See those legs at the top? Yeah those belong to me right before I dive into the ocean.

That is the cliff I jumped off at Waimeia.

Sunset beach after snorkeling.

Ted's

A frog (or is it a toad?) the size of a Utah rabbit.

This little bee likes soda too!

The beautiful, but not so falling Laie falls.

From Laie falls to Laie and the Ocean, it was kind of cloudy that day.

Yum, nice picture.

Yeah this too.

Looking down at stew, it was pretty steep.

Almost a month!

Ok so I have lived in Hawaii for almost a month now. In the last week I got to do some pretty adventurous things. First of all I went to Turtle Bay golf course, where many pro golfers play and it hold PGA champions tournaments and such. I climbed to laie falls which was quite a bit more of a hike than I had anticipated. We edged along the hill side where above and below us the mountainside was nearly straight up and down. But when we got there I got to swim in the first fresh water that I had been in since I got here. I enjoy the salt water, but fresh water just doesn’t burn quite so bad. I to Ted’s bakery home of the famous chocolate haupia cream pie. Three of us ate a whole pie. A bee found a place to swim in my soda too, so that was fun for him. I snorkeled at sunset beach, where Adam Sandler owns a house and Elvis used too. I found a few shells and some coral, but no mermaids. This week I tried surfing at hukilau beach off of goat island, which is one of the only good breaks in the summer. We had to paddle a few hundred yards just to get to the island. I am not very skilled in paddling a surf board because 10 yards from where I could last touch I got stuck in the waves and not knowing how to duck dive I pretty much was at the mercy of the waves. Luckily the waves clamed for a few minutes enough to get past the reef, so week took off but by this time my arms were so sore from paddling I just had guy in front of me pull me. I just held his foot. It was at this moment when I realized that I might not be a surfer. Fifteen minutes later when we weren’t even close to the island I realized that maybe the guy pulling me wasn’t much of a surfer. I probably would have just sat out there all day because it was pretty nice, but then I saw something dark in the water in front of us. All I could think of was Jaws. I asked if there were sharks and my friend comforted me by saying that in that part of the ocean there were probably sharks. But he said if one touches you just pull your arms and legs in and get on the board, well I thought that would be a time to practice. My balance isn’t so good so I decided to call it a day and quickly paddled into shore with my toes pointing in the air. Near the shore we practiced catching waves; I think I’ll try it again someday. I'll never know what I saw. Probably a turtle or mermaid or something. Yesterday I rode the bus to Waimeia Bay and jumped off some cliffs. So such is the life on the north shore.

This is my bedroom!
Temple Beach.
This is where I first swam in the Pacific Ocean. (any ocean really)
The PCC,
A Buddhist Temple,
and a Temple of the Lord. Beautiful right?

Erica, Heather, Rachel, Mellisa and ME!

First Week

The time really doesn't fly here. It feels like I have lived here forever. Let me just update you on what I have done. I got here Friday night at 10pm, that's like 2am Utah time. The highway was blocked by a traffic accident just 20 minutes outside of La'ie, so after traveling for about 30 minutes from the airport in Honolulu, we had to turn around and drive around the island the other way. (2 more hours) so I got to La’ie at 6am Utah time. So it was a 24 hour day. I then went to graduation ad I saw Elder Scott and President and Sister Shumway. So the caf is great, good food. I thought I would loose weight, but I can see that won’t happen. The PCC is the coolest place on Earth. Hmm. Oh I bought a car for a day. After discovering that registration and safety inspections are not so easily obtained I got my money back. The first day with my car was exciting. So exciting, that I forgot to put gas it. Needless to say I drove past the gas station and about a half a mile down the road it stated to die. Well the roads are narrow and lots of traffic on the highway so I pulled over and turned around as I was pulling back on the road the back tire exploded! So I tried to find a place to park but then the motor died and I was stuck I coasted to the edge of the road. I jumped out the passenger side door (that being the only door that opened), to change the tire and realized that there is no tire tool. Fortunately Hawaiians are nice I walked to a house and barrowed one. I changed the tire smashing my finger in the process so I was bleeding everywhere. I took the tool back and began walking to the gas station. I bought a gas can and gas. Well the next day I tried to get a new tire and a safety inspection and apparently in Hawaii you have to also have 4 good tires, a muffler and the doors have to open. Well instead of putting money into it I took it back and got my money back. I found the bus to be quite useful. I swam in the ocean for the first time and went to the original Shaved Ice Shack on the North Shore. The flee market in Honolulu is also a great way to spend money. Well that is it for this week! Talk to you later!