Baby's First Photos

OK. I admit these pictures aren't really that cute or even good. I am 16.75 weeks pregnant and my doctor decided he wanted to play around with the new ultrasound machine. In real life, on the screen the baby was so cute! It was moving around a ton, stretching out long skinny (super cute) legs and doing all sorts of acrobatics. You'll just have to believe me it was really cute. I think ultrasonography is really cool. My doctor thought he could tell the baby's gender but wouldn't tell me. So if there are any guesses based on these Rorschach images or other sorts of intuition please put in your vote. We should find out next month if we will have a junior or a june-iah.

Best Purchases/Investments of the Year!

Best Deal-I bought a brand new Kenmore dryer for $99! I even got the vent and plug for half price. In total I paid $170 for the dryer, parts, delivery and setup. I am still waiting for some kind of certificate or award for this great purchase.

Favorite- I love these non-woven polypropylene reusable shopping bags! At first I was a little embarrassed to take my own bags to the store. I wasn't trying to make an environmental statement but I was sick of all the plastic (The worldwide consumption of plastic bags is over 1 million per minute!!!) and my store likes to double-bag and doesn't recycle them. But these bags are great! They are way stronger, they hold tons of groceries so they are easy to carry, and they eliminate the age old question of "paper or plastic?". I highly recommend investing in reusable bags.

So, What were your best purchases this year???

Our fate is.....

Envelope please.....

Maryland! Luke has been accepted to the Preventive Medicine residency program at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He has also been accepted to the Master's of Public Health program at Johns Hopkins University which he will start next July as part of his residency. We will move at the end of June.

Hike Hawaii

Three fun hikes we've done so far....

Haiku Stairs- aka Stairway to Heaven



In the 1940's U. S. Navy built the Haiku Radio Station, a top secret facility that was to be used to transmit radio signals to the Navy ships that were then operating throughout the Pacific, and a wooden ladder that was used to access the Radio station. This ladder was replaced by wooden stairs. Today galvanized-steel ship ladders are fused one on top of another to the top of the climb. There are approximately 3,922 steps to top.

Partially from http://www.friendsofhaikustairs.org/



Crouching Lion or Kauhi'imakaokalani
This hike is pretty much behind our house. According to The Hikers guide to Oahu, This "hike loops around the steep, knife-edge ridges...[the] dangerous route demands sure feet, agile hands, and a cool head." Its pretty much class 4 climbing sans protection. But, I guess in such a climate could you trust anything fixed anyway? There are plenty of thorny plants to cut one to pieces on the top and backside of the ridge as well. "No, you don't need long pants" was the biggest lie from Luke. It was actually a cool hike despite the foreboding description!




Kalaupapa-Moloka'i
Kalaupapa is located on a beautiful peninsula on the island of Molokai. This isolated peninsula is surrounded by the ocean on three sides and the world's highest sea cliffs on the fourth side. This remoteness is the reason it was chosen to serve as a leprosy colony for more than a century. It is still home to patients with Hansen's disease (leprosy) and has become a National Historical park. An excellent film entitled Molokai tells the story of Father Damien who came to Kalaupapa in 1873 and served the patients until he too died of the disease in 1889. Kalaupapa can be reached by boat (summer only), by small plane, or by a trail leading down the sea cliffs (either on foot or by mule). We of course went by foot. It was amazing.