Turtle Bay

We saw a turtle swimming out there, but didn't get a close look this day.

Poor Mr. T. He did not get to play in the sand very long. I figured he would try one mouthful of sand. I thought that would be enough for him to realize sand is not good to eat. But Mr. T wanted seconds. And he was mostly picking out the stones of perfect choking size. So soon we had to put him on a towel and keep him distracted with Ritz crackers. But those are his favorite.

Nobody got buried in the sand. But Schmoo at least got his legs covered.

Big Z liked exploring the rocky reef. Some parts were REALLY jagged. It made me nervous thinking about the number of stitches one fall could require. But both the boys were pretty fearless. And thankfully, except for some tiny scrapes, we all explored without injury.

The water was pretty cold, right MJ?

Cute Pics of Mom and Dad

We had a fabulous trip to Hawaii. It was so great that it has been hard for me to figure out how to adequately blog about it. I have not found the time to be a wonderfully descriptive writer at this point in my life. And while a picture may be worth a thousand words, even photos really can't do justice to the beauty of this part of our country. I highly recommend making the visit.

But anyway, I can say that one of the best parts about this trip was having Mom and Dad there with us. And I think my audience knows how cute Mom and Dad can be. So I'm guessing you will enjoy these pictures.

This is Mom and Dad exploring the reef/ lava flow on Turtle Bay. Ever the scientist, Dad hiked out there first, and made many neat discoveries. Several of us followed and became absorbed in observing the tiny fish, urchins, hermit crabs, and plant life that made there home there. Fun exploring. Dad, did you ever figure out why it was more jagged near the water? Would it have eroded that way if there were air pockets in the lava?

Here are Mom and Dad in the Thurston Lava tube. We took this short hike as a part of our visit to the Volcanoes National Park. Dad was the only one prepared enough with a flashlight, until we bought some little ones at the gift shop. They were necessary for anyone who wanted to explore the whole cave, because only half of it is lit. Mom chose not to walk in darkness. The rest of us tried hiking the dark side with our meager pen lights. But most of us turned back before going very far. The children agreed with Grandma in the end. It is best to walk in the light.

Here's Daddy chillin' by the pool. His shirt says "Stone Cold Sober."

Pearl Harbor

We had a great trip to Hawaii with Mom and Dad. We met up with them in the Atlanta airport, and soon boarded the plane for a ten hour flight to Honolulu. I was a bit nervous about taking such a long flight with a nine month old. But Mr. T did great. He is not the best of travelers in the car, but I think the plane was easier because he wasn't confined to a carseat. We could pass him around and play with him, so he really didn't complain much at all. All of the kids did well, really. Of course it helped that we were on a large plane with a little extra leg and elbow room. Plus the children loved the fact that every seat had its own screen with free movies and games to play on demand. Most of us agreed that the ten hours passed faster than expected.

There were birds in the Honolulu airport. Open air walkways and courtyards let in the refreshing breeze. The weather was gorgeous in my estimation. So I was surprised when a Hawaiin resident complained about it being cold and blustery. Nothing like the winter we left back on the mainland! There were a couple of extra windy days while we were there, but all in all the weather was just delightful.

The jet lag left me beat the first night. But I woke up before 5am the next morning and couldn't get back to sleep! Very uncharacteristic for me. So we had breakfast and drove back down to Honolulu to see Pearl Harbor. The boys and I had been studying WW II, so we had been looking forward to this visit for months. We watched a really good film, then got on the ferry which took us over to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. Parts of the sunken battleship are still visible near the surface of the water. It was moving to see the names of the more than 1100 servicemen who died--many entombed inside the sunken Arizona. I was also touched that several of the survivors felt such loyatly to their shipmates, that they have chosen the Arizona as their final resting place decades later.

We took a tour of the USS Missouri. This battleship was still under construction on Dec. 7, 1941 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. But years later, leaders and emissaries gathered on the deck of the Missouri to sign the treaty ending WWII. We enjoyed wandering the decks of this huge battleship. We also visited the Aviation Museum.