My husband is a "Dork" or I only argue about cards in Hawaii

I wouldn't actually call it an argument. What I said was that since I took the time to not watch the whale watch and to take photos, I should at least get to post a couple of them.

This is called spy hopping. The whale pokes his head up to see what is going on around them. This little guy was a hoot. He literally played for over an hour. The guides on the boat told us that they drink 80 to 100 gallons of milk a day. And it is not just like mother's milk. Our whole milk is 4% fat. Whale's milk is 40% fat. It is like cottage cheese or thick yogurt. I bet his mom was thinking,"oh no, he will even want to drink more than usual today. I actually got a little tired of just watching him over and over. I wanted to head out and see some big whales jumping. Maybe we will get to see some on Monday when we go out again.


In this photo the little guy was trying to breach. That is when the entire body leaves the water. I will say one thing about him. He really believed in the phrase, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." He really did work hard.

Today was fun! The sun finally began to shine again. We packed up and went to the beach. We are rosy red to prove it. We read, slept, played in the ocean, and had a light lunch by the pool of the hotel that was nearby. After the beach we came back and swam in the Worldmark pool and got into the hot tub as well. Later we went to get sushi. They really do a great job here in Hawaii. Dave is snoozing, and I am baking some cookies because the McCoy's and Breinholt's are coming over to watch a movie. Should be fun! Love to all.

Hawaii 2009

It's been rainy, as you can see on this fern. Dave asked me to take this photo. He likes the symmetry.

This pretty little flower was waiting for me to take it's picture. I saw it just outside our car in the parking lot of the Worldmark.

This is the view from our balcony in our condo. We can't see the ocean, but we have a beautiful garden view.

Thanks to Dave, we were able to change my background. I figured I may as well go with February colors and not worry about January. This way I am ahead of the game for a few days. Dave told everyone all about the trip so far in his blog. We are having a great time. Today, Tuesday, it rained, and rained, and rained some more. We had a nice time anyway, although, I am ready for some sun, sand and surf. I think it will be better tomorrow. My fake tan looks rather orange in the shade, and is starting to fade. I need to replace it with the real stuff.

I don't think that Dave mentioned the view that we have. We are on the 2nd floor. We cannot see the ocean, but we have a beautiful garden and tree area that we see from our balcony. During the rain this morning, we watched several kinds of birds and you could really smell the flowers from the trees right outside.

It was great to read Janelle's blog today. What an experience she and the girls had yesterday. Wow! is all I can say. Don't know how I would have handled it when I was her age. Nice job Janelle!

Not too many whale sightings as yet. I don't think they like the rain either. Aloha to everyone!

So, I can't change the background of my blog without help. But I just wanted to share with everyone our stake challenge. They challenged us to be more grateful. To thank someone each day and to write down something about our gratitude in a journal daily. I can't say that I have done it every day, but I am trying. It really is fun! It make me remember to thank people for the kindness that they share with me.

Dave and I are preparing to head out to Hawaii this Saturday. I feel a little strange this time. We have not seen Janelle, Bailee, or Afton for three weeks. It will be two more before we get to see them again. Oh, well, I guess it will be easy to come home this time.

I got to play with Janie at her tea party on Saturday. Meg, you are amazing! It was so fun! I especially loved the powerpoint presentations. I was in tears of course! What a day!

This evening Matt, Kathie, and Ammon came over. Ammon is changing so much. I can't believe how fast he is learning! I am sure I will be shocked by Afton when we see her again as well.

Bailee sent us a cute letter from Boston. She drew a picture of me. I loved that! Thanks Bailee, you made my gratitude Journal. I miss your funniness, and hugs.

I have been running like crazy the past few days! It is always like that prior to Hawaii. But so worth it to be able to totally chill and relax with Dave and such good friends. I wish you all the blessing of such great friends as I have in my life. Family and Friends, the greatest treasures of life.

May the Lord bless you all in all the righteous things that you endevor to accomplish! Keep up the good work.

It has been quite a while since I wrote anything. I just haven't felt that great. I think I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was so sick that I just sat and did nothing but watch White Christmas (I don't think I ever saw it all the way through). In being so sedentary, I developed a blood clot in my left leg. That was a little scary, and now I have a cold again. Yesterday, Sunday, Dave and I stayed home from everything, except teaching my class. I just wasn't feeling all that great.

While we were home, we did take the time to get our Christmas gifts wrapped. It was awesome to do that together! Now I feel a bit better about the holidays ahead.

For the last couple of weeks I have been pondering something. I was able to go and see the forgotten carols with Lani, which was great! There is a song in that play called,"Let Him In".
Also we have a hymn that talks of the same thing. Joy to the World. In that hymn we hear:
"Let every heart prepare Him room," and that is what brought about this pondering in my heart.

How can we possibly let Him in if we have not prepared some room for Him in our hearts? Are we so caught up with other things to take some time to feel the Spirit each and every day? My thought is that we should love one another enough to sacrifice some of our personal time in order to have love and the Spirit in our hearts and homes. If we do not have that Spirit, I wonder if Christ will come to share the season with us? May each of you who reads this step back and search your hearts. Is there room for the Savior? If there is not, clear a place, tidy it up, and "Let Him In".

This is our family photo. What a great looking group! It is such a chore to get a professional photo taken, but with such a fine looking group, it was totally worth it! Thanks to Jason and Meg for our 30th anniversary gift!This is the Dan Case Family: Dan, Bailee, Afton, and Janelle. The Camera still loves you Dan!

The Jason Case family: Meg, Janie, and Jason. I love this picture!

The Matt Case family: Matt, cute pouty little Ammon, and Kathie. Aren't my kids fabulous!