Rainbow Warrriors!

Go Rainbow Warriors! Ok, ok....so they didn't win. But we had a great time hanging out with the Higgins family at the game anyway. Tailgating at the Aloha stadium is awesome---totally "old school". You don't see the fancy RVs, appetizers, and what-nots there. Just trucks, charcoal grills, and lots of aloha spirit. Very relaxed, very fun, and we can't wait until next year!

You can run but you can't hide!

DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER!

By far, the funnest moment for us in Hawaii! I know, you are thinking "They live in Hawaii and meeting Dog is their best moment?!". However, it was just this really fun and quirky moment for us and a completely spontaneous adventure----which made it so great.

Beth is a very pretty lady in person and so genuine and friendly. Then there is "Dog". Man, he is something else. Really, really kind and a funny guy too!

Yeah.....we are fans! haha. Enjoy the pix and we hope your holidays are wonderful!

Happy Birthday Uncle Rory (belated)!!!!!!!

Aloha! Wow, it's been a while.......so much to catch up on, but we'll post our most important message first and then go from there. Due to technical difficulties, this is officially one day late, but we hope it will bring a smile to Uncle Rory anyway. We hope the birthday was a blast and the kids wanted to wish you a happy day themselves. *I am also including a "blooper" for your entertainment. So......HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO UNCLE RORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With warmest Aloha, Grason and Greta (and their parents, too!)

Trick or Treat!

Well, once again, Halloween night has come and gone. It's really one of our favorite holidays. The chance to dress up, walk around and visit neighbors, and take home more candy than one can possibly consume in a week's time.

This year was great fun. Grason's costume of choice was a flip-flop wearing, skateboard riding, leather jacket clad something cool fella.....I really have no idea what he was, but he liked it.

Greta was a kitty-cat who decided that whiskers were itchy and the makeup smells funny.....some soap and water---throw the ears on. Still a cat. Less realistic, but still a cat.

Hope your Halloween was just as fun;)

Fun with Webkinz

Grason was just being silly and playing ......His Webkinz are set up as a band and the song is something about "crashing waves" and "Jesus lives"----sure to be a major hit one day! My favorite is the accent he is singing with....cracks me up. Anyway, I thought it was too funny not to share...

MY FAVORITE VISITORS!

Mom and Dad came to visit us.......I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to have them here and how sad I was to see them go. The kids and I loved, loved, loved having them around and the days went by WAY too fast.

Mom and Dad.....thank you, thank you, thank you for making the long journey to spend time with us. I know it is not an easy trip to make------we love you bunches and the invitation is open for a return visit anytime! Here are some photos:

When lost in Waikiki....give the kids a camera to entertain themselves!

So, we are headed down to Waikiki (which is a BEAUTIFUL place I might add) to go swimming at the Hale Koa Resort. We were there the day before so I thought I knew the place well enough to go "direction free". I was wrong:( Needless to say, we saw everything Waikiki has to offer.....over and over and over again. I can't even tell you how many times Grason said, "Mom, haven't we been here already?" haha. Anyway, I guess there are worse places to get lost, but even the kids grew bored of seeing the sights. I gave them the camera......

Wow....it's been a while!!!! Here are a few updates:)

So much to catch up on.....first, I am excited to say that I found the camera attachment to download pictures to the computer. It had fallen behind the computer desk-----guess I should be a better housekeeper and sweep more!

Second, since our last update was on 19 September.....there's a ton to catch up on.

I am thrilled to report that Grason is now officially an 8 year old. He had a really fun party here at our home that I like to call "Kids gone wild/Wrestlemania 2008". There were 17 kids here to help him celebrate. They had a blast and I aged about 7 years that day. What is it about boys wanting to do every dangerous trick imaginable on a water slide?! Seriously...a great time and he was one happy kid! Thanks to all of his friends who came over:) Here are some pix....enjoy!

Our Report!

A quick "Our Report!" for you....compliments of Grason and Greta. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to Uncle Eric! (September 18)

Tomorrow is Uncle Eric's birthday and the kids have this to say about it.......

Our Little Ballerina

Hi Mom and Dad! Does this remind you of someone?! HaHa.

Greta started dance lessons this week. Needless to say, she LOVED her first lesson. Of course, one hour before lessons began, she decided she HAD to have a ballet skirt and one of those "ball things" on top of her head. In fact, she told me her teacher said that all students not wearing a ballet skirt to class would go to jail.........what?! Hmmmm.....I have a feeling she made that one up. :)

The class lasts for one hour and the parents have a viewing area for our entertainment. And it is entertainment at its best! She has fun and it brings back lots of great memories from my own childhood.

Her first recital will be in December and I'm thrilled that my mom is going to be here to see it!

Memphis in Hawaii! Well, almost....

Whitney's high school friend, Justin Hendrix, is a pilot in the National Guard and "dropped by" this week for a quick stay. We were absolutely thrilled to see him and can't wait until his next assignment brings him back for another visit. Greta especially enjoyed Justin's company and made sure he was aware of every toy she owned. She pretty much followed him around the house showing him ponies, dolls, small cars, etc. Very cute. (Side note: A huge thanks to Justin for playing right along and acting so impressed by every My Little Pony accessory manufactured in the last 2 years) As always, the visit was much too short, but we are truly thankful for the fun time.

Justin, you get the "first official visitor" title----Hurry back soon and bring the family!

The Jam Band

The Jam Band Intro....I can't even tell you how many times we recorded them introducing themselves. Tons of laughter and too many bloopers to count. I have chosen the top two of my personal favorites. One is from the beginning and the other is after several rehearsals-----see the confidence rise! A few of the boys were missing, so Greta and Emma were thrilled to step in! Needless to say, it was fun and they are now working on a song to post on the blog. Let the good times roll!

Seal at Kaena Point

Just a quick video of the seal we saw while at Kaena Point. The picture of Grason sitting on a rock from the "Kaena Point" post---the seal was just below him. He rolled around (the seal, not Grason--haha) and swam in the shallow water for around 5 minutes before heading back out to the ocean. The kids loved it!

Kaena Point Adventure

Friday we joined our neighbors for a bike ride along the remote northwest tip of Oahu to a place called "Kaena Point". From that point, you can see a panoramic view of the North Shore and the Leeward Coast. It is breathtaking. The bike ride itself was a blast. A very technical bike riding trail that was extremely tricky in areas (picture a path on the side of a mountain, a few feet wide, the ocean to your right and boulders everywhere). Grason was a trooper! You would have never guessed that he had only been riding a bike for a week and a half----he was leading the pack on several occasions. Whitney had the great challenge of carrying Greta trying to avoid too many "bumpies". We also stopped at a lagoon of sorts for a swim. I have never seen anything like it. Totally secluded and beautiful. There we collected sea glass and sea shells and just hung out and admired the view. Enjoy!

Hale Kula Elementary School

Go Eagles! Grason is now a second grader at Hale Kula Elementary School here in Wahiawa. His teacher, Mrs. Lau, is a wonderful woman and we are so fortunate to have her. She is very kind, patient, and unbelievably organized. I am extremely impressed and very happy with his class placement.He has made lots of friends and we are discovering that several of "the boys" live in and around our neighborhood. In fact, the number of kids walking home with us after school is growing weekly!We walk and ride bikes to school. Greta and her friend Emma Grace ride in the wagon and it makes for a nice morning. In the afternoons, we stop at the skate park on the way home and that has been a great outlet for extra energy before homework begins! So far so good......

He works hard for the money

This is Whitney hard at work today.................you must admit, there are worse things than "working" on a beach in Hawaii.  

This is the famous Turtle Beach. Unlike the other beaches in Hawaii, this beach gathers tons of sea weed which is the Honu's (Hawaiian word for sea turtles) favorite diet. We were only at the beach for around 45 minutes and saw seven turtles. They are HUGE and really beautiful to view up close. In fact, you can stand within a couple of feet from them and even swim around them and they don't seem to care at all. The people of Hawaii have a great respect and love the Honu-----something to see for sure:)

The Keiki Report

Well, well.....this is what you get when you don't realize the kids have taken the camera out of your purse. Unfortunately, I was talking to a friend in the background, but thought it was worth posting anyway. We hope you find it as entertaining as we do!

The Jam Band

Grason and his friends have created a neighborhood band......and they creatively call themselves The Jam Band...haha. Anyway, several times a week this house is filled with banging, strumming, howling, dinging, and every other noise they can make from instruments. It is quite peaceful:) Anyway, they have begun writing some original music and, I have to say, some of it is pretty good for a group of 7 and 8 year olds. "It's possible" is the latest and I'll have to get some video footage to share. Of course, they are convinced that they will be playing at "gigs" very soon and think they are the coolest guys in town. Rock on......

Friends all around

Just a few photos of the kids being kids. They have made some wonderful friends already and it has been a joy watching them play hard all day long every day!

Home Sweet Hawaiian Home

Welcome to our home! It's not quite "done", but the boxes are finally gone and we are beginning to settle in. Now, it has never taken this long to unpack our boxes, but the weather is beautiful and it is almost impossible to stay indoors-----even to unpack. So......a little about the home. We live on Schofield Barracks in a neighborhood referred to as the "Woodies". Originally, we were not going to live on post, but once we saw these homes vs. the homes off post----no question! The living space is actually much larger than it appears and the size of the yard is much, much, much bigger than you find off post. It's really a blessing that we are here. Anyway, the homes were built around 1910 and have tons of character. Yes, they are old and do not have air conditioners (that's right, you have to buy the awful looking window box acs or go without), the rooms are a bit quirky (we have maids quarters in the back---2 small rooms with a shower in between and a sink in one of the rooms. I actually think they are cool), and the flooring is bizarre (we have a sampling of original wood flooring, red painted wood flooring, tile, and laminate----all of this in one home!), but we love it. The trees are HUGE and provide the nicest shade during the afternoon, we have avocado, papaya, and citrus trees everywhere, kids galore, and incredible neighbors. Needless to say, we would love for you to come see for yourselves-----our door is always open!

Grason's latest....

Grason is finally riding his bike! For some background on this.....he has owned this bike for 2 years and had no interest in riding it. We never understood why he didn't want to give it a try, but he was not budging in his decision not to ride.

Anyway, we finally MADE him get on his bike----------10 minutes and he now thinks he is Tony Hawk on a bike. We can't get him off the bike. haha.

It's great though, he rides all afternoon around the neighborhood with his friends. And we are proud of him:)

***He is also swimming now-----he is on a roll........we'll keep you updated!

Sand Bar Adventure

What a weekend! These photos are taken from a day out at a sandbar located off Kaneohe Bay on the Windward side of the island. I can't even begin to describe the beauty of the ocean and island from the view point.

First of all, the drive out on the H3 from central Oahu to the Windward side is breathtaking. The elevated highway winds through the mountain area and once you top the highest hill there is a wonderful view of the ocean.

A quick boat ride from the Marine Base (courtesy of one of Whitney's pals) takes you to the most amazing sand bar. Around 50 boats anchored down with adults and kids swimming and just hanging out in the middle of the water. Some parts are so shallow that tables of food were set out. To add to the excitement, Grason began swimming on this day (I guess he figured it was the only way to get home! haha) and Greta loved that she could swim and touch the floor.

The few pictures I have added don't do it justice, but I hope you can tell how beautiful the day was and how much fun we had. Needless to say, it is something we hope to make a habit of!