On Cloud 9

Alaska - Part 1

2011-02-16T22:40:00.004-05:00

Safe and sound arrival at the Fairbanks airport.

Denali Nat. Park

It was a very cloudy and rainy day in the park. The advantage to the ugly weather was that we got to see lots of wildlife....moose, grizzly bears, foxes, caribou, and Dall sheep.

Mama grizzly bear and two sub cubs (older cubs).

Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.....very nice place!

On our way to Anchorage......a nine hour train ride...it rained the whole way!

Some of the beautiful mountains.....since we had so much rain and fog, we missed seeing a lot of the mountains and the scenery. That was sad, but I guess it means we have to go back!

The Atrium on our cruise ship...the Coral Princess......I was sick almost the whole time we were on the cruise.

View from one of the highest decks. This was one of the few sunny days we had during the whole trip. Most of it was rainy, foggy, and cold.

Disenchantment Bay...heading towards Hubbard Glacier.

Beautiful Hubbard Glacier.

Another view of the glacier.

Was I Really in Alaska?

2010-09-27T23:06:00.002-04:00

Yes, I was.......I was really in Alaska. And of course, I have pictures to prove it. :) I will be posting some on here as soon as I can. We had a wonderful trip. Had lots of rain which caused us to miss some scenery, but I guess that means that I will have to go back. I didn't do well with the cruise...for some odd reason, that ship and I didn't mix. I was very sick till I got home and it took me many days to feel better again. But despite all that, we really had a nice time. Our group got along very well and we had many laughs to say the least. We saw lots of wildlife...got to see mostly everything on the "list" except a wolf. Got some great pictures of grizzly bears. Only got to see Mt. McKinley for a short period of time....so we made it into the 30% club, meaning that only 30% of visitors actually get to see the mountain. All in all, we had a great trip! And one of these days, I'd like to go back. :)

Looking Ahead....

2010-08-16T22:24:00.003-04:00

The past few months.....where did they go? Don't worry, I'm not about to go looking for them. Summer is not my favorite time of the year by far. We've had a busy summer......going here, there, and everywhere. But now is the time to pack my bags. Yes, it's vacation time!!! My sister and I are eagerly preparing for Alaska. This will be my 49th state and her 46th. We are looking forward to this time away. I've been telling people that I just might find me an Eskimo and stay up there. The problem? I'd probably build a fire in the igloo and melt it, knowing my luck. :) It will be good to get away and rest, although by the looks of it, we won't be having much relaxation time. That's fine with me.....we've never been the type to sit still much on a vacation. The only way to see the country is to get up and get moving! So, I've started to pack and get my stuff together and the excitement is building.

On another note, we haven't really decided about getting another dog. We are enjoying the convenience of not having one. :) I'm sure that somewhere along the way, another furry creature will come bounding into our lives and we won't be able to resist those slobbery kisses.

A Sad Day

2010-04-16T16:28:00.002-04:00

Yesterday became a day that no one wanted to face. A decision had to be made. The result was losing a brown furry friend. That furry friend bounded into our lives and hearts almost 11 1/2 years ago. Ginger brought us many laughs and some tears. She became one of the family even though she was "just a dog". That dog became my side kick, following me around, even loving those trips to the bank....she knew what was coming when the bank drawer opened....a bone! All these years she has been a faithful friend. Several months ago, we noticed changes in her and knew that the day was coming when we would have to say goodbye. Sadly, that day was yesterday. She had gotten very sick over the past couple of days and wouldn't eat and could hardly move. I did not want to see her suffer any more, so with many tears, the decision was made and she left our lives, but not our hearts. Now the house is quiet, no furry friend to beg for cheese or bread, or just to sit beside us while reading the paper, or to bark at the vacuum. We will miss her greatly and things won't be the same anymore, but we know that she had a good life, with lots of love bestowed on her and those are the memories we will always cherish.

2010-04-05T15:11:00.000-04:00

We Are Hopping Right Along

2010-03-09T20:06:00.002-05:00

......not literally hopping along, but we're making it! Mom's surgery went well and she is well on the road to recovery. Her first few days here at home were rough and she got very sick, but she has come a long way from then till now. She is going to try to go back to work next week, but only for half days at first. She is slowly regaining movement in her neck, but is not allowed to pick up anything or bend over. I would post pictures of her, but I don't think she'd like that too much! :)

Going Under the Knife

2010-01-25T21:54:00.002-05:00

Please pray for my mom. She will be having neck surgery this Wednesday, Jan. 27th. The surgery will last 2-3 hours and will hopefully be successful. Thank you!

One Click Made Us Friends

2010-01-11T21:28:00.002-05:00

Meet Emma Jean.....one click of my camera made us friends. Almost two years ago, we went to a Dino concert. I've always wanted to see him play the piano in concert and finally it happened. While he was on stage talking, he wanted someone from the crowd to play the piano with him. He picked Emma Jean as her family was pointing to her and saying, "she plays!". She went on stage and got on the piano bench with him and and they played a duet. While they were up there, a lightbulb went on in my head. I didn't see anyone taking pictures so I turned on my camera and began clicking away. I figured she'd want something to remember her moments on stage with a world famous pianist. During the intermission, I went up to her and explained what I did. She was so happy and gave me her address. Not long after that, I got the pictures made and sent them to her. She called me and was elated that I actually took the time to get them made and sent to her. She said, "People tell you all the time that they will do things and never end up doing it." I, in turn, told her that I gave her my word. She wanted a copy of the pictures and I made her a CD and sent it to her. It got broken somehow in the mail, so she called and I did another one for her. She treasures those pictures and has shown them to lots of people and tells them about a wonderful girl that took pictures of her during her few moments of fame on stage. I get to see her every once in awhile at concerts and we enjoy talking to each other. The picture above was taken on New Year's Eve......it was our first picture together since our first meeting.......we should've done it before, but I guess the lightbulb in my head was out of commission for awhile! :) You just never know who you will become friends with when using your camera!

A New Baby!

2009-12-13T16:52:00.003-05:00

Meet Sabrina, the newest little lady in town! She's a cutie, that's for sure. My grandma got her the dress she is wearing.....it fits her perfectly. Too bad I didn't live closer to spoil her rotten as I did her mommy! :)

A Perfect Ending

2009-10-11T23:36:00.001-04:00

If I could only have one, sunrise or sunset, I'd pick sunset, hands down! I guess that's why I'm a night owl and not a morning person! :)

There Were Ten on the Line and the Little One Said.......

2009-09-29T16:45:00.002-04:00

Labor Day

2009-09-08T20:03:00.014-04:00

Yum, yum! We LOVE chocolate! :)

My favorite ~ the syrup!

Product line......lots of sweetness.

Gram got to ride in style! She said it made her dizzy.

Caught in the act of buying or maybe just looking.

We took a trolley tour of Hershey......learned lots of interesting facts that I didn't know before.

Home of Milton Hershey.......he had it built for a little over $53,000......expensive for that time period, of course!

The current chocolate factory......you can smell the chocolate at times.

Boyhood home of Milton Hershey.

We enjoyed our ride.......except for the sudden stop which made me pinch my arm against the seat in front of me and made Gram fly forward.....she ended up with a black and blue knee and finger.

And Summer Is........

2009-08-10T14:29:00.003-04:00

.......almost gone. I can't believe it! The past few weeks went by so quickly. We went on vacation, I went to visit some family, went to a wedding, and two weekends at Penns Creek Camp. I will hopefully post some pictures on here from vacation. My mom, sister, and I took a three day trip to Chincoteague Island to see the annual pony swim and auction. It was great but also very hot! I'm not a fan of hot weather at all.......so I had to grin and bear it, but I survived. Took lots of pictures of course. Then I went to visit my cousin for a few days. Had lots of fun together! I was not ready to go back to work, but all good things must come to an end and I was ready to see the kids again. The next two weekends are busy.....maybe it will all slow down by Sept. Not sure that I'm ready for that month since I will be turning.........older!

And the Ladies Came........

2009-07-18T22:44:00.007-04:00

My ladies came to join me for a few hours the other evening. I took some snapshots of them and they did very well. I love the last one of them on the grass. After picture time, we had ice cream and chocolate zuchinni cake, which they loved! I got my laughs for the evening and we had a good time together as always.....my two little rays of sunshine!

Canning Again!

2009-07-08T20:21:00.006-04:00

Cooked and ready to peel - what fun!

The finished product - yummy!

Freezer pickles - one of the easiest recipes to make!

Banana pickles - has nothing to do with banana's, of course!

2009-06-21T15:36:00.002-04:00

Ain't we cute?! My mom got him new power tools, or should I say toys, that he wanted and Rhonda and I are going to get him a new Wave Leatherman. A boy and his toys, what else can I say?

Strawberries and Sugar Peas, Please!

2009-06-10T21:46:00.002-04:00

Our days have been busy as you can tell from the pictures above. Plus we've been working extra hours because some coworkers are on vacation. Kind of burning the candle at both ends! Not really enjoying the warmer weather and the storms. Had a hail storm yesterday. I think I'm ready for snow!

May Flowers and the Moon

2009-05-24T22:44:00.012-04:00

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T14:58:00.002-04:00

Pop Goes the Lightbulb!

2009-05-09T19:02:00.002-04:00

We've had some interesting days around here. Gram was here for about a week and we played games, predominately dominos, ha ha. While she was here, I had an interesting experience in the bathroom. I had just stepped away from the mirror, when I heard a pop and glass was everywhere. Thank God I had just gotten out of the way. One of the lightbulbs had exploded and needless to say, I was in a glass factory in my barefeet! Mom came running, got the sweeper and started collecting the pieces. I stood in the corner (I think she has always wanted to put me there) and waited to be able to move. I was thankful that I had my pj's on and I managed to get out of there without any injuries except for my little toe. Gram kept us entertained, she kept chasing the blue jays out of the feeder and watching for the "red bird" (cardinal). Work has been interesting, the kids have been full of energy and since it's been raining, we've had some looonnnnggg days! I started sewing again and am making some outfits for myself and my sister. That's about all that's been happening around here over the past two weeks. I've been struggling a lot with allergies, trying not to take too much medicine, but am thankful for Benadryl even if it does make me sleepy!

Our First Picnic of the Year

2009-04-29T20:54:00.006-04:00

Tonight we had our first picnic......yes, it was a little chilly, but we survived. I made BLT's and potato salad. Gram ended up with a sweater, a vest, and then a coat on to keep her warm.

The happy campers or should I say picnic-ers?

Do you think she was a wee bit cold?

The Relatives Are a Comin'

2009-04-16T21:15:00.004-04:00

The past few days have been a whirlwind. We watched the evening services of IHC convention online and tried to keep up with everything else. My aunt and uncle and two cousins from NY are dropping in on Sat. for a visit since they will be in the area visiting my uncle's first grandchild. Gonna make chicken and waffles for them - a good old PA dutch meal! My aunt loves our homemade strawberry jelly, so I'm sure we'll send some home with her.
In May, I will be posting pictures on here of our trip a year ago to Colorado, similar to what I did previously with Hawaii. Yes, last year was the year for big trips, that's why we are doing something small this year, well, that and we are saving for a big trip that will hopefully happen next year!
By the way, anyone like my cloud picture that I put behind the title of my blog? I took it last year in Colorado.

2009-04-13T16:24:00.000-04:00

Just some crazy people in my family!

2009-04-12T15:33:00.002-04:00

The dog wanted to be included in this picture. She came over and plopped herself down and just sat there. I have to say, she does do this quite often when the camera is out, it's like she knows what's going on. We broke from tradition and did not have ham today - of all horrors!! We had reasons for that - keep reading.
We had a good time yesterday with my dad's side of family. It was the first time in years that we were together for Easter. We had a good meal that included ham, mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli casserole, sweet potatoes, lettuce with hot bacon dressing, dinner rolls, cream cheese pie, and chocolate cake. We also celebrated my grandpa's 79th birthday and my cousin's 4th birthday. It was fun to be with family once again!

Cherry Blossoms - Washington D.C.

2009-04-09T20:08:00.010-04:00

Cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin.

Notice the blossoms in the background that outline the Tidal Basin.

We took a one day bus trip to see the cherry blossoms in Washington D.C. We had a very nice trip! We stopped at the Old Post Office Pavillion for lunch. We took the elevator to the top of the clock tower for a view of the city. Then we visited the monuments with stops along the way to view the cherry trees. The only disappointment of the day was that the skies were foggy. I would've loved for the skies to be blue, but you can't have everything picture perfect. Since then, it's been busy, busy around here. And I've been struggling with headaches that literally make my head ache even after they go away. Today was the first in about a week that I didn't struggle with anything too severe which was good since we had our Easter party at school. My children enjoyed the egg hunt so much that we did it six times! They were delighted to say the least. We played some other games as well. Thankfully, we have off tomorrow - a much needed break from the daily routine. Have a Happy Easter!

Signs of Spring!

2009-03-22T15:01:00.002-04:00

One Year Ago - Part 14 (last post for the trip)

2009-03-21T20:19:00.013-04:00

Leaving Maui, another beautiful day for flying.

Nice view of one of the smaller islands.

Heading into Honolulu to get our flight home.

Our flight home - it was late coming in because of bad storms in Atlanta, so we got off to a rough start, which in turn made us almost miss our connecting flight to Baltimore once we got to Atlanta. Just made it to the gate with about 2 min. to spare.

Saying goodbye - last look at Honolulu, Waikiki, and Diamond Head Crater.

Last glimpse of land - I had a window seat this time and it was an overnight flight. That was a lot of fun! NOT!

Sunset over the Pacific - then it was dark for about 5 hours until we reached to coast of California - Los Angeles pictured below. Clear skies that whole night, it was neat to see all the lights below.

Only a little bit of time left to go!

Sunrise over Atlanta - got into rain during the landing. Funny part was that it had rained when we left there almost two weeks before and our suitcases got wet during the luggage transfer, so we ended up with some wet clothes! This time we didn't care if our stuff got wet.

The Atlanta airport - known as one of the busiest in the world. The sun finally came out while we were taking off and we had a very nice flight to Baltimore this time around. All in all we had a great trip, definitely would like to go back some day! I did make a scrapbook of it all, 86 pages long and ended up doing one for my sister as well. I'll gladly show them to anyone who wants to see them. It was a lot of work, but a great way to remember it all.

One Year Ago - Part 13b

2009-03-20T20:43:00.015-04:00

On our last evening in the islands, we went to the Old Lahaina Luau. The picture above is of the "spit" where the pig was roasted. When we arrived, we were greeted with leis and drinks, and then led to our tables. On the outside areas of the stage, there were things to see and do until the meal began.

Our entertainment for the evening. Notice that the guy with the guitar is giving me the "hang loose" sign, a nice way to pose for me!

The stage area was in the middle and we sat on the other side, in front of the building in this picture.

Uncovering the pig.

They loaded him in this container and took him to the kitchen. It was good!

Krystle's first taste of a lime.

Our last Hawaiian sunset.The wahines fillin' their plates.

Last glimpse of the sun.

Our entertainment for the evening. It was very interesting. Notice the huge light on the other side, that made it hard to get good pictures.

One Year Ago - Part 13a

2009-03-19T20:13:00.017-04:00

This fellow was chirping at us and he happened to sit still long enough to let me get his picture. The next few pictures are of our whale watch. The catamaran pulled up to the beach and put down a ladder. We took off our shoes and headed into the sand and then the water. The first two steps were in the water. There were approx. 25-30 people on board. The water was really rough, and that made it hard to get good pictures because it was hard to stand up, balance, and take a picture of a fast moving creature in the water at the same time. We got to see (as far as the captain could tell) about four males chasing/competing for one female. He told us that to see something like that is about a 1 in 1,000 chance. We didn't see them for a few minutes and he said that the female was probably hiding under the boat and the males won't go after her then. He moved the boat, and the chase began again. They were humpback whales. They spend the winters in the Hawaiian waters, about 7,000 to 10,000 of them, and most of them are found in the waters around Maui, then they head back to Alaska. They measure 45 to 52 feet long and can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. You can stand on shore and see them jump out of the water, but it was nice to see them a little closer. And with the rough water being what it was, we did get wet! Thank goodness I was turned away from it all cause I had the camera in my hands.

Skeleton of a sperm whale. We visited the Whale Musuem, which was free, and learned a lot about the whaling industry in Hawaii. It was actually the whaling capital of the Pacific between 1825 to 1860. Residents boasted in 1856, "You can walk from one end of Honolulu Harbor to the other, ship to ship, without getting your feet wet!". 596 ships came into port that year.

Tools used to cut apart the whales.

Blubber from a pilot whale, cut into "bible leaves" to get ready for the try pot.

Scrimshaw - the art of etching on ivory whales' teeth.

Replica of a whaling ship.

Krystle

Rhonda

Yours truly

Sisters

Hawaiian plant called protea.

One Year Ago - Part 12

2009-03-17T15:04:00.020-04:00

The mountains of Maui behind the town of Lahaina.

Our water taxi, the Holokai, took us to our ride on the Atlantis, a tourist submarine. It seated 48 people back to back (on a double sided bench that had each seat hollowed out for your posterior), and we were crowded! We ended up 130 feet under the water and saw lots of fish and reefs. I got a few good pictures, but it was hard to take them because of the low light down in the depths and you couldn't use a flash as it would have reflected on the glass. Our guide was a nut and we had a lot of laughs. This company is located in Hawaii, Guam, and the Caribbean. We wanted to go on the ride while on Oahu because they tour part of Pearl Harbor under water, but it didn't work out.

Notice the limited leg room, not a comfortable position if you are tall and have to sit like this for 45 min. I was beside a really big guy, enough said!

Some of the scenery in the deep blue.

Looking towards the front of the submarine, notice the 107 feet on the left.

The Carthaginian, a 19th century replica whaling ship that was sunk on purpose to help the reefs and oceanlife. It used to be a tourist attraction until it became unsafe for people to tour.

A slow swimmer passed by.

The submarine getting ready to dive in with the next round of tourists. When we surfaced, our group would trade places with the people on the boat so that each had approx. the same amount of people on board.

Dive, dive, dive.

All the way under and ready to go.

A Banyan tree and it is the largest on the islands. It shades more than two-thirds of an acre and measures one-fourth of a mile in circumference. It's huge to say the least!

While waiting for the trolley to go back to the hotel, we enjoyed the beautiful sky. I think I forgot to mention that we only had rain on one day, not bad considering that it usually rains everyday. The temperatures were mostly in the 70's and 80's.

The road in front of our hotel.

Two weary travelers standing on the inside part of our hotel. The lobby area is open like the rest of the places we stayed. We were in the building right behind the girls but we did not have a beach view.

The Ka'anapali Beach, it was divided by these hedges with the sidewalk on the right and the beach on the left. In the distance, you can see a hotel on the black rocks and they have people that will dive into the water from the rocks at night. We didn't get to see it because we were enjoying the entertainment that night at our own hotel.

Waiting for our seats at the Hula Grill. The food was good but our waitress was not the best. Another story for another time! I think we irritated her. ha ha Maybe because we were laughing and having a good time and she didn't like it.

Another beautiful sunset.

One Year Ago - Part 11b

2009-03-16T21:34:00.009-04:00

After visiting Haleakala Nat. Park, we headed for the Maui Plantation where we had lunch and some time to explore the gardens, etc.

Wild and crazy!

The Iao Needle - site of the famous battle that changed Hawaiian history, where King Kamehameha I trapped and destroyed the defending Maui king.

The Three Musketeers.

After a long day, we headed for our hotel, the Ka'anapali Beach Hotel. The Ka'anapali Beach is considered one of the best in the islands, and usually makes the list for one of the best family beaches in the world. I will post pictures of the hotel in the next post. There were 7-10 hotels right along the beach with a sidewalk that stretched the whole length of the beach and hotel frontage. It was a very nice place to say the least! Below and above is our first Maui sunset. Notice the waves coming in, there were flags up everywhere warning you not to go in because of the riptide. Of course, there were a few dummies that were out there. You could stand on the inner sidewalks at the hotel and could not see the beach, but could hear them crashing on the sand.

For the First Time Ever!

2009-03-15T22:24:00.003-04:00

Today we had these little downy woodpeckers at our bird feeder. Yesterday I put out some suet and by this afternoon, we had all kinds of birds flying in and out. My mom told me to run for my camera and amazingly they were still there. Any other time that I get my camera, all the birds fly away. Last year I waited for weeks to get a good picture of the cardinals. Anyway, the top picture is the male and the bottom is the female. It appears like they learned to sit for their food!

One Year Ago - Part 11a

2009-03-14T21:53:00.014-04:00

Welcome to Maui, the best island in the world! That's what they claim anyway. We spent three and a half days on this island and two of those days were free days. No, we didn't get to drive the road to Hana, but we did many other things. The picture above is of sugar cane fields. I would like to be there when they burn them off to harvest it.

We began our day by going to Haleakala National Park, try saying that one! It is a dormant volcano. Take a look at the road above. It was that way for most of the trip to the top (37 miles), above the clouds and beautiful weather. We got up there just in time before the clouds rolled into the crater. We could see Mauna Kea mountain on the Big Island from the top, over 80 miles away. Our bus driver was great and very interesting! They say that the best time to be up top is at sunrise. When the sun hits the volcanic cinder and ash, it looks like sparkeling diamonds.

The silver sword plant, only grows in Maui and in the park. It blooms in the summer and then dies. The stalk can grow up to two meters and have 40 outlaying ray flowers and 600 disk flowers. This one is in the infancy stage. The one beside it is the skeleton, how it looks after blooming. We saw some others that were also skeletons.

Above the clouds and great views!

Loved this sign and it was so true! It was windy and chilly up there!

The crater at the top and the cinder cones can reach up to 800 feet. It is 6.99 miles across, 2 miles wide, and approx. 2,600 deep.

Entrance to the visitor's center.

Another view of the crater.

Couldn't resist taking this picture! The neat part about the language is that the vowels always stay the same and each one is always pronounced and as far as I can remember, there are only 12 consonants and the 5 vowels.

One Year Ago - Part 10

2009-03-12T20:59:00.014-04:00

After spending the morning in the pool, we headed out for our snorkeling adventure. This was our ride to the snorkeling waters, chartered by Fair Wind Cruises. Yes, my cousin and I went snorkeling. I would say that there were approx. 50-60 on board, not everyone went snorkeling, some just along for the ride. I wasn't going to go in in the beginning, but I changed my mind once we got there. I used an inner tube and all I had to do was lean over and look into the water with those wonderful goggles and breathing tube. I didn't trust myself to go without an inner tube even though I can swim. What an amazing sight it was! I got some underwater pictures from one of the guys that was with our tour group, can't post them as they were film pictures and I didn't take the time to scan them.

Krystle's new shoes!

Our destination - Kealakekua Bay.

A monument to Captain James Cook, the English circumnavigator who discovered the islands on Jan. 18, 1770 and died here on this spot, after a skirmish with the locals, on Feb. 14, 1779. This little piece of land is actually owned by Great Britain.

I know I'm really far away in this picture but it helped to show the color of the water and the reefs under the water. Saw lots of fish and interesting creatures.

We must've been looking at something interesting.

Our hotel from the boat, on the way back from snorkeling. The next few pictures are of the wedding chapel that was on the hotel grounds. Neat little place!

Sunset - you could sit on the lava rocks near the sidewalks of the hotel. The waves were coming in and hitting the rocks.

The hotel from the front lawn.

The hotel lobby. Notice how everything is open and no doors.

One Year Ago - Part 9b

2009-03-11T21:19:00.012-04:00

Thurston Lava Tube in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was really cool! Of course, according to the sign, some of this happened millions and millions ago. Really, really dark in there! The above picture was even taken with a flash.

Wall of the lava tube.

Black sand beach, it felt more like little stones instead of sand. I guess it's actually from the lava rock. While there, we saw this sea turtle. It didn't want to raise it's head or come out of the water. They are protected, so technically you can't be within so many feet of them.

The Royal Kona Coffee Mill and Museum. We sampled lots of coffee and learned about the coffee industry as pictured above.

We spent two nights here at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa on the Big Island. Fabulous accommodations, two pools, long water slide, two restaurants, snack bar, and the list could go on. The above picture is of the inner part of the the hotel. The rooms surrounded the pools. The hotel sat out near the water and was built on/near the lava rocks. Also known for the manta rays that come in near the rocks at night. They have a platform that sticks out over the rocks/water and lights shining on the water at night to view the manta rays. We went out to look, but didn't see any.

They had this area, separated by a wall from the main pools, that was at the end of one of the pools. It wasn't sand, just tiny stones. Great place for kids to play since there was no sand beach in the immediate area.

Two water bugs that enjoyed the pools.

One Year Ago - Part 9a

2009-03-10T15:52:00.019-04:00

We flew to the Big Island (named Hawaii and the biggest island, thus referred to as the Big Island)on this day. I thought this was great poster/map of Hawaii. It was hanging in the Honolulu airport on the wall between the restrooms. It was big! Every time we went to the next island, we had to fly back into Honolulu and then catch the next flight to the next island. That made for six flights while we were there. They say that you can't fly island to island anymore except in certain cases. That meant some early mornings for us! We flew on Aloha Airlines, and they went out of business about two weeks after we came back.

Snow in Hawaii? Absolutely! I had a window seat on the flight to the Big Island. This mountain is Mauna Kea at 13, 796 feet.

Rainbow Falls on the Wailuku River outside of the city of Hilo. The water/mist wasn't quite at the right angle for us to see a rainbow, but it was still beautiful!

My sister and me.

This was a neat place and it is now owned/operated by the Hershey Co. The entrance road took us through the groves of macadamia trees. Had to buy some, of course!

After climbing the steps, there were videos playing up there telling all about the factory. When we looked through the windows, we could see it all in operation.

The next few pictures are of the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens. What's there to say except that they were gorgeous! I only posted a select few, but there were so many varieties that it made my brain spin.

After visiting the orchids, we headed to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. There was a lot of activity at the time, so the air quality was very poor and it was very hazy and hard to see. Some of the roads were shut down which was a disappointment, but better safe than sorry.

This picture is a small glimpse of the Kilauea Caldera. Notice the hazy sky. This volcanic area is the most active on earth. Lava flows somewhere all the time. About 2-3 weeks after we came home, this area where we had been standing, blew up and then had to be closed for awhile. Like I said before, lots of activity all the time. There were signs posted outside warning you not to be outside for long periods of time due to the poor air quality. Smelled like sulfur. I was sad that we couldn't go to the end of the road to see the lava flows, but oh, well. I guess that means that we'll have to go back some day.

One Year Ago - Part 8

2009-03-07T20:12:00.014-05:00

These two pictures were taken in the lobby of our hotel. Beautiful work on the Hawaiian quilt!

Nothing like delicious Hawaiian pizza!

Shaved ice, they served 87 flavors! We got mango and Rhonda and I shared and Krystle ate every bite of hers.

Our afternoon at the beach. We were standing there trying to decide if we wanted to cross over to the other side. We did, it was waist deep and very warm. We enjoyed ourselves in this relaxing place.

Rhonda took care of our stuff and read her book in the shade. A real beach bum!

Looking toward the ocean.

Beautiful hibiscus on the hotel grounds.

The view from the sidewalk at our hotel.

Another view from the hotel.

One Year Ago - Part 7

2009-03-06T21:37:00.018-05:00

We got up early and flew to Kauai on this day. It was a short flight. This island is the least populated of the four main islands and is called "The Garden Isle". We were on this island for two days. The second day was a free day and we spent most of it at the beach. The picture above is of Mt. Wai'ale'ale, one of the wettest places on earth with over 400 inches of rain a year. It is usually cloud covered as it is above. The next three pictures are of Waimea Canyon, often called "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific". It was hard to believe that we were standing on an island in the Pacific and viewing this scenery. The road to get there had so many curves, twists and turns, we thought we were on an amusement park ride.

Kauai coffee plants, Hawaii grows some of the finest coffee in the world.

The Spouting Horn, as the waves would come in, the water would go under the rocks and come up through a hole in the rocks.

Our group at the Kiahuna Golf Club, enjoying lunch at Joe's on the Green.

Opaekaa Falls.

The Fern Grotto Wailua River Cruise. The boats were flat bottomed and seated approx. 50to 60 people on long benches. It was a 90 min. narrated cruise, and there was live entertainment on board, second and third generation tour guides that were Hawaiians and sang Hawaiian songs. On the way back we got to request songs and we had to sing and dance the Hukilau song, great fun while we were on the move, no one fell overboard and the boat didn't sway although we were doing our fair share!

This river is the only navigable river in Hawaii. The Grotto is a fern-festooned cave with a small waterfall flowing over the top. Not much water was flowing while we were there because they had not had rain in almost two weeks and it usually rains every day. We were not allowed into the cave (it's been closed for a few years due to liability issues), but we stood on the platform while they sang the Hawaiian wedding song. When they were done, you were "married" to whoever was standing next to you. When they announced that, everyone moved around to make sure they were standing beside the correct person. I happened to be standing by one of the older guys in our group (he picked on us all the time and we had great fun together), and we looked at each other and cracked up laughing and he said he'd better find his wife.

Some of the beautiful flowers along the path to the Grotto.

The Fern Grotto. The ferns are not as long as they used to be years ago due to the hurricane in the early 90's. The hole at the bottom is the entrance to the cave.

A close up of the ferns.

The entrance to our hotel, The Aloha Beach Resort which was right on the beach. All of their hotels are open like this, no entrance doors at all. That is a very different concept compared to the mainland's way of doing it. This was a very low keyed place and the setting was beautiful, of course!

One Year Ago - Part 6

2009-03-05T19:44:00.012-05:00

We had a free morning on this day. This picture was taken from our balcony. The pink hotel is the world famous Sheraton on Waikiki. The picture below was taken looking east toward the city and mountains. After lunch, we loaded onto a bus and went to the Polynesian Culture Center.

The Polynesian Culture Center is managed by the Mormons who also have a college on the grounds. Students come from all over the Pacific islands and some from the US mainland. The Center covers the following cultures: Hawaii, Tahiti, Aotearoa, Tonga, Marquesas, Rapanui, Samoa, and Fiji all on 42 acres. The students from the college are tour guides, canoe guides, and they do the show at night. Each place listed above has it's own village that you can visit and learn about their culture. They also have demonstrations that include: basket weaving, climbing coconut trees, performances of their songs and chants, etc. We watched the canoe competition first before walking around. Each country did a demonstration that included song and dance while riding on a canoe with a flat top.

We took this canoe ride and our guide was a riot! They sure do have the humor over there! The next few pictures are of the Horizons show. By this time it was dark and a nice breeze was blowing. It was an interesting show! All countries were color coded so that you would know who was performing.

This was the grand finale of the show.

One Year Ago - Part 5

2009-03-04T18:57:00.018-05:00

On this day, we did the "Circle Island Tour" - approx. 100 miles on the main roads around the island of Oahu.Hanauma Bay and Nature Preserve, a famous swimming and snorkeling place. You have to pay to be there and can also rent snorkel gear. As you can tell by the water, it is very shallow for many feet out into the water. We did see whales jumping up out of the water while we were here.

Very scenic place along the road.

This was the view after we climbed the mountain pass to the other side of the island. The water was very beautiful!

Pali cliffs and lookout area and also where one of the last battles for Hawaii took place.

We visited this nut farm and taste tested the macadamias. Bought a bag of toasted coconut flavored nuts. Very interesting place!

At one of the county parks.

This fellow was yelling at us and there was another one that was yellow and blue. They were inside the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore. Beautiful setting and great place to stay although we didn't stay there, only had lunch in their restaurant. The next four pictures were taken as we were walking around the outside of the resort after eating lunch.

The entrance to the resort.

World famous Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline were world surfing competitions are held. During the winter months, the waves are huge, sometimes reaching 30 feet high and beyond because of the water coming in and hitting the reefs not far from the shore which makes it a great place to surf, but also very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. The waves on this day ranged from 8 to 12 feet high. Our guide told us that when the competitions take place, you can't find a parking place for miles and the two lane road is jammed for hours.

The Dole Pineapple Plantation where we had pineapple ice cream and visited certain parts of the plantation. If you look at the basket in the foregroud of the picture you can see a pineapple plant. We had fresh pineapple almost every day and my cousin brought home a box of them.

Krystle and I on the wall at Waikiki enjoying our last beach sunset on Oahu.

Beautiful sunset!

Just as the sun was going down, a ship was leaving Pearl Harbor and passed in front of the sun in the last few seconds of sunlight.

One Year Ago - Part 4

2009-03-03T16:31:00.022-05:00

Our first full day.
The three of us at the sign at the entrance to the USS Arizona.

The main building that includes the museum, gift shop, the anchor from the Arizona, a huge oil painting of the ship, the inner courtyard with a nice waterway (all money thrown in goes to support the place), a snack shop, and the theater. Tickets are free and we had an hour and a half wait to go to the memorial. The outside walkway near the water has maps and lots of things to read to keep you busy while you wait. You cannot take any bags whatsoever so I put my wallet and extra batteries in my skirt pocket. On the right side of the picture you can see a sidewalk and our guide told us that in the higher tourist times, it is lined with people the whole way out and around the block.

The floating memorial that sits astride the USS Arizona. You can see the boat approaching it to drop off the next round of visitors. One group gets dropped off while the visitors on there get picked up. That way your group gets only about 8-15 minutes on there. You go to the theater first when your ticket number is called and watch a short film about Pearl Harbor and the happenings of Dec. 7, 1941. After that, you get on the boat and go the memorial. It was very quiet on board. They still bury those who request to be buried in the ship with their fallen comrades.

The base of the gun turret.

Chapel of Remembrance - list of names of the people from the Arizona.

Flag on board, looking through the top of the memorial.

Oil that still leaks from the Arizona.

Leaving the memorial.

Imagining the horror of that day.

National Cemetery of the Pacific or "The Punchbowl". Lots of burials from Pearl Harbor Day.

The memorial at the "front" of the cemetery.

The Capitol Building in Honolulu.

Iolani Palace

Statue of King Kamehameha I and it is covered with real gold.

The Three Wahines, we got this taken the first morning at our orientation breakfast.

Tons of Fun Burger at the Cheesecake Factory. My cousin enjoyed it! And of course we had cheesecake, mine was Chocolate Pistachio. Delicious!

Second sunset, if you look closely at the people in the distance, you can see a wall that stretched out into the water. It made for a good seat to watch the sunset.

Most of the sunsets that we got to see were orange in color, a few were pink/purple.

Me in the water at Waikiki after watching the sun go down. Usually the sunset happened around 6:30 and after that we would walk along the edge of the water to massage our tired feet. We spent most of the day (on one of our free days) in the water when we were on Kauai, a lot quieter place than Waikiki.

One Year Ago - Part 3

2009-03-02T21:57:00.012-05:00

These pictures are in reverse order, I'll have to change that next time around. Also, I know the picture of me is the wrong way, how do I get it to flip the right way? I tried a few different things, but to no avail. I really wasn't lying down in the airport although I might have felt like it at the time! ha ha

The top picture is of our first Hawaiian sunset. Very beautiful! When we got to the hotel (we were on the 15th floor), we freshened up, and then set out for Waikiki Beach which was just across the street. Stopped in at a store for snacks and drinks, then headed for the sand. The next three pictures are of Waikiki. My sister was guarding our bags and taking pictures of us in the water. In the top right hand corner you see a garbage can that they put down in the sand with only the top sticking out. I guess it's to keep the wind from blowing it away. I thought that was unique. Don't ya just love the picture of my feet? Couldn't resist taking that one! The palm tree is one of the first that we saw when exiting the airport. The walkways (for the most part) at the airport are open, only roof-covered, nice breeze that flows while you're walking to the next place. As soon as we exited the plane, we were greeted with kisses and leis and yes, they were real orchids. Made our hotel room smell good! The last picture is of Honolulu as we were descending. If you look closely, the green circular shape near the top of the picture is The Punchbowl Cemetery of the Pacific. It is literally shaped like a punchbowl and we did get to visit it, but more about that later. We were a few of the ones that went to the beach that evening. The senior citizens of the group happily fell into bed. The next morning when we told them that we visited the beach and watched the sunset, they couldn't believe it. But we had been warned not to go to bed too early because it would backfire on us due to the time change. When we first got there, we were five hours behind and halfway through, Daylight Savings Time began but they don't observe it, so it was six hours difference to call home. After being up for over 20 hours and all that flying, we were ready for bed! I had to sleep with my cousin or sister. I started with my cousin, but ended up with my sister about half way through the trip. Now that I look back, I should've put those two together and see who came out alive and kicking!

One Year Ago - Part 2

2009-03-02T19:52:00.005-05:00

First of all let me say that I do realize that the background for these pictures does not help, is there a way to fix that without changing it to something else? If not, maybe I'll have to change it so that you can see these pictures better. Or you can see them in my scrapbooks! ha ha Also, I was having a hard time posting more than these pictures so I will have to split it up into a few sections, depending on how many I need to post about each day.

The first picture is of the mountains of Oahu. My cousin had a window seat and she took the pictures of us landing in Honolulu. The next two are of the screens that they would use for movies and information. As you can see, we had a few hours to go to our destination. The last two are of my sister and cousin, Krystle. The played Uno and Dutch Blitz to help pass the time away. We had a good flight from Atlanta to Honolulu. We had two meals that were included and drinks and snacks. I did some reading, looked at magazines, read the information about the airplane, talked to the guy in my row, tried to take a nap, and had some good laughs about the man that was seated in front of me. He had ants in his pants, I do believe. He did a double take when the girls were playing Dutch Blitz. I guess he hadn't seen that one. Before we landed, we had to sign papers stating that we weren't bringing any fruit or other items from the mainland. Everyone clapped and cheered when we landed and we allowed all the military personnel to get off first. There were quite a lot of them on the flight. We were happy to be on land!

One Year Ago - Part 1

2009-02-28T20:25:00.003-05:00

One year ago we were getting packed and ready to go to Hawaii. I spent much time reading, studying maps, and perusing articles. Yes, I even had the book "Hawaii for Dummies". It gave lots of good information about restaurants, gift shops, etc. We packed as many essentials as we could. Thank goodness we took Dramamine. We ended up using lots of it. We went with Bob Neff Tours out of Lancaster which teamed up with Christian Tours out of North Carolina. There were sixteen of us altogether, most of them were retired and one couple was celebrating their 60th anniversary. We were the youngest of the group. My cousin, Krystle, went with us. Everyone got along with each other and we had lots of laughs. We became known as "The Girls". I did change my background on here for this occasion. I have a picture almost exactly like this. It's a famous snorkeling place on Oahu called Hanauma Nature Preserve. Check back for more information and pictures throughout the next two weeks.

It's Time to Celebrate!!!!

2009-02-26T20:04:00.002-05:00

I posted this picture in under 10 seconds!!! How? Today we got cable internet and phone. Now we are happy! I took this in December while on a bus trip to Washington D.C. Now blogging will be wonderful compared to the frustration felt before with our good 'ol dial-up connection! Just in time to share a look back at our Hawaii vacation a year ago.

The Latest News

2009-02-14T23:37:00.002-05:00

Wow! It's been a whirlwind of activity around here. The past few weeks have been busy with Pajama Day at school (yes, I did wear my pj's), working on my winter "to do" list so that hopefully it will soon be "ta done", going to the dentist, celebrating birthdays, baking, clearing my camera cards from Christmas, and the list keeps going. I did receive Valentine flowers this year from a certain man. They were beautiful! Also, a birdie told me that we are soon to be making a change with our internet connection! I hope that means that the days of wanting to post pictures but can't because time and our dial-up connection, are over. One of my favorite sayings has always applied to this whole problem of internet connection, "Technology is good when it works!". I hope it solves our issues. I am somewhat looking forward to spring, although I wish we would have just one more snow and that it would be deep, not the 3 or 5 inches that we've had. My children at work seem to have a severe case of "cabin fever". They have me ready to climb the walls at times, but I have to keep in perspective that most of the time, they do not receive the attention they need while at home. Sadly, a lot of the parents would rather feed them, bath them, and put them to bed right away rather than spend time with them. Those kids do give us lots of laughs, that's for sure! One of the girls said to me (after watching me blow my nose), "You got snot?". Spending the day with kids like that will make your day!

Life and Death

2009-01-25T22:28:00.002-05:00

Funny how death makes you think about life. Most people would probably argue the opposite, that death makes you think of death. Not so with me. When death happens, it makes me take stock of my life. Just last week I experienced something for the first time in my life - a funeral for a baby. Looking at that little casket and the tiny baby lying there really brought home the fact that life is short. Dear little Carson entered this world too early. He fought for his life for five weeks. He was born Dec. 6, 2008. His due date was March 18, 2009. He now resides in heaven. I like to think that my grandpa is holding him up there just like he once held Carson's mother when she was little. I never got the chance to hold him as I did his mother many years ago. Even though she was not my child, she became "my daughter". She spent much time at our house during her growing up years. She has always called me her second mother. Now my heart hurts for her in the loss of her first child. What do you say to a person in this situation at the funeral? It's easy to say things for an older person such as, "They had a good life" etc., but how do you express sorrow for a life that was so short? I know many people may have frowned upon an open casket, but his life was no less important than if he would have been an adult. My thoughts turned to one of the most prevalent issues of our day - abortion. How someone can kill an innocent life so small is beyond me yet it happens every day. There we stood grieving the death of a tiny baby who was loved and valued for his small time on earth and later it made me think of the thousands and thousands of little ones whose lives are taken every day because of someone's decision. It made me hold on to my little ones at work a little longer last week and I held some of the babies close, all the while reminded that someone else's arms are empty. It's said that time has a way of healing things, but the reminder of that sweet little one will always be there no matter how much time marches on. It reminds you of how much you are not in control of your life, of how much each life matters no matter how young or old, of how quickly life can be taken from you. That's why death makes me think about life.

It's Milkshake Time!

2009-01-07T22:39:00.002-05:00

This is terrible I know, however, who can resist a Farm Show milkshake? Every year I look forward to going to the PA Farm Show just for the french fries and milkshakes. I know, I know, that it's not healthy but.............it's only once a year. Forget going to see everything that's there. As long as I see the food court, namely the french fry and milkshake stands, I'm happy. Yes, I like watching the things that happen in the arenas, but you know you've tasted the real thing when you visit the food court. The only problem is, I have to take about 4-5 dairy pills to be able to drink just one milkshake since I'm lactose intolerant. But thank goodness someone was smart enough to come up with a solution like that for those of us who literally can't stomach dairy products. I miss those days when I didn't have to take the pills. Now I carry a bottle with me just about everywhere I go. The other problem is that we are to have a possible "significant" amount of snow on Sat. Who ordered that? I guess if we don't make it on Sat., we'll have go some evening next week. Oh, well, as the saying goes around here, "You know it always snows for the Farm Show!".

We Loved Our Pajamas!

2008-12-28T19:25:00.004-05:00

This is the first time in years that my mom and dad got us matching Christmas pajamas! I know, I know, the whole pajama thing at Christmas belongs to kids, but since I work with kids, I've come to the conclusion, if you can't beat them, then I might as well join them and act like one too! I just couldn't resist making a face about it. I told my mom that I want to be buried in pajamas since they are my favorite article of clothing!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T20:41:00.001-05:00

For those of you who have children and think it's hard to take pictures of them and it is, try it with a pet. Ginger didn't do too bad as long as my mom was behind the camera squeaking one of her toys. Grandma put a gift under the tree for Ginger and she picked it out and knew it was hers. I do believe she can read. She opened it and it was a green plastic Christmas bone that squeaks. She will be a mess when it's time to open presents. She seems to think that all the gifts are for her. Mom and Gram made more cookies today. Now we have enough to last us for awhile. We will open our gifts on Christmas Eve since we are going to my aunt's house on Christmas Day. We have three days off from work this year for Christmas, we'll be enjoying it! I love my little kids, but it's nice to have a break. Hope everyone has a great Christmas and remembers the Reason for the Season!

Cookied Out!

2008-12-16T19:24:00.002-05:00

The white stuff is coming down outside and it's cold! I was supposed to go to the dentist this afternoon, but I cancelled it due to the weather. Seeing as how delightful our roadways are around here, it was good that I did. Anyway, since I was home and we had yet to make any cookies for the season, I decided to do it. Two hundred twelve cookies later, I left the kitchen!!!!! Actually, I made them all, my mom put them away, and my sister did the dishes. We believe in sharing the jobs around here! ha ha I made ginger cookies, sugar cookies, M&M cookies, and peppermint M&M chocolate cookies - enough variety for everyone! My shopping has been done for awhile now and everything is wrapped and under the tree. Ginger decided that she needed to try to open them and was only successful with one so far, thank goodness! I did buy her something, but had to hide it on my closet shelf since she thought she needed it the other night. Oh, well.......this may be her last Christmas, she is not doing well and is starting to drag her back left leg. I guess that comes with old age! Anyway, back to the cookies, I'm sure they will be gone by Christmas or soon after!

My Mom's Favorite Ornaments

2008-12-09T14:20:00.003-05:00

Twenty four years ago our lives were forever changed. My sister, then age eight, collapsed at school with a brain aneurysm. I was six at the time and will never forget how the chapel service at school was interrupted so that everyone could pray for her immediately. After a doctor at Lewisburg hospital told my mom that it was a drug overdose and that she would be fine and to take her home, my mom demanded that she be moved to Harrisburg Polyclinic Hospital where they found the problem. My parents were told that there was really no hope for her and that she would bleed to death. What they did not know was that by that time, many, if not hundreds of people were praying for her. By the next morning, the bleeding had stopped and she started to respond to her name. Numerous tests were done and it was determined that she would need surgery. She was taken to Philadelphia Children's Hospital. She ended up having two surgeries as they did not get everything removed the first time. Her head was shaved except for about an inch or so around her head. The doctor's could not give any assurances as to how she would be after the surgeries. She could lose her abilities to feed herself, walk, etc. During this time at the hospital, my parents met many people and of course, children. They listened to other parent's stories and also shared how God had spared my sister's life up to that point. After the surgeries, my sister could still see, talk, walk, etc. In fact, she got tired of the many doctors that would visit her to test her vision, coordination, speaking abilities, etc. Thank goodness that the hospital had many activities for children to do. With Christmas being just around the corner, they had them making all sorts of things. One such project was making ornaments for the Christmas tree. My sister made the simple ornaments pictured above. To anyone they seem so simple, but to my mom, they were symbols of life and hope. Mom has kept them through the years as a reminder to us of our greatest gift that year - the gift of life. She keeps them packed away with our Christmas stuff, but every year we look at them and remember what happened. After four weeks in the hospital, my sister did make it home for Christmas that year but was not allowed to walk around without help. She would crawl if she needed to go somewhere, which made my grandma cry. I guess gram wondered if she would ever be able to walk properly again. I spent all those weeks in various friends and relatives households, but I'll never forget the day she came home, dressed in her red and white Care Bear pajamas. She was ready to be home and wanted grandma's famous brown flour gravy for supper. Her hair eventually grew back, she wanted it to grow in red, her favorite color. To look at her today, you would never know that anything happened to her. The only lasting effect from it is that she has a short term memory problem. She made it through school, my mom tutoring her almost every night. Most of the time, she would forget what she studied before taking a test due to her memory problem, but the teachers graciously worked with her and found ways to make it work. Today, she is the head housekeeper in one of the buildings at Country Meadows and can drive (red car, of course!) and do mostly everything by herself. My mom will probably always keep the ornaments as they are lasting mementos of the past and a reminder of the future. By the way, my sister has an autographed picture of the Philadelphia Eagles from that year - they came to the hospital and passed out gifts and pictures. And don't touch her head, she still is protective of it! :)

Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T17:48:00.003-05:00

We headed to northern PA for Thanksgiving this year....Gold, PA to be exact. My aunt and family bought a general store there. We took a few "field trips" on the way, one of them being the PA Grand Canyon, my cousin, Misty and I pictured above. I've never been there in the snow......it was beautiful! We had a nice time with the family...actually ate in the store because there was more room to set up tables and we had 20 mouths to feed. Not enough leftovers for supper so we had pizza instead. And after shooting the breeze for awhile, we headed home.....it was a long day!

Reindeer and Lemonade

2008-11-22T14:14:00.003-05:00

Wonderful, wonderful snow! Let's just say our good workers at Penndot were not prepared for what happened last night. Everything turned out to be mess, a real mess! And since there are only two ways in and out of Harrisburg on the north side (322 and 11/15), let's just say that nobody went anywhere for a looonnngg time. Thus, we had lots of frantic parents calling in and making other arrangements for their children to be picked up. We ended up bringing home two preschool girls (who are actually related to us), and one of the babies. We had breakfast for supper and after they ate three plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, and hashbrowns, we played Candy Land (yes, we kept ours, has to be about 28 yrs old). Since I haven't played that game in awhile, I forgot how wonderful it is to get my candyman to the candy house!!! But I didn't win, my dear sweet Claudia did. Of course, Kaylee and I celebrated for her. Now Claudia is the type of child that you never know what will come out of her mouth and she's not afraid to say anything. When we were at the table and talking about the bear being here, she wanted the curtain closed in case he would try to look in, forgetting about the door right beside it that is a nine light glass. Kaylee piped up and said that he could just open the door and come in, and Claudia wasn't too pleased about that. She told us that when she says potty words at school, she goes home and her mom puts Tabasco sauce in her mouth. While we were playing the game, Claudia looked around at my dad's two mounted deer heads on the wall and said, "What did Mr. Randy do to those reindeer, cut off their heads?". I had a good laugh about that one! She also had to look at the bath tub and said, "We have one of those too!". I guess it's hard for them to comprehend that we don't live at the preschool 24/7. We had lots of fun together and we're always glad to help the parents when we can. Having those two girls here provided our Friday night entertainment.
On another note, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. I guess I'll be drinking lots of it in the near future. Let's just say that life and people have a way of doing things to you that you may have thought would never happen. One case in point - we had our staff Christmas party on Thursday night at a local restaurant. Thursday started out well but ended horribly, so when we got there and waited over two hours to get our food, I was ready to make lots of lemonade. When the food finally came, it was delicious, but who felt like eating it at 8:30 at night? Oh, well, such is life! At least we got the party done and out of the way before the busyness begins.

It's That Time of Year......

2008-11-17T14:16:00.002-05:00

My early celebration of Christmas has begun. I started playing Christmas music at work during naptime. I just couldn't help myself. Of course, the kids looked at me as if I had lost my marbles and maybe I have after the last few weeks. It's been crazy and the kids have been off the walls and I've started to climb them, I do believe. So, today I decided to start playing Christmas music. They are probably dancing in their sleep right about now. I've wanted to decorate, but I guess I'll hold off until after Thanksgiving, although here at home, the tree is going up next week because we are going away for Thanksgiving, weather permitting. I'm just about done shopping, I decided to do it early this year. I can't help myself, I just love Christmas! Just a quick update - I don't think I mentioned this before, but my dad got two caribou on his hunting trip and has shot two doe since coming home, so our freezers are getting full. Yes, we have two freezers, one for meat, and the other for all the other stuff. Things have been busy around here, but I thought it was time for an update on here.

Sarah Palin and the Bear

2008-11-03T23:09:00.003-05:00

Yes, folks it's true, Sarah Palin was in a small community on Halloween night. That community happened to be about two miles from us. Too bad that we didn't know it until the next morning. There was an article in our newspaper today that confirmed that she was here. Some of our parents from the preschool said that they know people who talked to her and have video footage of her. The biggest event in Dauphin history for sure! Now the thing is, she needed to be here tonight to shoot the bear (like she got her moose) that was in our back yard and on our back porch. Our community has had a terrible time with this bear and the wonderful game commission seems to think that it's all our fault and that residents must be feeding it because it keeps coming back. The game com. will not do anything about the bear. Instead they are telling us to put bird feeders away and don't let anything out that would attract the bear. There have been over 40 phone calls made about this bear and the good people at the game com. have already hung up on some that made the phone calls, yet they will fine you if you shoot it. I guess it's their way of making money. When we got home tonight, we heard something in the back yard and then I ran inside and grabbed the spotlight to see what I could see-a nice sized black bear leaving our yard/woods and heading up the hill to the neighbors. He so nicely destroyed our garbage and knocked over the wheelbarrow. That view of him wasn't good enough for me. My mom and I jumped in the car and drove around to find him. Didn't see him but saw the evidence of him rooting in the garbage cans along the way since tomorrow is garbage pick-up. I guess it's time to set up my dad's motion camera. Last time it was a racoon, this time a bear, what's next, Sarah Palin's lost moose?

My Political Soapbox

2008-10-22T22:56:00.003-04:00

Lately I've been spending time on my soapbox....politically that is. I read a statement recently that seems to sum it up....."All that is required for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke. I've met many people that just want to sit back and do nothing concerning this election. I really don't understand that way of thinking. This year, after much hounding by me, a co-worker will vote for the first time. I've worked on her for four years to get her to register and she's concerned enough about this election and what it could mean for our country that she registered to vote. Almost everyone in my workplace is Republican but not all will vote this year. I have a hard time grasping that fact. We happened to have that conversation today as we were supposed to be discussing the Christmas program but got derailed on politics. I personally feel that it is your duty to vote. One of the women said that she didn't care for either candidate and wasn't going to vote and really couldn't answer the question as to why she wouldn't vote. I told her that even though we don't agree with everything that the Rep. candidate stands for, we certainly do not want the other one in there. Not voting is like practically giving the office to the wrong person. I was explaining to her all of the things about him that's just downright scary and the connections that he has. I nicely told her that if everyone were to take that stand of not voting, that's how and why we get into trouble in the firstplace. I told them of a story that I heard on the radio yesterday as I was driving home from the dentist. It was on a talk show and they were discussing voting. The man that was telling the story had been in Iraq and he said, "When the people of Iraq were allowed to vote for the first time, some of them walked over 13 miles in the rain to vote. We have Americans that won't even walk 13 feet to vote!" How true that is! What American do you know that would walk even 2 miles to vote? I feel that the people who don't vote, take their freedom for granted. Yes, I do understand that people in the political realm lie to get what they want. We all know that, it's not something that we can change, but we can find some things out by just doing some research. Part, if not all, of the problem in this election is that we have been bombarded by the liberal media about how wonderful a certain candidate is and how he has such great speaking ability, poise, etc. The reporters are supposed to be intelligent people, yet when and where have we seen or heard the truth reported about him? It's funny how they want to tell you "the truth" about certain candidates, but when it comes to him, it's suddenly different. It's funny how he mentioned his "Muslim faith" and was quickly corrected with "You mean your Christian faith". It's funny how he doesn't even seem to know that the United States has 50 states, not 57. He's supposed to have a high IQ. Don't you think that after sitting in a certain church for many years, your intelligence would have kicked in somewhere along the line to let you understand what the man up front was saying and how he was degrading America and did he think that we wouldn't find out where he started his campaign? All you have to do, which any American can do, is Google him and you'll find out a lot and maybe more than you wanted to know and start putting the pieces together and if we can do that, then why can't the media? I do get tired of hearing some of the news that's being broadcasted, but that doesn't change the fact of how important this election is to me or my country. I just have to shake my head in wonder when people say they aren't voting this year because they "don't get into politics". How can you not get into politics when literally everything is at stake in this election? They are some of the same people that complain about how things are in our country yet do nothing to let their voice be heard. The real truth of the matter is that as long as good people do nothing, evil will triumph!

Men in Red

2008-10-21T16:38:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday night we went to the PA National Horse Show to see the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride. It was a great show! My cousin went along with us and I got some pretty good pictures. This particular shot is of "The Dome". There are some female riders in the group. We got a chance to talk to one while we were visiting the horses in the expo hall before the show. After we left and went to the arena and sat down, my cousin and I looked at each other and agreed that we had a "blonde moment". There we had been standing and talking to the real deal and we never got our picture taken with her. How dumb was that?!!!! How many chances in your lifetime do you have to stand by a Mountie that's in the popular Musical Ride?!!! Oh, well, we learn by our mistakes. Despite that dumb moment, we had a great time together!

The Beauty of Fall.....

2008-10-14T15:44:00.001-04:00

Gettysburg

2008-10-06T16:24:00.002-04:00

A great day for pictures! I am on the left, my cousin Misty in the middle, and my sister on the right. If you've never been to Gettysburg, it is one, if not the most, "decorated" battlefields of the Civil War. I happen like this one the best, could be because I'm prejudiced since it is the Pennsylvania Memorial.

30 on 30!

2008-09-30T20:53:00.002-04:00

I have arrived! Officially old now! I spent the last few hours of my twenties doing what I love to do - taking care of my two little ladies (see previous post) while their parents went out on a date. I did things in threes this year. Gifts came at three different times and we went out to eat three times. Once with the girls from work, once with my family, and once with my mom which was tonight. We went to Cracker Barrel, one of my favorite places to eat. I had Sirloin steak, hashbrown casserole, deep fried okra, and fried apples. We got dessert free for our birthdays. I chose the chocolate Coca-Cola cake and brought it home. I can't believe that I'm thirty! Time flies when yer havin' fun!!! I got lots of books, two Boyd's Bears, a gift card, money, and a teacher's mug.
A lot has happened in 30 years. If my eyes could talk about the places I've walked, I do believe I could write a small book about my travels. I've seen so many beautiful places in the past thirty years, so much scenery that it's hard to find words to describe it. I've been in 48 states, 8 Canadian provinces, Mexico City, and so many national parks - I think the one we visited most is Yellowstone, that being four times. I've met so many people, a lot of them being little people. One of those little people wished me a happy birthday today and I asked her how old she thought I was to which she replied, "42"! Oh, help! One of the other little girls guessed 3. I want to be neither of those ages so I have to be content with 30. I don't know if this age makes me an old maid or not. Oh, well if it does! All in all, it was a good day!

Leaving "The Roaring Twenties"

2008-09-22T18:41:00.005-04:00

In a few short days I will be leaving the twenties and head into a new decade of my life. I've had to wait 30 years to be the same as my birthdate - 30 on 30! I told my sister that I'm leaving the Roaring Twenties and wondered what the Thirties were called. She calmly replied, "The Depression". That made me feel so much better! NOT! My birthdays have always been interesting since I share the day with my mom. What a gift she got on that day! ha ha Anyway, for years we did something special around the time our birthdays. Whether it was hiking the Grand Canyon of PA, visiting Rickett's Glen, walking across Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, enjoying the scenery of Hyner View, PA (yes, it is called that!), or any other place we went, it was always fun! Most if not all of those trips were with other family members - My Uncle Allen, Aunt Michele, and my cousin Misty, and sometimes a few others. What great memories we have of those days - some of those days were extremely cold, like the day we were at the PA Grand Canyon. We lived in coats and sweatshirts, wrapped up in blankets, and drank lots of hot tea, chocolate, and coffee to stay warm. When we visited Rickett's Glen, it rained most of the day. We didn't mind, we just bundled up and away we went, and went, and went, until we realized that we were probably lost. We took a wild guess on which trail to follow and thankfully it was the right one and we were able to find my parents and finally get in the warm car. Time went on and as I got into the age bracket of early twenties, the trips didn't happen as frequently. Not everything was going smoothly in family relationships, so we didn't go anywhere together for a long time, about nine/ten years. Other's had interest elsewhere and we sporadically went places, not every year as we did before. We broke that mold this year - thank goodness! I had this brainy idea to go somewhere this year, after all, it is my last twenty number that I can claim and I had to celebrate! Our original plan failed. We were going to go to Washington D.C. on a bus trip, but that went down the tubes. Instead we went to Gettysburg. I find it ironic that we went there, seeing as that was the last place we all went together nine years ago. Our day started out at Boyd's Bears. I had been there several times before but my cousin hadn't. It's a beary nice place! After that we went to the Outlets, my mom was looking for a new mixer for her birthday and yes, she found one, thank God! I'm done trying to mix with one beater! She got the real deal this year - a Kitchen Aid with everything she could ever want! We then visited the new visitor's center and what a place that is. It opened this past April and if you ever get a chance to go, you'll enjoy it! You could spend hours going through the new museum. The newly restored Cyclorama will have it's Grand Opening this Saturday. They also have a huge gift/book store and two theaters. The place is incredible! We didn't get to spend much time there, but we are thinking of going back in October and driving the battlefield again. After that, we visited the PA memorial which I think is one of the best that is on the battlefield. Then we went shopping, had a picnic supper, and took an evening train ride. We had a great time! Returned home very tired but that was okay, I wouldn't have wanted it to be any different. Took lots of pictures, but as I said before, dial-up is a mess to try to post something. Such is life! I'm glad summer is officially over! Although I do have to say that one good thing happened this summer - I got my Hawaii scrapbooks finished. Now I have to work on my sister's books. The good thing about that is, I already have a pattern to follow. That's all for now!

Hummingbirds at last!

2008-08-26T15:14:00.004-04:00

We've finally had some visitors! The flying kind, that is. I got my mom this hummingbird feeder for Mother's Day and put it out in June in the flowerbed near the petunias. It took a while for them to discover it, and now it is busy with activity. I've been trying to get a good picture of them while they feed, but they don't stay around for very long at one time, so it's been a challenge. The standing joke around here is that every time I run for my camera, the birds fly away 99% of the time. If I don't get the camera, they stay around for awhile. After much waiting, I managed to get a few pictures and this one turned out very well. Hope you enjoy it!

The Fifth Season of the Year

2008-08-05T16:26:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year - canning season. The past few weeks have been busy. We did 21 doz. of corn, 1 bushel of green beans, banana pickles, and a bushel of red beets. I had the distinct job of peeling the cooked beets - what fun! Let's just say that I'm glad that that job is done for the year. We're not quite done with it all yet, but there's light at the end of the tunnel!

Garden of the Gods

2008-07-22T15:37:00.003-04:00

What can I say besides I think this picture turned out great! The only other thing that would've made it better - if Pike's Peak wouldn't have been cloud covered in the background. I suppose you could go there and never see the Peak because of the clouds. Had I to do over, I would've been there a few mornings before and taken these pictures when it wasn't cloud covered. Oh, well, I guess I can't have everything picture perfect! I am glad that I walked around the corner of the building and found this flag at the perfect place.

Ladies Night

2008-07-07T18:43:00.002-04:00

Meet Brooke (left) and Bekka. They came to visit me last week while their parents went to the hospital to visit someone. Actually, Brooke is in my classroom and their mom teaches in the upper preschool room. If you can't tell by the picture, Brooke is a fireball, but that's what I love about her. You should've heard her yell when she saw the ice cream making its way out of the freezer. We had lots of fun together. Bekka loved the swing and wanted to go higher and faster all the time. We played with beach balls but Bekka discovered a spider and was not too keen on staying in the grass. Brooke, on the other hand, had to get as close to it as she could. I do believe she would have picked it up, but I protested on that part of it. Anyway, it was a joy to have the ladies visit. Bekka wanted to be sure that Ginger was not around while she was here. Poor dog had to take her nap in the bedroom. sniff sniff Anyway, it was a great evening together although poor Brooke was confused at first because she's used to seeing me at school and not at home, but she was fine after a few minutes of crocodile tears.

A Case of Blue Tongue

2008-06-23T20:38:00.002-04:00

This is my cousin, Jenny. She is three years old and was a surprise baby. She is now the youngest cousin on the Hess side of the family. Having that spot means she gets spoiled by everyone but someone has to have it so she's the one. Recently we attended a graduation party for her sister and brother. One graduated from high school, the other from college. She got a mouthful of the blue icing that was on the cake. Couldn't resist taking this picture.

Vacation Part 2

2008-06-17T23:16:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, we went to Baccalaureate at the Air Force Academy Chapel. It was very nice. After that everyone came to our cabin to eat lunch. Lots of good food and no one went away hungry! Sunday night we went to church and then to the pastor's house afterwards for a snack. At church we got to see Miss Folsum, former teacher at Penn View, and after church, I got to see my friend from my college days, Tonya Sickler. We had fun catching up on the past few years. On Monday, we went to Cripple Creek to visit the Mollie Kathleen gold mine. We went 1,000 ft. down into the gold mine and took the walking tour. After that we went downtown for lunch, which was fabulous, and then did some shopping before heading back to the cabin. When we got back, we went a few blocks from the cabin and got our picture taken at the Old Time Photography shop. First time we've had something like that done together. The pictures turned out great! Tuesday morning dawned with overcast skies and it was chilly. We went to the Parade of Graduates which was outside....basically all the cadets from the Academy parade onto the field and then the graduates step apart to signify that they are leaving the Academy. That night we were able to go to Andrew's commissioning.......very nice ceremony. Wednesday morning greeted us with fog, mist, and cold, cold, cold.....in the 30's. We left the cabin early so that we would be sure to get into the graduation. The doors close at 10 AM and if you're not in by then, you won't get in at all. We sat in the stadium in that weather for over five hours. Good thing we took blankets along as we used every one we had. It was just nasty. Thank goodness I had a weather proof coat! It was great to hear President Bush speak and he shook every graduates' hand.....all 1,012......that took well over an hour. The Thunderbirds only flew over once while the graduates were throwing their hats. They were supposed to do an airshow, but because of the bad weather it was canceled. After that, we went to the graduation party and enjoyed ourselves since the sun decided to come out. We started home on Thursday......traveled from Colorado Springs to Evansville, Indiana to my aunt's house.......very long day! Spent the next day with my aunt and family and then headed for home on Sat. We had a nice trip but it was good to get home! I think a certain brown furry creature was glad to see us too!

Vacation Completed! Part 1

2008-06-03T16:26:00.003-04:00

What a trip we had! Except for tornados, cold nights, windy days, fog, rain, and whatever else I'm forgetting, we had a memorable time to say the least! We mostly lived in our coats except for late afternoons. We had good weather on the way going to Colorado until we hit the western part of Kansas. Then I felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Let's just say we hope to never be caught in tornado alley again, at least for a long time. I happened to be driving while it all took place. I had to fight to keep the Highlander on the road. Between the rain, roaring wind, and nice sized hail, I'd say we were pretty much involved in some kind of tornadic activity. Felt like being in a washing machine while it was agitating. We knew that there was a tornado about 20 min. behind us and that we would be getting into severe storms ahead of us. The guy on the radio was very helpful and my mom kept checking the map, but I had to laugh at him from time to time. He said to take cover. I was ready to ask him if he'd been to Kansas lately! Where in the world do you take cover in a place like that? Anyway, we made it through all that, only to be in a wind/dust storm for about two hours after that. I should've stopped and had a burial for all the tumbleweeds that decided to cross the road and jump on my wheels. They should put up a sign that says, "Watch out for crossing tumbleweeds!". Needless to say, my mom was ready to cry because she's only had this vehicle for two months and the hail so nicely decided to take some paint along with it. Once we got to Colorado and found our cabin, the real fun began. The next day we went up Pike's Peak....it was 17 degrees and snowy on top and I was ready to yell (if I could've gotten enough air to do so), turn up the heat and give me some air! That night we went to the Flying W cowboy chuckwagon supper. It was too cold to have it outside but that was okay and the food was soooo good! We spent the next day at Royal Gorge....took a train ride through the bottom of the gorge first, then drove to the top. Now if you don't know, a bridge spans this gorge.....so, my dad got the bright idea to walk across the bridge. (You can walk, take the trolley, cable car, or your own car across it.) This is a suspension bridge and once you get to the middle, there's a nice sized space between you and the bottom of the gorge......over 1,000 feet. Not liking heights, my mom and I linked arms and tried to walk in the middle the whole way across.....nothing like the wind blowing the bridge to make it even more interesting and the bridge has wooden planks for the "floor" and yes, there are some cracks. My mom, sister, and I took the trolley back. Dad took the cable car. He tried to say that it was the best way to see it all. Yeah, okay I'll believe it just as long as I didn't have to get in it!

Our Bags are Packed (Well, two of us are!)

2008-05-18T22:56:00.003-04:00

Just thought I'd share this picture with everyone before we leave. Two days until we pack up and head for the Rockies. I've been telling people that I just might not come back this time. My bags are mostly packed and the dog will be headed to the puppy motel which she hates! She comes home hoarse and can hardly bark. Oh well, such is life with a pet. My mom has been very sick for the past few days. Hopefully it gets out of her system before we go. I told her that she'll have to sit in the car seat and hold some plastic bags in case she needs to make a deposit. We are hoping that no one else gets it. That would make for a miserable trip! I have my camera ready to go as I'm sure I'll be taking lots of pictures. We are praying for good weather for the day of the graduation. If it rains, it is held indoors and we will not get to attend because of a lack of space for everyone. We're keeping our fingers crossed. We hope to have a great trip!
By the way, if you notice something different in the picture about my dad, it's no glasses. Last year at this time, he had lens replacement surgery. He only has to wear reading glasses now. Not bad, considering that he was a -13.00. He is thrilled and so are we although we've had to harass him at times since then because there has been a few times when he claimed he couldn't see something and it was right in front of him. I guess that's just old age! The doctor that did the surgery told him that he is one of their greatest success stories and that he had never done anyone with such bad eyesight before. He's not 100% clear all the time because of his diabetes, but it sure beats what he was. Right after the surgery, he would wake up in the morning and reach for his glasses....old habits die hard, that's for sure!

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T22:12:00.002-04:00

This is my twin.....or I'm her twin......whatever way it is, it's what we are! We think alike, act alike, sound alike, even work together. Now that's a miracle......I guess it works out because I'm her boss. Ha ha When people call our house, they have a hard time telling us apart, even my dad. There's been many times that he's called home and he's not sure who he's talking to. I have great fun with that as you can imagine!

My Little Man

2008-05-10T22:37:00.002-04:00

Today was the wedding.....not mine! I was a fair maiden for my friend from college. I managed to make it up the runway without falling or dropping my flowers. What an accomplishment! Derek and Alanna McIntire did the music, but since I was in the wedding, I didn't get to hold my little man as much as I wanted to......only for a few moments before the clean up began. The wedding turned out great and we also got pictures taken by a pond that was near the church.

Full Steam Ahead

2008-05-08T22:36:00.002-04:00

I know, I know, I haven't been faithful at this for awhile. This month is absolutely crazy and along with that, we are leaving in about a week and a half for Colorado. We were personally invited to the Air Force Academy Graduation near the end of May. We made plans over a year ago to attend. We are going out early so that we can do other things before the graduation. We are going to take the cog railway up Pike's Peak, go to Royal Gorge, and maybe go to Cripple Creek and a few other places. Thankfully when I planned the trip, I figured in a high price for gas which is what has happened. We will be very close to spending what I had figured in the first place. And, yes it is still cheaper to drive than to fly for the four of us. In the meantime, we've had to renew our CPR and First Aid for work, finish shopping for the trip, start packing, and many other things that are on the calender including a wedding I'm in this weekend. I already packed the food box that sits between my sister and me...knowing her, she'll be in it before we go 100 miles.

Some of you have mentioned to me about posting more pictures of Hawaii. Believe me, if I could post a picture I would. I've had the most terrible time trying to post pictures. My picture file sizes are not too big....the only thing I can come up with is that we are still on dial up for our internet connection and it takes forever. Now you would think that living so close to the capital city of PA that we would have any kind of connection at our finger tips. NOT SO! Our only option right now would be cable connection which we have considered, but they want way too much money for that.......so, I'm not sure what we are going to do. I was so frustrated the other day that I was talking to the computer screen in a very loud voice......I guess I thought that if it heard something that it would do something. Of course, everyone else thought it was funny except me! Oh, well, maybe one of these times it will all work out and you will actually get to see more pictures.

Easter 2008

2008-04-26T14:36:00.002-04:00

This is my sister and I on Easter.....I know, I know, Easter was over a long time ago but time flies. My Grandma was here for Easter, but she was very sick at the time and the picture I got of her....well, let's just say I'm trying to behave myself and not post it. I will post a picture of my mom and dad later but be warned......if you haven't seen them in five years or more......they are gray and bald. ha ha Anyway, this week was not a good week at all. My children did everything they could not to obey the rules. I was ready to pull my hair out. The last two days were better though. Let's just say I have a very interesting group of parents this time around. Plus, we've been struggling with allergies which I haven't had a problem with until the last two years. What fun! I'm ready for another vacation......yes, we have another one coming up in about three weeks. This seems to be the year for big trips. After this trip, I'm sure we will be staying home for awhile especially with the price of gas. When I planned this trip I figured on four dollars a gallon and by the looks of it, that's what it will be by the time we go. It's time to get the suitcases out again and get packing......oh, how wonderful!

If I Could Rob the Cradle......ha ha

2008-04-19T20:20:00.002-04:00

Today my mom and I went visiting. She went to Gram's house and I went to visit my little boyfriend Dalyn and his parents, Derek and Alanna McIntire. If only I could rob the cradle.....he is so much fun! Anyway, we had a great time together. Alanna and I made lunch - grilled ham, homemade mac and cheese, and steamed asparagus which Alanna and I love to eat. It had been awhile since I had been in the kitchen with Alanna, and I got my laughs for the day. Then we went for ice cream in Mifflinburg. In the meantime, my mom was helping Gram get her flower beds cleaned out. We had a good day! We do miss living in that area.....being close to the city is very different.

Spring

2008-04-18T22:43:00.002-04:00

I love spring! I love to keep track of what flowers are blooming around our house. These daffys are beside our garage on the side of a small hill. Getting pictures of them is so fun, not! But I willingly put up with the way you have to stand/sit/kneel to get these pictures. Last year, I got some great pictures of the flowers around here, and I hope to do so again this year. One of these days I will post more pictures from Hawaii, but I'm having a hard time trying to upload them. Technology is only wonderful when it works - that's my motto when I get frustrated with things like that. Anyway, back to spring. It happens to be one of my favorite seasons. I also enjoy fall and winter. Notice I left out summer and that would be because of the heat, which I can't stand! There's just something new about every day in spring. Reminds me of life - something new every day if we look hard enough.

The Things Kids Say....

2008-04-15T22:48:00.003-04:00

We took a walk today with our children since it turned out to be a nice day. Usually after we walk, we allow them to run around on the covered porch area of the church that's connected to our preschool. It's a great time for them to get their energy out because soon after our walk we take a nap. We've been working with the older group to try to help them realize their own needs and how to take care of them (especially blowing their noses instead of digging for gold - gross, I know but it's what happens!). Anyway, while running around, one little girl sneezed and then proceeded to say, "My tissue came out!". I'm sure she meant to say that something came out of her nose and needed a tissue to take care of it, but couldn't put it together fast enough in the short amount of time that she knew she needed a tissue. We had a good laugh over that one! She's a real cracker jack, but is very sweet and helpful. Over the winter months, when it seemed like we were going through a box of tissues a day, she would help the other kids wipe their noses if they didn't realize that they needed a tissue. We call her our "Mother Goose".

2008-04-14T13:59:00.004-04:00

This is one of the three beautiful sunsets that we got to see while standing on Waikiki Beach. This by far was the best one! Almost every night there were sailboats passing by. I had to wonder if they did it on purpose because they knew that people were taking pictures. Even if they did, it made for some great pictures. Truly remarkable colors in every sunset. This was also one of the best places to see a sunset. When we were on Kauai the sun set behind us and on the Big Island (Hawaii) we were there for two nights, but only got to see it happen once because of the weather. The other place for great sunsets was while we were on Maui. The last night we were there, the clouds were perfect and I took lots of pictures of that one too.

Children

2008-04-10T20:29:00.002-04:00

My children at my job never cease to amaze me (neither do some of the parents at times)! The funny things they say just make me want to roll with laughter. Sometimes the smallest thing they say or do makes my day. Today was a beautiful day and we were taking a walk around the the lower parking lot. Now you have to understand - walking with this age group can sometimes be very challenging. We were listening to the birds sing and looking at the trees and enjoying the weather. For the past few days that we have been walking, I would find a small stone and kick it in front of me while walking and waiting for one of the kids to do the same. Several in my group had tried to imitate it, but they had failed to get the foot in the proper timing while walking. Today one of my little girls finally succeeded and what joy that brought - we giggled over the accomplishment even for something so small in my eyes but so big in theirs. Makes you realize that they watch every little thing you do and will imitate it. What a responsibility! Nothing warms my heart more than to see their smiling faces and listen to their laughter as we play together.

USS Arizona

2008-04-09T19:54:00.002-04:00

We visited the USS Arizona the first morning we were in Hawaii. We had to wait for an hour and a half until we could watch the film and then take the boat ride to the memorial. It was a very moving experience. Oil still leaks from at least two places. You only get to spend approx. 10-20 min. on the memorial. It was a very quiet place. We came away with a deeper appreciation for our country and those who have defended and continue to defend our freedom.

2008-04-08T17:57:00.002-04:00

Since we were here in the "winter season", we got to see the higher waves. On this day they were approx. 3-8 feet high which is on the low side. Surfing competitions are held here every year with waves over 15 feet and beyond. We did get to see some people surfing and got some great pictures!

2008-04-06T23:50:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago my sister and I took a 13 day trip to Hawaii. Talk about scenic! And yes, it is very expensive, but I basically considered it a once in a lifetime trip. Well worth the money I spent, that's for sure! Oh, by the way, I saved my money for almost four years to be able to go - a lot of things I did not do or could not do in order to save the money, but the trip was the greatest reward in the end. I even went snorkeling! It was great! Will try to post pictures of the trip later.

2008-04-06T22:24:00.000-04:00

I finally did it and only three months late! It was my New Year's resolution to set up a blog. I guess time just slipped away from me but here I am! I expect this to be a great adventure!