Island fever.

Every couple of years, a few of my former companions from my mission get together.  Traditionally, we've met in the hometown of one of us so we don't ALL have to travel.  One year it was Boston, another Washington D.C.  We've done Education Week at BYU and this year it was Hawaii.  (Boise still hasn't made the list...hmmm).  This is only the second time I've been able to make it, but it reminded me how blessed I am to have served in a mission where I made so many lifelong friends (and this group represents only a few of them).  As missionaries we were in the trenches together, and it's kind of a transcendent experience to reunite, reminisce, and swap stories.  Our stages of life are different, our experiences varied.  One of us is still single and travels the world, some got married and had kids later in life, a few have struggled with infertility, two have adopted children (one from a foreign country), and so on.  But we are all united by the singular experience of a mission in Taiwan and the burning testimony of Jesus Christ that carries us through today.  I LOVE this group of women - and all those with whom I served.  They are precious to me.

So what do you do in Hawaii with five women, one of whom has a nursing baby and two of whom are pregnant?  Eat.  Eat a lot.  The food was magnificent - I'm pretty sure I had fish for every meal - possibly exceeding my mercury allotment for pregnancy.  Totally worth it.  We relaxed on the beach, went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, snorkeled, talked into the wee hours of the morning, and ate.  Did I mention that already?  In fact, I think we planned all of our other activities around our dining options.

I made these guys march to Waikiki so I could dip my feet in the sand where I got my first sunburn as a child.  We spent the rest of our time on the North Shore.  MUCH more my flavor.

Two preggos at Waikiki.

The whole gang.

No trip to Oahu is complete without a visit to Pearl Harbor.  I took a solitary tour after dropping everyone else off at the airport.  Very humbling experience.

The ides of may.

April and May were sort of a blur to me.  In early April, I found out I was pregnant.  Unplanned, of course.  It sounds sad, but I'd kind of come to disregard pregnancies as inevitable miscarriages, but this one was different.  I was sick as a dog, and abominably tired.  I was reasonably confident that this one was for real.  Still, given my recent history, I couldn't tell anyone because statistically speaking, I would be miscarrying shortly.  This being an unplanned pregnancy, I had not arranged my schedule to accommodate it.  My obligations were many and though I tried to back out of them, April and May turned into a big fake-fest.  Sleep everyday for the entire time Eve was at school, push through the witching hour, moan and puke and go to bed at 8:30 every night,   Wake up the next day and repeat.  That doesn't include the weekly volunteering in kindergarten, the multiple art lessons I still had to teach, the field trips I had signed up to help with, the three-night sixth grade field trip I'd enlisted myself to attend(at the beginning of the school year), track meets, end of school plays and concerts, and my multiple church and family obligations.  It was insanity at its best.  Truly though, I am so grateful for the experience - it taught me what I am capable of if I just push through.  With a smile on my face.

Anna's 4X100 relay team got first place at their track meet.

The best part of a field trip to the Botanical Gardens - manhandling the pill bugs.

Another Botanical Garden Field Trip - more manhandling.

Wagon's Ho - an all day fourth grade pioneer experience.  Lily got to help make lunch.

Anna waiting in line for the zipline at EFT (Environmental Field Trip)

My little termite Rachel during her annual music program.

Anna's final cello performance

Eve's dance recital.

Kindergarten Graduation

Anna got an award for straight A's from 3rd-6th grade.

Our third Capitol Classic experience - a mile run the weekend after school gets out for kids ages 6-14.

Lily coming in for the finish.

Rachel not far behind.

None of my girls loves running - go figure, their mother and father hate it too, so I'm particularly proud of them for signing up to participate year after year.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with the free sandwiches, and cookies, and frozen yogurt at the finish line.