2023 Hawaii Trip - Days 3 and 4

Hello friends!  Thanks for stopping by Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I talk about something on my mind and invite you to link up and share what you are thinking about.  Today I'm finally getting back to sharing highlights from our trip to Hawaii that we took earlier this year.  Here comes Days 3 and 4 ~
 

It's a thing when we travel that each of us lists 5 things we really want to do on that vacation.  For the Hawaii trip, Eric's number one thing was to visit the USS Missouri and Pearl Harbor Memorial.  We knocked that out on Day 3 of our vacation!

We had booked a tour of the USS Missouri for the morning and added the Chief Engineer's Tour for a deeper dive into the ship.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and entertained all the questions anyone had about the ship.  "The Chief Engineer’s Tour showcases the power and mechanics behind the Mighty Mo that made her one of the biggest and fastest battleships in history." I would recommend this additional 45-minute tour if you are planning a visit.

I can't even imagine how anyone could learn all the dials and buttons to operate the controls and get the shells headed in the right direction.

After exploring the USS Missouri, we took the bus provided back over to the Memorial area.  From there we took a boat out to the Pearl Harbor Memorial.  What a solemn experience.  

Seeing the wall with all the names of the individuals who lost their lives on the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941, and knowing that the actions of that day changed the lives of so many is such a sobering feeling.

After a day at the memorial, we spent a quiet evening back at Aulani relaxing and resting up for day 4.

Day 4 took us to North Shore.  Ian and Kayla were taking surf lessons and Eric and I planned on hanging out at the beach watching them.  On the way there, we saw the most gorgeous double rainbow!

The morning was a bit on the rainy side, but that didn't stop the surf lessons from happening.  It stopped raining by midmorning and we were able to enjoy sitting on the beach watching the waves.  

Ian and Kayla both did great learning to surf and were able to ride several waves into the shore.  

After their surf lessons, we went into the little town of Haleiwa to go to the food trucks for lunch.  Highly recommend the food trucks!  

We stuffed ourselves with shrimp and crepes.  It was delicious!

With very full bellies, we ventured down the beach to see the big waves of North Shore.  There happen to be a surfing competition going on and it was fun watching the skilled surfers do their thing.

On our way back to the resort, we stopped at the Dole Plantation.  Eric and I took the train tour around the farm.  Honestly, this was one thing in hindsight I would have probably skipped.  

We had to race back to the resort because we had tickets to the luau that evening.  Traffic was heavier than we thought it would be and we barely made it back in time!  The Disney luau was great and we all breathed a sigh of relief when we were seated with a drink in hand after only having 10 minutes to get ready.

The weather was perfect for sitting outside and watching the show.  The fire dancers are always my favorite part!

I'll be back with Days 5 and 6 soon.  In the meantime, link up and share what you are thinking out loud about today.

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - March 29, 2023

 

Welcome to another week of the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop! We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more. A friendly reminder to our guests that as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature!

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.

MEET THE HOSTS

1. Ahna – HAMMERS N HUGS | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Emily – LeCULTIVATEUR | FB | IG | PINTEREST
4. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
5. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
6. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
7. Tara – STILETTOS AND SHIPLAP | IG | PINTEREST
8. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER

TOP VIEWED

Vintage Market Spring Displays

VERY POPULAR

Welcoming Spring with a Fluffle of Bunnies

2023 Easter Tiered Tray

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Easter Bunny Butt Doughnuts

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Weekending - March 24, 2023

The first weekend of spring was pretty awesome!  This was the first weekend in I can't even remember when Eric and I didn't have something we needed to do or somewhere we needed to be.  We kicked back on Friday evening and spent the next two days enjoying our time off work.

Friday morning our flowers around the mailbox popped open.  Seeing these little signs of spring makes my heart happy!

Friday night we picked up some fish from a local church fish fry.  Fish fries are so popular in our area during Lent.  It was so yummy!  We are going to be pretty sad when Lent is over and the fish fries stop.

Saturday morning we decided to see a movie.  We rejoined Movie Pass when they started up again and used our points for the first time.  While it seems the majority of movie goers were seeing the new John Wick film, we chose to see A Good Person starring Morgan Freeman.  See it!  We both thought it was great.  Here's the synopsis ~

In A Good Person, Allison (Florence Pugh) is a young woman with a bright future - a wonderful fiancé, a blossoming career, and supportive family and friends. But her world crumbles in the blink of an eye when she survives an unimaginable tragedy and emerges from recovery with an opioid addiction and unresolved grief. In the following years, it is the unlikely friendship she forms with her would-be father-in-law (Morgan Freeman) that gives her a fighting chance to put herself back together and move forward with her life.

After the movie, we went to one of our favorite barbeque places Beast Craft BBQ for a late lunch.  The owner, David Sandusky, has been on The Food Network several times and has even beaten Bobby Flay on his show Beat Bobby Flay!  We shared their 30-ounce pork steak and two fabulous sides of Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.  

Saturday evening we cheered on our new St. Louis City soccer team from the comfort of our home.  They are doing so well and it's so fun to have a new team to cheer for.  Hopefully, we can make it to a game in person sometime soon.  

We headed to church early on Sunday because our son and daughter-in-law were coming over for brunch.  I've had this thing lately of buying china off of Facebook Marketplace.  Friday I snagged a beautiful set and couldn't wait to use it on Sunday!  

The weather was gorgeous on Sunday!  While Eric was getting some yard work done, I ran errands.  We also managed to watch a bit of the NCAA games.  Our bracket is totally busted, but it was still fun to watch. We capped off the weekend by watching the Whitney Houston movie, I Want to Dance With Somebody.  We liked it mostly for the music.  So sad her life turned out like it did.

We have a St. Louis holiday this week - St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day is Thursday!  The excitement of that will keep me going through the week.  Eric and I can't wait to break out our Cardinals gear and head to the game!  Hope you have something exciting going on this week too.  

Five on Friday - March 24, 2023

Whoop Whoop - it's Friday!  I'm so ready for a low-key weekend!   We don't have much on the agenda, but one thing I do have is to share my five.  Here they are ~

1.  National Cocktail Day

Today's a national day I can really get into! It's National Cocktail Day! National Cocktail Day celebrates creativity and gives us all a reason to have a drink responsibly. Try a new concoction or a tried-and-try favorite. Rather you prefer a mocktail or the real thing, celebrate by raising a glass.  Cheers!

2.  Count Down

James Patterson's latest book, Count Down, was released this week and looks to be a real winner.  For those of you who read The Cornwalls Vanish, this is the second book in that series.  Here's the summary from Amazon ~

Amy Cornwall has 5 days to save the world, 4 days to save her family. . . James Patterson’s most riveting thriller since The Black Book.

Agent Amy Cornwall excels at working from the shadows—until a botched field operation reveals dark dealings between her bosses and an informant. And a hidden plot by a terrorist genius that could kill thousands of Americans. Among them: her husband and daughter.

She has to go dark. The Division wants to erase her. And they know every detail about her identity, her history, and her family.

Agent Cornwall's countdown has begun.

3.  Pioneer Woman's Skirt Steak and Sweet Potato Fries

I caught an episode of Pioneer Woman last week and she was cooking up skirt steak and sweet potato fries.  We wasted no time in buying the ingredients and trying it at our house.  OH.MY.GOODNESS - it was so delicious!  The seasoning blend used for the fries and the steak took the flavor to a new level.  Dinner came together quickly and easily.  We will definitely be adding this to our menu rotation.  The recipe is HERE.

4.  Filled Easter Eggs

Easter is coming fast!  If you aren't really in the mood to fill all those eggs, think about buying them already full.  This set of 24 colorful eggs is full of animal building blocks.  After the kids find the eggs, they can enjoy putting together the pieces inside.  Sounds like a fun time to me!

5.  My crafting experience...

Now let's get this weekend started!  We will be glued to the television watching the NCAA tournament.  Our bracket is completely busted, but it's still fun to watch the action.  I bought a square this year and our numbers are winner 9, loser 4.  If you see a game end with the last digit of the score those numbers, now that we'll be doing the happy dance over here!  See you next week!

2023 Easter Mantel

Happy Thursday friends!  Thanks for popping into Thinking Out Loud Thursday where I share something I'm thinking about and invite you to link up and do the same.  Today I'm sharing our Easter Mantel.

You might have seen my post where I shared our Easter tiered tray in the kitchen earlier this week.  While I had the tubs of Easter decorations out, it was the perfect time to get the mantel decorated too!  

We kept it super simple this year.  On one side of the mantel sits a moss-covered basket holding two stuffed bunnies.   

I tucked a flower arrangement close to the basket.  The spring-colored flowers just remind me of Easter.

I'm such a symmetric person - if there's a flower arrangement on one side, I feel there needs to be a flower arrangement on the other side too.  Luck for me, I happen to have two of these arrangements.

The Easter egg banner rounds out the mantel by spreading out right across the center.  These are the same ones I used in past years on the tiered tray.  

The Easter decorating is done for the year and we are ready for the Easter bunny to arrive!  Are you ready at your house?

Now it's your turn - what are you thinking out loud about today?  Link up and share!

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Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop - March 22, 2023

 

Welcome to another week of the Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop! We are so glad that you stopped by.

Here you will find inspiration from dozens of bloggers including recipes, home DIY, gardening, decor, family fun, traveling, fitness, and so much more. A friendly reminder to our guests that as a courtesy to the hosts, we ask that you follow every host on at least one social media channel.

If you are a blogger, be sure to link up below. You may be our next feature!

Before we get this party started, let’s meet the hosts and check out this week’s featured favorites.

MEET THE HOSTS

1. Ahna – HAMMERS N HUGS | FB | IG | PINTEREST
2. Bev – ECLECTIC RED BARN | FB | IG | PINTEREST
3. Emily – LeCULTIVATEUR | FB | IG | PINTEREST
4. Penny – PENNY’S PASSION | FB | IG | PINTEREST
5. Sinea – DUCKS ‘N A ROW | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
6. Tammy – MY LIFE ABUNDANT | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER
7. Tara – STILETTOS AND SHIPLAP | IG | PINTEREST
8. Denise – THIS IS MY EVERYBODY | FB | IG | PINTEREST | TWITTER

TOP VIEWED

The Books I Read In February

VERY POPULAR

Charlie the Cat

EDITOR'S CHOICE

Amish Macaroni Salad

LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!

Please follow all hosts on AT LEAST 1 of their social channels.

Add as many family-friendly posts as you would like to. NO Etsy shops, adult sites, or blog parties please.  Visit others. Caring is sharing. Like, comment, and pin posts.

Party entries appear in REVERSE. This way your entries will be seen no matter when you arrive. Please TWEET our party and invite others to join.

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2023 Easter Tiered Tray

With St. Patrick's Day behind us, we quickly switched our tiered tray decorations over to Easter.  The bunnies and spring flowers came out and filled our kitchen window!

The bunnies covered in moss have really become one of my favorites recently.  I had several in my Easter decorations collection and picked up a couple new ones at Target.  Each of the three layers of the tiered tray has a moss-covered bunny.

The big bunny in the middle has made appearances all over our house, but this year he's taking center stage in the window.

Eric gave me a beautiful fresh flower bouquet for Valentine's Day with hydrangeas and tulips.  After the fresh flowers had died, I tried to replicate them with silk.  The tulips came from Amazon and I love them!  

Another new item added this year to our Easter decorations was the Every Bunny Welcome sign I picked up at Michael's.  I had planned on picking up a few other new things, but everything seemed to sell out really quickly this year.  Lesson learned.  Next year I'm going to grab stuff the second I see it in the stores!

This is our view of the kitchen window for the next couple of weeks!  When I look at it, it makes me think of spring and that definitely puts a smile on my face!