Sammy’s big news (and big video)

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Sammy and I had a great day today, and there are some newsworthy items to post. Dave paid off BOTH cars last night, and Sammy is talking!  (Click for video.)

Deborah wins the wacky fruit contest!

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My cousin, Deborah (who lives in MN), emailed me her best guess at the wacky fruit – soursop. You can Google the images, but I’m sure she’s right! Nice work!

fish- and fruit-of-the-week mystery

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my “policy” for integrating into any new culture, whether foreign or domestic, is full immersion…

swap meet success!

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View from the deck at Waimanalo cottage. mom, sam and i stopped at the swap meet on our way to the airport today. the hawaiian swap meet is like nothing you’ve ever seen – it’s held three days a week and the vendor tents circle the Aloha Stadium twice!

Makapuu Lighthouse hike

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Mom and I went on a nice hike this morning to a lighthouse at Makapuu point, south of Waimanalo. It was pretty hot, so we were thankful to get up and out early 🙂 Here are a few pictures of the view… Sammy hiked about a mile of the way back down and took a long nap after lunch!

lounging at lunch

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We went to Sunday brunch at the Hale Koa hotel (a military hotel in Waikiki). It was so so so good! Then we hung out in the kiddie pool and walked around town. Here are a couple shots from the last few days.

the island life is relaxing

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we have been enjoying the last couple days mostly relaxing, but taking care of some details to prepare for dave starting his new job on monday, and signing our loan application. the pace here is truly more relaxed than the mainland (even the west coast!), and we’re adapting to it pretty well (yes, even i am!). 

mom arrives, trip to north shore

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mom got in last night and went up to the north shore with us this morning. we visited one of dave’s favorite haunts from 10 yrs ago – the Coffee Gallery – for yogurt/fruit/granola cups and coffee 🙂

hike, house, happiness!

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we went for a great hike to Maunawili Falls today with Mike, Angel, Luke, Josh, David and Sheena, then drove out to Waimanalo to see our rental cottage by the ocean. you can hear the ocean from the cottage, and it’s really cute.

our first offer on a home!

we placed an offer on a house today – very momentous occasion for us since it’s our first home purchase. cross your fingers and say a few prayers they accept! we’re excited either way 🙂

Caffrey goes househunting

We were looking at homes in Kailua and came back to find Caffrey missing! While Dave was out driving around looking for her, I got a call from a local vet who had scanned her microchip and found us.

first day of househunting

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Dave checked into his first day of work yesterday (see nice new outfit above!) and really enjoyed meeting everyone in the office. He is excited to be involved in important, challenging work.

sammy enjoys playing with the big boys

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Sammy has really enjoyed hanging out with the youngest Uherek – David. They read together in Sam’s pigpen, and David helped friend Sheena babysit today while Dave and I went running. We came back to find them all sprawled on the bed reading.

to many tourists and settlers suffocate the aloha.

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this was note handwritten with a sharpie on the back of a van parked at the beach today. angel and i wanted to fix the typo 🙂

first day in Hawaii

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we had a relaxing day today with the Uherek’s and are getting immersed in the island lifestyle 🙂