Pal and Hatty in Paradise

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Birthdays, A Baptism & A Baby Blessing!

These past few weeks have been filled with busy days!  We have celebrated family birthdays, Sareya's baptism and Evelyn's blessing.  Here are a few photo highlights.  
 Our birthday girl - Lillian!
She turned 9 on October 14, 2012.
She is such a sweetheart-
every year she has her hair cut and donates it to
Locks for Love which is a charity for
children with cancer. 
I love her hair long or short!
She and Ella are enjoying birthday cupcakes and homemade raspberry ice cream.
 
Lillian and cousin Kyra comparing height

     Treygan, Alex and Sareya are also enjoying the treats.

 Sweet baby Evelyn and Grandma
 Hal  - the birthday boy! 

Celebrating with pecan pie - his favorite!

Reading a story with Grandpa
I do love this picture!

Grandpa, Evan & Kelly and some of the cousins.
Violet & Tricia
 Preston and friend - Lilyana (she IS just a friend!) 
           

Preston took Hal and I out to celebrate our birthdays.
He does this every year.  We went to the
Red Lobster with Preston and Lilyana -
his friend visiting from Columbia.
 
Sareya on baptism day - November 3, 2012 -
She looks like an angel in her pretty white dress!

Dad, Mom and Sareya on her special day!

The group of family and friends that gathered for Sareya's baptism!

November 4, 2012 - Evelyn's blessing day -
 The Woidka Family!!
We miss having Jessica, Adam, Gigi and Hailey and Conrad at
all of these family events. 
 I guess we will just have to wait to see them until the holiday season!!
Congratulations to Adam and Jessica on their new addition -
he will arrive next April!!

 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Baby Evelyn is here!

Evelyn Marie Woidka was born Thursday, September 27, 2012.  Mother and baby are both doing fine.  She is a beautiful baby with lots of dark hair and reminds me of Allison as a baby.  We are so happy to welcome Evelyn to our family.  We now have 10 granddaughters and 4 grandsons and of course we love them all!
 
Grandma & Evelyn

Grandpa & Evelyn

Ella holds her new baby sister

Alex holding Evelyn who slept through her welcome home event!
    

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Beautiful Autumn!

We love living here in Elk Ridge so near to the mountains.  Every season is beautiful to see but I have decided that Autumn is my favorite - I love the vivid colors and the touch of coolness in the air.  I try to go on a walk each day and take that walk on nearby roads and trails that take me into the mountain scenery.  Here are some pictures I took this week while on my walk.
I love the sunflowers and brightly colored trees contrasting with the green trees and shrubs.

The road less traveled

Beautiful hillside and mountains

Pretty pathway

Look closely for the deer - I see them on almost every walk.

On my way back, I ran into Kelly who was out on a jog with Shadow (who happens to be standing in a shadow).
 

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Trip to Kauai

We recently spent 10 days on the beautiful island of Kauai.  Evan, Kelly and family and Tricia and James and family also went.  With 8 children, the trip was always exciting - not a lot of time for just relaxing!  We enjoyed being together, seeing beautiful scenery and eating delicious island food.  Here are some of the highlights of our trip.
We spent the first three days on the south end of the island at Poipu.
This picture shows Violet and Aleeya enjoying the pool at the Sheraton.  The beach was nearby as you can see and we loved the view and the proximity to the ocean.
Hal and I enjoyed one of many delicious fresh fish dinners at the "Gaylord's Plantation Restaurant".
 

We visited the Spouting Horn - a lava tube on the Poipu coast.

Evan and Kelly and Family at the Spouting Horn

James, Tricia and Family at the Spouting Horn with Treygan in the background! 

We also visited the beautiful "grand canyon" of Kauai - Waimea Canyon.  The view was gorgeous!

The Mickelsen Family

The Thomas Family

Kauai has chickens and roosters everywhere on the island!  There are many differing accounts of why there are so many - one account says that they broke free of their chicken coops during the 1992 hurricane and now have free run of the island. We were never sure why there were so many chickens but we certainly saw them everywhere we went!  

This photo shows Violet feeding a rooster at a scenic outlook.  The native Hawaiian that "owned" the rooster was selling jewelry and hoping for a donation.  He asked for  a volunteer to feed his rooster and Violet stepped forward.  She later asked the man why he was naked and he answered that he was "dressed" like that because it was hot!  The innocence and candidness of a child is amazing!

We stopped at a beautiful overlook of the coast.
We then traveled to Princeville (the north end of the island) and spent the next week at condos there.  We were blessed with great weather and we loved the beautiful surroundings and views of the "Garden Island".

We celebrated Tricia's birthday on September 1st.  We enjoyed a lovely fish dinner that evening.
 
Our birthday girl!
 

 
 
 
 
Sunday we attended church at the Hanalei Branch.  These pictures show the girls dressed up and all ready for church.
 
 
 
 
 
 We enjoyed a delicious brunch at the St. Regis Hotel in Princeville with a gorgeous view of Hanalei Bay.  The setting couldn't have been more beautiful.
 
Treygan certainly got his money's worth at the brunch enjoying multiple plates of crab, beef, bacon, chicken, fresh fruit, pancakes, crepes, eggs Benedict, lemon tarts, chocolate cake ................................


We loved the food and the view.  The fresh Hawaiian juices were so delicious!

 

Preston enjoying the food!

At 2 months, Ruby is smiling and responding to the people around her.
 
We went to a Luau and enjoyed the food and the entertainment - this photo shows the kalua pig ceremony before the feast.
 
Kyra and Treygan waiting for our turn to head to the buffet tables.
 


Dorothy and Sareya
 
After dinner, the music performers called for those who wanted to learn the hula to come up on stage.  Our girls joined with others for the hula lesson.
Photos taken after the dinner before the luau entertainment.
 
Treygan and Hawaiian conch shell blower
 
 
 
We took a hike down a steep trail to see the "Queen's Bath"
 
Patty and Hal at the "Queen's Bath"
The Thomas Family at the "Queen's Bath"
 
It was a great trip with lots of activities and time to be together as a family.