Chris' Birthday Trip--Napa Rose Dinner

Hi Blog Followers- Long time no see! Sorry, I guess I got busy.  To make it up to you, check out the pictures from Chris' birthday dinner at Napa Rose. mmmmm....

Graduation Party

Incase you missed it, here's a little snap shot of my graduation party!

Cake, Cupcakes, and Flowers

Costco made the cake...

But I made the cupcakes

Walking across the stage

Hawaii--Day 8

Well, it was our last full day in Hawaii today.  Tomorrow we pack up and have to be to the airport by noon, not much of a day.  For our last day we started out by visiting Parker Ranch, one of the largest cattle ranches in the US that happens to be here on the Big Island.  We then had lunch at a neat spot on Kona we found the second day, Bongo Bens, then did a little shopping.  Later in the afternoon we went down to the beach close to our condo where tragedy struck! As Taylor, Mom, Sandra and I were wading in the ocean, Taylor let's out a calm ouch, I stepped on an urchin! Not expecting anything serious we all lovingly ignored her. She then asked, "Does anyone care? I have an urchin in my foot!!!" We continued to look at her, we're such a loving family.  Once we realized she was serious--Mom and I started booking it to the shore! Sandra thought about bailing for a second then decided to be a decent human being and help Taylor.  They got the urchin spikes out a Taylor's foot and we...well Sandra...got her back to shore-- Mom and I had been back on shore for a while....  Anyways, we're not very good family members and we're very sorry, Taylor.  Ooo and I found a coconut somewhere in there on the beach.  Gary went all Survivor on the coconut and busted in open with a very very bad kitchen knife. We also saw even more cats.  I'm seriously considering marketing a "cats of Hawaii" calendar.  I have enough pics for at least 3 years! Tomorrow we make the dreaded trip back home.  I can confidently say, none of us are ready to leave.  It's perfect weather and so beautiful here.  Thank you to all of you who followed along at home.  If something exciting happens on the way home tomorrow there may be one more blog, but in any case, our trip is coming to a close.  Pray for safe travels tomorrow! We'll be home late! Aloha!


Here's Day 8's exciting video!

Hawaii--Day 7

Today was a day of relaxation! No major activities, no place to be at any certain time. We did a little shopping, laid by the pool, and grilled some amazing ahi. After a few days of being on the move, it was wonderful to just slow down and just enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery.

Taylor getting some sun

Mom and Sandra enjoying the water

This little guy joined me on the lounge chair for a while

 
The delicious ahi searing 

 

The finished product

Just incase we had a slow day like this, I've been saving a special treat for the blog. A few days ago Sandra wrote a beautiful song about her fat feet that day. Here is the video...even though she treatened to hack into my blog and delete it! I'm willing to take that risk.

Hawaii--Day 6

Today Mom, Taylor and I went on a great adventure! Gary, Sandra and my Dad wanted to go golfing so we had them drop us off at the Kona dock and we went on a Dolphin and Snorkel Catamaran Tour. It was AWESOME!!! The boat and crew were so so so nice. It was clean and comfortable. They fed us breakfast and lunch. We saw beautiful fish and dolphins. What an experience! I would do that tour every single day if that was an option!Since I wasn't on the lame golf trip, I don't have any pictures of their adventure. Enjoy the pics of the cool group's day!

Alright... Dolphin Video should be good to go finally! Enjoy!!!

Video from Day 4

If you've been following along, day 4 I wasn't able to post my video because my computer freaked out and froze since I was doing too many things at once and not on the strongest internet connection. So... here is that video I told you about. It's been so windy here that all you could hear in the video was noisy wind gusts so I pulled all the audio out of the video. So don't adjust your speakers, there's nothing to hear!

Hawaii--Day5

Today we went on an adventure tour called "Flumin' da Ditch." I couldn't explain it in the elegant detail like the company's website so I'll just let you read what they say: "One of the Big Island of Hawaii's most popular tours is back after a 5 year haiatus! The Kohala Ditch has been repaired, and Kohala Ditch Adventures has begun operating the Flumin' Da Ditch tour once again! Guests float on inflatable kayaks for approximately 90 minutes as you cover a little less than three miles of this historic irrigation ditch. Your guides will share the history and folklore of the area, and lead you on this floating adventure through 10 tunnels, across a number of flume structures (bridges that carry the water over gulches), and past native flora and fauna. After a Pinzgauer ride high into the Kohala Mountains and a short nature walk, your floating adventure will begin. You will wear headlamps supplied for you so that you can see inside the many tunnels that you navigate. At the conclusion of the kayaking you are transported on 6 passenger guide-driven ATV's through a macademia nut orchard and back to the base area." -Kohala Ditch Adventures It was a very neat experience! Dad, Gary and Taylor had to work paddling, the rest of us got to enjoy! Here's today's pictures All of the caves were WAY too dark to film, so here's video of us floating through one of the flumes. Enjoy!