The highlight of this day was getting to spend a fair amount of time with Chase and his parents. Bryan and Dina were Daniel’s first soccer coaches (Dina led the team until Bryan returned from deployment). Last year Bryan was transferred to Oahu and we are so glad we were able to hang out with them for a while. We hope we can connect again next year!
Category Archives: Photos
Vacation – Day 6
Ryan and Daniel
We went on a little drive… we headed up to North Shore to take in some of the variety that Oahu offers. We also hoped to find some sea turtles on Waianae Beach – we were not disappointed! We saw over a dozen turtles hanging out in the shallow water and on the beach. They were all over and easy to get close to. Volunteers were there to answer questions and to ensure that people didn’t get too close. We took a bunch of pictures and video.
Ryan used his smartphone to guide us to some amazing shrimp! Shaved Ice too.
We also took a bunch of pictures around the resort – just us hanging out and looking good! Click the picture to see more, and watch the brief turtle video.
Vacation – Day 5
The highlight of the day was snorkeling. Janel & Ryan took Daniel and David out to see the fish, dolphins and turtles. They got up close and PERSONAL!!! Later in the day, we hung out in the hot tub and watched the sunset. Beautiful day.
Vacation – Day 4
Top of the Diamond Head hike
What a day! We took off early to hike Diamond Head. Sary-Jo and I have talked about this hike since we first starting going to Oahu and now we’ve finally done it. It was a very windy, but beautiful, day. There were quite a few people but we found parking right away and headed up the trail. Naturally, Daniel & David wanted to press a little harder than the old folks so we sent them on ahead. Once they reached the top, they (mainly Daniel) decided to just run up and down the stairs while we made our way up there. Janel and Ryan also went ahead of us a bit, but we enjoyed the scenery all the way. After the hike, the boys found some great trees to climb.
After the hike (and breakfast), we went to Kailua Beach, which Ryan knew of. It was beautiful (we’ve yet to find an ugly Hawaiian beach but I suppose it’s theoretically possible) and the kids (all four of them) had a great time in the water.
Great day and great pictures. Enjoy the pictures and video.
Vacation – Day 3
We spent the day within walking distance of our resort, enjoying the water and shaved ice. We walked up the boardwalk to the Marriott hotel and looked at the aquatic life – notably the sting rays. We took our time coming back and enjoyed watching the boys climb trees. Daniel proved especially adept at climbing palm trees. Enjoy the pictures – you get the sense the weather was perfect (and indeed it was!).
Vacation – Day 2
We spent most of the day at our resort, but went to Germaine’s Luau that evening. The entire day was fantastic as we settled into our home for the week, spent time at the pools and lagoons, and very much enjoyed the family fellowship.
Vacation – Day 1
We’ll post our summer vacation photos (& video?) in a series of updates. Once again, we went to Oahu, but this time Janel & Ryan were able to join us! We had an incredible time with them. The boys love spending time with their sisters and brothers-in-law. And, of course, it was Hawaii so the weather was perfect and the surroundings beautiful.
This year, we tacked an extra day at the beginning of the vacation before we went to the condo. We spent that first day in Waikiki and all four of the “kids” took a surfing lesson from Big Wave Dave’s Surf Shop. All four of them got up on their boards and managed to look rather proficient out there. They also got to go in an outrigger canoe.
After surfing, we spent some more time in Honolulu and Waikiki before heading out to Ko Olina.
We’ve got a bunch of great pictures out there – click the one shown to see the rest. And enjoy this short video.
Fourth of July
We have some awesome friends! One such couple is Don and Kathleen, who open their beautiful lakefront home to a large group every July 4th. They send out an email invitation that includes, “friends we haven’t met yet” in those who are invited. This year Randy’s parents joined us at the lake. It was a great day so the boys spent some time in the water, we played various games, and then enjoyed a spectacular fireworks show.
Independence 5K
The Tacoma City Running Club kicked off the Fourth of July with its inaugural Independence 5K run, so of course the boys had to enter. It was a downhill course, starting at a park and ending down at the waterfront. It turned out to be a great day for running – dry but not hot. Out of 469 runners who finished the race, Daniel finished 20th overall and first in the under 14 age group, with a time of 17:29.5. David finished 50th overall and third in the under 14, with a time of 20:05.6. Way to go, boys!
Success Soccer Camp 2013
Once again, Daniel and David were able to participate in a week-long soccer camp run by a former US Olympic coach, Colleen Hacker. It’s an fun yet intense camp that included five hours of soccer every day. The culmination is their “World Cup” in which kids are matched up on “National” teams. This year, David managed to get his team established as Ethiopia. They had a blast; we have a TON of pictures. Enjoy.