Surfing - the 1st

Anticipation

Saturday was Dave's weekly "board meeting", rescheduled from his usual Friday afternoons, so he invited us to join him. I don't know if he was breaking any official work protocol, but we had a great time. The kids are now very enthusiastic about surfing, and I anticipate spending a wad of cash on surf boards and paraphernalia. I opted to stay dry and be the offical photographer for this first outing, but I WILL learn to surf while we are here... so WATCH OUT! For more pics, check out here.

Dave almost there

B's first attempt. She succeeded in standing up on her first day.

Z helping D get situated with the boogie board. You can't really tell by the pictures, but the surf was really pounding.

WIPEOUT! Look at Z's face.

Z almost up

And... he's up!

A very rare moment in sibling helpfulness

Success is sweet! A on her knees

Hanauma Bay - the 1st

Beautiful panoramic, click to enlarge

Last Saturday we took the kids to Hanauma Bay for a fantabulistic snorkeling excursion. This is a beautiful underwater nature preserve situated in a quiet bay with reportedly the highest concentration of fish around the island for your viewing pleasure. It's a bit crowded, but the perfect place for a day of snorkeling, especially with the kiddos. We didn't have an underwater camera, so the pics will not include the awesome fish we saw, but the bay itself is pretty spectacular even without the fish.

Gearing up for another run

Growing up WAY too fast

Proof that I was there

Operation Hele On

Can you see A with bullet injury on her leg?

I do believe I am as up to date on the blog as I'll get, so I'm going to go ahead and start posting more current/relavant family adventures. Last Friday was Statehood Day. It is held the 3rd Friday in August each year to commemorate Hawaii's statehood. This year marks 50 years. The kids were happily off school, and Dave was off work. We had signed the oldest three up for Operation Hele On, an all-day mock deployment held at Hickam AFB so children can appreciate a little more what their deployed parents might have to do. As you can imagine, Z was a little less than enthusiastic about it at first, but they all seemed to enjoy themselves regardless.

They were probably around 150 kids, give or take, ages 9-14, that participated and were divided into 8 'squardons' complete with TIs sporting their wide brimmed hats and barking orders. The kids marched in formation chanting 'jodies' to keep cadence, competed against each other as squadrons, toured tanks, handled rifles, watched military dogs take down a few guys in 'fat suits', and engaged in mock battles, complete with mock injuries. Z had a lovely looking bullet wound on his arm.

The awards ceremony

Z was proud of his injury

Ghetto-dise

So, some peeps have been buggin' me about pictures of my ghetto-dise. Here you go!
This is our very inviting entryway.
Our living room/office - very light and airy.
Our patio, or lanai- as they call it here.
Dining room from lanai, kitchen seen behind, living room is off to the right.
Dining room from kitchen entry
Kitchen
Kitchen - take 2
Hallway - 1/2 bathis off to the left, storage room ahead
Entryway
Upstairs laundry room.

There are no bedroom pictures, because there were no bedrooms even remotely presentable; which, sadly is the cast 9 times out of 10. (sigh)

Family Reunion - Klings (part 5) - Sundance

What a view! This is the backside of Mt. Timpanogas

That Wednesday, we headed back down Provo Canyon to Sundance Resort to ride up the ski lift - a bit less challenging than the previous hike. We were able to take a few family pictures (minus Dave) as this was the first time we were all together since before India.

Mom, Dad & us 4 kids - yes, my ridiculous brothers are holding hands

The whole Kling Family (minus Dave)

Going down

This was the view from the cabin when we returned.

Family Reunion - Klings (part 4) - Deer Creek Reservoir

Girls in Canoe

That next Tuesday, we drove a whopping 5 minutes South to Deer Creek Reservoir with our rented waverunners for a day at the beach. It was a fantastically beautiful day, and the waverunners were ginormous and smokin' fast, I believe Eric topped the speed charts at 57 mph. The big boys enjoyed being crazy and irresponsible as they tried to throw each other off the waverunners with great sucess. And several of us determined that the altitude does affect your reaction to sun exposure, as we were sporting painful sunburns the rest of the week, some complete with blisters. OUCH! We also loved riding in Grandpa's canoe that he has owned since 1960. Love that canoe!

My 'little' brother Adam and Z

Adorable Amanda, my niece

Sunbathing beauties

Family Reunion - Klings (part 3) - Creature Encounters

Holy Frustrating Batman! I just lost this entire post - AFTER it had been posted for over a week. How does THAT happen. I may, or may not, get to it again. Arggggg!

Family Reunion - Klings (part 2) - Stewart Falls

Grandma & Grandpa Kling with all the grandkids

The week of July 12-17 was the Kling Family Reunion in Heber City, UT. My brother had arranged for a cabin from a friend of his which turned out to be just perfect for us. We were all sad that Dave couldn't be with us, but we did our best to entertain ourselves. Monday, hiked up to Stewart Falls, on the backside of Mt. Timpanogas. It was a beautiful hike, on a beautiful day. It was another day of clear blue skies, which at this point was still a novelty and I just soaked it in, inhaling each beautiful, clear, crisp breath of blue sky with each step. It does something to the soul, to be out in the expanses of creation, something very healing and cathartic.

Checking out the beautiful scenery

Little D & Jason

Z in front of Stewart Falls

Eric & Dad

My nephew, Lance, is dwarfed by Stewart Falls

My brother Eric's family

The kids were very enthusiastic hikers, until we reached our destination, then poor little D felt he couldn't go on another step. In a moment of inspiration, I likened our hike to our lives: how each step we took was a step in life that brought us closer to our ultimate destination. Sometimes the steps were easy, sometimes they were hard, but each step in the right direction was worth it.

Some steps in life may be difficult, but if it is in the right direction, it is always worth it.

Sunday Driving

Just North of the "blowhole" on the Windward side of the Oahu

We interrupt this blog 'catch up' to report a current event. Our church doesn't start until 2:30pm each Sunday (until January), so we've been taking Sunday drives to familiarize ourselves and the kids with the island. 2 Sundays ago we drove the South and Windward sides of the island. Last week we drove the North Shore, with a stop at BYU Hawaii, and the Laie Temple Visitor Center. This is a BEAUTIFUL island, and we are very excited explore it over the next 3 years.

The Temple is undergoing some MAJOR renovation, meaning it's been completely gutted inside and has been started over again. Originally completed in 1919, it was in need of remodeling. It should be open and functioning again by July 2010.

Check out who we saw at the Laie Temple Visitor Center...

This is Mark Eubank, former meteorologist for KSL News in Salt Lake City, UT. He was on the air for over 36 years, and a staple to just about every home in the region. He and is wife are serving as the directors of the Visitor Center at the Temple. He was very excited to talk to us about Felicia (the hurricane), and hoped she didn't prove disappointing. (although it is looking like she will)

Felicia

When I woke little D up this morning for school he was sad when he realized that school hadn't been cancelled because of Felicia. As predicted, she fizzled into a depression.

A Long Time Ago... in a Land Far, Far Away...

Ximen, Maryam, Me & Christa

July 8th

When I knew when/where I'd be over the summer, I fired off an email to my friend Maryam to make a lunch date. This turned into a Girls' Overnight Out with 3 of my dearest friends from Elgin, IL, from when I was 3 years old. Maryam, Christa, Ximen and I met at the Zermatt Resort in Midway, UT (conveniently right across the street from the Homestead Resort where Dave and I went a few weeks prior). Some of us hadn't seen each other in more than 12 years! We had such a fantastic time catching up, eating delicious food, and talking into the wee hours of the morning. Friends are such an incredible blessing in life. On our way back to town, we stopped and surprised our church youth advisor from WAY BACK when we were 12, Mary Ann Smail. Thanks ladies for a wonderful time!