Saturday, March 31, 2012

Mickey and Boba Fett's Hawaiian Adventures, Chapter Three: USS Arizona Memorial

The humans had many amazing things on the schedule today: visiting the USS Arizona memorial, playing a concert on the pier of the Mighty Mo, and then enjoying a sunset dinner cruise around Diamond Head.  This post is just about the Arizona, though, because MK is too tired to go through photos of the other fun things until later.

Mickey was unable to attend this morning's outing because the humans were not allowed to take any bags with them (due to security reasons) and I was the only one of the toys who would fit nicely into MK's pocket.  So, Mickey stayed behind and enjoyed some R & R at the hotel for this part of the day.

The morning was particularly special and moving because, on top of the tears that came from visiting the amazing Arizona memorial and honoring the sacrifices of those 1,177 men, Jon's father's ashes had been spread in Pearl Harbor, very near the Arizona, in 2004.  It was a very emotional day.

As we approached, these sailors were saluting the Arizona as they passed by. 

Jon is admiring the massive USS Missouri (the Mighty Mo) from the Arizona memorial.

Here I am with a pensive Jon.

Some students dropped flowers over the center of the ship.


On the trip back to the visitor's center, Jon, MK and I were seated in the front of the boat.  We were splashed upon, just once, which is rare for such a slow-moving vessel.  It made sense, though; we decided it was Jon's dad saying hello.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Mickey and Boba Fett's Hawaiian Adventures, Chapter Two

Hello again from Mickey and Boba.  We are having a great time!

Yesterday, we stopped at Hanauma Bay.

Then, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center.  These guys from Samoa were climbing trees!
In the Aotearoa village, Jon tried spinning Poi balls.
Then the humans got into a stick passing game.  Drop your stick, and you're out.

Jon and MK dominated! 
We watched the canoes in a watery parade, representing each of the Polynesian regions.
Jon was called on stage in Tonga to play drums! 
Little did the host know, he had called up a ringer.
The crowd really did go wild.  It was a lot of fun for the humans AND toys.


In the photo above, the female humans paddled an outrigger.  The men aren't pictured doing that.  BUT, they are here below, dressed in their finest hula attire.  This was really funny to the women and also the students who were passing by.

Our day ended with a show.  Above, Jon and MK stand with a tiki statue.  Then, they thought it would be funny to put us in its mouth for a photo, as pictured below.  Although we did not share their amusement in this photo staging, we still had a great day and are really looking forward to the next day: Pearl Harbor!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Mickey and Boba Fett's Hawaiian Adventures, Chapter One

Good morning. Mickey and Boba Fett, guest bloggers, here.

Since we are among Andrew and Ethan's favorite toys at the moment, Jon and MK wanted to bring us to Oahu with them so we could see the sights and report back to the boys whenever possible.

It's after 3:00 am here in the islands, and we toys can't sleep because someone back on the mainland's east coast, where it is a reasonable time, called MK's phone just now.  THAT'LL teach her to silence it tomorrow night.  Anyway, it gives us a chance to post some photos taken yesterday by the humans.

We're standing with Jon and the band students, ready to board the first flight from Charlotte to Newark
Mickey seems right at home atop the percussion equipment
Boba gazes out the window in Charlotte before takeoff
Almost to Newark, and then an 11-hour flight on to Honolulu
Aloha!  Here we wait for the bus to the hotel
We're watching the Waikiki surfers and boaters from our room's lanai.
Beautiful Hawaiian sunset.  Time for sleep, after 24+ hours of awake time. See you tomorrow, island fun and sun!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Get to the Green! 5K Number 6.

Jon, Ethan and I ran Columbia's Saint Patty's Day 5K today.  Since September, I have done 6 races, Ethan has ridden along in 5 of those, and Jon has done 3 (he rocks every one, and would race more if it weren't for marching band season).  Today was awesome: my best time yet! Jon was 5 minutes ahead of me AND HE PUSHED ETHAN.  Go, Jon!  The next two months are insanely busy so there are no races scheduled for us, but we still plan to keep on moving.  I love racing!  What a positive, fun environment.
15 minutes pre-race

checking out the leprechaun at the fountain


dyed green!


fun was had by all

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

March 14: Treasure

Put sunscreen on the small boy this afternoon for the first time this year. Playing in the water was really fun. Welcome, spring/summer!



Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Call Us CRAZY

Jon and I registered for the Disney World "Wine and Dine" Half Marathon today. It takes place Saturday night, November 10, strategically aligning with my 40th birthday week.  Yeah.  We're going big.  We are really excited about it!!!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Carolina Children's Garden

Spent a beautiful Saturday afternoon here with Mom and the boys last week. It's 5 minutes from our house and we need to visit more often.