The 3 days I have dreaded for the past 7+ months, has come and gone.  I fretted and worried and complained about having to do food for almost 500 people for quite a while. I even spent a moment or two or several while we were in Hawaii worrying about it.  And guess what??? It actually wasn't that bad...I might even say that it was enjoyable:)  In addition to being worried about feeding so many, I was concerned about the Texas heat.  I don't do cold or heat very well.  It stormed pretty good the first morning, leaving the roads muddy and a big mess!  But that actually was a blessing.  Grant was cold sleeping both nights.  That is very rare.  So, not being steaming hot every day, made the entire experience much better.

 Camp is about a 2 mile trip from the main road on dirt roads that look similar to this.  And in the mud...it was awesome:)

 Here is our "kitchen".  It worked pretty well. There were 10 of us and we were busy off and on from early in the morning until about 9:30-10pm....The Tryon's, who were in charge, worked hard, got little sleep and kept things running smoothly.  They were even up throughout the nights keeping the generators filled with gas so our ice truck and refrigerated trailer would continue to run.

 A glimpse at the food/supply truck.  The contents would change depending on the meal and if someone had done a Sam's or Walmart run. It takes a lot of food and supplies to keep roughly 500 people moving for 3 days.  Quite an undertaking.

 Some of our cooking/kitchen staff...Dave, Marin and Caulin Tanner.

 A couple of the cutest Trekkers! And the best "Pa" ever!

Grant, John Christensen and Kyle Steele

 Chris Hay-Mr. Helper Man, Sarah Hay and Dylan McKamey

 Alan Wright...this crazy guys loves Trek!

 Caulin and Marin Tanner having some much-deserved fun!

 A portion of the the cooking staff...NOT flattering of me, but the only evidence I have of me actually being there:)

We had 2 of our vehicles at Trek...mine and the truck.  They both looked like this! Caked in mud!

All 4 of the kids have been on Trek.  William and Christine went 8 years ago and it was NOT a pleasant experience for either one of them.  Christine had heat exhaustion and spent some time in the medical unit.  The food was horrible and the water limited.  William was in a family that did none of what was asked, in fact that Ma and Pa have since divorced (maybe Trek sent them over the edge.) He has few positive memories from that experience, other than he survived.  Garrett went 4 years ago, and although he was in a wonderful family, THEY. RAN. OUT. OF. WATER!!! How can that happen??? Garrett also had some serious heat related issues...crazy stuff. So when we knew Trek was coming up, we really were not convinced we were sending Grant.  Lucky for him, we were asked to go, so he had to go as well.  Bill ended up being needed in Orlando for work, so he wasn't there...but oh how glad I am that Grant was there.  It was THE BEST place for him!  And he has lots of positive experiences he's talked about.  It was a great few days! Thank you Heavenly Father for sending the cooler weather to these wonderful youth in the great state of TEXAS!

 When my 50th birthday rolled around in October, Bill wanted to do something memorable.  So he decided we needed to go on a trip...great minds think alike:)  Hawaii was the destination!  And because of kid and work schedules, May was the month.

 Being Disney Vacation Club members, we decided to check out the Aulani...Holy cow! It was beautiful!  Disney does things right.  We were greeted with fresh flower leis and our room was on the 16th floor overlooking the pools and ocean.  Just perfect.

 Here we are after our 7 hour flight...looking smashing.  The skies were cloudy the first couple of days...but that isn't uncommon for the islands.

 A part of the cove that we had daily access to.  Calm, warm waters. This is also where Bill and I learned how to paddle on long boards...Bill wasn't a big fan...I kind of liked it:)

 Part of the view from our room looking towards the Pacific.

 This was looking back towards the mountains...again, it was a cloudy Sunday.

 I LOVE pineapple, so I was thrilled to be going here---The Dole Pineapple Plantation!

 We ate lunch...teriyaki chicken and rice and had our required picture taken in the pineapple:)  We were hoping to take a little train ride through the plantation.  Unfortunately, the skies opened up and the train tours were cancelled.  We got drenched getting to the car, but eventually made it back to the resort. It was an eventful trip.  I would like to go again, on a sunny day..and take that train ride.

 We took this on one of our many walks along the ocean.  Every morning and most evenings, we walked (Bill ran every morning:).  We had to offset some of the good food we were eating.  We said over and over, "what a beautiful place."

 This "infinity pool" was amazing!  Although there was an adult pool, THIS is where we hung out....we had to have an ocean view, and the adult area didn't provide that...we were happy as can be...the kids didn't even bother us:)

 Ahhh, Paradise!

 On one of our drives, we headed up to the North Shore and stopped in quaint, little Haleiwa...this place is known for their shave ice. The line is always long, but moves quickly.  We aren't sure if their shave ice is better than at other places, but Matsumoto's has quite a reputation.  It was a fun stop.

 We had to stop at "Pounders" aka: Laie State Beach...we didn't get in the ocean...it's not my thing.  Those waves are too strong for this old body...back in the day I LOVED body surfing here...and our kids and Bill and Papa loved boogie boarding here...not me though. Plus there was a bit of a storm brewing, which always makes for crazy waves.

 Driving back south we had to pass through this crazy, long and a bit scary (to me) tunnel.

 This is one of my favorite pictures of our trip...we were at a luau.  I'm glad we chose each other almost 26 years ago.  I think we look good together:)

 Is this a post card?...oh wait, this is the view we had every day from our lounge chairs next to the pool:)  And yes, the clouds cleared and the weather was perfect!

 In Honolulu, gearing up for our 3 hour Segway tour of the city and Diamond Head.  #safetyfirst

 On the beach in Waikiki.

 On the road up to Diamond Head...I was breaking the rules and snapping pictures while riding:( It really was a beautiful day and a fun experience.

 We stopped at the Amelia Erhart lookout point.  It was breath taking.

 Although this picture doesn't really show the surfers, just know there were tons of them waiting to catch a wave.  Amazing.

 Here we are posing in front of Diamond Head...look at that blue sky!

 Back at the resort...sitting in the infinity pool...we loved it.

 This is the end of the "Wainae Tower".  We stayed in the "Ewa Tower".  (East and West)  We hope to come back with everyone...all 8 of us and stay in the 3 bedroom Grand Villa. The balconies of the Grand Villlas run the entire width of the tower...They are amazing!

This was the sunset on our last night in Hawaii.  It was a wonderful 50th birthday trip! We are ready to go again! Aloha!