Photo Catch up!

Bryan went to District Science Fair

Bryan and 3 classmates from Hanalani got to go to the district level Science Fair. He got a certificate but was not selected to move on to the State Science Fair. I have already taken his Science Fair Project and repackaged it for a rocket. More on that later.




Punahou Carnival

Emily wanted to go to the Punahou Carnival on her birthday, so that is where we went. Believe it or not, I had never been! Got my malasadas, got lost in the pressing crowd, and was surprised that it didn't rain at all this year, despite all the horror stories I've heard.




We Got a Wii!

We took some of our Christmas money and wanted to get a Wii for the kids...YES the KIDS!
It is a pretty hot item and we weren't successful for 3 weeks. Then we heard that Toys R Us was making a shipment available on a Sunday, so we went to Saturday Night Service at New Hope so we could stand in line Sunday morning! (terrible no?). We got there a couple hours early and still we were 50 or so people back. We were glad when the staff came outside and started handing out the slips to everyone in line. If you got a slip, you got a Wii, and that's how they avoided a big mad rush. They had a hundred units to sell and no doubt they were all gone BEFORE THE STORE TECHNICALLY OPENED!

We have really enjoyed the system and it is a very active gameplay style. Em has reported sore legs after playing bowling all evening and Bryan's arm was sore swinging the bat all day in baseball. Good to see them playing active games.



Em's 40th Birthday Getaway

We went to the pacific Beach Hotel for a weekend to celebrate Emily's 40th birthday. We had some friends over for brunch and also went to Waikiki Beach with the Mannings. It was a nice weekend and just the kind of thing Emily loves! The only snafu happened when, despite repeated warnings, Bradley accidentally locked the room safe with a random (unknown) code with our laptop and his DS inside. Fortunately a call to the staff and someone came to the rescue. It was suprisingly easy to get the safe opened,...with the right tool. It's a secret.






I Had to Laugh!

I saw this garbage truck on the highway and I had to giggle. I bet they don't get many complaints! Read their slogan to know why.




My Ham Radio Plates Finally Arrived

I love my truck, but it is a bit of a common design in Hawaii. I see gray Tacomas all the time! Everyone seems to do something to make their truck a little different from everyone else's. Well as soon as I got my ham radio license, I applied for a custom plate. It's not a standard vanity plate. Instead it is confirmed and distributed by the Department of Emergency Management (formerly Civil Defense). They wait until they have enough of them then do 'em all at once. Here I am 6 months after applying and I finally got mine. I think it's cool.




Joey's First Birthday

We had a nice time at Joey's first birthday party last week. It was fun to see a bunch of old FCF friends and hang out with the Wananadians too (our small group). The food was great too.




Amateur Television Rocket Payload

One of the main reasons my blogging quieted was that I started spending evenings working on this amateur television rocket payload. It all started shortly after Bryan's science fair project was completed. Bry and I wandered into the Hobby Company and started talking with one of the young employees there,...Jesse (16 years old). He was telling me about this High Power rocket he was developing and how he wanted to have an on-board video payload. I was telling him about Bryan's project and we quickly decided to collaborate. I was going to develop the video payload while he finished the rocket.

I spent many evenings building cardboard prototypes and testing components, but in the end I was very proud of the final project. Last Friday it was supposed to fly, but some of the parts Jesse ordered for the rocket had not come in (like fins!), so we will try to fly again in May. There is all kinds of paper work to do with a rocket of this size and it takes a lot of planning to get everything in place for a launch. This whole project has kinda given me the bug to get into High Power Rocketry and become certified to level 2, which requires some testing and demonstration of skills.

Instead the latgest engine we flew on Friday was a G, which is a little disappointing considering we were hoping to fly an I-engine. (Each letter doubles the power of the one before)



Wananada Wednesdays

So now I'm kinda getting back into the old routine. We have started a new series on Wednesday nights about marriage. We so enjoy our small group and we long to get to know each member more as we deepen our commitment to each other and to God.



And that sort of brings me up to date. I have been wanting to write more about all these events, but I'll be satisfied with this. Now hopefully I can blog forward without feeling like I've skipped to much!

Peace Love and Aloha,

Rich