The Life and Times of Jillian Marie

Still Daddy's Number 1 Fan

2011-08-28T13:39:00.001-08:00

After the Lavaman Keauhou.

Matching shirts

2011-08-24T13:34:00.002-08:00

New year. New school. New shirts. Jillian and her Mama both go to Innovations Public Charter School. Jillian is a student. Jennifer is a tutor in the 5th grade.

The First Day of First Grade

2011-08-10T13:30:00.002-08:00

First day of school at Innovations.

Leaving the house for the first day of the first grade.

Home Depot Little Builder's Day

2011-08-06T13:25:00.002-08:00

Making a pencil box for the first day of school coming soon.

Jillian of all trades

2011-07-20T13:18:00.002-08:00

Master in the kitchen. Jillian is seen here finishing off a skillet of pancakes.

Master handygirl. Jillian is seen here helping her Dad fix the sink.

Band Day

2011-07-11T13:11:00.002-08:00

Todd Rundgren said it best, "I don't wanna work, I just wanna bang on the drum all day!"

Jillian and her mama went to a band day at the local high school. Jillian had a fun day with the drums.

Kids Workshop at Lowe's

2011-06-25T22:52:00.003-08:00

The finished project.

Jillian and her Daddy went to Lowe's to the Kids Workshop to build a flag waver for the upcoming July 4th holiday. It was really cool to build and Jillian got to do all the work. Daddy got the nails started and put the pieces in place, and then Jillian finished it off. Up next in a few weeks: a tow truck.

Time to go home

2011-06-24T22:48:00.002-08:00

Why does Jillian have that huge smile on her face on the airplane ride from Seattle to Kona? Well, duh! She had a super fantastic time in Illinois and Ohio this year!!!!!!!!

The Great Lakes Science Center

2011-06-21T22:39:00.001-08:00

We went to the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland on our last day in Ohio. It was a ton of fun and a huge amount of interesting things to touch, learn, and do. We're not really sure what this thing does, but it sure was cool to spin around.

We tried to build an arch like the one in St. Louis, but were not very successful. The blocks kept falling away from the wall.

Here is Jillian and Nana experimenting with a device that makes puffs of smoke. Jillian would push down on it and a perfect donut of smoke would come out. Pretty neat!

Ice cream with the cousins

2011-06-20T22:36:00.002-08:00

Jillian doesn't get to see her cousins in Ohio very often, but when she does it is guaranteed to be a great time. Here is Jillian being silly with her cousins at the ice cream bar after a fun night of dinner and lizard viewing at the Winking Lizard Tavern.

Fantastic four wheelin' fun!

2011-06-18T22:29:00.002-08:00

Uncle Justin and Uncle Jake have a four wheeler and it is awesome! Who knew that riding the four wheeler around the yard could be such an amazing time. We think that Jillian's two uncles had just as much fun as Jillian did.

Nana's Pets

2011-06-16T22:25:00.002-08:00

For the seven days that we were in Ohio, Jillian was in dog and cat heaven. Nana and Papa Dan have three dogs and two cats. Jillian gave these animals more attention than they could have ever hoped for. The puppy and kitty playtime was exhausting for all that were involved. Here in this picture, the dogs are resting up, and Jillian has wrapped them up for their nap.

Haircuts in Hannibal

2011-06-14T21:24:00.001-08:00

Now it is time to be serious. Only Aunt Katie can cut Jillian's hair.

Uncle CJ gives Jillian a pony tail.

Aunt Natalie gets a new doo.

Just practicing.

For the love of Mimi

2011-06-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

There are two things that Jillian has an excess of. One is energy and the other is love.

Mimi was the recipient of Jillian's abundance of love for a few days while we were in Quincy at Pop-Pop's house. Mimi wasn't sure what to do with all that love. Mimi didn't run and hide at the first sight of Jillian and was actually quite tolerant of all the holding and cuddling.

Sharing the couch with Cuzn' Ava

2011-06-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

Sharing the couch with Cousin Ava was a great concept but wasn't so easy to apply in reality. The first thirty minutes or so of bedtime was filled with playing, kicking, giggling, and horseplay.

The Final Flat Rock Picture

2011-06-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Grandma Suzy, Aunt Allie, Cousin Ava, Mama, Aunt Natalie, and Jillian at Flat Rock. This is an area that is just off in the woods near Grandma Eleanor's house in Missouri. This place is very special to Mama and all her sisters because they used to play here as little girls. This was the last visit to Flat Rock because the property was sold the next day.

Tie-dying for the new baby

2011-06-10T21:03:00.000-08:00

After Aunt Natalie's (Pregnant Lily) baby shower, everyone got together to tie dye some baby clothes and rags. It was a group effort and very messy. Almost all of the participants had blue and purple hands the next day.

Hissing Aunties

2011-06-10T20:56:00.000-08:00

Jillian is having some fun with her three aunts- Aunt Allie, Aunt Natalie, and Aunt Katie. They are pretending to be cats and hissing at the camera.

Jillian and Pop-Pop

2011-06-10T20:50:00.000-08:00

Pop-Pop gives the best shoulder rides!

Getting a bird's eye view of the baby shower in Pacific, MO.

Goodbye Kindergarten! Hello First Grade!

2011-06-03T15:01:00.002-08:00

Jillian the graduate.

Last year the graduating Kindergarten class got their pictures put on posters and then hung up on the stage. It was such a big hit, that it was continued this year. This year the teachers asked each student what they wanted to be when they grow up and also included that on the poster. Jillian said, "I want to be a Mom, have kids, and be a doctor." We are so proud!!!

Poniolo Party Fun!

2011-05-28T14:54:00.002-08:00

Jillian got her face-painted as a dog.

The Poniolo (Cowboy) Party is the biggest fundraiser of the year for Jillian's school. It is usually scheduled earlier in the year, but this year there was a conflict with another big event in Kona so the party got pushed back until the last weekend of school. Jillian had an amazing time playing and petting all the animals that were at her school. Jillian is an animal lover.

Jillian gets her first pedicure

2011-05-23T14:51:00.001-08:00

Jillian and her Mama went out and had some fun on their day off. The day started with lunch at Wendy's (Jillian's choice) and then they moved over to get a Mama/daughter pedicure before some shopping at Macy's

Jillian checks out one of God's promises

2011-05-18T14:46:00.002-08:00

On this evening in May it was raining at the house and mauka, but it was almost sunset. The sun was low enough on the horizon that it was beyond and below the clouds on the horizon and so it was shining in on Kona. The sun was just at the perfect angle to create a majestic rainbow right behind our house. Jillian stood out on our lanai and watched the rainbow for long time.

Mother's Day Presentation

2011-05-06T22:12:00.002-08:00

Jillian and her one and only.

Here is a shot of Jillian bringing her Mama a special made Mother's Day card and a leigh. The Kindergarten class worked all week on their special gifts.

Mouse Attack Team J2

2011-04-28T22:03:00.002-08:00

Since the April Fools Kitty was just that... not real, Jeremy and Jillian trapped a mouse under the stove. These two mouse hunters were armed with a flashlight and a sticky trap so the mouse pretty much had no chance whatsoever of making it out from under the stove alive.

Pajama Day at school

2011-04-27T22:01:00.000-08:00

Does it get any better than swinging on the monkey bars in your PJ's?

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when you are six years old, loaded up with sugar, and the lookout for more candy.

A hidden easter egg is spotted on the far side of the yard.

Jillian's Easter dress. Jillian and Mama actually bought four dresses because they could not decide which one was the prettiest so they got them all. Jillian had an Easter dress the entire month of April.

Scandanavian Shaved Ice

2011-04-18T22:09:00.002-08:00

Jillian's smile is directly related to the size of the shaved ice that her and Mama went to get while Daddy was swimming at the pier.

Fun at the best park in Kona

2011-04-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

Jillian, just being Jillian...

April Fools Kitty!

2011-04-01T19:17:00.002-08:00

Here is a picture of Jillian, Jeremy, and Jillian's new kitty, Master Chief. We have had an ongoing post on Facebook about Jillian getting a new kitty for her birthday. We told all of our Facebook friends that the new kitty was going to be chosen by democratic vote. Unfortunately, there was no bipartisanship because Jillian and Jennifer voted yes and Jeremy and Athena voted no. A stalemate. We wrote on Facebook that Athena defected to the other side and so we got a kitty... except we took a picture of Jillian's stuffed kitty that she got for Christmas two years ago. We also told everyone that Jeremy got to name it and he named it Master Chief. Some of our Facebook friends bought off on the April Fools day joke, but most did not.

Hilton Waikoloa 2011

2011-03-26T19:11:00.002-08:00

We decided to take a little mini-vacation (A.K.A staycation) to the Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort for Jillian's birthday.

These two pictures are of the three of us riding on the tram around the hotel grounds. The Hilton is so big that there is a tram and a boat that take you to your room. It is too far to walk! Jillian loved taking the tram. Here we are headed to one of the many pools.

Perrrrrrrrfect!

2011-03-11T21:09:00.002-09:00

No birthday would be complete without enough chocolate cake for the next six birthdays!

Jillian usually wants to go to Bubba Gump's for her birthday dinner, and this year was no exception. However, we had to go to Macaroni Grill because a tsunami the morning of Jillian's birthday destroyed the restaurant. What are the odds?

Birthday presents

2011-03-11T21:05:00.000-09:00

A skateboard from Ma and Pa.

Barbies from Nana.

A pillow pet from Grandma Suzy.

Mood swings

2011-03-07T21:01:00.001-09:00

GOOD MOOD

BAD MOOD

Cat in the Hat at Target

2011-02-26T20:56:00.002-09:00

The Target store in Kona had a reading day where the employees read Dr. Suess books to the children. When they were all done reading, there was a surprise visit from none other than, the Cat in The Hat, himself!! Jillian enjoyed the storytime and all the kids got a free book. Jillian chose a cute dog book to take home. Unfortunately, the book was written in spanish so we guess that book will be saved for Aunt Allie to read to her.

More happiness! Still no strings...

2011-02-24T20:50:00.000-09:00

OK, maybe with a dash of silliness!

First time for sushi!

Are you kidding me? Can there be anything cuter than these two? If so, then it would be a crime because they would steal your heart.

Daddy's Number One Fan!!!!

2011-02-06T20:46:00.001-09:00

Jeremy and Jillian have made a tradition of always taking a picture after one of his races. Jillian is her Dad's number one fan and always cheers the loudest.

Oh Canada!

2011-02-04T20:38:00.001-09:00

These are from Jillian's Parade of Nations at school. Jillian learned about many nations and continents. Each student picked one nation to make a project about and Jillian chose Canada. She made the Canadian flag and presented it during the ceremony. After the ceremony, there was food from each continent for everyone to enjoy.

Saturn and Sydney

2011-01-31T20:30:00.001-09:00

Daddy says one pet at a time so Jillian and Mama have been visiting the shelter cats at the Humane Society.

Saturn is the orange kitten and Sydney is the gray cat.

"Daddy, if you get me a kitty it will make my heart so happy!!!!!!"

The Praying Mantis- Part Deux

2011-01-24T20:22:00.002-09:00

Daddy brings the coolest things home from work! We're sure that this praying mantis will be much happier eating bugs around our house than he would have been at Daddy's work. Before he found a new home on our lanai, Jillian got acquainted.

Forced Cuddles

2011-01-23T18:49:00.003-09:00

Here is a picture taken with Jen's phone that Jillian really wanted to have. You can see by the expression on Athena's face that she is overjoyed by the situation.

Happiness! No strings attached...

2011-01-07T19:55:00.001-09:00

Happiness wearing winter clothes!

Happiness on the couch!

Happiness at church!

Santa was here!

2010-12-25T19:28:00.000-09:00

It looks like Jillian made the cut for the good girl list for 2010. Santa stopped by the house on Christmas Eve and left Jillian a Rapunzel tower that doubled as a Barbie dollhouse. The living room exploded into a Barbie playland on Christmas day.

Santa cleared out the cookies and milk.

Jillian as Mary

2010-12-19T19:35:00.001-09:00

Jillian was chosen to play Mary for the church's Keiki Christmas Pageant. She was very excited about getting to play Mary and hold the baby Jesus.

Santa thaws out before the big day

2010-12-11T20:04:00.000-09:00

Santa Claus made a special appearance in Kona to visit all the kids so he could update his list. Jillian was beyond excited when he showed up. Santa arrived on the back of a convertible and Jillian asked where the reindeer were. We had to tell her that it was too hot in Hawaii during the day for reindeer so he borrowed the elves' convertible Mustang. In this picture Jillian is giving Santa explicit details about the Barbie doll house that she wants. Specifically, the doll house that has an elevator in it... because all the best doll houses have elevators.

Jillian and Athena go to the beach

2010-11-27T19:55:00.000-09:00

On Thanksgiving weekend we all decided to go to the beach. We found a dog-friendly beach so we loaded Athena up in the car and took her too. Jillian and Athena both had a great time chasing after the sticks that Jeremy was throwing out into the ocean. Jeremy would throw the stick and then Athena and Jillian would both go swimming after it. Athena would always get their first because swimming is an instinct in black labs and Athena has one pwerful dog paddle.

Athena's Quarter Birthday Celebration

2010-11-21T20:01:00.002-09:00

This was totally Jillian's idea to celebrate Athena's quarter birthday. Jillian created a birthday cake using an old apple container, three candles, and a lot of dog food. Unfortunately for Athena, she was not allowed to celebrate by gorging herself on all that dog food because she would have done it and made herself sick. Nevertheless, a good day!

The Return of Lilly

2010-11-19T19:50:00.001-09:00

If you love a gecko so much then you should set it free. If the Gecko returns to you then it is yours to keep... or so Jillian thinks. One evening Jillian and I were sitting in the living room and she was telling me about her day at school. She was midsentence, stopped, go huge eyes, and bolted towards the front door! Lilly had returned from the wild. We're not really sure if this is the same gecko that Jillian caught last month and then released, but she was convinced. So, who am I to argue?

Notice Lilly on the wall and the enormous smile on Jillian's face.

Back in the critter catcher for a few hours before a late night release.

Lilly the Gecko

Jillian the shark diver

2010-11-11T23:21:00.001-09:00

The family had a trip to Honolulu planned and we wanted to go see the sharks on the North Shore of Oahu. There are a few tour companies that will take guests out and put you in a cage with sharks swimming all around you. It was way cool!
Jillian was a little skiddish around all the sharks at first. After a bit Jillian got a little more brave and moved over to the edge of the deck to watch the sharks up close. She was very concerned that the sharks were going to come on board. After the Captain assured Jillian that she was perfectly safe, she decided to check them out. Eventually, when Mom and Dad were in the cage with the sharks, Jillian turned into a shark warrior and got into the water with us.

We counted as many as 12 sharks circling the boat.

Tangling with sharks is hard work!

Pumpkin Time!

2010-10-31T23:15:00.000-08:00

It is Halloween 2010! Here is Jillian and her Dad carving the pumpkin to go out in front of the house. In Hawaii, the pumpkin has to be carved the day of Halloween because it gets moldy within about a day and has to go to the compost pile. This is an annual ritual for these two carvers.

Dolphins = Awesome!

2010-10-29T22:57:00.002-08:00

The Waikoloa Hilton Resort has a Dolphin Program for guests to enjoy. We had seen the dolphins several times but the minimum age to participate in one of their programs is five years old. We promised Jillian that she could go for her 5th birthday. However, when we found out that her cousin Ava was coming, we decided to wait so that they could go together. It was a mega-blast!

The dolphin day started out with some bookwork in the classroom learning about the dolphins. Here is Jillian and Ava.

The dolphin is welcoming the kids with a big splash!

The dolphin is posing for the kids and the army of parents armed with cameras.

Ava the best Cuz' from da Mainland

2010-10-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

Cousin Ava was here on the Big Island for a whole week on vacation with her family. Ava is eight years old but the closest in age to Jillian of all of our family. The two of them had an outstanding time together. Wherever and whatever Ava was doing, there was a five year old one step behind wanting the same thing.

Jillian and Ava at the Volcano Park

Jillian and Ava at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort

Jillian and Ava at Greenwell Coffee Farm

The Gecko Whisperer

2010-10-13T21:42:00.001-08:00

If you are at all familiar with geckos then you probably already know that they are very very fast. Geckos are even harder to catch. Somehow Jillian is able to catch them and they usually end up in her critter cage for a short stint before being released back into the wild (the wild being our lanai).

Keiki Triathlon 2010

2010-10-08T21:34:00.002-08:00

Jillian the Triathlete! The University of the Nations Preschool has several big events for the kids, but the Keiki Triathlon is our favorite. This year was Jillian's third and final year of participating in the triathlon so it was very special for all of us. We had no idea back in 2007 that the Keiki Triathlon would be such a huge and memorable event for the family.

Here is a picture of Jillian and the rest of her Kindergarten triathletes.

Jillian the IronKeiki with her IronKeiki supporters.

This year we decided to get all dressed up to show our support for Jillian. We weren't the only parents that had keiki specific clothing to show support for their triathlete. A special thank you to Nana for being Jillian's financial supporter in 2010.

The Kindergarten School Picture

2010-09-29T23:08:00.002-08:00

University of the Nations Kindergarten 2010

When the Black Lab is away...

2010-09-21T22:00:00.004-08:00

...Rocky the Mongoose will play

One day we saw that we had a little visitor in our backyard. The mongoose climbed out from between two rocks in our rock wall in the backyard. He poked his head out and looked around for a very long time. No doubt, he was looking for one giant black lab that calls our backyard her home and defends it from intruders.

When Jillian found out that we had a mongoose in the backyard, she was very concerned about his well-being. Jillian would put some of Athena's dog food in a little bowl and then take it to the rock wall and put it out for the mongoose to have something to eat. The next morning the food would be gone. Of course, five seconds after Jillian would go inside the house, Athena would go eat the food. Jillian would get so excited that the food was gone that we couldn't break it to her that Athena was really eating the food and not the mongoose. The mongoose got named Rocky.

Jillian and her Kindergarten teacher

2010-08-26T21:54:00.001-08:00

This is Jillian and her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Gisella. On this day the kids were making hand and foot prints on paper. Jillian is always coming home from school with creative projects that Mrs. Gisella comes up with for the students.

The first big school project

2010-08-24T07:51:00.000-08:00

I give you the world!

One of Jillian's first Kindergarten projects at school was to make a map of the world and then to present it to the class. Here is Jillian doing a joint presentation with her classmate. We have the map at home now and if homes in Kona had fireplaces then we would have it over our mantle.

The BIG K

2010-08-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

The first day of Kindergarten for Jillian at University of the Nations on August 9th, 2010.

All big girls need to eat a good breakfast to get the brain synapses firing. This ain't preschool anymore!

Jillian was very excited about going back to school after the summer break and seeing all her friends. Some of Jillian's friends went to public school, but most of them stayed at U of N. Jillian has taken this ride from the house to the school many times, but never as the big fish in the little pond.

Jillian with her lunchbox at the front door of her school. Mama is behind the camera with giant tears streaming down her face.

Bike Rider

2010-08-01T22:55:00.002-08:00

Our little girl has taken yet another step towards growing up - Jeremy taught Jillian to ride her bike today, without the training wheels.

She is doing amazing!

She will always be my baby though!!!!!!

Cat Hunting

2010-07-29T22:36:00.005-08:00

THE HUNTERS

THE HUNTED

CATS FEAR THIS!

Jillian saw a stray cat across the street the other night and it was very far away so she came inside and got our binoculars to see it close up. However, by the time Jillian got back outside the cat was gone and so she went hunting for it. It got too late and so we made her come inside but promised that we would go back out and do some cat hunting. Jillian has been non-stop excited about the planned excursion for the last two days and could not stop talking about it.

Here are the cat hunting trip results:

4 mamba jamba cockroaches seen

14 slugs spotted

6 neighbor dogs barking at us

0 cats found

Swim Lessons

2010-07-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

We decided that it was time for Jillian to take some swim lessons and the County of Hawaii has a great program at the Kona Aquatics Center for kids. Jillian goes to swim lessons four nights a week with a couple of other kids. She is in the youngest class right now and it is a perfect for for her getting used to the water without a floatie. Initially, Jillian did not even want to get in the water, but then her friend Joshua showed up and jumped right in, so she got a little more brave. Jillian has been looking forward to swim lessons all week!

Kula the Escaping Dog

2010-07-17T23:04:00.001-08:00

Kula is a Golden Retriever that belongs to some very good friends of ours. Kula has separation anxiety disorder and her owners are gone to the Mainland the entire month of July. Kula was relieving some of the stress by consistently digging her way out of her yard and running the neighborhood. Kula eventually made her way to our house as a last ditch effort before the kennel because we have Athena and a five foot fence. No luck. Kula escaped three times in the day that she was here.

Jillian had instant affection for Kula. The day after Kula went to the kennel, Athena moped around the house like she had lost her life long companion instead of a dog that she knew for a little over 24 hours.

VBS

2010-06-20T23:48:00.000-08:00

Vacation Bible School at Cornerstone took place in the middle of June. The theme was Saddle Ridge Ranch so everyone was in full cowboy and cowgirl attire. Jeremy was traveling to the Mainland all except for the last day, which happened to be parents' night. Jeremy really got put to work on parents night because he was the BBQ grillmaster and cooked up all the hotdogs and hamburgers for the whole crowd.

This is Jillian in her classroom with Auntie Grace and Uncle Matt.

Now for the feature presentation

2010-06-04T23:36:00.000-08:00

This is what yummy looks like before it gets to your plate!

The whole point of the summer Alaska trip was to do some fishing (and see friends). Jeremy and Jillian drove to Ninilchik, AK on the Kenai to do some halibut fishing. The scheduled day for the fishing trip got weathered out so they spent an extra night and went out the next day. It was kind of chilly but the weather was good and not raining. Jillian stayed back at the cabin and played with Lara and Allison while Daddy went out on the boat with his buddies. The fishing trip was the last hurrah for the Alaska adventure before it was time to pack up and go back to Mama in Hawaii.

The post Alaska Wildberry sugar rush crash

2010-06-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

Energy slowly....... wearing....... down...... must....... rest...... now......

The giant sugar rush crash of June 1st, 2010 occurred in Uncle Tim's office watching cartoons.

The post Alaska Wildberry sugar rush

2010-06-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

What happens when you load up a five year old with loads of chocolate and naturally sweet berries? Insanity.

Burning off some energy at the McDonald's play place.

Good food and good fun

2010-06-01T10:26:00.002-08:00

Alaska Wildberry Products
This place has yummy treats made of different ypes of Alaskan berries coated in chocolate. WOW!

Here is Jillian, Joy, and Josh hanging out on the bridge over Campbell Creek. This creek empties out at Lake Campbell over by where we used to live.

Here is Jillian enjoying the other half of Jeremy's lunch at The Peanut Farm. The Peanut Farm is an Anchorage staple of good food, a lot of big screen TVs, and cool car shows in the summer.

A beautiful Alaskan Memorial Day

2010-05-31T17:35:00.002-08:00

When we lived in Alaska, this was the lind of weather that we waited all winter for. Memorial Day was sunny and in the low 70s so we went to the park to play.

Jillian and Joy playing queen of the hill!

Uncle Tim is giving free pushes on the swing.

On the way back to the house after a long afternoon of playing in the warm, Alaska sun.

Daddy and Jillian go to Alaska

2010-05-30T17:22:00.002-08:00

Jeremy and Jillian decided back in February to go to Alaska for some fun, fishing, and some bonding. Mama had to stay at home this trip because of work. The two of them left for Alaska on Jillian's last day of school and flew from Kona to Honolulu and then on to Anchorage for six days. They stayed with our old neighbors: The Burson family (who have not seen Jillian in two years). In this picture, Aunt Joy is giving Jillian some braids in her hair.

A little further pampering from Aunt Joy in the form of a manicure while Uncle Tim looks on.

What do you get when you put Tim and Josh Burson together with a five year old?

Answer: Uncontrollable tickling!

Promotion Day!

2010-05-28T17:15:00.001-08:00

Jillian is an official Kindergartener now! We took this picture during the ceremony while Jillian's class was making their presentation. The class sang two songs and during the one, Jillian was a butterfly. Most of the day was focused on the current Kindergarten class graduating to first grade, but that will be Jillian next year. For now: summer break!

Crazy stuff from the Buckeye State

2010-05-13T00:29:00.003-08:00

The feast at Ferraro's Family Restaurant.

The forbidden picture.

Uncle Justin was not happy about his picture being taken and less hapyy when we informed him that it would be headed to Jillian's blog.

If you are under the age of 70 then Aunt Eileen's cat does not like you. Needless to say that "Tiger Woods" was not happy with Jillian's endless amounts of energy. This picture is what you get when you don't meet the criteria mentioned above.

Every cloud has a silver lining

2010-05-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

In May we had to make a quick trip to Ohio to take care of some family issues. We had not been planning on going back to the Midwest this year, but things worked out differently. It was really great for Jillian to see some of her family on Jeremy's side because the last time we were back was last summer.

Jillian with Aunt Eileen

Jillian and Papa Dan all tied up with the dogs (they were a load of fun)

Jillian and Nana headed out for a walk

Jillian and Aunt Krissy (she has lots of fun stuff in her room)

More unlimited fun

2010-05-02T20:05:00.000-08:00

The neighbor boys have scooters of their own (in boy colors) and Jillian loves to borrow one and ride up and down the street. We used some leftover birthday money and got Jillian one to ride around with. We thought that the first thing she would want to do would be to go ride it on the street, but she likes using it in the house instead. Surprisingly, the scooter has become a permanent inside form of transportation for Jillian, Jeremy, and Jennifer. :)

Deja Vu

2010-04-20T16:37:00.002-08:00

Jillian at the Dole Plantation

Jillian eating pineapple yogurt in 2010

Jillian eating pineapple yogurt in 2005

Pineapples, a train ride, and a new set of eyeballs

2010-04-20T16:24:00.001-08:00

This is a picture of Jillian next to a baby pineapple at the Dole Plantation on the island of Oahu. We had some extra time after we checked out of the hotel and before our flight left to have a little fun. We drove upcountry to the Plantation to get some pineapple yogurt (More on that to come in the next post).

We had a coupon for the Dole Plantation train ride so we got on their little train and rode it through the pineapple fields. It was cold and rainy this day. The train cars had fold down sides but all the tourists wanted them up to take pictures of trees and plants that we see every day so we were outvoted on putting the sides down. We were very cold and got rained on! Here is a moment of happiness just before the train left the station.

The whole trip to Honolulu was so Jennifer could get Lasik eye surgery and would not need glasses or contacts anymore. The surgery was a success! Jen had to wear these funky glasses for the rest of the trip to Honolulu so that her eyes were protected and Jillian thought they were funny looking.

The swingset of unlimited fun

2010-04-09T21:17:00.001-08:00

Jillian's birthday present from us got put up almost a month late, but it eventually went in to the backyard today. We had been waiting for a different one to be in stock at a store in town, but this one showed up and we liked it even more. Jeremy put the swingset together a little bit each day and Jillian would nag him to get it done faster. Jillian loves to swing, but hasn't mastered the ability to swing with her own momentum so she is constantly asking for someone to push her.

Princess Party at the house

2010-03-20T21:04:00.003-08:00

We borrowed a bounce house from some friends for the kids to play in. It was a big hit!
All of Jillian's school friends were invited to the party and the parents were told to bring a swimsuit and a change of clothes. We set up the pool for the kids to play in. Jillian loves her pool!

Here is a group shot of Jillian opening presents. Some of the kids were very anxious to help Jillian open her presents so they went ahead and opened their own for her and then gave them to her. The kids all had fun and Jillian got a lot of great stuff for her birthday.

F - I - V - E

2010-03-11T20:56:00.002-09:00

Jillian turned five years old and it is tradition that whoever has a birthday brings in goodies for the class. Jennifer and Jillian stayed up late to bake some muffins and cut up fruit for a fruit salad. Jillian's preschool class really enjoyed the yummy treat!

Here is Jillian handing out the muffins. The fruit salad was in the little cups, and as you can see it was devoured.

The Hamakua Coast

2010-02-15T20:55:00.000-09:00

Here is a shot that we took from the helicopter that shows most of the Hamakua coastline. It was amazing!

The Waipio Valley

We didn't think that anything would top the volcanoes from the air until we got up to the Hamakua Coastline. The waterfalls stole the show! We saw lots of waterfalls and they were beautiful. The pilot flew us back into one of the valleys and hovered near the back of the valley where three waterfalls fell almost 2,000 feet to sea level. The pilot had us at about 1,000 feet and so when you looked out the window you could not see the top of the waterfall because it was so tall. We never knew that these waterfalls were here until we took the helicopter ride. It was a great trip!!!!!

The fire down below!

2010-02-15T20:40:00.000-09:00

Here is the primary cause of all of our vog! The carbon dioxide that is being emitted from the vent is toxic to plant and animal life. You can't get near the vent or it will make you sick. Scientists have studied the increased output from the volcano vent and assured the residents of the Big Island that the toxic fumes have mostly dissipated by the time it gets to Kona and it is water vapor that we breathe in. We're not so convinced.

A skylight of a lava tube that leads from the vent to the ocean. We could see the lava flowing through the skylight.

Here is an active surface flow of lava where it had come out of the lava tube and was running above ground. You can see in the picture that the lava had killed all the vegetation in the area and some of the trees were burning. The pilot hovered over this area for a while and we could smell the sulfur and feel the heat in the helicopter. The smell made Jillian's belly upset and she went to sleep. This area is only visible from the air and the casual tourist would not get to see this without a long and dangerous hike over miles of old lava flows.

The best way to see Hawaii is from the air!

2010-02-15T20:09:00.001-09:00

Sunshine Helicopter Tours

We had been wanting to take a helicopter tour of the island for quite some time. Jeremy was able to book us a tour because a friend of a friend is a mechanic for Sunshine Helicopters in Hilo and we really got the hook-up! We departed out of Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel and flew towards the east side of the island where the active volcano is. From there we turned north past Hilo and along the Hamakua Coast before heading back to the resort.

Here is a picture of Jillian at the beginning of the flight before she got an upset belly. Later, the sulfur smell from the volcanic gasses made Jillian nauseous and she fell asleep.

A view of Waikoloa Village with Hualalai in the background. The vog is the brownish haze that surrounds the mountain.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-12T22:27:00.002-09:00

A special creation for Valentine's Day!

Jeremy and Jillian made this special Valentine's Day card and then delivered it at the end of the day when they came to pick me up at work. Oh, and there was a big bouquet of flowers to go along. You'll have to stay tuned to the next post to see the big Valetnine's Day excursion was!!!!!

Not all bugs are creepy

2010-01-10T22:06:00.000-09:00

This little praying mantis landed on our screen door and so we went out and played with him for awhile before w elet him go. Jillian knows that these guys are friendly and and that they actually eat the yucky bugs. This guy started crawling all over Jillian and she had a great time with him!

This was the first picture that we took when he started crawling on Jillian's face and she said it tickled and could not stop laughing.

Home Sweet Home

2010-01-05T21:44:00.000-09:00

There is no place like home!

Here is a picture that Jeremy took from the summit of Haleakala at 10,023 feet. This picture is looking southeast towards the Big Island and you can see three of the volcanoes. Mauna Kea is on the left, Mauna Loa in the middle, and Hualalai is the little one on the right. At the base of Hualalai is where Kona is at and our home.

Maui was fun and probably our favorite island of all we have been to, but there is no place like home and it was good to get back to Kona!

Yummy eats in Maui

2010-01-05T21:26:00.000-09:00

Joy's Place in Kihei

Joy's Place is one of the spots on Maui that we went for lunch one afternoon because it got an Ono in our travel book. Ono means "good or yummy" for all you mainlanders. We also liked the name and wanted to send this picture back to our good friends the Bursons.

Jeremy was excited about going to eat at Joy's Place but it turned out that he liked the price even less than the food. The deli had a lot of organic foods (aka fruu fruu food to Jeremy) and it did not sit well with his taste buds. Jeremy is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. In this picture Jeremy is looking at the bill and giving the stink eye. Jillian enjoyed her food... she is just imitating her Dad.

Two shakas up from Jen and Jillian on the food from Joy's Place in Kihei, Maui.

The Valley Isle (Maui)

2010-01-04T22:39:00.000-09:00

Off to Maui! Here is Jillian being silly while we are waiting at the Kona Airport for our flight to Kahului.

On our first full day on Maui we went to the Maui Ocean Center in Ma 'alaea after church. We all had an amazing time seeing all the sealife. Here is Jillian pointing to a hammerhead shark.

The Hana Highway! The tourist literature says there are over 600 turns on this road, but we're not sure how you can count turns since the road is never straight. Jillian is not feeling well in this picture from all the turns... which gave her motion sickness. Poor Jill! The sights along the road are beautiful and at the end is 'Ohe'o Gulch (aka The Seven Sacred Pools).

2010-01-04T21:16:00.001-09:00

THE SEVEN SACRED POOLS

We took this picture at the end of our trip to the Seven Sacred Pools. If we had made the trip to Maui before Christmas then you would have been seeing this picture in all your Christmas cards instead of the one we sent from Kukio Beach.

Jeremy and Jillian went swimming in one of the pools and it was very COLD! The pools are fed with fresh water that falls as rain further up the mountain. Jillian was very brave and swam with Jeremy all the way out to the waterfall. It is very deep at that end where the water falls from the next higher pool. We're not sure how deep it was at that end, but fearless teenage boys were diving from the next higher pool.

Here is a picture looking up the falls. There are two more pools where the water is trickling down and then the others are behind us. It was tough to count all seven pools because the water flow was weak and so all the pools were not full of water.

More Oceanarium

2010-01-04T18:34:00.000-09:00

I wanted to post more photos from the oceanarium on Maui. This place was really cool. I can't say enough about how much fun we had! :)

I took the next few photos of the shark tank. Twice a week, they let (for a fee) divers, dive with the sharks. These guys ARE wild animals - but since they are fed, they are more tame then the sharks that actually live in the wild. Jeremy and I think that diving here would be soooo neat. But, we aren't certified yet. Maybe someday before we leave.

The tank is ginormous!

This cool guy painted letters in the gift shop. Very pretty.

Daddy dives off a cliff!

2010-01-02T23:26:00.004-09:00

Jeremy decided to dive off the cliff at south point while his family was in town. Jill and I stayed home this day. The height makes me nervous and there is NOTHING for miles to keep the little ones from jumping (or falling...) in. It is beautiful there though. The white poles in the distance are a wind farm - south point is always very windy.

Jeremy is setting up the video camera - remember the last DVD intro? If not, check it out on the Black Lab Studios page on You Tube.

Getting ready...

JUMP!

Now the hard part - climbing back up. Yuck! Shouldn't they have an elevator or something? The tide was out this day so Jeremy had to use the rope you see in the water to climb until he could reach the bottom of the ladder.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T23:10:00.000-09:00

Jillian loved opening her presents. :)

Jeremy is explaining the awesome-ness of do-rags, or whatever they are called. His fav gift from "Uncle" Peg. :)

Nana and Jillian before Christmas Eve service. Jill had to wear long sleeves because it gets chilly when the sun goes down - it probably got down to 75 degrees that night. Brrrr. She is going to freeze her little bahonka off when she goes to Alaska this June!

Snow in Kona

2009-12-24T20:26:00.006-09:00

Jeremy and Jillian took the snow from Mauna Kea and made a snowman in our front yard! He didn't last long, but he sure was cute!

Jill, Jeremy and Aunt Eileen with our snowman.

Jillian and Nana having a snowball fight.

Jillian and Jake having a snowball fight.

Jill with snow in her hair! When Jeremy first opened the cooler it took her minute to think of "what" it was! She had forgotten "snow"!

Mauna Kea

2009-12-23T18:08:00.001-09:00

In December, during Nana's visit, Jeremy, Jake, Justin and I went up to Mauna Kea to watch the sunset. Jeremy has been wanting to go ever since we arrived in Kona - but it is unsafe for children under 16 years old. At 16,000 feet (or so), the altitude is just too high for the little ones. We took advantage of Nana the babysitter. :) It was breathtakingly beautiful! God's world is amazing!

The summit gets so cold, it actually snows!

Jeremy and Jake filled a cooler with snow to bring back for Jillian.

Here we are: Justin, Jeremy, me and Jake. I was freezing! Most of the time, I watched from inside the warm Jeep. We had to rent a Jeep because you need a 4X4 to make it up the mountain. Everyone talks about the scary Mauna Kea mountain road - but it was nothing compared to the road to Denali. Talk about scary! Nothing we've seen in Hawaii (so far)compares to that road!

Pool Time

2009-12-21T21:23:00.001-09:00

One of their favorite things to do during the day (and a few evenings too!) was to go swimming at the fun pool at their condo. Jillian loves to swim!!

Jeremy and Aunt Eileen sit out to watch.

Nana and Aunt Eileen

Uncle Jake is throwing Jill so high in the air. She LOVED it!

The first time I tried to get that shot, I didn't realize how HIGH she was actually going in the air and I only capture her legs in the photo. No wonder she was loving it so much - she is such an adventure girl.

Jill and Justin and Jake.

Jill and Jake

Jill and The Brothers.

Nana and Jill

Four Buckeyes in Paradise

2009-12-20T15:23:00.000-09:00

Nana, Aunt Eileen, and Uncles Justin and Jake (AKA The Brothers) came to visit us over Christmas. Jillian was beyond thrilled! :) They were able to help us with watching Jillian while Jeremy and I had to work. During their 2 week visit, they took an insane amount of pictures. I'm not sure how many total, but we copied 1,953 photos from their chip before they left. I'm going to post a bunch on the blog - but I know I won't be able to share them all.

Nana

Auntie Eileen

Uncle Jake

Wake Up Uncle Justin!

GI Joe Birthday Party

2009-12-20T13:43:00.001-09:00

Jillian was invited to a birthday party for a boy in her class right before Christmas. He had a GI Joe themed party and his parents went all out! Jillian loved every minute! One of his aunties gave the kids rides in the 4-wheeler, definitely a favorite activity for Jill! Here she is getting off after their ride. Kethan, the birthday boy, is wearing the camo outfit and big mud boots, he turned 5.

Jillian is getting her turn at bat for the pinata. They built this fort for the party, how fun!

Here is an overview of the soldier training camp - this is in the middle of the water balloon war. His parents made an amazing obstacle course. I think the first obstacle was the tires, then the kids ran to a rope maze they were supposed to belly-crawl under, through the grass and to the mud pit.

Jillian and Minami are playing in the mid pit. Jillian LOVED the mud pit! So much fun!!!!!!

The water balloon war - FOUR TEAMS - is getting ready to begin! I escaped to the top of the hill.

Jillian and Kethan are playing tug of war with two friends their age/size on the opposing team. Kethan did not mind getting muddy, but when the rope came too close to actually falling in the pit, Jillian dropped the rope and stepped to the side.

U of N Christmas Program

2009-12-19T20:29:00.001-09:00

This year, Jillian's class sang and danced to a Hawaiian Christmas song. They were hula dancers - the boys too. Aren't they incredibly cute?!

Jillian is the second girl from the left. Poor Jill is so little, her top kept falling down! Good thing kids aren't embarrassed about that stuff yet! I would have just died!!!

Two of the teachers sat on the floor in the front to remind the girls how to do the dance.

Halfway through the dance, the boys came up to the front and the girls stepped back. Then they did a cute little dance with the sticks.

Jillian and her sweet friend Caitlin.

CCF Christmas Program

2009-12-17T20:16:00.001-09:00

Cornerstone had a lovely Christmas program this year. We practiced "Go Tell it On the Mountain" for nearly 3 months to prepare! :) Jillian is waiting with the other preschoolers for their turn to sing.

Here they are with the bigger kids too. One of the big girls sat in front and did the hand motions to remind them what to do and when.

On this morning, Jillian was very nervous about going to church and said she did not want to go and do the program. I told her that wasn't an option, she had to go. She said, OK - but I won't sing and I won't do the hand motions. Internally, I growled but I said nothing. I couldn't FORCE her to participate, right? All I could do was get her there. Watching them, what I remember from this day was that Jillian did not participate and I found it amusing that she stuck to her guns. I've even been telling everyone I know about my strong willed little girl. And now I look at this cute photo and I see her clearly doing the hand motion for mountain. Huh, I guess I didn't really remember everything. It makes me happy to look at this picture and realize I was wrong.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-16T16:32:00.002-09:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Recently I changed the settings on our blog to require our readers to log in with a password in order to look at Jill's blog. I'm hoping the extra security will deter yucky people from having access to Jill's photos.

We mailed our Christmas cards last weekend and our annual letter listed her blog address, so for the Holidays I decided to open the blog up for everyone to check. In January, I'll add that security feature back on. So, if you do read Jill's blog - and you haven't been asked to create a password, would you e-mail me your e-mail address so that I can get you added?

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

With Love and Aloha,

JJJ&A

House Projects - Sprinkler System

2009-11-15T16:24:00.002-09:00

After the floors, Jeremy installed a sprinkler system in the backyard. Kona is in the middle of a drought and our grass is having a hard time surviving. We're hoping that automatic sprinklers help keep it from completely dying. Plus, it helps with our laziness - not having to get out there and move around a sprinkler is so nice! :)