2007-07 (JULY)

2007-07-10 camping summit 07 75 images

2007-07-11 Sharks Cove 25 images

2007-07-25 first hair cut 8 images

1 I'm finally wearing a plumeria without looking like a goofball :) These are Sammy's favorite flower. We pick them up wherever we see them.	2 What is this all about, you might ask? Well - this is the aftermath of a battle royale with a cockroach. I was crouched under the dining room table laughing like crazy as I listened to the viscious battle. The crinkling of the plastic wrap around a dozen paper towel rolls as Dave tried to find the roach. He finally had to take each one out in order to find the sneaky thing. I was hiding because you never know when you might get chased...	3 A new sport here in Hawaii. The dog-trike pull. This is on the path by the marsh down the block from our home. We were out with my friend Dana and her doggie, looking for baby ducks to feed. Caffrey went to take a drink from the marsh (probably not a good idea anyway) and fell in. She almost hauled Dana in as she tried to climb out! (No - Sam was not attached on the trike at the time!)	4 Our yard is coming together. We did not take many "before" pictures because it was so depressing when we moved in.
5 We tore down the old deck and put in a new one when we moved in. Since then we planted the bed in front of it, and planted fruit trees and other tropical foliage along the rear fence to disguise the chain link. They are really doing well.	6 The teak lounge chairs are new - we love them! We have to sand them and reapply some teak oil to keep the golden color. Although expensive (even used - I found them on craigslist), teak weathers very well here so it was worth the splurge.	7 The arbor was a birthday present from Dave - it's the entryway to a side yard and "secret garden." I think Dave will hang his hammock back there because it's shady in the afternoon.	8 Some more views of the garden. We've been doing a lot of planting and landscaping. It's really looking good now :)
9 I got a little crafty last week and painted some leftover cinder blocks a light blue to complement the old keg I found in Coronado. I put plants in the cinder blocks. No, nothing is underneath - I thought osmosis would be a good way to help water the plants? We'll see how they do. A lot of water floats down the walkway from the downspout, so hose-water and I figured they'd get some run-off water. So far so good.	10 Sammy having a great time at a 4th of July bbq at our friends' home in Kailua.	11 Like the hat? Sammy sure did!	12 And so did Dave :)
13	14 The lei greeting ceremony begins! Sam is welcoming Marilou and Dad.	15	16
17	18 shaka :)	19 Ahhh...toes in the sand at last, after a long flight.	20 Dad built blocks for Sammy to play with. He loves them!
21	22	23 A garage for the big yellow Jeep!	24 Nice reading time with Grammie.
25 "Arrival dinner" out at Lucy's.	26 A visit to the tide pools with Sammy was a lot of fun :)	27 Sammy put lots of "sand block" on mommy!	28 That's a lot of sun protection!
29 He found some nice girl friends to play with.	30 Ring around the rosy.	31 How many guys does it take to get those blocks back in the container?	32 They worked pretty hard at this. I think it took half an hour!
33 At the Hale Koa	34	35 Some new shoes for my birthday from Doug and Mary - thank you! Testing out their sea to shore capabilities - I think they're even self-bailing, like our kayaks :)	36 Marilou on the Sheraton Surfrider lanai.
37 I have no idea what they're looking at but I thought Sammy's stance was funny in comparison.	38 Hitching a ride on Grandpa!	39	40 One of my favorite photos :)
41 I made collages on most days that Marilou and Dad visited so they could send them back home via email to friends and family. A digital diary turned out to be a helpful way to organize the memories. I even made a DVD of all the pictures! It was done recording literally the minute we had to leave.	42	43	44
45 YUM! Brunch at the O Club on the Marine Corps Base (Kaneohe). These are banana pancakes.	46 The view that was blown out in the previous shot.	47 They looked so good that Dad and Marilou decided to try some :)	48
49 Some cute pictures of Daddy and son in their aloha wear.	50	51 Out on a run with Mommy! Check out those cute running shoes - we had a great time romping around in the park.	52 My little friend on a hill overlooking Kailua Beach and Flat Island.
53 Caught in the act scarfing down dessert!	54	55	56 Marilou enjoying the tide pools with Sam. It was VERY high tide that day!
57	58 This is for you, Uncle Tom!	59 Some pictures taken by a fellow honu guardian volunteer. Can you believe the snuggling? So precious!	60
61 A luau with Dad and Marilou at the Hale Koa. It was a lot of fun and well worth the visit. Sammy enjoyed dancing during the displays of traditional island dances after dinner. He had a blast! This photo is now framed and hangs in Sammy's room next to the one of him with Nana and Pop Pop at the Dole Plantation train ride. He says goodnight every night and prays for all his grandparents each night at dinner. ("Bess Nana and Pop Pop at Ew York, Bess Grammie and Grandpa in Ew Jersey, Bess Gramma at Washington...")	62	63	64
65	66	67 Taking the pig out of the imu.	68
69 Kalua pig, huli huli chicken, rice, fried bananas...	70 Coconut cake and haupia, which is coconut milk and sugar made into a gelatinous pudding-like dessert. Odd consistency but very good.	71 The banyan tree at the Hale Koa lit up at night.	72
73 A visit to the USS Arizona memorial.	74 We opted for a more private way to pay respects, from Ford Island.	75	76 Over 2000 lives lost in the attacks. I'm reading a history of the period right now - Pearl Harbor and Hawaii, written by the editors of the Army Times. Very exhaustive account - interesting to reflect on the events, places and people after having lived here for a year.
77 Another visit to the tide pools - this is our "aloha Friday" tradition.	78	79	80
81 I had a procedure done on my leg - suspicious lesions are not taken lightly by this redhead living waaaayyy too close to the equator! So I'm pointing at the fun I am not allowed to have. I tried standing on one leg like a stilt but it was a bit risky.	82 Marilou is snorkeling.	83 Dave arrives with yummy pizza and a portable beach bar full of mai tais!	84
85 A father and son out fishing.	86 Little guy couldn't be happier - covered with sand, surf and sauce.	87	88
89 The glass-bottom boat never fails to be a hit. We call it his "pirate ship" because he is SO into pirates now. His Tito Pig has pirate stories of his own to share with Sam on the phone and even sent him an outfit to wear.	90	91	92
93	94	95 A backyard gear-test dinner! Dave got some camping gear for our next adventure...	96 Nice stove!!! It folds up really compactly.
97 Dad admires the gear while Dana looks on :)	98 I want that!	99 Sammy liked the idea of putting ice down Grandpa's back...bad mommy for putting him up to mischief!	100 Talking to Julie before the Lanika 8K (5miles) - she works at the store where I bought my new running shoes. Sam is in LOVE, total LOVE, with Julie. She looks like Barbie - no wonder!
101 Off to the starting line!	102	103 Sammy and I managed to run well and took second place! The even bigger surprise that we later found out is I was pregnant here. Unfortunately our happiness was short-lived (early miscarriage rates increase with age), but we're continuing to hope.	104 Loco Moco at Moke's Bread and Breakfast afterwards. This little place does a nice job. I actually called TWO days in advance to secure our reservation because I really wanted some pancakes after the race. A Loco Moco is egg on top of meatloaf on top of rice, all topped with a gravy of some kind. Very rich. Dad tried it :)
105 Marilou's waffles a la mode. Yum.	106	107 Talking to his little baby cactus in the cactus garden. Sammy helps me with the garden by watering and telling me which plants need "snacks" - some Miracle Grow feeding sticks. He likes to feed the plants :) Note the fence - Dave did a great job later in the week creating a privacy screen in this area.	108 Sam pumping up his bike tires :)
109 Dinner on the deck.	110	111 Dana made these delicious desserts the other day for the backyard gear-test bbq. I told Sam that night he could have "two more bites, because you're 2" and he quickly replied "But I'm THREE!" Nice - he is already a negotiator. I think he got that from you, Tito Pig!	112
113 A last visit to the beach before Dad and Marilou have to start their long journey home. This is at North Beach on base.	114	115 Teaching Sammy how to body surf!	116
117	118 Putting mommy's medal on. We had to get ours by mail because I had no clue we'd run that well.	119 Sam wear's it well, too, huh?	120 We're on a little hike in Kaneohe after doing some more bloodwork to monitor the short-lived pregnancy. It was a lot of running around that week - getting tests done and drugs, etc. Although I was only 5 weeks pregnant, I sure felt all the normal symptoms. Then one day they just stopped. It was good to get out in nature during this time of waiting and wondering. The experience helped us realize how much we want another child, so we're hopeful we'll be blessed soon.
121 View out to Kaneohe Bay. I really like this bay, as much or more than Kailua Beach.	122 Great hiking stick! We keep it in the truck now :)	123 Caff had a good time, too. That same week she had another bout of tapeworms so I had to take her to the vet and get more pills to kill them. I had no idea dogs could get tapeworms from eating one flea with a tape egg in it. I am thinking about buying some beneficial nematodes now to eat any fleas that are in our yard.	124 Sam is very gentle and really loves his doggie. We talked about maybe being a vet one day. He is very caring for all his "animals" (the stuffed variety). I always wanted to be one and read all the James Herriot books.
125	126 Riding his mountain bike at the beach park!	127	128
129 Lookin' tough!	130 We're on a "date" tonight while Dave is in school (Wed nights). I thought this would be fun to do after dinner. We got a little treat at Kalapawai for dessert. Now Becca or Jenni - do not give me grief about biking with the front wheel going backwards :) ha ha! It just happened that way for the picture - I don't think we rode that way for long! BUT, Dave did later find that the tires were essentially flat - oops! No wonder it was hard work for him on the hills! When we next took him over the weekend it was hard to keep up with him ;)	131	132 Mom had Sammy's first hiking shoes bronzed - they were from Tita Bear and were actually Tommy Hilfiger shoes. Very cool!
133 Dave built a privacy screen out of bamboo in about an hour. Nice work! I really love it. Nice to not look at that abandoned house. They are now working on cleaning that place up, but this keeps the view into our house more private from the road.	134 A party for the honu guardians up at the North Shore. Many turtles were swimming around and one passed inches by us in the water. It was amazing!	135 This female is eating limu on the "limu shelf" - a salad bar for turtles.	136 Limu.
137	138 Riding the "Daddy fish" at the tide pools.	139	140 Applying more "sandblock" to mommy :)
141	142 I'm doing mommy's neck!