New Video du Jour

New Video du Jour now featuring Moray Eels and Honu!

In the right hand column

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Pearl Harbor Tour

On Wednesday Chuck, Grandmother and Granddaddy headed over to the Bishop Museum to take in some Hawaiian History.

Lunch at the museum, overlooking downtown Honolulu.

That evening we had dinner with a family friend at Haleiwa Joe's.

Next day we took a Pearl Harbor remembrance tour offered to military members from the Pacific Fleet Boat House.  The boat house is home to Commander, Pacific Fleet's barge and is used for tours of special guests and other official functions.

The boat house located on the northern edge of Pearl Harbor.

The Admiral's Barge.  This barge has hosted every President, save two, since Eisenhower.  No, we didn't ride on this vessel.

The tour drives by the USS UTAH and USS NEVADA Memorials before stopping at the USS ARIZONA memorial.  

The USS UTAH memorial on Ford Island.  You can see part of the hull out of the water just to the right of the woman's head.

The USS NEVADA Memorial.  This spot on Hospital Point, Pearl Harbor Naval Base where NEVADA ran aground to avoid blocking the channel.

One of the ARIZONA's gun tubs right next to the memorial.

Oil still leaking from the hull - "Tears of the ARIZONA"

Four of us on the memorial.

After picking up the boys at school we wandered over to the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island.  Inexplicably, the Doolittle Raiders exhibit did not mention Lake Murray.

Later in the afternoon we headed over to buy Zach his first bike.  He picked out a Thomas the Train bike, of course.

Monday and Tuesday

Monday and Tuesday Chuck had to work and the boys had school so Grandmother and Granddaddy headed out on their own.  

They checked out Waikiki, Schofield Barracks, Punchbowl, and 'Iolani Palace (only palace on American soil).

The "must-have" picture - Diamond Head in the background.  Pepsi?

In front of the Royal Hawaiian.  One of the two oldest hotels in Waikiki.  

Granddaddy with King Kamehameha. 

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Punchbowl Crater.

Taking in one of Andy's tennis lessons.

Out and About on Sunday

We took off Sunday morning for a tour up the center and around the eastern side of Oahu.  

First, a drive up the H-3, undoubtedly the most specactular interstate in the world. Unfortunately no one bothered to take a picture coming out of the tunnel through the Koolau Mountains, so you'll have to trust us.  

We toured around Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base and of course stopped in to play mini-golf.  

You can drive across the runway at K-Bay.  That's the view on final landing south, which they don't do too often.  

After Andy declared himself the winner (highest score wins, right?) we took in lunch in downtown Kailua and continued our drive down the Kamehameha Highway to the far eastern side of the mountain.  There, near a place called Dragon's Nostrils, is a great overlook looking over the northeastern side of the island.  

Problem with giving just anyone your camera to grab a group shot - you get pictures of your feet instead of the incredible view.

Here's the view anyway.  

Next stop was the Halona Blowhole on the southern coast.  The waves push up under a rock ledge and shoot out a hole.  Kind of neat.  Picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see the geyser.  

It's the water closest to the camera.  Ok, just use your imagination.

Fire Safety by Zach

Tis' the Season for turkey friers, cracklin' fires and Christmas tree lights.  Please take a moment during the busy holiday season to brush up on fire safety tips courtesy of Zach.

You can find his briefing in the right hand column --------------->

Taps

A quick intermission into the Grandparents Stickney visit postings.

Sunset, 25 November.  Zach outside on the lanai when Taps sounds.

Halloween!

The big day arrived and we started this fine fall tradition with a morning at the beach.  

Out to Ko Olina for some fine sand castle building and swimming.

Chuck and the boys and diggers.

Back in the afternoon and after lunch we dug into some pumpkins.  Decided to wait until the last minute for the pumpkin carving as things tend to rot pretty fast here.

Carving quickly.  Mosquitoes.

Andy is never one to not tell you something is gross.  Boy likes to be clean.  Big step here.

Ha ha.

Ta Da!  Enter Thomas and Percy.  Ready to save all the stranded candy in Makalapa.

Zach takes this very seriously.

Examining the loot.

Fall Festival and Pizza Night

Day after arrival was kind of a wash.  Kim, Chuck and Andy went off to get Andy's flu vaccine, which is a little complicated when you have an egg allergy.  He was a brave boy though and did well.  

Friday was Fall Festival at the boy's school and Grandmother and Granddaddy were there to help out.  

Zach's teacher dressed all the kids up as rock stars and put orange gel in their hair.  Kinda varsity.  Otherwise he and Granddaddy worked on becoming a cat.

Green cat?  Sometimes I wonder.

Andy in his pumpkin hat.

Pizza and Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin.

Too much apple juice? Game gets a little out of hand some nights.

Boy can eat an amazing amount of pie.

First Family Visit

Just hours after the liquor cabinet was stocked Chuck's parents arrived.  They don't do visits without liquor and some nights we don't do children without liquor - this must be related. Anyway, on 28 October, the not-too-worse-for-wear Grandparents arrived at Honolulu International direct from Atlanta.  

Boys, leis at the ready, waiting VERY impatiently.

The big moment.

Didn't take long for Grandmother and Andy to find themselves in a game of solitaire.

Andy was winning - just ask him.

House

It took about five days to get the house at roughly 95%.  As everyone knows it's the last 5% that's so tough, which is why husbands go back to work or deploy.  

Happily everything fit (with a little nontemp storage gimme by the Navy) and the only things needed to round out the place were a new TV (gave the old one away) and some patio furniture. Patio furniture should be easy to buy in Hawaii?  Yeah, no, it's "winter" here so almost no one was carrying patio furniture.  Costco was selling mittens though!  

We almost got the TV too late to catch the outrigger races!

Lanai post purchase of the cheapest patio furniture to be found in Hawaii.

Wow! Need to Catch Up

The blogosphere is alive with chatter about the five weeks since a new post on The Stickney Family Blog.  We run the risk of losing our half dozen or so followers.  So much to post and we're recovering from a bit of digital disorganization.  

Don't know how much catching up we'll get done tonight, but we'll throw a couple of items up for entertainment reasons.  

This is not Chuck!

First, in a severe form of flattery, Zach has decided to give himself a bald spot just like his Daddy. This comes from hyperactive hands always twisting the hair on the back of his head. He's not having an easy go at it right now with constant threats to shave his head.

This is our yard 'Iole manakuke, Hawaiian for Mongoose, on our front door walkway.  The picture isn't great because these guys are fast and don't spend a lot of time in the open.  We had to go to National Geographic lengths to get this picture.  Just as well, I prefer them to stay busy controlling our cobra problem.