls were eating apples at the table and I had cut up both Granny & Red Delicious apples for them. They remarked how the green ones were sour and when I told them they were called "Granny" they both immediately decided that the red ones must be called "Poppop" apples. I love how a Granny doesn't work without a Poppop and how when they are so far away they can find ways to remember and miss their Great Grandparents.

2- The sunsets recently have been amazing! The whole time we've been here, the sun would set directly behind the buildings across the street. This week we noticed that the sun has started setting in between the buildings so now we get to enjoy the sunset from our apartment! We are pretty dumb when it comes to things like this apparently cause we were dumbfounded that that was able to change! :) We count it as another of God's blessings though.

3- Another evidence of God's grace. Across the street from us every Friday is a music and hula show and fireworks. We've seen it lots of times and the kids know that at the end of every show they give away a dozen or so flower leis to people in the audience. Ella got one on her birthday cause I told them it was her day, but Mia had desperately wanted one for weeks. She kept hoping that she would get one and we tried to help her guard her emotions so as to not dissolve into hysterics if she didn't get one. They passed them out and she was looked over again. She was quietly crying and Derek was talking to her and started praying with her that God would provide her with a lei one day and that she would trust that He was good and loved her. Just as he finished, a lady walked over to Mia and asked her if she wanted her lei that she had been given. She had been on the other side of the courtyard and we were sure couldn't have heard our conversation and we were able to thank her kindly and rejoice with our little surprised Mia at God's grace in providing this for her.

Now on to the pictures! These are some random pictures of our times around from the past few days. We've had a chance to explore a few cool places near by. First, we took the kids out to a nearby resort. They have sting rays and turtles and dolphins in pools on the property and we enjoyed exploring the beautiful grounds and watching the animals. Second, we went to Punchbowl Volcanic Crater where the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is. Being at the top of a volcano has its benefits when it comes to views, but the grounds were beautiful too, not to mention the somberness that comes in viewing the graves of all those who served to keep our country free.

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November 13th. Our dear Christina was so joyfully willing to serve and watch the kids for us so we could have a night away. What a wonderful and relaxing time. Derek & I drove out along one of the most beautiful drives in O'ahu to the Windward (East) side of the island. We stayed in a cute little inn on a peninsula. How relaxing to be away from the kids for just a few hours! We woke up early and went to the park down the road to watch an amazing sunrise then went back to have breakfast and take a 3 hour nap. Now that is starting a get away right! We checked out and took a quick kayak trip into the sea to see the beautiful coast from the ocean. Afterwards, we drove along to Kualoa Park. An island called "Chinaman's Hat" lies just off the beach there and since it was low tide, we walked across the coral in waist/ chest deep water to explore the island. It was phenomenal... one of the coolest experiences we've done while here! After getting back to the beach we had an enjoyable time just sitting in our beach chairs and napping (Derek) and pulling out my paints (Dena) to try to catch a picture of the majestic mountains behind us. Just a few hours with my love and him alone is so refreshing. We had such a wonderful time talking about ways we can grow in our marriage and training our kids and just enjoying being with each other- our best friends. He is probably the only person I know who I can spend endless amounts of time with without needing a break from him eventually. I wish I could just be with him forever!

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November 3rd. We've got a half day free, so we try for the top of Diamond Head crater. We enjoy the beautiful view of diamond head from our beach all the time, but we enjoyed parking inside the crater where lava once flowed and then climbed up the inside of the crater along a path then up about 225 of so steps, going through a tunnel and ending up with a breathtaking view of southern O'ahu. We were able to remind Ella of an evidence of God's grace too. Just 60 seconds up the hike Ella (my hiking partner) started whining and complaining and crying constantly. We reminded her about how in the past hikes she'd have a good attitude when we got to the top and she saw that her hard work was worth it. After a few more minutes we had to forbid her to talk or whimper unless she had something joyful to say. I was discouraged since we hadn't even gotten to the hard part of the stairs yet. Within a few minutes, just as we were starting to climb the stairs, God gave Ella a change of heart. She was joyful, excited and practically running ahead of us. What a fun opportunity to point out to her the evidence of God's grace in Him helping her to turn her attitude around!

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October 31st. Derek's Mom, Sister & Nephew were in town for 1 last day, so we took off to the North Shore to see waterfalls, eat shaved ice & watch an amazing sunset while enjoying our last few hours with them before they head home.

The Walley/ Plouff Vacation Continues

It hardly feels like we've stopped while Derek's family has been here. We've had a few things that we've done for the second or third time but we've also gotten to do a few big new things too. We had a brief visit into China Town. It looks like quite an interesting place to visit, but apparently not at night. The homeless are plentiful around here and it seems even more so in China Town which isn't one of the best places. So, we'll visit again during the daylight but for this trip stopped in and had an authentic Chinese meal. Renee even ordered the shark's fin soup. The girls were pretty grossed out but Jett enjoyed it a lot! The girls had a night out shopping and we took the trolley to Hilo Hattie's to get a little hula rhythm into Renee & Freddye. Freddye's birthday was last Wednesday and we went over to the lagoon to try out Paddle boarding and then ended her special day with a trip to Puu Ualakaa State Park for one of the most amazing sunset views across the west coast of the island. We've visited the Bishop Museum again- we got season passes to it. This really is an amazing museum. We've visited it twice now and haven't covered more than maybe a quarter of all there is to see. They have such good hands on stuff throughout for the kids too that it's perfect for all of us to go to together! We also spent one day driving up the east coast of the island to the Polynesian cultural center. As a last minute stop we went to The Valley Of Temples to see the Byodo In Temple. The setting was amazing and the fog like clouds in the mountains behind it made the place stunning. Afterwards we went to the theme park which covers 7 island nations- Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, etc. They do shows and demonstrations for each and then we had a luau afterwards and then a wonderful show at the end full of hula, dancing and a great story. It was another tiring and beautiful day!