Sunset

We took a red eye back to Atlanta. I didn't sleep the entire way, but luckily the girls did. But I did get to experience a sunset from the air. It was pretty cool.
This was a nice to see - it happened really quickly, since we were flying east. But it was something I hadn't seen before, so another thing off the list. :-)

Naughty Bits

Drumroll please........................................

Here's the money shot, see if you can tell........ They very carefully placed an arrow to help us out.

That's right, it's a BOY!

Here's a nice side view of his face.

Here's a belly shot for you:

Oh, and my favorite 21 week shot......

My mother feels compelled to point out that my dad is sticking out his gut, she promises. :-)

Even though I personally don't find out the sex of my babies (much to everyone's annoyance), I'm glad that she found out. It does make Christmas shopping so much easier!

Please continue to keep her and the baby in your prayers. We're over half way there!

37......

Happy Birthday, Will!

Photo taken by Orange Blossom Photography.

Will's off playing golf today with the guys. (Lucky).

I wanted to commemorate this birthday, because it hasn't been easy living with me this past year. He's made it through surgery, radiation, and the aftermath that is hormone replacement. There are times, I am sure, when he has asked himself if it was worth it. And luckily for me, the answer has always been yes.

Will, you are a wonderful father, not to mention a great husband, lover, and friend. Happy Birthday!

Luau

Ok, only a few more Hawaii posts, I promise.

So, we decided to go out on a bang and attend the luau on our last night there. (Warning - picture heavy post).

The luau was set outside on a rooftop. The 8 of us got our own table. Because I am smart, I bought the girls dresses at Wal-Mart before we left. Because I am not smart, I wanted a new dress for myself and couldn't find anything. So, I spent $17 on a new dress for myself, which is not too terribly bad. Will was the smartest one of us all and just wore clothes he already owned, but what is the fun in that?

The place was set up in a U shape, with the stage in the middle. Our host for the evening, who I ended up calling "Hawaiian Donny Osmond", had 6 different costume changes - which went from either shorts to pants and different Hawaiian shirts.We had traditional Hawaiian food - I admit it doesn't look too appetizing in this picture......
There were very skinny hula girls:And hula men (?):
This one was my favorite...... I really can't imagine why......... :-) Will was not impressed. But Kate was! Anyway, they did a War Dance, which was AWESOME. They explained that the men would even make faces to scare off their enemy. This was the girls favorite part. It was pretty cool - lots of stomping and clapping. And shouting. Lots of shouting.

We also had a fire dance:

And then it was over. Annabeth was able to go up on stage afterwards and do her own version of the hula: And then I about died when I realized we could do this:

He was just as cut up close as he was far away........ :-)

When we first went in, they had us take a family photo. Here is a picture of that picture:

It's a great picture.......

While I would honestly say that the luau that Will and I went to during our honeymoon was better, this was still very enjoyable and we had fun. A great thing to do on our last night there!

Halloween 2009

We spent Halloween up with the in-laws this year. Since the girls are playing soccer, that really limits us on what we can do on weekends, but we didn't have a soccer game this past Saturday, so up to South Kakalaki we went.

Kyra was Tinkerbell (or a fairy, depended on when you were asking):

Annabeth was a Barbie Cheerleader:

I got both of these costumes at yard sales for a total (I want to reemphasize TOTAL) of $5. That's how you do Halloween!

We trick-or-treated at 3 houses and then did a trunk-or-treat at church. The girls had a lot of fun.

Here's my brother and sister-in-law dressed as old geezers:

They were very convincing. I told Will if he ever wears his pants as high as Andy had his on, I might have to divorce him. LOL.

Oh, and we got these crazy glasses.

I'll admit it - they kinda freaked me out.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We took our annual pilgrimage to Burt's Pumpkin Patch last week. We showed how well we can pose:And how strong we are: How we like to sit on big pumpkins to show how big we are getting: We took a hay ride: And then made some complete stranger take a picture of the four of us, which I then had to crop on my camera because I didn't like the way my legs looked: We then bought pumpkins to bring home to paint (which we still haven't done......) It was a good day.

Buddist Temple

Thursday saw the four of us off to the Buddhist Temple on the other side of the island. We had a little trouble finding it as it wasn't well marked, but it is beautiful there. It's in a place called the Valley of the Temples (which should have been our clue where to turn, but alas, we still missed it.). There's also a large cemetery there, and I told Will that when I die, he can ship me to be buried there it was just that beautiful.

The Temple is an exact replica of a 900 year old temple in Uji in Japan.

Outside, there is a large Peace Bell that you are supposed to ring before you enter.

All four of us rang the bell individually, which the girls really enjoyed.

To go inside the temple, you must remove your shoes. And once inside, there is a large Buddha statue:Even though you can't tell in these pictures, it was quite dark in there and we spoke in hushed tones.

I was quite uncomfortable being in there - I imagine I would feel the same way in a synagogue or a mosque. The girls asked a lot of questions about Buddha and I felt the need to point out that we don't worship Buddha, that we worship Christ. Which opened up a large discussion, and for the past 4 weeks, the girls (especially Kyra) will randomly point out that Buddha died and Christ did not. At least I know that they were listening!

The grounds around the temple were quite pretty - there were several ponds and lot of plant life.

This black swan practically attacked Annabeth. It glided towards her in the pond and totally freaked her out. I laughed and laughed because that's how I roll.

I had to ask Will where was Buddha's belly, since the large statue in the temple was very trim. And I found it, in the gift shop!

There's the Buddha that I know!

After we left the temple, I wondered around the cemetery. If you know me well, you know that I love cemeteries, especially old ones. I just think that they are beautiful. Here is a beautiful Japanese grave:

Here's some of the view from the cemetery:

And all four of us in front of the temple:

It was really pretty, and I am glad that we visited it.