So much for that...

Well, we were supposed to go back to regularly updating our blog, but clearly that didn't happen. I won't make any promises this time, but an update instead.

The biggest news is that we're adding to the family - baby #2 is due at the end of August. Tirzah has a vague idea of what this means, often talking about the "baby in mommy's tummy" and that she wants to hold it when it's born. Again, we aren't finding out the gender until he or she is born  :)

Micah is busy as ever doing full-time maintenance for the church as well as a pastoral internship with the church for the summer. He recently graduated from CH-BOLC and continues to serve one weekend a month with the Army. He's taking a break from classes for the summer, which is good because his time is stretched more than ever.

In April I quit my job doing child care and recently started an internship at the American Library Association in the Association for Library Service to Children division. I am half way through my LAST grad school class. Yea! With travel time, Micah is staying home to watch Tirzah about 30 hours a week, 20 of which are his normal work hours. So he's working evenings and weekends and we won't  see much of each other until my class is done in 3 weeks. Tirzah is enjoying lots of daddy time though.

Tirzah is doing great. She's talking a lot and loves to read, count, take care of her baby dolls, swing and play in the sandbox at the park, color, and help mommy in the kitchen. She wants to do everything herself and isn't afraid to vocalize that. For a few months now she's been potty trained except for night time. She's growing so fast and we're trying to enjoy every moment.

That's all for now!

What's for Lunch Chaplain?!

CH-BOLC Day 42 (Phase 2) - In-Processing

It's been a couple years since I finished the first half of the Chaplaincy Basic Officer Leadership Course. I'm back for the second half! Staying in Dozier this time (on post) I'm enjoying a much smaller class size and looking forward to the more personalized attention that comes with the training.
Please keep me (and the family back at home) in your prayers.

Here's a quick video of my room, as well as a picture of my groceries from today (I have since remembered a few more things I need to pick up when they reopen on Tuesday)!

- Micah

FOOD!

Trip to Maui Day 12

We decided to visit Calvary Chapel again this morning, and I'm glad we did, because we saw a couple there (Pat and Judy) that we met last week at our previous condo. We hung out for a while after church and shared stories. They live in Alaska and own a place here in Maui.

After church, Lauren and I went to visit the Maui Mountain farm, run by Bobby the owner. She was very friendly and spent over an hour showing us her property, her fruit trees, flowers, and coffee trees. She also shared with us her passion of conserving some endangered birds here in Maui. We were so thrilled to have this personal tour and purchased some homegrown coffee from her as well. Thanks again Bobby! We hope to visit again someday!

Soon after this personal tour, Lauren and I drove a short distance to Waihou Spring Forest Reserve and walked around for a couple hours. We felt like we stepped into a totally different part of the country, as we were suddenly surrounded by tall Redwoods and...chickens. It felt like something you would see in northern MN but without the random chickens running around! We ventured down a trail to see some caves/lava tubes which were really interesting! But we realized we were going to lose the sun soon so we ventured back to the car and made the trip home.

FUN day!

Trip to Maui Day 11

This was our first day w/out Dani and Scott :(
But we tried to make the best of it regardless!

For starters, we woke up early and drove to the Upcountry area of Maui to visit a farmer's market. We tasted many exotic fruits like cactus pear juice! I purchased a couple of fresh oranges and saw some incredible artwork. We met Wayne from Maui Mountain coffee (some the best tasting coffee on the island). Lauren and I are hoping to visit this coffee farm sometime this weekend.

We then made our way to Komoda's bakery, where we tried some DELICIOUS and FRESH doughnuts! Yum!

We were still hungry for a real meal so we slowly made our way to Moana Cafe for some tasty and authentic local food.

Soon after, we drove up to Hookipa Bay to watch the surfers for a while. It was a perfect day for that!

Early afternoon we walked to the first annual ukulele festival in Paia. The music was great, and we met Bobby, owner of the Maui Mountain Homegrown coffee at a booth she had up. We planned to visit her farm after church tomorrow! :)

We walked around Paia a little bit and shopped at their local equivalent (and much cheaper version) of Whole Foods - a place called Mana - even CHEAPER foods then some places back at home!

All in all, a wonderful and relaxing day!

Trip to Maui Day 10

Today was a fun but bittersweet day. You see, today was Danielle's and Scott's last day with us. They both have to return to work (ie "reality") on Monday :(
Scott and I planned out the day in order to make the most of our time. We all awoke early and walked to a coffee shop for coffee and pastries. We then rented a couple boogie boards and went back to our place to snorkel right outside our backyard. We swam quite a distance out and....saw.....BIG......TURTLES!!!!
We brought a waterproof camera and I hope to get those photos developed once we use the whole roll. WOW were those turtles big! It was crazy to be swimming out there and then suddenly seeing these huge creatures swimming with us!

After a fun excursion of snorkeling and seeing turtles we drove to a local fish market to buy some fresh mahi mahi that Scott and Dani turned into an exquisite meal (see pics)!

We then started the process of packing up and moving to a new condo in Kihei (Garden Estates) since Danielle and Scott will not be with us after today. The moving process was pretty easy and we got ourselves moved in without any trouble.

The new place is amazing! We have a BEAUTIFUL view of the ocean, and the actual condo is very well-kept. We spent an extended amount of time walking the beach here, collecting shells and coral, and watching the para-surfers (looks like a TON of fun)!

As the sunset started getting closer we decided to eat-out at Cafe O'lei again at the Dunes and enjoy the sunset over the mountains and golf course. It was Lauren's first time here and we had a great time eating another wonderful meal!

The time finally game to say goodbye to Dani and Scott and we dropped them off at the airport and downsized our van to a smaller vehicle. It will be a different atmosphere now with two-less people :(

Enjoy the pics!
- M&L

Trip to Maui Day 09

Happy Thanksgiving!!
Started the day with my 50th smoothie on the trip (spinach-banana-coconut!) - thank you Vitamix!
We pretty much spent the day swimming near Makena Beach and enjoyed the weather! The sunrises and sunsets have been spectacular here! wow!

The evening was spent with the family, eating a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal and sharing each other's company. It was a wonderful and relaxing day!

Trip to Maui Day 8

The great weather just keeps on coming!

Scott K woke up early and snapped some sweet shots of sand crabs (enjoy the pics below). Every day thus far I (Micah) have been using the Vitamix I brought with to make smoothies and (virgin) pina coladas! This morning was no different! Yum! This time I threw in some spinach and tomato along with the normal pineapples, coconuts, and bananas.

Later in the afternoon (because most of the family likes to sleep in), we took the drive to the Haleakala National Park and crater. The drive up was exciting, but the thick clouds prevented us from seeing some of the views. We also drove to the Science City area of the mountain and got a few more views that few others get to see! I plan to come back again early in the morning next week to see the sunrise, as I hear the sight is amazing.

We took a scenic drive in the Makawao area afterwards, looking for a coffee shop that turned out to be an organic coffee FARM that was closed! I plan to call this family next week to see if I can visit!

We then went to a place called Cafe O'lei of the Dunes which was a fantastic restaurant on a golf course with excellent food, affordable prices, and an amazing view of the sunset over the mountains. I highly recommend this place! Thanks to Scott K for finding this place! I plan to take Lauren back here next week for a date-night. (Lauren took the day off to chill back at the condo.)

I'm pow for now! Enjoy the pics below!
- M

Trip to Maui Day 7

'Twas another beautiful today today! We spent the morning/afternoon snorkeling at a sweet beach nearby (Maluaka Makena Beach). Thanks again Del!

The snorkeling was awesome! We saw a LOT of coral, schools of fish...it was absolutely breathtaking!

We spent some time under a big shade tree on the beach as well and simply enjoyed the waves. We also did  our share of body surfing as well!

The evening was also eventful. Danielle and Scott spent the evening at the Old Lahaina Luau, while the rest of us went to Kimo's for a delicious (albeit expensive) meal! The dessert was amazing as well! Wow!

All in all, a very relaxing but eventful day!
Enjoy the pics below!

Trip to Maui Day 6

The Road to Hana:
Wow! What a DAY!
Hana is a town on the very far East side of Maui. The road to Hana is known for the many waterfalls along the way; some widely known, while others are seldom visited. The trip is suggested be completed in multiple days, but like many tourists, we were on the 1-day mission.

We awoke and left early in the morning to avoid the traffic. We stopped in a town for breakfast then continued our journey. Our first stop was at a 4-waterfall journey. The first two waterfalls are what most tourists see. The third and fourth waterfall is harder to get to, but are much bigger and more rewarding. After a hike through a bamboo forest and stepping through slippery rocks, we ended up just seeing the first two waterfalls :)
The road is composed of many hair-pin turns - so we drove through many of these. Partway through we stopped and hiked down a bit to see a huge waterfall under the highway in the mountain. It was quite a site to see!

The next big stop was in a peninsula (Ke'anae) a little off-course from Hana. Here, we stood on black rocks, visited an old-church that survived a tsunami from many years ago, and ate delicious banana bread from Aunt Sandy's.

Back on the road and back on track - we stopped at an unmarked path that we read about online. We hiked for several minutes, up a lush trail, through slippery rocks, and over a narrow bridge, until we came to the most BEAUTIFUL (and SECLUDED) waterfall that I've ever seen! WOW! Needless to say, we stayed here a while!

We then arrived to the Hana area and came to Waianapanapa park, where we visited the black sand beach. Very worth it!

Our next stop was simply amazing. I don't think too many people come here (I could be wrong) but we stopped at Venus Pool for some time. You have to walk through some farmland to get here, but once you arrive to this hidden gem, your breath is taken away! Many of us jumped from the steep cliff (see a video of Dad jumping below)! I wish we could have stayed here longer!

After picking up a couple, fresh and beautiful $2 leis (yes, only $2 from an older gentleman playing a ukulele!), we made our way to the Seven Sacred Pools, which is the tourist-name for this beautiful set of pools and waterfalls. We had a great time here and enjoyed the sun beginning to set.

Unfortunately we knew we were running out of time and spent the rest of our time driving home the rest of the way around the island. It got dark FAST, but the scenery was beautiful as we watched the sun go down.
We almost hit a bunch of cows on the way, but it was a fun drive back!
Overall, an INCREDIBLE adventure!! We loved it! Enjoy the pics and video!