Smith Family Blog

Loves the Big Boy Shower!

2012-02-15T17:14:00.000-05:00

Tea Time Again

2012-02-13T00:10:00.000-05:00

Brent and I were priviliedged to be served tea by Amber. :-)

Snack Time

2012-02-11T17:09:00.000-05:00

Park Adventure

2012-02-10T17:08:00.001-05:00

A couple weeks ago as the kids and I were at the park, we happened to catch the whole instalation of this telephone pole as we played...interesting to watch!

Cute Little Bandits

2012-02-09T17:45:00.002-05:00

Silver Ring

2012-02-08T00:08:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago I rediscovered the silver ring I had purchased for Amber at the Honolulu Swap Meet. The ring has plumeria flowers etched on it. Amber absolutely loves to wear it! She says rings are her favorite kind of jewelry!...Like mother like daughter. ;-D

Practicing for the New Baby

2012-02-07T02:25:00.001-05:00

Amber and Brent are preparing for their Baby sister "C" to join our family in May. This is baby Logan (5 mo. old) whom we were babysitting the other day. Amber helped me feed him a bottle and his rice cereal, and both Amber and Brent practiced holding Logan and talking to him. It was sweet to watch. Logan did us the favor of testing out our bouncy seat too (a good yard sale find!)

A side note... Brent's expression in this next picture says, "My molars are coming in!" Poor guy. It's been a rough couple weeks for him as all 4 teeth push through.

Growing Up

2012-02-02T12:04:00.000-05:00

Here Amber was going out shopping with Daddy and Brent. She got ready by herself: dress, heels, purse with coins (for shopping at Goodwill), sunglasses, and a watch (she is learning to tell digital time). :-D

Here is some of her recent art work!

Brownie Baking Helpers

2012-02-01T15:05:00.002-05:00

At The Beach

2012-01-30T01:44:00.000-05:00

Here are the kids being photo test subjects as I calibrate lenses on my new camera.

Dancing and Ice Cream...Two Loves!

2012-01-28T00:03:00.000-05:00

Another Science Experiment

2012-01-26T19:02:00.002-05:00

The baking soda and vinegar volcano! :-)

Playoff Season!

2012-01-25T12:35:00.002-05:00

Even though the Packers didn't win, we had fun cheering for them and wearing our gear this season. :-)

25 Weeks Pregnant

2012-01-22T17:55:00.002-05:00

I'm 25 weeks along now. Baby "C" is really kicking up a storm. We decided to go ahead and set up the nursery. The kids' former play room is now the nursery. I left the safari animals stickers on the wall - neutral enough for a girl. Lucas moved the dresser from our master closet to the nursery. We found a remnant floor carpet at Home Depot. And our friends here gave us their Eddie Bauer baby swing. The rocker/glider and crib are of course still in working condition from Amber and Brent's infancies. It's fun for me to "nest" and get things more ready to go for Baby. Lucas is a really good sport about it all too...he does most of the work really, I do the planning and shopping and directing. ;-D

First Science Experiment

2012-01-20T00:33:00.000-05:00

Lucas and I showed the kids about whirlpools. They thought it was fun!

Fun Days

2012-01-19T14:32:00.002-05:00

We ordered back-ups for Bunny and Quack-Quack from Amazon. Now if we lose one (again) we will already have a replacement, although...Brent can tell the difference and still prefers his "old Bunny." :-)

Amber loves her Christmas play dress. We think she looks so fashionable here for jumping on a trampoline, like a little Southern Belle or something! ;-D

Sibling Play Time!

2012-01-17T00:08:00.000-05:00

Amber of course likes to play dress-up. Often she will beg Brent to
join her, and today...for a few minutes he humored her (and me - I
was cracking up taking this picture of them)!
Amber was excited when I told her that most likely her sister will more readily want to play dress-up and Barbies, etc. with her someday. But Amber also understands the reality of the time frame as she said that "First she [sister C] will have to learn to walk, Mommy."

Realing the Marlin

2012-01-16T05:06:00.000-05:00

Last of the missed posts

Kahala Resort

2012-01-16T00:01:00.001-05:00

Another missed post.

Aquarium Visit

2012-01-15T00:58:00.002-05:00

So I found a couple draft posts from when the Larsens were here that for some reason didn't get posted. They are a little out of chronological order, but I figured I would post them anyway.

Another Play Date with Jaycee

2012-01-14T01:43:00.001-05:00

We spent another morning with Jaycee just before New Years so that her
mommy could get more rest with the newborn Rylee. [Jaycee's Aunt arrived on New Years Day to help out her mommy for the next month now].

First stop was to get Amber's hair trimmed, (somewhat traumatic, but better than last year - the suckers definitely helped), and then to the pet store, and then to the community pool. Kids all had so much fun together. Everyone passed out for good naps that day, including Lucas and me!

The Day After Christmas

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

We got one more use out of our water park season passes this year. Brent really loves the water slides! The big green slide behind them is his favorite. He goes down with Daddy. Amber just likes to splash in the water and swim around, and once in a while she will do a kiddie water slide.

Brent's First Nerf Shotgun

2012-01-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

One of Brent's Christmas presents was this Nerf shot gun. Daddy was giving the kids proper instruction on how to shoot. They love this more "big kid" activity with Dad! ...Mom is learning how to shoot too. lol.

Christmas Presents and Santa's Visit

2012-01-11T00:03:00.000-05:00

Amber's gift for Brent - stuffed animals:

Brent's gift for Amber - new play dress:

More animals!

Simba and Nala!

Amber's Vet/Doctor Shop:

Santa came and brought Brent a motorcycle and Amber a telescope!

Brent was real "cool" about Santa. Amber was a little scared by his "ho, ho, HO!" But she was ok with sitting near him for the picture. :-)

Christmas Morning - stocking stuffers

2012-01-10T01:31:00.001-05:00

Last Christmas we were all sick as dogs. Christmas 2011 we were all super healthy and a year older...we had so much fun as a family just slowly opening presents and being together on Christmas Day!

Yes, candy for "first breakfast:"

Amber wearing Brent's mask:

The coordinating foam knife:

Amber's doggy slipper socks (with grippers on the bottom):

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

2012-01-08T23:37:00.003-05:00

We went caroling in our subdivision with some families from church. We tried to dress festive. (I was warm in that sweater though!) At first the kids weren't sure what to think of all the singing in front of random people's homes in the dark. But an hour later they were loath to go home.

No, the kids did NOT get iPhones for Christmas, but...they were enjoying a few minutes using ours and playing with their kid apps.

Table Talk

2012-01-06T01:38:00.000-05:00

Brent Eating

2012-01-05T01:38:00.000-05:00

Dress Up!

2012-01-04T17:15:00.002-05:00

Here is Jaycee's (3yrs) new baby sister Rylee (3 weeks old). Their mom Heidi has been pregnant and delivered both of her girls while her husband was on deployments...I don't know how she does it!

Jaycee has a nice trunk of dress up clothes. The girls love it!

More Time With Friends

2012-01-04T00:05:00.000-05:00

Our friend Jaycee recently got a new sister! We have had Jaycee over to play a few times recently so that her Mommy and new baby sister could get some rest together, [Jaycee's Daddy is currently deployed].

Trampoline

2012-01-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

Tommy's Birthday

2011-12-31T13:06:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone

Amber Off Roading

2011-12-31T01:36:00.000-05:00

Brent On A Date

2011-12-30T00:33:00.000-05:00

Going For A ride

2011-12-29T00:25:00.001-05:00

Amber and Brent getting a Ride in their friend's SUV.

Amber And Brent On Surfboard

2011-12-28T00:17:00.000-05:00

Longboard Surfing

2011-12-27T00:16:00.001-05:00

More surfing. Almost done with these pictures I promise!

This is a longboard if you hadn't figure that out by now ;-)

Me riding one in. I have to figure out how to set Naomi up with my better camera sometime as it is hard to get pictures that far out with a little point and shoot camera.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:45:00.003-05:00

New Blog Title Picture

2011-12-24T14:47:00.004-05:00

We just posted a new blog title picture for the new year as the kids especially have changed a ton during the last year. Happy early Christmas!!!

Old picture for comparison.

Kids Together

2011-12-24T00:39:00.001-05:00

Owen Update

2011-12-23T20:10:00.000-05:00

We wanted to update everyone on Owen's progress.

He is back in State College with my parents, after spending about a week in DC visiting various doctors there. I was blessed to get to see him several times when I was back in DC on work travel and was very impressed with his attitude about the whole situation. He really wants God to be glorified in the whole situation. Owen had some excellent care in DC but he still has a long road ahead of him with trying to restore nerve damage in his hand and shoulder, and with reconstruction of his ear. Please continue to keep him and the family in your prayers. Thank you!

Brent's Christmas Pictures

2011-12-23T00:37:00.001-05:00

Here are some of the pictures I got of Brent in his Santa Outfit on the beach.

Ambers's Christmas Pictures

2011-12-22T00:33:00.001-05:00

Got some cute pictures of the Kids on the beach in preparation for our Christmas Cards this year :-)

North Shore Surfing

2011-12-21T00:11:00.000-05:00

We didn't have any of the cute girls along to help take our picture, so here are some after shots of us on the north shore after surfing there. The waves were ~4 ft on average (which in Hawaii measurements means that some of them were over my head - 6ft). We weren't sure exactly the names of the beach we ended up surfing at but it was close to Lanakai. The waves even at that size were incredibly powerful and almost more then any of us could handle. Brian took his first trip "Over The Falls" - surfing lingo for when the front of your surf board dives under when catching a wave and the back of your board goes over your head (ie you do a head over heals flip and the big wave crashes right on top of you). The day after we were up there a big north swell came in that brought the waves up to +15 ft (needless to say we did not try to surf those). The pictures are of us in Haliewa (Legendary North Shore Surfing Town).

Our Surf Mobile

Brent Being Silly

2011-12-20T00:05:00.000-05:00

More at Waimea Valley

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000-05:00

Having Fun in the waterfall at the top of the hike.

Waimea Falls Hike

2011-12-18T00:47:00.002-05:00

We all hiked Waimea Falls together

Lots of very large tropical trees :-)

Plenty of Peacocks around as well.

Brent And Santa

2011-12-17T00:56:00.000-05:00

Santa and a Dinosaur. Brent is a happy little guy.

Amber Excited About Snowman

2011-12-16T00:56:00.001-05:00

It has been a long time since Amber saw a snowman ;-) It is supprising she remembers what one is :-)

Naomi and Mom Tour Downtown

2011-12-15T01:35:00.001-05:00

Mom and I got to enjoy a nice girls' day away down in Honolulu/Waikiki. We toured the 'Iolani Palace and also the Mission House. Both were VERY interesting! There is so much more to Hawaiian history and culture than hula dancers on the beach. Hawaii has a historically strong Christian influence from the missionaries who came! We also enjoyed dinner and shopping and a mini makeover down on the Waikiki strip.

Snorkling Trip

2011-12-15T00:55:00.000-05:00

Short Video from the Snorkeling tour. The guys were oogling the twin 225 HP outboard motors (Mr. Larsen has a 14 HP motor on his fishing boat ;-)).

Snorkeling Trip

2011-12-14T00:13:00.003-05:00

So if I had to list one of my top regrets from the year it would be not having a waterproof camera along with us when I went snorkeling with Dad and Brian Larsen. We went with http://www.seahawaii.com/ off the west coast of Oahu and saw some truly amazing sites and I am very disappointed not to have had my camera with me.

The first stop was snorkeling with a pod of 50+ Hawaiian spinner dolphins (named because they like to do spins in the air when they jump out of the water) in crystal clear 40ft deep water. After waiting for 10 min for the Dolphins to come check out our boat we slipped in off the side of the boat and immediately saw the Dolphins swimming below and around us. We could see very clearly all the way to the bottom. We stayed there for half an hour with the Dolphins all around us (one surface right in front of me (4ft away).

Our second stop was Turtle rock off Makaha Beach. This was an amazing reef/rock formation about 10 ft under the water that almost always has several green sea turtles just hanging out around it. We were not disappointed as there were 4 turtles (that I saw at least) right in the vicinity of the rock just hanging out along the reef, along with tons of other fish. One of our guides (who does snorkeling tours during the week, and is a fire dancer on the weekends) also showed us some of the differences in the types of sea urchin and which ones are safe to hold. If you were wondering a sea urchin crawling on your hand is a very funny feeling. It feels like a little prickly suction cup.

In all it was one of the coolest experiences I have had yet while we have been here. Would have been cool to see a humpback whale as well (they said they ran into one on the prior days tour).

Here are a couple pictures from the boat.

Fwd: Coming Home

2011-12-13T19:16:00.002-05:00

Our brother, son, hero, and friend, Owen, is coming "home" to D.C.
tonight from Belize. Patty and the Peace Corps Medical Officer are
bringing him back. Last week he wondered how he was going to tell
people that a man tried to murder him with a machete, today he posted
this picture on his Facebook page to assure us that he is still the
same guy we know and love (minus an ear, plus many wounds that will
heal). He says "Thanks to God I am alive and have been blessed a
million times over by the Lord and everyone who has sent me kind words
and visited me. 2 Corinthians 4:7-18." He also told us on the phone he
forgives the one who attacked him and only wants good to come out of
this. Please pray with us that he will heal quickly and God will use
him and what has happened in mighty ways.

Stories With Brian

2011-12-13T00:57:00.000-05:00

Owen and Mom Smith Coming Home!

2011-12-12T22:27:00.005-05:00

Mom arrived at Owen's side in the Belize hospital Sunday afternoon. We have good news to share that Owen is well enough to make the long flight home to the States tomorrow (Tues). Please pray for safe travels.
The pictures above were taken a few weeks ago (in Nov.) when Mom and Dad Smith had visited Owen. He and the village kids are standing outside of his home/hut.

Night Away From iPhone

2011-12-12T00:10:00.002-05:00

I was playing around with Naomi's iPhone 3GS and a HDR photo tool I got on it. I was pretty pleased with the results coming from a hand held multiple exposure capture from a a 3MP camera on a phone in very high contrast lighting.

What Kids Say

2011-12-11T00:53:00.002-05:00

We often try to work on basic theology with our kids as we go about daily life. "Who made the rainbows we see?"...God. "Who made you?" ...God. "Who provides our money and food?" ...God. Well, tonight it was time to clean up before bed. We came into the living room and I looked around and said in a fun voice, "WHO made this mess of toys out here?!?" "GOD!" replied Amber. :-D TOO funny. I had such a good laugh.

Night Away

2011-12-11T00:11:00.001-05:00

Naomi and I got a night away at Ko Olina (Thanks again Family :-) ). It was very nice to get away and just have a restful day without the kids. Probably our last one until after the baby comes.

The view from our hotel room.

The view from dinner at Longboards on the lagoons at Ko Olina

Owen Update

2011-12-10T14:34:00.002-05:00

Owen is off all IVs now and able to see visitors at the hospital (still in Belize). Mom Smith is flying down to Belize today to be with Owen. At this point it looks like Owen will be flying back to the States the early part of next week. He will be staying at a hospital in DC for a few weeks as they monitor his healing process.

Flying Kites

2011-12-10T00:20:00.001-05:00

Our beach is the best place for flying kites that I have ever seen (other beaches might qualify as well ;-). There is a consistent 10-15MPH wind in the exact same directly. All you have to do is let go of the kite and it flies up in the air. Or if you are feeling lazy you can just sit on the ground and let the wind do all the work for you.

Owen Out of ICU

2011-12-09T01:36:00.002-05:00

I spoke with my sister-in-law Katelyn today. She had talked with Owen on the phone and reported that Owen was released from the ICU today. This is good news. She said they are hoping to fly Owen back to the States in a few days, but... we will see how things pan out one day at a time. Thanks for your continued prayers! Katelyn said Owen sounded pretty good and was even cracking jokes. :-D

Amber Sandwich

2011-12-08T00:23:00.000-05:00

Ambers new favorite way to be carried around

Pray for Owen

2011-12-07T19:34:00.002-05:00

Family and Friends,
Lucas' youngest brother Owen (standing next to Lucas above) has been serving with the Peace Corps in Belize for the past year and a half. Last night he was outside his hut in his village and was attacked by a man with a machete. As a result, Owen has suffered a broken finger, serious machete wounds, and the loss of his right ear (severed off). He is currently in the ICU in Belize City. They report that Owen is in stable condition. PLEASE pray for Owen, for all the Smith family, for the doctors and nurses taking care of him, for a good recovery, and for a safe return home to Pennsylvania.
Thank you!

Hugging A Dolphin

2011-12-07T00:13:00.000-05:00

Dolphin Tricks

2011-12-06T00:10:00.000-05:00

Swiming With The Dolphins

2011-12-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

Maureen went swimming with the dolphins at Kahala Resort. She said it was the experience of a lifetime.

Its A Girl

2011-12-03T18:10:00.003-05:00

Just got confirmation today that we are having a Girl!

Elephant Goes For A Ride

2011-12-03T00:10:00.000-05:00

Playing in the Sand

2011-12-02T00:57:00.000-05:00

The kids play in the sand while the guys surf.

Surfing - Getting Into The Water

2011-12-01T00:08:00.000-05:00

Surfing - Getting To The Water

2011-12-01T00:07:00.000-05:00

Surfboards

2011-11-30T15:17:00.005-05:00

So to answer some questions about our surf board situation:

We bought 2 cheap soft top funboards (just over 8' long) from costco (the two you see in the pictures below) that we have been using for most of our surfing. They are actually not to bad at catching waves, but are a little hard to stand on (the boards arn't super stable). They also sit higher out of the water (are more boyant) then the more expensive expoxy boards, which means it is slightly easier to catch a wave, but also harder to deal with the wind or to sit up on the board.

We also got a surf board strap system from Amazon that has been working pretty well. It can vibrate quite loadly in high wind or >55MPH, but I have figured out some tricks on how to strap stuff down to minimize this.

Since there were 3 of us surfing I rented a longboard from White Pains several times (10' 2" and 11' versions). I found them about the same for in water paddling speed, but easier to go over waves on, and definitely more stable when standing up or siting and waiting for a wave. The 11' board I tried was pretty massive (stay tuned for pictures in a couple days), and I found it rather difficult to carry and very tricky to get turned around in time to catch a wave. I am considering investing in a used longboard, but will probably rent a few more times to figure out what type/size of board I want.

Surfing Whiteplains

2011-11-30T00:54:00.001-05:00

There was much surfing done in the time the Larsen's were visiting. Most of it was done over at White Plains Beach.

Waking Up In The Morning

2011-11-29T00:09:00.000-05:00

To Eat Or Not To Eat

2011-11-28T12:28:00.003-05:00

So I got a bunch of questions on whether we ate the Marlin or not, so I wanted to clarify something. The boat captain advised us against eating Marlin due to its high mercury concentrations (older, larger predatory fish typically have the highest mercury concentrations). We decided to take his advice although we were a little skeptical at the moment (due to the fact that they sell the fish they catch for money). We subsequently looked this up online and found that he had been correct.

Given the information we found I am surprised anyone is still eating Marlin! We called back and got the final weight on the Blue Marlin we caught - it weighed in a 330lb and sold on the fish market for $3/lb - or roughly $990 for the fish. I hope no one gets sick from this fish. Below is some information I got on eating fish and which ones are safe and which ones are not:

Info from:
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/guide.asp

PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY

Consumer Guide to Mercury in Fish

The list below shows the amount of various types of fish that a woman who is pregnant or planning to become pregnant can safely eat, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. People with small children who want to use the list as a guide should reduce portion sizes. Adult men, and women who are not planning to become pregnant, are less at risk from mercury exposure but may wish to refer to the list for low-mercury choices.

Protecting yourself -- and the fish: Certain fish, even some that are low in mercury, make poor choices for other reasons, most often because they have been fished so extensively that their numbers are perilously low. These fish are marked with an asterisk (read more below).

This list applies to fish caught and sold commercially. For information about fish you catch yourself, check for advisories in your state.

LEAST MERCURY
Enjoy these fish:
Anchovies
Butterfish
Catfish
Clam
Crab (Domestic)
Crawfish/Crayfish
Croaker (Atlantic)
Flounder*
Haddock (Atlantic)*
Hake
Herring
Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
Mullet
Oyster
Perch (Ocean)
Plaice
Pollock
Salmon (Canned)**
Salmon (Fresh)**
Sardine
Scallop*
Shad (American)
Shrimp*
Sole (Pacific)
Squid (Calamari)
Tilapia
Trout (Freshwater)
Whitefish
Whiting

MODERATE MERCURY
Eat six servings or less per month:
Bass (Striped, Black)
Carp
Cod (Alaskan)*
Croaker (White Pacific)
Halibut (Atlantic)*
Halibut (Pacific)
Jacksmelt
(Silverside)
Lobster
Mahi Mahi
Monkfish*
Perch (Freshwater)
Sablefish
Skate*
Snapper*
Tuna (Canned
chunk light)
Tuna (Skipjack)*
Weakfish (Sea Trout)

HIGH MERCURY
Eat three servings or less per month:
Bluefish
Grouper*
Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
Sea Bass (Chilean)*
Tuna (Canned Albacore)
Tuna (Yellowfin)*

HIGHEST MERCURY
Avoid eating:
Mackerel (King)
Marlin*
Orange Roughy*
Shark*
Swordfish*
Tilefish*
Tuna
(Bigeye, Ahi)*

* Fish in Trouble! These fish are perilously low in numbers or are caught using environmentally destructive methods. To learn more, see the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Blue Ocean Institute, both of which provide guides to fish to enjoy or avoid on the basis of environmental factors.

** Farmed Salmon may contain PCB's, chemicals with serious long-term health effects.

The Catch

2011-11-27T14:45:00.000-05:00

The dock hoist was under repair so we didn't get a final weight on the fish, but the boat captain estimated it at 270lb! Quite a catch.

The charter boat

In the Boat

2011-11-27T00:51:00.000-05:00

Finishing the Marlin

2011-11-27T00:22:00.001-05:00

WARNING: Don't view video this if you don't like the sight of blood or fish being killed.

Note: You have to go to the blog page at : http://lucasandnaomi.blogspot.com/ to be able to view the video. It will not play through email notifications.

Fighting the Marlin

2011-11-26T01:19:00.000-05:00

We hooked a big Marlin. It was quite something to watch. It took close to 45 min to get the fish in close to the boat. Here is a little clip of the fight.

Waiting Game

2011-11-26T00:26:00.001-05:00

Much of the day was a waiting game for the fish to strike.

Charter Fishing

2011-11-25T00:19:00.001-05:00

The guys out for an early morning charter fishing trip off the west coast of Oahu.

The crew catching the bait fish.

The big tackle comes out for trolling.

Posted Early

2011-11-24T14:46:00.003-05:00

Well I had a couple posts lined up with us fishing and reeling in the fish, but then I clicked a wrong button and posted the final picture of the fish before the other posts. Well I guess you all get to see the final result early. Look for more posts in the next couple days on the fishing trip and fighting the marlin.

Larsens Arrive

2011-11-24T14:13:00.002-05:00

We have been pretty busy the last week with work visitors and the Larsen's arriving. Here are some of the first pictures after they arrived. The guys setting up the surf boards and reading to the kids :-)

Play Time at Our Beach

2011-11-14T13:51:00.004-05:00

We discovered a calm section of "our" beach that is perfect for the kids to play in. The toy elephants have been their recent favorites as they like "The Jungle Book" movie very much. The elephants like to go swimming apparently. :-)

Amber Dancing

2011-11-11T00:15:00.000-05:00

90 Foot Wave!

2011-11-10T02:15:00.000-05:00

Just saw this video online!! Ridiculous.

Kids Play Time with Daddy

2011-11-09T16:56:00.002-05:00

The kids LOVE it when Lucas comes home from work and he will often play "chase" or "horsey" or "big giant" with them. It's a definitely highlight of their day, and I like to watch them having fun. ;-)

Climbing Trees

2011-11-08T00:09:00.000-05:00

Palm trees do not make the best climbing trees, but our kids do a good job having fun on them anyway :-)

New Park

2011-11-07T00:08:00.002-05:00

We found a new park with some walking paths and access to the west lock of Pearl Harbor. The kids liked throwing rocks and sticks into the water and pretending to fish :-)

Interesting Commute To Work

2011-11-05T13:27:00.002-04:00

I had an interesting commute to work last week when I got to sit and watch the Giant SBX Radar system pulling into Pearl Harbor. I didn't have my camera with me but here are some pictures I found on Wikipedia (check out the article if you want more info). It looks like this is the world largest X band radar and is mounted on top of a mobile oil rig platform. When I saw it coming it it looked more like the 1st picture as it was moving under its own power and being escorted by multiple tug boats. The scale of this thing was just massive. I had seen it about 20 miles out to sea the day earlier riding on my motorcycle and had been hoping to get a closer look. Guess I got my wish.

Amber's New Bike

2011-11-04T06:55:00.000-04:00

Our duplex neighbors moved out suddenly after living here only 3 months. Amber and Brent had enjoyed playing with their three girls ages 7, 4, and 2. We were sad to see them go. But Amber is very thankful for the bike she inherited from the 7 year old! The bike is pretty big, but with the seat lowered all the way and the training wheels properly adjusted...she is gaining confidence every day.

Harvest Fest at Church

2011-11-03T06:51:00.000-04:00

Many churches now seem to do "Halloween alternative" activities. Our church had a "Harvest Fest"; it was nice for kids and famlies to play games and win prizes, etc. Our kids didn't do costumes this year...maybe next year. But our friends Drew and Vanessa with their two sons Tommy and Logan took the cake with their outfits!

Music Cards

2011-11-02T00:26:00.000-04:00

Brent's Birthday Video

2011-11-01T02:24:00.001-04:00

Brent Turns 2!

2011-10-29T02:54:00.000-04:00

Family and friends from near and far sent all kinds of gift to Brent. Thank you all! He really enjoyed opening his gifts and eating his cake more this year. Our little boy is now 2!

Brent's Birthday Weekend

2011-10-27T14:50:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday we joined some families from our church at the bowling alley. This was Amber and Brent's first time bowling! They had fun pushing the bowling balls down the ramp which sent the ball down the lane toward the pins. They were fairly successful given the ramp and the bumpers. :-) Our friend Tommy bowled with us and shared in Brent's birthday cupcakes which Brent helped me to prepare. :-)

Brent just turned 2 and Tommy will be 3 in a few weeks, but they are the same size - buds!

Officially Announcing Baby #3

2011-10-24T23:26:00.003-04:00

We are excited to announce that baby #3 is on the way - due May 6th.

Lucas Surfing Lesson

2011-10-21T00:45:00.000-04:00

I didn't get as cool pictures as Renee got from surfing, but I had a lot of fun as well, and was able to catch a couple waves on my own. I think I will definitely be back for more!

Amber watching me from shore.

Brent Eating Ice Cream

2011-10-19T00:26:00.000-04:00

Amber Coloring On Computer

2011-10-18T00:25:00.000-04:00