First Day of School

 First day of school, already!  And we started two weeks late, since we got here nearly the same time it began.  My huge kid wears a uniform this year, and shoes that are the same size as mine.

 Case seemed reasonably happy to be going.  I skipped the whole mile there.

 We are close enough to walk, and are lucky to take sidewalks through the pretty historic homes here and beautiful big trees.

I loved our last little school, but it will be nice to start fresh here.

Checking in

 Not a lot of pictures from me lately, as I have been doing fun things that do not lend themselves to taking pictures like going to the beach and snorkeling.  But rest assured we are having a lovely time, and have discovered that:

 Honolulu has great fireworks,

 and atrocious traffic (possibly so you can enjoy the rainbows we see nearly every day.)

Case is finally happy again,

 and is back to letting me take pictures of the back of his head in really amazing places (Hanauma Bay for this one.)

Aloha

We have had a very long and fun and long journey traveling to our new home.  So long.  This will certainly warrant a few posts soon, but for now we will just share some pictures our arrival. Our quest began two and a half weeks ago, and approximately one week ago Case was just finished.  He was not happy, he was not fun, and he either went deaf or decided he was through minding.  All of this really culminated about one hour before we got off the airplane, when he had to turn off his electronics.  So next time you wonder why we never get out to the mainland, wrestle a grizzly bear for an hour, physical restraining him while he tries over and over to open up the tray table. 

As you can see, we are just delighted to be here.

Marc' office met us at the airport and brought us beautiful leis.  The less crazy 2/3 of us wore them all day and have now firmly cemented in our minds that the island smells amazing.

 Our first day in paradise did end with less sobbing than it began with.  Hopping around on the rocks at the beach will do that.

Moving

July 4th

We celebrated our last Independence Day in Alabama with the best firepower we could find, which is pretty awesome stuff.

Case is quite fond of roman candles.

We set off fireworks at the gym, where we had the perfect spot to watch the display at the baseball field.

Florida

 The next weekend found us down in Florida, to visit with Dave and Julie and their herd, and get one last visit in with our Neurologist before the PCS.  We are feeling pretty sad about saying goodby to Dr. S.  He has been an important part of our lives for the past 5 1/2 years and with the extremely frequent visits getting Case's epilepsy under control I think we've seen him more often than my in laws.

It was really nice to spend some quiet days on the beach, to talk with some adults, and to let Case play in the general vicinity of some cousins.  We got to try Dave's paddle board, which was tremendously awesome.

 Also very wet.

The next day the waves were a little high, so we hit the sound side with it's light, protected surf. 

Case dug a corral and spent the afternoon hearding the giant hermit crabs that live in great abundance there.

  They get very big in the sound, some of them living in shells that are two inches long or more. 

 He loves bugs so much, of the aquatic and terrestrial types.  A farm of 8 to 10 keeps you on your toes as someone is always trying to make a run for it.  It is a busy job keeping them all together, fresh water circulating in the pen, and breaking up fights.  The big crabs there are the perfect playthings for a fun afternoon on the beach. 

Aquarium, again

 With the end of our time here in Alabama growing short, we have been using our weekends to visit our favorite spots and nearby relatives.  Recently this included a trip to Atlanta, to visit cousins and the aquarium.

 I will have to find somewhere else to take pictures of the back of Case's head once we've moved.  Snorkeling sounds a likely prospect; I'm certain once he sees fish swimming with him dragging him from the water will be the hard part.