Big City Diner - oh how we love this place!

I'm sure we're celebrating something !

We often make some sort of celebration up, to legitimitize going out!

We seem to be able to snarf these kids away from their mom and dad!  Good news for us!

The Hardware Store

Sam asked if he could go to the hardware store with Richard!  He learned a lot about molding (to go around the new air conditioner)!

He's an avid learner and just keeps absorbing more and more.  He's accustomed to asking questions which family members often can't answer, but today, what's wonderful is that it's second nature to pull out the ole' iPhone and search the web on the spot!

At the checkout, Richard is paying by credit card, and Sam mentions he has a card now, too!  His mommy has arranged for an account because he is saving for a truck when he's 17 -- only 12 more years.  He's been feeding a neighbor's doggies for pay!  He and Ben feed them by hand becuase they don't want to eat unless they have company!

Air Conditioning "Emergency"

The a/c in the kid's bedroom konked out, so Richard and I made a run to Honolulu -- to Wal-Mart, Sears, Costco, and finally found success at Lowe's. 

The goal was to find an a/c that would fit the hole already in the wall, of course.

We love a "mission", and this one was perfect.  It was even followed by a fantastic salmon dinner at Dave and Alli's.

Everything that creates "cold" is breaking down for Dave and Alli -- the motherboard on their 2-year old fridge, the XTerra a/c, the a/c in the guest bedroom, and the a/c in the kid's bedroom!  Aaaaarrrrggggg!

A very musical family -- right to the tambourine hat man!

Family Beach Day

Family.  How good it is!  And that's Ben (nearly 2) carrying Sam's boogie board down our beach access!

Oh boy -- let's not have a disaster -- my iPhone is in my right pocket!

Ben and his mommy, Alli, my beautiful daughter.

That' s Davey with "beach hair"  -- a little seaweed!  I LOL every time I see this photo.  Personally, I think he looks much better without all that fun on top!

Sam (r) body surfed for 3 hours!  He even decided to give up today's ukelele lesson in order to surf.

Time for a snack run to the Kalapawai beach deli about a block from our cottage.

This is well worth the little walk to the Kalapawai.

This pose is SOOO Alli.  She throws herself into everything she does -- even just shooting a picture!

Dave and Sam -- Sam is so strong and loves the water so much, he just goes and goes.  I can hear his joy and his laughter every day of my life.

Annual Kailua Town Party

We love this "party", and so does all of Kailua.  You've heard it said, "it's a small island" because we run in to one another even in Honolulu.  At the Kailua Town Party, you're sure to get lots of hugs from lots of friends, even though it's a town of 36,000.  That's Richard and me having a great time.

Whoops!  Busted, heading for the shave ice truck!

Music, food, hula halau and a variety of booths all day long.  The Marine Band is on stage right now, and what rousing music!  They were loved and cheered!

Dusk

So often, I thank God that Dave and Alli moved to Kailua on O'ahu, and that they have welcomed us to be here for 6 months each year.  We live in a cottage just a house from the ocean, so this is "our" evening view from our beach chairs.

Looking back toward our cottage -- that's our beach access.

An Evening at Formaggio's in Kailua

A fantastic evening -- thank you Carol, Alli and Richard!  Carol is both a good friend and our landlord.  How does that work?  Aloha makes lots of things in Hawaii "work" that the mainland wouldn't understand.  What a kick it is to watch Alli be "social"!  We just don't get enough of her -- she is animated, quick, witty and huge fun!!!

Reunion

Pupus and Mai Tai at Buzz's.  Richard on the left, Oli, Judy and Doug. Richard, Oli (me) and Doug were in the same class at San Marino High School, and now Doug and Judy live in Lanikai within walking distance from our cottage.  One day I took my kayak on a paddle up to Lanikai to wave when Doug was on the beach at their house.  What a great pleasure to meet Judy, and it was fun to "talk story" about how you two met.  We'll see you again when we return in 6 months, for our next 6-month stay!

Kayaking the Canal

Richard does the heavy lifting for kayak trips that require car transport.  Mostly we've just put our kayaks on their wheels and walked a couple of houses to the beach access to Kailua Beach.  But this time, we want to explore the Kainui Canal.

It's about a 1 mile drive and then . . . unload it all!

We're heading 2 miles up to a park very close to Dave and Alli's home.   That's the Kalaheo Bridge ahead.

That's a shot of Richard I took holding the camera up over my head shooting backward!

Here comes the Oneawa Street bridge.

Almost time to turn back now . . .

Locals.

While returning, a squall moved in with wind and rain, but nothing to be worried about.  What you see here is where we started, and these home are part of the rented "Obama Compound" where he's been coming for Christmas.

Wonder What's Going on at the Beach!

The faint sounds of a bull horn awakened us quite early this morning, so we hopped up and tooled to the beach.

It's the Lanikai Triathlon - bike, swim, run.  The only reason Alli wasn't in it is that "sick bugs" have been ravaging her family one by one.  Above are some of the "abandoned" bikes while the participants are doing the "run" part.

Here come the early finishers.

Refreshments, massages, and fans!  We may be a small island, but we have huge spirit!

The Mighty Mo

While in Tokyo Bay, the Missouri was the site of the Japanses surrender to the Allied Forces commanded by General Douglas MacArthur on September 2, 1945.  We spent HOURS on board this ship.  It's awesome to be able to stand on the spot where such a momentous event occurred.

The signatories

Just ahead is the USS Arizona Memorial, typifying the beginning of the war, and the Missouri in the same harbor, representing the end of the war.

Richard loves this "in command" photo.

Lanikai Park

Back again at the park -- the house is being painted, so this is a safer place to be! Besides, you can never take too many pictures of your grandchildren, can you?

Ben's a social animal . . .

Interested in the setting for the park?  The playground area is in the distance, left and fenced.  Sam is in the foreground, and Ben is that little spot you see in the distance.  The canopy trees which are everywhere, are Monkeypod trees. 

From Swings to Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Lanikai Park - nearby, never really crowded, and not to jazzed up with the "newest and bestest".  Just a very nice park.

I cheated a little on Richard.  Went out with two great guys for lunch at Zia's.

You never know when this technique might impress a girl!

Ben's not quite as advanced as Sam, though.

Next on the agenda was to take 2 boys to the food store!  What a kick!  They're used to riding the fancy-dancy carts resembling "whatever" at the Commissary, but here they are, free-wheeling through Foodland, on foot!!  They were great!  Sam was searching out all the chocolate candy we could smash up and put in chocolate chip cookies, and Ben was wide-eyed at all the goodies he could get right up to.  Not a thing came tumbling down from shelves, either!

Hahahaha, we got mommy off her office-chair for dippers into the chocolate chunk cookie mix!

Oh so good.  Can't wait for daddy to come home and do a taste test, too!