Just Simply Jen

The last part of last week was crazy busy but absolutely wonderful at the same time. My sister had my son from late Wednesday until Saturday around noon. I missed him a little but it was a wonderful break for my husband and I.
Thursday and Friday we spent the day at the Turtle Bay Resort for a marriage retreat. I went into it thinking that it was just going to be nice to have the time together. Really I didn't expect to get too much out of the classes. I ended up learning some good things. One of my favorite parts was when we watched part of a video called "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" by Mark Gungor. This man has some wonderful things to say and puts comedy in it so it's fun at the same time. I highly recommend it to anyone. I learned from him that when men say they are thinking about nothing, they actually probably are thinking about absolutely nothing. This little part that he does to illustrate this made me laugh so hard I was crying. He definitely knows what he is talking about.
Thursday night we were told we had to have a date as our homework. Now to us this entire thing was like a date because we were alone and in such a beautiful place. It was hard for us to think of something to do but I think we managed well enough. First we went up to our room just to check it out. There was nothing spectacular about the room but the view was awesome. We sat on the bed and watched whales jumping out of the water for a while. We also were able to watch a wedding from our balcony. It was so beautiful. After that we went and had our dinner then went for a walk. It was sunset so it was a beautiful walk. My camera batteries were dying so we went to one of the little shops they had and bought new ones then we were going to go upstairs and relax on our balcony. On the way to the elevator we saw a small arcade. Now that might now sound like fun for most people on a date, but for us it is both sentimental and a blast. We stayed in there for a little while and had so much fun. After that we went for another walk in the moonlight then headed upstairs and ended up dancing in the moonlight on the balcony. Not ready to call it a night, we went down to the sundry shop and picked up some snacks and drinks and then went back to the room and watched a movie. It was a great way to end the night.
We met some great couples. I was able to meet one of my husband's roommates from when they were deployed. I didn't care for the guy much when they were there, but he and his wife were pretty great. Apparently he has changed a lot. I'm hoping that we will be able to do more with some of these couples. It would be nice to have friends that aren't single or family.
Friday after the classes were over they did a group vow renewal for those who wanted to take part in it. Nine couples renewed there vows, including us. It was so nice. Right after that we decided to go ahead and come home. We wanted to stop by the house before heading to pick up our son and I'm glad we did. I called my sister and she asked if they could keep my son another night and all of us could go to the zoo the next day. We said yes, of course. After resting for a bit, we went and had a small dinner then came home and crashed.
Saturday we made our first trip to the Honolulu Zoo. We had to park a little bit away from the zoo and on our way to the gate we passed something called "Art on the Zoo Fence." Local artists display and sell art on Saturdays along the zoo fence. It was so great to see the art. I spent a few minutes talking with a photographer who had some amazing work up. He wanted to see my camera and had some good tips for me. My husband was busy trying to find out how you go about getting a spot in this wonderful display. I thought he was asking for himself but apparently he thinks I should get some of my photography together and sell it. I don't know that I'm there yet, but if I ever decide to do so, I think that would be a good way to start.
The zoo was really nice. It wasn't too hot and there were times I was able to forget I was in such a busy city. I love that along with the animals they had also put different plants and trees on display. It was so great to see the variety. Some of the habitats made me less than happy. They could have been better cared for. Hopefully this is something they are working to improve.
We ended the day at my sister's house with some pizza and swimming. It was a wonderful three days but it left me very tired and ready for a day to just relax. I'll try and post some of my favorite pictures a little later.