I heard some news today and it's a little hard to process. A former teammate ended her life on Thursday.

It's such a senseless act and so hard to understand.

Good news

Remember the changes that I was talking about at my place of work?

Well, heard the news today...

I have been promoted to Assistant Manager.

My manager told me the news and then immediately said- that's about all I can tell you because we still don't know any of the details.

So, I'll find out shortly everything that goes along with the new position.

But it's a good move for me!

I Get to See Michelle!!!!

Yep, that's right, I'm so excited because I get to see Michelle soon!

And the rest of my family.

Annette and I went to Kelli's this weekend. We left Friday night after work and came back this afternoon. Drew has gotten so much bigger since the last time I was out there. He's also a lot more active and awake.

We get to see them next weekend too. So I'm looking forward to that. We had a relaxing few days out there. And Kelli made an awesome dinner today. Prime rib, potatoes, stuffing and asperagus. It was really good!

I figured Annette and I had better enjoy the time we spent holding Drew since next weekend we are going to have to share with a lot more people.

I really am looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Easter, work, and other thoughts

*Happy Good Friday! And happy Easter to everyone!

*Unfortunately, I work at a company which is still open today. So I'm heading into work in a little while. There are some changes coming up with work and positions so we have been short-staffed lately. We've been working long, crazy hours but that will be over soon! I can't wait to get back on a normal schedule.

*I ordered my pictures online again. They were waiting for me at the post office yesterday and I was so impressed with the quality. I ordered through adorama.com and will definitely be going through them again. Seriously, impressed.

*Do you ever use a word and then wonder if you've made it up? This happened to me the other day. I was describing someone and called said person "smarmy". The girls I was talking to me looked at me like I was crazy- they had never heard of it and asked me to explain. In a moment of self-doubt I googled the word. Smarmy: buttery, unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech.
I bet we all know someone for whom the word fits perfectly.

*I get to see my nephew soon!

29 years

Happy Anniversary to these two wonderful people!

Caution

I stole this picture from Kelli. That's my adorable nephew. Isn't he just precious?

Last Day

Oh, did you think I was done? LOL

I tried all week to get a good night shot. Didn't manage. All of my pictures are straight out of camera. I'm learning a few things, I know I have a lot of work left to do. Mistakes and all, I do like something about this shot:

And every night Kara and I wondered about these:

Are they lit by just a switch? Or does someone walk around lighting each one? We wondered and wondered. On Monday we noticed a sign in our hotel elevator that said there was a lighting ceremony every night at the beach. So we waited at the beach. And waited, and waited. And finally gave up and walked back to the hotel. Riding up the elevator we realized that the sign said everyday- except Mondays....

But we were still determined to find out the answer to this pressing question. So Tuesday evening found us waiting on the beach again. We took in a hula show. And waited again. And waited. And finally gave up. So we will never know how the above sight becomes this:

Such are the problems on vacation.

Evening Shots

After the morning with the sharks, we spent the afternoon on the beach. In fact, we stayed long enough to catch the sunset... Along with many other people:



As the sun fell lower in the sky, more and more people had the same idea as we did...

So I tried to take a picture over their heads:
And when that didn't really work, we found a spot closer to the water to take photographs.
And then later, after the sun had set, I played around with my camera some more.

Day 4

We did something a little different today. We booked a trip to go swimming with sharks.

It wasn't as scary as you may think. We were in a cage and the sharks were just swimming around. I found it quite fascinating to watch them. Our captain was telling us that until recently, no one has ever studied sharks and their habits. I would definitely recommend going if you ever get the chance.

When fish was thrown in, the sharks swarmed for it.
This was the top of the cage as we were inside. We had on snorkels and masks to help us watch the sharks.
While we were out on the water, we saw a humpback whale breech about 6-7 times. Very cool.
This boat had character, so I had to get a picture!

Day 3

On Sunday Kara and I went to the Arizona Memorial- which most people call Pearl Harbor. I have been there once before but it was just as emotional this time as the last.

At the memorial you are given a ticket and a group number. Depending on what time you arrive, you may have quite a bit of time to pass before actually going out to the memorial. We woke up early to go, so we only had an hour to wait before the tour.

Once our turn came we filed into the autotourium with 100+ others. The guide who spoke to us had been raised in Hawaii. He was living in the area at the time of the attacks and spoke to us about how it was a sight that stays with you forever.

In the interest of history and being informative, there is a short video that you watch before going out on the boat. It made me cry. There is a large difference between learning about the attack on Pearl Harbor in school and being at the site that is the grave for so many men.

After the video you are taken out on the boat to the memorial and given time to spend out there.

The memorial has a very interesting shape.

The names on the wall are of all the men who went down with the ship.
It's very powerful knowing that you are on the gravesite of these men who gave their lives so we could be free.
These are the names of survivors of the Arizona who asked that after their deaths, they be buried with their shipmates. And so they rest here also.
The ship in the background is the USS Missouri, the place where the peace treaty of WWII was signed. In the water you see parts of the Arizona, where WWII started for the U.S.A.
Another part of the Arizona.

This is oil on the water. Known as the "tears of the Arizona" everyday drops of oil still rise to the surface from the ship.
Another part of the Arizona.
A memorial plaque.

Day 2

We spent the morning at the beach again. In the afternoon we went on a dinner cruise where everyone was called "cousin". It was a fun cruise. I was impressed with myself because I tried "mahi-mahi". I am not a fish person... Not at all.

But it wasn't bad. I ate a few bites anyway.

We were hoping to see whales but all we saw was this:

And this:

Home sweet Home

We made it back. And I took a lot of pictures- so many that my camera battery died in the middle of adding them to my computer. So here are a couple as a teaser. More when my battery is fully charged!

Day 1:
We just went to the beach today. It was 80 + and sunny all week. We really enjoyed being able to relax and do nothing.

A view of the inside of the island. Kinda- rather a view from the beach.