The Parker Post

Friday, November 7, 2008

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

I never played sports when I was growing up, so this was a whole new experience for me. Soccor is a very popular sport on the island and pretty much all the kids play. The season lasts from August through October. Veda was a little star. Her best game, she scored 7 goals!! She is a fast runner and very determined. She had such an adorable team this year. Their coach was pretty hot too!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Halloween

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

"Four"

My cousin Teresa tagged me. I'm supposed to post the fourth picture in my fourth photo file, then tag 4 people. This picture is of me and Veda when we were living in New York. She loved listening to me practice. I had forgotten how red her hair was!

I tag Susan, Sarah Bea, Amber, and Chanel.

Sorry I have been such a loser blogger lately. I have a ton on my plate and it won't let up until mid-November. I have so much to post but it will have to wait until then.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Homeward Bound

It's been 10 long months since we have left the islands. Tomorrow the girls and I will make our long-awaited sojourn back "home" to visit family and friends. Las Vegas will always feel like home to me. We will spend a week there and then on to California where Travis will join up with us and the whole bunch of us will spend a week on Mission Beach. We certainly don't need to go to California to find beautiful beaches...but it is a family tradition and being all together is a rare and treasured affair anymore.

Say a little prayer for me as I'm making the long flight alone with the girls. Usually they do very well. (knock on wood) Also, good luck to Travis as he goes to Chicago to take his oral boards!

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Unforgettable Evening

We got to do something AMAZING tonight. I am still on a total high from it. One of my friends from church is a doctor in botany and does research and teaches at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens here in my own town, Kalaheo. He mentioned to us that they were going to dig up a sea turtle nest to count the hatched eggs for their research and invited us to come. Female sea turtles return to their hatching ground every other year to lay their eggs. The same turtle comes to Allerton Beach at the gardens every other year and lays her eggs. Scientists at the gardens keep watch over the nest and when the babies have hatched and made their way to the ocean, they wait about two days then dig up the nest to count the eggs. It is kind of a VIP event and is kept quiet to keep the crowds away. We felt so privileged to be there!

Just walking through the gardens to the beach was an amazing experience. Here are J. Wayne (our friend from California who just moved here and is staying with us until he finds his own place) and Veda standing in front of the famous tree in Jurassic Park where the T.Rex eggs were. A photo can't do it justice - it is incredible!!

This is the scene we came upon at Allerton's beach. This scientist first gave a fascinating lecture on the sea turtle and the turmoil these tiny little guys go through just to make it through the nest and into the water. Then with all their natural predators, only 1 in 1,000-10,000 will survive into adulthood.

They are pulling out the empty eggs and counting them. You can see how many they have found. They looked about the size of a golf ball. I think they found 80-something.

THEN, lo and behold! He pulled out this little dude!

He said he was at the bottom of the nest and probably would have never made it out.

Veda was so excited! She kept asking me "Can I hold him mom? I REALLY want to hold him!" Since they weren't allowing anyone to even come close to the nest, I didn't think there was much of a chance. So I said "Well, you have to be bold and ask the scientists." She did!

After we oohed and aahed and photographed him like he was Paris Hilton, we wished him luck and sent him off into the big blue ocean. When he was out of sight, we all cheered.