2009-11 NOV

Thanksgiving 61 images

1 Funny guy out at breakfast. Just wearing this quietly, waiting for us to notice :)	2 First muddin' ride after getting back from So Cal. Fun! Very messy boy and bike after a couple good wipeouts...cleaned up in the ocean.	3 "Dad! There's some Beeeeg puddles today!"	4 Out on a bike/run around the fish ponds. We saw some special friends today - puffer fish, racing fish (a family of four doing sprints across the little canal) and even an eel or moray.
5 Ben stocking the man fridge...he checked each one to be sure it was right-side-up first! Like his quality control?	6 Sam leaving a note for daddy - the dinner menu: "sooshe" Right on, brah!	7 Everyday sunset over the mountains from our gate. Beautiful.	8 Garden helpers - the boys love to sweep! Sam figured out how to make the rake look like a spider by pushing instead of pulling. Funny...
9 Helping Gramma move into her "coddage"!	10 Ben was helpful, too!	11 Very helpful, huh? Ben does this move a lot...any idea what he's up to?	12 Mom enjoying watching them look for a gecko who sneaked under the bed.
13 Watching "miniscule" videos on YouTube - a ladybug stealing a lollipop or something. Very cute. They were very engrossed with Gramma!	14	15 This little tag was from my jeans. I actually saved it in my toiletries and referred to it every morning for a little pick-me-up. Lame, I know, but the jeans fit well, too!	16 "Fish tank" time in the crib this morning!
17 They brought all their "friends" in, too.	18 Feeding the fish!	19 Look at Ben studying Sam's technique here!	20 Ben's turn. He took it with his hands instead :)
21 I made a collage of our year...nice way to remember so many adventures and happy times with family.	22 Out to brunch with mom after church. Yum - Moke's!!!	23 "Decorating" a Sam using great website - starfall.com. He creates his little character, gets to read the instructions, then creates his own narrative to describe his home, bedroom, etc. Awesome for new readers.	24 The bread I made this year after thinking about doing it for five years. Represents all that Thanksgiving is to me - harvest, gathering family and friends, and folks we've never met! Wait 'til you see the Thanksgiving we enjoyed this year.
25 Out on a bike/run at Bellows. We have such a good time every time we go there. Even though it rained today, we enjoyed ourselves so much.	26 Ben trying on some personal items of Gramma's.	27 Lookin' good, Benji!	28 Ben with "ball-bal!" - Sam reminded all of us that we found this ball while biking on a trail in California near Gramma and Richard's house. I love "found" toys - they bring a memory along with the fun!
29 Out on a run/bike - Sam made it all the way up the Alala Pt hill on his bike without a helping hand! (That's pretty good with no gears :) ). This is a cell phone picture sent to Daddy.	30 Out at Hale Koa Beach looking for sand crabs.	31 We studied up on their habitat and how they catch food with their little grabbers.	32 Making some art along the way. Those pesky Ko'olaus are so hard to do! They are magnificent and detailed. They seem easy but they defy capturing on paper. Here I'm sprinkling some "rain" (sea water) to create the ridges. This new technique is highly experimental...
33 Climbing up the Makapu'u summit from the back side. We were shoulder-high in prickers, cacti and haole koa before we knew it. Had to scoot to a ridgeline and find another way up.	34 See Sammy's crazy glasses? All of our sunglasses have been lost or broken with our travels. We're waiting for new ones. These are from a visit to Panama City when Dave was in dive school in 2003. Wow. They are some look, aren't they? :) It's very windy, so we're trying to keep dust from flying into our eyes.	35 At the top! Here we are peeking into a bunker. Sam wanted me to take this photo.	36 At the top, looking up the windward coast. Cool climb!
37 Whoa! windy!	38 Having snacks before we head down. This was an approach that's been on my list to explore for at least a year now. Not recommended for little kids, i.e. it's not very easy and particularly safe.	39 The way down was easy, though, via the b-o-r-i-n-g paved path :)	40 Even Ben hiked all the way down from the bunkers (at the peak in the middle of the shot here) and across the parking lot to the upper lot. That rascal regularly does about 1.5 miles to 2 miles on a hike. He doesn't tire much, trying to keep up with big bro!