Thomas, July 2010

Alex's 7th birthday party

Our good friends the Maduras were kind enough to host a birthday party for Alex shortly after we arrived in Utah. Alex was very concerned that he wouldn't have any friends to invite since we were new in town, so Tami even invited a few boys that were Alex's grade who would be attending his new school. Alex had a great time!

Our new home in Utah, July 2010

A few pictures of our new home in Ogden. We love the location, and as a bonus, we are very close to our friends the Olsons and the Maduras! These photos are from the previous owners, but since they gave us a lot of furniture, the photos of the kitchen and the downstairs family room pretty much still look like that! Once we get everything in it's place and pictures up, etc, I'll post more photos.

Minnesota, July 2010

After our stop in Hawaii, Mindy and the boys went to spend a few days in Minnesota, and Christian went to Phoenix to pick up our cars and drive them to Utah. It was another great vacation!
Ian and Great Grandma Galzki
Noah and Great Grandma Galzki
Alex and Grandma
Great Grandpa Bob with Noah, Alex, and ThomasGreat Grandma Sally and Thomas
Thomas on the pontoon boat at Grandma and Grandpa's cabin
Noah driving the boat
Alex and Thomas with Grandma
Uncle Justin, Noah, Alex, and Grandpa with the sunfish the boys caught


Noah's baby northern he caught!
Alex's 7th birthday party with the family at Chuck E. Cheese's
Aunt Nancy, Travis, and Nick with Alex

Hawaii, Oahu, July 2010

Christian's parents met us in Honolulu before going on a Hawaiian cruise. It was great to see them and sightsee at the same time! Here we are at the entrance to the Byodo-In Temple on Oahu. http://www.hawaiiforvisitors.com/oahu/attractions/byodo-in-temple.htm


Noah swimming at Waikiki Beach, by our hotel, the Hale Koa. It is a wonderful resort only for military members and their guests.
We found out that they had a Coco's Curry House like they had in Japan, so of course we had to go there! It was almost identical to the ones they have in Japan. Yum!
We also attended the Hale Koa's Luau one night. It was a lot of fun, and the boys were very impressed by the flame throwers!

Haleiwa, Oahu

Thomas visiting with his Omi
We went for a nice evening walk around Waikiki one evening
Thomas really liked the luggage, and we had a lot of it! Check out his curly hair. Little did we know that once we hit Utah's dry air, his curls would not come back...

Hawaii, The Big Island, Jul 2010

We were fortunate enough to be able to have a family vacation on our way back to the states from Japan. We visited Hawaii, the Big Island for 5 days, and Oahu for 4 days. It was a great vacation in the middle of a big move! We stayed at KMC Military Camp on the Big Island. The weather was cool, but the sights were unlike any other we've seen before. On one of the first days we were there, we took a tour around the Big Island.

Alex on the black sand beach.
Thomas hanging out on the rocky lava.
Green sea turtles swimming where we were

Visiting Rainbow Falls, it began to sprinkle
Thomas eating rice at the diner at the camp
Clinbing up toward the crater on Kilauea Volcano


Under a big Banyan tree at the Liliuokalani Gardens in Hilo
Of course we had to visit the macadamia nut farm!

Hawaii, The Big Island, Part 2, Jul 2010

We stayed at KMC Military Camp on the Big Island. The weather was cool, but the sights were unlike any other we've seen before. The camp is actually inside the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We were able to hike around the active volcano and into part of the craters.
Steam from Mount Kilauea, on the Big Island

Crater Rim Drive. The road was destroyed by lava in 2003 where the lava actually crossed the road.