Hawaii

Carolyn and I have been to Hawaii twice before and were very excited to have Elizabeth, Joey, and my parents join us this time around. We had a lot of fun in the water, we snorkeled, the kids saw their first sea turtles, many of us were tossed around by powerful waves at different times, we drove up to 10,000 feet to see the top of the volcano, drove the road to Hana, visited a luau, submerged in a submarine to 131 feet, ate at a Pirate bar, drank coconut milk, discovered star fruit, ate like kings, queens, princes and princesses, and enjoyed a lot of quality time together. Carolyn and the kids went home before Mom, Joe, and I. We stayed to hop over to Honolulu so that they could see Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona. I hope to go back soon but I think that it’s time for a new island for Carolyn and me 🙂

Click here for the full photo album (almost 600 pictures)

Elizabeth drew in the sand
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My snorkeling buddies
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A couple of fish that Elizabeth waved to
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Hanging with Gramps on the lanai
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At 10,000 feet with the bright sun in their eyes
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Above the clouds
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Luau time
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The submarine
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At the floor of the ocean at 131 feet
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A sunken ship
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A beautiful black sand beach near the end of the road to Hana. Joey was really excited to see this because he had seen black sand beaches on Pirates of the Caribbean.
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The blue of the water is amazing next to the black rock

Some of the wonderful flowers that can be found on the road to Hana
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Mom and Joe on the submarine Bowfin
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The view from our hotel in Honolulu
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And finally, plenty of beautiful sunsets
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Joe and Penni’s 25th Anniversary Party

Carolyn, Jen, Nix, Stan, and I threw a surprise party for Mom and Joe yesterday at Nix and Jen’s home. The party was an absolute blast! We had friends and family from all parts of their lives. It was really great to see everyone come together for this occasion 🙂 Thanks to all that came and for the well wishes for those that could not make it. Also, a BIG thanks to Gerald for all of the help.

Click here to view all of the pictures

Our family
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Joe’s siblings
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The fraternity brothers
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Dancing like idiots
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Nix is Testing the keg
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A weekend at Jellystone

We spent last weekend in Wisconsin camping at Jellystone with Kyle, Sarah, and family. Both kids and grown ups had a great time. Friday’s weather was perfect for the waterpark and then Saturday started with rain. We escaped to a local indoor waterpark to save the morning and early afternoon and resumed our outdoor activities later that day after the rain had stopped. I hope that we all get there again soon!

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Birthday Parties!

Carolyn did a wonderful job organizing two birthday parties last week. Elizabeth celebrated her 9th birthday and Joey celebrated his 7th. Both celebrated with their close buds 🙂

This was a first for the two of them to have their own party with friends so it was interesting to hear what they wanted to individually do with their own party.

Click here for Elizabeth’s photos

Click here for Joey’s photos

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4th of July week at the cabin

We had the family up at the cabin for the entire week. Jen, Nix, and Stan joined us as well. Sinking boats (nobody trying to save us), canoeing with Mike, the parade, and lots of time in the water trying to stay cool are just some of the wonderful memories from the week. Great times were had by all in the extremely hot weather. I even buckled and we bought an air conditioner for the camper 🙂

Click here to view the full album

Wonderful times on Florida point by all
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The girls were inseparable
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The boys enjoying a snack
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My favorite picture from the week. Elizabeth and me on the canoe
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An approaching storm
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Sparklers
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Staying cool for the parade
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Joey up on water skis for the first time!

A fun filled weekend

This weekend was pretty busy with some really fun events. On Friday night, the neighbor guys started out with some socialization around the fire at Dan and Cassie’s house. On Saturday, we went to the Delta Block Party where the kids enjoyed face painting, caricatures, and jump houses. All four of us enjoyed the give-aways, live music, lunch, and various treats. Carolyn took the kids home so that Joey could attend Jeremy’s birthday party and let me stay with Artur, Justin, and Stacey which was a lot of fun. We saw many co-workers and friends. On Sunday, we attended the Dan Patch Parade with some neighbors. The weather was beautiful and it was just plain fun all around 😉

Click below to see each of the photosets
Block Party
Parade

Magic time
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A limo at the carshow and the airport snow plow in the background
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One of the many large jump houses
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Hanging out after the family went home
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At the parade
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Spring catch-up

It’s been a busy few weeks in our family. Joey placed second in his first karate competition and I walked for my graduation. It was a lot of fun to watch Joe place in his competition since he worked so hard and I felt very blessed to have my entire family watch me walk for graduation.

Click here to view the full album for Joey’s karate competition

Click here to view the full album for my graduation ceremony

A VERY proud Joey!
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His performance

With the kids…
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With my buds, Paul and Christian
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