Melynn goes to BYU Hawaii!

After only one day at home to unpack and repack, Melynn and I hopped on a 

plane for Hawaii.  This time my girl was going to college to her first choice school, 

BYU-Hawaii!

Beautiful view from the plane 

After we landed, we went to Kathryn's to stay the night. 

It will be great to have her and Garrett close by to keep an eye on Melynn. 

The next morning we were off to orientation.

We ran into Mitch and Moia Layne! These are expat friends of ours when we lived in Sweden
and their father was working for the U.S. Embassy.

Melynn's dorm room. The 5 flags represent all the countries she has lived in....so far!

On Saturday Kathryn met up with us and took us on a hike (Pillbox hike) in Kailua. 

After the hike we spent a little time at the beach so Copper could run around.

After church on Sunday we strolled around the temple grounds to get some pictures.
What a beautiful place! 

I had to make sure to get a few shots of the campus.
"Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve"

There are just under 3000 students that attend here and about 70 countries are represented.

Melynn's dorm building

Saying goodbye to Melynn was actually not as hard as you would have thought.
This is now the 3rd time that I have said goodbye to her and not see her for several months.

It also makes it easy knowing that she will be in a good place where she can
have fun, get a good education and keep her standards high. I know that she will do great things here and I look forward to hearing about her newest adventures in Hawaii.

New Years in DC

After Aaron dropped me off at the airport to go to California, he drove the kids up to Washington D.C. They stayed at Billy and Heathers for two nights.

First place they visited was Mount Vernon where George Washington lived.

On the banks of the Potomac River at Mount Vernon.

On the grounds at Mt. Vernon

Chillin' on George's front porch
Grace, Melynn, Jaxon, Mandy and Lizzie

Grace and Melynn at Mt. Vernon

The second day of the trip, they visited the Capitol, Library of Congress

 and walked around the city.

Aaron and the kids took a tour of the Capitol. 

Outside the Supreme Court Building

Inside the Library of Congress

Remind you of the movie, National Treasure?

Aaron picked me up from the airport so I could join in on the fun:)

Standing in front of the White House

The Washington Monument 

The Lincoln Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Reading this became a most tender moment for me. Here we are with Grace (who is Korean) and I am reading about how we took care of the people in that country. I am so thankful that the U.S. made the
tremendous sacrifice to help our friends in need.

The Museum of Natural History

The Hope Diamond
45.52 Carats

The Theatre where Lincoln was shot

We saw A Christmas Carol at the Ford's Theatre.

The booth that Lincoln was sitting in when he was killed.

Some beautiful lights by our hotel.

The gravesite of JKL and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Aaron and Jaxon went to the Air and Space Museum.
Melynn wasn't feeling well so Grace and I tended to her.

One of Amelia Earhart's plane

Totally random picture but we were at Billy's for dinner one night and he took us to see this decked out house.

On New Years Day we took Grace to the airport and said goodbye.
She was headed back to school at McGill University and we were driving home to Florida.

Holiday season was not quite over for me though...next stop...See next post!