Ice Palace

This morning we decided to take the kids Ice skating. Amanda has skated before but Jake has never attempted blades. We arrived about 40 mins before they opened so we were able to kill some time in the local shops by the Ice Palace
Here is the sign out front reminding everyone to be safe.
It was a nice place with lots of people. The ice was thin and bumpy but both of the kids did very well
Jake in his new outfit for skating - long pants/long sleeves - no real need for this type of clothing in Hawaii except when ice skating
Mommy had her hands full in the beginning with both Jake and Amanda but Amanda quickly got the hang of it and Jake wanted to play the arcade games
These walker things made it easy for Amanda to get the hang of what she needed to do to keep her balance

We had the kids wear their helmets just in case they had a nasty fall, but both escaped without any bruises

Jake sharing his french fries
Self portrait of Jake and I having a snack

Lynn's Birthday Weekend

Due to the Labor Day holiday and an extra day off from work on Friday we decided to make it Lynn's Birthday weekend. So tonight Amanda and I picked up a nice bouquet of flowers to go with the dinner we made for the family.
We made BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, asparagus, and some pasta salad for Lynn's birthday dinner

After dinner we had a nice ice-cream birthday cake with a musical candle. Jake can't figure out where the sound is coming from.
Jake is helping his mom blow the candle out.
Last night we decided to get a babysitter (Amanda and Jake have been bugging us to go on a date) and join up with some good friends for a dinner downtown in Waikiki. We have ate at this restaurant before and really like it. It's called the Yard House (with over 100 different beers on tap).
Here is Ben trying out a fruity drink
Here is Ben taking on the Yard House sampler. 6 different beers. The paper he is reading tells the name of each beer. It also stated that since beer is made mostly of bread it must be part of the 5 daily food groups.

Here is Dev and Marita deciding what to order from the menu (they have a huge selection to choose from)
Here is why it's called the Yard House. You can order beer by the Yard glass (this is a half-yard glass of beer)
To top it off Lynn and I shared a piece of Macadamia nut cheesecake
And to get the weekend off on the right foot I finished a project Lynn is been wanting to complete for a couple of weeks. We figured out how to block the opening as you entered the front door which made better use of the living room.

History in the making; new haircut

2008 Presidential election with out a doubt will be history in the making regardless which party wins. Below is a picture taking 3 months ago with now Republican VP nominee (AK Gov.) Sarah Palin holding my niece Madison at an Anchorage event held a small airport. Who knew 3 months ago the AK Gov. would be the talk of the country. If Americans really want a change in politics they might get it after this election.
Here's Jake after his new haircut yesterday. He didn't like the stuff they put in his hair so I had to get a picture quick. He is such a cutie.

Simply Priceless

This morning started out with some intense climbing intervals (more on that later). When I returned home the plan was to take the kids on a bike ride to the local cafe by the Harbor. We loaded up the van with the kids bikes so Jake could ride the 1 mile path to the cafe. I jogged along side and took pictures. What an incredible time we had on the bike ride.
Everyone we passed on the path were cheering them on, it was fantastic
It doesn't get any better than this

Below is the elevation chart from the climbing intervals. It's not that high but it's a great place to knock out short hard efforts to try and increase my overall climbing strength
Complete slide show from today's ride is posted at the top of the right hand column

Amanda's 'Ohana school project

Part of Hawaiian culture, ʻOhana means family in an extended sense of the term including blood-related, adoptive or intentional. It emphasizes that family and friends are bound together and members must cooperate and remember one another. Below is Amanda's 'Ohana project she completed for school. She was very excited to do this project and very proud of her work.
click on images to enlarge
("ʻOhana means family and family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten.").