Hula Halau December Performances

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Most of our December time was spent with my Hula Halau (group). We had three performances culminating our lessons from June to December. Since I was gone most of that time I had a lot to catching up to do and spent most of my numbers just following the others. My Halau is very unique in that most of us are over 50 and we partner with a group of Special Olympic young men. We had a great time. Mele Kalikimaka to all of you.

Lura Lee and her friends at Halloween

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Lura Lee, our daughter in law, is a librarian at an elementary school in Harrah, Oklahoma. Here are pictures of some of the faculty and one of her students who dressed up for Halloween.

Balloon Fiesta - Albuquerque - Oct. 2008

Our pictures do not do the Balloon Fiesta and Roadtrek Rally justice.

Click on the Title - it is a link that will take you directly to the Fiesta site for detailed information.

It is next to impossible to share the experience of over 600 balloons launching, landing and glowing unless you were there. We share these pictures to help jar our memories in the future and to give you a small sample of how incredible it was.

We had a great time meeting friends from previous rallies and making new friends at this one. The Rally masters, Jim and Sharen Koch, Walt and Jo Dene Ratcliff and Wendell Nunes, did an outstanding job coordinating, making all feel welcome and sharing their knowledge and experience. Much aloha for all your time and effort.

We, along with half a dozen others, were fortunate to be able to stay for the rest of the week after the rally. The weather gods were with us for all of the week except Saturday and Sunday. What a thrill we had to wake up and either see the balloons landing or launching, depending on the winds. right out side of our RT. Talk about making memories - we will be talking about this Rally and experience for a long time to come.

Arnold's Dinner 9-13-08 Rapid City, SD

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This place was so cute we just had to try it. It was okay but nothing to write home about.

Happy 65th Birthday

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We celebrated Carl's birthday at Olive Garden in Rapid City, South Dakota the day before we were going to the Roadtrek Rally. We had wonderful memories of Olive Garden and often wished we had one in Hawaii.

Colorado Sleep Overs - July 08

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These are the places we spent the night during the month of July.

Estes Park RV Park & Rocky Moutain-7-8/08

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We stayed at the Manor RV Park for a week. We picked it because it was only a mile out of town and they had a special price for Motor Homes that were smaller than 26ft. The setting was beautiful, the wild life surprised and entertained us almost daily and the people there were so friendly.

The town of Estes Park has shuttles to take you to various parts around town and one that will take you to Rocky Mountain State Park. We decided to visit the park this way rather than driving. We were not going to camp at the Park since it did not have electricity but we did want to see it close up. It was great not to worry about traffic and the hassle of driving the narrow mountain roads. This was a great idea. We had a wonderful day trip.

Sights and Tastes of Estes Park, CO 8/08

Lona, Carl, Ann and Duane left Estes Park on Sunday morning Aug. 3rd to fly back to California after the reunion. We decided to stay for a few more days because there was still much to see and experience. Our RV park was right our side of town, the scenery was spectacular (complete with deer meandering) and the people were great. If you stay more than a few days you become life long friends. Estes Park is really a very touristy place but a very touristy friendly place. There are free parking lots all over the place, beautiful flowers and landscaping that adorn the streets, adequate signage and public restroom every few blocks. They have free trolley service that takes you from one end of town to the other or others that take you to the various recreation areas including Rocky Mountain State Park.

Estes Park , 2008 - CO - Moeller Reunion

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Carl and Lona Warner are our dear friends from Kona, HI. Every three years Carl's family has a reunion. Since we were going to be on the road in our Roadtrek they invited us to join them at Estes Park, Colorado while they were there for the reunion. We did and the pictures tell it all. We had a great time and loved meeting many of their family members and being included.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook The first night was pizza night. The second day was picnic and picture taking. The third day was breakfast on the terrace and the fourth day was dinner on the terrace. There was plenty of free time to explore. Great reunion and great place to have a reunion.

San Luis, CO 7/08

Make a Smilebox slideshow The oldest town in Colorado, San Luis is also likely the most spiritual. Populated by the primarily Hispanic families who settled there in 1851, the town remains small and, in some ways, unique. Situated in south central Colorado, not far from the New Mexico border, San Luis boasts the oldest church in Colorado and La Vega, a rare public commons - a place where communal grazing of livestock is allowed. The town is most famous, however, for its Stations of the Cross, a string of bronze statues climbing the mesa adjacent to town. Each station represents a moment during the crucifixion of Christ, and the locale is a Mecca for Christians each Easter. Art aficionados might like to visit the sculptor's studio, located in town at the bottom of the hill. San Luis also celebrates an annual posada, a Christmas-time procession representing the journey of Mary and Joseph from house to house, seeking shelter for the birth of their child. A local museum showcases not only the area's history, but also the wares of local artists and crafters. If you spend the night, check in to El Convento, a bed-and-breakfast housed in a former convent. Your alarm clock will be church bells. Community Resources: San Luis Visitors Center 408 .5 Main Street San Luis, CO 81152 719-672-3002

Visiting Friends in Nederland, Colorado 7/08

Make a Smilebox photobook Charlene Morrison and I taught together when I lived in Oklahoma. Jaydene, who is Charlene's cousin in law, and I worked together after I moved back to Hawaii. They both had summer cabins in Nederland. Five years ago Jaydene sold her cabin next to Charlene and built this gorgeous house next to the creek. She and Russ now live half the year in Panama and half the year in Nederland. Gay and Charlene summer in Nederland and live the rest of the year in Midwest City, OK. It was great seeing them and catching up on old times. Charlene's oldest daughter was there with her husband and children. Can't believe I didn't get a picture. Charlene had all of us over for dinner and after dinner took us on a tour of some of the local sights. Jaydene and Russ let us plug in and camp out for longer than we intended. I had computer problems and we had to stay until all was well. They took us to town for a fund raiser pancake breakfast. The food was delicious and we had fun checking out the town. We spent many hours swapping stories and getting caught up with the years and stories since we were last together. It was great seeing them and enjoying their beautiful house and surroundings.

My Cousins' Place - Alamosa, CO - July 2008

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We visited my cousin Gilbert in Alamosa, Colorado. We, all seven of the cousins, grew up in Hilo, Hawaii. His dad was my mother's brother. He moved to Colorado over 24 years ago. It just happened that one of his daughters, Raylia, and her family were visiting also. It was a special treat for us since we had never met.

Royal Gorge - CO - July, 2008

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The slide captions pretty much sums up our Royal Gorge adventure. There were tons of people there who seemed to know what they were getting into. There were bus loads of people paying the $25 entry fee. They charge you to walk, drive or fly across the bridge. Oh well, the drive to and from The Royal Gorge was pretty.

Friends - CO July, 2008

We were stationed with Phil and Mary Stamper and their sons in Sembach, Germany in the early 70s. We had kept in touch-usually at Christmas-over the years, until about eight years ago when we started our business and did not have time for Christmas cards or much else. We were driving through Colorado Springs and out of the blue Carl remembered the name of the street that they lived on. We checked it out with a local phone book and low and behold they were still living there. We were able to get in touch with them and had a very nice visit. It was so good to see them again and share stories of what we all have been up to since the 70s.

Garden of Gods - Colorado Springs - July 2008

Make a Smilebox slideshow On our way to the AF Academy we drove through the Garden of Gods State Park. I have pictures of me at this park when I was 16 and represented Hawaii at the Girl Scout Round Up in 1959. The day was beautiful and the summer crowds were out in force. It's a neat park as you can drive through it and get an overview and or get out of the car and explore the various trails.. The Visitor Center presented a nice history of the area.

July 20, 2008 - Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs

Make a Smilebox slideshow We spent the day at the Air Force Academy. Carl was in the Air Force during the late 60s and early 70s so the Air Force is dear to our hearts. The Academy was a "must see" for us. The captions of the slide show will give you a play by play of our visit.

I'll Show You Mine If You Show Me Yours

June 22, 2008 - Bass Pro Parking lot - OKC, OK

Here we are with our friends and neighbors from Kona, Tony and Linda Keeling. They had picked up their Pleasure Way, Motor Home in Arkansas a few days prior. They were passing through Oklahoma City when Carl had to be admitted to the hospital. We were on our way to the hospital in OKC after we left Ardmore when we met up with them to show each other our rigs. Tony has had a by pass heart surgery over nine years ago so he was very reassuring to us that all will be well. We are hoping when we get on our way again we will be able to meet up again.

All Wired

June 20 -22 - Mercy Hospital, Ardmore, OK

Here's Carl after the first hospital stay, all wired for sound. We were on our way to the Gulf Coast off of Texas when he started experiencing chest pains. He as admitted to a small hospital where they determine he might have problems with his heart. After three day we left this hospital in Ardmore, OK and came back to Oklahoma City which has a special Heart hospital. After many tests, it was determined that he indeed did have 4 arteries that were blocked. The doctors inserted a catheter through a vein in his groin and narrowed the blockages with balloons. Next they implanted metal stints to keep the arteries open. He was able to leave the hospital after only an over night stay. He is doing great. He needs to take it easy for a few days and then we can get back on the road. Boy are we glad we were close to a big city that had the expertise needed.

Cousin Comes to Town

My cousin Gilbert was in town for a couple of weeks to visit his daughters and grandchildren. He caught a nasty cold so he didn't get in touch with us until the last week of his vacation. His daughter Christine lives on the Kohala mountain and works in the little town of Hawi which is about an hours drive from Kailua. We drove out there on Saturday and picked him up. He spend the night with us. We shared stories of our last 40 or so years until the wee hours over bowling ally saimin. Sunday we went to chuch in the outdoor tent since our church was badly damage in the earthquake over a year ago and is still being repaired. We went to the Royal Kona Resort for lunch then drove back to Hawi to take him back to Christines. There were two horses waiting for him when we got to the drive way of her place. Really enjoyed our visit. Had hoped to see Gordon also but he was on Maui for the weekend with his dance gang.

Life Is Good

We were invited to dinner at the Yatch Club with our neighbors Tony and Linda. On Tuesdays they have "horse races" and then dinner after the sunset. The pictures are the little harbor off the club. The kids on the right were fishing using an eel for bait. They caught a pretty good size tako (octopus). Shucks, didn't get a picture of it. I was to excited and forgot. The one on the left is the Sunset Cruise on the Fair Wind docking. The center picture speaks for itself. Another beautiful Sunset in Kona. Another beautiful day in Paradise.
To see more picture click on the link to Snapfish:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=213081200/a=100373942_100373942/t_=100373942

Christmas Eve - 12-24-07

We drove to Pepeekeo to spend Christmas Eve with Carl's Aunty Gerry and his Uncle Clement and his cousin Fayette and her children who were visiting from Washington. It poured the whole way there and all night. Fayette and her children had been visiting for two weeks. Poor things, it rained everyday except one. She cooked a wonderful dinner with all of the trimmings which we all enjoyed. Uncle Clement is recovering from hip surgery but he and Margy came by for dinner. We spent the night but left early because we were hosting Christmas dinner in Kona that evening. Twenty minutes out of Pepeekeo the weather cleared and we had wonderful views of Mauna Kea covered with 6 inches of new snow that had fallen the night before.

To see more pictures click on Snapfish link:

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=213064435/a=100373942_100373942/t_=100373942

Snow - Sun - Surf

I did these some time ago and forgot to post them. Chuck and Lura Lee always have a neat Christmas picture card ever year. I made this for them as a possible suggestion for this years card but I forgot to send it to them. Oh well, there is always next year.

The picture on the right shows the chandelier that Chuck made for their dining room out of a surf board that he bought on ebay. Pretty talented, huh? But this was another page that I scrapped and didn't share with them or anybody else. Here it is - better late than never.