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 πŸ™‚

Click here for the full photo albumΒ (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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Time lapse videos from the cabin

Early in July I thought it would be fun to capture a day at the lake that would be summarized in just a few minutes. Below are the results. For the first video, I used my Android tablet with the built in lapse function. The second video is with a third party software called LapseIt ProΒ with my HTC Rezound. Both videos have pictures taken at 5 second intervals.

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 πŸ™‚

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!

Spring Break 2012 – A short trip to Duluth

We did not have any real plans for spring break this year but the kids had been wanting to fly somewhere. So, we decided to fly up to Duluth for an overnight at a water park hotel. As a bonus, we were able to hang out with Kim, Aron, and the kids!

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In front of the water ‘park’ area, the slides is where we hung out most of the time.
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The slides

Making friends with the pilots
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Joey wanted a Ferrari, we settled with a VW πŸ™‚
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Bed Races on Buck Hill

Today we had a blast with co-workers, friends, and family today at Buck Hill. A big thanks to my parents for hosting the pre and post party. Kim, Kim, Mary, and I teamed up as the California King and the three Queens and we were sponsored by Delta. It was great to see other Delta teams on the hill along with many other companies and individuals. There certainly were some great costumes πŸ™‚

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Our wonderful team!

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Video of one of our two come from behind wins

Pictures of some of our wonderful cheering squad
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Polar Plunge 2012

A big thank you to our supporters!! We had a smaller team of five people this year but were still able to raise over $2,200 for the Special Olympics of Minnesota. This year we went with an 80’s theme and our team name was “Cold Mess”. I was very pleased that the kids were able to come and watch this year which was a bonus along with many friends who came out to support us. We ended the evening at my parent’s house and Mom took good care of us by feeding us some goodies πŸ™‚

Link to the full albumΒ and Kim’s pictures

Before the jump
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The jump

After (still alive)
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The fam
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The first day of school

Elizabeth and Joey were very excited today for their first day of school. Joey was especially excited about his first day of kindergarten.

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All set waiting for the bus

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Joey getting on the bus for the first time with his big sister Elizabeth

We met the kids at school to take them to class
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Joey is a tired boy after telling us, “six and a half hours is a long time” πŸ™‚
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