Aloha! We loved Hawaii

We returned from our 12-day trip to Hawaii yesterday afternoon. What a great way to spend your 25th Anniversary, Thanks Steve for the great trip. Steve was checking out land, he would love to live there. Who know's, we may end up there in a few years, I wouldn't complain. Here are a few pictures from our trip. Enjoy!

This picture is our first day in Oahu at the Polynesian Cultural Center, I loved the show, Steve fell alsleep,(the 4-hour time difference was hard)

This is at the Temple in Hawaii, what a beautiful temple and the view at the top looking down at the ocean is amazing.

Sunset on September 16,2008, our 25th Anniversary

This picture was taken at sunset on the beach, it was hard to see a sunset in Kauai, so we drove an hour to the other side of the island to watch the sunset, it was gorgeous and worth the drive

Spouting Horn, a neat lava blow hole that the surf comes in and makes a huge spout, like "Old Faithful". This is at "Queens Bath" a kinda sea spa, the tide comes in and keeps the water refreshed. We liked this so much we came back a few days later to snorkel and play in the water.

Steve enjoying a "Shaved Ice" at JoJo's. A yummy hawaiian treat that we both enjoyed!

This is us at Waimea Canyon, which is the "Grand Canyon" of Hawaii. Pretty amazing view.

This was my favorite adventure on the trip. We took "Capt Andy's" 6-hour rafting trip around the Na Pali coast. This is the part of the island that has no roads because the ridged mountains. We went in several sea caves, saw dolphins, sea turtles and snorkeled. My arms and bottom were a little sore the next day from the rough ride, but I would totally go again. Well, what can I say, we had a blast and if anyone is going, let us know, we are ready to go again! ALOHA!

5K and Community Service Project

Monday my cousin Sandy and I ran our 8th, 5K so far this year. We ran the "Onion Days" 5K in Payson, Ut. It was a rainy overcast day, but stopped raining long enough for our race. I even improved my time by 60 seconds over last months race, probably becasue it was cooler. I came in 3rd place for my age division (29ish), wow, if I can do it, anyone can do it! Saturday, Casey, Kandace, Thomas and I volunteered for a community service project. ( Okay, I signed them up and told them they were going) This was a JetBlue service project. We helped in the construction of a playgound area for a school in a rough neighborhood. There were over 300 volunteers with our partners from AMEX. Thomas and I painted the outside wall on the playgroud, Casey and Kandace painted the Lunch room with neat quotes. We had a great time, but had to leave before everything was finished. We will have to go back and see it now that everything is done. Steve and I will head to Hawaii in a week, so the next pictures will be fun. Have a great week everyone.

Today Steve and I got to take my nephew Jacob to the MTC in Provo. Elder Haupt is going to the California, Carlsbad Mission. We were able to be with him last night as his Stake President set him apart as a "Full Time Missionary". What an unforgetable few days we have had with Elder Haupt. YOU ROCK Jake!! Thanks for sharing this experience with us.

Thomas has Arrived

Thomas arrived on Saturday. We waited at the baggage claim area for him, and a batch of exchange students came out and he wasn't there. I told Cameron to hold our sign higher so he would see it when he came out. A few minutes later, Courtney said "There he is" He came running to us, the girls screamed his name, and we all cheered. He has been smiling ever since. We took him out for pizza last night. Today he got to meet the whole family. We are delighted with our new addition to our family for the next 10-months and hope he will enjoy his time here. Welcome Thomas!

This week in the Leavitt's World....

This has been another hecktic week for us. Cameron turned 18, on August 7th. He had a murder mystery party with his friends, then enjoyed the family and cousins party on Sunday, with the traditional Ice Cream Cake, he chose chocolate cake with raspberry chocolate chunk ice cream. It was different, and yummy. We played "room switcheroo" with Kandace and Cameron. This was like a major move, we didn't realize it would be such a big project. Glad to have that done. Saturday Karen ran another 5K, at Salem Days with her cousin Sandy. Monday, Karen and Courtney got to go help our Dear friend Karen Brown with her new twins Nicklaus and Zackary. They are so tiny, we loved getting to hold them for a few minutes. Hope all is well with you. Till next week....

Thomas arrives One Week from Today!!!

Our foreign exchange student, Thomas Fransek, arrives from Germany one week from today! We are all getting excited to meet him and spend the next year getting to know him. We may even learn a few new German phrases in the next year. See you soon Thomas.

Austin and Family Come to Visit

We enjoyed having Austin and Cody and their three beautiful girls stop by for a visit on Sunday. Courtney and Leah made us some delicious cookies. I think Leah maybe the next baker in the Leavitt family, she loved making cookies. Steve and Elynn took a good nap together. Elynn didn't even mind his snoring. Thanks guys for stopping in for a visit. Hope you come again soon!