1 Mom and Richard kept the boys for naps a few days the week before Doug and Mary arrived - our master bath finally died and we had to do an emergency remodel...
2 They had a blast!
3 Welcome, Tito Pig! (Uncle Doug)
4 Reading Babar!
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7 And now Tita Bear is here!
8 Opening ceremonies! We had so much fun...
9 Doug and Mary have joined us for a nice extended visit over Thanksgiving - Doug is my brother and Mary is his fiancee. We are so happy to see them and wanted to throw a big party to celebrate their arrival, and kick off the holiday season with our family and friends.
10 Gathered with our friends for a bonfire, pupus and s'mores at Bellows.
11 Breaking up wood for the bonfire. This is Spencer taking a big swing while David looks on. Brian and Dave are attacking the pallet.
12 And the pirates have sword fights!
13 Lots of fun for all the menfolk!
14 Liisa and Angel with Ben.
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16 Hi Brian! Welcome home from deployment! (This is Liisa's husband.)
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19 A beautiful place to gather.
20 Let the ceremonies begin! We'll start with fire-starting the ancient Hawaiian way...
21 Go Kathy - good form!
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23 Jon at the ready with the coconut fibers!
24 Can two do it any better?
25 Yikes this is hard work!
26 Switching "guns" :)
27 Then we got Don in on the action - he says he did this as a kid, and promises to work on technique for a rematch next year :) He was such a good sport to try it for us! We all made smoke and Don really truly almost had it going. I think I saw an ember...
28 Aaaargh!
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30 Lots of discussion about technique :) Then more beer...
31 Go Daddy, go!
32 And Dave gave it a go...
33 Now Doug is working it! Like his man lei?
34 Maybe that's the tradition - whoever comes the furthest to celebrate Thanksgiving gets to start the fire? I'm blocking the wind now.
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37 See the black? We were close!
38 Mom wanted a try, too!
39 Oh yeah! Almost! This was the start of a a major upper body workout during the coming week...good thing Doug is so fit - he did a ton of surfing, kayaking, paddle boarding...
40 Whew! Can I relax now?
41 She finally got it going, see!? ha!
42 LOVE the smell of a good bonfire.
43 Now for the coconut cracking portion of the ceremonies. Jon is very good at this.
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46 Yum!
47 Angel shows Doug how to crack a coconut with a machete next...
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50 Right here?
51 We always bring machetes to parties. You just never know. And headlamps.
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56 Sam watching Uncle Doug with the machete...totally fascinated. He kept inching closer and closer to see
57 Mom capturing all the craziness. Thanks to Mom and Richard, we have lots of great photos documenting the festivites for generations to come :) Doug has been with us for FIVE Thanksgivings now!
58 Liisa's husband Brian is finally home from deployment - yay!!!
59 You would never know, but Melisa is 9 months pregnant!!!!! She found a good firewood supply and brought her famous artichoke dip :) My true hero!
60 Ben is a messy eater...
61 Sam finally sat down for some food - he loves edamame. He was way to busy running wild being a "bad pirate" to eat...but edamame got his interest.
62 I'm telling something funny...wish I could remember! But look at Dave's face...
63 The pirate wars continue! The kids just ran and ran!
64 And the grownups got to relax a bit.
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68 Finally stopping long enough for some water :)
69 Discussing the benefits of a rapid delivery!
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73 This is the coconut tree climbing event!
74 Sam giving it a try!
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77 The ladies were telling me "Headlamps are not an accessory!"
78 A great time! Thanks for coming everyone!
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81 Soccer by headlamp :)
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84 Anneliese :)
85 And Caleigh! Little cuties!!!
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88 Nice fire!
89 Paparazzi photos...of the visiting dignitaries :)
90 Tomorrow Mary and Doug will be Ben's Godparents at his baptism. Thanks for coming all this way to celebrate with us! We love you!
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92 Ah yes!
93 Not sure what happened here. A bonking of some kind - oh I think it was standing up under the picnic table after retrieving the soccer ball. Poor guy.
94 Mommy helps Sammy recover.
95 What is Liisa telling me?! She is plotting and scheming no doubt!
96 Ooooh! Night assault on Bellows by climbing up and over the pillbox trail? or a beach assualt by kayak? sounds great!
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98 Liisa's son Mikko-Dakota. Such a cutie! He is Sam's partner in all pirate crimes :)
99 We went surfing in Waikiki - what a blast! Having a lesson really helped.
100 Here is Dave showing great form on his way up.
101 And finding time to do a shaka!
102 That's Doug in the background. He already knew how to surf, but this is Dave's first time on a board!
103 I had so much fun!
104 Yay!!! I'm up!
105 Check out my crazy wardrobe choice, though! I loaned out my only rashguard...
106 And Mary was a real pro! Look at her go!
107 No hands!
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109 There's Mary!
110 Nice ride, Mary!
111 That's me and Diamond Head in the distance. Doug took these pictures from his board.
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113 Mom took care of the boys in the tent on the beach. Thanks mom!
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115 Totally "pearling" - the nose of the board is sinking into the water (and I'm about to wipe, and I know it!) because I'm too far up to the front of the board.
116 Go Mary!
117 She hates this photo because it looks so phony, but isn't it a great shot that Doug took?!
118 So fun getting a chance to share this experience with my BIG little brother. A highlight of my life! No kidding :)
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120 After-surfing pull-ups :)
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122 Out to dinner at Zia's, where it turns out Sean knows a lot of the people Mary works with in the fashion industry! He used to work in NYC in a former life...
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126 Mary loved Lanikai Beach!
127 Yes - the colors are for real!
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130 A day at Lanikai Beach - very very windy, but fun to play around in the water. I'm having to really dig into the water to paddle anywhere against the wind. Doug made it out to those breaks to see if they were good for surfing. This was the beginning of his upper body workout! He joked at the end of the week that he'd need a joint replacement after this Thanksgiving fest :)
131 I don't think I moved at all!
132 Maybe a little!
133 Diving into pizza that mom brought back. Mom and Richard were an awesome support crew for the adventurers! They kept us fed and helped haul our gear all over the place, chasing waves and sun :)
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136 Waving to uncle Doug coming back from the breaks.
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139 Then home for a quick wardrobe change and back out again for family photos with my friend Liisa.
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141 This is the madness in our bedroom during the bathroom remodel. How we managed being down a bathroom with company all week I don't know...but it all worked out ok. We realized we had actually lived for years with only one bathroom somehow!
142 New vanity.
143 What a mess!
144 Poor Dave - he had put the paddleboard away, then I asked him to put it back on the truck for a prop for the photos :) I am so glad we did. I can't wait to see Liisa's photos. These are from Richard's blackberry.
145 Liisa and MD helping :)
146 Sam messing around at the front :)
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148 Can Mary be any more beautiful?
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150 Liisa working hard to put us all together in a neat panorama.
151 Look at that sky!
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154 Mom found this muumuu on Ebay!
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156 Dave took it out for a spin - very very shallow so I actually ran aground and got dumped entirely into the water in my dress!
157 Dave picking his way around the coral.
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159 The boys were so cute trying these one. Look at Doug's hands...that's what Sam does when he smiles really big.
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163 Load it one more time!
164 Sam came out in one of his "dress-up" shirts and this wreath saying "I'm wearing something special for you!" He loves wearing button-down shirts now.
165 He enjoys choosing and buttoning his own dress-up shirts for going out to dinner or other events. He knows casual vs dress-up. Very cute.
166 Ben in a cute shirt from Aunt Kate.
167 Whew! What a day!
168 A nice dinner that Dave made after the boys went to bed.
169 Salmon, asparagus, rice...
170 And now it's time for Thanksgiving!!!
171 Mom arriving with the VIP bird!
172 Liz, Mike and Angel.
173 Trying to capture moments in between feeding boys, setting up the table, getting drinks...
174 Dave carving up the bird. It came out so well!
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176 We had a potluck - didn't specify what sides to bring. It all worked out really well and was delicious!
177 I also had this compelling desire to use my paddleboard as a table, so I sneaked it onto some chairs and gathered around :)
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180 Sam and Ben's sitter, Roni!
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187 Liz and her friend (John? sorry I can't remember) who was visiting and helping a woman row from CA to HI.
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193 Some party crashers who know the lady in black - Cynthia. She produces a reality tv show - heartofparadise.tv. It's premiering on FOX in mid-December. Keep an eye out for it :)
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198 Nice place to chill after feasting!
199 Look at this dessert tray! It's from a Samoan family in the next pavilion over. They were so nice! We pounced on it!
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201 There's Picka - not sure how to spell it, sorry! So nice to meet you!
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210 Cynthia and her girls, Alyssa and Alana.
211 Come on, honey! Just a little nose nibble?!
212 Angel was my co-conspirator - how can we get tons of food, have tons of friends and family around, but not spend all day in the kitchen???
213 More after dinner games :)
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215 Poor Brian got dragged in, too!
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217 Doug and Mary taking the kayak out!
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219 They're off to Flat Island.
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221 Nice landing!
222 Dave out on the paddleboard in fierce winds.
223 Whoa!!!
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225 Downward dog on the beach!
226 Liisa watching Dave :)
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229 More spectators :)
230 Another sport, Doug?!
231 Time for the "Sam show" - playing the piano while stomping and shaking his head like a real rocker :)
232 Ben was playing the flute, too!
233 At Castles for some surfing!
234 I asked this guy if he would take us tandem surfing, then thew poor Mary on the board first! He was like, "OK, I'm going to have to lie down on your butt, are you ok with that?"
235 I let him use my board for a while as a thank - you, even though I was DYING to get on it to try some waves!
236 More beach naps!
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238 Sam got the chair out and set up all by himself!
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241 Dave arriving with the beach mai tai bar :)
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243 Nice!
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246 Peekaboo!
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248 Dave out paddleboarding.
249 Sam gathering coconuts for a new game...
250 Coconut surfing!
251 Out to Zia's - for brunch this time! Bread pudding pancakes!!!!
252 Doug and I kayaked out to the Mokes and hiked around to the cove at the back side. Very cool!
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254 Jumping into Queen's Bath around to the other side of Moku Nui.
255 Climbing out is tricky with sea urchins all around!
256 Yeah - that guy!
257 And I'm jumping, too!
258 Doug likes to act out children's stories. Here he is the big bad wolf!
259 Checking out Pyramid Beach for surfing potential. It was really big - too big. 10'12' faces that day! But beautiful. Look at Capt. Hook :)
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261 So back to Castles we went...and Doug got some really good rides in.
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265 Love this series of Ben playing :)
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267 Sandy buddies!
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270 Gathering coconuts again!
271 This is a good wrap-up of the week :) We had such a blast!!!!!