Quick catch-up

Sorry for the delay between blog entries. We have been busy the last couple of weekends, and last week I had events for work during several of the evenings. I still have pictures from Hawaii to post, but thought I would do a quick catch-up of what has been going on with us here in Peoria.

Two weekends ago, my dad was able to come stay a few nights with us. He has been doing some work in the Pennsylvania/New York area since May. His project wrapped up, and he was heading back to Las Vegas by way of Peoria. We were glad he was able to come spend some time with us. As you can see, Harli and him turned out to be good buddies on this trip, too!

Scot and I had a black tie event on Saturday night. It was a charity event for a local hospital. It was our weekend to have the boys, so Dad took them to dinner and the movies. They all seemed to have a good time. Here is a picture of Scot and me. This was Scot's first chance to wear his new tuxedo. He looked so handsome!

There was a silent auction as part of the fundraising events. During the first group of auction items, I set my sights on a goal. It was a Christmas tree with the theme "Out on the Town." It was fully decorated with the coolest ornaments- mini high heel shoes, little evening gowns, etc plus it had gift certificates for restaurants, spas, etc. It was decorated in purple and silver, and it would have gone perfectly in our bar room. After a strategically timed bid, the bell rang and I was the winning bidder! Well, until some trashy lady walked up well after the bell rang and outbid me! Needless to say, I was a little "peeved." Thanks to some liquid encouragement, I was all ready to give her a piece of my mind or to call the "auction cops" on her. However, Scot helped me to calm down. I remembered that it all goes to a good cause, and we moved on to the next room of bidding. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and decided that I just saved some money and got some cool ideas for Christmas tree decorating!

I did have a little more luck in the next room of bidding. Here I am with our "winnings" below. I would love to say that I immediately fell in love with it and feverishly bid until it was mine. The truth is, however, that it was really the only thing on the bidding tables that we could afford! Oh well, I still do really like it, and it matches our bar room perfectly. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but it's amber/yellow in the center and purple around the outside.

This past weekend Scot and I attended a neighbor's Halloween party. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the event. Nothing too exciting. We decided to go with outfits that we could make out of stuff we already had... Voila! Rabbit and the Rabbit Hunter. I've had a bunny costume from years past, and Scot just wore his hunting gear. We thought about adding some blood to my rabbit costume to make it a little more "Halloweenish." However, I overruled it for fear of offending someone- like me!

Andy had his last football game of the season on Sunday. He had recently missed out on playing three games in a row due to a rib injury. They won their last game of the year 36-8, and finished with a 5-3 record. On a side note- they were 5-0 when Andy played. Coincidence? Scot certainly doesn't think so! :)

Scot's mom, Michele, was able to come to the game on Sunday. It had been awhile since we had seen her so it was great to visit with her. Here is Andy with Grandma Haines. Looks like Andy already has a few inches on her! :)

That's about it for the last couple of weeks. I have a couple more postings from Hawaii still. I hope to get those out soon as I think we still have the most beautiful pictures left to post.

Hawaii: Day 5

Tuesday was pretty uneventful in terms of the rest of the vacation. The kids returned to school after the Columbus Day holiday, and my brother returned to work. My sister-in-law spent the morning volunteering at the kids' school. It was pretty overcast, so it wasn't necessarily a good "beach-going" day. It was our last day on Oahu, so Scot and I spent most of the morning relaxing and then packing up our bags for our early morning flight to Kauai the next day.

After Nancy returned home, the three of us went out for some Mexican food for lunch, (yummm...), and then we did some shopping around their town. It was another successful shopping excursion (or unsuccessful from the pocket book's perspective!)

Before dinner, Scot and I went for an early evening walk through another part of the neighborhood to another beach. Here are some pics from our walk to Lanikai beach. It was a cloudy day and the sun was starting to set, but you can still see what a beautiful area it was.

There were some AMAZING houses along the beach and up in the hills. Check out the big white house set in the mountains in the left side of the picture. Every house seem to be bigger and more beautiful than the last. I'm sure Scot and I probably looked silly walking around with our mouths wide open.



Another view of the Lanikai beach coastline and its high-dollar real estate.

Here is Scot at the overlook that divides Kailua beach and Lanikai beach. That is "Flat Island" in the background, which serves as a bird sanctuary.

On the way back to Rob and Nancy's, we caught some glimpses of a beautiful sunset behind the mountains. This was taken as we were walking up their street. Except for the powerlines, I think it's a pretty cool picture.

Since we don't have too many pictures or stories to share from Day 5, I thought I would include a picture of Matt (Scot's oldest son) and his girlfriend, Jenny. Their homecoming dance was the weekend we arrived in Hawaii, so we missed out on the whole "pre-dance parent picture taking" event. Nonetheless, we were able to snag some pictures of the event, so here is the cute couple.

Hawaii: Day 4, Part 2

After spending the first part of the day at Pearl Harbor, we headed to get some lunch. We went to a great local chain called LoCo MoCo. It has traditional Hawaiian plate lunches, and it was quite yummy!



Here are some cheesy pics of Scot and me looking very entertained by our sodas from LoCo MoCo. :)


















Here is my brother, Rob, and his four kids at LoCo MoCo. From left: John, Jack, Elizabeth, Ellen, and, of course, Rob.

After lunch, we headed to the North Shore of Oahu. In contrast to Waikiki and Honolulu, the North Shore is more rural. Along the way, you drive by lots of pineapple plantations, sugar cane fields, and coffee bean fields. The North Shore is known for its beaches, and is a popular destination for a lot of surfers. We stopped by several beaches along the way, but I apologize that I don't remember the names of which towns and beaches go with each picture.


The first stop- notice the surfer in the water.

Thanks to Rob for serving as our private photographer! :)

This was a second beach. I loved the scenery here and the lava rocks in the surf.

This rock was in Waimea Bay, and as you can see, it serves as a popular place for cliff diving. No thank you!

Waimea Bay- talk about a house with a view!

The North Shore was truly amazing. The water is the prettiest blue, and the waves are hypnotic. I can see why everyone comes here to surf. Also along the way were lots of little quaint shops and restaurants. Of course we had to take some time to do some souvenir shopping here, and I'm happy to say that our trip was a success!

Hawaii: Day 4, Part 1

Monday was a very busy day for us. We left the house early to head to Pearl Harbor as the line forms very quickly for the tours. The tours are given on a first come, first served basis, and some days as many as 1,500 people have to be turned away. We got there around 9:30am, and the line was already out the building and down the side walk. Fortunately, it moved very quickly. Initially, Scot and I weren't overly excited about going to Pearl Harbor. However, it ended up being a moving experience, and we are glad that we did.

This is one of the memorial exhibits that lists all of the people, military and civilian, who died as a result of the attack on 12.7.1941. That is Pearl Harbor in the background.

Here is a close-up of the plaque that gives a quick overview of the events that transpired on that day. If you click on the picture it should enlarge so you can read the details.

They had several displays around the park. Here is Kim testing out some of the artillery...

Here is Scot with the USS Bowfin in the background. This submarine was launched on the 1-year anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack and was known as the "Pearl Harbor Avenger." It now sits in the harbor to serve as a museum and memorial to the submarines and their crew that were lost in WWII.

This is the anchor from the USS Arizona. I know most of you probably know this from History class (or you saw the Ben Affleck movie), but here are some historic details in case you are a little fuzzy on the topic (like I was.) During the attack on Pearl Harbor, the majority of the 2,390 total causalities occurred when the USS Arizona blew up. The ship sank in less than nine minutes. The ship still lies on the floor of the harbor and serves as a memorial and tomb for the 1,177 people that went down with her.

This is the actual USS Arizona Memorial. You have to take a ferry to reach it. It is built over the ship, which lies beneath, like a bridge. It does not touch the ship at all. They remind you frequently that this is, in fact, a cemetery as the crew from the Arizona are still entombed below. Everyone is asked to remain silent while at the Memorial. The mood was very respectful, but somewhat eerie.

This is the shrine at the far end of the memorial that lists the 1,177 victims of the USS Arizona. As the survivors of the attack pass away, they are also remembered here.

I think it's human nature to do a scan of names to see if there is anyone that shares your surname. There was one "Stephenson" and one "Haines." We had to make a special note of the R.W. Haines, however, because this is Scot's brother's initials/last name. It was kind of eerie to see this, as well.

The flag above the memorial. It was very windy out there. Because of the silent mood, about the only sounds you could hear were the waves and the flag whipping in the wind.

Here is the USS Arizona submerged beneath the memorial.

The gun turret of the submerged USS Arizona.

Almost 66 years after she sank, the Arizona still leaks oil, as you can see below. This amazed me. They are called the "Black Tears" of the Arizona. They are said to be the tears of the victims, and some people say that the Arizona will continue to "cry" as long as there are survivors still living.

A view of the USS Missouri as seen from the USS Arizona Memorial.

They also have Pearl Harbor survivors that volunteer their time at the park. However, we didn't get a chance to talk to any as the lines were very long. They are becoming more and more "rare" as the survivors age and pass away. According to the National Park Service, which operates the USS Arizona Memorial, more than 1,000 WWII Survivors die each day.

Scot and I were glad that we ended up taking the time to visit this part of our American History. I wasn't sure what to expect before we got there, but it was a very moving experience. I hope you enjoyed my "mini-tour", but if you ever have a chance to visit, I would encourage you to do so.

Hawaii: Day 3

Sunday we headed into Waikiki for the day. Along the way we stopped at a cool look-out spot known as the "blow-hole." It is a natural ocean geyser formed when the breaking surf is forced through a lava tube. The surf wasn't very high when we visited, so I wasn't able to capture the "blow-hole" on film. We did enjoy the beautiful view nonetheless.



Another view of the "peering place"...

Another shot with us in the frame. It was very windy and sunny!

Once we arrived in Waikiki, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant called, "The Yard House." Much to Scot's delight, they claim to have the world's largest selection of draft beers. Whether this is true or not, they at least lived up to the "Yard" in their name as you can see from the glass in the picture below.

The kids' menus at the Yard House had several games to keep the kids entertained. As you can see from the picture below, my youngest nephew, John, learned a new word at school recently. While we do not condone such behavior, we did laugh our "asses" off when we discovered this!

After lunch, we enjoyed a walk along the beach in Waikiki. It was pretty crowded, but really beautiful. We stopped at the Hale Koa hotel resort, which is reserved exclusively for military. Apparently it is known for their Mai Tais. They definitely were strong- so strong that I couldn't even finish one! Rob took the kids to swim in the pool, while my sister-in-law, Nancy, Scot, and I enjoyed some adult quiet time. Here's a pic of Scot and Nancy.

Kim and Scot (and the powerful Mai Tai!)

Here are Scot and I along the Waikiki boardwalk. That is Diamondhead in the background- supposedly the world's most famous volcanic crater. Awesome.

I enjoyed a short nap on the way home thanks to the sunshine and Mai Tai's. After another Prime Rib dinner courtesy of my brother, Scot helped Rob and the kids hang up Halloween decorations. It was really cute to watch them collaborate together on this.

Hanging lights on the basketball goal...

That's about it for Day 3. Stay tuned for Day 4 when we traveled to Pearl Harbor and the North Shore- lots of great pictures from that trip.

Hawaii: Days 1 & 2

OK- So my last blog entry was a little on the negative side. However, I'm happy to report that we made it safely to Hawaii and back (along with our luggage). Except for some airsickness on the last leg of our flight to Hawaii, our travels went very well. I have never been airsick before, but my sinus infection caused me to have ear troubles with the changes in cabin pressure. My ears finally popped about 2 days into the trip, and I felt much better from there on out.

In the following days, I plan to share a photo journal of our trip. Hawaii has some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. It was an amazing experience, and we took some breathtaking photos.

Day 1:
After a long day of travel, we arrived into Honolulu around 9:00pm Friday night (2am CST). My brother, Rob, his wife, Nancy, and their four kids, Elizabeth, Jack, John, and Ellen, all greeted us at the airport. My oldest niece, Elizabeth, greeted us with fresh flower leis when we arrived. The leis were beautiful, and it was a wonderful start to our trip. I can't remember what kind of flowers Nancy said mine was made of, but Scot's was made of Kukui Nuts, leaves, and seashells.

Day 2:

Saturday was our first full day in Hawaii. It was a pretty laid back day as we were still recuperating from our travels. The three older kids had soccer games throughout the day. Scot and I went to watch the first game of the day- Elizabeth's. It was fun to see her in action, and her team won.

After E's soccer game, Scot and I headed for the beach. Rob and Nancy live about 2 blocks from the beach in their town of Kailua. Here are some pics from the Kailua beach. It was a little overcast that day, but it was still beautiful.

The island you see here is where Rob's Navy base is.

After napping on the beach for awhile, Scot and I decided to stroll along the edge of the water. Towards the end of the beach we saw the following and decided it was a good sign to head back to the house!

Here is a really cool tree in the middle of the Kailua Beach Park.

We met the rest of the family back at the house after Jack and John's soccer games (their teams won, too, by the way). We then headed over to the military base to take a tour of the planes that Rob flies (P3's), and to see where he works. Here's a picture of my big bro' and me in his office.

Saturday evening, Rob made us an awesome Prime Rib dinner. Ellen's birthday was the week before we came to visit, so she had her birthday present from Aunt Kim and Uncle Scot to open. We had it on good authority that she likes to play dress-up, so we got her an assortment of accessories. Here is my adorable niece all dressed-up.

Check out the hair extensions!

Ellen striking a pose!

Afterwards, the kids thought it would be fun to dress Aunt Kim up. I was too tired to put up a fight...plus it was fun to play with my nieces and nephews!

Jack and John were obsessed with Uncle Scot's smooth head. They kept feeling it whenever they had a chance. They thought it felt "so weird!"

Well, there is the summary of our first two days. Stay tuned for more pics of our trip!