05 Sep - Beach Day at Three Tables with Grandmother and Granddaddy

Up to the North Shore again on Labor Day weekend. This time much better luck with the traffic (gotta leave early!).

Here's the video -

04 Sep - Dole Plantation

It was nice having a good long four day weekend around Labor Day. On Friday we tried to get up to the North Shore, but the traffic was awful. So we turned around and stopped on the way home at Dole Plantation.

As has been posted Kim and the boys have visited a couple of times, but the rest of us hadn't taken in this quintessential Oahu experience.

You learn some pretty good stuff about pineapples, mostly that you don't want to be the one who has to pick them. They have very prickly leaves requiring workers to be covered head to toe and it's hot.

We rode the Pineapple Express which takes you through some old pineapple fields and gives you a little audio tour of Hawaiian pineapple history.

They also have some pretty nice botanical gardens which Andy and Grandmother are enjoying

Baby pineapple in their exhibition garden

View from the train ride across some gardens, irrigation lake and the Waianea Mountains

03 Sep - School Open House

On the evening of Sep 3rd the boys got to show us their classrooms during Navy Hale Keiki's open house.

Andy's classroom with Grandmother and Granddaddy behind

Zach shows us his spot on the pig

then his class put on a little show

03 Sep - Andy is Star Keiki

Andy was honored as a Star Keiki at morning flag ceremony for his birthday this month.

01 Sep - Family Visit and Promotion

September was a busy and fun month. On Aug 30th Grandmother and Granddaddy arrived for their 3rd visit to Hawaii.

Happy arrival. One of these days the boys will learn who gets the leis!

Two days later I was promoted to Commander. I've come to the realization Lieutenant Commander can sneak up on you when you're young. No chance with Commander. So it is. You just have to make the most if it.

So it was on the first day of the last month of the fiscal year the Navy so nicely allowed us very junior selectees to wear the new rank.

I was honored to have my Dad read the Oath of Office at a particularly noteworthy spot in the Captain's cabin of the USS Missouri.

Andy and Zach carried in the second generation silver oak leaves as Kim and Mom tacked them on.

The Captain's cabin is right inside the surrender deck where the Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2nd, 1945 in Tokyo Bay. The inlaid seal above commemorates the spot.

Family, friends and coworkers stand for a picture under the forward 16 inch gun mounts.

Andy and Zach were all too happy to participate in a bit of destruction as they adjusted the sign in front of our home.

We're lucky only the "L" came off.

07 Aug - Waimea Bay

After buddy Fred and I finished the North Shore Challenge swim race our families met us to spend the afternoon at Waimea Bay.

This is me swimming with Andy and his buddy Gwyneth. Can't be beat. Thanks to Spaulding for filming.

19 Aug - Shiney Comes Home from School

Each friend in Andy's class got to take care of special stuffed hippo for a weekend. They were to show him around and report back on Monday.

They also had to name the hippo. Each student got to choose a name and then they all voted. This would have had somewhat predictable results except Andy was wily enough to agree on a name with a buddy and form a small voting block. So, hippo ended up named Shiney and Andy got him for the first weekend.

Meet Shiney

Shiney playing putt-putt

Catching up on Thomas

Shiney watcha doin' boy!? Rough day with the keikis?