Lagoon

Lagoon...yep all day long.  We had a great time.  Almost everyone in our little group is tall enough to go on all the rides so we stuck together the entire day.  We laughed, screamed and in general had a great time.  Dad's favorite ride was, wait for it, the chair lift that crosses the park.  It's nice and slow and your body stays in the upright position that it was meant to stay in.  Mom just loves rides, period.  I think she did the Rocket 4 times.  When she was riding one roller coaster she was screaming one minute and then the next saying, "let's do it again!"  Troy and I and a few others called it quits around 5:00 and went home while the others stayed until 8:00.  Then the best thing of the entire day happened.  Mom sat down and was talking about this one ride that she didn't go on.  Out loud she wondered if she would regret not going, Chad pointed out that she still had her hand stamped and she could get back in if she wanted.  So five of us jumped in the car and ran back so she could ride two more rides.  It was spontaneous and an awful lot of fun, definitely a memory that is on my favorite list.  The kids had a ton of fun, I'm sure we will be talking about it for quite some time.

Great Grandma

We spent a little time with Great Grandma Petterborg while we were in Utah.  We love her so much.  There was a fairly large group of us so we stayed on the patio in front of where she lives.  We all got to visit with her and of course take a couple of snapshots.

 

The kids spent a lot of time playing, "down by the banks".  I don't really know what the name is but they had a blast.

I think Grandma liked watching.  At one point a sweet lady that is also a resident there was helped to her window so she could watch the kids play.

The game got even better when this guy joined in.

Even though this picture is a little blurry I love their expressions, these girls make me smile.

I couldn't resist this picture, (thanks Cindy for sharing).  SOO much personality, I love it.

Grandpa's stories

When Grandpa is around before bed these cute kids get to hear stories.  They love it and I have to say there are a few stories that I request.  He tells stories about when he was growing up and the kids are mesmerized.  They know things about their grandpa that increase how much they love him.  He grew up on a farm in a family of boys.  His grandpa was his hero.   When he talks about him I feel like I know this man that used phrases like "I dasn't", for I dare not, or referring to grandma as Ma, or saying "oh dry up Abby" when he wanted to to be quiet.  He has blessed us by sharing his stories.  I hope my kids know how lucky they are to call this man grandpa, I have a sneaking suspicion they do.  They love him.

We are all together

Thurgood Family 2013

I love that we were able to be together for a wonderful time and great memories before Mom and Dad head off on their grand adventure.  It made it a thousand times better that we were there all together, even if it was just enough time to snap a picture.  

Last day (even better than the first)

So on the last day of school the kids are almost as easy to wake up as the first.  The pants are shorter, the shoes are dirty, the hair...well there is not much to say about that.  The kids leave home and pretty much turn around as soon as they get there, school is only two hours on the last day.   They were so excited and happy. 

So this guy (one of our favorite guys, by the way) stayed with us for about two weeks while he was finishing up school.  Grandma and Grandpa sold their house and Grandma headed down to Utah.  My kids got to enjoy stories and one on one time with him.  It was a great time.

"Someone" brought this baby home on the last day.  

On the last day we always head off for lunch, we talk and plan and this year we realized that our summer is quite full.  We don't even have any reunions but there are a lot of camps and trips to Utah.  It should be good.

I love these guys!!  Happy Summer, wish me luck!

Relaxed

R-E-L-A-X-I-N-G

We spent so much time on the beach or at the pool and I loved it.  We read books, we talked, we slept a little and over all just let the attitude of the island overwhelm us.

We went to Waimaea Falls and walked the gardens.

I know it doesn't look like it but it was sunset at sunset beach.  Awwww, how romantic.

On our way back from the beach we stopped at a little place called the grass skirt grill, yummy.  Ahi tuna and coconut shrimp.

This was our view from our room, not bad huh?

This is our last look out to the ocean as we were driving to the airport.  Maybe we will be lucky enough to go again.  But if not I have fabulous memories with my favorite person.

Diamond Head

The Saturday that we were in Hawaii we decided to hike Diamond head, unfortunately so did half of Tokyo.  I think there were 6 tour buses in the parking lot when we got there.   But we didn't let that stop us.  We headed up in the begining we were behind a younger couple that  had some great passing skills, so I stayed close and followed them.  Eventually we started to visit with them a little,  they were on their honeymoon.  They were from Ohio, and they made the hike a lot more fun.  We kept a decent pace until we got to the stairs and then it was like being in church between meetings....slow and crowded.  The view from the top was beautiful, I wish it had been a little more clear but even a cloudy day in Hawaii is a great day.