another grass story...

No, not that type of grass silly! I thought since Kim posted about Eli's adventures in the grass (see Adventures of Eli Biddles in the sidebar), that I would post some funny pics of when Jamie first felt the grass. He was almost 6 months old, but it was in the summertime so he only had a onesie one. Needless to say, he didn't gag when he touched, but he certainly didn't like it either.

Reading to my sister...

I put Abby in the baby Bumbo chair and told Jamie to read to her, he pointed out different things in the book and showed her the pictures...it was really cute! These pictures were taken about a month ago. Abby does much better sitting up now and can even play in the exersaucer.




Here I told Jamie to smile :)

more hawaii - pretty sunset, pineapples, and parting shots

We went to watch the sunset from, would know it, Sunset Beach. The sun ended up setting more into the cloud bank than the horizon, but it was still pretty.
Dad gets a chance to play with Abby, and she, of course, is sucking on her fingers (she loves to do that now, which just makes for more drool).

Me. Notice how deep the foot impressions are in the sand - for some reason it doesn't seem to pack down at all, even where it's wet. It was so weird compared to our beaches here, and it made it a lot harder to walk on.

The best of the sunset.

On our way back to Honolulu on our last day we stopped at the pineapple plantation - the pineapple whip was delish! Here's a baby pineapple...

...and a baby Abby.

Parting shots at Ala Moana beach back in Honolulu.

Til next time!

more hawaii - shrimp, museum, north shore

So up on the north shore there are several of these so-called shrimp trucks, named that because they are trucks that sell shrimp! Some trucks have different flavors but the original Giovanni's just has shrimp scampi - butter, garlic, lemon, and wine fried up hot and fresh to order. $12 gets you a monster plate of large shrimp with 2 scoops of white rice. I also got a tropical smoothie from another truck that was near this one. You can also find trucks that sell various other lunch-type items, including plate lunches, and most close up shop at sundown.
Chad eating away at the shrimp - you had to peel them yourself, which is why we had a whole plate of peels.

The original - and most recommended.

On our fourth day it poured down rain, and was actually quite cold. We went to one of the most scenic beaches on the island but it had not let up at all so we came back to Honolulu and went to the Bishop Museum, which is a museum about Hawaiian and Polynesian life, culture, and history. Here we saw what hula dancing once was (grass skirts were added later for sex-appeal). We also learned a lot about the formation of the islands and about the differences between Hawaii and the other Polynesian islands.

Abby and dad on the "lava" slide.

Abby riding the snail (maybe the snail was something that was brought to the island - I don't know, I didn't read that part). Although I did learn that pineapples are not native to Hawaii.

On our fifth day I called the surf-report and learned that they were expecting 12-15 ft waves out on the north shore. Here is a picture I took of one that was probably about 12 feet, although it is hard to tell without a surfer in there. This was taken at the Pipeline, and we did get to see a few guys brave the waves.

In the surfing town of HaleIwa, on the north shore, there is a famous shave-ice shop. I stopped in to get one to see what the fuss was all about. To tell you the truth, I thought it was way too sweet. But it was only a $1.50 and it will make a good scrapbook page - so owell!

more hawaii - pearl harbor

We went to pearl habor on our third day to see the USS Arizona memorial. It was a very sobering event. The navy takes you out by boat to get to the memorial. The memorial is built like a bridge over the ship so that it does not touch it. Everyone is really quiet. You can see parts of the ship that still remain out of the water, and they've erected a memorial flagstaff where the mast leg once was. I would highly recommend going to see this. There is also a museum and a video that you're required to see back where they load you onto the navy boat.

A view of the memorial as we're approaching on the boat.

Oil that still leaks from one of the underwater hatches. They estimate that 2 quarts of oil leaks from the ship every day. Many consider this to be the tears of those entombed here.

This is the base of gun turrett #3 which remains out of the water.

Here is the wall which lists everyone who died aboard the ship. Back at the museum there is another memorial which lists everyone else who died on Oahu that day because of the attack.

The memorial flagstaff seems to say so much without saying anything at all...