Aloha Oe'

Today in church we said our final goodbyes and gave our final talks. My talk was entitled Spritual Fitness: A Testimony Bootcamp, I quite enjoyed that topic...hehehe, and Mark spoke about having a firm and unwavering testimony of the Savior. After we spoke, the entire congregation stood and sang the Hawaiian goodbye song, Aloha Oe' and then came and gave us leis. As you can see in the picture below, George still has all of his on, but by the time the picture was taken, Henry and I shed most of ours.
We have absolutely loved living here in Hawaii and feel so fortunate that one of our dreams came true and is now another chapter in our lives. We have been able to see and do so much here with each of our wonderful visitors. We have grown closer as a family and especially closer to our Savior and our Heavenly Father.
I am sad that we are leaving the beauty of Hawaii, our close friends and especially my island family; but, I am equally excited to return to Utah family, close friends (pgwc) and the awe inspiring mountians of Utah. Please know that you are just as welcome to stay with us as you were when we lived in Hawaii.
If you are a friend that we are leaving behind in Hawaii, I want you to know how much we will miss you and the good times we had. The 10 things we will miss most are:
10. Papa Ole's (some of the best plate lunch on the north shore of oahu)
9. Turtles, turtles and more turtles...check out previous posts.
8. Malasadas (Hawaiian's Doughnut)
7. Swimming (ocean floating and swimming at friends...miss Maelita you better remember me)
6. Matsumotos (da best kine shave ice eva)
5. Filipinos...really, do you not remember the bathroom incident? (see older blog posts)
4. Kim Chee...so stinky it is soooooo good!
3. Makapu Light house...where all your Hawaiian visions come true.
2. Spam Musubi (seaweed, rice and spam goodness)
1. Da best car is da beach cruiser (rust, dents and mold infested)