Church in morning, Snorkling in the afternoon

Ah, you can't beat the sunrise from Ruby's third floor! What a way to start the day!!!

We worshiped with St. Anne's of Minnesota. They had been down near Punta Gordo working and came for the weekend to relax before returning to the COLD!!

In the afternoon John, Bob and Amy went snorkeling while the rest of us just relaxed and wandered the island.

John got some interesting video of the rays.

Saturday

Just a kick back day today. Four of the group went to Lamanai. The rest just laid low and relaxed. A gorgeous day!! The Lamanai group had a great time!

Birthday today for Randy and we celebrated at Elvi's with dinner and a rum cake--outstanding! Fastest service ever....it was Mama Elvi's birthday also so they wanted to clear us out!

Arrived Safely and on Time

Arrived in Belize and San Pedro on time. Got moved into Ruby's and wandered a little. Beautiful day in the neighborhood!

Hoping all is well at home and no problems. Had dinner at the Blue .... Grill. Excellent! Early night for most of us. Tomorrow is fun day.

Off to Belize

We're all packed and ready to head out for the Annual St. Luke's Mission Trip to Belize. We have 12 folks going with us this first week and then 15 coming down the next week. We'll all cross over next Friday. It's always a great adventure and we're looking forward to it! Out the door at 4:00am to drop off the rental car (the cheapest way to get there--$17!) and then check in for the 7am flight. You can follow the team blog at www.stlukesinbelize.blogspot.com and we'll try to get a few on this blog also.

Should be a grand time!! Keep us all in your prayers!

Home Safe and Sound

It was a pack and play day yesterday! Lots of fun time with Ryan while Colin was at school and then some fun time with them both before we headed for the airport. Flight was at 6:05 and we headed out close to on time considering the prior flight was an hour late because of headwinds. However, those headwinds turned into tailwinds for us and we got into Dallas an hour early. It's quite delightful in the Dallas airport at 4:30 am. Our flight to RDU was at 6:30 and all went smoothly. We called Jim Hooker when we landed and he was waiting for us when we came out with our luggage! Great service...as always! Got home and slugged through the day pretty well, but jet lag will be with us for a good part of the week.

What a GREAT trip though! Thanks again to the Baird's for another fun and exciting time. Lots of boys time this trip which was really special for us!

Macadamia Nut Farm and Pali Highway

We picked Colin up at school and all headed for the Macadamia Nut Farm and the Chief's wonderful tour. However, when we got there we found out that on Tuesday's they have a Luau in the evening and only do one tour which had started about 20 minutes before we got there. Ah well...next time! It was a lovely drive there and we decided to take the Pali Highway home. There was a Scenic Viewpoint that we drove to and it was absolutely stunning! One of these days John will get the pictures on here to prove it! :-) Had a great time playing with the boys when we got home and had leftovers from some fabulous meals for dinner and hit the hay.

Surfin' again!

Martin Luther King Day today so Dave and a bunch of the guys headed to Wrights Beach to do some surfing...early. We all joined him about 9:30 after they had been at it for a couple of hours. John really wanted to try it one more time. Cloudy gray day and a bizillion surfers out there (this beach is on the Coast Guard Base so lots of Military!) but John did get up again. The surf was much stronger though and really tough to get back out to where the waves were breaking, so didn't last long. Our friend Irma was back on the beach. Fun morning. We headed home and the boys napped and we did some odd jobs around the house and generally relaxed.

Return to Ko O'Lina Lagoon

Gretchen head's home today so she requested another morning at the lagoons with the turtles and just laying on the beach reading and catching the rays. The Baird's headed to church and we headed to Ko O'lina again. It was a gorgeous morning. The waves were still coming over the reef pretty well so the water was a little cloudy, but four turtles were there and ready to perform! It was a delightful morning. We then headed home for lunch and got things together for her to leave. Hopefully a much easier trip home! Just fun outside after she left.

Kaena Point Hike

John and Gretchen headed for Kaena Point this morning. It's a wonderful hike to the westernmost point of Oahu. At the end of the trail they found Albatross nesting and got some great pictures.

Ryan's Third Birthday & Surfing Lessons

Happy Birthday to You, Ryan! Three years old today! He got a bike, some great car toys, and a cash register! Great day! To celebrate we all headed to the beach and Gretchen, Jill and John took surfing lessons! Grandma handled the camera and played with the boys on the beach. When they finished their lesson, Jill and the boys were playing in the surf and found themselves swimming with a seal. He was headed for the beach to sun with Irma, the pregnant seal. Quite the attraction! A great time was had by all. Cake at dinner and a party on Saturday with all his friends and families.

Makapu'u head - Birds, Hang Glider, Whales

We dropped Colin off at school and the three of us headed for the Lighthouse trail at Makapu'u Head. The weather was great and we got off early enough that it wasn't too hot walking up the trail. It's very arid in this section of Oahu. Lots of prickly pears and other cactus as well as grasses growing on the volcanic rock. We had Ryan and the monster lens in the Bob jogging stroller so it was a workout getting up the hill! At the top, however, it was worth the walk. We had been there before to see the lighthouse, but this time, just as we were heading up the hill you could hear the whoosh of wind as a hang glider whizzed by the lookout point. He spent alot of time wandering the area. Quite spectacular, but he was out done by the Humpback whales in the water below. We saw one Mom and baby. She hung around for a long time just below the surface so she was easy to follow. She came up for air frequently and spouted out the water but no dramatic breeching today. Was really cool to even see them though. There was a woman up there that told John a couple of good places to go and times that were best so who knows what we'll find!

Catchup--The fireworks were great on Friday night. We had a fun time at the military hotel in Waikiki. Grabbed some food from the snack shop and then the boys played in the wading pool until just before the fireworks began. Very nice!!



























Jill and Gretchen headed for Kauai on Monday morning for three days of just girl time! They seem to be having a GREAT time and so are we! Love having those little guys to ourselves. Dave home in the evening. Tonight we did a special Thank You Daddy! night complete with signs and chain decorations. Steak dinner and a very fun evening! Girls will come home tomorrow so we can prepare for Ryan's 3rd birthday on Thursday and party on Saturday. Having a ball!

PS. That's a red footed boobie at the top....they were flying all around the point.

Back to the North Shore

Sun. morning the Bairds were in charge of coffee hour and were to bring the gifts forward at church so Colin and Ryan did the collection. They did a very good job!









































Then....back to the North Shore to hopefully see huge waves. Not alot bigger than we saw last week but there were some kids out on boggie boards that were turning with the curl. Very cool to watch and some of them were REALLY good! Dave and the boys walked down the beach while the girls sat and relaxed in the sand and Grandpa did wonders with his camera!

Packed up and then headed to our favorite stop on the North Shore! SHAVE ICE --- Yummy!!

Soccor and Gretchen Arrives

Colin had his first soccer game of the season this morning. Even more exciting is that Dave is the co-coach for the team. They decided to be called the Jaguars! They growl very well....and note the wonderful color of the uniform!















Gretchen finally got here at about 12:30 Saturday--hurray! She was tired and still spinning some but glad to finally be here! Riley and all were very happy to see her! We opened Christmas presents and just hung out on Sat afternoon. Gretchen brought Colin some great games and Ryan a Forest House Playmobile set and Jill and Dave a gift card for a date night while we're here! We had fun setting them up and playing games. Plus a great Dave dinner to end the day!

A morning at the Childrens Discovery Center, Honalulu

Colin had school, Dave had work and Jill had errands and morning volunteer duty at the school library so we had Ryan all to ourselves. We headed to the Children's Discovery Museum. What a fun time! Think Grandma had as much fun as Ryan!

The Museum is great and probably the best Children's Museum we have been to. Quite extensive and lots of areas. The whole upstairs on one side is all Polynesian stuff...pineapple fields where they can harvest pineapples; village houses; musical instruments etc. On the other upstairs there is a big section on international areas with small house like areas where they can cook traditional foods and lots of traditional decorations around the house area. Some have small crafts you can do also. We really had fun in the Portuguese section where we fished and then fixed fish stew and enjoyed dinner. Same with the Chinese and Japanese sections....very much fun! Headed home and the boys rested this afternoon and we're about to head to Waikiki to enjoy the evening with music, dinner and fireworks! Hopefully Gretchen will arrive tomorrow around noon! She's had no end of cancelled flights, mechanical problems and is now stuck in Los Angeles until tomorrow morning. They're paying for her lodging, dinner and transportation to the Hotel. We're out of here!