2007-03 (MARCH)

2007-03-23Beach (7)  A traffic jam you could get used to :) 2007-03-22Turtles (1)  Brutus, with his satellite transponder on for tracking. I recently joined a group that volunteers to educate the public about these protected Hawaiian green sea turtles. I am enjoying learning about them in the process and Sam will be a good help laying a little rope down to keep tourists from bothering the turtles. 2007-03-22Turtles (3)  Here I am getting training from Joanne. The group works under the auspices of NOAA. I even have a little badge and everything. That's the first name tag and badge I've had since working for Merck 4 years ago! It felt good, in a strange way, to wear a name tag :) I felt like I really belonged. You can see the short hair here, too! 2007-03-22Turtles (6)  Mom and Sam enjoyed seeing Brutus, too! There's our little red rope to keep the paparazzi at bay.
2007 Daiei  A favorite store. It's the Japanese version of Wal-Mart. The best and cheapest diapers can be found in there. Huggies, for those of you who would care at all, cost twice as much here. 2007-03-06firsttimesincewaatgrammas (4)  Having dinner at Gramma and Pete's cottage! 2007-03-06firsttimesincewaatgrammas (6)  Off to the beach after dinner! IMGP1669  This is a great little playground on base. They have so many of them, all new, and little used. They're right by the ocean AND by some tank tracks that Sammy and I like to bike on...through the mud. You'll see the evidence here soon...
IMGP1671  He is a very determined slide-climber. He gets VERY upset when his little knees slip and he can't get up. You can imagine the echo of his cry inside the slide. Very embarrassing! IMGP1673  Ahhh...I made it! IMGP1676  And back down! IMGP1691  A dead puffer fish! Dave is really grossed out by this picture. Maybe it's that I showed it to him nice and large in a slideshow over dinner that night. It was right on our dining table. Perhaps not so appetizing.
IMGP1699  Caff having a great time at the beach! IMGP1706 IMGP1711  Kids and their toys. There was a storm over Kailua town (in the distance) but we never ended up getting rained on. IMGP1712  Dave celebrates his 15th year in the Navy with coffee and breakfast in bed. He's hiding from the camera :)
IMGP1718  Mom and Pete brought the early-morning lattes! Mom didn't even put her lenses in yet. They ended up having a few too many drinks at Buzz's the night before. Their mai tais are super strong. Mom had two by accident - Pete didn't mean to order a second but he must have signaled a secret Hawaiian hand gesture and ended up with a second round! IMGP1734  Saturday morning reading in the yard with Daddy. IMGP1735  My jasmine is blooming! IMGP1737  Baby palm tree. Looks like a Trojan soldier, eh? Strange how little plants look before they start growing up. Rather like a fetus.
IMGP1738  My lemon tree is growing, too! IMGP1739  And the hula girl hibiscus is in bloom! yeah! imgp1741  Not sure why we decided this would be fun to do. But it was... IMGP1744  The little bee is buzzing around!
IMGP1747  I think I'll sting daddy! IMGP1748  Not daddy's nose!  Oh no! IMGP1749  Buzz, buzz, buzz! imgp1753  The jasmine is growing up that little ladder.
IMGP1754 imgp1755  Unfortunately, this is the last known picture of  me with long hair. imgp1756  This is what my family thinks of my antics. :) IMGP1758  Squeezing lemons out with Gramma to make a sorbet for dessert. Sammy liked drinking water out of his "lemon cups."
IMGP1759 IMGP1761  Ok. Time to trim. The salon was closed so we did it ourselves! IMGP1762  Dinner that evening for our friend and my client, Wes and his wife Vicky. We made two pizzas, one with rosemary in the dough. IMGP1763  And some focaccia.
IMGP1764  We had a great time! Wes was curious to see the dough on the grill. He is opening a restaurant in Kailua - Formaggio Grill. He already runs a really neat place in Honolulu called Formaggio Wine Bar. Such nice people, and a great place to eat!  See http://www.formaggio808.com if you're curious... IMGP1765  Hmmm...it really does cook up on here! IMGP1766  Some wine on the deck before dinner. IMG00057  This is how we spend many mornings - running through Kailua and meeting up with mom in the park for a run down "Sammy's hill." He runs up and down, and even draws his own starting line for races :) I do some sit-ups and pushups while he's busy collecting pine cones and looking for gecko eggs.
IMG00058  There's a gecko egg we found in the bark! Sammy kept saying "gah-go ives in day-oh!" until I finally understood! He was right! We saved the last egg from certain chomping (the rest were all broken apart, presumably eaten by a predator or hatched). It's incubating on my counter right now. IMG00059 imgp1779  After a trip to the salon - it's short, but easy and fun, and lighter. IMGP1787  Mountain biking on base while Dave gets a massage!
imgp1789  "Mommy got doooty" - Yes, but Sammy made me do it! Dave very kindly gave the chain a good cleaning later. IMGP1790  Daddy climbs up the slide, too! imgp1794 IMGP1800
IMGP1801  Wheee! IMGP1804  Push Daddy up the slide! Stuff him up there! IMGP1805  I think Dave has missed all his dive school workouts. Maybe he'll do pull ups this way more often :) imgp1810  Sam loves stuffing his hands in his pockets. Thanks for the new shirt, Aunt Kate!
imgp1811 IMGP1816  You gotta love seeing Dave with Sam. We are so lucky to have him home now and not out at sea. I can't imagine telling Sam that his daddy has to go for 6 months. I don't know how we did it before. I miss my personal time and unfettered mischief, but I know it is the best for Sam to have his daddy home. I will go on "deployments" this summer with Sam :) IMGP1820  The "purse" I mentioned earlier...a little dirty. I'm SO feminine, aren't I? IMGP1827  Wally Amos of Famous Amos Cookies at a business luncheon I atteneded as a guest of our real estate agent, Lee Alden Johnson. Thanks again Lee!
IMGP1830  Sam hitches a ride in the kayak back to Mom and Pete's. IMGP1831  I love that shaka! IMGP1832  St. Patrick's day at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Dave and I went on a "date" and just pretended we were tourists. We walked all around this incredible place (incredibly pricey!) and enjoyed a great dinner. IMGP1835  A blue Hawaiian for me, thanks!
2007-03-17DiscoveringMandMs  Sammy tries his first M&Ms courtesy of Gramma! P1010043  Climbing out of the water from my swim to Flat Island (seen in the background to the right). 2007 Buzz's  Buzz's Steak House at night. This is a neat place, right on the beach, and a quick walk from Mom and Pete's. Their little cottage is really in a great place! IMGP1855  Girls' night out! We tried a new place in Kailua called Casablanca. Excellent Moroccan fare. We had a great time. I really am blessed to have so many wonderful friends. This is April and Diane. April has SEVEN children! She is super funny. Diane is full of energy and ideas, and goes along with many of my zany notions, which is quite nice of her!
girls night out  From left: Angel (my dear friend of 6 years now), April, Diane, me, Leo (crazy MPH/rower friend), Laurie (another fantastically witty, intelligent, nutty friend), Heidi (steadfast and sure, Heidi keeps us out of too much trouble - and despite this picture she assures us she has a wonderful time! Heidi was our loan officer, too!). heidi 3  Ahhh...there's the smile! leo alli casablanca  Can you see the glint in her eyes? Leo has a 4 yr old daughter and a 7 month old daughter, and yet she still manages to work as a PA two nights a week, run, row, and agree to wacky adventures with me. 2007-03-22FlowerSniffing (14)  Sammy was sniffing the hibiscus with Gramma...
2007-03-22FlowerSniffing (13)  Cute little face! And another nice new shirt from Aunt Kate. He looked so snazzy! imgp1866  Sam loves to water plants (any excuse to play with the water) and learned how to hold the hose like a Fireman. He's taking care of our transplanted palm trees here. IMGP1872  A morning out on the beach. imgp1874  Bringing some water up to help Daddy build a nice wading pool.
imgp1880 IMGP1881 IMGP1883  Nice to see Dave playing in the sand, too! IMGP1897
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IMGP1918  Dave has already lost 15lbs despite working some long hours and having to squeeze workouts into busy days. imgp1920  Dragging mommy into the water now! IMGP1922 IMGP1927  Somebody was too eager to get back into the water for a little family self-portrait...
IMGP1928 2007-03-25KailuaBeachKiteSurfers (16)  Doesn't this look fun!!!? 2007-03-27KailuaBchLunchTimeRomp (1)  After a hike, Sam and I cooled off in the water before picnic lunch on the beach. 2007-03-27KailuaBchLunchTimeRomp (2)  He took a nose-dive into the sand and was COVERED so I'm trying to get the layers of sand out of his hair. He didn't want to clean up. He wanted to run and play in the water.
2007-03-27KailuaBchLunchTimeRomp (5) 2007-03-27KailuaBchLunchTimeRomp (6)  As you can see - I didn't exactly change into a swim suit for this impromptu dip. Oh well. We did get some interested looks from spring-break vacationers :) 2007-03-27KailuaBchLunchTimeRomp  Wow this diaper is soaked! IMGP1964  Dave's bike workshop nearly completed. The bike has some new tires on it, and all the tools are within reach. He really enjoys keeping our gear all nicely stowed, clean, and in good repair. I have it pretty good. When I was raising horses, it was up to me to feed, clean, saddle. Now I can just ride out on my wheeled "steed" :)
imgp1971  Story time in the dentist's waiting room. imgp2011  Our first bike ride since we moved here. (Dave had gone a couple times, but our first together.) imgp2010  A group of people watching whales and counting the number of spouts. imgp2012  Dave ordering some lunch at Lanikai Juice - acai bowl and Kailua Monkey smoothie. So good!
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