Category Archives: Jaymison Joshua

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 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

This will be part two of our Monday October 5th adventures.

Monday October 5th had a variety of activities with fewer participants. Dan and family left early to deliver Granny and Granny Great to their Helicopter ride. Dan and family enjoyed breakfast at a restaurant close to the helipad while they waited. The waitress brought these to Addy and JJ ‘on the house’ because she thought they were such a cute family. Addy’s dream come true to drink out of a coconut!

The rest of us had a leisurely morning before our car left the resort to meet up with this crew after the helicopter ride. We would meet at the Maui Zipline company on the grounds of the Maui Tropical Plantation.

These six brave souls were our zipliners. Granny Great (85) decided to take over Katie’s spot since Katie was still being sequestered on this day. Andrew was feeling a lot better.

The staff are in the bright yellow shirts. Besides our six there was another family of five.

Granny and Granny Great!

Gramps!

After three platforms Granny and Granny Great opted out of any more rides.

JJ and Auntie LoLo in the distance making videos. JJ knew he did not want to zipline. Me, Jamie and LoLo opted out and preferred watching along with JJ.

Addy was a trooper and had the time of her life!

The grounds were really beautiful and the farm grows over 65 varieties of tropical fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

I’ll save the rest of this day for another post or two. We were a little bummed that by the time our group was done with ziplining the whole farm had shut down so we couldn’t peruse the gift shop or get a refreshing drink. On the way back we stopped at a roadside grouping of shops and food trucks for some refreshment before making it all the way to our resort. Leoda’s Bakery Cafe specialized in all kinds of house made pies like turkey, beef, chicken and sweet pies. The sweet varieties were banana cream, chocolate macadamia, coconut and apple.

Maui Day 4

After a busy Saturday we had a free to relax day on Sunday October 4th.

There were early morning walks before the pools opened at 8am. Others had their early morning walks for some specialty coffee.

It was an egg breakfast in the condo day with a healthy shake (everyday). A beach day, pool day, quesadilla in the condo lunch day with drinks and Calamari at the poolside. A shopping across the street day at a one of a kind Island souvenir store. JJ had two items on his wish list, a shark tooth necklace and a wood carved turtle. This store had the necklace! Addy wanted a purple sweatshirt with Hawaii in bigger letters and Maui in smaller letters. She’d have to keep shopping…

Snorkel practice time in the pools before doing some big time snorkeling at a bay.

On this day we had strong winds and some rain, too. The white caps on the ocean were telling.

 

Dinner was a trip to the food truck park which is right across the street from our resort. Everyone could choose their own treats from the variety of trucks housed here.

We had evening milk and cookie times, cuddle times and puzzle time, too. Auntie LoLo brought the Hawaii puzzle for us to put together which we completed by day four and we started on a World Cup Puzzle that I brought after this one.

Both Katie and Andrew were sequestered on this day but we were happy to hear that Andrew’s Fever broke and he was feeling much better. We were able to bring them some dinner from the food trucks. We were praying that Katie and Andrew would be well enough for our Molokini trip on Tuesday.

 

Maui Pineapple Farm

After our trip up above the clouds to Haleakala Volcano we made our way to a Pineapple Farm. By the time we arrived at the farm our daughter Katie was feeling very sick and our son Josh volunteered to take her back to the resort. There were now 9 of us taking the tour instead of 12.

This was our second adventure on Saturday, October 3rd.

Before we got on the air conditioned bus we walked through some of the areas where the pineapples are processed.

On the bus we drove down the road to the pineapple fields.

We enjoyed some breezes that brought some moisture from the rain forest that the farms were situated adjacent to.

When we were done on the pineapple farm Josh arrived from his roundtrip to take Katie back to the resort. What a guy! We packed up our 12 pineapples and made our way to Whaler’s Village where we had reservations for dinner at the Hula Grill. The ten of us were able to be seated together which was nice. We were refreshed from our long day of adventures with some good food and a nice breeze.

After some photos on the beach at sunset we had a little time to shop at the ABC store before driving back to the Resort.

Saturday was done and we looked forward to a free day on Sunday.

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.
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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! 

Scary Angels

 

Broadway Day 7 044Uncle Joshie had a conversation with JJ that was too good not to document for the sake of my failing memory skills and for the joy it brought. Here is how it came over the family group text:

Josh: Fun JJ story from today. I was chatting with Daniel and JJ on the phone. 

JJ: I learned about what the Bible says angels looks like and it’s actually pretty scary sounding.

Josh: I agree. Do you remember what every angel says when a person encounters them in the Bible?

JJ: yes, “Do not be afraid”.

Josh: That’s right, so it makes sense they’re probably pretty scary looking. It’s funny how cute and cuddly most cherubs look in paintings.

JJ: well, if a little cute cherub appeared out of nowhere, I think it would probably still be a little scary. 

We all were sending back the laugh till we cry emojis. Love the thoughts our 7 year old grandson shares! Also pleased that Uncle Joshie makes the effort to have intelligent conversations with his nephews and niece.

Back to School Hodgepodge

From years ago, our sons heading off to the first day of school in Ventura, California and several years later our daughter waiting for the school bus on the first day of school in Bothell, Washington.

Hello to September and another Wednesday Hodgepodge hosted by Joyce From This Side of the Pond.

1. What’s something you wanted to do this summer that you never got around to doing? 

With fires and smoke filled skies we never got around to our short summer road trips.

2. Were you the student who sat in the front row or hid in the back of the class? If you could go back and take one high school class again just for fun, which would it be? 

When seats weren’t assigned, I’d tend to sit closer to the front than the back. We don’t sit in back at church, either.

If I was going to choose a class to go back to, I would choose English, especially literature.

3. What characteristics do you think are essential in a good teacher (this can be applied to anyone who teaches, not just classroom teachers)? 
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Listening to and knowing those whom you are teaching would be good.
I get weary of teachers who talk too much or ramble on.
~
The teachers that I remember fondly are those who treated me as if they liked me, understood me, and were kind. Teachers I remember fondly are my 1st and 2nd grade teacher, my 6th grade teacher who was my first male teacher, a high school English teacher, and my social studies teachers in high school. I had 3 older siblings ahead of me who were good students (my sister Vera was Valedictorian and a math whizz). I got tired of hearing, “you aren’t like your sisters”.
~
4.  September 2nd is National Grits Day. Have you ever eaten grits? Are you a fan? If so how do you like yours? Would people describe you as ‘having grit’? 
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Growing up in Southern California and now living in the Northwest, Grits are not a common thing. I might have tried grits when we were in the Carolina’s but I don’t remember. I can’t say that I’m a fan.
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Yes, I think some would agree that I have grit.
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5. What’s something you’re never too old or too young to enjoy? 
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The Zoo! 🙂
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If you are a Born Again follower of Jesus gathering on Sunday to worship Jesus is something you are never to young or old to enjoy!
~
6. Insert your own random thought here. 
These two started 2nd and 4th grade last week. Each year they answer the question, What do you want to be when you grow up? At the beginning of this Homeschool year Addy wants to be a Daycare provider and JJ wants to be a Hunter.