Introducing Francis Edward Campbell

Francis Edward Campbell was born on July 15, 2009 at 12:23 p.m. He was 7 lbs and 15 ounces and measured 22".

Mommy and baby are doing really well.

He yawns, and coos, and mews, and makes tiny noises. Oh yeah, he burps and hiccups. Marcia says he tossed his milk a lot but I didn't see it.

He seems to smile alot too. I know... gas.

He looks alot like his big brother did when he was born. The same pouty lips, the same nose.

His eyes slant downward though, that is different as almost all of my family have their daddy's eyes. Big, almond shaped and slanted up and outward.

He also appears to have curly hair. It might just be dirty, but we will see.

We haven't seen all of him yet. He has been bundled up in blankets to stay nice and warm. I did take his hand out to take these pictures. If you noticed the kid has big hands.

22 inches tall is taller than Keoni at birth, but as you can see Keoni's head is twice as big as Francis'. And I bet he never catches up.

Although Samuel was a little concerned about the arrival of his brother, he was pretty darn happy.

What a Summer So Far!

I am finally finished posting our trip to Hawaii and there has been and will be so much more to share. Some things I have not even told you about yet. In April we went to Los Angeles for my Aunty Harriets funeral and for Scot's art show, Clowntown. In May we went to the Big Island. We just got back from a family trip to Nevada for a Hicks-Williams Family Reunion. That is my mom's family and we have lots to share about that. Now tomorrow I am off to Iowa for the birth of my 3rd grandson. Maile's second boy will be named Francis Oliver (at least last I heard). So don't be a stranger come back and hear the latest.

Hawaii Day 8 - Going Home!

This really intrigued me from the day I arrived on the Big Island. I loved these rock walls! They were so even and straight. I asked one of our guides about them and they told me that the Samoans are excellent rock workers and their specialty is building these walls. They do not use mortar but find rocks that fit well and then do a little bit of shaping. These walls were everywhere and were absolutely amazingingly beautiful.

This one is in the Walmart parking lot.

This is an absolutely beautiful statue in the airport. It seemed years ago we stepped off the plane. Now it was time to go home. We waited in the open aired airport reminiscing about our trip and vowing to come back, if not to the big island at least to Oahu. I really do miss it here. There really is a cultural difference between the islands and the mainland. It has been so long since I had been here I had forgotten it.

Here is our plane, waiting for us to get on.

Here we go... not. If we were on that plane we wouldn't have been able to take a picture of it. Get real.

On our way home. It was a really good satisfying trip. But I know Judi and Laura will never travel with us again!

This is the view from the plane as we left Hawaii. (heavy sigh...)

This is the edge of Molokai as we came down to land in Honolulu. There were so many other stories to tell. Most I will probably forget. Getting into a fight with the big Molk in the Honolulu airport, inadvertently giving our Ride the Rim guides a $70 tip, our first night eating on the beach in Kona, having breakfast with the geckos. But somethings we will never forget, Laura yelling at the poor guide up on the top of Mauna Kea, getting up the steps at the waterfall, the view of the Kings Valley.

This is certainly a trip I will always remember and although it was occasionally tough I am grateful to have shared every bump and bruise with Judi, Laura and Extremo.

Thanks for the memories.

Hawaii Day 7 - The Luau!

After snorkling you would think we were tired but no way! We were pumped to go eat at the luau. It is not often these days we get real Kalua pig. It is not on the menu here in Oregon. The sun started to set and we were off to the Hilton.

That crazed look in Extremo's eye is him waiting for food...

This is the lobby of the Hilton. Can you believe it? There are no walls. No kidding, the registration desk is right across from where Extremo is sitting. I guess they've never heard of hurricanes.

Of course they had to show us the pig coming out of the ground. Having seen a pig or two come out of the Imu before I thought it was going to be a long time before dinner. They took the pig behind a curtain and suddenly came out with plates of food! Cheaters. They were using the pig from the night before. Well maybe not cheaters, just ingenious folks trying to make a buck and get the masses fed.

The food looked good and was good. The tourists in line with me didn't know what a lot of the food was so I was explaining and feeling all knowledgeable, especially the Hau'pia and the purple potatoes.

Here I am being very smart.

The sun finally started going down and the show was about to begin.

It started with a fashion show. Hmmm... they showed us how to tie this thing on the boys. They showed us some girl things too but nothing was every quite as interesting as this one.

Of course they blew the conch shell.

The show was great although my pictures of the fire dancing didn't come out very well. There were only 4 male and 4 female dancers so it felt like we got to know them as they danced.

And of course before the night was over, Extremo was on stage! As the show ended tiredness really set in. We had seen and done a lot in the last 7 days and tomorrow we were heading home.

Hawaii - Day 7 Snorkling

Monday was the day I was waiting for. I really wanted to go swimming and so far we did not have a chance to get near the ocean. We boarded the boat at 9:00 to go snorkeling in Kealakakua Bay. I was surprised how many people fit on that little boat.

The water was gorgeous and blue and we headed out to sea.

Extremo thought he was an old hand and hung out with Captain Mitch.

"I'm King of the World!"

Laura was considering her snorkeling options. "Go, no go, go, no go, go, no go..."

After a light breakfast and a short boat ride we arrived at Kealakakua Bay. I knew the song but didn't realize this was the spot that we Hawaiian kine folks offed Captain Cook. The monument was very subtle but fit right into the scenery. The bay is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It is a marine life reserve.

Poor Judi was battling sea sickness all morning. She thought eating a little would help but it didn't. She thought swimming would help but it didn't. The crew guy gave her a little bit of candied ginger that was supposed to help but it didn't. She finally just blew chunks and even that didn't help.

Extremo jumped off the top of the boat. The water was about 18 ft. deep.

Don't know what was wrong with him but he just kept jumping off the boat!

I on the other hand decided snorkling was not for me. I tried it and it was kinda scary so they gave me a viewing box and an inner tube and I was good to go. That was luxurious. I swam with the fins on with the box in the water to see the fish and stayed in the Bay for about 2 hours until it was time to leave.

Scot didn't care for the snorkling gear either. After about 4 hours we headed back to the pier to get ready for final night of festivities -- the luau!