The last of our darlings came to visit. 

So did their cousin.

Creed and Holly

 Ella and Grandpa getting ready to snorkel.

Ella, feeding the chickens. Love her style.

 Our "baby" boy. 

Ella and Holly at Sunset Beach.

Matthew, Sean and Nobody, the turtle, at 'Seven Brothers'. 

I took these people out in public.

 Sweet, Betsy. Isn't she lovely.

 Betsy and Sean.

 Betsy, Sean, Matthew and Nobody.

Ella, studying some ants.

View from their private beach in Makaha.

 Ella loved this turtle.

Holly and Creed at their private beach,

 Ella, surrounded by her treasures and snacks for the day.
 Check out the pony taking a bubble bath.

 Creed, Holly and Ella.
Love these kids.

Aloha

Mardy

Mardy is a member of our Sunset Branch and is seventy years old. She and her husband were baptized less than ten years ago. She took care of her disabled husband for several years, before he passed away. She also has a progressive eye disease that will eventually blind her. Currently, she can see shapes and shadows. She lives alone and is fiercely independent. It took us multiple tries, and a couple of months before she would even let Elder Cameron do some yard work for her. She would stick pretty close to him and observe how he cared for her plants. It didn't take her long to recognize his gentle and accomplished hand. We set up a standing appointment, every Thursday at 4:30, to help her in any way she needed us to. After a couple of weeks, she quit following him and she and I sit on the shaded porch and I read scriptures to her. Elder Cameron has set them up on her computer so she can listen to them, but its much more fun to discuss them as we go. As a former teacher, she adds keen opinions to religious and political conversations. She has started using the local van service to attend sacrament meeting. This is a tremendous step for her.

Aloha

 Three missions completed and they know stuff!

      1st mission - Mission Presidency - Russia

      2nd mission - Mission President - Russia

      3rd mission - Church Office Building - Salt Lake City         

      4th and current mission - Troubleshooting for Mission Presidents - Nampa

     They took time out to visit us and enjoy some sun, sand and surf. 

Oh yeah, and a helicopter tour. 

Bruce and Maureen Allcott at Laie Point.

The impressive Ko'olau Mountain Range and part of the Kualoa Ranch.

I took this picture from the internet to show the valleys between the ranges. My picture, above, was taken from the ocean side or front of the mountain range on the left.

Kualoa Ranch tour bus, we rode. It reminded me of a medic bus from the series MASH. The ranch is 4000 acres of a private nature reserve. It is also the site to many TV shows and movies. 

We had never heard of this World War II defense gun bunker. It is built into the face of the ranch cliff and has concrete lined tunnels that we walked through. After the war, the military turned it over to the private land owners and is now used as a "movie museum" for the films that have shot scenes at the ranch.

Photo of one of the guns. This is hanging on the wall inside the bunker.

Chinaman's Hat as seen from the mountain side.

Byodo-In Temple, a non-denominational Buddist temple, in Kaneohe. It commemorates the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. It is a beautiful building and is a replica of a 900-year-old temple in Kyoto, Japan. It is not a functioning Buddhist temple and welcomes people of all faiths to worship or meditate. 

 Japanese cemetery, impeccably, groomed.

Bruce and Maureen, attending our YSA Branch, with us.

 Maureen's beautiful picture of the sunset at Sunset Beach. It's a tough place to live!

Aloha