arachniphobia

This picture doesn't even do this monster justice. You can get a clue to the size of this thing if you compare it to the medical text book next to it. It was bigger than the palm of my hand.

Just picture it:

me with a shoe,
Monique with a hammer,
Veda with a broom.
ALL with the shivers.

This lovely creature is a Cane Spider. They usually live in the sugar cane fields. They DO bite, but aren't venomous. This is the second one we have had to wage war on.

good friends are hard to find

Our dear friends from California were here on vacation with their family. Lucky us! They came over one afternoon and spent the day and evening with us. It felt just like old times. We both said of the evening - we haven't laughed that hard since we can't remember when.

The Dowlings are one of our VERY few couple friends. We all get along so well together. That is so hard to find! I with they were closer.

David and Travis

Me, Nicole, and Asher, a new addition to family we hadn't met yet. He is adorable.

Their oldest daughter, Ellie and Veda with a toad they found in the yard.

The Dowling and Parker kids. Perry found the dress-ups! :)

The things you find at Costco!

What are you paying for gas?

Here in Hawaii we are paying $4.38 for regular unleaded and $4.58 for premium. It costs me $75 to fill up a car.


I would encourage EVERYONE to rent this documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car". Get ready to be educated, enlightened and outraged. It will forever change the way you feel when filling up your car at the gas station.

"In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline...........Ten years later, these cars were destroyed."

Sleeping Beauties

Eve's first night in a big girl bed. Veda's first night in a bunk bed. We set up the beds that morning and in the afternoon Veda said "Mom I'm so excited to go to bed!"

Shiny satin princess bedding - Ross! :)

Grandma and Grandpa Parker visit Kauai

Mom and Dad Parker made a visit during May. This was Howard's first time to Hawaii so we had a good time showing him the wonders of Kauai. It was fun seeing the girls and their Grandparents reconnect and bond. We all had a wonderful time together.

For some reason, when I published my Ironman part 2 post, it put it underneath the first one. So, see below for Ironman part 2. :)

Ironman Honu in Kona

Travis and I flew over to the Big Island last weekend for the Ironman Honu in Kona. Honu is the Hawaiian word for the Green Sea Turtle. My cousin Monique stayed home with the girls and we flitted off like care-free kids for 4 fabulous days all to ourselves.

Travis trained tediously for 22 weeks for this 70.3 mile triathlon. Broken down it's a 1.2 mile swim, 47 mile bike ride and a 13 mile run. This is his 3rd Ironman. Here he is warming up in our room the night before. (really he's just being goofy)
This bike is his pride and joy and the envy of many ironmen.
This was by far the most beautiful setting for any race he has done. This is the finish for swim.
Getting marked the morning of the race.

Go number 1037!!

All swimmers are in the water waiting for the shot.
See how his duds match his bike? That's no accident.
His finish time was 5 hours 35 minutes. I think he did really awesome. If you asked him he would say "Well, I finished." The swim was the biggest challenge. There were winds and the water was choppy and had a pretty good current against them. He totally rocked on the bike, his time was up there with the pros.
Good job Travis!!

Ironman Honu in Kona - Part 2

In Kona it is a tradition to make designs or messages on the black lava rock with white coral. This is the Ironman Honu symbol off the highway. The palm trees in the distance is our resort. It was like an oasis amongst black lava rock as far as you could see in either direction. It was beautiful and so unique.
The resort was incredible. In the lobby, they had a salt water pond with several green sea turtles, or Honu.

The day after the race, we went and did a bit of sight seeing. This is a salvaged and partially reconstructed old Hawaiian village we visited on our last day on the Big Island.
I still get excited every time I see a Honu in the wild. They are so beautiful and gentle. Here are some huge Honu we got to watch up close while we were at the Hawaiian village.
This is pathetic, but honestly, the most exciting part of the trip for me was spotting this Ross while we were driving around Kona. I shouted "STOP THE CAR!!!" We both love bargain shopping such as Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross. We have nothing even remotely close to that on Kauai. We shopped for a good hour and found some true gems.
Since I was doing all the photography, I took this one picture of myself to prove I was really on this trip. I am sporting one of my Ross finds. :)