Christmas week and more...

Cherie and John (Chris' mom and brother) joined us for the holiday this year and we all had a great visit. We only had a few days but of course we made it to the beach and John loved playing with Jake.

Jake was a bit hesitant with the rough waves until Uncle John made running into and out of the shore break a fun game. Jake giggled his bum off! Here are a few pics from our day at the beach..





Cherie loves to sail and she was able to charter a boat for us during her visit. It was such a treat and believe me we took advantage of the beauty and captured some nice shots.

Jake did great and got his sea legs right away. He was quite the curious passenger and was up running out to the bow in no time.

Cherie and Jake at the helm. Jake is finally big enough to graduate to a bigger life vest and the freedom and mobility it offered made the voyage much more enjoyable for everyone.

Our lil explorer.





For Christmas, Chris bought me a photo editor called Aperture. We had some fun with this picture of John and I had to put it in. I love the software, but it is waaay more time consuming than the few adjustments iphoto offers. It is great for sailing photos like this and definitely for any future photo shoots I do, but for the day to day capture shots, iphoto is my works great.

Good lookin!

Heading towards turtle canyon...

We let down the anchor and were greeted by 3 turtles! Jakes' favorite word is turtle and he was on turtle watch the rest of the day. :) "Turtle..turtle? Where it go? Bye bye turtle!" Soo cute. Yes we got it on film, but no there is no audio:( The underwater camera turns off audio when it's in underwater mode...Grrr.

Everyone was able to enjoy the water, the abundance of fish and many turtle sightings.



He loved being in the water and was kicking and and spotting out turtles the whole time.



We really had a great day on the boat and the rest of the days leading up to Xmas were filled with shopping and quality time together.

Chris insisted on me going to bed a bit early on Xmas eve and the following morning Santa had left a HUGE surprise.....

There was an ocean Kayak in under our tree! Tee Hee, I love surprises!


Jake dug right in to his tee ball set and thanks to all the lessons from his older friend Vinny, he knew exactly how to play.

Jake pretended he also had a new DSI from santa (which was actually an old remote control) and loved to sit and play with his Uncle.

We got Chris' favorite picture professionally matted and framed and it turned out beautiful.



I put together an annual picture book of our family and all our adventures throughout the year for all the grandparents at Christmas. This year we had a lot more photos and it was double the size of last year. I worked on it everyday for more than a month, but it was well worth it and I was so glad to hear that everyone appreciated it. My editor (Chris) was busy at work and on business trips so I do have to apologize for a few misspellings-it all looked the same after a month of looking at it:)
I hope that I can continue the tradition as they will create a great time capsule for all our precious moments and memories over the years.

After all the presents were opened our friends the Nelsons came over for a late lunch. I must be really lucky to have such a great group of friends around because every time I call and invite people to come for a meal, they end up bringing the main course. Ohhh, maybe that means they don't like my cooking...never thought of that. Either way, it is a blessing to have such great food and friends around us to enjoy the holidays.

Mele Kailikimaka everyone!

The other day we decided to take the Kayak out on it's first test run. After a few spaz out moments from yours truly we finally made it out into open water and enjoyed being paddled around by Dad.



Jake was a champ and really enjoyed laying back on me as he chowed down on some snacks and occasionally looked for turtles. We were able to jump in the water a few times and swim around but my anxiousness and the small surf prevented any snorkeling that day.

My good friend from Jr. High, Kalena, came out to Hawaii for the New Years and we were able to play at the beach and enjoy great food and company last night at the Kona Brewing Co.

Anniversary Adventure

This last Tuesday was our 8 year anniversary. We celebrated at a great hotel downtown and tried a new activity on the water. Our friends watched Jake overnight and we really enjoyed the getaway.

Stand up paddle boarding has really become popular out here in Hawaii and we have always wanted to try it out. It was soooo much fun! The hardest part about it was carrying the heavy battleships to the water, but other than that it was relatively easy and surprisingly relaxing. Balance was key and we fell a lot, but that was just part of the fun.

I think that my favorite aspect of this newly discovered water sport was that when we were tired, we just laid out on the board in the middle of the ocean and relaxed......

Ahhhhh, it was such a great day.

Chris' battle wound...ouch.

After some Christmas shopping we had a delicious dinner at Benihanas.

I can hardly believe that 8 years has flown by. We have enjoyed so many great experiences together as well as enduring heart breaking loss, but we did it all together and I am so lucky to have my best friend by my side for it all.

Here is some video of me trying to get a feel for the board.....not so great on the maneuverability.

Once in a lifetime surf

Winter storms have been surging for the past week bringing heavy rains, strong winds, and epic swells. Rumors started early last week about 4 swells headed toward the islands each getting progressively bigger....perhaps big enough for the "Eddie".



"The Eddie" is a unique big wave surf competition that is held in honor of Eddie Aikau. He was a legendary waterman that revolutionized surfing with his fearless charges on big waves and embodied the respectful spirit of Hawaiian culture. Ultimately, he lost his life in efforts to save others in the waters off Oahu.

Thus, "The Eddie" is held in honor of the Hawaiian legend and in it's 25 years conditions have only been good enough 7 times to hold the event. Conditions include high surf and nearly perfect weather conditions. Yesterday was 25 years to the day from the first event and monstrous 50 foot surf bombarded Waimea Bay for the best conditions every seen. Check out this link for a sneak peak at what the electricity is all about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3MTPkeU2fg&feature=player_embedded


Jake and I headed out to the North shore early yesterday morning in hopes to beat traffic, find a parking spot, and witness a historical event. Our early morning plan and secret parking spot location worked out perfect as people were parking 5-6miles away and walking in by 6am. We snagged a front row seat on the sand and the 50,000 spectators poured in and in and in and in leaving no speck of sand, grass, mountain top, or gravel unattended. The energy, the respect, the hype, the performance of both mother nature and man, the spirit of this event was felt by all and is so hard to explain in mere words. Enjoy the photos.

The Bay was quiet and mild predawn and I was wondering if the hype scared away the surf. At 8am the call came in: "THE EDDIE IS A GO!!!" With that the Bay awakened and consistent 40 footers rolled in.

The pictures don't show the energy or near truth to the actual size of the wave as I was shooting from the sand. If you look you can tell that you can't see the pit (bottom) of the wave as it was usually blocked by the others that had just rolled in.





These pics were taken pre comp as the crowded amateurs fought over waves as you can see.



In this shot the spectators braved the river mouth, which every 15-20min would be bombarded by a 50ft set. I didn't have the patience to wait for the flurry of running people as the walls of energy approached, but you can just imagine.

Wipeout

Jaime and Al played hooky for a few hours and it was nice to let the kids play and be a part of our great morning. After tons of snacks, sand castles, and playing referee between boys & toys, the caution tape was too enticing for the kids and we had to pack up for the day.



Face plant!

Chicken skin! The water patrol had many skis on demand and they were just as exciting as the surf. The surfers did something different this year and it all started with an amazing wave ridden by defending Eddie winner Kelly Slater. He paddled, dropped, surfed, nearly got swallowed by the avalanche of white water, and then...he keep riding the wave! Surfers usually do not ride all the way in to the shore break because 1) it is a waste of your heat time 2) a hell of a lot of work and 3) the most dangerous place in the bay. His score of 98 out of 100, yells, shouts, and screams from the crowds provoked a new trend that all competitors followed.










I have hundred more photos, but for some awesome video of wipeouts and winning waves check out this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtzjexcxAJI&feature=player_embedded