MAC vs PC

To all my adoring fans, hope all is well.

     I have recently been perplexed by the posting concerning the Legos display from the local mall. I spent a great deal of time on my MAC trying to line everything up just right, and I eventually got it. All of the captions were adjacent to their respective pictures. (Guess I could have just made bigger pics and then labeled each but hey, sometimes I like to do it the hard way.) Anyway, L has tried to view that post on our PC and it is totally misaligned.  Nothing matches and there are huge spaces, while I can go back to it on the MAC and all is totally correct.. my apologies. This AM I tried to fix the issue on the PC and got close, but things are still not just right, and I can't really do anymore with it., and now if I look at it with the MAC it is off. Go figure!!

     So ... what's the deal? I don't know but I am going to place an inquiry to Blogger. Until the answer is sorted out, I will in the future put captions on the pics so I don't really have to deal with this issue too much, and so it will look nice for you. If anyone else has issues like this one, please chime in.

     Take it easy.

G's first week of school

Hello all,

     Well, G started school the other day and we, especially L, were both relieved and terrified. G is, well God's answer to the human tornado, about as energetic and often about as kind and considerate. Don't misunderstand, we love her to death and she CAN BE very kind and loving, she is just ... our most wonderful challenge to date. Anyway, back to  the story. She started full day kindergarten. She has been doing rather well in class, her teacher says 'She just loves too hard.' Well, we know that much, all of us are seeing the chiropractor after being subject to one of her 'hold-you hugs'. I think putting your neck in a vice fully clamped would give you about the same experience.

     Anyway, again. She has flipped her red/yellow/green card to yellow a couple of times. For those that don't know, they have this card that the teacher uses to show how well they behave. They start with green and  serious infractions 'flip' the card to yellow. A couple of these or something really bad 'flips' it to red. Actually H's class had a black component, but that's a whole nother story. So she had one of her yellow's for rolling around in the grass while the group was supposed to be standing in line to get a drink. No ... not her. Can anybody say 'my kid'. But other than a couple of little mishaps, she is doing pretty. The real problem is the bus.

     Her and H have this bus driver that wears her Drill Sgt patch right up front. I haven't met her, but L says that she's about as inviting as the Grim Reaper. So the first day of school, G and H are sitting together, and you know how kids get, especially ours, after something new and exciting, they get a bit crazy and they usually get a bit loud. Enter the Driving Drill Sgt. G was loud and the bus driver tagged her and voila (sp ?? Mr Fritz) - G cried all the rest of the way home and begged and pleaded not  to have to ride the bus for 2 days. Then things settled down and bit for a few day. But as luck would have it, G was at the bus-stop when the brother to the girl next door, G really likes the girl, starts raggin' on his sister, talking bad about her. Well, again if you know G, G ups and waylays the kid telling him not to talk bad about his sister. Problem ... Driver Drill Sgt is driving up as all this is happening. Well, G was in trouble before she even put her foot on the bus. She made her sit right up front both going to and coming back from school and really got on to her throughout. G was a total mess. Hopefully we got it all out that first week.

    On to other stuff. We went to one of the beaches on the North Shore yesterday. We had a birthday party for one of G's friends, and a Band booster's picnic for B. The beach was nice and H and G had blast playing in the waves. The waves on the North Shore are much bigger and closer in to shore than on the south shore (near Waikiki/Honolulu). Some of them broke right next to shore. Yesterday they were rather small compared to what they get in the winter. That is where they do all the world class surfing competitions. I had a couple that nearly knocked me down and I was only in knee deep. G got knocked over many times. H took a boogie board out

 and rode and jumped into waves all morning. She was lovin' it, and as usual for my family, was screaming at the top of her lungs to let everyone on the beach know it. We're just dynamic people like that (L was highly embarrassed). The mom of the birthday girl teaches surfing so we're gonna hook up with some lessons for H and the others before long. All in all, a good day.

     

     More photos ... G's favorite b-day present, the girls on top in Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, and H and G at the Lego's store at Disney.

Have a Good One!!

A day at the mall

Hey all,

A couple of weeks back, B, H and I went to the mall to go to a movie, can't remember what it was, but the exciting part was what was on display there.

Take a close look at the head in the green one. He is holding it separated from the neck

They had a huge display of Lego art from this guy that is world renowned for his stuff. I couldn't believe some of it.

The pencil is standing on 2 small 6 or 8-peg blocks, that's it.

Way cool. Some of the structures had 25,000+ lego blocks in them.

The Parthenon was actually complete with columns throughout.

The building is made of solid Legos. The climber is built into the building at several points.

The red ball sits on only a couple of 6 or 8-peg blocks.

Enjoy!!

Saturday Nite Luau

Can you say "Alooooooooooohaaaaaaaa!"

We spent the evening at Germaine's 'Too Good to Miss' Luau. That's what they call it. It is on a pretty small stretch of coastline on the western side of the island. They start off with a few basic intro's, the hostess, the host, the band. They have a of the dancers go around for pictures with the audience while everyone loosens up with drinks. They start off by taking you around the backside of the bar and having a couple of guys show you how they unearth a smoked pig. It was very cool. They smoke it in a pit with hot rocks (3-4 lbs apiece) and cover it palm leaves and then canvas. They have it in chicken wire and they pull up the chicken wire and shake all the meat off the bone. Very cool. A guy posed with the head.

Then on to the meal. It was average at best, though the fried Mahi Mahi was pretty tasty. Everything else was ok, but nothing special. The show was really the treat. G won a door prize, a very nice flower lai, a visor, and a water bottle, not much but still ... They have several hula dancers, male and female, that do traditional dancing from New Zealand, Tahita, Samoa, and Hawai'i.

They did a couple of audience participation numbers, H and G jumped right up. For one, they had just the girls to start and then after they called for the guys. Well, they bugged me to go up and I relented. It backfired on them. I was part of a 'Hone Hone' line, meaning I got to kiss all the ladies as they came off the stage, about 50. The other number ended with this guy who had gotten married yesterday and they had him up trying to imitate one of the more, shall I say ... vigorous lady dancers. Well he had had a few and it was hilarious to say the least. They got back to the dancing and it was pretty good over all. B was rather grumpy most of the night, but as we were leaving I asked if the show was any good and she popped off "Yeah!!" I think before she thought about what she was saying.

A funny story to finish this one off. G has been learning to take care of herself after going to the bathroom. You know how the 4-5 year olds are, they get done doing the business and grab the roll and ... 'zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz' and half of a roll ends on the floor. Well, I went in the other day and kind of got a bit grouchy about it and so I told her that she could only use 5 sheets. Well now everytime she goes, she has to count. If L or B helps her, they get an earfull if they use more than the alotted 5 sheets. So the other night I go in to help her out and she counts the 5 sheets, but when she pulls it she gets 6. I thought she was going to cry, mainly because I was standing there. She said 'Sorry daddy, I counted, you watched me.' I bet 5 times. Well Iguess I'm fortunate that she was listening.

A few more pictures ... we eat hot malasados, we saw a submarine, and we went to the Dole Pineapple Factory.

A couple more notes about the trip

     Our first main stop after leaving the comforts of home was my brother's in Kansas City. We enjoyed a nice visit and decided to head to the family 'Y' for a swim. My brother is a member there, so we followed like little lemmings into the pool area, he and I and 5 little ones in tow. So after we get our suits on, my brother wants to go outside and check out the water slide. I thought he knew where he was going so I followed. Well, not so. He heads right for the door that says 'Emergency Exit' and pops the door and ... 'RRR, RRR, RRR, RRR, RRR' goes the alarm and here we are, all 7 of us, standing in the hallway dumbfounded. After a couple of seconds, my brother realizes that we kind of headed down the wrong road, so we moved inside the pool to start our swim. After about 20 minutes, they finally got the 'RRR, RRR, RRR, RRR' turned off.

     The kids were enjoying themselves but everyone decided that they needed to head outside to try out the water slide. We make our way out and it is raining and getting much colder but the kids are adamant about going down the slide, so off they went. Well, after about 2 seconds in the water they all began to turn blue and their teeth were chattering so loudly that you could hear it. Needless to say, they all started yelling about how cold it was and that they need to go in, so back in we went.     

      So we get back in and I'm sitting in the water and I happened to run my hand under my rt knee and I noticed this rather obvious swelling. My knee wasn't really tight or anything, so I didn't think much of it. Well, for the remainder of the trip it decided to constantly remind me of its presence. Especially during packing and unpacking the roof-rack. Too much fun. Well, I am currently awaiting the results of my MRI, so wish me luck.

     I can't wait until we head back the other direction.

More Later!!

p.s. a few more photos for your enjoyment.

     

American Freestyle Relay Champs

hey all,
I couldn't resist putting in a note about the American 4x100 Freestyle relay team. As many of you know, I was a big swimmer as a kid and I am still a big fan now. This has to be one of the best races that I have ever seen. The comback made by Lezak in the last 25 meters was absolutely phenomenal. The announcers had already given them the Silver before he started kickin it in. Check it out. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!
http://www.nbcolympics.com/swimming/news/newsid=194272.html#relay+instant+olympic+classic?GT1=39001
Go Team USA!!!

up and running

Hello to all, and welcome.

     We've been ruminating over the idea of doing this for a while and finally have some time (hopefully) to put some things up. Hope this first one isn't too long or boring.     I am a periodontist (finally) working in the Army. I just completed my residency training and my first duty station is in Hawaii. After the residency we took some time off in Disney World. This was our third trip but our first when I wasn't in school, so I finally relaxed and a great time was had by all. We had a couple of totally cool things happen.

      First, we went to the 50's style restaurant on a recommendation that my wife (L) got. This is the place where they get a little rude with you when you don't act just right. While waiting for our seat, a man went to the bar for a drink and his waiter shows up and totally reads him the riot act for not trusting him (the waiter) to bring him his drink and for holding up the crowd while he was trying to get their order. L got really excited thinking that my 3 daughters, who usually cannot behave during dinner, were really gonna get it. WRONG!      

     We get to our table and our very cool waiter lets us know the rules, you know ... no whining, no tattling, no kicking under the table, no elbows on the table, eat all your food, etc. So he walks away and when he comes back to get our drink order L is sitting there with both her elbows on the table. Well, it started. He asks "Well, Sis, what part of 'don't put your elbows on the table' don't you understand?" That got her laughing 'cause only her dad calls here Sis and she went downhill from there. 

     Later, my oldest daughter (B), who hates leaving bones on her plate, pushes her bones onto L's plate and just then the waiter comes by and looks at L's full plate and then (since we were all done) looks at our empty plates and asks her what her problem is and then actually starts feeding her, all the time complaining about her not eating her food. Too, funny. She tells him that B put her bones on her plate and so he nails her for tattling. 

    Finally, the girls had gone to the restroom and so L, being tired a bit, puts her feet on the seat to take a rest and of course, the waiter walks by. He totally goes off and tells her to get up and he actually makes her put her nose on the wall. I was dying laughing. He tells her to wait right there and hands out some food and comes back and says loudly to the entire restaurant "Sis here can't seem to follow the rules ... elbows on the table, not eating her food, tattling on her kids, and now she can't keep her feet off the furniture. On 3 we're all gonna say 'Stop being a Brat!'" I nearly lost it. About 4-5 people repeated that to her on the way out. It was awesome.    

 Anyway, sorry for the long story, but thought it was worth telling.

 

The rest of Disney trip was great. My youngest (G) had so much fun. At 4 she actually believed that all the characters were real. Her face when she met Princess Aurora (her personal favorite) and Mickey Mouse (at 2am) was worth every penny of the entire trip.

      Everyone had a great time, especially B who, not wanting to go to Hawaii (HI) and leave her friends, was so excited when, ironically, nearly every day on the Monorail we met someone from HI or someone stationed there, or they had just been there ... even our bellman at the hotel was the boyfriend of my new bosses sister and he had just returned from HI. And of course Disney itself topped it off by saying 'Aloha' every time we passed the Polynesian. Our middle one (H) had a blast too and got to ride in the front car of the monorail. 

A good way to celebrate my graduating.   

           

     After Disney, we started the trek cross-country to HI. We stopped home in Missouri and Illinois first to see family for a bit. We had a great family picnic and H caught her first fish. Grandpa was too proud. Anyway, due to the heat restrictions for pets and all the quarantine restrictions in HI, we had to leave our Shi Tzu 'Spike' back in IL. We'll be going back to get him soon. Then, due to having another dog (Lab - Penny) and wanting to be sure we could make the flight, we set out for San Francisco where we knew it would be cool in the am for the trip.

     The trip was long but filled with beautiful scenery and ... well, accented by a dog who's leg started going limp half way there and by my right knee swelling up like a balloon, us finding (as we went to cross the continental divide) that B doesn't just have a mild fear of heights but a pathologic one (she didn't even look out at the Grand Canyon, even from inside the restaurant), B falling into a creek at the base of Bridal Veil falls and me having to nearly completely unpack the luggage from on top of the car for dry clothes, punctuated by a 2.5 hour drive in the dark coming out of Yosemite on Hwy 49 (after 14 hours driving already) which is hairpin turns and switchbacks with posted '10 m.p.h.' signs, and finally being topped off by us getting someone else's room that same night and L walking in and having 2 little yappy dogs nearly take her head off. It was memorable to say the least. I think the photo of G in Honolulu airport (after 8 days on the road) says it all. Too crazy.

    Now that we're. HI is very cool. We got here on the 4th of July and got moved into housing on the 22nd. Not too bad except that they forgot to send our household goods from GA (they'll get delivered NLT 29 Sep). That's a bummer, but that's sometimes the military for ya'. We have tried to see a good bit of the island ... Waikiki, lots of shopping (hello, 3 girls, would you expect anything else), and a couple of weeks ago, we did a drive around the east side of the island (Windward Side). We saw some beautiful beaches and other areas ... making plans for where we want to go back to. We did some snorkeling in Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve and have enjoyed fresh, hot Malasados ... L says they're as good as hot Krispy Kream!! 

     Well, again, hope this wasn't too long. We really did enjoy the trip and would do it again to have our Penny with us. We hope to show some cool pics of the island and keep you informed about our travels. 

     Mahalo for reading, and Aloha.

gumdrgooby