The grandkids have arrived...let the smiles commence!

Today was a great day. No doubt tiring for Jeff and his family. Jeff arrived today from Indonesia with his family. He has a large family and he traveled from the furthest away. But you wouldn't have guessed it based on the spirits they showed up with. But before all the arrivals Scott, Greg, and I (Dan) decided to hike koko head crater. We had heard from credible sources that the hike was not too bad. So we set out early. Here is where the trail head starts. It shouldn't be called koko head...it should be called kuku head because it's crazy.

View from the top to prove that we all made it.

On our way down we saw a guy carrying a 5 gallon water jug up the hill. When asked why he was doing it he said it was for exercise!

Almost immediately Pete's kids and Jeff's kids reunited and started playing with their cousin counterparts. It was great to see how quickly and easily relationships were kindled. Koi were fed, crabs were caught, and pools were swam in. Everyone had fun, especially Mom. Anyone who knows Mom knows that she has a special spot in her heart for children and having all these kids around seemed to give her a shot of sunshine in her day.

Also, around the same time that Jeff arrived two beautiful edible arrangments were delived to our door. Brett's good friends from Arizona heard the news about Mom and got together and sent her some wonderful gifts. I don't know your names but thank you for think of us, they were really really good.

After pleasentries were over and the chocolate covered fruit was eaten we packed up and headed to Kailua beach. It was Mom's idea to take us all there and it was a fantastic idea. It had blue waters, long breaking waves, soft sand, and a nice breeze to keep us cool. We all had a blast. Maddy came home with the title of catching the best wave on a boogie board. She was out there almost the entire time and got really good at it and ended up catching a wave that was so big that Greg and Pete both let it pass by...but not Maddy.

To finish the day off we went to Mom's visiting teachers house, Nancy, to celebrate Dad's and Jessie's birthday. They have a gorgeous view of the beach and we were very appreciative of their hospitality.

We decided to take some pictures of the view. It started out civil with Mom and Dad showing us how proper people should do it. But then Pete got involved. It took a few minutes and some stern advice from Mom and our spouses...but we finally got a good picture of all us boys too.

Today was a great day, we all have some fun memories and stories to tell. Mom looked happy with her toes in the sand and a hat on her head. No kids got lost at the beach and her friend Nancy seemed to still like her by the time we all cleared off of her property. I would say that is a great day. Thank you everyone for making it happen, for all the traveling, preparing, expenses, and Mom and Dad for hosting us during this special time for us to grow closer together as a family.