Hawaii - Sea Turtles.

On our last day in Hawaii, we found a nice hiking trail.

The beautiful panoramic views allowed us to watch whales spouting.  It was amazing!

Then we went back to the same beach on the north shore to see if Isabella was back.  She was, and she brought friends!  She and Kulihi "cuddled" together for quite a while.  We saw them together, then decided to take a walk.  Just a little way down the beach, we sat down and watched several sea turtles swim in the surf.  As we enjoyed the sun and turtles, one came up onto the beach right next to us!  He (or she, I guess) was just a few feet from us and stayed for about 20 minutes before heading back into the ocean.  Ah, Hawaii.  You're just wonderful!

Isabella and Kulihi.



Until next time, Hawaii...

Hawaii - Pearl Harbor, Dole, and North Shore.

Over the next couple days, we saw the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor...

...where we played with the guns...

Then we went to the Dole Pineapple Plantation.  Seriously, the best ice cream in the world!

Then we headed up to the north shore to see some beach.

The water was a bit chilly.

But we got to see a big sea turtle named Isabella!



She was so sweet, just sunbathing on the beach as the sun set.  Ahh...

Hawaii - Polynesian Cultural Center.

On the way home from the states, we took a slight detour through Hawaii.  We stayed for four days and saw most of Oahu - it was amazing!

We spent our first afternoon and evening at the Polynesian Cultural Center.  We saw a luau and then a cultural performance.  It was so fun!

Mmm... pineapple smoothie in a pineapple!



Yay!  Hawaii!

Washington Snow.

In January, we got the chance to visit the states for the first time since coming to Korea.  We spent a wonderful week in Utah, visiting most of our family and friends.  Then we spent a few days in Washington state with Ben's sister and her family.  My first visit to Washington was met with the worst snowstorm in 50 years.  We took advantage and spent almost everyday playing in the snow!

First, we visited Mt. Rainier:

Ben got muddy drinking from a mountain spring.  

And, of course, we had to have a snowball fight!

A couple days later, we found a local little hill with some sledding potential.  Uncle Ben worked hard to make it super slick.

We had a wonderful trip, though we don't have many pictures to show for it.  It was great to see our family and friends!