Moving Around

The day before moving day, Chloe and Claire came home with Papa and Grandma to spend the night. Both girls were feverish and coughing and the moving chaos was just adding to their misery. Some toys were moved already and the house was just not as comfortable as they were accustomed to. We loved having them, and here is Claire playing with a babyish toy that Grandma still has hanging around. Chloe is enjoying the puzzles and talking on the phone below that. I'm not sure what that conversation was about, but it looks important.

Below you see the girls taking a much needed nap. The coughing had kept them up part of the night before, so the extra rest came in very handy. The fun part was taking them to their new house late in the afternoon. They were so excited and bounced and ran all over the house. When it came near bedtime, however, both girls wanted to go "home". We are told that it was a pretty hard night. They have settled in very nicely now, and when we talked to them on the phone today there as happy as clams.
Speaking of clams and moving around, Papa and I are in Maui. This is our first time to Maui, although we have made numerous trips to Hawaii's other islands. We are enjoying seafood and beauty on a large scale. Below Norm is walking on the beach in front of our condo. It has been many years since he has been able to do that, but the sand is very firm and it made it easier for him to balance. We have found an even better place for him to walk, about a mile from our condo, and we drive there and use the paved path that runs along the shore. It is a wonderful place to get some exercise.
Below is our condo, and following that is the view from our lanai. The condo is simple, nothing fancy, but very adequate for us. We don't spend a lot of time here, we love to spend the days exploring the island. Yesterday we drove the road to Hana, beautiful beyond description, and then got really brave and drove back on the forbidden road (so all the books say) coming up the other side of the island. It was rough, and one lane much of the way, but we saw incredible sights.


Today we visited a lavender farm, a goat dairy farm, and a botanical garden. I enjoyed the lavender and garden, but I could have easily skipped the goat farm. We did get some tasty goat cheese there and will try and get in home in good condition.

The highlight of the day was lunch at Mama's Fish House. It was gourmet food with an incredible view. We watched wind surfers as we ate, and enjoyed our surroundings completely. Below is a view from our table.

We are having a wonderful time but both of us miss our children and grandchildren. We will be home soon and will settle into a routine again, hopefully, before we travel again towards the end of September. We have to "move around" when the opportunities come up! :):)

End of Summer and Changes

When you are not in the room for a moment, and all is quiet, here are the scenarios that you occasionally will encounter when you come back in.....Chloe, busy at something......and...Claire reading a book.....Below the girls were posing with Grandma and we were all saying the same word...can't remember if it was "cheese" or "pickles". Incidently, Chloe now refers to Claire as her "little sister" on a regular basis. Truth be told, Claire is just a tiny bit bigger than Chloe, but in Chloe's eyes, Claire is the little one. So precious.

Papa still has the magic touch. Claire loves to sit with Papa just before nap time.

This video was taken without Claire knowing...she was laying on the floor just singing away...

Chloe, not to be outdone, decided to do the shorter version of "Rock - A -Bye Baby".

This week will bring a long awaited treat to Chloe, Claire, Paula and Mike. They will be making the move to their "beeeeuuutifulll" new house as Claire tells it. This is the lovely front door.

This is a look up the driveway from the front door.
As I drove the girls up the hill to their new town on Saturday where Mommy and Daddy and others were getting some important things done, they chatted on and on. As we rounded a curve and were looking off into a canyon, Claire began telling me about the canyon and the possible fires that could start there, and the "predators" that live down there, and how she needs to protect her blanket from those things. She also informed me about the volcano in the distance that once had "hot lava" flowing from it. Her imagination never stops. Chloe asked me over and over if I "saw that wild animal" we passed. Unfortunately, I missed them all, having to keep my eyes on the road. Claire and Chloe have so much to look forward to in the over 1/2 acre of yard with a tiny year round stream going through it. They will see deer and other wild creatures at times, and will have a wonderful large area to play in. They showed me their new room and told me about their new big girl beds, (which are now put together and in place waiting for them to arrive). Hopefully next week at this time they will be somewhat settled in their new home, and Papa and Grandma will be off exploring Maui.

Aloha!

Best Friends

The best laid plans....the week didn't quite go as we thought it would, but time with the girls was very special. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures at all except for this one little video of them singing a song that I have sung to them since they were born. They both know it very well but were a bit timid this time.

We were entertained by the girls doing their "pretending" on our day with them this week. They were Mommy and baby for a while, switching roles every few minutes. It is hilarious to hear the conversations between them. One of the last role playing moments was when Claire was the Mommy and she decided that baby Chloe needed to go to the doctor. Chloe didn't want to go to the doctor, and so eventually came running to Papa telling him she was not going to the doctor. That ended the game for that day.

We also got some more "stories" from Claire. She told us that she and Chloe were riding on the back of an alligator and that we (Papa & I) couldn't see them "at all". Her imagination is huge and her descriptions so vivid.

The video uploaded on the third attempt but when I try to preview it, I get an error message. So much for that...if it doesn't work, that is the reason.

Have a good week!

Storytelling and Singing

The week started out with Claire being a bit under the weather. Below you see Claire and Chloe just kicked back with their juice watching something on the tube. We attempted to keep the day somewhat quiet and relaxed. She recovered quickly, I am happy to report, and the rest of the week was better. Sweet little Claire.....

Chloe doing some important reading and other business.

Claire had an interesting story to tell this week. Nobody knows exactly where it came from, but her Daddy thinks she has combined things they have read or heard, and put them into one story. I was quite surprised when she told me this tale, and so this is about the 3rd or 4th time I had asked her to repeat it and she is talking quite fast.

In case you didn't get it all, here is what she said:

"God took all the dinosaurs to heaven and a big rock from outer space came down to the ground and it made a lot of smoke and dust and after that there were no more dinosaurs."

Chloe's question to her Daddy after she heard Claire tell this story was, "Daddy, what is dust?"

So can anyone tell me, is that what happened to the dinosaurs?? :):)

Not to be outdone, Chloe then volunteered to sing for the camera. My apologies if you have heard this song before, but she must have equal time. :)

I believe there is an exciting week ahead, we will see, and of course I'll report on it next week.

Summer Marches On

Just have some random pictures this week without too much story behind them. We did take a drive to Paradise one day followed by an early dinner at LaComida, one of our favorite fast food places. Here you see the girls in a pretty neat swing just enjoying the afternoon shade in Paradise. Claire decided to try out a riding lawnmower. It was quite warm that day and her curls were certainly curling up tight.

Chloe was very busy at this moment making apple soup.

Claire and Chloe decided to take their "truck" to Nonie's house and bring her some apple soup. Here they are waving goodbye to Grandma.

A little sisterly love.
Swimming at Grandma and Papa's house was the activity for today after church. They sure enjoyed the pool. Here is Chloe in her sun hat.

Chloe kicking her way to reach Daddy.




Claire is taking a moment to chat it up with Papa.

Chloe contemplating a jump from the diving board. Should I or shouldn't I? She didn't!

Chloe hanging on to the diving board.

Claire ended up the afternoon by playing a tune on the piano. She had given several mini-concerts earlier, playing and singing. We hope that soon that piano will belong to Claire and Chloe.

The summer has certainly flown by. August 1st is here already and it just doesn't seem possible.

Happy August everyone!