Well, we (and especially I) have been just a tad bit busy since the last post (and I think I've had enough of American Airlines to last forever)!! Let's see, when last we visited, we were moving fast and furious into Fall. Fall here is similar to all the rest, I think somewhat cooler, but mainly noticeable at night. Evenings are wonderful now, very cool and breezy. 
G's class took a trip to the Pumpkin Patch just before Halloween and L got to go along. It was quite the adventure with 20+ 5 y.o.'s scrambling to grab their very own selection. G got what she wanted was waay excited!!
We did get enough for all the girls and had our annual pumpkin carving party. We always have a good time. We do the carving kit diagrams and end up with some good stuff.
The final results were very good this year. A new twist is to carve an extra picture on the back and then set the pumpkin next to a wall. The rear picture shows a 'shadow' picture. It doesn't show up very well here, but if you look close ... G's, on the right, was a cat in front with a mouse in back. H's, in the middle, didn't show up here, but it was cool in real life.
After prepping for Halloween we had H's B'day ( it's not every day your young one turns 11, now is it :) ...) A good time was had by all and then Halloween.
After that began "The Month-Long Plane Ride" ...
The month started with me doing some training for a new position at my clinic. I went to DC for a week and fortunately got to do a bit of sight-seeing before my return. DC is such a great place. During the trip, we had the good fortune to accidently stumble upon the new Police Officer memorial. Truly accidental because it happend to be right next to where we exited the Metro and was far away from anything we were intending on visiting ... things happen for a reason, right. Anyway, after figuring out what the memorial was, I checked to see if my uncle was listed and I wasn't disappointed ...
(try doing with your normal PC photo program)
This was quite moving for me and I sincerely appreciated this dedication. Another group to whom we owe a great debt.
After this, I of course went to the Archives to see the Declaration and Constitution (I'll never get tired of seeing that) and then on to the WWII Memorial. It is very impressive and I felt an appropriate tribute. The memorial is set in a large circular pool with the fountains all around surrounded on either side by a 1/4 ring of columns. The columns have each of the 50 states named with additional columns that have famous quotes engraved. The right side (looking as in this picture) is for the Atlantic war, the left is for the Pacific war. At the entrance on both sides are columns with placards of each of the different services on the 4 sides. It is much less solemn and erie than either the Korean or Vietnam memorials, but moving all the same.
I thought the Truman quote below summed it up.
My trip finally ended and I was back in Hawaii just in time for the Veteran's Day parade. L and I traded seats on the plane because she had to return home as her Grandpa Frank passed. He was part of that 'Greatest Generation' that Truman mentioned above and his bravery and sacrifice are exactly what Truman was talking about. If it were not for men and women like him, the world would be a very different place indeed. He, as well as his stories, will be missed.
The Veteran'sDay parade was B's first (a worthy inaugural). I have never seen such a showing of JROTC groups, a large group from each school. B's group was toward the end and G nearly became uncontrollable, but we made it.
(again, try this with a PC)
When L returned (with our beloved Spike, thanks to Aunt S for taking such good care of him), we traded seats on the plane, again, and I headed for Dallas, TX for my Oral Boards. Things were pretty good, made a few flubs, but don't think anything serious. We'll know the results in a couple of weeks. It was great to see most of my old classmates and we all wish good luck to the last one, who will take the exam in March.
When I got back, we had just enough time to pack and then it was back on the plane for our annual trek to North Carolina for a Thanksgiving Feast. Of course the girl's idea is that we go every year just to visit the animals on the 'Farm'.
We had our 2nd annual Gingerbread House Decorating Contest and all entries were fabulous. (I'll put up the other pics on a separate post)
We hope you all had a wonderful Holiday. We truly enjoyed all of our family and especially the most generous hospitality of our hosts. A great time was had by all and we arrived back home (finally) safe and sound. Dallas to Honolulu is a L-O-N-G flight.
Aloha!
(I think I had enough views of this to last a life time)
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