Who Rocks the Hula?

The Hula line up at the Aulani!

My friend Cheryl has an adorable son named Sakol.  He recently went to Hawaii for a week's vacation and stayed at the Disney resort, the Aulani.

The Aulani is billed as a resort and spa for the whole family, and it certainly looks like a lot of fun.

I got a kick out of these pictures and had to share them with you. Now, I haven't seen Sakol since he was a little boy.  I don't remember him being such a hunk!  Yeah, that's him in the orange hula skirt.

Sakol doing the hula

This reminds me so much of the funny hula number in the musical South Pacific. Guys in hula skirts with coconut shell bras are always funny.

Of course, Sakol won the hula competition!  It was all in fun, but he aced it.  You can see what a ham he is.

Sakol wins!

They had a great time at the Aulani resort.  While there, they visited Pearl Harbor, went to a luau, went surfing, snorkeling and playing on the resort's water slides.

I think it looks like a lot of fun!  Congratulations, Sakol!  (And thanks for sharing the cute pictures, Cheryl!)

Sister Mandy Returns In Glory

Sister Mandy Flying High (right)

Our sweet Sister Mandy is being released as a missionary.  She is returning home to Oregon today (Wednesday, the 9th) from southern Arizona where she has been serving for the past 18 months.

Mandy is a delightful young woman.  I'm so proud of her for the choices she has made to be a force for good in the world!

Welcome back, Mandy!

Mandy just may have befriended every dog in the area

Celebrating the 4th of July

The Family in Washington, D.C. for the 4th of July
The Washington Monument is in the background

I can think of few things more exciting than being in Washington, D.C. for our Nation's birthday party.  It's quite the celebration.

Gathering on the mall for the festivities

My brother and his family joined the throngs of people who gathered on the Mall for the 4th of July fireworks.

An estimated 700,000 people were there!

They were able to witness some spectacular fireworks against the backdrop of the Washington monument.

An estimated 700,000 people gathered for this event
That's the Capitol building in the background

Of course, the day wouldn't be complete without a backyard barbeque!

In the Farnsworth's garden

Meanwhile, back in California, on the other side of the country:

Grilling on the BBQ and chillin' (?) in the heat

I gathered with my friends for a nice peaceful barbeque, too!  It was so hot and humid you could expire. But the burgers and hot dogs and salads were delicious!  (We never lack for food at these events!)

Joyce had made red, white and blue strawberries, which I apparently lost the photo of, but trust me, they were both beautiful and great tasting!

We talked a lot and swam in the pool and ate a lot.

It was a lovely evening

There were fireworks displays all around us.  It was a great evening with friends.

I love my country.  Rah, Rah America!

America's Favorite Pastime

The Washington Nationals were playing Colorado

My brother is a huge baseball fan, so an important tourist destination in the Washington, D.C. area was Nationals Park for a baseball game.

The Washington Nationals were playing the Colorado Rockies.

My lovely sister-in-law Kirsti

A fun moment for the family was when Bryce Harper, the Mormon ball player, came up to bat. A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Bryce is an outfielder who was the Nationals' Rookie of the Year in 2012.  He also was a team All-Star in 2012 and in 2013.

Christian smiling for the camera

It was a close game.  It looks like it was rather hot there in the stadium, too!

Christian, Jeff and Kirsti leaving the game

We have a funny family.  When my brother posted, "Nothing like a Nats game on a hot summer night!", his son (in Ottawa) posted, "I didn't know you guys were going to the game! I'm listening to it right now."

To this, his daughter Linnea responded, "You couldn't hear us on the broadcast?"

After the game!

Of course, one has to take some time to clown around after the game.

Christian and Nils playing Air Guitar in the stands

 Boys will be boys!

Jay, Kirsti, Christian, Nils (looking so much like my dad it's not funny) and Jeff being silly!

Oh, yes!  The Washington Nationals won!

Happy 4th of July!

Elder Partridge and our Elder Anders getting their American Patriot on!

Happy July 4th from the great state of Texas and our missionary, Elder Anders!

And the great state of California, from Yours Truly!

Have a wonderful three-day holiday weekend, everyone!

Rah, Rah for the Red, White, and Blue!

Look for my next post on Monday, July 7th.

Washington By Night

Jay, Christian, Nils, Kirsti and Linnea with the Washington Monument

I can't think of a better time to visit our nation's capital than the 4th of July!  How fun is that? My family arrived for their vacation there yesterday, and despite the heat and the humidity, seem to be enjoying themselves.

Of course, my niece Linnea and her husband live there now.  Their apartment is only a few blocks from the Capitol building.

Christian being silly.  Too bad the tourists got into the shot!

Christian is twelve.  He is having fun taking silly photographs.  Nils was serving his Latter-day Saint mission to Mexico when the family was last here.  This is his first time in Washington.  I'm glad he got to come along this time.

Nils with Honest Abe

They all decided to walk the mall at night - as it was (theoretically) cooler.  The buildings are all beautifully lit up, too, which makes it nice.

Christian, Nils, Kirsti and Jay in front of the White House

I can't wait to see more of their adventures through the next few weeks.  They plan to be on the mall again for the July 4th celebrations!  I can't wait to hear all about it.

Stay Tuned!

Photos courtesy J. Evensen

Robin in the Hood and his Lady Faire

Donna and John getting carried away at the Robin Hood Festival

My friend Donna, our Connecticut correspondent, recently shared these fun photos from the Madison, Connecticut Robin Hood Festival.  She and her husband attended on a beautiful, warm day.  This festival was held in what looks like a green, England-reminiscent area.

Robin and His friends making their rounds of the festivities

I just love the costumes for these early 13th century re-enactors.  Nice!

Boo!  Hiss!  Evil Prince John was there too with his entourage!

Prince John, also known as John Lackland, was later to become King John (1199-1216) of England.  He was the son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband King Henry II.  I shouldn't bad-mouth him.  He is actually on my family tree.  And he did some good things, like signing the Magna Carta.  So, he wasn't THAT evil.

In real life, he wasn't all that attractive, either, poor fellow.

The Real King John
Born 1167, Died 1216

Recreating that time period, means recreating 12th and early 13th Century warfare.  That means you need an armourer who can make you chain mail and swords.

John got to try on a gauntlet.  Donna says you'll notice in the photo how his arm is already sunburned.  It was a very warm day!

John wearing a Gauntlet

There were different types of gauntlets depending on how you were fighting.  You needed to protect your hands when jousting or sword fighting.  Depending on the sport, you might need to be able to flex your fingers.

John was curious about the gloves, or gauntlets, and had a long discussion with the armourer about them.

Discussing gauntlets with one of the armourers

Here is John posing with the armourers and some wicked looking fighting equipment.  My guess is you would need some training before you used something like that in battle, or risk killing yourself even without anyone actually fighting you.

In the days before antibiotics, you'd be lucky if you would survive even a small scratch with one of these weapons.

John and the Armourers

Donna says there was an archery game where folks could shoot soft-tipped arrows at each other.

Archery games

There was also a Long Bow demonstration.  The archers kept moving farther and farther back, shooting at the same targets. She said it was impressive how they could still hit the targets.

Long Bow demonstration

There were two jousting shows.  I love watching jousting.  They do this at the Medieval Times restaurants here, and in Florida, too.  I'm not sure how fun it would be to participate.  Even in "pretend" jousting with soft-tipped poles, you could really hurt yourself!

Jousting!

Donna said there was some sort of storyline with the jousting performances, but it was hard to follow, and didn't actually include Robin Hood.  The knight (above) on horseback is a horse trainer by profession.  Donna had a chance to speak to him after the jousting performance.  There is just something special about a guy wearing armour, isn't there?

Looks like Prince John, his wife and the Lord Sheriff of Nottingham got involved
Could that be Robin Hood off on the left with Maid Marian

The costumes were really great, don't you think?

Fighting demonstration

The fighting demonstration looks a little unequal, the guy on the left is outmatched by the guy on the right in size and weaponry.  The armour and padding look quite uncomfortable on a very warm day.

Of course, it wouldn't be a true festival without a juggler!

No festival of this kind would be complete without a Juggler!

Thanks, Donna, for sharing your photos of the festival with us!

Robin and Maid Marian