My little sister, Kammi, finally graduated from college. She had been attending BYU-Hawaii for the past 3 years, and, well, being the good older sister that I am decided that I would support her by going to Hawaii. Unfortunately, since Mike had a class with mandatory attendance we were only there for 4 1/2 days, but we made every minute count. Thursday afternoon we flew out. My parents and two of my sisters, Kammi and Karen, were already there. Kammi took us to a hole-in-the-wall burger place that was really good. Friday morning we went the the Laie Hawaii LDS Temple. That afternoon we waded out to an island, China Man's Hat, and hiked to the top. That night was the graduation dinner. Saturday was the ceremony. The afternoon and evening were spent at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). They had villages explaining the various Polynesian cultures such as Hawaii, Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tahiti. We went to a luau and saw an awesome show called "Ha: The Breath of Life." The show depicted a boy growing up and the trials he went through. Each scene was portrayed in a different cultural style (Hawaii, Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tahiti). It was amazing!! Sunday we went to church and then went to see sea turtles. Monday we hiked to a hidden waterfall and went swimming. Later we hit the beach and tried our skill at surfing. Finally, we ate at an awesome seafood restaurant before catching our flight back home. We can't wait until we go back again.
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| The view from our back porch |
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| Kristin, Mike, Kammi, Karen - On top of China Man's Hat |
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| On top of China Man's Hat |
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| China Man's Hat in the background |
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| At the grad dinner |
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| Sunrise from the back porch |
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| Sunrise from the back porch |
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| We all put our leis on Kammi after the graduation ceremony |
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| Matthew, Debbie, Spencer, Sharon, Karen, Mom, Kammi, Pam, Kristin, Mike |
| , Dad |
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| Canoe show at the PCC |
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| Canoe show at the PCC |
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| Canoe show at the PCC |
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| Canoe show at the PCC |
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| Canoe show at the PCC |
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| Canoe show at the PCC |
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| Man climbing the coconut tree |
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| Neat looking vegetation |
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| Strawberry smoothie in a pineapple at the Luau - it doesn't get any more Hawaiian than that |
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| Children dancers at the Luau at the PCC |
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| Singing happy birthday to Mom at the Luau |
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| Before the show |
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| Sea turtles |
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| On the way to the waterfall |
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| On the way to the waterfall |
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| The waterfall!! |
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| Camillian |
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| Swimming at the waterfall |
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| Surfing...at least trying to surf |
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| Laie Hawaii Temple |
