Time for the Moore's to fly away home. No more aloha this year.

But so that we all remember, here are some of our favorites from Ko 'Olina, place of joy:

Sherman- Jump off rock and survive....Sushi at Roy's; The 'Frying' Dragon, The Big Popper, The Ko 'Olina Caterpillar

Jennifer- Roy's....playing virus in the pool.....Angie getting the stranger to open his bag of wasabi dorritos and share them with her

Emily- Eatting meals together and conquering the doughnut

Ryan- I liked just swimming around and being with family

Abby- I liked when we went to the rock, and I jumped off it three times. I also liked seeing the boat, Queen Anne's Revenge, from Pirate's of the Caribbean. I think I liked swimming out in the ocean and playing with my cousins. It felt cool when I got two coconuts 'cause I did the hula in front of everybody at the luau

Luke- Abby's first one was my favorite, too, only I jumped off two times

Mark- Fresh towels....Butterfish...Being in the place and with the people that bring me the greatest joy

Angie- PB and J at the pool with the whole family...sunsets and rainbows... yoga on the rocks....seeing friends...Angel's shave ice w/snow cap...a fully dressed table at Roy's

Jessica- Sitting by the pool.....Roy's

Taylor- Cliff jumping...Mermaid Watching...No shirts required

Amanda- Relaxing by the pool....No worries about hair and make-up

Brandon- Virus! Having the slide all to ourselves. And I also like playing the animal and the ninja games. Finding sea-shells.

Jeffrey- I liked playing games with the family, especially virus. I liked the slide and shave ice.

Creepy Crawlies

The cousins were pretty impressed with Mark's Watch, I can remove my finger trick." But when he took it to the next level, he didn't get quite the reaction he'd anticipated.

Check out Luke's face. Not an ounce of concern-all boy-totally cool. Even our kids had a hard time with that one the first time they saw it. (Abby wasn't impressed.)

Although...later, when the kids went lizzard hunting, the cousins were sufficiently freaked out.

But good for Abby! She not only got her hands on one, but held it long enough to get a couple pictures. She didn't want any lizzard earrings, though. I don't blame you Abby. I haven't tried a pair on yet either.

Luke, your mom was right!

The Easter bunny does visit Arizona! Whew.

So glad fear of no easter bunny, no wii, and not sleeping in your own bed didn't keep you all from coming...and look how well your trust in mom paid off! It was a great trip. Thanks for coming. We love you.

"Does Arizona always smell this good?"

It does in the spring! Warm breezes, beautiful sunshine, and everywhere you go the scent of orange blossoms in the air. It's wonderful! The cousins thought so, too. Maybe it was the sun, maybe it's that they were still on east coast time, but they were up early Saturday picking oranges, lemons, and grapefruits.

So what do you get when you add team work to youthful enthusiasm?

Fresh squeezed OJ with our conference waffles, homemade lemonade with our BBQ, and oodles of grapefruit. I think Ryan was a little dismayed when he tasted the grapefruit sans sugar and thought he might have to eat all the fruit he picked. Luckily, there are plenty of people in the house who love it.

Had to put this last picture in. Jeffrey went missing for a time between sessions. We finally looked outside and realized he'd gotten himself stuck in one of the grapefruit trees. Poor guy!

I am going to miss fresh fruit 10 steps out my back door for over half the year. It's been wonderful!

The Good Egg

...and yes, it's good. The adults were impressed with the food, but I think the kids were more fond of the fountain outside. Oh well. They'll learn.

Can you regift wishes?

To the Beautiful Birthday Girl

Hope you have a perfect birthday. I remember when your mom and I were turning 14. Can't believe you are already there. What a fun age. I still remember sitting next to the 4 year old you at a restaurant and listening to you order for yourself, "Pasta with marinara on the side, please." I think you've always been grown up. Nice that your age is finally catching up. We love you, Emily. Happy Birthday.