Emerson's First day of Kindergarten

Yes, Emerson is really in kindergarten this year. I was a little skeptical at first, sending a 4 year old to kindergarten, but she is really doing well. She even told me to "Go on, Mom!" one morning as I was dropping her off. (my first rejection!) I think she really likes going.....we'll see in the coming months how long she keeps it up!

The obligatory walking to school picture! (no, Dolly is NOT allowed at school!)

Standing in front of the sign at her new school

Settling in at her seat doing "quiet" activities while waiting for the other children to arrive.

Getting LOST in Hawaii

Yes, my friends, we have become LOST fans. I mean, who wouldn't? We watched it when it first came on and then kind-of drifted away, but now we are hooked, and Eric was given the first season for his birthday (so we could catch up!). We actually have to get caught up on 24 first, but LOST is next in line! Anyway, as many of you may know, LOST is filmed almost exclusively here on O'ahu. So, we started doing some asking around, and research and found a beach where they film a lot of the scenes. We made the drive up to the North Shore one Saturday morning and arrived to a beautiful, almost deserted beach. Then we found out that this particular beach is more well known for it's turtle population than being a site for LOST. There were 7 or 8 in the water right by the shore. We must have stood there and watched them and played with them for almost an hour! It was so much fun to be that close to them. The girls loved it too! When we finally made it over to the filming location, which is easy to spot b/c of the orange fence they have surrounding it, we were a little disappointed b/c there wasn't anything there. You could see back in the woods that things were under tarps and the "groundskeeper" was there watering the trees and grass, but there were no sets like we had hoped to see. We did find out from a nice lady who lives in the area, though, that shooting was supposed to start back up later on in August, and there used to be a large set there, but that had just finished tearing down the last bits of it the day before ....figures.
But, the highlight of our trip was the sea turtles. And, since we were on the North Shore, and it was about time for lunch, we had to stop at Cholo's and get our Mexican fix!

A sea turtle (honu) coming up to say HI!

Eric getting a little too close to the sea turtle!

Family Pic

The remains of the LOST set....

The Waikiki Aquarium

In our quest to do as much as we can in the 2 years we have remaining here in Hawaii, we ventured off to the Waikiki Aquarium one Saturday recently. It was pretty cool, kind-of small, compared to some other aquariums we had been to before, but we had a good time. We also found a convenient parking place that's free, and a great hamburger joint! In true Baroni fashion, we had our camera, but didn't have a back-up battery, so the battery started dying after we had been there only about 5 minutes. (Good thing it's not that big at the aquarium!)

Here's Eric and the girls in front of the big aquarium where there are reef sharks and big fish.

And of course, we found Nemo......

Here's Emerson in front of the big aquarium again.....

Then the camera died! Oh well, maybe we'll have better luck on our next outing!

Happy Birthday America!

The 4th of July was a little more exciting this year than last (remember....we laid on an air mattress in our unfurnished house and watched fireworks on TV.....BOOOORRRRING!). At least Eric and the girls had fun. I, on the other hand, had to work---this shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who has known us for any length of time. Eric and I rarely get the same holidays off. Anyway, enough griping.....Eric and the girls, and Beth and James went to Bayfest, which is held at Kaneohe Marine Corp Base on the 4th of July weekend. There is a fair and all the fun and games that come along with the fair. Enjoy the slide show....the music is a throw-back to Eric's band days....National Emblem is/was one of his favorite marches!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Yard Work

Many of you have wanted to see pictures of the house, and being as efficient as I am, I have not gotten around to it. One reason was the front of the house looked terrible. It was the first thing we said when we walked up to the house.....those giant plants HAVE to go! So, a year later, we enlisted the help of a landscaper (who also cuts our grass--thank goodness!) who really spruced up the front for us. I thought I had a finished product...and one at night, too with all the lights lit up. Will have to search the archives a little better for those!

BEFORE

DURING

Oh well, I can't seem to find the full after pictures. But, I'm sure you get the picture. No more "little shop of horrors!" We are soooooo pleased!

Emerson's Preschool Graduation

Emerson graduated from preschool this past Friday night. We had no idea it would be such a big deal, but apparently it is here in Hawaii. A tradition we were not aware of is that you are to bring leis for friends/classmates and share them after graduation, so that by the time you are done, you have leis up to your eyeballs--literally. Too bad we didn't know this little tradition, b/c we won't be around for another graduation in Hawaii (hopefully!).

We had a small "party" at the house for Emerson and James & Beth came over to help us celebrate. Emerson was excited about her cake, but was concerned because I had forgotten to add the birthday candles! It didn't stop her from eating it, though!

Enjoy the pictures!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

News about D.C.

I know a lot of ya'll are wondering if we have heard anything about the D.C. job, so we will share the latest with you. Eric had a great trip to D.C. and loved everything about getting around the big city and the whole atmosphere of that setting. However, he was not chosen to be one of the next PA's to serve in the White House. We are disappointed, but know that he gave it his best shot and for what ever reason was not the one the panel chose to select. We will keep you all posted on any updates we hear about his upcoming deployment, etc......

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support this last week. We all really felt the prayers and enjoyed a week filled with a peace that we haven't felt since we got to this island. Now, we have to try to find that peace again and deal with the daily struggles that living here presents.

We love you all and miss you dearly!! Please keep praying!