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A Day with the Girls

I am blessed with the gift of friendship with some amazing women.  We met through the common lifestyle of homeschool, but bonded over our love of our Lord, and our family.

Every year, the four of us take a “homeschool mom” retreat, and get out of town for a day trip.  This year’s destination….Sacramento!  HA!  Yes, this year we decided to stay in our own backyard!

We started in Midtown and shopped a little.  Found a neighborhood farmer’s market and bought a few goodies.  I bought some delicious persimmons.  God’s candy.
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The citrus trees are poppin’!

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Had lunch at a delicious place called The Porch.
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Then on to the Tower Cafe for some yummy drinks and dessert…
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Then on to the Global Wonderland at Cal Expo…a great day with great friends!!
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Getting my table ready for the annual event.  Our homeschool network hosts two tables.  80+ tables, all uniquely decorated.  It’s so beautiful.  This year, we had a dinner with a concert by Nichole Nordeman.  Incredible night!

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Local Christmas Fun

Our wonderful fire department decks their truck out in lights and drives through our neighborhood.  Santa sits up top, playing Christmas carols, and his elf assistants hand out candy canes.  We never know when they are coming, and they alert us with sirens and loud music.  All the kids in the neighborhood race out to see…

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Aren’t they adorable?!

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Leaders Jeff and Debi Redmond were the hosts who handled the food and beverage and programming of the event.  It was held at our home.

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The boys decided to dress up and serve as doormen…

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Singing Christmas carols!
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Two amazing people, Jeff and Debi!
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Crazy Boys

 

It’s December, and they still want to sleep outside!
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We flew home from Maui on Monday.  Thanksgiving was later that week.  Our friends, Steve and Mary, and their kids, joined us, as well as our friend, Newton (his family lives in China.)
My cousin, Terry, surprised us with this beautiful bouquet to grace our table.
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Chelan preparing for the feast…
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A house divided….
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Aloha Maui 2014

What a beautiful, blessed time we had a family and friends.  Two weeks in one of our favorite places.

Our good friends, Eric and Crystal, and baby ‘Z’, joined us.  First week was at our timeshare.

The plane ride over….

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The view from our room…
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David and the boys, heading for breakfast in Napili…the boys played in the sand while waiting to be seated.
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David’s mom and her husband, Randy, joined us as well!  Here we are enjoying dinner at the Aloha Mixed Plate.

 

 

 

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A little jungle hike to Honolua Bay.  Typically, this bay is an ideal spot for snorkeling.  However, on the day we visited, it was murky, and there was enough surf for surfers off the point.  I had never seen this before.

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Hanging with our baby girl…

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The boys thought this tree was cool and wanted me to take a picture of them being eaten by it 🙂

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Stopped at a tourist Hawaiian plantation in Wailuku.  Then, on to Iao Valley…

 

 

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Our Washington friends (now California friends), the Jenks, were there as well.  They have a timeshare at the same place we do.  We coordinated dates so we’d be there at the same time.  Here is Ann and I, chillin’ by the pool.IMG_8180

 

 

Lovely Kaanapali beach at sunset…
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There is a restaurant we have been going to for years called Java Jazz/Soup Nutz.  The owner takes photos of customers he likes.  About 8 years ago, he took a picture of David and I when we were on a date night.  We found the photo near where we were sitting…

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Our second week was spent at the other property we typically stay at.  Napili Shores.  Here are the boys clowning around with Wikisticks, while eating at The Gazebo restaurant.

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One of the reasons we coordinated dates with John and Ann is because John was our pastor in Washington.  He dedicated the boys and baptized David and I back in Washington.  The boys wanted to be baptized at their favorite beach on Maui.  Here is John, doing some pre-baptism counseling with the boys, poolside.

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Ryan
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Alex
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Celebratory dinner at Hula Grill!
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November Mantel

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Our big one year old!  This is our goddaughter ‘Z’.  We held her party at a neighborhood park near their church.  It was very windy, but we still had a nice time!

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