September 14, 2011

P.E. on the beach today.  Since Jordan and I had our nails done yesterday, we decided to supervise from afar.  Today is her last day in Hawaii before she heads back over to Seattle for school.  Soak up those rays baby!
Kailua, Hawaii

September 13, 2011

I had the pleasure to attend a luncheon at the Diamond Head Lighthouse today.  Our gracious host and hostess were the current residents, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Charles Ray and his lovely wife Mrs. Donna Ray.  Of course, we had another glorious sunshiny day, making the self guided tour absolutely spectacular!  Here is a shot of the original Fresnel lens which was manufactured in France specifically for this lighthouse in the Royal Hawaiian territory and installed in 1899.  For more information regarding this historic site visit http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=140.
Diamond Head,  Waikiki,  Hawaii

September 12, 2011

Happy Birthday to Spencer Charney!!!  We helped celebrate his 13th birthday by going out to lunch at this great burger place called The Counter.  A-MAZ-ING 'build your own burger' joint with hundreds of combination possibilities.  I had the small beef burger (really, that's the SMALL!!!) on a toasted Hawaiian sweet roll with sprouts, oven roasted red peppers, blue cheese, topped with onion strings and a side of garlic aioli sauce.  I could only eat half of it.  Well, that's only because we also ordered plates of sweet potato fries, onion strings and garlic, olive oil shoestring fries.   Oh...my...goodness, was that tasty!  I won't be hungry again until the middle of next week.  Thanks Karen for taking us to experience burger perfection!
Kahala, Honolulu, Hawaii

September 11, 2011

Amidst the hatred, destruction and devastation look for new life.  New beginnings.  New hope.  Hope for compassion and understanding.  Forgiveness.  Renewed strength.  Strength to carry on and make a positive impact on the world.  Never forget.
Kailua, Hawaii

September 10, 2011

This is the Gold Dust Day Gecko.  He was just hanging out, sunning himself in the mango tree this morning.   Nate was the actual photographer for this photo, Sam was the gecko chaser (photo positioner) and Zach gave the detailed gecko description.  At times like this, I think I need a camera just to get a picture of the 3 boys in action....
Kailua, Hawaii

September 9, 2011

We had our first (of the school year) Home School Group field trip today.  Thanks to Karen Charney, 30 students and their parents were able to spend the morning at the Hawaii Pacific University Marine Biology Research Center on Coconut Island.  We all got to ride the ferry, troll for plankton, use the microscopes in the lab,  rummage through nasty, stinky kelp for sea life creatures, check out some sharks, sea cucumbers and giant puffer fish and be outdoors for the morning.   Here's a group shot with most of the kids who participated.  Again, a great big thank you to Karen for setting it up!  Maybe we can do the Coco Head trail next month.....
Coconut Island, Hawaii

September 8, 2011

I had to stop on the side of busy Kalaheo Road to get a shot of this tree for today.  It is just one tree, a Banyan Tree, not a grove of them as it may appear.  I told the boys it reminds me so much of the Tree of Life.  They vehemently argued that it looks nothing like the Tree of Life which happens to be much shorter, is covered in graffiti and is in the middle of the nowhere desert.   True, the real Tree of Life is all those things .... and in Bahrain.  We went and saw it with our own eyes while we were in the Middle East.  I was thinking more along the lines of the man-made version in the center of The Animal Kingdom at Walt DisneyWorld in Orlando, Florida.  Another location we visited while we were residing in that state.  Very different trees.... all three.
Kailua, Hawaii