Hey everyone!!!!!!!!!  My apologies, we haven't updated this site since September (well, since ever since....)  I decided it is time now since my mommy was here and we went on an amazing trip to Bali, Indonesia.  As some of you know, my mom and I had an awesome time together.  She came a long long way to be here with me and to see where I have been living for the last 2 years. 

My mom arrived all smiles, no suprise to most of you......even after all the red tape she had to go through at the Guam Airport.  Little did she know I had plans to put her on yet another airplane in less than 24 hours to Indonesia.  Her true spirit was tested.  My mom arrived in Guam on March 31 at 6pm and we were on a plane to Bali April 1 at 5pm!  WHAT A TROOPER!!!!!!!

I will start with pictures of the hotel, and have no doubts, we were both treated like QUEENS in Bali.  They very much respected and enjoyed the fact that mother and daughter were travelling together.  If you know my mom, you will know by the pictures of the hotel that she was in HOTEL HEAVEN....(rumor has it she is a hotel snob).

As I said, we were treated as queens and I also did everything I could possibly think of to help my momma.  Check out the next pictures....she had it rough!

So we did so many things, I had no idea we could do all these things in a week.  Check it out....

We went to a volcano for lunch the first day, hot springs another day, the Barong Dance another day, we went to a Pearl Farm, monkey forest and elephant park and went on a sunset dinner cruise  (all in bali).  Of course we went shopping (I got my blanket) ate good food saw rice paddies, bought ill-gotten DVD's that didnt work and trinkets and gifts for our friends back home! 

If you scroll down to September 2nd you will see that I started with some portraits that my mom, my neice and I had done over the summer  I meant for those to be first, but I encountered some more technical difficulties.

My neice Haley travelled from Florida to California all by herself-at 14 years old!  She flew into Reno mid-July and my mom and I went to Reno to pick her up.  If you're wondering why she flew into Reno. it's all we could book at the time.  It made things fun for me and my mom!  Anyway, we picked her up and for the next couple days Haley and I cruised around in my convertible, rented a pedal boat at the lake and got to know each other again.  My little baby grew up!!

So we went to the Oregon Coast in my parent's motorhome for a week.  We went to Brookings, Oregon.  My parents have been going there since before I was born and that is where we took all our family vacations.  This was the first time Haley got to see where her dad (my brother) and our family spent our vacations.  She hasn't seen any beaches except for Florida beaches.

This is a picture of my mom trying to pull the motorhome (towing my dad's prized possession) taking out the trees across the street from our house!  She ended up driving the van to the coast and my dad drove the motorhome!  Haley and I rode along; I played DJ.  Johhny Cash, Willie Nelson and Al Green came along for the ride.

See the drops of liquid on the firewood?  My dad doesn't believe in the old-fashioned way of starting campfires (yours truly is an expert who kept saying "where's the kindling?" )

The liquid you see is LIGHTER FLUID!  My dad is a dang pyro!

Haley and I were lucky enough to go on a sunset horseback ride on the beach!  It was also her first time on a horse!  I just want to go on the record and say that she was a real trooper-even if the guide did find and make fun of her 3 biggest fears.  For her sake, I won't publish those.

I like to call the next three pictures "MotorHome Hotties"   Grandma was on a picture shooting spree!  That's my mom y'all!

The pictures below were taken at the harbor in Gold Beach, Oregon.  Notice the family resemblances....that's all I have to say!

These next 2 pictures, just put them together.  Yup, that's my pops.  Guess there is no denying paternity, heh?

I just don't know where I got it.........

We visited a lighthouse on the coast, 20 plus miles north of where we were camping.  Absolutely gorgeous and interesting.

Views from the lighthouse

Sunset at the campground

One of the rocks at the campground,the Oregon Coast is different from the Cali and Florida in that it is scattered with rock formations.

We were also lucky enough to go on a jet boat ride up the Rogue River, like 30 miles up and 30 miles back. We were able to see lots of wildlife and towns that are accessible only by boat!

My grandfather used to work for the Fish and Game, he was a warden for Oregon.  In the following pictures you will see people from the fish and game department sampling the fish on the Rogue River,  They throw out nets, catch the fish and measure them.  My grandpa used to do this and we got to see people in modern times doing the same thing.  They take the measurents and count the fish and come up with a population or number for the year.  Thats where they get those numbers if you were wondering.  Some of these sites were used in the film "The River Wild".  I didnt know that until we went through the area.

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Hello everyone!  Looks like our last update was in February.  7 long months ago....we had some problems with the computers in the house and internet connections. 

I wanted to share some pictures of the portraits my mom, my neice and I had done in July.  Haley just turned 15 in August.  She was able to travel from Florida to California (well, actually she flew into Reno) all by herself and stay for 2 weeks.  We had a great time!  We also went to the Oregon Coast for a week in my parent's motorhome.  I will post everything that I can now and the rest later.  First, the photoshoot!

Aloha Ohana (hello family) 

Happy new year, and here is the Hawaii edition!  I met my family in Honolulu, Hawaii for Christmas 2005.  We had an absolutely wonderful time in Waikiki!  We're already making plans for next year.  We are very blessed and thankful we were able to go.  You can't beat paradise.  It was only 5.5 days, but we made the most of it!  We had needed quality time together, while also doing all of the fun touristy stuff, as well as some fine dining!  Now that it's February, I hope that I remember most of the details!  I will post the pictures in the order we did them.  ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

In case you don't know........my dad is Rex, mom is Emily, and sister is Skye.  My brother Ryan couldn't make it.

Sorry some of my night pictures didn't turn out!  However, the second night we went to an authentic Luau at Paradise Cove, which is right outside of Waikiki.  We were greeted with a lei (spelling ?) that had real flowers, and a Mai Tai! 

Anyways, this is a picture of the pig they roasted in an underground pit before we ate it.  I thought I wouldn't want to eat the poor pig, but it was the best pork I've ever had.  I think they cook it for around 8 hours.    

During dinner they had Polynesian dances.  The "hukilau" hula, the "Ami" Tahitian, New Zealand, and Samoa dances as well.  It was very entertaining!  The men and women were beautiful.  I couldn't get pictures of the Samoan Fireknife dances, but it was the best!  They were like the pictures of the Guam Fireknife dancers, that are already on the website.  All ages do the Fireknife dances, even kiddos that are 5 years old!   

At the Luau we hung out and walked around to all of the different booths.  There were crafts, spear throwing, and the locals were giving fake tattoos.  There was also traditional Polynesian music performances! 

This is a picture of a boat in the cove. 

They demonstrated how they used to fish.  They did this by throwing large nets into the water, and swimming out to get them. 

At the top of this palm tree is a man.  He climbed so fast, that by the time my camera clicked to take the picture he was at the top!  When he got to the top he released a bag of flowers.  If you caught one, you would have good luck all year!  Trust me I fought to get one, but no such luck....   

Here we are at the Luau.  The sunset was amazing! 

Skye and I with our drinky drinks!

I just love this picture of my mama and me!

Here is busy Waikiki beach!  Definitely no snorkeling here, but..........

a grizzly bear tried, oops sorry dad!

Our next excursion was at night.  We went on a Catamaran dinner Cruise.  It was  called Ali'i Kai, "Ruler of the Sea."   My poor mommy got a little sea sick, but as always she was a trooper.  The catamaran had three levels of entertainment or relaxing atmospheres, and of course it had delicious Polynesian food.  The scenery was amazing.  We were able to see Honolulu from the ocean's point of view. 

This is a picture of the dancers.  After that the band plays for dancing and partying.

A big Samoan dancer!

Views from the Catamaran.

Martin's on the beach.  Sorry you can't see much of the ocean!

Dad and his girls.

The girls!

Too cute Skye and dad!

These pictures aren't from snorkeling or scuba diving, next time!  We went to an aquarium and saw some very cool sea life.  Some beautiful coral, Jellyfish, and Barracuda.  My favorite one is this last one of a Leafy Sea Horse - too cool!

Next my dad, Skye, and I went on a nature tour/hike.  These two pictures are from the the Pali lookout, an amazing view.

We visited an ornate Buddhist temple.  It was unique and interesting.

We started our hike here.  This is a gated Royal Mausoleum, the sacred resting place of Hawaii's kings.  Our hilarious tour guide, Gavin, said this is the only section of Hawaii that is 100% owned by Hawaii. 

These are the hiking pictures.  It was a beautiful hike with green, green, green!  Also some colorful flowers!  This one is of Kapena Falls.  We saw some neat ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs during the hike as well.

We toured through Liliuokalani Gardens.  There were a lot of native Hawaiian plant species, and of course beautiful scenery!  They have a lot of that grass (sorry I can't think of the name) that when you touch it it closes up; a defense mechanism.

My cute parents being beach bums!

Dad and I chillin!

Can you see me out there?  I'm towards the mid-right of this picture catching a wave, can you beleive it!  The only person you can see way out there.  Well I tried surfing for the first time, my personal highlight of the trip!  It was a blast, I'd recommend it to anyone.  I'm hoping to do it more!  The surfer boys weren't too bad either! 

Well there is my sis and I signing off by giving you a BIG kiss! 

Take care, and I hope that you enjoyed the virtual tour of Hawaii!  As always you are in my daily thoughts and prayers.  I miss you all!  I hope all is well.  Sending a zillion hugs! 

Love,

Hope