October Finale

We were so happy to make our yearly tradition of conquering the Corn Maze again this year. Thanks to Uncle Josh and Auntie LoLo for driving over for the weekend events! They arrived on Friday afternoon and we were at the Maze at 4pm.

We took some time to treat the local animals.

We had dry skies and sunshine that made our trek more enjoyable.

We made it to marker 9, only one more to go. Addy did an exceptional job of leading us through the maze this year.

Once we made it out of the maze it was time for the Grands to pick their pumpkins to carve.

One more stop first to give the horses some more green grass.

From the Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch we gathered at our Country Bungalow for soup and sour dough and brownies. We played a hilarious game of King Elephant that had us all laughing till we cried!

Saturday morning Addy had a basketball double header.

JJ keeps score and helps with any back issues. 🙂

From our double header we went to an open house to help celebrate Granny Great’s 85th birthday. I did not take any photos…and on the subject of photos, most of these were taken by Auntie LoLo and some by Uncle Joshie.

Time to get ready for the last event of day which was the Fall Fest at our church, First Baptist Colville.

The eagle and the pineapple. They are such good sports!

Our Colville kids’ costumes were as clever as ever. Do you agree?

We heard that there were 1500 attendees at the Fall Fest! Hats off to the many volunteers who make this event such a success.

It was a full day! October ended well.

Sunday morning we filled a row at church for a glorious time of worship with communion, in remembrance of what Our Savior did for us.

A great start to November.

 

Maui Day 8 Breakfast+

Day 8 in Maui had a very special event that was not typical and a few typical events. I’ll cover these in at least 3 posts.

First was breakfast at the Plantation House with just these six.

I copied this description from the website for Plantation House…

Located in the Kapalua Resort, the Plantation House offers the perfect blend of casual elegance and Hawaiian hospitality. With breathtaking views overlooking the ocean and fairways of the famous Plantation Golf Course, this picturesque island setting is a favorite for both locals and visitors.

These were over the top!

While at breakfast there was a quick rain shower and Laura captured the rainbow. The views were exceptional.

We made it back to the resort mid morning and Laura and Jamie went on a scouting mission to find a good spot for family photos. We all got our photo wardrobes in order and braved quite a significant wind event while trying to get some good shots!

You can see how the wind was blowing by looking at the palm trees in the background.

First things first…why Maui and why did 12 of us travel together?

Initially the decision was made because these two, Katie and Jamie (above) turned 40 and chose Maui for their celebration.

As the year dragged on we added more reasons to celebrate like a 25th wedding anniversary (Josh and Laura), a 15th wedding anniversary (Andrew and Katie), a 75th birthday (Me) and an 85th birthday (Granny Great). Granny Great, Granny, Andrew, Addy and JJ had never been to Hawaii.

Generations of women in Jamie’s family and the men in our family.

We thank God for his mercy, love, and grace to our family. He has saved us through repentance and belief in Jesus Christ our Lord who sacrificed himself in obedience to God the Father on the Cross. He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins and in faith we have been transferred into His kingdom and are covered in His righteousness, not our own. What an amazing gift!

That is a gift we celebrate everyday…

Mahalo for following along on our Great Maui Adventures. Only a couple more posts till my travel journal is complete.

A Golden Hodgepodge

Got leaves? We chased down some golden hues of Autumn this past Saturday.

And just like that it’s the last Hodgepodge of October. Thank you, Joyce!

1. What most recently gave you goose bumps? 

There have been a few nights in the last couple of weeks that our night sky has put on an amazing show of stars. With no street lights or big city close by we enjoy stars in such an amazing display it will give you goose bumps. I could never be able to capture the sight in a photo.

‘In the stars His handiwork I see’, did any of you sing that song in the late sixties or early seventies?

The stars, a glorious sunrise or sunset turns my mind to their creator, the one true God.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. Psalm 19:1-2

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3

Who are these like stars ap­pear­ing,
These be­fore God’s throne who stand?
Each a gold­en crown is wear­ing;
Who are all this glo­ri­ous band?
Alleluia! Hark, they sing,
Praising loud their heav’n­ly king.

2. What does Halloween look like in your home and/or neighborhood these days? Do you participate? 

These days the only trick or treaters we get are our favorites, our Grands. We live in the country on a road that does not have lights and where there are acres between homes. That is not conducive to having trick or treaters. We get special treats for our Grands and always love to see their creative costumes.

Our church has a very popular Harvest Festival with Trunk or Treating and we have had up to 1500 from our community come to enjoy the creative trunk or treats, the smores, hot chocolate and indoor bouncy houses. Our church membership donate up to 500 pounds of candy for this event. We always include a handout with a clear presentation of the Gospel.

3. Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, poppy, chia…your favorite seed on the list? What’s something you like to make/eat that calls for one of these seeds in the recipe? 

I have been a fan of good sunflower seeds (semechki) since my childhood. Growing up we would stop by the seed man after ‘Big Church’ in Boyle Heights (Los Angeles) to buy packets of ‘plain’ sunflower seeds that came in brown paper packets and pumpkin seeds that came in clearer paper packets.

Boyle Heights — Tucked into a small red box of a building on Lorena Street, A&Z Nut Wagon had been a local source for all sorts of treats, from nuts, of course, to jerky. But after several decades in business, A&Z Nut Wagon closed up for good at the end of February.

There is nothing in my regular repertoire of cooking that calls for seeds.

4. What’s the most (or one of the most) ‘fall photos’ you’ve ever taken? Share it here. Just one. 

I’ll choose this one from 2012 for the color and for the memories. This was taken on a hike on our son’s first property in Chewelah, Washington. Our hike in the Fall afforded us the first views ever of Larch/Tamarack trees and the all encompassing gold this time of year. Little did we know then that we would be moving to this county in 6 years time.

5. Somehow we’re rolling in to November next week. If your October were a chapter in a book, what would the title of this chapter be? 

Twelve Celebrating in a Tropical Paradise

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

After Addy’s first basketball game of the season on Saturday, Greg and I chased down some October Gold. We drove south to Chewelah for lunch and enjoyed the golden treats along the way.

Maui Day 7

On Wednesday October 7th one of our cars would travel to Kapalua Cove to snorkel from the shore. The rest of us hung out at the resort and walked down to the artisan fair that set up just at the edge of our resort.

We could see the pop up tents going up.

All Six bedrooms in the two condos we rented had beach views, which was nice especially for Katie and Andrew when they were sequestered.

Greg and I walked down early to check out the wares that were being offered.

It was already hot and humid.

After scoping out the tents and what was being offered we headed back up to pick up Granny Great so she could do some shopping and to say goodbye to the crew who were going snorkeling.

They found a great shady spot to set up camp for their morning of snorkeling.

An adult was with our Grands the whole time they were in the water snorkeling and they had their life vests on and also used a pool noodle to help them stay steady as they snorkeled. The water was very choppy on this day and they had to cut their time short but Addy and JJ were excited about all the fish and eels and other creatures they were able to see.

Meanwhile back at the resort, Granny Great, Greg and I walked down to the beach and then did some shopping at the craft/artisan tents.

It was wonderful to have this daily view of the island of Molokai.

We bought fruit bowls and fruit smoothies for our lunch. Back in our rooms we were relaxing when the resort alarm and loud speakers in our rooms asked us to please exit the building via the stairs.

We headed next door to get Granny Great and found the stairs and exited down the 6 flights of stairs. Once outside we were informed with an apology that it was a false alarm. Yikes.

Our snorkeling crew made it back to the condos for showers and lunch instead of eating their packed lunches at the cove.

Wednesday afternoon was poolside with poolside orders of appetizers and drinks. Later in the evening after a last minute shopping trip for souvenirs and gifts we gathered at the food trucks again for our evening meal.

At this stage my recall from our time might have gotten mixed up with some things out of order. I do remember the major events but some of other things are foggy in my brain.

We did finish our second puzzle.

Thursday would be our last full day and it was packed from morning to night. It will take a few posts to cover our last day.

Mahalo for following along.

Maui Day 5 Evening

Praise the Lord, on Monday evening Andrew and Katie made it out of the condo and down to the beach. We were all happy to see them outside and feeling better. They both felt good enough to plan on going on our scheduled trip to Molokini on Tuesday morning.

This was a quiet evening for our crew to enjoy the sunset and evening swimming for the littles.

Tuesday morning would be an early start for Molokini and Golf. Till then Aloha and Mahalo for following along on our Maui Adventures.

Fall Back Hodgepodge

This photo of JJ and Addy covered with leaves is from Fall 2019 after the leaves fell with the famous Western Larch tree in the background.

Here we go again with some fresh Wednesday Hodgepodge Questions. Thank you, Joyce!

1. This week’s Hodgepodge lands on ‘Back To The Future Day’. October 21, 2015 was the date the movie characters (Marty McFly, Doc, and Jennifer Parker) traveled to in the future in the 1989 film Back To The Future Part 2. 

Did you see the movie?

I think I’ve seen the movie…

Tell us a something about what was happening in your life in the fall of 2015. 

Looking back at October and November of 2015 was emotional for me. This was the most significant family event that took place over October and November. Our brother-in-law, Nick,  had a major health event prompting me to get on a plane to spend time with my sister and her family on October 19th. I stayed in Southern California with my sister through October 26th. Nick was airlifted from Hoag in Newport Beach to Cedar Sinai in Beverly Hills the day I arrived. My family and others rallied around our sister Vera and our niece and nephew. I was able to see Nick in intensive care and tell him one last time that I loved him. I knew it would be the last time. He passed away on October 29th. We all flew down to Southern California again for his funeral which was on Veteran’s Day at Riverside National Cemetery. Nick was a Viet Nam Veteran and the Patriot Guard Riders of Southern California showed up to honor Nick.

2. Which -ber month is your favorite? (September, October, November, December). Explain why. 

I love all the ber months for different reasons.

September ~ Greg’s birthday, getting back into a more regular routine and for Fall Bible Study

October ~ the colors of Fall and the annual trek through the corn-maze

November ~ Thanksgiving meal and time with family

December ~ Our anniversary and Christmas

3. Red, yellow, orange, bronze…your favorite fall color to wear?

Red is a color I have in my closet but it is not dominant.

To eat?

I enjoy butternut squash and sweet potato, so orange is my answer.

To see in nature? 

One of the things we look forward to in the Fall is our Western Larch/Tamarack trees changing from green to golden…

4. What do you miss most about being 20? 

I was 20 in the year 1971. I wouldn’t want to go back to that time but I do miss my sharper 20 year old memory, my 20 year old flexibility and my 20 year old stamina not to mention my youthful skin.

Back to the present, I’ll choose joy in all the glory of growing old which includes experience, retirement, being further along in my sanctification, and enjoying dinner at 3pm!

5. We’re roughly three quarters of the way through the year. What’s one goal, habit, or mindset you want to purposely carry into the final weeks of the year? Elaborate. 

I want to plan something fresh/different at least once a week to enjoy for dinner! Woohoo after answering this question on Monday, I actually made something new, a Lemony Orzo. Thank you, Sandy.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 
We are still enjoying our memories/photos of our time in Maui. I’m just on Day 5 in my journal memory posts on my blog with several more to come.
Although my computer screen says 9:21 we were three hours behind in Maui so it was actually 6:21 am while I enjoyed the sun rising from our condo deck.

Maui Day 3~Haleakala National Park

On Saturday October 3rd, I watched the gradual start to the day enjoying my cup of coffee.

This was going to be a long day that got the best of some of us. Andrew was already down for the count sequestered in his room with a fever. The rest of us got into our two cars and started the trip to Haleakala National Park. This will be part 1 of our experiences this day.

“No place can prepare you for the experiences and feelings you will have on the summit of Haleakalā volcano. The landscape—deeply sculpted, richly colored, and forever changing—is unlike anywhere else on Earth.”

Stephen Tyng Mather

“He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done.”

If you’d like to read more about the legacy of Mather click here.

This trip was not for the faint of heart. Although it was only 53 miles from our resort with the hairpin turns going from an elevation of 500 to 10,023 it took close to two hours. The Pu’u’ula’ula summit was our destination. We were above the clouds at this height and above the path of several planes we saw, too. Our grands were traveling troopers! Some of our crew suffered severe altitude issues with their ears.

The Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory (HO) site is located near the summit of Haleakalā on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The site was formally designated for observatory use by an executive order of the Governor of Hawaiʻi in 1961, and has been managed and operated by the University of Hawaiʻi (UH) to support high-quality, high-impact research, education, and space surveillance since then. HO is not part of the Haleakalā National Park and is not open to the general public. (Top photo of the collage above)

You can learn more about this National Park here.

We were all excited that Laura captured a sighting of the NeNe Birds! Click on NeNe for more info.

This caution was heeded and it was hard to walk with confidence at this elevation. I was a wee bit light headed and not confident of my steps.

Thankfully the trip down the mountain elevations seemed quicker. We stopped at the lower park headquarters and visitor center and enjoyed some sandwiches we made for this trip. It was so good to get back on relatively straight roads for our next adventure. That will be another post.

Maui 2026~Part Two

 

Do you see the window washer?

Our son Dan did all the preliminary planning of the more involved events like snorkeling, zip-lining, pineapple farm, etc. so the drives would be coordinated instead of zig zagging all around the island. Thanks, Dan.

On Friday October 2nd he planned a relaxing free day with no special events.

We had pool time and beach time and lots of photo time. We ended the day with dinner at Duke’s Restaurant which was right on our resort property.

Greg and I were captured on the path as we walked to Duke’s for an afternoon refreshment.

Granny Great got hit by a wave! Walking to find some famous Hawaii Shaved Ice…

A Wheelchair was rented to save Granny Great from the extra long stretches of walking.

There be three gentle and goodlie things
To be here
 To be together
And to think well of one another
~
L.M. Montgomery (from Pat of Silver Bush)
~
Thank you, to Lorrie (Fabric Paper Thread) for posting this quote I lifted for our time in Hawaii.
~
I was reading an article from Paul Tripp Ministries while in Maui and the title of a new teaching series (Mercy Triumphs over Judgement) where he shared his favorite verse of 2026,
James 2:13:
“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
~
As I sat amongst the twelve of us in Maui with different quirks and different personalities I thought this was a perfect verse to dwell on and consider…
Our third day was a full travel to experiences day. Saturday will take a few posts to cover.

Maui 2026 Part One

Our travel journal begins early on Thursday October 1st as we picked up our Colville family for our ride together to the Spokane Airport at 6am. The ride to the airport is about 2 hours from our homes. Our son dropped us off at the Alaska terminal with all our luggage that he tetrised into the back of our vehicle masterfully. I should have taken a photo!

We established our base camp and waited for the first leg of our flight to Maui which included a change of airplanes in Seattle.

Our kids from the Seattle side of the state were on a flight from Seattle earlier than our flight would be.

They arrived at our resort before us and paved the way for our easy entry.

We had the last two rows on the short ride from Spokane to Seattle. The flight attendants gave us some good laughs before we took off.

Mount Rainier was visible on our flight into Seattle.

The Puget Sound on our descent. We had enough time at Seatac airport for a quick bite before we boarded our next flight that would be approximately five and a half hours to Maui.

All aboard and ready to go on our final leg to Maui.

We saw a lot of the Pacific ocean before we finally saw land!

What a welcomed sight!

I took this photo above from the airport in Maui. Our Seattle crew of four secured two vehicles for our time in Maui. Our vehicle was waiting for us in the parking lot just across from our terminal exit. Another tetris job by our son and we had luggage for 8 and seating for 8 all set and ready for our hour+ trip to our resort.

Our daughter and daughter-in-law met us as we drove up to the resort with our room codes and to show us the lay of the land. Our first glimpse of our view from the condo was jaw dropping. The twelve of us enjoyed two condos side by side for the duration of our stay.

After we settled into our rooms, a walk down to the beach was on the agenda.

Looking back at our lodgings, Honua Kai Resort and Spa.

Looking north.

Looking South…

 

One of our side by side decks with some of our crew.

Our Seattle crew of four had already made the trip to Costco to stock up on water, snacks, breakfast and lunch items for the week. Our dinners would be eaten out at restaurants or the nearby food truck court.

Thursday was done and we were all looking forward to a relaxing Friday with nothing on the agenda.

Mahalo for stopping by today. More adventures coming tomorrow.

Happy Columbus Day here in the U.S.A. and a very Happy Thanksgiving Day to our friends in Canada! 

Tropical Escape

This has been our view from our home away from home for the last 8 days. Our travels home started on Maui time Friday October 9th and we arrived in the wee hours of Saturday October 10th. I’ll be recuperating before I flood my blog with our Maui adventures. Aloha and Mahalo for stopping by today.