The Brent Osborn family had the best vacation ever this year.
We went to the Big Island of Hawaii on the 28th of January. We picked the kids up at school an hour early and went straight to the airport. This was the most fun we have ever had as a family – bar none. We went to the Big Island where Rosemary’s parents have a time-share condo on a golf course. It is located near the beach and good places to snorkel.
Yes there are turkeys roaming wild on the golf course. This is the view out our window.
We went to church in a local ward and then went to the Volcano National Park. There were steam vents, sulfur formations and we drove around the crater. We did not see any lava flowing but it was really cool. We walked through a lava tube that was several hundred yards long.
Everyone enjoyed snorkeling. We went to the Lahtinen's house and had the kids practice before we went. Everyone did great and we got to see some amazing fish. We saw an eel and swam with a wild sea turtle that was probably 5 feet long. We went on a snorkel sailing tour where they had a boogie board with a little window in it that Brandon could lay on and look at the fish and coral. He thought it was pretty cool.
The most enjoyable times though, were the days spent just playing on the beach. The older kids had fun on the boogie boards catching waves and just playing in the surf. The Hapuna State Beach is one of the best on the Big Island and has four to six foot waves. It was a lot of fun and no one died!!
It really wore out the little ones and everyone slept very well.
One day, I took Nolan and Justin for a day trip to Oahu to see Pearl Harbor. We got up at 5:15am to catch our flight and toured Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona memorial, the WWII Bowfin Submarine and the USS Missouri battleship- the site where Japan surrendered to the United States to end World War Two. There are some amazing things to see and experience. It is truly awesome the sacrifices made to win that war. We are so incredibly blessed to live in this great country.
The kids have really had to buckle down to catch up on their school work since we’ve been back, but have done well.
This last weekend, Rosemary and I went to see “Legally Blonde” the musical at the opera house. I went thinking it would be kind of dumb, but was surprised how much I enjoyed it. The music was great and there was a lot of comedy. The lead actress was a BYU graduate.
Here are a few pics from our last trip up the slopes. It was a beautiful day - At times. Ryan and LaDawn didn't go cause he wanted to stay home and watch his knee. Way more fun.
We started out the Month of November with several Jazz Festivals. John is in the middle of this picture. This band is really good and has earned many awards already, and the jazz season has just begun.
John received "Best Soloist" at the EWU Jazz Festival. His trombone section also received "Best Section", at the same festival. Excellent musicians.
Thanksgiving was at our house this year. Grandma and Grandpa Osborn cooked the best turkey yet. Their homemade stuffing was excellent! We fed 23 people. It was an enjoyable day, but we missed Mark. They do not have Thanksgiving in Peru.
We got lots of snow in November, setting records. All the ski resorts are open. We are sick of shoveling snow already! John is wearing the alpaca hat that Mark sent him, from Peru. Mark says he knows the lady that sheared the alpacas, carded the wool, and made the hats. Not sure if he is pulling our leg, or if he really does know her. Hard to say. There are no tags in them.
Happy 17th Birthday John! John received a new bass guitar and amp for his birthday. He plays the bass guitar in his band "Armchairs for Ecuador".
Jane has loved working with the marching band for the past 6 years. It has been hours and hours of time, but she has loved all the associations with the parents and the kids. Jane will really miss them next year.
We finished up marching band forever, both John and Jane. The band's final performance was their very best of the season. It was sad as John passed on the leadership responsibilities to the Juniors for next season. John hugged his Mom and thanked her for all her hours of service to the band and to him. Both John and Jane cried.
We now have 21 students in our Seminary class. 5 of them are non-members.4 of them are taking the missionary lessons. We are stuffed into our little room, but love being together. It is a rowdy class with powerful testimonies. This was a lesson on "putting on the armor of God".
John's band "Armchairs for Ecuador" participated in "Trunk or Treating" also. Here, they were learning music to sing in Sacrament meeting the next day (without the painted faces).
Our Ward participated in "Trunk or Treating" this year. We had a huge bag of candy, but it was gone in 20 minutes. Huge turn out.