A New Purchase

A GPS (Global Positioning System)

Judy and I were at Costco on the weekend and I picked up a Garmin 1490LMT GPS unit.

I have the GPS functionality on my blackberry and it works well but its not that safe to use when driving.  Its too small and you have to focus on it to see where you need to go.
I've been thinking about getting a GPS since I have to go to places like Toronto and Vancouver for work.  I have to drive around and felt that a proper GPS unit would be useful.  

They were $30 off at Costco this week and after checking around the regular Costco price is close to $100 less than most other places - like Best Buy and Future Shop.  So I figured its a good deal..... and I'm all about good deals.

Well I'm in Toronto and I love this thing.   Tonight it was really foggy and you can't see more than a hundred yards (metres).  The GPS got me right to the hotel even though I couldn't see the landmarks along the way.

I pulled over to take this picture.   Its not very clear but hopefully you get the point - Its foggy and hard to see anything.    T

I also like that the GPS tells me what lane to be in when I was on the 401.   When I got close it to the exits changed to a picture of the freeway signs above the lanes.  They were the same as the real signs.  I don't know how they do that but it was great.

Hopefully I can find my way around tomorrow.

Hawaii 2011 - Part VI

My Mission President

When I was 19 years old I served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.   I served in the Japan Tokyo North Mission for 2 years.   In the second half of my mission it was my pleasure to serve under President Michael A. Roberts.   The amazing thing about him is that he was 28 years old at the time.  Unheard of.  People still don't believe me when I tell them.  President and Sister Roberts came to Japan with 3 young children, the youngest being just a few months old.

President and Sister Roberts are among the people that I admire most.  They were great examples to me as a young missionary.

Here's the picture and article about them that appeared in The LDS Church News in March 1979.

Michael Alexander Roberts, 28, is Young Men's president in the Auckland 17th Ward, Auckland New Zealand Harbour Stake. He was born in Auckland, a son of William and Norma Johnston Roberts. He married Christine Ann Dil Aug. 14, 1971, in the New Zealand Temple. They are parents of two children. Pres. Roberts received his bachelor's degree and his master's degree from the University of Auckland. He is a teacher at Auckland Grammar School. He served in the Japan East Mission, 1969-71, and was also a ward executive secretary, bishop's counselor and high councilor as well as Young Men's president.
Sister Roberts was born in Auckland, a daughter of Wilfred T. and Gloria Burnett Dil. Her past positions include seminary teacher, Primary teacher, adult home study teacher, Relief Society president's counselor, Relief Society homemaking leader, Primary president and stake Primary board member. 

LDS Church NewsWeek Ending March 10, 1979

Fast Forward 30+ years.

President and Sister Roberts were passing through Hawaii to visit their daughter and her family on his way home to New Zealand from Salt Lake City Utah.   He now serves as an Area Authority Seventy in our church and he was in SLC for our Semi-Annual General Conference.  His son-in-law teaches at BYU-Hawaii and I knew that he often stops in Hawaii on this way to SLC or on this way home from SLC.   In my first visit to Hawaii with my son-in-law Mike, the Roberts where there too but we didn't find out until after the fact.  This time I sent an email to them before we left and they replied saying they would be there.

We were able to meet up with them at their daughter's place which was only a couple minutes from where we were staying.

 

Sister and President Roberts. Papahashi and Judy

I wanted to introduce my family to them.   I've always told them about my 28 year old mission president.  Now they know he's real.   I was glad we could meet.  

Candi and Sister Roberts hit it off because they are both ICU nurses.

(Mike and Angie and the kids had met them before.   They went to represent me at a mission reunion a couple years ago in Hawaii,   They were the only ones that showed up with the Roberts so they got to know them)

   

Unfortunately Alana and Luke had gone back to the mainland the night before.

President Roberts talked about how its nice that he is going through the same stages of life as his missionaries.  For example my grandkids were playing with his grandkids while we visited.  He is only 8 years older than me.

I've seen the Roberts twice before at Mission Reunions.   One last year and one 3 years ago.  We hope to meet up again at a missionary reunion next April.   

Hawaii 2011 Part V

Everything Else

It was nice having a big house - there was lots of room for hanging out.

We played games

 Did puzzles

 Took naps

and of course we ate

and the ladies visited inside

while the guys visited outside

Brylie had a dance party

But I wasn't invited

Tyken watched movies

and Luke watched golf on TV.

We learned about BBQing with charcoal again.

There was even a water ballon fight

We did go sightseeing as well.   I had been to Oahu several time and always had wanted to got to Pele lookout.   I finally made it on this trip.

Jamie didn't think anyone was watching.  She's trying to figure out how hard it would be to do graffiti upside down hanging over the edge.

busted!

The next stop was for me as well.   I am a fan of the original Hawaii Five-0.  I've always wanted to go to the Palace they used as the Five-0 offices.

There it is - the corner office.

Us Hawaii Five-0 fans were confused when we saw the King Kamehameha statue.   We aways assumed  it was in front of the Hawaii Five-0 offices.    Well - its across the street from the palace in front of a government building.  But in the new Hawaii Five-0 series this building is used the the Five-0 headquarters.  Now I can sleep knowing where everything is

We stopped by the Mormon Tabernacle as well.  

They we drove around the east side of the island.  I've never seen that side of the island before.

Do these two look like they could be sisters?

Another day we stopped by the Aloha Tower hoping to go to a Japanese Buffet.   Unfortunately they moved out the week before,

But we did get to see them feed the fish - Actually the host let us feed the fish

All these tropical fish came over for lunch

I guess if we had a long net we still could have had a sushi buffet.

We also got to feed the fish at the Dole Plantation.   Tyken really wanted to see the fish there.  Someone lost a bag of fish food and it was  floating in the water.  Mike found a net and got it out.   You can see that Jamie is left holding the bag.

Judy and I went on the Pineapple Express train ride with Brylie and Tyken

And we even bought the overpriced picture.  That's the difference between parents and grandparents.  As parents we would have never bought this picture but as grandparents it seemed like the thing to do.

By 9 or 9:30 every night we were all asleep.  The first Friday Brylie was all excited for a sleepover with the girls.   She was ready to go home the next morning because it wasn't the party she was expecting.  Everyone passed out on her just when she was ready to party.    She ended up watching a movie alone.

This was in the van after we dropped Alana and Luke off at the airport

One evening we had an unexpected visitor.  It was a cane spider.   It was funny because no one wanted to get close to it.   I was crying like a little girl.  It reminded me of when I went Hawaii with Mike a couple weeks before Angie and the kids.  We saw a huge cockroach but both of us were too freaked out to do anything about it.  I don't like big bugs.

   Angie had caught one before so she coordinated the capture and release of the spider.   We took these pictures before we let it go.

That's Brylie's hand for perspective

On to more pleasant things.   We did go to the temple.   Its so nice with the renovations.   Judy and Angie and I went to a session.   Mike was working that the temple that morning.   It was nice to see him in his white suit.  

We also did baptisms with Jamie, Jenelle and Erika.

Candi and Erika took a Helicoptor tour of the island

These are pictures that they took from the helicopter

They loved it.   The flew around the entire island of Oahu

But all good things come to an end.

Sadly we had to pack up and head home.

And we said our goodbyes outside of Angie and Mike's apartment

The saddest thing of all is that when we got home I had to shovel snow off the sidewalk so we could get in the front door.

Looking back......It was a wonderful vacation.

It was nice to be in Hawaii, but for me the best thing was just all being together as a family.   I'm so glad that we were able to have everyone there.