love'n life

2007-04-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

Finally!!! They changed the way I sign into my blog and forever I couldn't sign in. What a pain in the ****. With Kristie's help I got it!!!

Anyway, more pictures of the 66th Engineers "Sappers" preparing for deployment. They will be leaving December 10th.

2007-04-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is a picture from the Hawaii Army Weekly. It was taken in the field when they all spent a week out there. All in the picture are Sappers from the Mobility Support Platoon, 66th Engineering Company. This is Kenny's platoon. I like the picture because Kristen is right in the middle of it. (Cpl. Kristen Badeaux) If you can't tell, she is the 2nd one from your left.

2007-03-26T12:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we were suppose to do a club boat dive. The dive was cancelled because of bad weather. So a group of us decided we would do a shore dive somewhere. About 12 of us headed out to a place called Pray For Sex Beach. This is mainly a local beach on the Waianae side of the island. The real name of the beach is Yokohama Bay. We had people to watch our vehicles for the first dive. Everything went great. There was a few people that stuck around for a second dive. I decided not to do a second dive because on the first one I got rolled up in the surf. Was not fun. I took a nap in the car. Was woke up with Kenny knocking on the window of the car. The guy Kenny was diving with, Steve, is here for a couple of months on vacation. Steve had a rental car parked about 50 feet from our car. His car was gone!! Some one had been watching and as soon as these guys got in the water, stole the car. I felt so bad for him. He had his wallet in the car and about $800 in diving equipment. We waited almost 2 hours for a police officer to show up!!! His response was, they are very busy. Couldn't believe it!! Sure glad it wasn't a real emergency!! Of course no one saw anything, not even the guy right next to Steve's car. All Hawaiian locals at this spot. Needless to say, we won't be going back out there to dive. Kenny and I took Steve back to Bellows where he is staying and fed him dinner. Told him if he needed something to let us know. If I would have went on that 2nd dive, I think we would have been in the same situation.

2007-03-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

Had to post more diving pictures. Don't know if you can tell but these are pictures of a shark I took. He was in a cave. At one point we thought he was coming out....scared me to death for a moment there. It was pretty cool seeing him this close.

Then always love the turtles. They are just so cool! I love how they swim around ya like they are waiting to be feed. Every once in awhile they get close enough that I can rub the back or touch thier belly. Awesome!

2007-03-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

A couple of pictures from our wreck dive. Can't tell by looking at this but I am between the props of a huge ship.

This other picture you can just about see the sub behind me. Not a very good picture.

This is a picture of Natasha. She is 10 years old and a certified scuba diver. She saved cans and bottles to save up for her diving lessons. She now has 7 dives in and goes with us on the weekends. Her mother has been diving for years.

2007-02-26T23:17:00.000-08:00

Awesome!!! Kenny bought me a new camera for diving. It's digital!!!! It takes such great pictures. Had to post a few of them. This is a Puffer fish. Kenny actually caught him by the tail and made him puff up. The picture of him all puffed up wasn't very good because the fish kept moving around. They say that a Puffer fish can take your finger off with one bite but this one just wanted to get away.

My favorite.....turtles. This is just a small one but he kept swimming all around me. Think he was waiting for me to feed him. Not suppose to feed but I see people doing it every once in awhile. A Star in the sand at about 30 feet.
This is Kenny on the right, holding the bag and Glenn on the left, putting a Parrott fish in the bag.
This is an eel. Can't tell by this picture but he is a spotted Moray Eel.

This was taken at about 87 feet at a place called the Diner.

2007-02-22T16:14:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from the Pro Bowl 2007.

We started off with the usual tail gate barbecue before the game and agian after the game. Didn't get a picture of Jacoby because he was sleeping in the car. He had duty all night.

Here is most of the group....John and Kristin. Lacey. Kenny cooking our food. Ha! Ha! Ha!

Garrett and Gary went with me to find some hats and shirts. Along the way we met this guy with a parrott and he let us take a picture with it.

Then of course a few pictures of the game! Can't wait for next year!

2007-02-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

No pictures to post yet. Soon I hope. We did a dive this weekend and had a few visitors. Some dolphins and about 4 humpback whales. It was so cool! They were all around us! The sound at 90 something feet of the whales was awesome! Made me a little nervous at first but they didn't bother us any. They seem pretty gentle.

Kenny had caught a huge taco (octopus) that I found. Some how between the time he hung his bag on the rope and the time we pulled it up to the boat the crazy thing had got out of the bag.

2007-01-29T00:14:00.000-08:00

This is so cool! Found it on yahoo pictures. It is a picture of a rare shark some where in China. To me it looks like a huge eel with enormous teeth. Don't think I want to run into one of these while diving.

2007-01-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

The other day we took a ride to North Shore to see the huge waves. The surf report said that there would be 10-20 foot waves. Ha! These waves were maybe 10 foot at the most. I wish we would have took our boogie boards because it looked like a lot of fun. Just goes to show ya can't believe everything ya hear. Did see some pretty waves but pictures don't show much.

The Palm tree is really cool! It grows out from the shore line at an angle and then straight up. All we need to do now is put a rope swing on it. It would be perfect.

After fighting traffic to and from North Shore....I was ready to be home. Guess everyone went to see the so called huge waves.

2006-12-27T21:13:00.000-08:00

Slacking on my blog here. Been so depressed lately haven't felt like writing anything. I truely hate this Holiday season....it's just too depressing. Being on this stupid island doesn't help matters any. I miss my family and friends so much. Sure, have friends here but nothing can lift you up more than when your around family.

Hope all had a Merry Christmas. Cherish the time with your family because that is what matters most.

Everyone have a safe and Happy New Year.

2006-12-17T01:42:00.000-08:00

Awesome concert!!! U2 with Pearl Jam opening for them and then for the 3rd on-core...Billy Joe from Green Day. Have Lots of pictures but couldn't put them all on here at one time. The picture of the 5 of us ....... Malloy...ME...Kenny...Lacey...Daniel. Of course the only one without a drink....ME. Some one had to stay sober to drive home and thats usually me. I thought this was a great concert. My favorite band U2. This was my 5th time seeing them and they always give a fantastic concert.

Bono playing the drums.....

The Edge....... Pearl Jam

2006-12-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

After spending a long year in Iraq....The 84th Engineers come home.
We all had a good laugh because of all songs to play while the troops marched in the building, the played the theme song from Rocky.

We had a lot of friends over there with this group. The picture of the couple hugging is Kristin and G. Kristin is one of Kenny's soldiers and our diving buddy.

The picture of the soldier looking up into the stands with a big grin on his face is our friend Tex. He was so funny. He gave me such a big hug that it hurt my ribs and then he felt bad.

We are all just happy that they all returned safely.

2006-12-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

We bought us a couple of 21 speed bikes in the hopes of getting some extra exercise. I wanted a bike because running is not easy any more. The pins in my foot just ache after just a couple of miles. Then since Kenny broke his leg and has all that metal in there, running is very difficult for him and painful.

Anyway, was good idea until after we got the bikes home and realized that in Hawaii.....they want you to register and license your pedal bikes!!!!! Ok, no problem. I went to take care of this and about had a fit when the lady told me it would be $30 to do this. Took my papers and what not.....my money....told her sorry for taking up her time and left.

No-Way am I going to license a stupid bike......
So, we just ride them on the military base. I really wanted to ride to North Shore on them. It's only about a 30 mile ride one way. Be great way to spend a day. Maybe I still might do it but I was just shocked that they wanted me to pay that.

What happens when a child gets a bike and the family has like 5-10 kids!!!!! UN-REAL!!!!!

2006-11-28T20:59:00.000-08:00

We went fishing off the pier on the Marine base. We were catching little hammerhead sharks like crazy! Never did catch what we were fishing for in the first place. We didn't stay long because it started raining and got really chilly. We were soaked before we left. These baby hammerhead sharks are suppose to be good to eat but we didn't keep any of them. Threw them back to grow up......duh!!! These are the sharks that make me very nervous when scuba diving.

2006-11-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

Yep Yep Yep!!! Lookie what I caught! You can kinda tell how big this lobster is by Kenny's foot. Kenny wears a size 11 shoe and the lobster is just a bit bigger than that. I was so excited about catching this lobster that I had to share it with all who read my blog. I was at about 96 feet when I saw this critter walking across a reef. Wasn't sure what he was at first but as soon as I knew it was a lobster.....he was done for. This is what they call a spiney lobster and they are sweeter than the lobster you get at a resturant. MMMMMM!!!!!!!

2006-11-05T09:40:00.000-08:00

Kenny......wrestling a taco. (octopus) A friend, Anna, took these pictures on one of our dives. We were all watching from above. This taco was maybe about 4-5 pounds. He put up a pretty god fight. It was funny. Hard to tell who's winning this battle.....but of course in the end the taco ended up in the bag. I like to play with the little ones but stay away from the big ones.

2006-11-01T21:39:00.000-08:00

Really lousy at keeping my blog up to date. Been so busy with work....driving....ug...
We did manage to go hiking one day. This is just a few of the pictures we took. This hike is called Maunawili Falls. It was about a mile and a half up the mountain. This is mainly a local area and not many people other than locals actually hike it.

It has all kinds of little ponds and waterfalls. Most of them have signs posted that tell you not to get in the water because of contamination. At the top you can get in and not worry about catching anything or having your skin ate off.
Ha! Ha!

Kenny and I and Kristin all did the jumping off the cliff thing. It was fun !!!!! The water was cold but felt good after the hike up. It rained on us on the way down so we stayed cool the whole hike. The rain made the trail very slippery. I never did fall but slid a few times. Thought I was going down a couple of times.

If my family happens to make it out here one of these days we plan on taking them on this hike because it is something you don't see every day out here.

2006-10-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

Oprah Winfrey recently had Tommy Hilfiger on one of her shows. The show started off with Oprah asking Tommy if the statements about race he was accused of saying were true. The statement went something like this:" if I'd known African-Americans, Hispanics, Jewish and Asians would buy my clothes, I WOULD NOT have made them so nice. I wish these people would NOT buy my clothes, as they (my clothes) are made for upper-class white people." Tommy Hilfiger's reply to this was YES! Immediately after this, Oprah asked him to leave her show. WAY TO GO OPRAH! Can't believe this guy said this on national tv.

My suggestion......don't buy anything from Tommy Hilfiger. That goes for perfume, cosmetics, hand bags and clothing. etc......

America practically smashed the Dixie Chicks for having freedom of speech. This guy needs to be smashed for being so ignorant.

I truely hate racist people.....

2006-10-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Woke up Sunday morning to a shaking bed. I thought Kenny was trying to wake me up or something. Around 7am we had an earthquake. What a way to wake up! They say it was a 6.7 quake. About 10 minutes after that we had another one. Things were shaking and making a lot of noise. They said we had over 20 aftershocks. Then around 10am we had another quake that they say was a 5. something. Don't remember. We had no power all day. It did finally come back on in time to go to bed for the night. The phone service was not working so it was not possible to call the few people back who did call me to see if we were all ok. They had issued a tsunami warning and then later said that there was no threat of a tsunami...just unusuall waves and surf. We made the best of things with having no power. We just fired up the barbecue. Made some steaks with the lobster we had caught and some baked potatoes. Ate with the light from a lantern. It was kinda cool. Now we just have more rain. My backyard is becoming a swamp. Hopefully it will quit raining soon. Love the rain but we have had enough for now.

2006-10-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

This really pisses me off. For 2 days it's all I heard on the radio while driving to and from work.

A city council man in South Carolina made a suggestion that parents who can't control their children should be sterilized to help reduce crime. He said: "we pick stray animals up off the streets and spay them, these mothers need to be spayed if they can't take care of their own."

This guy is un-real!! Since when is it the sole responsibility of the mother? Where are the fathers? Can't believe this guy!

To begin with, it's not always the parents fault when kids get into trouble. Look at our society today and our government. They have taken God out of everything. Even cartoons now a-days are violent and have crime in them. What about the video games out there? Majority of them deal with killing someone or have to do with stealing and robbing. Don't even get me started on todays TV or some of the music out there.

When the government takes away your right to disapline your own child.....maybe they have to take some of the blame also, not just the parents. That means a mother and a father! This guy in Carolina needs to be slapped.

I don't have the answer but I do know it is out of control and something needs to be done. Not sterilization! Maybe we should take Charlie Daniel's advice.
In his sonf titled Simple Man he says something like "take the drug dealers out and find a big tall tree and a short rope...tie them up and let them swing til the sun goes down. Take the killers....rapist....molesters....out to the swamp, tie them to a stump and let nature take its course. He says: "know whats wrong with the world today...people done gone and put their BIBLES away."

I agree to an extent..

2006-10-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

Ok.....have to write something about this because it is really bothering me. I love NFL Football. My favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys. This last Sunday the Cowboys played the Titans. (Tennesse) Cowboys won 45-14.

During this game, I was totally shocked as Haynesworth, a Titan player, stomped on the helmet of Gurode, a Cowboys player. He stomped so hard on Gurode's helmet that it came off. Then Haynesworth continued to stomp on his head cutting his face up with his cleats!

Gurode had to have something like 30 stitches in his face and probably will have to have plastic surgery all because Haynesworth has a temper problem.

The league suspended Haynesworth for 5 games. He also gets no pay while on suspension. They believe this is sufficient enough for his actions. I on the other hand believe that this guy...Haynesworth....should be kicked out of the league and sent to anger management. This is not the first time he has showed his anger is uncontrollable. He should be taken off the field permanately.

2006-09-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from one of our diving days. The first one is called 3 Tables. It's on the North Shore. This is an awesome shore dive because it's easy to get in and out. Also the rock formations are pretty.

Next picture are some Uhu (Parrot fish) that we got while doing a boat dive at what they call the Diner. This is a deep dive and we always see a ton of eels here. They should call it Eel City. Some of them are HUGE!

Last picture is looking down at what is called Sharks Cove. Another awesome shore dive on the North Shore. Because you are not able to fish here, there are a ton of different fish here and always turtles. Sometimes the turtles make me nervous because they come right up to you. Don't want to get bit by one but I do rub thier backs all the time. They are protected here in Hawaii and you can get a hefty fine for abusing them. Such as holding on to them or trying to ride them.

2006-09-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

More diving pictures. The first two are of an eel. He's not very big but he let me get pretty close to him before ducking back into his hole. The color of the coral and rocks show up really good in this picture also. Then of course....my favorite, another turtle. He swam around us forever. Think he thought we were going to feed us something. Makes me nervous when they bump ya because they do bite!

2006-09-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Every year Kenny's unit does a fund raiser called Pie In The Face. This is not any ordinary pie. This is a pie made up of gross stuff. Just a few of the ingridents...fish oil...which really stinks! Old cabbage they let sit out for weeks. Food that people had in thier fridge that they just wanted to get rid of. Then they top it off with some whip cream. The soldiers all get together and bid on the pie. After winning the bid, they get to pick who they want to recieve the pie in the face. Here are just a couple of pictures from the event. This is for raising money for company events. Helps the soldiers out that cannot afford to pay for certain functions.

2006-09-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday. Started out as a normal day. I went to work and come time to go home....OH! MY! GOSH! Traffic was absolutely horrible! A military truck carrying a crane on it had hit an overpass on H1. Now, this freeway usually has 6 lanes on a regular day packed with cars. To make matters worse they cut it down to 2 lanes and then to 1 lane. They were telling people to stay in town or go around the island. Too late...I was already in the middle of all the crap. Great. I called Kenny to see if he knew of any alternate routes I could take to get home. There really aren't any. After sitting in traffic for about 3 hours, the radio station said that it was grid-lock around the entire island. If you happened to be stuck in traffic...you were stuck. People were pulling off to the side and parking, trying to wait it out. I just wanted to get home. I was surprised that everyone stuck in this mess was actually being nice..no cutting people off, no road rage. I leave work at 5pm. I did not get home last night until after midnight! Thats over 7 hours!!!! on what is suppose to be a freeway! I could have drove around this island about 12 times and never take that long! Traffic permitting of course. First thing I did when I finally got home was run to the bathroom. I was so stressed, tired and hungry. Felt like I had just run a marathon. My whole body ached. Needless to say...I did not go to work today. When I called, I was told that no-one in the accounting department was going to be there today. Hawaii really needs to come up with a solution for the freeway problems. I really hate driving here.

2006-09-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

This is a sub coming into Hickam Airforce Base. It was awesome to watch this sub come in to port. We were at our dive club preparing for a boat dive and had to stop everything to watch this sub come in. Perfect day for diving. The water was as smooth as a lake. Everyone kept saying something was wrong....we had to go back in and wait for surg or wind to kick up. NO WAY!!! We went diving.
Lobster season opened up September 1st and we all wanted to go get some lobster. Needless to say we didn't find any on this day. We did see a couple of white tip sharks out swimming around. It was so cool because me and another diver, Jerry, got within a foot of these sharks. They are not an aggressive shark so I wasn't too worried. Was my first time seeing them outside a cave.

On our 2nd dive, no lobster, sucks. We did get one taco (octopus). It was a good size one. We are planning on smoking it. The locals say that is the best way to cook them up. They also make what they call taco poki with them. I don't really care for that but everyone else seems to love the stuff. Too fishy for me.

On our safety stop before ending our 2nd dive, I'm hanging around the rope with the fish and taco that have been caught, look down towards the bottom and see a hammerhead. These sharks make me very nervous. Wanted to get out right then but couldn't because I still had 2 minutes to go for deco. This hammerhead swam below me for some time. Only thing I could think of was..here I am hanging by a bunch of dead fish. I moved to the other side of the boat just in case. The hammerhead stayed below me the entire time. I ws ready to get out before he realized that our catch was just above him.

2006-08-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

Took these 2 pictures of the storm clouds out the window of the car while driving down the road. It was so cool. We had clouds on one side of us and the sun on the other. It doesn't really thunder here and really no lightning but we do occasionnally get some. Very rare.

We then went home and had a barbecue with some friends. Had a little bit of everything to cook but the best was the shark. The shark is the big slab of white meat. Cooked some pork, chicken and some Uhu that we got that morning while diving. It was great food!

2006-08-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

Yep, more diving pictures. I love taking pictures while diving and I'm actually getting better at it. Now if I can just afford a digital camera for underwater. They are so expensive so for now I'll just keep using my cheap camera. It takes good pictures though. This is a sea urchin. They are cool looking but you do not want to touch them. From what I am told, thier little spins dig under your skin and are very painful. Have a friend who touched one with her finger and she paid for doing that for almost a month. Had to dig the spine out and take medicine for the infection it caused. Don't think she'll be touching any more. This is a Parrotfish or as the locals say ... Uhu. They are soooo good but my favorite is the Popio. There are so many different Parrotfish but this is the only one I have tried. The guys on our dive speared these fish. We went to a place out of Hickam Air Base called the diner. Didn't seem fair to me because these fish were already in someone's trap and these guys were shooting them. After the dive I was told it was an illegal trap to begin with and that the guys who put it there only checked it once a week when it is suppose to be checked daily. Didn't feel so bad then. After cooking the fish and eating them.....I wanted to go back and get some more!
Then this of course is coral. Underwater this is just awesome. All the different fish that swim around in it and feed off of coral.
Tomorrow morning we are doing a boat dive so I'm sure I'll have more pictures soon to post on here. If you ever get the chance to go scuba diving...you must go. It is just awesome what you will see.

2006-08-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

Other day I took my camera to work and took a few pictures of the area. Thought it would be cool to use them on my blog.

This picture is looking out from the parking garage. We are on the 7th floor. This is just outside of Ala Moana Beach Park. More into the Sand Island dock area. Sometimes during our lunch break a group of us sit out here and watch the surfers. Seems to always be a group of them out there every day.

This picture is Nimitz highway and downtown Waikiki....Honolulu. The traffic that you can see is mild compared to what I have to deal with going to and from work. I call the H1 freeway....Stop and Go parking lot. Sometimes I can go 25mph but usually not. Really hate Hawaii trafffic. Vegas has nothing on Hawaii when it comes to traffic!

This picture has to be one of my favorites. Hawaiian rainbow. See a lot of rainbows here. What is really cool is when there is a double or triple rainbow. Don't have a picture of that yet but will get one. They are pretty and I never saw one before moving to Hawaii. The Hawaiians say that they are good luck.

2006-08-14T23:57:00.000-07:00

Thought I would post some pictures of my pets. Sluggs has been with me forever. She moved to Missouri with me and then to Hawaii. She is about 13 years old. Since having her fixed she has blown up like a balloon! She is a funny cat. Don't like a lot of people around her and takes awhile for her to get use to someone. She usually just lays around all day.Then theres Buster. We actually got him from someone here on the island that couldn't keep him and didn't want him to go to the pound. He is part Ridgeback and Dingo. He is so full of energy. When I take him for a walk...he usually ends up taking me for a run. When he gets excited he'll jump straight up in the air. He is so much fun and can usually cheer me up when feeling down.

2006-08-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

Spent the day at Waikiki. Did the tourist thing and went to the beach. The pictures of the fish were taken from an aquarium in a shopping mall ... of all places. The shark is a new addition because it wasn't there before. These are the type of sharks I see all the time while diving. It's a small black tip-reef shark. They are so cool! The Ray is awesome! I've only seen a couple of these while diving but they are so neat. He looks like he is smiling at us.Don't remember what they call this statue but it's one of my favorites in Waikiki. The other one is King Kamahama. Not sure it I spelled it right but pretty close.
This is a Banyan tree. Think this tree is so neat looking ... almost evil looking. The roots actually grow down from the limbs of the tree and then eventually into the ground. Some of them are huge but this is a small one. Sometimes you can walk between the roots, depending on how big the tree is.

2006-07-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well...my weekend went by entirely too fast. Back to the traffic I go...lol I really like my job but think they need to invest in a new system. The system they use is so old. There are 4 of us working in the accounting department. If you have to post something or work on something in the computer, no one else can be in the system. I don't know how they ever get anything done.

Last week we were told there was a Hurricane heading straight for us. Was a scarry few days. We put together our emergency kit....mostly water for drinking. Then they down-graded it to a tropical storm. That was a relief.

Just after that we had a small earthquake. Little shake is all. I thought I was imagining it until I heard other people talk about it and then they said something about it on the radio.

Hawaii does have some benefits on top of the traffic and the mother nature acts. There are 40 different types of sharks, 9 different rays and 100's of different types of fish found only in Hawaii. For someone that dives....thats paradise.

I do miss my family very much and can't wait to see them all again. My biggest fear is that the grandkids won't remember me or I won't recognize them when I do get to see them again. I'll have to start all over on my relationship with them. That hurts my heart.

2006-07-26T21:45:00.000-07:00

Man!! I figured it out! Everyone on this island has at least 2 vehicles and somehow...don't ask me how...they drive them both at the same time! Sitting in traffic as long as I have the last few days, I wish I was back in Missouri! I've also learned that if you use your signal to let them know your pulling over, THEY SPEED UP!!!!! No signal and your just fine. Amazing. Also, driving both directions, to work and home from work, I have the sun in my eyes. Doesn't matter where I put the visor.....it's not going to help. Guess to sum it all up.....I really really hate driving here!

2006-07-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

Well...I found myself a job. I don't know if I should feel happy or sad. It's not the fact that I have to go to work everyday....it's the fact I have to drive in Hawaii traffic. I HATE IT!!!!! Traffic here is just un-real. I leave for work at 6:40am and arrive at work around 8am. The drive home is even worse. I leave work at 5pm and I finally pull in the driveway around 6:30pm. H1...just 1 of Hawaii's interstates...which is really stupid because it doesn't connect with any state but Hawaii...has 6 lanes. If you happen to make it over 20 mph, your doing great! H2...you may get up to the speed limit...which is 55mph. Not to mention my job is down town Honolulu. Don't be surprised if you have to sit through a red light 3 to 4 times before moving through it. Oh Ya!!! don't forget the city buses! If they have a blinker on to move to your lane...they are coming regardless of the space.....they will run right over the top of you! I have a total of 28.9 miles to go to work. So, if ya want a 12 hour job and only get paid for 8 hours...just move to Hawaii. HA! HA! Now parking is another story. Everywhere charges for your parking and there isn't a lot of parking. Thank goodness this company has a garage but they still charge ya. Lets see, gas..to and from work...parking fees...hope I get a paycheck! ha! ha!

Anyway, I do like my job. I work in the accounting department. Right now I am doing accounts payable. Keeps me very busy! After I get the hang of that they are going to move me to recievables and eventually to the payroll. They like to have everyone in the accounting department know all 3 jobs because there are only 4 of us and if someone takes time off....someone has to cover the spot.

2006-07-17T00:04:00.000-07:00

This is Lacy and her boys Gage and Gary. Gage is behind and Gary is the one being goofy. They fell in love with Sarah and followed her every where. We had a great time camping and swimming. Spent the nights walking on the beach and during the day we went boogie boarding. Bellows has the best waves for boogie boards. It was a great weekend!

2006-07-16T23:31:00.000-07:00

We went camping at Bellows this weekend. Bellows is a military camping area on the other side of the island.....the windward side. It was great! We left Friday afternoon. Friday night we got rained on big time but Saturday morning was bright and sunny. Nothing like camping on the beach. It was so much fun!

Kenny was our designated chef. He was in charge of all the cooking on the grill. Was great because Lacy....my friend....and myself didn't have to do any cooking. Was good food too! No dishes to clean up!

This is Logan, Lacy's little sister. She is visiting from Wyoming. She will be in Hawaii for a month. We were all giving her a hard time because Jake, Kenny's boy, followed her every where. He has a crush on her. Jake is 13 and Logan is 15. Logan said it didn't really bother her any but she did get annoyed when he would follow her to the bathroom.

Sarah.....white as can be....don't think she'll ever get tanned. She gets mad at us because we are constantly telling her to put sunscreen on. She loves camping but hates having to sleep next to Jake...her brother.....oh well, we could have put her some where besides the tent but she choose to sleep in the tent.

2006-07-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, bear with me, have to brag about hubby again. He recieved another award the other day for something he did back in October of 2005. This is an Achievement Award for excellent service.

A group of them put in a sidewalk at the Wheeler Elementary School. It took them a little over 2 weeks to do this project because of the weather. Seemed to rain every day in October. It is just so cool that he got this Medal. Just took forever for them to give it to these guys.

2006-07-10T23:14:00.000-07:00

This is for my friend Tex. He is in Iraq on deployment for 1 year. He left behind a new wife of only a couple of months. I talk to him once in awhile on the computer when he gets the chance. He is homesick and in the hospital at the moment. I pray for him every day. Of all the things we can give a United States soldier, sailor, or airman....it is PRAYER. I think sometimes we take for granted the freedom we have today. The conveniences we have.

Lord hold our military in your hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they do for us. AMEN

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under GOD, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

The same government that sends men and women to war, also want to take God out of everything because some idiot said it offended them....maybe our government and the idiots should go fight this war and let our military run the United States.

Any way, back to Tex. I hope your feeling better and GOD bless you dude. Come home safe and soon. Take care.

2006-07-09T01:04:00.000-07:00

This is how a pack of cards can serve as a Bible, Almanac and Prayer Book.
"derived from a story and song by Tex Ritter and T. Texas Tyler"

A - ace Think of it as 1 God
2 - Bible has two parts...Old Testament and New Testament
3 - Father the Son and the Holy Ghost
4 - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
5 - wise virgins who trimmed their lamps. Was 10, 5 wise and were saved, 5 foolish and were shut out.
6 - God created Heaven and Earth
7 - God rested from his great work.
8 - Righteous persons God saved when he destroyed earth. Noah, his wife, their 3 sons and their wives.
9 - Lepers the Savior cleansed. 9 out of 10 didn't thank Him.
10-The Ten Commandments handed down to Moses.
K - Only 1 King.....God Almighty
Q - Blessed Virgin Mary...Queen of Heaven
J - the knave....the devil

Count the number of spots on a deck of cards...365, number of days in a year.
52 cards...number of weeks in a year. 4 suits in a deck...number of weeks in a month. 12 picture cards, number of months in a year. 13 tricks, number of weeks in a quarter.

Really makes you think.....

2006-07-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. We watched the fireworks from the pier on Hickam Air Force Base. It was awesome! Don't have any pictures because I didn't take the camera. duh me .. Before the fireworks we had a big barbecue with some friends.

The morning of the 4th ... we did a couple of dives with our dive club. We went to 105 feet on the 1st dive and the 2nd dive was 99 feet. I will NEVER do 2 deep dives the same day again! The time you have to spend at your safety stop is just too long. I was ready to get out of the water!

I enjoy diving...all the fish and other critters we see is just awesome. It is so peaceful....

Have been really home sick. I read my sister's and daughters blog every day and wish that I could be there. Reading the blogs keeps me posted on what is going on and kinda how every one is doing. My grand kids are growing like weeds and I miss them so badly.

2006-07-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of the USS Bowfin WWII submarine. It is 311 feet long....some inches I don't remember. It was put in the water December 7, 1942. Exactly 1 year after the Pearl Harbor attack. It was nick-named or dubbed The Pearl Harbor Avenger. It held a crew of 80.

This is one of the torpedo rooms. The gold look is just for show....they don't really shine like this.

This is the sleeping area for most of the crew members. They slept in shifts because there is not enough room for eveyone to sleep at the same time. Also had to keep the engines going....... They also ate in shifts because there are only 4 tables in the small dining area. For this reason the kitchen...which was extremly small...always had something cooking.

I found this a little funny. Now I know why these guys had to be physically fit and some what small....they had to be able to fit in the small little toilet that they have on submarines. The shower areas were even smaller. Because water was in short demand they only showered maybe once a week. Bet they smelled bad!

This is outside the museum. It is a Memorial for 52 American submarines and more than 3,599 crew members that lost their lives during WWII. It took us a little over an hour to read each and every one of these. We spent about another hour inside the museum and maybe another hour checking out the submarine. This is another one of those must see if you ever get the chance.

2006-07-03T01:11:00.000-07:00

National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific.....also know as the Punchbowl. It is 112.5 acres. It is full of History. On the Memorial walls are the names of Americans who gave their lives for their country and all of us today. The stone below says...In these gardens are recorded the names of Americans who gave their lives in the service of their country and whose earthly resting place is known only to God. If you are ever in Hawaii (Oahu) do not pass up the chance to go to the Punchbowl...you will not regret it.

2006-07-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

Any one who really knows me, knows that my idea of getting dressed up is...a nice pair of wranglers, a nice shirt and a pair of cowboy boots. Well...tonight they held the ..... ARMY ENGINEER REGIMENTAL BALL
This is a very formal event. Lot of uppity people if ya ask me. Patriotic though and I really enjoyed myself despite having to get all fancied up. The motto of this event...."Celebrating a Relevant, Ready, and Responsive Regiment"

This is the symbol of the company my hubby is in right now. SAPPER'S

This is us before leaving for the big event. Don't we look so enthused!! We were running late and the stupid camera wouldn't work ... needed new batteries.

The next picture is of an award given to SSG Kenneth Wirth...my hubby. It is called the ... de Fleury. It is given for professional excellence. It is the 3rd highest award an engineer in the Army can recieve.

This is taken after we got home. It is Kenny with his de Fleury Medal and his framed award. "The Army Goes Rolling Along"

First to fight for the right, and to build the Nation's might, and the Army goes rolling along. Proud of all we have done, fighting till the battle's won, and the Army goes rolling along. Then it's hi, hi, hey! The Army's on its way, count off the cadence loud and strong. For wher-e'er we go, you will always know that the Army goes rolling along.

God Bless America and all our Armed Forces.

2006-06-27T13:28:00.000-07:00

Monday hubby Ken had the day off so we made it a family day at the beach. We went to Sunset Beach on the north side of the island. This is the beach they hold surfing competitions at during the winter months.

A Hawaiian Cardinal....this bird was eating out of our hands. This is the closest I have been to one of these birds. They are so pretty.

Then Ken decided to do some spear fishing. He happened to get this fish and a few others. I only took pictures of this one because of its teeth. He looks mean!!! We cooked the fish up for dinner and everyone loved it. Can't wait until we get more.

Always on the go it seems....so much to do here. Our goal is to see the entire island before leaving. Hard because we have our favorite spots and always seem to go back to them.

Take care everyone and God Bless you all.

2006-06-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

Very busy weekend. Started off Friday night. One of my husbands soldiers was in an accident. He was riding a motorcycle and a lady hit him while he was stopped at a red light. We spent most of the night at the emergency room with him. He is in bad shape.

Saturday morning we headed to the beach around 9am. We wanted to get a dive in before the Platoon barbecue. It was an awesome dive at Sharks Cove on the North Shore. Then everyone showed up for the barbecue. We all played some beach volleyball...did a little snorkeling...ate a whole lot of food. It was great!

Saturday night we bowl in a league on Scholfield. So after the barbecue we headed to bowling. I was so tired from being in the sun and water all day, but I bowled great! Couldn't believe it. 192...190...187

Sunday morning my hubby and I headed to the dive shack for a club dive. We did 2 boat dives. First one was at a place called the Pennacles. It's a deep dive. The deepest I went was 100 feet. We saw a turtle the size of a Volkswagon bug. About a 8-9 foot Hammerhead. Awesome!
2nd dive was at Sharks Rock, just out of Hickam Harbour. Beautiful dive. About an 80-90 foot dive. Wanted to bring back some of the huge lobsters we saw but can't do that yet. Can only take lobster during the months with an R.

Our plan was to spend the evening at home Sunday after our boat dives. Didn't work. Another one of Ken's soldiers was involved in an accident. He reached down to get a pack of cigarettes and ended up rolling his truck. Thank God he was wearing a seatbelt! He is doing fine now but his pride is hurt. I told him..see
cigarettes are going to kill ya!

Hope all is good with everyone. God bless ya all. Take care.

2006-06-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hawaii.....they call it paradise. After living here for a year now, I call it the bug paradise. OH MY GOSH!!! I have never seen so many different types of bugs. I thought Missouri was bad because of the chiggers but here.....the bugs are everywhere!

Not to mention...I have lizards in the house. The Gecko's come and go as they please. Have no idea how they manage to get in the house. I just leave them because they eat bugs. My cat finds them and tortures them to death also. Then not to long ago I found a Hawaiian Chameleon and brought him into the house. He is so cool! He also eats the bugs. Don't think I'll keep him for long, he gets into too much stuff. Bad thing when you go to brush your teeth and he is in the bathroom sink. He is a cool little critter. Check him out.....

He was okay until he left my plants.

The other day we found a centipede in the bedroom. Scared me bad! I almost stepped on him and we never wear shoes in the house. That would have been bad. They are so hard to kill so we flush them down the toilet. Gets them out of the house...lol

2006-06-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me an e-mail about Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I had never heard of this type of breast cancer so I did some checking on the internet. This type of cancer grows rapidly. Because it does grow rapidly, by the time most people get medical attention, the cancer has already advanced. It is a very aggressive cancer and the most difficult to treat because it spreads quickly. It can begin as early as age 16. Some of the signs are:
*breast appear red, purple, pink or bruised
*breast are tender, can be firm and enlarged
*a warm feeling
*itching
*pain
*dimpled skin - like an orange rind
*areas of the breast skin thickened
*flatten or retracted nipple
*nipple swollen or crusted
*change in color of the skin
This is a killer disease...Inflammatory Breast Cancer. It can hit you at any age. Here is a toll free number for questions/answers : 1-866-447-3467
Check yourself regularly.......God Bless

2006-06-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

Grandchild....they are so special in their own way. I have 4 grandchildren that I love dearly and miss so much.

This is Emily. She is so sweet and growing like a weed. She just turned 6 on the 17th. I cried almost all day because I wanted so badly to be there for her birthday. I hate being so far away.

This is Logan. He is so full of energy. He loves Power Rangers. The chocolate on his face is from a cupcake he ate at Emily's birthday party.

This is Brett. My smiling patriotic boy. He is growing so fast! Wish they could stay this innocent forever.....

This is Kyle. I have only seen Kyle 3 times. When he was 2 weeks old, again at about 6 months and then the last time right before he turned 1 year old. I took this picture the last time I saw him.I miss them all dearly and can't wait for the next time I get to see them. It is hard because we all live in a different state. Being in Hawaii is difficult because it is so hard to get back to the main land to see them all. Thank God for the knowledge of computers. I can stay in touch so easily and get pictures every day. I love my grandchildren dearly.

2006-06-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

This is my group. From left to right....Kristie Sue, Me, Kyle, Melanie and JR.
This picture was taken at Kyle's wedding in St.George, Utah. I believe this is the only picture I have with all my kids and myself. I am so proud of my children. Kristie is my only daughter and I cherish her thoughts and inputs. She is my strength. JR is the one I worry about constantly. He is the oldest of my children and the least grown up. He is working on it and I am very proud of the changes he has made in his life. Kyle, my baby, and his wife Melanie, have a lot on their plate...so to speak...They have a 1 year old son. Kyle goes to college and holds down a full time job also. So much stress in their lives but they are happy. I love my children dearly and thank God for them daily.

2006-06-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

Wanted to add some pictures to this thing but haven't figured out how to do that yet. We are suppose to go to the beach today. Looks like a nice day. Oh ya!! Happy Fathers to all those fathers out there. Enjoy the day!

2006-06-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

Just thought this would be cool. Everyone keeps telling me to do it....so...here it is.