Not only news but IMPORTANT NEWS!

Alright folks, there is some important bulletins you all need to be aware of. Even though this blog has become completely neglected due to everything here becoming routine, This is another noteworthy piece of INTEL. There is a great possiblity of us returning to Utah this July. Not just a visit, I mean we are seriously considering comming home. We've been weighing our options and since our lease ends in July we think that would be an appropriate time to move home. We have found a really nice place in Aiea and are still considering opening another lease there. Even though it is expensive, Jeff has pleaded with us to say and is willing to pay a part of it. Also, April is seriously considering the military, specifically joining the Air Force. Among the perks for joining are that they'd pay for our schooling and a decent stipend along with it. They also would have her sign in as an officer and she'd get to forgo the boot camp and grunt training. She'd go right into officer training school and then she'd be in school for the next few years to get her Phd. In the meantime I would be able to go back to school for my MBA. The whole key to this plan is getting April into her senior year. The catch is that a BSN may not be enough to qualify for the Air Force scholarship program. She may have to start anew. She has stated that she's aiming to be a pediatrician. We'd have to do a year's worth of schooling on our own before we could go military. So that means we (by we I mean she goes and I help her study) would be headed back to WSU to finish the Bachelors and then on to UofU to do the rest. The reason we're considering comming back to UT to do this is to cut costs. Its just not feasible for me to go back to work and for us to live a bad part of the island so we can afford to stay. Our consideration has fallen to moving back in with Mom (Barker) for a while to help us get out of debt and so she has her own personal cook. Ha! I am only volunteering for two nights a week, so those of you who suddenly have the idea of crashing mom's place every night for dinner can forget it. The options we have are the following.
Stay here for the next 19 years and retire with the govt with the pensions and govt retirement stuff. Then move back to UT and find a home to die in. Move to Utah now and go back to school then join the military and possibly get stationed all over the world after April finishes school. Hopefully they wouldn't deploy us in weird locations since re-stationing in the Air Force isn't very frequent and it is quite expensive. But for they wouldn't move us while april was in school, so we'd be in UT for the next 5 or so years.
See there is a dilema here....any input? Call April and let her know what you think.
POLL RULES: YOU MAY ONLY VOTE ONCE. STOKERS AND FOLEYS, THIS MEANS YOU!!

Quick reminder to all those who (are still here) read this

I suppose the title is misleading, I don't really have anything to remind you all of. Do have some new stuff to let you all in on though.
Currently my parents and little brothers (yes the retarded one and the one with Down's Syndrome) are here. Yay. I do so enjoy family visits. It gives me a reason to get out of the house and to tourist'y things. The funny part is that we haven't done much of anything even though they've been here for a week. Most of what we've done is just cook and eat (that's what the Foley's do best donchaknow) and hang out. The visit has also included a good deal of maintenance and getting ready for the fireworks tents. Most of you folks remember that we work for a week selling fireworks. Its grueling work but its rewarding in its own way. I get to shoot off the random leftovers that don't go back to the warehouse. Yay. As far as Christmas preparations go we're doing fine. Thanks Mom B for the gifts for the girls, they are under the tree and awaiting Christmas day. Santa was kinder to us this year than last. We're actually doing alright. Still in the process of trying to sell our Utah house, but other than that we have the liberty to get and do some nice things for eachother. Last year April got me body wash and gum........yeah, you're probably right, she was trying to tell me something.....how rude. So this year I am getting her some rubber kitchen gloves and a bottle of laundry soap. ha ha.
Funny thing, happened to me the other day and it got me thinking if this is how all wives are. April admitted to looking through the internet browsing history to see if I had ordered her anything online. Not only is that unfair but rather deviously out of character for her, those of you who claim to know her best can back me up on that one. She said to me in not so many words, "I guess I just gave myself away, since now you know I was looking for what you got me". This brings me to the question. Isn't that sort of like reading someone's journal or parusing through their locked treasure chest? Hmmmmmm. Needless to say I covered my tracks well enough she didn't get wind of any possible gift ordering. But the fact that she was 'peaking' through the virtual wrapping paper makes me wonder.
Meanwhile back at the batcave, I want to wish the family(ies) in general a Merry Christmas from the heart. It is at time like these when the pangs of solitude affect us most. The nativity at the barkers with the standard characters and 40 angels with 35 sheep. The complete lack of oxygen in the west wing due to all the singing and laughing. The cleanup crew that wisks through the dishes and empty pop cans from half a million people, games at the Whittingtons where we learn that we're all a little more 'twisted' than we thought, food at home till you can't even lay down because it hurts so bad, yeah that's Christmas for me, and now that we're a quarter world away, please know that even though we won't be there with you in person, we're there in thought and feeling. So eat and laugh and sing and play, and know that no matter what happens to us on this volcanic speck, home for us is where you all are.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good (pie) night.

Use the comments section on this entry to leave your answer

Click the comments link below or the title of this entry and leave your answer. If you know what this is and you get it right, I will send you your very own Maui Gold Pineapple just in time for christmas. If you know where this came from (store and/or city) I will send you something else as a surprise with your pineapple. THE MYERS' AND THE THOMSONS ARE EXCLUDED FROM ANSWERING. (cheaters, thought you were gonna get a free pineapple? well guess again and no telling anyone else and splitting the reward for that matter)

Oh where to begin...again

Funny thing, for the past two months I've had this nagging feeling that I had forgotten something, or someone. It dawned on me that the someone I had forgotten was, well, YOU. Actually, I didn't forget, but due to a complete lack of motivation, coupled with a lot going on, I just haven't posted anything. I will try to make up for it in this entry.
There is A LOT to cover. Here are the highlights. In early October we were visited by the Stokers. Colby, (Lyman Stoker's oldest son) his wife Lexie and their daughter Anna, stayed with us for a week. We did take quite a few pictures but only a select few are going to make it into this entry's slide shows. Since the Stokers had planned this trip months in advance April was fortunate to have taken a good deal of time off to play host(es). We probably did more during that week than any other week we've lived here. We went to the beach, pearl harbor, the dole plantation, Wiamea Valley, The PCC, and even had a night to take them crabbing. There should be a few pictures of that in the slide. We thoroughly enjoyed the time they spent here. Since Colby is an exceptional tight wad, they probably wont be back for some time. The next big occurrence was the Thomsons came with some friends from Morgan, The Eldridges, Ty and Marina. I knew Ty and Marina from back in the day when we, Jarrod and I, went paintballing in Mt Green near the cemetery. The property we used to play on belongs to the Eldridges. Funny story about getting kicked off the grounds...ask me some other time.
Aaron and Melissa came on Halloween and stayed for a week. Due to the time that April had off earlier in the month we weren't able to play guides for the Thomsons. They came and went and we played rockband at night and even got to do a little rooster hunting, another story for another day...maybe never.
****TANGENT ALERT******
For those of you who know what I am talking about:
THE ROOSTER IS GONE. Halla'freakin'looya. Ask Lindsey, she'll tell you.
*****Back at the batcave*******
I convinced April to let me dress the kids up this Halloween and we went as a skeleton family. Aaron and Colby brought pieces of my costume over from UT and I donned it and scared the dickens out of the neighborhood. Apart from that, I turned our front porch into a literal mini-haunted house, complete with hanging bones in the walkway, skeletons coming out of the ground, strobe lights and fake fire cauldrons. It was GLORIOUS. Check the last slide show. It was most fun!! The best part of the Thomson's visit was a great chance to go scuba diving at Hanauma Bay. There are plenty of pictures from 30 ft down on the slide show. Sorry they're really blue, the water was just a bit murky. But it was a great dive. All six adults went that day while the kids were with a sitter. We saw all sorts of great stuff, and April almost died, well so she says, she got caught on the reef, not in the coral but on some rocks and had a bit of a panic until she got washed up on top of them, there is a picture or two of that. She's completely bruised now and has at least one lady in the relief society thinking that I beat her from head to toe, which isn't a bad idea sometimes, just not where the marks will show up.
All visits aside, we are doing fine. We are still working on selling our house in Ogden, the paperwork is well, in the works, and we've signed another year lease on our house here. April has been chosen to do some educator thing at work and she teaches relief society once a month. Funny, it takes her three weeks to prepare for the one week she's doing the lesson, then she gets up, does a fantastic job and then stresses over the next time she's due for a lesson. Amusing isn't the word I'd use to describe watching someone fret over having to leave their comfort zone. More like fascinating. As I am sure she'll say when she watches me do um....stuff....uh, like...um stuff that I um.....ahh.....well..don't do all that often....ok perhaps not.
I'd like to take a quick few minutes to reflect my personal feelings about how this Hawaiian adventure has turned out for me personally. I do like it here, in the year and a half we've been here, I have learned more than just electronics skills and parenting tactics. I've learned survival skills, adaptation techniques and marital solutions that I don't believe I would have anywhere else. I have made great new friends and have been able to cultivate a part of my testimony that you take for granted in the 'bubble'. My kids wake up every morning to the beautiful Koo'lau mountain range and the exotics flora therein. I have become almost dependant on the humidity to keep my skin soft and my lips from being chapped. I particularly enjoy the rain, and we get no shortage of that where we live. All in all, I am contented still. But just that, contented. In spite of the personal growth and accomplishment. I still miss thanksgiving with the family. Don't get me wrong, Don and Bob throw a thanksgiving dinner almost as good as the Foley's, but its the entire family that is missed. The same will be said for them if and when the day arrives that we take our leave from this volcanic rock. I miss the Sunday dinners. Chalupa night, babysitting for the Arnells, Motorcycling with Aaron, getting yelled at for motorcycling with Aaron, taking April on the fourwheeler to avoid getting yelled at for motorcycling with Aaron. I miss 2 dollar milk, 5 dollar flat rate shipping, cheap steak buffets with Jay, and a myriad of other experiences.
You certainly don't know what you have till its gone, so the trick is to realize what you have here that you will miss. Free beaches, coconut and pineapple stands on the side of the road, sharks cove, shrimp shacks, angel's shaved ice, majestic views, aloha spirit, the Derykes, the next scuba trip and most of all the real joy and happiness that we get from being reunited with visitors long loved and never forgotten.

Road to **** pavement

You know I had every intention of continuing the story of what happened to Abbi and me on our trip back home, suffice it to say that the trip back was equally difficult. We should have gotten on a plane that the lady said was full and it wasn't. We ended up in LA for another several hours, finally had to fly to an outer island and pay $60 to fly to Oahu. Yaddy yah yah, The final impression I want to leave you with regarding that trip, besides the mourning for a passed on love one, is the sensation of feeling truly alien, at home. After another VERY long day in and out of airports, April picked us up and we headed home. Once here, it took me almost a week to feel like I was back at home. It was an odd sensation. It had nothing to do with the people or reception, more perhaps, to do with a lack of belonging. I am glad I had the opportunity to go back to UT, the dry air killed my throat and lungs and the lack of flora was appalling to me. What made me laugh is that I was there in the pinnacle of springtime, when the desert blossoms, even still, it was all so, BROWN. We are so spoiled to be in one of the greenest places on our island. Aside from the de-acclimatization, I felt a lack of real 'home' whilst visiting Utah. Again, this had nothing to do with company or their greetings, just, geographics? The impact of this feeling was directly contrasted by my previous opinions of Utah. I had always said that I loved Utah for its diversity and recreational possibilities. Commonly heard was that, 'I'd never want to live anywhere else,'. Now having been abroad, as it were, for over a year's time I wish to recant those statements from before. I speak for my family when I say that we really like it here in Hawaii and we plan to stay for at least a few more years, but I am not yet 'settled'. We've lightly discussed the possiblity of moving somewhere else in a few years. Perhaps in time I will find the peace that Don talks about or the belonging that we all seek, but time is a fickle friend. It gives you untold opportunity but ultimately kills us all, that kids, is your paradox for the day.

Hannah is starting Kindergarten in a week or so and I, unlike many I have spoken to regarding the exodus of the first child to school, am totally stoked for her. She is excited to go and I am forced into some good exercise, I will take her to school via mtn bike and child trailer, when its not raining that is. The trip is about a mile and a half and takes about 10 minutes on the bike. That's a good 20 minutes 2x a day for me. So I will be fit, cut and trim in no time, right? Now all i have to do is give up crack and my life will be in order!
I don't have any good pictures to post for you, yet. I took the camera to our ward camping trip two weeks ago but there was little or nothing 'picture worthy'. These people don't know what camping is. They take tents and shelters, generators, full bbq grills, air mattresses, its like the entire house in one package. I am dying for a real backpacking trip. Slim pickin's on this island for that though. Jordan Masaki, Ted Locey (both YM and Scouts) and I went crab hunting one night tho, Here's a couple of pics about that.



Most of the crabs we caught were MUCH bigger than this. Let me set the scene for you. At midnight or later, you make your way to the beach and armed with a 5 gallon bucket and flashlights you walk the beaches looking for baseball sized holes in the sand with recent excavations. You then get on your hands and knees and start carefully following the hole as is spirals downward about a foot and a half. You scoop away the sand till you feel the crab shell or till he comes out to chase you away. Its quite intimidating when they come running at you brandishing those big white claws. They have a nasty pinch that can cut through skin and draw blood if you aren't quick enough. The crab will then make a break for a nearby hole or the open sea. You have to grab a handful of wet sand and, for lack of better description, bean him with it. Not too hard to kill it, but just to stun it for a second. The crab will then think its hidden and you can wipe away the sand and grab the sides of its shell where it can't get to you. I'll take you when you guys get here. The sand crabs are a delectable treat. You can boil the crabs and eat them if you want, there's not much meat on the small ones. The wicked looking spider crabs that crawl on the rocks aren't supposed to be eaten, I don't know why, that is just what I was told.
Enjoy.

Well, so much has happened, I forgot it all.

I don't have any really good pictures to accompany this entry, If I come across any, I will upload them. I have a choppy video of our pooch playing with Hannah
During the last month or so, I had the opportunity to visit home. Now before I go any further, its important for those people already thinking to themselves, "you dirty rat, you didn't come visit!" to know that I was there only for the funeral of my dear Grandmother. She was the primary reason I came back and I didn't stay long enough to see anyone. On top of that I had Abbi with me which made any real visits quite impossible. Oh the joys of traveling with an infant.....never again......
Cue the wavy story lines.
About mid may or so Grandma passed away. My grandmother raised the first four of us during a difficult time for my parents. I was very close to Grandma, having been one of the two oldest grand kids and able to remember her care. My Grandma had very severe Alzheimer's disease, she has for years now and we all knew it was just a matter of time before she passed away. It helped to know that I had had my chance to say good bye a few years after I returned from the mission field and before she had lost her cognitive abilities completely. But all in all it was still very difficult for me to see her gone. This was a first for me. In all my immediate and extended family this was the first real death that was close, or well, part of me. I've never had to say goodbye to a cousin or an uncle that I was particularly close to, in this same capacity. It was always someone else's relative that passed away. I don't care to go into too much detail on the actual service other than to say it was beautiful. It was well organized and I feel like it could not have gone any better. I will tell you that my stay was very brief and I am sorry for not getting to make the rounds to see everyone. Aaron Thomson, my good friend and emotionally adopted brother, works for Delta airlines and was kind enough to give up one of his very limited buddy passes for me to travel with. This pass saved me almost $700. If it weren't for that opportunity I would not have been able to fly to UT. We are making ends meet here but just barely. A full priced ticket would have been hundreds of dollars out of the question, and not for lack of wanting, but for sincere lack of funds. Moving on.
A buddy pass is basically a stand by pass. You are allowed on the plane if there are empty seats and no one with a higher priority trumps you out of that seat. April and I decided that the only way for me to make the trip happen was to take Abbi with me. April is contracted into a certain amount of hours during her '90 probational period' with her new job. She couldn't take the time off to be home. Having Hannah watched by ward members and Uncle Don was easy enough but an infant is another ball of wax entirely, 'specially my lil puka (pooka) who has stranger danger anxiety up the wazoo. Since she's not two yet, she came as a lap child. I knew ahead of time that having a child with me would prevent me from getting into any empty first class seat, what I didn't know is how much I would later regret that fact. Coach is always full, first class isn't. The first night we tried to board a flight to SLC we missed it by a grundle of seats. There were several folks ahead of me with a higher priority. Which meant that the following days would be full of those same people trying to get wherever they were going. Aaron counselled me into flying to LAX and then on to SLC. The next night, Thursday, I made the flight by the last seat. Lucky indeed. It was nice to be on my way. The tension and nervousness of flying is something I always get. I don't know why. I am not afraid of anything except my girls going into puberty. But for undisclosed purposes, I get that small shot of adrenaline accompanied by the pit in the stomach. My hands sweat a little, my breathing speeds up. Similar to the feeling of a the anticipation of the rocket ride at lagoon, you know the one that shoots you down. Only not to that extreme. Later it all turns to a floating sensation in my head, odd, I know. The flight to LA was a six hour red eye. I figured that would be good because my lap ornament would sleep most of the way, right, WRONG. I got lucky and was on a 767 with nice seats and a great 4 year old seat partner. If you've never been on a plane that big, it has three rows of seating. Two seats on the outer most rows and four in the middle. The little guy to my left was a Hawaiian boy flying with his papa, (granddad) and a few other members of his family. It was his first time flying. He looked out the window and would lean over and tug on my shirt sleeve "uncle, uncle, whats that?!" I had a good time answering his questions. Some may have been annoyed with his constant petitioning for information, but I found it endearing. His family apologized and I told them not to worry a wink. I started a conversation with them and found out that they live only minutes from me. That settled it, they provided all the inflight food and drinks for us, I had snacks and Spam Musubi's all I could eat the rest of the flight. Abbi was too restless on my lap to sleep. It had been a long day for her but this was all new, not to mention the fact that she only sleeps in a crib, never in arms. Nearly three and a half hours into the flight she finally fell asleep. It was about 2 am and the cabin was silent. She had settled into an awkward position with her head in my left armpit with her torso on my lap and legs between mine. I shifted her hoping to make her more comfortable and that's when my right leg went warm. The kind of free flowing warm that you can only get from a hot liquid soaking through the fabric of your jeans. Yep, she peed on me. SOAKED my whole leg. Still sleeping like an angel though. I had to change her, I got up and ferried her to the back of the plane and attempted a diaper change in that TINY lavatory. I managed to change her diaper and drenched clothes but had no remedy for my leg. I only had her diaper bag on board, My luggage had been checked. I sopped up as much as I could with toilet paper and then tried to blot out the rest. I made my way back to our seat and tried to get her to settle back down. She was a full mast now and didn't show any signs of interest in sleeping. By this time the plane was due to land in about an hour or so anyway. I coddled her the best I could and entertained her with the nice lcd screen in front of us. The free games and such were nice. She watched the first half of Bolt in silence. My Headphones weren't working. We landed in LAX at about 4:30 am. The next flight to SLC was about 30 minutes later but was already full to capacity. So I called Aaron who was gracious enough to sit by his laptop all day and help me every step of the way. I really owe him for this one! He got me booked on the next flight and we began the 'wait'. This time it was only an hour more and the gate was only two away from our arrival gate. The lady at the gate was kind enough to find out who I was and where I was going. She booked me on the flight knowing that I wasn't going to get on but there was another hours to kill and there's always the chance. Abbi had no interest in sleeping. She wanted to walk around. So we walked to the bathrooms and did some butt changing. We then bided our time till the flight came. I talked to the same gate lady and asked what it was looking like, the answer was "not good, Mr. Foley, its filling up fast, I can tell you that you're not getting on this flight unless someone doesn't show up". We waited there anyway. She was right, an hour and a half at LAX and we were weren't going anywhere. Sure enough, the flight filled up and took off leaving me in my blue carpet and bench seated kingdom. The next flight out was leaving from a different terminal in little less than 35 minutes. The gate lady said she was headed over there and would make sure I got transferred over. I thanked her and started the LONG walk to terminal 5. Because the airport wasn't open yet, I had to go outside and walk all the way around and go back through security. We hustled the best we could and made it there with only minutes to spare. On the previous flight to SLC I had missed the seat by two people. The last person to get on was a young lady, partnered with a freckled guy, that didn't want to be separated from her boyfriend. He insisted on her going anyway and he'd catch up. The gate agent tried to tell them, pointing to me, 'he only needs one seat and has a child, the man, late 20's skinny freckles, horsey face, snubbed his nose at me and ran his bony fingers through is wool-like orange/blond hair. Turning to the girlfriend, 'No, you go now and I'll meet you in Salt lake.' he insisted. She reluctantly boarded the plane. 'What a douche,' I thought to myself, but hey that's the way you play the game. Well the same douche was waiting at the next terminal when I got there, how he'd beat me I don't know, well, I guess he wasn't carrying an infant, a car seat and a duffel. I couldn't find a bench seat anywhere and my cell phone had nearly died. I found an outlet near the ticket booth and sat on the floor with my dear daughter. She was over tired, hungry and ornery as a wildebeest. The gate agent, same one from the previous terminal, found me in the crowd and smiled. She was a pretty lady, early 30's, Hispanic but raised American. She told me that my chances were good on this flight but that it was a small plane. She coo'ed at Abbi a second and went back to her counter. The flight began to fill. Now, in LA you can see the standby lists on the monitors that are placed strategically around the terminals. They list the people in front of you and how many seats are available. Its a bit like watching horse races. Its a constant gamble and the only difference is that the horses are eating cinnabons and drinking Starbucks. Abbi seemed to sense the tension and began to fuss and act up. The numbers began to fly up as the 8:30 flight began to board. They were close, I was getting on the plane, on the last available seat. Just as the final boarding call came up, a pilot came hustling down the isle and trumped the guy in front of me, the red douche guy. The pilot, dressed in full uniform, hat to boot, took a ticket and doomed me to be the first person to not get on the plane. The other douche guy got on and the gate agent looked at me and Abbi, now all red eyed from crying (her not me, well not yet anyway) and said with a forlorn tone. 'I am so sorry, I thought you'd get on that one for sure. I am not the gate agent for the next flight but I will book you on it ok?' I thanked her for all her work and wished her a good day. She looked at my luggage predicament and said, hang on, she walked over to the trolley rack and swished her card by the reader. She pulled a luggage cart off the rack and said, here, I hope this helps a little. I thanked her again. The next flight was at 10:30 am. We had two more wretched hours to kill in a now bustling airport. I had only taken a 5 dollar bill with me, that's all I had. And I knew if I had any hope of calming my poor sweet overtired puka it was with hot greasy cheap burritos. Ok, I didn't really know that but I had my hopes. We sombered back toward our original terminal 4 and the next gate. We got to use the tunnel this time which connects the two terminals without having to go through security again. Its the longest echoing hallway I've ever seen. Abbi loved it, she finally got to run and stretch her legs. We made our way up to the Mcdonalds and I spent my money on some food for Abbi. She snarfed down the breakfast burrito and then yawned. My hopes rose. We had two hours to kill and she was finally showing signs of exhaustion. I rigged the carseat that I had been lugging through LAX to the trolley so that it would lay back slightly. I laid Abbi down and pushed the cart next to me over in a darker corner. I sat in the worn, blue leather seat which creaked as my weight settled in. The light through the windows had fully illuminated the airport now. Much to contrast the darkness we were greeted with when we landed. Notwithstanding the noise, Abbi zonked out. Finally I had some peace. I had been dealing with a fussy infant for 15 hours and had been peed on once. Mind you, I was still wearing those shorts. Slowly the noise began to fade to a dull buzz in the back of my mind and my head began to do the high priest head bob. I tried to stay awake to make sure I didn't miss the call for the next flight, but I had an hour to go still. I caught about 10 minutes sleep and woke when my head fell through my hands. I had propped myself in a familiar 'sleep in church' position and was tyring to look inconspicuous. The final hour began to slow trudge by. The boarding calls began and I perked up. Abbi startled with the overhead announcement, 'attention all passengers, we are now boarding flight **** to Salt Lake City. Will our first class passengers board now followed by zone 1.' Having played this game and communicated many times with Aaron throughout my now 6 hour ordeal. I waited patiently as the standby list came up on the monitor. There were 20 or so seats available for buddy passes and I was number 40 something on the list. Disappointed but not devastated I put my chin back down into my open palms. My fingers rustling the hair over my ears. Suddenly, my ears perked. I sat straight up in my chair as I heard my named called on the loud speaker. "Mr. Chadwin Foley, please report to the agent counter for check in." WHAT!? there was no way I was getting on this flight! I roused Abbi and grabbed out luggage. The two ladies standing there at the counter looked at each other and chuckled in recognition of something. They then smiled at me and said right this way sir, issued my boarding pass and showed me to the gate and onto the plane. I didn't find out till later that the first pretty Hispanic gate agent had done me a solid favor. She had put a little mark on my name when she booked the next flight. Melissa, Aaron's wife, told me it was a letter "N". This gave me, at least, priority over the last person to board. I noticed several other people looking over their seat request tickets and proverbially scratching their heads trying to figure out how I was suddenly in front of them. I nearly shouted I was so thrilled. I was finally on my way to Salt Lake City. Home.

If only there were something more exciting to tell

Well here we are mid may-ish and there's really nothing to report. Jenny and her son are here. They spend most of the time here at home but are out and about during peak times. Jaren, my cousin, is working for Don doing all sorts of odds and ends. Landscaping, flooring, masonry. He's gone most every day and with April at work, that leaves me and you, dear reader, me and you, so what do you want to do?. Well and the girls of course. Which over the last few days have been quick sick. Fevers, runny noses, coughing, the nasties. Abbi is cutting teeth and Hannah just got a cold or something. April had it and likely brought it home from the hospital with her. Now, I'd like everyone to know that the only three confirmed cases of swine flu are on Oahu at Tripler Army Medical Center. So when April came down with it and went in to have it checkd I told everyone in the ward that she had the swine flu. This was done entirely to benefit me of course, I figured if the word got around and since everyone seems to be treating this like a deadly plague, the relief society would eventually have to bring over food since my wife was going to surely perish after growing a little curly tail and pointy ears. So far, no good. Oh well it was worth a shot. She in fact does not have the swine flu, just a normal something or another. Funny thing, one day we were on our way back home and stopped at a busy light and on the radio was announced that the three confirmed cases were now accompanied by two suspected cases. I rolled down the window and shouted, "wahooo, my wife is FAMOUS, she has suspected swine flu!" I thought it was hilarious and our moment of fame, the other drivers just looked at me like I was nuts. But hey, it doesn't really matter what strangers think of you, right? As long as you have your day in the sun at your poor sick wife's expense. Heartless, yes. Everyone now seems to be on the mend. The fevers are gone and April has felt good for a few days now. I, thanks to my mom for the immune system, don't get sick very often. I make up for it with a bad back that loves to go out under stress. See, there really is justice for all.
April's job seems to be going very well, my job seems to be lagging though. When tech prices fall, so does my profits, and its starting to seem a little less than fortune building at this point. Oh well, onward and upward. April and I did go to the local waterpark the other day, that was fun. We forgot the camera but did enjoy ourselves. Its not quite as big as lagoon-a-beach. But they have to big Keiki (child) pools that have lots of slides and waterfalls. The even let abbi go down the big tube slides. Well I say big but its probably not half the size of the tube ride at crystal springs. When money isn't so scarce, we've considered getting season passes because they are so cheap and that would enable us to get a discount on passes for our guests. So WHEN (notice I didn't say IF) you all (Stokers being called out on this one) decide to come, we can add that to the itinerary of excellent things to do. Just so you all know, Jenny and Jaren leave early next month. That means we're gonna have a big house in paradise with no one to help us occupy it! Hint Hint.
Speaking of mad cows. Some of you know that the temple is shut down here on Oahu for MAJOR rennovations. They have closed it for 18 months. The white coral facing has all been stripped away and the insides are completely gutted. The are leaving the shell of the building intact and starting over I guess. But being that it is closed, the wards are now scheduling visits to the small temple in Hilo, on the big island. April and I are going on the 22nd to the 23rd for a temple excursion. Funny how it means so much more to you when its not readily available. Kind of like going to the beach. Inter-island tickets are about $30 for residents and well, we're gonna make it an over-nighter. We'll send pictures. From what I hear, that island looks just like the one we live on! NO WAY HUH!
So lets recap, naw, did that last time.
PLEASE COME VISIT (Nambi Guazu)

The adventure takes another turn 2.0

Alright folks, here's the 411 on recent events. Mirjam has been here for almost a month and leaves tomorrow. Jaren arrived last week and Jenny and Ethan the week before. The biggest news we have is that the Myers have finally chosen to abandon us. After all the ups and downs and landlords and moves, they have made their arrangements and are headed back to the 0-town tomorrow as well. Lindsey will be missed, Chris smells like the frog you dissect in biology so him, not so much, but Lindsey oh Lindsey why for art thou leaving me oh sister? Ok thats not nice so Chris you don't really smell like the frog. As afore mentioned we added to our family. We brought home a 1.5 lb furry ball of love on April's birthday. Her name is April too. We just yell and at least one of them comes in a hurry. Ha ha, just kidding she hasn't finished that part of her training and the dog doesn't know her name yet either. I'll put more pictures up later on. Now for those of you who know, I have a dog named copper that my cousin was gracious enough to take in. I tried every method I could to find a cost effective way to bring her to Hawaii, but after all the vet visits, shots, kennel, plane ticket and quarantine fees, it would be near $2000 to have one poor beagle mutt brought to the volcanic spec we call home. Obviously it was just too high of a cost so we invested in another pooch that wouldn't require more transportation than the ride across the island to a new home. We named her Sascha. Moving on, I am going to attempt another video post, this one is a direct upload so it shouldn't slow down the webpage. This video is of Abbi and her backup dancers at the Local Thai restaurant. They had some jammin' belly dancing music going on in the background and out of the blue Abbi starts shakin' what her momma gave her. It was hilarious, the waitress kept coming by to watch. I whipped out my cell and tried to capture the moment, I mostly succeeded:
Hopefully it works, if not I probably won't get around to fixing it anytime soon. April got her first permanent paycheck as an official government employee. Being a nurse employed federally means that she not only has great pay and benefits now, but total job security too. Her retirement will also kick in when she is 46. Now I am going to make this next comment with the best of intentions. It has come to my knowledge that a couple of weird rumors are floating around about us moving back to Utah. April and I don't have plans to change or domicile any time soon. In fact this move may very well be permanent. Of course we miss being near the family but we both agreed that the life we lead here together has not only improved us financially but has really cemented our marriage. In spite of the hardships we've faced here, we will be staying for a minimum of a few more years, if do move it will have to be a state that April can transfer to. Now the next comment is made with a little less sugar spice. If you haven't spoken to ME (Chad) directly about visiting and planned exact dates, I am not planning on lodging you. We cannot support more than one (entire/parents and kids) family at a time. This was a lesson hard learned during last Christmas. If you'd like to pair up with another couple and come without kids, then by all means make plans. We just don't have the room to put up more than about 4 adults or 2 adults and a few kids. As of this moment, the Foley's are coming again for Christmas, the Melos have hinted at a possible summer visit and the Spencer's have requested some time early next year. So jump on the band wagon folks because we would love to have the family visit. As always the same visitng house rules apply, the first two weeks are on us, just help with the food bill, after that you we'd like you to help cover the utilities. The average electric bill in our neighborhood is between $300 and $400 per MONTH. Keep in mind that our water heater is electric so when you throw another 4+ people in the mix, well you see where I am going with that. I hope this doesn't come across as being short or rude, just want to clear the air so everyone knows how we feel. Keep in mind that the family is VERY important to us and we miss being around you and all the kids, so please make arrangements to visit. We can provide a free two weeks stay and a 24 hour buffet, just open the fridge, and all the card games you can handle.
As a quick recap, Lindsey and Chris Myers leaving, Mirjam leaving, Jenny and Ethan, and Jaren Arrived. New dog arrived. Dancing Abbi. We're not going to move back. Please call us so we can plan your visit. Boy, what a great post. Glad that's all cleared up, So how are you?

Well I have survived the first week of Mother-in-law-dom

Ok so its not really that bad. In fact April and I finally have someone to play games with! Its been a while since the last posting and frankly, its been rather uneventful excluding mom's visit. But boy oh boy do we have the up and comming household. My Cousin Jaren will be returning on the 14th and JENNY is comming home to hawaii! Yay, well I say home because it is my home and I wish it were her's, under better circumstances. So we're back to the overflowing house again. *sigh of relief* Just the way I like it. I am so excited to have more people here that i dusted off the ol' aggravation board and am getting it ready for some late night marble tossin'! Wahoo.
April is doing her "training" this week for her new job. Funny that they are training someone who has worked there for the better part of a year! But that means we finally have health insurance for the entire family. I can finally have that growth on my neck removed, good thing too, it started talking to me and requesting Carl's Jr.
My job is going well and is all that's keeping us afloat right now. Because the govt. pays you for the two weeks previous to the current, we have to wait an entire month before the checks start coming in....that means a tightened belt and no Thai food for a while....oh well, mom can't eat it anyway. Who's bright idea was it to go on a diet before you go on a tropical vacation? Seriously, there's something amiss with that rationale. Hey, whatever tips your canoe.
Well, and this next news bit is just for Lynette, we are adding to our family! Yes, that's right we are adopting a new baby girl. We've decided to name her Sacha (pronounced Sasha). That's a Russian name for 'defender of mankind'. She is a black little baby with only trace amounts of white in her. We figured it would be good for us to show that we are more than just typical Haole's (that's Hawaiian for white mainlander). We have all the paperwork done for her and are almost done paying the bill. We will get to bring her home in May. Mom was really excited because it brings back memories of her own addition from a few years back. Sad that it ended so tragically. No one should ever have to part with a loved one like that. Life is so unfair and people drive way to fast on 2600 N. It'll be nice to have our own little adopted barker. Its been a long time since Abbi was that small.......so have I laid it on thick enough yet? Here's a picture of our new baby girl: http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk37/captain_axle/zoo/IMAGE_006.jpg

Ha ha, Poor Nyettie, I keep picking on you. Its out of love. You can repay the favor when you visit someday.

Back to normality

Well true to form its been a few weeks and time to update again. The biggest update I can think of is that April got her permanent position at Tripler and will be making a nice chunk more than before. Plus Government benefits for the family. I think I have already touched on this subject before so I am not going to delve into details. It just means that we will be here a few years longer or as long as we can hold out. The economy here isn't really suffering like it is everywhere else. There are help wanted signs all over the place. From big retail to construction and even private businesses there isn't as much decline here. Tourism is down and that hurts but overall, Hawaii, particularly O'ahu has a long way to fall before it even comes close to the mainland. So, with that in mind, and the fact that my electronics ventures are still keeping us well paid, we're going to stay. The uncles have voiced an overwhelming opinion that they want us to put down permanent roots here. For the life of me I can't figure out why, wait, I think I just did, we regularly take strawberry banana cream cheese pies to them.....who says love can't be bought. I'd like to take a second to pick out Uncle Bob. I seem to dote on Don a lot and this time it is Uncle Bob's turn. You all remember the dog bite incident right? If not, look through the archive and find it in July of last year. Turns out that when you take a little jaunt down to the E R, you have more than just one bill. You pay the Doctor, the Hospital, the Radiology people and whoever else sees fit to bill you for some obscure service. "sir, here's the floor mopping bill to cover the cost of the pinesol, and don't forget the tic tacs you ate while here, there's an outside food fee as well." In our case the big two were the hospital and the doctor bills. These two totalled more than $1200 and coincidentally were almost identical in amount. Bob had always insisted on paying the bill, there was never any question that he claimed responsibility for the accident even though it wasn't his dog to begin with. As time went by we gave him the bill for the HEPA, the doctors bill and he said he would promptly pay it. April covered the small radiology bill and we thought we were done. You know that feeling in your gut that you get when you think you've just done or accomplished something good, but there is that pit that naggs at you like you've forgotten something. Well, that about sums it up. We kept getting collection notices in the mail saying that we hadn't paid the bill. Finally I manned up and called the agency and the less than sociable lady on the other end insisted that it had already been turned over to an agency and that it wasn't paid even in part. I was astonished. I could hardly believe that Bob hadn't paid it. But how to bring up the subject. The man has cared for our family and gone out of his way to provide for us and here I am searching my wits for a way to bring up, 'hey unc, remember that bill I gave you, ". Now as most of you are thinking, "chad, you are a mooch, you'll figure it out" I did just that. I found a way to ask him about it without damaging the relationship were are trying so hard to foster. He later produced a copy of the cashed check and all the info that was submitted to pay the bill. With renewed confidence I puffed up my chest, thanked him graciously and proceeded to completely ignore the collections notices and hounding phone calls. I had won and had the evidence to prove that prude of a lady wrong ...... *cue the stomach pit*. The notices kept right on flowing, and the calls still woke me up at 3:00 AM. Months went by, without a break in the mail chain. Finally I figured I'd put a stop to all this nonsense and I called the collections agency lady back and let her have it. This was an argument I was determined to win. I held my head high because I had evidence to back up my claim and I told her I'd fax her the info and that I had proof it was paid and that she was a moron and that her parents were cousins. Funny how ironic life is sometimes. She immediately calmed down and said politely, "Mr Foley, look at the canceled check, what's the amount?" I examined the copy that Uncle Bob had furnished for me, "$604.32," I said snubly "The WHOLE thing, made out to Hawaiians Emergency Physician Association, you cant tell me I didn't pay the ENTIRE BILL, says right here you cashed it..." She stopped me. "Sir, this bill is for $631.73 and is for Castle Medical Emergency Facility..." "...." "....." I went cold.... utter defeat. "...." the phone was silent for what seemed hours even though it wasn't more than a couple of seconds. The pit had just grown like one of those preshrunk fabric toys you put in water and watch it turn from a cheaply imitated tiger shape to a beach towel. "Oh," was the best thing I could come up with. I had just fallen victim to her hail Mary play and whether I liked it or not, she was right. The two bills were entirely separate. "I'll look over my records and get back to you." I told the lady, with complete sincerity and manners she replied " You do that sir." As I pushed the button on the receiver and anticipated the subtle beep that corresponded to the phone disconnecting, horror set in. I had to tell Uncle Bob. The man had already shilled out almost $700 for us, Joanna had gone with us to the hospital that day and waited there for hours till April was released. They had done so much for us in the months that followed and reality was, we couldn't pay this bill. April hasn't started her new job yet and the credit bureaus had already come calling. I tried to tell April the best way I knew how. I sat her down and calmy and irrationally told her that she had to confront Uncle Bob again, almost 8 months later and ask him for another $600+. Now most of you know April, she doesn't do confontation, and she uses this knowledge as a tactic to get out of it. But I was determined that this was her leg and her uncle and that no matter how I was tied to the situation....yeah right..... she told me flat our that either I would make the effort or we would just scuttle the ship and go down right then and there. We are at the breaking point of making it or breaking it so with a complete lack of confidence I did what anyone else would do. I tucked my tail between my legs and tried to ignore the situation further. That was the end of January. February came and with absolutely no sense of reassurance, I knew that if we planned on paying bills, we were going to need help. Yesterday, Saturday the 28th, I quickly put the paperwork in the truck and headed over to Don's to spend the day in the wood shop with Bob. I don't really know how it finally came up but something to the tune of inspiring a "family is the most important thing in the world" conversation I told him the story I just related to you all. I told him about the collections notices and how I had tracked down the bills and what was paid. I showed him the paper work and began to profusly apologize for asking for more money especially as much as this. I let him know how hard it was for us to bring this up to him and that we had debated just dealing with it and hopeing that somehow the landlord wouldn't miss the $600 from the rent check. I conveyed our feelings of gratitude for everything he had done, and just when I thought I couldn't dig myself any deeper into a hole, he stepped back and groaned a little. He ran his hand over the top of his head and while examining the paperwork, said "stop by later and I'll take care of this". He and Don then left for homedepot while I spent another couple of hours working on my project. When they returned it was about 5:00 pm and Bob asked me to follow him back to his house. We we got there he asked me to wait and he went inside. Minutes later he emerged with a check book and wrote it out for the full amount. In a moment I will always remember, he looked me right in the eye and said candidly, "Don't ever hesistate to ask for help again, that kind of feeling should never happen with family, and we hope it never does again, you can always come to us with anything. We care about you guys and are really happy you're all here." Uncle Bob has always struck me as the more rigid and blunt of the two. But in that moment, I honestly felt like we were finally family and not an imposition on thier volcanic island. He topped it off with a bit of what I interpreted as humor and told me that this wasn't even a dent in his pocketbook. He smiled and gave me a hug and I thanked him and headed home. Mom's brothers are genuine as they come.

So, we are still alive, although you'd never know it

Due to laziness difficulties I won't be able to lavishly engross you on many details surrounding the Christmas season and the results thereof, but I will tell you that we had a full house and loved every minute. The fireworks tents (yes that's a plural) was a complete success, we made more money in one tent on the 31st than we had during the entire week in UT. These Hawaiians are CRAZY when it comes to flammables. There was guy down the street that put on a show with commercial tubes and electronics ignitions, ON HIS FRONT LAWN, that rivals any show I've ever seen in UT. We will be doing these tents again next year and are taking applications (from teenage and older family members) as we are going to need help. It is a week from Hell but it pays well and is a great way to cover the cost of your plane ticket, the rest of the time you stay here is just free vacation!! There are a good deal of pictures from Christmas and such, but since it is now February, I'll only post a few. Here's the news from our volcanic speck: We are expecting a new arrival!!!! Yep you heard it, well read it correct, in a few months we'll have another mouth to feed. We are looking forward to this bundle of joy, we've made preparations for HER, that's right another girl, made up a room and arrangements to keep the costs down. Now its just a matter of time till she gets here, we sure are looking forward to having MOM come!! HAHAHAH suckers, you fell for it!!! You rumorsome lot! Just to make sure everyone knows, I was talking about Mirjam not a baby. 'T'aint gonna be no mo' kids in this house!!Seriously though we are looking forward to having Mom come, Hannah asks everyday when Gramma Barker is coming. Also, speaking of mad cows, April and I are on an assisted diet. We have been since the end of January. I have lost 15 lbs so far and April has lost 9. April didn't want me to tell anyone, but I figured since Mom knows, you all know by now. What does 'assisted' mean, well if you call my biological Mother, she can tell you all about it. Jarrod, you can't call, the only way you're losing weight is if you lop off an appendage. Lets see, what else, April was called to the Relief Society Board, I am still the scoutmaster. I have a cousin coming to visit in a week. Jaren will be here till March 10, then the Myers are having family visit, followed by Mom's visit, so the calendar is filling up fast, if you all want to come out you'd better call soon and book your week(s). Uncle Don still needs his roof done, he tells me about it at random times. Speaking of Uncle Don, he and Brenda took us to the China Town New Years shebang, I've got lots of pictures of Hannah feeding the dragons and such, it was fun to see...once. The girls are growing up very fast, Abbi is in the stage where she will try to mimic words, its pretty funny. She does this very funny little question skit, when you ask where her nose is, she puts her finger on it, then you ask where her ears are and she points, then you ask where her mouth, eyes and hair are and she'll point them all out one at a time, but her favorite is her belly button, she lifts her shirt up and pokes her belly out and points and laughs and laughs. Usually its followed by a zubert, hence the voracious child laughter. I will try to get a video of it, someday. Well that's about all I can think of that would be of much interest to the lot of you. Feel free to call or post comments, that's how I know you haven't abandoned me due to my neglect of you.

Mele kalikimaka and ono hapuna..oh forget it.

As most of you know we are fast approaching Christmas time. So for those of you who don't...Danny, you need to get something for Cyd....fast.... Its almost Christmas time. I had a, well, hard isn't the word for it, maybe an apprehensive time getting into the spirit this year. There was no snow, nor cold of any sort, although there was a whole bunch of rain, it just seemed like mid September in Ut and the season snuck up on me. Well about a week ago we put up the tree. I've spent days now searching for a tree topper we had back in Ogden and no one is claiming to know its whereabouts. Apparently the Politically Correct police have struck Hawaii and no one puts anything Christian related on the tree anymore. So finding a star to represent the marker of our Savior's birth has been unfruitful to say the least. Nevertheless, I toil forward hoping that someone somewhere knows what happened to our Christmas stuff. Meanwhile back at the bat cave, Hannah and Abbi helped us put up the tree and I got a couple of photos that I wanted to share. Hannah showing Abbi how to hang ornaments. Its been harder on me than I thought it would be to be away from family. Even the In-laws...yeah I suppose all you weirdos have grown on me....like a cancer....that you can't escape because there is another one wherever you go....
Most know that my Parents and two brothers are coming just in time for Christmas and New years and Scuba-day, ok I made the last one up but we are having a scuba day nonetheless. Also my older brother Aaron and his wife are coming in January for a couple of days to help us celebrate Scubaday. Some of you are scratching your heads, 'Aaron, who the heck is Aaron?' He's an emotionally adopted (not legally) brother of my family. His parents Jay and Janet are coming at the same time. Full house eh? I can't wait, really!
Also in recent happenings, I was called to be the Scout Master in the ward. This calling doubles as a Deacons' quorum advisor. That part I can handle but I haven't got the foggiest clue how to be a Master at anything, including a scout. This means I have to lose 75 pounds to fit in my scout uniform again. The boys in the ward are typical rambunctious youth, there aren't that many of them, and I look forward to the challenges of directing these young minds to greatness. Pyrotechnics comes to mind, and a lot of toilet papering the bishopric too. Yeah scouts is great!
I am continuing my adventure in electronics. I am making a sizable amount of money doing so. Uncle Don thinks I should start a business with it, but then I'd have to pay taxes on it and other such drab consequences. We'll see. Well, that's all the ramblings for tonight. I will try to post again before the 25th but in case I don't. Please be aware that April and I are missing our close family, individually and as a whole, during this season. Our love and thoughts are with you.

The zoo and its patrons

I realize that most animals in zoos are born in captivity and are ignorant to the real conditions of their living state, after all, don't we all qualify for that statement? But I can't help but wonder if the animals are as intrigued by their visitors as we are of them? Imagine yourself for a moment, as an attraction at a local state fair. Justin, you can be the bearded lady, Jarrod you can be the jolly red giant. Who would it be more fun for, the people looking at you, or you looking at the loathsome miserable slobbering masses that point fingers and laugh when if they only used toothpaste and deodorant would be separated from the beasts whom they choose to mock?
Well here's another adventure. The Foley's go to the Zoo!
I am sorry that the last slide show was so fast. I couldn't figure out if there was a way to slow it down once posted. I hope this one will be better.
The Honolulu Zoo is actually in Waikiki near the aquarium. The zoo is very near the beach and the main walk of Waikiki. A few weeks prior, while having dinner with the De Rykes, Aunt Brenda asked us if we would be interested in going to the zoo with them. At the very mention of the word 'zoo' Hannah perked up and lept to her feet yelling 'zoo zoo zoo!' April looked at me with the look of 'if I could only raise an eyebrow...' and the vote was cast with one over zealous 4 year old in near panic on her chair. Hannah has been to the Hogle Zoo before and there had communed with kindred (poo throwing) spirits, hence the excitement. We set a date and made the necessary arrangements. A day or two prior, the Myers's decided to accompany us but due to time constraints, felt it best to break off from the main group and rush through the attractions, so they won't be in any of my pictures. Jenny and Ethan were still with us that day so you will be graced with their presences. A courtesy we no longer have, since they have moved back to Utah to sort out their situation. We set out one bright Hawaiian Saturday morning. Don insisted on taking us out to breakfast first. No complaints from me, eh! They took us to a beach side hotel and we entered a very lavish buffet. The restaurant was on the bottom floor adjacent to the beach. It was an open ended room with no walls separating you from the vistas. One side was buffet, the other, the ocean. Within steps of our table was the beautiful Waikiki beach park, crashing blue waves and scores of tropical plants and birds. The buffet was equally glorious, tropical fruits, pastries, sausages, breads, potatoes, eggs, juices, the works. A glorious breakfast spread! I ate myself sick. Yeeeah baby, sick! Hannah gorged on the sausage and pineapple and Abbi was quite happy with chunks of pastries and guava juice. mmmmmm...just the thought of steaming coconut pound cakes and Portuguese sausage slices on top of scrambled pepper eggs and fried hash browns all garnished with fresh pineapple and mango slices, well, are you salivating too? Wait what was I taking about? Oh yeah, the zoo....ahem..... so after breakfast the wagon train headed over to the zoo, not far from the restaurant. There is a large grassy park picnic area in front of the main entrance. Being that it was a Saturday the park was full of people. Some with families and strollers, preparing to enter the zoo, others with torn shopping bags and grungy beards, just waking up on the wrong side of the park bench. And every sort of person in between. Parking was a bit of a fiasco, but we managed a spot or two and the group headed up the walk to the gates. The park is surrounded by a 15+ foot fence. It spans the length of one large city block. The gates were typical of the tourist traps in the area and had gift shops on either side. The admission was surprisingly very low for locals, only $4! The zoo itself is spread out in a near diamond shape with the gates at the bottom point. Overall the amount of planning and organization of the Honolulu Zoo is dwarfed by Hogle but is was a great day nonetheless. We took lots of pictures of our own animals instead of those as permanent residences because everyone has seen a zebra, but not everyone has seen Hannah petting a goat. Aside from the very nice exhibits, there was a petting zoo for the kids. The best part was the scruffy pigs and the playful goats. The goats were kept in an area with climbing posts and a cargo net for the children to climb on. All of the goats were very tame and would lick the faces of unsuspecting kids and the parents (me) holding them. Yah, I got slobbered on by a Capra Hircus. There was also a large fish tank with plexiglass tunnel going through it. The kids could climb in and be totally engulfed in Koi and other big shiny fish. The llamas weren't so friendly. In fact, I dare say that sucka wanted a piece of me. Maybe it was just that particular one, but she had a disposition that would make a grown man cry.....almost.... We spent the better part of the day at the zoo and after three large sno-cone with ice cream in the bottom, and a bowl of dip'n'dots, we headed home with two exhausted kids. It was a grand adventure that we owe, again, to Don and Brenda. They truly are wonderful family members and friends.

The ultimate set of slide shows

Due to many happenings in the last month there is a plethera of pinatas, I mean, pictures. The first show is from Wiamea Valley, this is where they shot the episodes of lost where the briefcase with the guns in it are at the bottom of a waterfall fed pool. The water was actually very murky and you couldn't see further than a couple of feet but it was cool and very refreshing. Definately worth the akamaina rate we paid to get in. Anyone who visits us will be treated to this attraction as it is one of the best that oahu has to offer. The gardens are amazing and the swimming although a little chilly is very nice. Chris and I were the only ones who swam that day but we will be going back to have everyone participate. The next quick set are the pictures from halloween. Jenny made Ghost costumes for Hannah and Ethan and Abby had a spider costume (that she hated to wear) from wally world. The Hawaiians don't do anything in moderation, including giving out halloween candy, We're still working on eating the kids bounty. Keep in mind there are 5 adults and three kids eating it. It rained pretty hard that night so the kids only got a bit of trick or treating in, but trust you me, it was plenty. The last slide show is of the kids in General in unspecific shots, just a collection of the kids as it were.

Now as for an update of the "going's on". Jenny's situation has changed, please ask my mom or Mirjiam about it if you'd like to know the details. Due to the sensitive nature of the sitation, its probably best to not put it on the internet. I finished my first degree last month, hurray and am planning on moving on to the next one. I am starting my handyman business and continuing my adventure in literature. My latest adventure is fixing TV's. There are so many people here who don't know how to repair a mainboard on an LCD or replace a bulb in a rear projection TV. They just put an add on the craigslist for a free TV. Well I am not one to pass up an opportunity, so I (with Chris's help) go and get the TV, and repair it. Afterward I turn it around for triple the repair cost and yay, money. Of course I have kept one for myself, we now have a 65 inch (yeah its HUGE) Sony hdtv. I picked it up and the voltages were fluctuating and shutting off the safety control switch, I realligned the convergence chips and reset the voltages on the CRT guns and the TV fired right up. Its like having a theatre in our activity room!! The best part is that April is letting me keep it! Cool huh. April is still working for the ER at the Army Medical Base for now, her contract expires late this month. Lindsey and Chris are the same, and we're all a big happy family. We don't know how long Jenny and Ethan will be staying here, so we may have a couple rooms opening up for extra visitors ( or residents ) in the near (ish) future. The kids are growing up really fast, except Hannah, the zinc thing is still making her a pettite girl. Abby has a few words at her command, Hannah and Ethan are like siblings and fight accordingly.
Personally, I have settled into routine and now look at this place as home. Uncle Don has told us that he really wants us to stay permanently and has adopted Hannah as a grandchild. It is really funny to see the two of them together. Don is such a funny guy and he chases hannah and they laugh together and carry on like a couple of babbling monkeys. Now in order to give due credit, Bob and Joanna loan us their small pickup (for tv's and such) and Joanna has showered hannah with artsy gifts of crayons and coloring books. Hannahs art talents are quite amazing for her age!
Well I need to make bread now so I best be off. Enjoy the pictures and please leave comments for me on what things you'd like to see. That's the best way for me to cater to the needs of Aunts Uncles Cousins and Grandparents.
So Long (was a chinese man).

Alright, here's the news flashes I promised:

Well helloooooo there fellow blogger readers. I know, I know, I deserve a severe beating for the neglect of this poor blog. Indeed if it was a pet, it would have died and partially decomposed by now. But, I have an excuse. Ihave been doubled up on school work this last semster to make it well, my last semseter. I finished (at long last) my associates degree. I will be starting the bachelor's program in a few days, so I am sorry to report, I am still in the same blog neglecting boat as before. Funny thought, this blog was supposed to be updated by everyone here on this adventure. Lindsey and Chris have their own blog, and April is still trying to master the english language. Once she has that down, she'll move on to electric devices and keyboards. Yes that was a direct 'invitation' for all you to call her and request that she posts as well.



Ok here's an update so far (readers digest style):



We moved into the Kaneohe house on July 26th. There is a slide show of the place we've lived in for a few months now. The paint drawn picture is NOT to scale nor is it close But you can kindof get the general idea. The second floor of the house is not over top of the first. It is up and behind. We live on a hillside, you get the idea. There is a small breezeway beneath the second floor, behind the bedrooms on the first floor. I also ran out of space to draw the lanai on the north side of the house, so i just squeezed it in. Now lets talk about the occupants and living quarters. Most of you know that Matt and Jenny Littlemore (jenny my sister) moved in with us a few weeks ago. They and their boy Ethan, are settled in. Matt landed a Big Shot job with Central Pacific Bank and jenny and I stay home with the kids. For now. She's going to get a part time job and I'm starting a handyman business. So we'll work our schedules around the kids. Go ahead, snicker and laugh all you like, we're doing our best. Lindsey and Chris have the downstair master bedroom and bathroom. Jenny and Matt use the east bedroom and Ethan is in the west bedroom. The upstairs master bedroom, well I say master because its a little bigger than the other one. Is where April and I sleep and Abbi has the other bedroom. We put a bed in the common area upstairs and that has become Hannah's room. The gray areas are closets and you should be able to make out the furniture from the pictures and bmp file. Now for those of you planning on staying with us, you will be using the common area upstairs as a bedroom. We'll have dividers for privacy. Since the upstairs common area isn't really a common area at all, it serves its purpose as a sixth bedroom nicely. We all share the kitchen, laundry room and dining room. Lindsey and Chris tend to use their bedroom as an all purpose studio and don't often use the activity rooms. Kind of like having live-in hermits. Now some of you are saying, 'wow, thats a lot of families to have in one house,' well Lana, it is, make no mistake of that. Its not always easy blending ideals and who uses and cleans the dishes etc. Jenny is a champ when it comes to organizing and planning and together we've devised a system that separates days and responsibilties. So far so good. For me its actually quite fun having everyone here. I am a social person as you've already figured out, and I enjoy having family around. As for everyone else's feelings, well, you'll have to take that up with them. Our current lease ends next July, so we hope to be here until then, there may be some disbanding before then due to financial reasons but I'll make everyone aware of that as it befalls us. We are very happy to be in this home. We looked at many houses in this price range and they were all frankly, pretty NASTY. Old dirty, bad neighborhoods etc. We have a very clean culdesac with stellar neighbors, and the best part WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE HOA POOL!! YAY! The house we live in is in the ahuimanu home owners association, so there is a large club house and pool here at our disposal. Cool huh. The pool is about the size of a standard Hotel pool, no slide but hey, fresh water swimming is a nice change! There is a small kiddy pool nearby and a club house a little bigger than mom's west wing. Not nearly as nice or equipped but functional for huge parties. Sometimes there are frogs in the pool which is pretty funny actually. Only one or two and they are small and don't bite (hard). The kids think its nice. We live in an area called Valley of the Temples. Its actually a very very large cemetary with different religion's 'temples' scattered through the trees. The valley is actually a valley surrounded by jungle encased mountains. There is a large peak at the northern most end of the valley that is all too similar to Ben Lomond peak. Actually it looks more like willard peak but its the lone monument that makes it stand out. Nights are very cool here. Makes for good sleeping. We got this house from an add in the paper and are working with a Real Estate agency called J L Realty. Our contact as it were, is James Ogawa. He is a gentleman and a scholar in all respects. Mid to late 30's clean cut, family man. Soft spoken and really genuine good guy. We recently found out that he is LDS too. Infact he came by one day to see some tile work I did on the upstairs bathroom and as we were walking the grounds looking at other work I want to do, he asks out of the blue 'how's your ward?' Because of my Utah background, I didn't hesitate at the question, and began to answer before I realized what he had asked. "It's good, really big, lots of nice folks and....hey, how did you know we're LDS?" He smiled and said, "well, you're from Utah and you had a copy of proclaim my gospel open upstairs, and you know, you can just tell when you meet someone that has been endowed." I slapped my sideand laughed. "April and I had the same conversation about you a day or two after we met!" He chuckled and followed me around to the front of the house. This is a excellent situation for us, because we now have the preferred 'ins' with the real estate guru. Cool too huh.
April is still working for the ER at tripler army medical hospital, and I am still a full time student and stay at home dad. For now....I am plotting my escape. I have a deepend respect for my own mother and I marvel that I wasn't murdered by age three. My kids are really good kids for the most part and some days I want to bury my head in a pillow and die. My hat is off to Mirj for raising a whole herd, and to my own Mom for raising four small kids alone. Sheesh. Lindsey is working at Castle Hospital and Chris is a Salesman for Fastenall. He's working his way up the ladder really quickly. I am still engaged in a 'project' or two. But that's another, um, story, for another day.

THE (nearly) GREATEST (ok they're not bad) THING TO DO WITH CHALUPA LEFT OVERS EVER (maybe not ever but certainly worth a try)

Ok, guys and gals, we've all settled into our new place. I will have pictures and the entire roller coaster story of what happened with our last residence soon. (Soon as I have more time to write a story that enfuriates me to the point where I have to get up and pace around the room. Luckily, mom has heard the brunt of this story already so for the rest of you who aren't satisfied with the readers digest version, ask mom. Whew, the buck has been passed.) As an official housewarming party we invited the Uncles over with their significant others, for a chalupa night. Now most of you don't know what a Chalupa is, it IS NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN GET AT TACO BELL. Ok well you can get something that doesn't even come close to a real chalupa at Taco Bell, and well, just think, you can get the runs as a free bonus too. *shudder*... A chalupa is like a small cooked taco. Think small corn torilla, special enchilada like sauce, shredded chicken or beef, mexican cheese, onions, mexican cheese, mexican cream and cheese and oooohhhh so good and ooooohhhh wheres the tums? Yeah they rock. Some of you may have been a participant of the chalupa night I did for Mom (Barker) years ago. For the rest of you, you can get the recipe from my biological mother (Foley, I think, my dad always told me they found me under a rock and thought I'd be a good chew toy for the dog). We actively participated in Foley Family Chalupa night on a monthly basis up until the exodus in June. Back to the story, we had a great time. Don brought rice and stuff for strawberry, banana, and cinnamon (weird I know, not bad though) smoothies. Bob and Joanna brought a salad, we made merry and feasted our good fortune. We stuffed the Unlces to the gills and after making fun of how many they had bested we realized we had enough leftovers to remake the meal all over again, literally. Don't get me wrong. I love my chalupas, but the acid reflux initiation meal is best served once a month. So with all the leftovers I decided to make enchiladas. Boy howdy did I ever. I even went above and beyond my culinary training and wrote down what I put in it (a day later, but belated is better than never eh) Heres the whopper:

Chalupa leftover Enchiladas:
2 lbs Leftover Chalupa meat
2 cups of red Chalupa Sauce
2 cups of green Chalupa Sauce
No cups of moldy Chalupa Sauce
(4 cups substitute for Chalupa Sauce with prepared powdered enchilada sauce in the red envelope thingy, you know what I mean.)
½ large onion well diced.
1 can of cream of chicken
1 can of cream of mushroom
1 can of diced chilies
1 Medium Tomato diced like the onions, unless you did a crappy job of dicing the onions, if so, do it better than the onions.
Crushed Red Pepper
Ground bay leaves if you got ‘em.
1 tsp chopped garlic or garlic salt, but don’t chop the garlic salt, its already small enough.
LOTS of queso fresco, (the not so secret ingredient) You can get it by the cream cheese at walmart, looks like a soft white hockey puck. (Ranchero or Noche Buena brand be sure is is queso fresco NOT cotija, you'll know if you go the right one because it will shred like very moist cottage cheese pressed into a puck shape, still can't figure it out? Call my mother she'll help you)
1 cup grated cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste

Take a large casserole dish spray with PAM, if she’s not around, use a no stick spray, coat the bottom of the dish with leftover chalupa sauce either red or green or half of each in separate sides. Don’t use all the sauce, maybe less than half of what you got.
Shred two pounds of whatever meat is left, chicken, beef, horse, dog in large bowl. Mix in one can of cream of chicken and one can of cream of mushroom and about half your onions. Mix well. Add one small can of diced chilies. Mix well, add crushed red pepper, bay leaves, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Then, yep, you guessed it, Mix well. Spread ½ cup of the mystery meat mixture into a tortilla, top with lots of queso fresco and, nope, don’t mix it, roll it up. Place it in the colorful casserole dish. Rinse repeat. Ok don’t rinse. Unless you are showering….now why would…nevermind. Repeat (no rinsing). Fill the dish with stuffed tortillas. Now top the tortillas with whipped cream, sprinkles and cherries. No silly, with the rest of the sauces, the cheddar cheese and the tomatoes. Sprinkle the top lightly with dried chives or oregano or something to make it look awl fancee laike. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes uncovered, at 30 min turn the heat up to 350 and bake for 15 minutes. This browns the cheese, remove and test for rabies. Ha ha, no, just check the insides of one to make sure its hot. Tadaa! You did it, now top it with the rest of the fresh onions and sour cream and eat it.

Feel free to modify to your liking, olives would be nice. April hates olives. Scallions, mmmm indeed, maybe even, dare I say........oooohhhhh I dare, RANCH DRESSING! MUHAHAHAHA (ok probably not)

NEWS FLASHES COMMING IN A FEW DAYS! :) Be ready they're good ones!

For those of you devoted enough to still be here:

I formally apologize for the severe lack of upkeep on the blog in the last month+. We, as a six member family, have been through a great deal of ups and mostly downs resulting in us moving out on less than good terms with our previous land lord. That resulted in no internet connection for a few weeks and well its all starting to work its way out but as of yet we are still in the fray. So let use this opportunity to talk about something of much more light and happiness eh? Here we go *drumroll*

SHARKS COVE: come with a smile and leave an appendage.

Ok not really. Sharks cove is a large outcropping of rocks and reef. To include tide pools, a huge, real blowhole, places to jump off small cliffs, sea turtles, and a whole flock of aquatic niceties. The last time we were there, truth be told, was in early July. Fortunately for you the reader of afore mentioned lacking blog, we took a bunch of good photos with a nifty underwater camera. For those of you who have never been snorkeling for real, this was our activity for the day. There were four of us there that day, and we have been back one time since when Chancee Stoker had paid us a visit. On this occasion we were graced with Mary Jane Dunkley's presence. Now, keep in mind a few things:
1st, April volunteered to stay home with the kids due to a broken toe that wouldn't let her swim or much less put on flippers.
2nd, Its illegal to harass the sea turtles.
3rd There are sea urchins in nearly every crack and crevice and they have a very painful sting if you try to handle them or sit on them (so I am suited up for the occasion).
4th I don't pretend to even guess at what all these types of fish are or are named so do the research if you'd like to know.
5th most colorful reef fish have toxic skin, they get this from the toxic algae they eat off the reef. So the majority of these babies would likely be the last tasty morsel you'd eat.

Now, in effort to better describe the fauna of this place, Think of jagged lava rocks creating a natural cove and reef on the north shore. It is about a 45 minute drive from where we used to live in Kailua. It is deffinetly worth the time in the car. There is ample parking and on the weekdays its not too crowded. It is not only good all day excercise but it is a hobby that mainly the locals enjoy. There really aren't that many tourists there. Most of the visitors on the island snorkel in Waikiki. Maybe because its a bit of a drive. I enjoy the drive because of the fruit stands and shrimp shacks that litter the highway between here and there. Some of the best shrimp I've ever had, and trust you me, I've killed more than my share of crustaceans in my day. Its fun to visit the different stands and find the cheaper ones. Funny thing is that you can still buy most of the fruit they sell at these roadside stands, cheaper at costco. The North Shore also has a lot of Kama'ina shops that sell towels, flip flops, cheap japanese snacks like imitation scallops and wasabe peas. There are scores of fish at sharks cove. They come in all sizes shapes and colors. Its like swimming in a huge salt water aquarium.Most of the fish and life in the reef are so accustomed to humans, they will swim right past you and stay close unless you reach out too quickly. The sea turtles are also pretty friendly but its against the law to get friendly with them. Its fun to go to the pet shop in the mall and oogle the fish and pick out the ones you saw while snorkeling. There is a real downside to this mayhem though, as I learned the hardway. There are predators that wait for you to leave your gear on the beach. My most expensive backpack was stolen, not on this trip but the subsequent one with Chancee. I was lucky, I had left my keys, wallet, and cellphone PDA in the car. The bad part was that my wedding ring was in the backpack. To date I have had two rings stolen and lost one. Looks like its off to walmart to get an aluminum one that easier to replace...&(*%$#>..........
So without further adeiu, enjoy the slides.

PS Coming soon: details on our hairy situation with previous landlords, what we did to remedy it and what we learned from the ordeal. Also an update on our new housing situation inclding any rad 70's style furniture that (april lets me) we get, and what I call "adventures with the uncles" (Uncle Don is a stud, by the way).

Not all sunshine and flowers right now

Well our luck has run out over the last few weeks. Yes we are enjoying ourselves here in paradise but unfortunately the higher powers have deemed April unworthy to participate in much more than couch-potatoism. And this indignation is spreading. If you haven't participated in the poll by now please do so. Funny thing is, all the health issues except the cellulitis have happened to April, and Hannah was the lucky tot who managed to walk for two days on a foot the size of a baseball, and nearly as round too. For the moment, I, Sir Chadwin of Michael, have my health and my family and that is important (the roaches think so too). We are looking into moving out of the house we are currently in due to financial stresses and finding a more suitable location that is both more cost effective and better constructed. There will be a new slideshow when that move takes place. Now for the story of the week....*cue the snarling dog*. Bob and Joanna have their son Scott and his wife and kids living with them for the time being. Scott and Shannon are excellent, successful people that are both caring and well mannered. Scott restores classic cars for a living and as protection of that shop he has a pitbull. Now, I don't know the reasoning behind the location of the pitbull that fateful day, I do know that it wasn't where it should have been, that is a sentiment shared by Joanna. The dog is trained as a guard animal and is in no way docile to strangers. April and I loaded up the girls and headed off for Bob's house to look at a piece of furniture they offered us (More info on this coming in a later post). Upon reaching the house we noticed that all the cars except Bob's truck and Scott's car were in the carport. This meant to us that Shannon and Joanna were home. Now if I can take a second to describe the scene. There is an L shaped row of tall bushes that acts as a barrier between the yard, which is on the south side of the house, and the road on the east side. This same row of 8 foot bushes acts as a shade between Bob's house and his south neighbor. Where the bushes end on the road side, the carport and parking stalls begin. Deep enough for two cars and two cars wide, the first two stalls closest to the home are covered by the carport overhang. On the south side of the first stall is the sidewalk path that leads to the main door. This path is bordered by a trellace and vines on one side and the house wall on the opposite side. The trellace only spans a few feet of the main house entrance path and stops four feet short of reaching the front door. There is a second path that runs the span of the house from the front door around the side to the patio and very well kept back yard. Nice thing to note is the back yard is more of a garden area with large ferns, a koi pond, a really attractive small back area. The kind you see in the 'no grass yard' section of 'Homes and Gardens'. There is a ten foot span of grassy area between the opposite end of the trellace and the boundary bushes. After pulling the car into the first uncovered stall I immediately noticed a large dog sitting in the shade of the trellace on the main path to the house. He perked up and looked straight at us. We had never had any interaction with this dog in the past, he must have been at Scott's shop or locked away on our first visit to Bob's house. Leary of the dog we attempted to call the house several times with no answer. April and I, still in the car looked at eachother and decided to carefully check to see if we could see anyone inside the house. We both took note that the dog was tethered by a purple leash that by the angle of the drape appeared to be tied about six feet up the trellace post. As April got out of the car, I casually said to her, 'don't get bit by the dog.' She kept a very large distance between herself and the dog as she made her way around the car. The dog being a good 5 yards away from the car. Unable to see anything down the main path April stepped around the car onto the grass, this placing the trellace between herself and the dog. She took two more steps closer to see into the house and I saw the dog jump to its feet and disapear from view. Immediately I looked over to see April jumping back. Over her head was a taught cable that ran from the shed on the lawn near the bushes to the house by where the dog was laying. Before I could even open the car door the dog had lunged at April catching her on the right calf. The cable was a running line for the dog and the animal had near full range of the yard behind bushes. I saw him get a moments contact with April's leg before she jumped back out of his accessible area. She immediately fell to the ground clutching her lower leg. In a microsecond's time, crimson liquid began flowing from between her clenched fingers. I knew the dog had done more damage than I had seen. She tried to stand and only managed to slide herself back toward the parking stall. By this time I was out of the car glancing frantically for something to brand as a weapon to relieve April of her assailant. I rushed to her side and sat her down on the grass well out of the dog's reach. Her leg and hands were now covered in dark red blood. For those of you gentlemen out there who've never seen that much of your own sweetheart"s blood spilt, I pray you never have to. There is a primal sense of rage that errupts and burns inside you like hellfire. I was ready to kill. I came to my senses a split second later when sweet April began to sob and earnstly pleaded for something to stop the bleeding. I ran to the car and retrieved a diaper from the back seat and rushed back. Kneeling down close, I got my first good look at the wound. The puncture itself was only an inch long, but the wound was deep. Insomuch that I could see all the visible layers of skin, the fatty tisse and the muscle underneath. I have a picture I took later at the hospital but due to the graffic nature, I won't post it on the blog. I will email it to those of you morbid enough to request it. cfoley@hawaii.rr.com. I wrapped the diaper around her leg and she applied pressure. I stood up and retrieved the cell phone and dialed Joanna's cell again. Still no answer. I called Lindsey who rounded up Chris and the medical supplies we have at the house, "I'll be there as fast as I can," she said and I hung up the phone. Now by this time, only minutes had passed since the incident and I could now hear shuffling inside the house. I laid on the car horn and sent two loud unmistakeable blasts through the house. Still no one exited. At this point I had been unable to reach anyone but Lindsey and was ready to call 911 and request an ambulance but made one last call to Don's house. Don answered, and I 'calmly' (screamed) the results of our current visit to Bob's house. Don relayed the message to Bob who was there working in the shop and repied "We'll be right there." The two uncles live relatively close together so it was less than two minutes before they pulled up in Bob's white Ford Ranger. April and I took turns applying pressure to her leg as she was now sobbing and unable to sit without shaking slightly. Bob assisted me in getting April into the car while Don retrieved the dog and escorted it out of sight. As soon as April was in the car Joanna emerged from the house rubbing her eyes and was immediately in awe of what had transpired. She had been sleeping in the back of the house and was woken up by the car horn. Shannon poked a reluctant head out of the house and then disappeared back through the front door. Joanna ran to the car and began profusely apologizing for not being aware of our arrival and for the results thereof. Bob immediately whipped out his credit card and offered it as payment for any hospital bills incurred. Joanna decided then to accompany us to the ER. The hospital was about a five minute drive from where we were. By the time we arrived the blood on april's leg had dried in dark purple streaks. Lindsey had been called again and instructed to meet us at the hospital. She beat us there and got a wheel chair from inside. We moved April to the chair and rushed her inside. Lindsey then rounded up the two Girls who had been in their carseats the whole time, and took them home. April and I checked into the ER and waited 30 minutes to be taken back for a preliminary evaluation. Healthcare here in Hawaii, just isn't what we've all come to expect in Utah. We were taken to a room with dividers where April was laid in a hospital stretcher. The nurse came in to take vitals and a report and then disapeared for 45 minutes. We had to use the nurse call button to get pain meds. Poor April had to endure the gaping puncture for well over an hour before getting the proper attention. Subsequently, the wound was numbed, irrigated, xrayed, and required a double layer of stitches. Now, lets reflect back to that rage I afore mentioned. The only qwelling of the flames I received was a very appropriate, "That dog will be dead," from Don as we placed April in the passenger seat. The hospital was doing there job way to slow for me to calm down any further, but with April on the stretcher there wasn't anything to be accomplished by loosing my composure. We left the hospital approximately 3 hours later and Joanna led us to a pharmacy and bought april's prescriptions. She truly is a saint in plain clothing. We're going to work on what kind of saint...
Now, a few days after the incident, I don't know if anything has been done with the dog. But all medications and care were paid for by the De Rykes. They also called to check in on April, who is now nicknamed 'Alpo' by Don. April was off her feet Saturday and Sunday and started hobbling around on Monday. Today is Thursday and she has a nasty looking set of stitches on her calf but is up and about for the most part. The site is still very tender to the touch. She is also under orders to stay out of the water until fully healed. When you live in paradise and can't hike or swim, well, I am not worried about the couch floating away. Can you imagine her frustration? The moral of the story here is two-fold. Hawaii is not all sunshine and flowers, and I now more than ever want to know what pit bull tastes like.