~Lala Salama~

I got these pictures somehow by tweaking my camera lens that is broken... I broke it in Hawaii. I can't believe that I wasn't careful enough to get it there and back without an "incident". I got to babysit Rozzy the night we got home for an hour or so and of coarse, I had to get some pictures!

Hopefully, my camera will be a quick fix. I can't imagine being without it for very long. The little girls changed in just the week I was gone!

"Good night Rozzy or Lala Salama"...Learned that in Africa, it means: sleep in peace til morning comes :)

~KAILUA, KONA~

There is nothing better than getting out of the cold for a couple of weeks and enjoying the tropical temperatures of the islands. One of my favorite spots in the whole world is Kona Hawaii. It's a crazy little place with an eclectic crowd that could care less where you are from or what you do. They just give you the thumb and little finger wave, a big smile and let you know that you are welcome in their part of paradise.

Mike, Ann, Steve and I have spent many vacations in this part of the world...Hopefully, many more to come. We have all of our favorite places to go but, seem to find a new place every trip to add to the list. Soon we are going to have to spend a month just doing all the things we love to do. Darn it!!!

As you can see by a couple of the pictures there was a day that was rather "gray". I loved it for pictures but, it was rather disappointing for the beach bums in our group! I just kept thinking that even the rain was warm!


We spent many afternoons in the sun and surf enjoying every moment of it. Steve and Ann are not REAL beach bums...Ann is a red head and after about 5 minutes in the sun she is burned but, she finds a tree with shade and has a good book, slathers on #50 sun screen and is happy as a clam! Steve is just a good sport, he will try anything...Once!
















It was "HIGH TIDE" and the waves were really only for the natives to be surfing on but, we tried, failed and tried again. I couldn't even stand up to get out to the big ones, the LITTLE ones were knocking me over. Kona beaches are not known for their sand, they are very rocky so, if you find one you can actually boogie board on it's heavenly!


The water is unbelievably blue and as you watch the waves come in you can see the whales just beyond them as they blow. There are Spinner Dolphins and all kinds of fish that jump clear out of the water (scary) not to mention the Sea Turtles. Such a magical place.



We went whale watching but I promise we were not fishing for whales...It sort of looks like we were in these pictures! We were fishing for a 5-600lb. Marlin. No, we didn't catch one but we had a lot of fun trying!

It is always hard to believe how fast our time goes by while we are there. Before we realize it we are packing our bags and heading for the airport thinking to ourselves...Where did the time go. I suppose that if you lived there it wouldn't be all that, but, I sure would like to visit every month or so during the coldest part of our winter each year wouldn't you!


My favorite part?

EVERYTHING!!!

~NO PAIN, NO GAIN (A LITTLE INSANE)~

I still bounce!

Things started off as usual on Thursday. The 40 minute ride to the top of Sundance deep in conversation with some of my best friends never seems as long or as cold with ultra stimulating topics to discuss. After deciding to take a "warm up" run down a "groomer" we took off for the sunny side of the hill to get our legs working. 40 minutes up and 5 minutes down unless...You guessed it, I caught an edge. This is why I often do NOT ski the groomed runs, I like to go too fast for my own good! My brain remains at the top looking down while my skies have taken my body downward so fast that it never has a chance to catch up until the body stops in a controlled manner or quite suddenly in a rather painful manner. After my brain re-engages I find myself thinking that I am a middle aged moron and I hope I haven't broken my hip! In the meantime SKI PATROL is on the way...I had fallen right underneath the lift and left a trail of equipment as I tumbled...commonly referred to as a "garage sale". Nothing inconspicuous about ME!

After shaking off my embarrassment and picking up my pride, I convinced the Men in Red that I really was okay (the problem is...They have seen me do this before... It's getting harder to convince them). Perhaps I should pause for a few minutes at the top and make sure that my middle aged brain is along for the ride before heading down from now on.

I'd be skiing by myself :)

~THURSDAYTHURSDAYTHURSDAYTHURSDAY~

~ALMOST TIME FOR MORE, FOR 2 TO BECOME 4~

The little girls are getting bigger, just in time for a new set of little girls...Move over RaRa and ChaCha for you are about to be up-rooted as the little girls. Your reign did not last very long as the newest little members of our family but boy, ( I really should say; "but girl,") won't they be fun cousins the FOUR of them!!!

~CHRISTMAS 2010~

Christmas 2010...

I need a bigger house! With everyone here we were comfortably crowded! Seems no one minded too awfully much as they waded through the piles of paper and triped over hidden boxes and an occasional toy that has been lost in the mayhem.


We opened presents in waves as each family made their appearance. It was so adorable to watch the faces of the little ones as they ripped open, tore through or daintily un-wrapped each gift. Even the babies were thrilled with the papers, the boxes, not to mention the ribbons! It was fun to have Nina and little Ruby with us this year. Just an added bonus for us. One which I can only hope they make a tradition!!! (Ruby's daddy...that would also be Nina's cute hubby, is a policeman and was on duty all Christmas :( We missed him).

As you can tell, Christmas around the Caldwell home is very much a "kid" thing. What fun we had with Santa, and getting presents for each one of the grand children this year. I think everyone was happy and well fed at the end of a very busy day. Little ones were ready for bed and the bigger ones were ready for another game on the Wii. All this
technological stuff baffles me. I am still learning how to use a computer! I think my little ones know more about computers and computer games, gigs & mega bites than I could ever learn in what time I have left here upon this earth! I hope that this New Year find us all Healthier, Wealthier and Wiser for the things that we have learned from this past year. I know that we have certainly been blessed in MANY ways but, on the very top of my list of blessing for last year, this year and the years to come are the faces you see in this post. I am thinking that 2011 will be most wonderful because we will be adding two more little girls to Clan Caldwell. I hope that they are as excited to come as we are to have them here!!! I am sure that Mom, Aunt Choral, Bruce, Julie and many, many others in both families have prepared them well for what they are in for...? I hope most of their conversations have been positive :)



I think they will be very happy don't you?