The day before I left for Hawaii...

Hawaii

Hawaii turned out to be my favorite vacation spot. The island was beatiful and the people were friendly. We did everything from renting ATV's and a Jeep to climbing a 'mountain' and rock jumping. It was the perfect blend of fun and relaxation. Unlike most other vacation trips, I could have easily stayed longer...but I missed my kids SO MUCH!!! I can't wait until they're a little older and they can travel with me.



Every morning I'd get up about 6am, walk to the gym then the beach where I had my daily coffee and fruit. I could easily get used to that routine.






We rented a jeep one day to drive around the island. We stopped at many beaches along the way before finding a restaurant on the north shore where we ordered swordfish which was caught in the bay just beside the restaurant. Yes, that's me jumping off the large rock...despite the warnings. A local recommended we visit Sherwood Forrest Beach (pic with trees)...it was picture perfect and nearly nobody was there.




We climbed Diamond Head...a volcanic cone created by an eruption...and took some pics. The picture of me is about half way up. At the top, I took a picture of the condo/hotels where we stayed.

We visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. I didn't realize you had to take a boat out to the memorial to view the sunken hull of the battleship.

We visited Kualoa Ranch and toured it on ATV and a 6 wheeled off-road vehicle. They were actually filming an episode of Lost when we were there.

A recent poem that really moved me...

Oh squiggly line in my eye fluid.
I see you lurking there on the periphery of my vision.
But when I try to look at you, you scurry away.
Are you shy, squiggly line?
Why only when I ignore you, do you return to the center of my eye?
Oh, squiggly line,it's alright, you are forgiven.

Stewey Griffin
son of Peter and Lois

Thunder Alley

I (heart) NY

The kids love company. These past few weekends we had people over and enjoyed spending time with our friends. We bowled....on the Wii and (as Kobe would put it) 'for real life'. Howie won, Sarah came in second....then Celia, Kobe....and then me. The kids had BUMPERS!!!

They both chose to wear their NY shirts on the same day...when they ran around the store, everyone knew they were crazy NY kids!

Life is good.

Tuesday night swimming and rock climbing

Sleepover!

Pizza, games and a movie...it turned out to be a great night considering it was a last minute idea. 8 kids in all...4 boys and 4 girls...every parent questioned "Are you sure about this?"

The next day I asked Celia if she had a good time that night. She said "Dad, it was awesome."

I was absolutely "sure about this".