We took a whale watch cruise from the North Shore. Nobody else had signed up so it was just us and two crewmen. Like having a private boat. The whale watching was just like videos that you see except that's a real whale and it's right there in front of you. Amazing! I was also impressed with the whale's breathing. Of course there is the blow when the whale surfaces but right before it dives, there is a very loud intake of breath. Whoooosh!
Another picture from the island. This is ukulele lessons at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We brought a ukulele (should that be AN ukulele? It doesn't sound right) home and have been working on it since.
I'm still not sure what that means. Part of our time away we spent in Hawaii. Well, some of us did anyway. Ylfelynn and I spent a great week on Oahu. Here is a picture of us the night before we came back (do we look at all like islanders?) enjoying a dinner cruise. There was a show downstairs after the dinner but we could not tear ourselves away from the show outside. We sailed across Waikiki to Diamondhead and back while the sun descended. Excellent scenery.
Never fear. The new lawn has been installed. It was put in right before we left town for two-and-a-half weeks. When we returned, it had grown exceedingly. We are still trying to catch up to it. I'm starting to think of it of the big green monster in my yard. Maybe now we can sell the house. Here is the listing if you are interested.
A view of our new house from the back yard (there is a little slope in the back of the back yard).
We went to the San Diego Zoo again (we bought memberships last year and we are maximizing our return on investment - they expire in April - and it was a good investment). Past favorites were the tapir and the okapi. Yesterday's favorite: Galapagos tortoise. The zoo has several that it acquired in the 1920's. That's 80+ years ago. And they have 50+ more years to live. It's a good thing, too. It takes them a while to do anything and go anywhere. Fascinating animals!
Orion shows off his favorite Christmas present, Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots of the Transformer Universe. Orion is seen with Optimus in truck form and robot form. Now would be the appropriate time to utter one of the Transformer taglines. You can choose from "more than meets the eye" or "robots in disguise". I think there's a theme song that uses those words.
Ylfelynn and I on the day of our 10th annivesary (12/20/2006) outside of the Redlands California Temple. We actually live in the Los Angeles California Temple district but it was closed at the time. It's a little bit further to the Redlands temple but not a bad drive (traffic wasn't too disagreeable). What a great 10 years it has been.
Jessica is, of course, as cute as anything as seen from the picture at the left. You may notice that she is sporting a couple tattoos. These are the wear-offable ones but I hope she does not develop a taste for the real ones. She has a lightening-shaped scar tattoo a la Harry Potter on her forehead and a skunk tattoo a la Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. She is also getting pretty good at driving a tricycle. In her socks.
Here we are at the San Diego Zoo, waiting in line to see the pandas. Jandi and Kenny, visiting from AZ, went to the zoo with us. There was some griping about waiting in line, but the pandas were awake and doing stuff. One things we learned was that pandas like to sleep in trees. Indeed, the zoo's latest baby panda was lounging overhead when we visited. They said pandas often fall out of the trees when sleeping and can fall 40 feet or more and not be hurt. They can even continue sleeping after falling. Weird!
After our last visit to the San Diego Zoo, I thought perhaps the tapir was my favorite animal. Now I am starting to lean towards the okapi. Despite the zebra-bottom appearance, the okapi is most closely related to the giraffe. This is easy to believe because their heads look just like a giraffe head minus the knobby horns and about 12 feet of elevation. It also shares the giraffe's outrageouly long tounge. Definitely fun to watch.
Orion is attempting to break the SR-71A at Blackbird Airpark with Uncle Kenny assisting. Meri is borrowing my coat - she didn't like her's and it was a bit chilly with the wind blowing (the day after Thanksgiving).
We recently visited the nearby Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area to see some rock formation. Jessica spent time walking around the house saying "rock formations" though she would not say it when actually confronted with the said formations. We hiked some and enjoyed the view.
A successful Halloween has come and gone. Nobody got upset this year - a first. Last year Brayton left the wand that went to his Harry Potter costume at school and was not able to bring it to the church "Trunk or Treat" activity. One year Orion ate so much candy that he threw up (so kids - that's not just an idle parental warning). One year my red Christopher Robin balloon (everyone else was some Pooh Bear character) got popped several times in a row - I was inconsolable. This year was great all around.
