Our Family is Complete

Athena made it home safe and whole, Thank God! She survived her flights and the incredible journey. She is in Hawaii and acclimating to her new environment. She is going through the same transition we went through....Hawaii is way HOTTER than Anchorage!!!!!! (Especially this time of year!!!!) She spends most of her days resting and trying to keep cool. She is a shedding monster....we have filled up over 1/2 a grocery sack with hair from brushing. We think she is also missing the Burson's a bit. Which is a good thing, I think we'd all be sad if she didn't.

Jillian is crazy about Athena! The first night was a little exciting....Jillian was whacked in the face by an Athena tail within the first 30 seconds of greeting, this was something Jillian had forgotten about Athena. Her tail is lethal!!! Jillian is acclimating to life with a dog and they are both doing great! Athena is extra gentle and tolerant with Jillian. And Jillian is loving playing with her.

At the airport....Athena flew on Aloha (cargo) from Honolulu to Kona. Here is the guy bringing Athena around on a forklift.

The kennel was much too big to fit in our trunk or back seat...even with the seats folded down. So, we improvised and strapped it to the hood. If you look closely, the 2 green dots in the windshield are Athena eyes. :) Thank goodness we live 5 miles (or less) away.

Athena comes home today!

At this moment, Athena is flying from Houston, TX, to Honolulu, HI. She will be landing in Honolulu in ONE HOUR!!!!!!!! YEAH! We are all so excited and can't wait to see her! She will have a brief visit in Honolulu and proceed to Kona this evening, arriving at 9:30 pm.

The Burson's picked up a larger kennel for Athena to fly in...she was too big for her other one! She almost looks like a small puppy in this GIANT kennel.

We are so thankful for the Burson's! They loved and cared for Athena during our move to Hawaii...she lived with them for 9 months and became part of their family during that time. They spoiled her every minute...in this picture she is sitting ON their couch! Joy tells me that Athena is allowed on all their furniture and even sleeps with Josh. Athena is a very lucky dog to have two families who love her so much!!!!!!! Thanks guys, we love you!!!!!

I took Jillian to the pet store yesterday to pick out a "welcome home" present for Athena. She chose this super cute Princess Hedgehog and takes this toy everywhere...even to naptime. :)

Jeremy is outside enjoying a vog-free, windy afternoon on the lanai. :)

Kilauea is Active!

Kilauea Volcano is active right now and the lava is flowing. A few weeks ago, we drove over to the park to see the lava. This made me VERY nervous....we've all seen the touristy pictures of people standing so close to the red stuff and I have no desire to be that close to red lava. Plus, protecting Jillian adds an extra level of paranoia for me. Jeremy thinks the volcanoes are so cool...he convinced me to take the trip and off we went. As soon as we arrived, I noticed the massive amount of state officials working and all the yellow barrier tape...I immediately felt at ease with the situation. They only allowed us to get so close to the flowing lava and close ended up being something like 3 football field lengths away. That was close enough for me.

We were not able to see the actual red, flowing lava enter the ocean....we could see steam on land along the path it took and then also above the water as the lava reached the ocean. This picture is of crashing waves and lava steam. It was a neat experience, a fun family road trip, and I would definitely do it again.

Not only does an active volcano create obvious lava hazards, it also emits a toxic sulfur dioxide gas that is very harmful to breathe. Right now state officials are evacuating many areas on that side of the island. On our side of the island, the SO2 gas has created a dense vog that makes the mountain and ocean around us appear hazy. Many mornings we can't even see the mountain and the ocean looks very gray (instead of blue). When we first moved in, our neighbor told me she never opens her windows and runs their A/C year round to keep the vog out. Now I know why, the dust in our home builds up fast. I should probably dust, vacuum and sweep daily. The vog dust is more like dirt....I wiped off my scrapping table the other day and the dust was thick and brown. WOW, that is what we have been breathing! And we are physically far from the active volcano! It is no wonder the state is evacuating closer residential areas.