More summer fun

hello again,

Thought I'd share some Hawaii summer action. Well after we got all moved in and things got pretty much in order, we decided to get back out and do/see some things. We took a drive along the west side of the North Shore and saw some parachutists landing on an air field there. I got all excited. Anyway, as we went just a bit further, we noticed a bunch of kites just over the sand dune. Well, I thought we were kind of close to the water to be seeing kites, so I had to stop to investigate and this is what we saw ...

We got a little close and found that it was actually a bunch of Kite Boarders ...

This was too cool. These guys (and girls) get moving at some awesome speeds and the harness is spring loaded so that when they hit a good wave, they can do somersaults, twists, etc, just like snow boarders. Well worth the stop.

  On the way back, we were driving along and noted this awesome tree ...

These are called 'monkeypod' - Pithecellobium saman - they are excellent shade trees. We have one that covers nearly our entire back yard. Some can grow to cover 3/4th's of an acre (for those that came to Georgia, that would cover our whole lot and half of the next door neighbors). There are some other really cool trees that we'll show you later.

     Anyway, we came back and went to the other end of the North Shore and, as usual, the girls forced me to stop at a road-side fruit stand ... 

     The girls always want to stop for cut mangos and fresh coconut, and this day H talked us into getting some sugar cane. You know that went over like a lead brick. Well, I agreed but on the condition that everyone understood that this was NOT going to become a habit. Toward the end of the drive, we stopped and took a good look at the coastline ...

     Well, this past weekend they had one of the surfing championships up on the North Shore and so we had to go take a look a the waves.  We saw quite a few good ones, but none of the really big ones that we see in the photos. We did see this little guy riding this wave in from probably 2-300 yards out. He just did the body board thing and cruised in on the front of this wave having a ball. H was so jealous. 

She and G spent some time messin' around on the rocks and nearly got drenched a few times ...

The girls have been having a blast playing outside. H and G will spend the whole day outside if we let them. L went out yesterday to toss some trash and this is what she saw ... 

of course all of the kids, except B (of course), were totally enthralled with this slug/snail specimen. I have never seen one this big. 

Well, we've been having fun. Hope you are. 

Remember, L is always making something good, around here it's always a nice summer day, ... and the door is always open. 

See ya'!!

moving in

Hello all, it's been a while, but we've been a little busy.

I chose to make this a more visual post as the pictures tell the story better that I. We finally got our stuff and as is typical for the military (at least for medical), the notice came about a day ahead so I didn't have time to book off patients, so L had to deal with the movers all by her lonesome. It's ok though, she is pretty self-sufficient and they were done unloading by around 2pm. This is how it started ...

Day 1

Day 3

L and I have a standing rule that in a move, everything get's done in 2 weeks!! That way you can get on with living. So far we have made it and this was no exception. We really got to work. L during the day (mostly, she'll say she helped at night too, and I won't argue ... here), and me at night. The girls helped some too and we got things moving along pretty well. 

We finished this past Monday (exactly 13 days) and here's how it looks. Some before and afters follow of everybody's rooms. There is still some organizing to do, but all in all, it's done.

Dining and Living

Our bedroom

 

G's room

 

H's Room

 

B's room

 

L's office

At the end we had a little time for some backyard BBQ (Penny get's here share every time) and a little fun. Our normal Traditional Move-In Celebration is a full Turkey dinner with all the spread. It just didn't seem to go this year, so we had a little family party ... movies, Ice cream (several flavors), those 'New Year's Eve' junk food snacks from the freezer section, chips and dip, and of course some board games and the 'Wii' (I picked up the new Mario Kart game, it is a total blast). Everyone had a a good time and enjoyed the new surroundings. You will too.

We're ready now, make your reservations!!!

C' Ya!