Hawaii Hiatus....

I haven't forgotten my blog, but rather, just taking a 25th anniversary Hawaii hiatus! We are having an incredible time here. Didn't bring my laptop, and blogger won't allow me to post photos from an apple handheld device, so for now you will just have to take my word that the views from air, sea and land are amazing. Check back in a few days for a recap. Mahalo!

The Love Shack...

Remember the 80's song by the B-52's? Well we have passed the Shrimp Shack for 20 years now, but never stopped until this Father's Day. So now we can say we Love the Shrimp Shack! It was a beautiful day and the food was fresh and delicious.

In fact on our way back to the car, the owner was boiling shrimp, then putting them on ice. He let the girls each hold one, which was pretty funny. Check out the expressions on each of their faces...

This was taken seconds before Kaia dropped hers on the ground!

Not so sure about this...

Before we headed off island, the kids gave Mike some hand made cards and gifts. Plenty of silliness took place too. That's one of the reasons why they all love their dad so much.

Mike has been wearing this cervical collar to relieve his back pain, but it looks cuter on Jaelyn! The glasses do accentuate his beautiful blue eyes though.

Pucker up son!

We topped the day off with Cold Stone Creamery and a trip to Costco. What says "We love you Dad" better than free samples?  Just spending time together is always a great time.

Crescendo...

Crescendo; the climatic point or moment in such an increase.  That's a perfect definition for this past weekend. So bear with me and stay for the crescendo at the end of this long post.

Flashback to last Friday, where Josh received some high honors at the senior awards assembly. First was the Cliff Gillies Award, given to a high school student from each of the District 1 schools in the state of Washington who exemplifies scholarship, citizenship and participation in school activities. Next he received Male Athlete of the Year honors, along with his dad, who got coach of the year award.

At the Senior Scholarship night that evening, Josh received two local scholarship awards, along with his WSU honor.  He received one a scholarship from the Oak Harbor Education Association, as well as one from the Oak Harbor Sports Report.

Josh's girlfriend is the color guard captain and performed at both the awards night and graduation.

After Jaelyn's final soccer game of the season on Saturday, Josh was honored by many friends and family for his graduation open house.

Sunday was baccalaureate at our church.  It was a great service, ran by the students. We were once again proud of Joshua as he gave the closing prayer. We had a bit more time to snap photos that evening than we knew we would after graduation, so we took advantage of the moment, since they were already in their cap and gowns.

Josh walked with his friend Kenneth in both the baccalaureate and at graduation

Monday turned out to be a gorgeous evening for graduation. The sky was blue, but note the scarves and gloves some are wearing! In typical Whidbey Island fashion, the wind whipped through the stands.  The procession was lead by the teachers, followed by the 344 graduates.  Rebecca led the color guard in.

Here's the last shot I got before my camera died! Scholarship award winners were asked to stand. And no, that's not Lord Voldemort, that's Mike sitting in the black robe, front row!

So while Kellen videoed Josh actually getting his diploma, I missed the moment while wrestling with my camera. Fortunately some friends of ours just happened to be sitting on the 50 yard line in the stands, and they emailed me these photos they snapped of Josh as he walked down the ramp after getting his diploma. 

Don't recognize their move? Don't worry, neither did I. Evidently it is called the Fusion Dance, from one of their childhood shows "Dragon Ball Z."

Here's the video Kellen shot. Dad's advantage of working at the school gained him the privilege of being the first to congratulate Josh...

And the first to get a selfie photo with him, while the graduation was still going on...

These photos were all captured post graduation on my ipad...

These four all went through eighth grade together in Coupeville, so was fun to have them all together at graduation.

I told you that this post would be long, but the finale was worth it! Now to finish out school for the rest of us, then on to our fun-filled summer!