Top 10 Things About Being in Hawaii on a Sunday...

We were pleasantly surprised to discover that Kona has a temple!

Three weeks ago, we woke up to find ourselves in Waikoloa, Hawaii.  Some of us slept better than others...

S. and R. somehow managed to commandeer the bed...
don't they look comfy?

while Dad was bringing in the luggage following our late night flight, everyone was scrambling for a place to crash.

I'm still at a loss for how the assignments got divvied up.  My best guess is that J. was too tired to care.  

I think that everyone got a pretty decent place.  I ended up with the floor.  At least I found an extra set of clean linens to throw down beneath me!

It kind of reminded me of my accommodations at the in-laws for Christmas--minus my own pillow and blanket...  ;)

Still, I coudn't complain too much.  We were in Hawaii after all and we were embarking on a ten-day vacation. So without further ado, here are my top 10 things about being in Hawaii on a Sunday!

The Top 10:

10. Since you're traveling, you have a good excuse for forgetting that it was Fast Sunday. 

9. Spending quality time with the family means hitting the beach (i.e. A Bay) with the kids. 

R. and S. enjoy Anaeho'omalu Bay in Waikoloa

8. Being greeted with a hearty "Aloha" from every person who shares their testimony in church.

This just doesn't happen on the mainland.  I remember feeling a little uncomfortable when people would do that in church back home.  But here, everyone did it.  It was kind of cool. 

7. Rationalizing that since Hawaii is so laid back, the kids are okay wearing shorts and t-shirts to church. (Then realizing that no one else was dressed as casually as your family was.)

I can't remember if we forgot to pack church clothes....

J. assured me that everyone in Hawaii wore sandals to church.  I wasn't so sure and actually wore shoes.  Turns out, I was right.  But maybe that's only because we went to the Waimea 1st Ward up in the mountains.

6. Enjoying the beautiful 50 foot ceilings in the chapel and being grateful for the 20 ceiling fans. 

This chapel was beautiful--inside and out

5. Enjoying the beautiful drive up the mountain and seemingly into the clouds to attend church in paradise. 

Waimea was in the mountains and totally different than the coast

4. Being 30 minutes late to church because it looked like the chapel "was just up the road" based on the crappy rental car map I was using...oops, my bad!

3. Not having to look around to see which of my Young Men were going to make it to church in time to administer the Sacrament.

2. Being able to spend all day with the wife and kids. In Hawaii. 

E. and J. mess around in church

1.  Walking into church, on an island, in the middle of the ocean, 2,500 miles away from home and seeing the faithful Saints in white shirts and ties, hearing their humble testimonies, and realizing that the Gospel is true no matter what part of the world you live in!

Other Thoughts:

Even though we went to church, we probably negated any blessings by taking a very scenic drive into Kona to make a pit stop at Costco.  Our excuse was that we needed supplies...and we did.  We stocked up on food for the condo and I bought some bedding supplies.  I figured that if I was going to be sleeping on the floor for 10 days, I might as well be comfortable...

The next Sunday, we went to the Kona 1st Ward and also had a great experience there!  Great talks by the youth speakers and adult speakers and it was just beautiful.  Plus, the Kona Stake Center is next door to the beautiful temple!

The Most Important Rule for Traveling on a Family Vacation:

I realized the truth of this rule on that first Sunday and I tried to remember it for the rest of the trip:

"If Mom's not happy, no one's happy!"

There is a secondary rule which is that if the kids aren't happy, no one's happy.  But Rule #2 is not as important as Rule No. 1!  =o)

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday!