Hawaii Video

James finished up our family vacation video. He had to upload a low res file to YouTube. I can get a higher quality DVD to anyone interested. Hope you enjoy it.





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Now playing: Weezer - Island in the Sun
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Get in the Christmas Spirit

This a cappella group will put a smile on any grinch's face. (I would embed the video but YouTube has the HTML code messed up on this video.)

Leftovers

Before I get in to the rest of the Hawaii pictures I have to give a shout out to my alma matter. During my four year tenure the men's basketball team was a joke. They never finished higher than second to last. So I was quite surprised to hear that they recently beat 24th ranked USC. Unbelievable.

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The following pictures were taken with Mike's and James' cameras, which should explain the tardiness.


Here we are at the base of the waterfall at Hana. We were surprised to find the pool at the bottom of a 200 foot waterfall to only be a few feet deep.


Michelle only falls for the bad boys.


Trouble is written all over this face.


Who needs beautiful sunsets with these two precious people in my life.


Cousin Linda holding the fuss pot.

Mike really loved his salad. In bizarro world, that would be me holding the tongs.



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Last day in paradise

Pictures from our last day. Tomorrow afternoon we fly out. Lets pray Dillon is as good as he was on the flight over.



The three guys rented mopeds to drive around the island. This was taken at the Ritz Carlton.
This was the sunset at our luau.
A walk along the beach before we start the luau.


James and I enjoying a refreshing drink before the start of the show.

Dillon scarfing down chocolate cake as I look on knowing the sugar high will kick in during the middle of the show.

Maui Day 4-6

Day 4

We rented snorkel gear and headed to the beach. James, Christina, and I were first to get in the water. We soon discovered a nice area full of fish. Then the giant sea turtles started to appear. The turtles were not bashful and stood their ground when we would swim up. I even was brave enough to reach out and feel the shell. Here are the pictures, sorry no under water camera was available for our snorkeling.

James talked me into letting him bury me in the sand...

...which turned into a mistake on my part.

Here is Michelle, James and Mike getting ready for their snorkeling trip.

Dillon enjoying the scenery.

Day 5

James, Mike, and I woke up on Tuesday morning so we could drive to the airport for our helicopter ride. Our pilot spent an hour in the air, highlighting different areas of the island.

Taking pictures in the helicopter was difficult because of the glare. Most of my pictures of the amazing waterfalls and scenery did not turn out. This was one of my favorites because of the different colors of the water.

The three guys posing after the flight. We then got in the car and headed to Hana. Any person that has traveled the Road to Hana knows the 52 mile trip can be a long and slow process but well worth it because the views are spectacular. It takes three hours to go 52 miles because there are over 600 curves and 46 one lane bridges.

This was one of the waterfalls encountered on the way to Hana. At the end of the road is a National Park which has a trail to the Seven Pools. The two mile hike took us through a gorgeous bamboo forest and luscious rain forest. About two thirds up the trail we were caught in a rain storm. None of us had thought it could actually rain in a rain forest so we were drenched. At the end of a the trail is a beautiful 200 foot waterfall. Pictures along the trail were taken on James' camera so I will have to post them later.

Day 6

It rained most of the day today so our excursions were very limited. Christina's cousin Linda flew over from the island Oahu. We all had lunch together and headed back to the hotel to spend the afternoon indoors. Tomorrow is our last full day in Maui. We will be celebrating by attending a luau.

Maui Day 3

Today we got up and went to church. The church we attended was outdoor and overlooked the ocean. I must say, the sea turtles randomly surfacing behind the preacher was a little distracting. After church we went to the Sheraton hotel for brunch. We then walked down to the public beach to play in the ocean. Here are the pics:

James and Michelle by the pool at the Sheraton. You can see the public beach behind them.

Christina snapped this picture when Dillon and I were playing in the ocean. The little fish would stay in the water until he was all shriveled up.

Dillon wanted to play in the sand so the two of us dug a hole. As we dug he kept trying to get in. Once the hole was big enough I buried his bottom half, which should teach him to jump in the hole I'm trying to dig. I was nice enough to not pack in the sand so he easily escaped after Christina snapped this picture.

Tomorrow's adventures will include more beach time and snorkeling.

Maui Day 2

Our second day on the island was uneventful. The rainy morning was spent planning our week and the afternoon was spent in a time share presentation. (No, we didn't buy. And yes, we only went to get $110 off our luau.) Here are a few of the best pictures taken for the day.

Dillon enjoying the rainbow created by the morning showers.

Before we left I was tasked with getting Dillon swimming diapers. I did get the right size, however they had the Little Mermaid on them. Thankfully, you can't tell in this picture.

This is our view from the balcony of our hotel. In the background you can make out the island of Molokai.

Hawaii 7-0

We have touched down and my worst nightmares did not come true, Dillon was an excellent boy on the plane. He went the entire 5 hours and 19 minutes without making a fuss. Below are pictures of Day 1.

Dillon is fascinated by planes whenever he sees them flying over head. I think he would have stayed at the window to watch this plane and it's workers all day.

We were greeted with leis upon our arrival.

Mom and Dad sure were happy that Dillon was a good boy on the plane, but they were even happier to be off the cramped plane.

Grandpa Mike, Aunt Michelle, Uncle James, and Grandma Ginni were also thrilled to arrive.

Dillon being chauffered around the airport by mom.

Our "lunch" at BJ's had a wonderful view and great pizza. I used quotes because we didn't eat until 2 pm island time. After lunch we found our hotel, unpacked, and headed straight to the pool and ocean. I forgot the camera so those pictures will come later.

It should be noted that Dillon is one fearless little boy. He jumps to anyone in the pool. Tonight Christina was in the pool and I was in the hot tub, which was about 10 feet from the pool. She sent Dillon over to me and he went bolting towards the hot tub but away from me. Thankfully I was able to anticipate where he was headed because as he reached the hot tub he slipped and went flying head first at the water. I stuck out my hand and caught him an inch from the water. This boy is going to be a handfull this week.

Look Who's Talking

If life was like the movies, what would be the inner monologue of this picture? My guess is below. Feel free to add your guess in the comments.

Taylor: In a couple of years, I will be dressing these two up in my princess dresses and forcing them to play house with me.

Dillon: If she even thinks about dressing me up I'll knock her out with this toy.

Kaleb: Yeah, those bubbles were from me. What ya goin' do 'bout it?



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Vacation Part I, Pictures

On Saturday we went to a wedding. Grandma Sharon bought Dillon and Kaleb matching suits. I snapped at least a dozen photos and none of them had the two kids looking up at the same time. I finally had to give up because the wedding was starting.

Afterwards, flower girl Taylor gave her cousin Dillon a kiss.

And I thought getting two kids to look up at the same time was tough. I now know how those photographers of lightning feel. You could spend hours and a few gigabytes of memory and still not capture the moment.

Dillon with his great, great grandma. Even at 92, Mum still knows how to entertain the kids.


Papa, Dillon and Kaleb playing on Papa's bed. I play a game with Dillon called "Squish the Baby." It's were I yell out "Squish the baby" and he lays down while I lay on top of him. He was trying to play that with Kaleb here. Papa spent a lot of his energy trying to keep Dillon off of Kaleb.

Dillon found one of Taylor's strollers for her dolls and wanted to push Kaleb around the house in it. Both of them had a grand old time.



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Chuck Norris Approved

We interupt this regularly scheduled vacation for this awesome commercial.

No post about Chuck Norris would be complete without the greatest SNL Digital Short of them all.



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Vacation Part I

Even though things at work are as busy as ever, I have officially started my two week vacation. The first part of the vacation consists of an extended visit to Shafter. Tomorrow night my family will be having an earlier Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner will not have a traditional turkey, instead we will be chowing down chicken fried steak.


Christina, Dillon and I will be heading back to Sonora on Tuesday to get packed for the second half of the vacation, which will be a trip to Maui. The three of us will be joined by Mike, Ginny, James and Michelle. We will be flying out on Black Friday. I hope everyone will be shopping and not creating holiday congestion in the airport.

Pictures of our trip to Shafter will be posted when we get back home. I will be posting pictures of our adventures in Hawaii during our stay in paradise.

Honey, I'm Home

Work has been crazy busy for me the past few weeks because our department absorbed another department in the county. The problem is this new department is in fiscal trouble and I have been tasked with helping to right the ship. It's all interesting work but it also means longer hours for me. Thankfully Dillon likes to relax with me when I get home and kick my feet up.

Ok, maybe it is a forced relax for Mr. Busybody, but I still enjoy it.

If he gets too squirmy while I am holding him I just tickle him, get him hyper, and send him over to bug his mom.

When he is not running around our house Dillon enjoys his new favorite fruit, the Cuties Clementine. He can't say "orange" let alone "clementine" so he calls them "bapples." For some reason he can't drop the "b" when he is referring to his other favorite fruit. No matter how tired I am after work I can't turn away this face when he brings me a bapple to peel.


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Happy Halloween

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Now playing: Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
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Picture Update

Life has been busy the past couple of weeks. Here is an update starting right after my last batch of Dillon pictures/videos.

One evening we were saying goodbye to Mike and Ginni and I asked "Where is Dillon?" After a minute of searching, I found him stuck here trying to get his tractor out. No telling how long he had been stuck there because he wasn't making any crying sounds.

Here is a fun picture of Aunt Michelle with Dillon and Warner.


Dillon loves this toy horse at Grandma's house. He rocks on it as if he is going to win the Kentucky Derby.

"I wonder how much of Papa's yard I could destroy before he got mad at me?"

Something tells me these two were up to no good before I walked around the corner to check on them.


This picture is to say goodbye to our good friends the Cranchs. Carolyn, Warner, and Paul are moving back to Australia. Actually, Paul left Saturday night and Carolyn and Warner will be leaving this Saturday. Christina and Carolyn pushed the boys around the neighborhood many times the past year and kept each other sane while the dads were at work. Paul and I had many good games of tennis, though he always beat me. I taught Paul the rules of American football, while he introduced me to rugby. They will be missed.


This is one of the first pictures of Dillon and Warner together. Little did we know at the time, but this is exactly how their relationship would turn out. The two never played well together, they constantly struggled to get the toy the other one was playing with. Let's hope that they get along when the Nixon's go down under to visit them.

Dillon in the pumpkin patch at Cover's Apple Ranch.


Uncle James, Aunt Michelle, and Dillon on the train at Cover's. Ever since his trip to Railtown 1897 Dillon has loved trains.

Sunday afternoon we went to a Halloween carnival for kids. It was too warm to dress Dillon in his costume so we improvised and made him a member of the Lakers.

Here he is trying to eat bubbles. Dillon was much more interested in the bubbles then any of the candy. He doesn't quite understand what trick-or-treating is all about.

Tomorrow I will post pictures of him in his real Halloween costume.




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