DH Maui Fine Art Photography

Commercial Photography - Maui, Hawaii - Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Sun Solar Project and Kula Farms

2012-01-30T12:43:00.000-08:00

Wow, I've been very busy this winter. I can't believe that it is almost February already. The time has flown. I have so many sessions that I want to blog about and haven't had the time to get it done. I worked on a couple of commercial shoots at the end of last year. I continue to enjoy this kind of work a lot. It allows me to be the journalist that I went to school to be. I get to move around an event and observe. I get to capture images that reflect on what happened. I love that kind of work. I especially love when I can record events for projects that I can get behind and believe. I think solar energy is important to our country's future. I want to see more families be able to afford solar energy in Hawaii. I think it helps us all when companies like the Maui Arts and Cultural Center believe solar energy plays a big part in the future of their company. Another type of commercial photography involves shooting images that help companies to put their best foot forward to the public. They have a product and they want those images to reflect the best they have to offer. One of the those business that I assisted in December was Kula Farms. My family loves to go to Kula Farms, as you all know. We love small farming and sustainable agriculture and want to see small farmers succeed. I grew up on farms in the mainland, and I think the best thing for our future is for more smaller farms to stay in business, get back in business and continue to be allowed to feed our communities. It is better for our health, better for the environment and better for us as people.

If you come to Maui, you should check out the events that are going on at the MACC. Many of their events involve local groups, artists and Maui's culture. I'm sure you can find a concert or event to enjoy during your stay on Maui.

http://www.mauiarts.org/

Of course if you are coming to Maui, a trip up to Kula Farms is a must. If you are staying in a Condo here, as many of you do, you will want to pick up their fresh jams and syrups to try on your breakfast in the morning. They have fresh produce that you can select for lunches on your lanai also. You can find directions at the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kula-Country-Farms/230039113777

Congrats to Andrea Matrix!!! Winner of the Pioneer Woman Christmas Card Contest

2011-12-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

My friend Stephanie won the Pioneer Woman Christmas Card Contest! She is a fabulous artist and I love her work!! You can view her winning Christmas Card entry at the link below!!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/2011/12/intel-christmas-card-contest-winners/

You can also view Stephanie's wonderful blog, year round, about her life on the East Coast by visiting the link below:

http://andreamatrix1.blogspot.com/

Visit her blog and share some love! And if your sharing for this Christmas season...you could share some love with me also! We photographers always love to hear comments.

Halloween at the He Household 2011- Halloween Costume Photography - Halloween Photography

2011-11-30T19:34:00.000-08:00

Halloween photography is big in our house. It has been for years. It started a long time ago when I used the halloween costumes as an opportunity to practice my portrait skills on the kids. Then I began to get a collection of good, quality portraits that way, so I decided to keep going with it every year. A few years ago, we added our yearly excursion to Kula Farms, and I began an inpromptu little photo shoot with the kids using the props that were around me, thanks to the Farm. This year, I got sick the Saturday before Halloween. It started out as a small thing that I thought would be nothing. Weeks went by and I still was not feeling better at all. I edited our annual Halloween costume shoot while I was completely under the weather, and I hated it. I thought I would just do what some photographers suggest and stage a fake costume shoot. You wait until a better, more opportune time, dress your kids up again and retake the portrait shoot. Well weeks had went by since Halloween, Thanksgiving had come and gone, and I still hadn't managed to schedule in that retake session. I thought, "Bummer! I'll just have to go back to those awful pics and see if I can't find something salvageable in them." So I went back and edited again, this time using a different preset in Lightroom and different filters. It made a world of difference, and I realized that I didn't have to schedule a retake shoot. I had some photos in the can that I could be pretty proud of and not cringe at years from now. So now I'm finally posting my Halloween portraits. This is what Halloween looked like at the He Household in 2011.

My princesses, my beautiful ladies!!

So much attitude!!!

Off all my kids, this one is the only one who hates to have his picture taken, but he'll do it for me because he loves me. It's a shame that he won't warm up to it because he is so cute!

Video from Saturday's Model for A Day Shoot- Maui Portrait Photography - Maui Family Photography - Secret Beach, Maui, Hawaii

2011-11-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

I had a Model-for-a-Day Photo Shoot on Saturday, so I created this video to showcase the photos. Just click the bottom button on the ipod, to temporarily discontinue my playlist while you watch it. Now just click the red link below:

http://www.youtube.com/user/dhmaui#p/a/u/0/uWBzR0YiHYs

Pumpkin Carving 2011 - Halloween Photography

2011-11-01T22:02:00.000-07:00

After our 2011 outing to Kula Farms, we save the pumpkins until about two or three days before Halloween and carve them up. This year we had to do the carving by the Thursday before, since we had parties to attend on both Friday and Saturday. Halloween wasn't until Monday, though. This meant that several of the pumkins bit the dust by Saturday night, including my cute little green guy. The high temperatures, intense humidity and overall Maui weather can kill a pumpkin deader than anything else you can imagine, sliming him up to make him look like nothing at all that Martha Stewart would decorate with on purpose. That's for sure. He can become very scary in about 48 hours, full of mold and bugs and you name it. Eick!! I was amazed that we even had any pumpkins at all to put out on Halloween night, but we did.

Enough about that though. Here are some of the pictures of our fun night of pumpkin carving.

Mr. Indecisive tries to decide on a design for his pumpkin's face. This guy does not like to make a decision. Okay, I admit it. He gets that trait from me, so I try to be patient with him - even if we are standing there waiting until the next day sometimes. Check out my desk. They say that a cluttered desk is a sign of a creative mind. Boy my mind must be pretty darn creative then, wouldn't you say! I'd say! Of course part of that mess is all the drawings I get in a day from my four very artistic and creative kids. I can clean it (yes, I do clean it) and by evening it can be all messed up again with drawings and notes and you name it.

Did I mention those creative little minds I'm raising. They got to work on their own pumpkin face designs.

Here's the design I chose for my cute, little, green pumpkin. Didn't he turn out well? Mari helped her father and they made him for me. Now he's all set to decorate the party.

Day 18 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Upcountry, Maui- Kula Farms, Kula, Maui, Hawaii...Maui's Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-01T00:58:00.000-07:00

Come join us today for a tour of the pumpkin patches at Kula Farms, Maui locals' favorite spot for entertainment in October.

Every October, Kula Farms grows and sells pumpkins to us locals. It is so much fun for the kids to be able to go and pick their own pumpkin, instead of picking them up in the store. The grounds of the farm are decorated with all kinds of fun haunts for the kids to hang out and explore.

The pumpkin patch lies at the bottom of a long hill. You climb down into the pumpkin patch and search among the pumpkins to find the pumpkin that speaks to you, looks as if it should be the one you should take home, or simply falls into your wagon by some pure chance. Just ask Danae. That's how her pumpkin came to belong to her this year.

This green one is mine! I loved him immediately! He was so unique.

One of my favorite things to do at Kula Farms in the fall is to see what kind of portraits I can get with all the great backdrops. The challenge is that these portraits will often include a lot of our fellow Kula Farm attendees, because there are a whole lot of them there every day in October. The other challenge is that the lighting won't be optimal. Kula Farms closes long before the lighting gets great. One day I'd like to call them and see if I could set up a portrait shoot in the hours after they are closed. But in the past including this year, I've made do with what I had. I'm happy with the shots I got to save for my posterity, and I think that is all that matters in the end. Of course I have to admit that I love nothing more than a good formal portrait shoot with optimal light, all the right equipment on hand, a few assistants that know what they are doing...well I could go on listing all the elements of a great portrait shoot, but I won't. I'll just commence showing what I did get on this afternoon.

There is still plenty to do, even after your pumpkins have been selected. We make our way up the steep hill to pay for the pumpkins we've selected for Halloween 2011.

Time now to head to the corn maze.

Upcountry Maui is known for it's flowers and plants, some plants that grow only on the hillside of Haleakala as well as some familiar to Mainlanders. Views, scenery, foliage all these things are a photographer's dream. Every where you look, there is something to aim your camera at, to test your skills on and to see if you can capture an image that is unique and different.

Day 17 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Maui County Fair - Wailuku Town, Maui, Hawaii

2011-10-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

Our family attended the 89th Annual Maui County Fair held the last few days of September and the first few days of October in Wailuku Town, across from the Maui County Police Department. The fair is very small, compared to the fairs that I attended when I was a girl in the Mainland. It is the only type of fair my children know, however, so they enjoy it. They think that a fair is simply carnival rides and food. When I was a girl, I raised and brought sheep to the fair to enter into the livestock competitions. Those are my memories. One day I will take all my kids home to the Mainland, I hope, to experience a large Idaho fair. Until then, I'll enjoy making memories with them at our little local fair here on Maui.

The boys had to march in the parade with their scout troup on the opening day of the fair, so we girls agreed to ride with them and wait for them at the end of the parade route. This was a first time attending the fair on Thursday. Usually we attend on Friday and then rest up on Saturday.

Oh yeah!!! I can hear Sione in my head. That is what he would say "Oh yeah!!" Drag it out for a really long time, and say it in a very loud voice that would pierce a dog's ear, and that is how he sounds.

You could see Siaosi in his uniform and barely see the girls' tiny heads from where I stood on the ground.

Fair Toys!! I hope these disappear soon!!! I would never make them disappear myself, never, but I hope they disappear on their own very soon! ;)

Hunger pangs are beginning to set in. Time to go visit the food court. I was starving by that time also. We ended up getting way to much food because we had waited so long too eat. Our bodies were in severe starvation mode by that time, but our eyes ended up being bigger than our stomachs.

I'll bet you recognize some of this food...

But some of it, I'll bet, leaves you speechless, wondering what on earth it could be. The Maui County fair is one of the best places to try local cuisine. You can find so many different varieties, and some of the best cooks on the island show up trying to earn money for their local charities.

And this is where he asks for money and then disappears, never to be heard from again - until it is time to eat something. I'm afraid that the teen years are going to put a damper on my ability to get as many photos at any given event as I want to. I'm afraid it is seriously going to curtail it. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I'm sure a part of me is pretty sad.

All of my kids are artists. I know what you're thinking...I should have seen that one coming.

Sione has had his artwork selected for the fair exhibit for as long as I can remember.

Instead of wasting an enormous ton of money on those carnival games and winning some more carnival crap that I will just have to throw away on the sly, we ended our night with the Ferris Wheel. I have to admit, I missed watching Sione pour his heart into winning whatever game he tries his luck at.

My Youngest Girl is 5!!! - Birthday Party @ Salon 253, in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii - Best Hair Salon on Maui

2011-10-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

My youngest daughter turned five years old this year. Yay!!! Five means she gets to go to school. That means that I have no more children at home during the day. I am going to get so much work done. We wanted to celebrate by having her party at a salon where the girls could get their hair and nails done and look like princesses for a day.

We have all had the same hairdresser, Nichole, for several years now. As luck would have it, Nichole just recently opened up a new salon with her good friend Adiel. It was a perfect place for the girls to have their party and get their wish granted.

It is interesting how I met Nichole, several years ago. My long-time hairdresser had quit cutting hair quite awhile before, and I had been to several salons, trying to find a new hairdresser, with disappointing results. I had even been to one of the fancy hotels and visited their hair salon attached to their spa. That was my most disappointing haircut of them all, and I had just about given up hope of finding anyone on Maui who could cut my hair the way I wanted it done. One time I went to three different hairdresser in two days, trying to fix the mess they made of my hair. I have really easy hair to deal with, so there was no excuse for it. I had even begun to think age had just permenantly changed my hair for the worse. I could hear my mother in my ear as I twisted my hair in the familiar coil and tied it in place with a scrunchy saying, "A good haircut will make you feel better." She's right it does make you feel better, and living in the tropics will flatten what ego you might have had into a pancake. Two weeks before I was due to go home to visit the Mainland I called my mom to tell her to book me an appointment to get my hair done while I was there; but I cringed at having to go home looking the way I did. I mean after all these years of raising kids in the intense tropic heat, my ego is pretty much gone; but still inside, I cringed. I cringed hard. It made me make one more attempt at it. I swallowed my pride, again, and made a call to what looked like the best salon I could find. I found Nichole. It was a good thing too, because I only get back to the Mainland every five to ten years, if I'm lucky.

Now I'm going to make it really super easy for you, and you are going to thank me. You can find Nichole and Adiel at the very charming Salon 253 on 253 S. Market Street in Wailuku, across from Iao School.

If you are a bride coming to Maui and you want to have your hair and makeup done, I recommend calling the salon and booking Nichole or Adiel. I wouldn't go anywhere else. I don't know how to be more blunt about it than that. They are the ones I would choose, over any other salon on Maui, including the ones in the fancy spas. If you are getting married on Maui, call the salon and set up an appointment for the girls to do your hair and makeup for you. Business is going to be so busy that thank goodness for me, Nichole knows I am a most loyal customer and can always get an appointment when I need one. Right Nichole!! Congratulations on your new salon. You deserve every bit of it, and I'm so happy for you.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/salon253

Day 16 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Kanaha Beach, Kahului, Maui

2011-10-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

For Day 16 of our Tour of Maui, Hawaii, we leave the Southside of Maui behind and travel to Central Maui, to Kanaha Beach. Kanaha Beach is rarely seen by tourists. I think I was only one of maybe three or four haoles on the beach the day that my family was there. It is a local beach that is difficult to locate, unless you know how to get there. It is a really beautiful beach that goes on and on forever.

The park has an endless expanse of grass covered areas set up for picnicing, camping and planning group activities.

I promised you that someday I would introduce you to my husband through this blog, and this is a good post to do that in, because the Tongan's set up a huge group activity the day that we were there. They had a cookout and activities scheduled throughout the day. My husband is the one in front, in this picture, the one with the white T-shirt on.

They are loud and boisterous and like to stir up trouble, the Tongans. They are super funny, when it's just them - a group of Tongans. My husband is usually the one causing the most mischief. I had just arrived not too long before I looked up to see that they had tied him to the end of a rope. Always put the big bull on the end, if you want to win a game of Tug-of-War. Put a big bull like T in the front, and stick the other guys in the middle. That's how to get it done.

Tug-of-war wasn't the only activity set up for the men that day. Here are some grown men playing chase. They thought up all kinds of ways to humiliate each other. You thought Rugby was the sport of choice among the Tongans? Nope after all these years of being married to Siaosi (sea ow sea,) I've learned it is humiliation.

Tongans love to sing; usually, it is in churches in groups. On this day, they decided to host their own American Idol contest, with some judges that would make Simon Cowell look like an unopinionated pansy. See for yourself.

The first contestant was shot down immediately, and he looks like he really knows how to sing too, doesn't he. His wife is the lead soprano in church and one of the judges. Yup, he was shot down immediately with a healthy dose of that humiliation I spoke of.

Here they contemplate just how much humiliation to give him. He's a Tongan man; so of course he needs a lot, and they don't hesitate to apply it. The poor soul is left to sit down under a tree with his tail between his legs.

Next...Bishop will take a stab at this singing contest. Surely those women will love him. He's a brave soul, and our leader. He has no choice but to take one for the team. He too looks like he's no shlump in the singing department, but watch...

Humiliation will soon be his fate also...see! Poor soul!!

Could there be any others brave enough to step up and face these intractable judges? Our best male voice stands up, bravely (not really) he steps forward.

Those darn judges show him no mercy...

and humiliation is quickly his.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...does it! Grown Tongan men love to rough house and so do the younger generation. Little Tongan men looking for some trouble...

Big Tongan men looking for some trouble...

Because I can't understand Tongan, I usually spend a lot of time down at the beach watching the kids. The kids will speak English to me, and my girls are among my very favorite things to photograph. It gets to be more and more fun the older they get.

The scenery at Kanaha Beach is incredible, and I just loved being out there on that beach, just me and my camera. It is one of the happiest times of my life, when I'm out at the beach observing what there is to take pictures of.

This is how young Polynesians teach themselves how to swim. They just throw themselves out there, and the older ones teach the little ones and help guide them into learning how to swim like a fish. I imagine my youngest daughter spent most of the day this way.

You can walk for a long, long ways and see so many different things. One of my favorite things that day was the canoe club. It looks like the buildings built by the Maori people of New Zealand.

I met a very interesting young man that day who wanted to be part of this blog.

Here's my oldest daughter again. She's really not as old as she looks.

See this guy's red and bleary eyes. That is a sign that someone has been in the water WAY to long! I've seen this same face on my second son so many times.

My Siua!! Love you, Little Guy!!! Mommy is crazy about you!!

Kayleen Taulanga's Contest Winner

2011-10-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

My friend, Kayleen, announced the winner of her free photo shoot contest. See how cute and creative she is. I'm just always amazed at the ideas that she comes up with. And I'm jealous too! You know I'm jealous of her creative mind. She is the most creative photographer I know. Click the link below to see the cute little video that she made to announce the winner.

http://kayleentphotography.blogspot.com/2011/10/winner.html#comments

Day 15 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Condo Vacationing in Hawaii

2011-09-24T14:57:00.000-07:00

Our family got to experience what it was like to be tourists this summer and fall. We went on our annual vacation to the Big Island; and then when we got back from that trip, we found that the washing machine had burped up an entire load of water all over the floor. Yes, that same Samsung Washer that I've been singing the praises of. I don't blame the washing machine. It was the hose that attached the washing machine to the wall that was the culprit.

When you get water damage in Hawaii, there are no two ways about it. You have to remodel everything the water touched right down to the studs in the wall, otherwise black mold will grow so thick you won't be able to deal with it. As this is the second time in five years that we have had to remodel because of water damage, this was not my first rodeo. It still took me about three weeks to realize the truth of what was about to happen to us though. I don't know why I was in such denial. You'd think I would have known. But we hung out for a good two weeks and even went camping on the third week before it dawned on me that there was no way around it. We were going to have to move out every item we owned, so that the floor and drywall could be ripped out to the studs.

Even then I was still in denial, but thank goodness my husband has a great team of guys that work for him. They came in and moved us out, we settled into condo life and waited to get our home back, much refreshed and without mold. My husband wishes he'd known about this type of demolition years ago. If he had, I think my husband would be in another line of work.

It gave us a lot of incite about what it is like to come and rent a condo during your stay in Hawaii. We had no idea it was that expensive!! Yikes!! There are two types of condo living that you can subscribe to. In the first type of condo living, you belong to a timeshare or you are a guest of someone you know who has a timeshare. These types of timeshares, such as WorldMark and the Marriott Vacation Club for instance, are a great way to travel to Hawaii. They are my favorite way to stay when I'm not able to sleep in my own bed. The rooms are kept up to the standards of management. All the suites are the same, so you know what you will be getting when you check into one of these types of timeshares. We have stayed in this type of condo arrangement many times, as we have some great friends who hook us up when we need it. We have even considered looking into this type of arrangement on our own. If you decided to do that, the best way would be to research the different types of timeshares, the companies offering them, where those companies have condo timeshares and then deciding what would be best for your family. After deciding what you would want, you'd have to decide if you could afford the investment and if the investment would pay off in the long run.

The second type of condo living is when you rent a private condo from a private owner. We chose to do this when we moved out from our condo for the remodeling. I researched on line for condo rentals by owner. Just type in "condo rental by owner" to get web listings. I did a thorough search on Craig's List also, looking specifically for condos in our area. In the end, my husband ended up driving around to the different condos, going into the front desk and asking about rentals available. I realize that will not work for any of you. I suggest researching them the way I did, also going online to find listings of the different condos available in the area you want to stay, Maui for instance, and calling their front desk yourself from your home. You will have to be prepared to live with whatever set up the owner has arranged, including his preference for decor, maid services, etc. I was unpleasantly surprised more than a couple of times during our stay by many of the aspects of this type of setup. The more money you pay will also determine, I believe, how many or how few irritations you will have upon your arrival.

These first pictures in this blog entry are some of the pictures taken during our stay on the Big Island. Each island in the Hawaiian chain is very different from the other. You can stay on one island and have a completely different vacation than you can staying on another island. The Big Island is the largest, of course, and features lava rock, volcanos, and cattle ranches as its main themes. The water surrounding the Big Island is very deep and is more suited to sailing and deep sea fishing. I'm not even sure if it has any beaches to hang out at during the day. We hang out at the pool when we are on the Big Island and do a lot of site seeing. See how little I know about the Big Island, and I've visited there every year for over 10 years.

A view of the summit of Mauna Kea.

A view of the summit of Haleakala, on Maui, from the Big Island.

The view of the rodeo grounds at the Parker Ranch. One day I want to attend a rodeo here. My dad and several of my uncles are authentic, real-as-it-gets, cowboys in the Mainland. I visited this ranch this summer because I wanted to see it. Of all the ranches in the United States, this one has the biggest mystique surrounding it. It's location and history are magnificient. Then this fall a friend of mine contacted me and said that her brother-in-law is the new manager of the Parker Ranch. It's a small world, isn't it.

The tree lined entrance to the Parker Ranch Homestead.

The condo we stay in when we visit the Big Island every year.

The game Sione (see own a) instigated every time they went to the pool was a game called "Shark in the Water."

Sunset Beach was a prominant theme in our lives this year. First we camped out on Sunset Beach for a week; then after our camp out, the condo that we stayed in was located on Sunset Beach.

The north end of Waipuilani Park.

The View from the Condo we stayed at - Village by the Sea.

Their website is located here:

http://www.kauhale-makai.com/

Utah Photographer, Kayleen Taulanga, Offers 2 Free Photo Sessions this Fall

2011-09-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

To all of my Utah friends: My friend Kayleen Taulanga, who is truly one of THE best photographers in the Northwest and especially in the state of Utah is giving away two free family photo sessions. If you are lucky enough to win this, you are lucky indeed. Everyone knows I know good photography, and I'm telling you Kayleen is the best. Here is the link to enter to win:

http://kayleentphotography.blogspot.com/2011/09/g-i-v-e-w-y.html

Good luck to you all! This is truly a special opportunity, because Kayleen's work belongs in magazines.

Day 14 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Camping on Sunset Beach, Veterans Park, Waipuilani Park

2011-09-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

Our family loves to go camping and we spent some time camping this summer at a place known as Veterans Park. So now we are going to leave Makena, at this point in our tour, and travel all the way back up to North Kihei. Veterans Park is a part of a long stretch of beach known to the locals as Sunset Beach. Waipuilani Park sits at the top of Sunset Beach on the North End. Veterans Park is closed to the public and sits on the south side of Sunset Beach. Special permits from the state and permission from the Veterans who manage the park are required to camp in this park. There are many camping opportunities on Maui, however, and they can be located by going to the website managed by the state Parks Department.

The website is located here:

http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/camping/fees.cfm

Simply go to this website and click the white icon/button for reservations. A warning however, camping spots can fill up well in advance at peak times; so if you are planning to camp on Maui during your vacation, make sure to book a spot in the camping location you choose as soon as possible.

As I said earlier, our family enjoys camping, as well as do many of our friends and their families. We plan to make a trip to Wainapanapa State Park in Hana later on this year, so keep an eye out for that blog post also. In the meantime, come and enjoy Veterans Park and Sunset Beach with us.

Getting back to a description of this beach and its pros and cons, Sunset Beach, as the name would indicate, is one of the very best locations for watching the sunset. Locals and others who live here gather just before dusk in Waipuilani Park to sit on the bluffs and watch the view. There is a very small parking lot and places to pull off and stop for a short bit along the side of the road outside the park. I think the view is beautiful from this park all day long, but it is not the best beach for swimming in because of all the rocks along the shoreline. I do love this beach for family picture taking, and I've brought several families here at all times of the day for family photo sessions.

This is the shoreline and the view through the trees.

Ah, the swings!!! I absolutely hate these swings with a passion, and my kids adore them. There is a large patch of the finest powdered dirt underneath these swings, and I think it goes clear down to Lucifer in his litte home in Hell. My younger kids can spend all day here on these things. When they come back, they look like dirt balls - dirt balls like you've never seen in your life. My oldest daugher, well we've all seen her fine shock of Polynesian hair. Imagine if you used this dirt as hair gel. She has before, believe me. I will never forget the first camping trip we took to this park after she was old enough to walk and get around. Every year this camping trip falls on the week that I need to do our school supply shopping. If you don't do the school supply shopping here when the school supplies first come out, good look to you on finding everything you need. So I left to go do the yearly school supply shopping and pick up a few necesseties. I arrived back at camp just about four pm to find my oldest daughter covered completely in a fine powder of red dirt. Only just her eyes were sticking out. I was so shocked and horrified, I immediately flipped out. I wish now that I'd stayed calm and gotten the picture of it for posterity. You've seen my pictures lately, kids almost drowning, etc. I'd have gotten the picture if it happened these days. But this was way back in the day, and I didn't photograph any of it. I completely freaked out instead. Any ideas yet which one of this family is the camping imposter. Yes, I admit it. That would be me. My oldest son, who you've never met in this blog, took his beloved sister and hosed her down from head to toe until we could finally find her again and find mom's sanity. I'll never forget what her hair looks like when it meets the swings. And all I can say these days, is thank you Samsung Washer and Dryer. You know you are one of the great loves of my life.

This was the view from our tent. It was as breathtaking as you can believe, especially at night when the moon would rise up over this beach and disappear below the horizon. Romantic you say? Ummm! Yes, my husband and I thought so also, and then we'd look to our left over a sea of beds and little children's heads. You haven't met my husband too much in this blog. I'll have to introduce you more. He resembles The Rock, I've been told, and makes women swoon. He makes me swoon too, when he's behaving, which is rarely. He is the biggest instigator of trouble you will ever meet in your life, but he loves me. I know that. So will you know that, when you see the condo quarters he sets up for me when we go camping.

I promised you a picture of my camping set up, and here it is. Nice, yeah?

Here she is, the dirt magnet. I love her dearly, but see that look in her eye? Yes, handle her with caution, and never take your eye off her.

Everyone knows this guy is the love of my life. I try to hide it, but I'm just not that good at it.

My mini-me! Or my little sister's mini-me. We haven't determined yet which of us she most resembles.

My future star! I love him too, dearly. He lives under a golden rainbow, this kid. I've never seen anyone with so much luck. I had to fight to get a picture of him for this blog post, because we rarely see him all week once we hit the beach and the tents go up.

My Oldest Girl is 8!!

2011-09-16T23:35:00.000-07:00

My oldest daughter turned eight years old this year. Eight is a very significant age in our family. When you are eight years old, you get to be baptized and we throw you a small party for your birthday. Mari got three dresses for her special occasion. Candy leis are very popular here in Hawaii, and my Mari was so disappointed, because she did not get one. Not one!! Then I felt terribly guilty as her mother, because I did not think to go get them myself. I bought flowers, because flowers remind me of Mari. She is always picking them for me on her way back from the school bus, then dropping them off at my desk when she gets to the house. She is so pretty that the flower leis, I guess, were much more appropriate for her. I call her my Mona Lisa, because I think she looks like a Polynesian version of the girl in that original famous painting.

Long before she was born, my mother and I saw a painting that was painted by a famous LDS artist named Greg Olsen. The painting is called "Children of the World." In that painting, a young Polynesian girl hands Christ flowers that she has picked. My mother stated that she believed, when I had a daughter, she was going to look exactly like the little girl in the painting. Sure enough, my oldest daughter does look an awful lot like that girl in the painting, and she loves flowers just as much. How prophetic is that?

If you would like to view some of Greg Olsen's Art, you can view it at his website:

http://gregolsengallery.com/cms1/

You can also become a friend of his on facebook. He shares inspirational quotes with his friends, and I love it when they show up on my facebook server. I love the beauty and inspiration of his art, and I especially love the painting that reminds me of my little girl.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/gregolsenfan

Now I'll share some of my own artwork, artwork that shares with you the beauty of one of my favorite people.

Syle at the Beach - How to Prepare for a Beach Photo Shoot

2011-09-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

My girls and I thought you might like a post about how to look your best for a beach photo shoot.

Remember that weather conditions are going to be different, so you want to make it work for you, not fight against it. There will be wind and humidity. You want to go for that "I'm a Beach Babe" look, not the "Real Housewives of Orange County" look for your photo shoot. Each look has its place. If I were photographing you going into a fancy restaurant or leaving your hotel for a fancy night out, then the second look is maybe more appropriate. If I'm photographing you for your beach wedding, you want to come somewhere in between those two looks for an appropriate beach wedding style.

If you are coming for a family photo shoot, then style your hair like you normally would. Once you get down to the photo shoot, I'm going to ask you to shake your head and run your hands through your hair to mess it up. This is the best look for beach photo shoots. I find that the pictures that look the best are the ones that are taken after you've been out on the beach for awhile and the humidity has fluffed up your hair and the wind has knocked out that "I've styled my hair" look. Those usually come about 45 minutes into the shoot. Why not just get great pictures with great looking hair from the start.

Remember when applying your makeup that the humidity will make it slide off your face here. You can use waterproof makeup, but give yourself a light makeup application with some lighter products that make your skin glow and have that I've been in the sun all day look.

Would you like some tips about how to take care of your hair while you are here? You won't be here long enough for the sun and salt air to burn your hair, but those of us that live here have that problem. I remember my friend coming one time; and without even hugging me or greeting me, said "What the heck do you do with your hair here!" Yes, well it is a problem. There is no doubt. We have picked up some tips on how to care for our hair when we are at the beach all day. Even if you are just sitting around the house, the heat and humidity are going to snarl up even the finest head of hair.

Before you go out to the beach, climb in the shower and wet your hair down. Slather it with a good waxy conditioner and comb that conditioner through your hair. At this point, you can either braid your hair, put it up in a updo that's appropriate for the beach or leave it down. As soon as you get to the beach, you are going to look very natural with your wet, conditioned style. The conditioner acts as a sealant that will help condition your hair while you are in the water, keep the salty water out of your hair and keep the sun from damaging the hair shafts. The conditioners we like best are Nexus, which we can buy in bulk at Costco and Pantene's higher end products. Remember you want a conditioner that is very thick and waxy. You don't want to use the watery ones. Don't worry if you have fine hair that can't take a lot of conditioner normally. This is the case with my youngest daughter and her hair thrives under this type of care as much as my oldest daughters hair does, which I swear could suck up an entire bottle of conditioner and still want more.

Once you get back to your hotel room after a day at the beach, shower your head with a good shampoo and style as usual. You will find that your hair is unusually soft and manageable. It's something about the combination of the conditioner protecting your hair, the salt and sun baking the conditioner into the hair shaft and the way that the himidity makes hair fuller here.

Now as for your skin while you are here. We have one sunscreen that we really, really recommend. I use it on my girls and me both. We love Ocean Potion's Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Anti-Aging Sunblock in a pink bottle. It is the best I've found for women's skin. You can even use it on your face without breakouts, and I have very oily skin and have to watch what I apply to my face. This sunblock seems to have the same kinds of great things in that my expensive oil of olay products do. We recommend reapplying it every two hours, so that you'll have a nice glow to your skin without the "I'm a piece of Fried Chicken" look that is so unappealing. Or even worse, the "I might be mistaken for a lobster" look. Hats help too, and you can wear one easily, because your hair is nice and secure with all that conditioner you've applied to it.

Now put yourself in a great looking bathing suit, and you are ready for a fabulous day at the beach; and afterwards, your going to look fabulous for a night out at one of our restaurants.

Day 13 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Big Beach or Makena State Park

2011-09-11T02:42:00.000-07:00

Makena State Park is an enormously wide beach in the middle of Makena. You can easily find this beach by traveling down Wailea Alanui and then Makena Alanui and watching the signs posted to let you into the parking for this beach. I think the last parking lot, furthest South, is the best one.

Big Beach is like no other beach on the island of Maui. I highly recommend that you go see it. If you have small children, you may want to keep them out of the water and on the sand. The water breaks hard at this beach. Boogie boarding is for the experienced, to say the least. My sons tried their hand at it, just for fun, but they didn't keep at it for long. The experience required to handle the waves at Big Beach won't come to them for several more years.

A group of local boys had gathered to hang out and boogie board that morning. I have already shared the images that I got that day with them, and have their permission to share them with you. My sons were in total awe of them.

This image will forever be one of my favorite images. I love my two boys. They are handsome, all-around good guys, and this image represents their lives. They are two local boys growing up in Hawaii. I really, really love this picture.

The immense vastness of the big, blue sea.

These next images are some really great images, I think, but they also show the wild nature of the waves at Big Beach.

Sometimes you capture an image; and it isn't until you get it home that you realize what it was that you caught on camera. Good grief!!

My Mari and her wild mane of lion hair! My Mona Lisa.

I absolutely love this image. The colors are so vivid and rich looking, and I absolutely love vivid color in my images, but there they are - my three youngest babies - Mari, Siua (sea ew ah) and Danae loving their day at Big Beach. Now this is a picture you can treasure for a life time, a picture that belongs on a wall. I can see it blown up into a huge canvas. I love this image.

A big brother tests the water, to see if it is safe for the little guys.

A local boy's version of a Calvin and Hobbes fantasy. Like Snoopy, pretending he's the Red Barron...

Brought back down to earth by a sister with a rude desire to steal your boogie board!

Oh no! What happened? One of those Big Beach waves I told you about picked my kids up and spit them out on the beach. Lucky they local and can handle it!

You wouldn't dare....

I don't believe you'll do it...not at your Momma!

I knew he'd never really do it! This guy loves his Momma too much to pelt her and her camera with sand.

Another happy day at the beach!

Day 12 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Maluaka Beach or Makena Point

2011-09-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

For Day 12 of our Tour of Maui we go to Maluaka Beach. It is best known as the beach in front of the Makena Beach and Golf Resort, long known as the Maui Prince Hotel. It is along the strip of land called Turtle Town, as the tour groups who run boat tours love to bring people into this beach to view the turtles, hang out at the beach and snorkel. This is one of the best places on Maui to do some snorkeling; and Makena in general is a good place to snorkel.

This beach is the first beach I chose for my first family photo shoot, when I decided I wanted to go into photography seriously, years back. One of my most treasured photos of my children was taken at this beach. It has changed a bit over the years. New construction and changes to the entrance to this beach have made it look a bit different as time goes on, but this beach is still a very favorite beach of mine for family photography. Many of you who keep up with my photography will recognize the driftwood in the background of some of these photos. Over the years, it has slowly worked its way down from the rock formations to the sandy beach.

We'll start with one of my favorite photographs taken a few years ago of my second and third child. I treasure this photo. Connect up with me by phone or email, before your trip to Maui, and I'll make sure we capture some photos that you can treasure just as much.

You see the rail fence behind them and a tree line used to be there also. It has been removed over the years, making it much easier to get great pictures from these tree stumps that line the entrance to the beach on the South Side.

The rest of these pictures were taken on a day that the kids and I went to the beach to enjoy some snorkeling with their new snorkeling gear.

There were many different treasures to be found while looking at the ocean floor, and of course everyone wanted their treasures photographed.

My youngest daughter, Danae, was hilarious. "One of Ariel's bras, she said!" Ariel is her favorite disney princess. Danae wants to have red hair. Maybe with some die, we could accomplish it when she's older. I tell my girls I don't want them to mess with their gorgeous brunette locks. We protect their hair from the sun and salt of beach days, so that the ends won't fry from being out at the beach all day. We have a post all prepared about that - how to look your best at the beach and protect your skin and hair from too much damage. We'll post that at a later date, so you can be in on our secrets.

She's getting ready, my girl is, to go out and surf some waves. Soon, pretty soon...

The name of the ship we saw that day, in case you and your family would like to book an excursion with them is the Kai Kanani II.

Here is their website:

http://www.kaikanani.com/

This is the Makena Beach and Golf Resort that sits above Maluaka Beach.

The rock formations on this beach make interesting "smaller beaches" that provide picturesque places to spend the day.

Because I can't just showcase two of my children, here are some pictures I took of the two youngest of my kids. I'm passionate about documenting the lives of children, especially my own. I'd love to take some pictures of your kids that you can treasure. Contact me by email or phone and we will set up a time for you to sit for a photo session with me during your stay here on Maui.

This park sits above the beach and to the side of the hotel property, on the south end of the beach. It is one of the most beautiful places on the island to have a picnic. My good friend Rebecca hosted a small birthday party for me in this park for my birthday this year. It was so much fun to sit and eat a wonderful meal and watch the sun set over the ocean. I highly recommend it as a great activity for couples. If you want to light some fire back into your marriage, arrange a picnic for your spouse in this little park at sunset hours. And this park serves as a popular setting for weddings here on the island. In fact there are three very popular places to have weddings adjacent to Maluaka Beach. This park is the first location.

And this second location is the Keawala'i Church. It sits at the North entrance to the beach. You can find it by traveling to the beach from Makena Road, vs. Makena Alanui Road. It is a very popular location for weddings on Maui, and you can see why. This lovely, old fashioned church and its grounds bring back a feeling of Old Hawaii. It is a lovely place to spend your wedding day. The third location for weddings at Maluaka Beach is a manicured garden at the center of the Makena Beach and Golf Resort. If you are planning to be married at any of these three locations, and you like my style of formal and photojournalistic photography, please contact me. I'll make sure that you have a wonderful wedding album of beautiful pictures to remember your special day by.

Day 11 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Palauea Beach or White Rock Beach

2011-09-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

We have so much more of Maui to cover, so we will continue our tour all throughout the fall. Come join us for a Maui Autumn with the He Family. We have fewer tourists here between September - November than other times of the year. It can often rain a lot during that time. It can often not also. Last Fall was one of the most beautiful Autumn's that I've seen in Maui. So stick around and join us as we tour other areas of our beautiful island. Now that we've covered Wailea, we are going to move further South to Makena. Makena is wilder than Wailea. It is Maui without all the organized, well manicured landscaping. I am always drawn back to Makena. Makena is a place that you have to explore. I am not naturally adventurous, but Makena makes me want to overcome any fear or hesitation that I might have. It is a place that must be explored; and everyone knows that if I have at least one camera at my disposal but preferably more than one, you will not believe the things I will attempt to do to get the shot. So over the years, I've begun to piece together the puzzle that is Makena. It takes a lot of time for it to become familiar to you. There are many incredible beaches and hidden places along the shoreline. They are all really easy to get to, once you realize they are there. The secret will be realizing they are there. We will explore each of these beaches in our Tour of Maui, Hawaii, but me may jump around a bit. I will do my best to explain to you how and where each of these beaches is located along that long strip of wild land that makes up the area of Makena.

This first beach is incredible and my kids' favorite. Ask them, after this summer, which beach they prefer. They will all scream that they want to go to White Rock. It's long, and not as crowded, so my kids found a nice section of the beach all to themselves. The funny thing about White Rock is the private property/no trespassing signs posted all among the trees. But remember the story I told you in the beginning of our tour. No one can buy themselves a beach on Maui, so there will always be a beach access available. You just have to find it. It winds through the many wild Kiawe trees that front this beach. So many beautiful homes are going up in this area. I hope it does not change the access to this beach too much. It might though. Perhaps one day, they will have made it so hard to get to White Rock that it will make it prohibitive. I hope this never happens, but one can never know in this greedy little world we live in.

For now we can still enjoy Palauea Beach (or White Rock) to our hearts' content. Here's how you get there. Remember Polo Beach? Do you remember how to get there? Okay, instead of turning into the parking lot for Polo Beach, continue on down to the end of the lane, turn left at the very end, drive just a slight bit down that road until you see a slew of cars parked all along what looks like the middle of no where. You've found White Rock. Park your car where you can find a place. Locate the beach access through the trees, walk just a bit through those trees and out onto one of the most incredible beaches.

A small view of the kiawe forest that fronts this beach.

Boogie boarding lessons from one older brother to a little brother!

Oh no! My Baby's first surfing injury!

Waiting for the next wave!

Maui Photo Festival

2011-08-31T22:41:00.000-07:00

I attended the annual Maui Photo Festival last week.

http://www.mauiphotofestival.com/

It was great fun for all of us photographers that attended. There were many sunset and sunrise photo shoots set up along with classes to help guide and direct us photographers down the path to better photography, no matter what our level of photography was. I was able to attend two of the sunset photo shoots; as this was my first time attending, I had no idea what to expect. Next year you can bet that I will be way more organized and I will be at every sunrise and sunset photo shoot, shooting away. Thanks to all the organizers, instructors and models for your time and your talents. I enjoyed every bit of my time with you and look forward to next year.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/mauiphotofestival

So you can see how much fun we had at the festival. I can't wait to attend next year, and I hope to see you there.

Day 10 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - The 4th Marine Division Memorial Park, Giggle Hill and Kalakapua Playground

2011-07-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

On Day 10 of our Summer Adventure, let's take a break from the beaches and travel upcountry to Haiku, Maui. One of my favorite places on the island is the 4th Marine Division Memorial Park, known to the locals as Giggle Hill. It has a third name, as many places on the island do. It is also known as Kalakapua Playground.

The scouts conducted a day camp up at Giggle Hill. My husband asked if the whole family wanted to come along; and of course, we did. We love it up there. If you go, bring blankets, because you'll probably need them. We also brought some really good beach chairs and had the resort camping experience. We packed a picnic lunch of course, because there are no places to eat close by. You'll need that too, so bring your own food. It is so fun for us to curl up under a blanket, and not because we have that expensive AC blasting. Our family, like a good boy scout, always comes prepared, so we always have blankets in the car, and food and water available to load up in a moments notice. Emergency situations can fling themselves at the island, as we all know, and it is good to always be prepared.

I can rarely sit still and do nothing, but I found myself sitting still for hours that day with absolutely nothing to do. I forgot my book, so I do mean absolutely nothing. I didn't even twitch once in discomfort. It is an absolutely peaceful place to spend the day, but the kids can get out of your hair also. That might be part of it. The playground is the best on the island. It is enormous, cool and shady and full of so many fun places for kids to hide and run and squeeze out all that energy that is always boiling around in them.

The princess in her castle.

Oh no, the princess has been trapped in the dungeon.

You're now looking at the reason one of my cameras was completely messed up last week. It serves me right for not checking the settings, when my instincts told me too; but there she is, the girl itching to get her hands on my equipment. Right now she's confiscated her dad's cell phone.

Onlookers!!

Mt. Haleakala in the distance.

Semper Fi!

Day 9 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Polo Beach

2011-07-04T04:49:00.000-07:00

On Day 9 of our Summer Adventure, we travel to the last of the "hotel beaches," Polo Beach, which sits in front of the beautiful Kea Lani Hotel. It is a very small beach; and these days it would appear, covered in beach chairs. This used to be one of my favorite beaches, because it is super easy to locate, has an excellent parking facility and I loved the long park as you walk into the beach. I used to take my kids here for family pictures all the time. An old tree in the park is a favorite posing location for me, also. It brings back memories that go way back to my oldest son, who is grown and gone from home now. I have pictures of them with visiting family members on this beach. We've spotted several celebrities who were hanging out in the bungalos of the Kea Lani. This beach has been part of our history. The park is always quiet; and if you want to have a picnic lunch, it is a nice quiet place. The view of the beach is blocked though, from the park, by the high retaining walls built by the two properties that border this beach access. Steps have been built that lead down to the beach, and great rock formations are right there, making lovely places to stop and take some family pictures.

On this day, I was dismayed to see the beach overrun by beach chairs, like a giant traffic jam in the middle of a downtown freeway. It was such an odd site, and it didn't used to be this way. So it brings up a standing joke in our family about Polo Beach. Polo Beach is disappearing and one day it will be gone. It's not true, but our family loves to laugh about how every time we go down to Polo Beach we think, wasn't this beach bigger the last time we were here. Then every time we go to the beach, usually Kam III though, we come back, stick the kids in the tub and tons of sand settles in the bottom of the tub. Then we laugh hysterically and say, "yup, I told you! This is why Polo Beach is shrinking!" It's just the changing tides, I'm sure, that make Polo Beach look smaller at different times of the year, but this beach is tiny. All this said, it is still dear to my heart, reminds me of my children's growing up years, and always will be a favorite beach of mine. If you'd love to have me document some family pictures of your own, just call me up. I'll meet you down there.

The wind was whipping up a bit the afternoon that we went to Polo Beach, and it was causing some wild action out in the water. My kids are Polynesian, so this did not concern them a bit. I on the other hand, was having a mild panic attack. Here are some pictures to show you why "Mommy" was getting a bit freaked out by having them in the water that day. A word of caution to those of you that are not familiar with the island, the surf conditions, the rock formations, etc. There have been so many, many times that we have turned on the evening news and found out that one of you has not taken these things seriously and been knocked off a cliff by an incoming wave, washed out to sea by currents that were unfamiliar to you, or tumbled down a cliff while hiking in an unfamiliar area. Take these things seriously. Many people have died when they didn't. Now to the pictures that show you why I started to freak out about my kids being in the water.

I eventually asked the oldest, when you stand in the water is it over any of your heads. Yup, my youngest son was underwater at some points. Okay, I pulled them out and set them on the beach to play.

They started a sand fight. Well, at first it started out like this...How cute is that?

But soon it turned into this...Hello!!

Boys sprawled out in the sand...girl's triumphant. I don't want to give the ending away, but that's pretty much how the whole fight went.

Woah! Incoming friendly fire!

Get back to the rear and hold your positions.

The enemy is advancing.

Hello!!!

Hi!

Boom!! Let that be a lesson to you about women, son. Never be fooled by their charming smiles.

Take a look at the confused look on my older son's face. It must have been the wind that caused this optical illusion, or perhaps it's a force shield. If any one of my kids could develop a force shield around them it would be my youngest son.

Uh oh! It's these two. I hope no one ends up crying or furious.

Throwing first...

She leaves herself vulnerable to the attack.

Oh no! Man down again!!!

One thing is for sure. I'm a very lucky lady. Many of my friends tell me this, and sometimes I get caught up in the stress of life in an economy that would eat up even a very rich man and forget. I love these guys like crazy. Just look at their faces. They are lively and vital little people and I'm very lucky to be their mother.

In honor of all the years that I've come to this beach and brought my children for formal portrait sessions, I decided that I would stage an informal portrait session in a couple of my favorite posing places. I allowed them to hang loose and just do whatever they wanted. I hope I haven't opened up a pandora's box that can't be closed. I still want my formal portraits, guys, that are nice and attractive.

Day 8 of Our Tour of Maui, Hawaii - Wailea Beach

2011-07-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

On Day 8 of our Summer Adventure, we travel to the next beach down the coastline. It is the second of the three "hotel beaches." This beach is the longest of those three beaches. It is the beach for activity, as you will see from the pictures. It will be filled up with beach chairs and those who wish to do nothing at all but sit, soak up the sun and read a good book. You'll see a group of yoga enthusiasts taking in some exercise early on this beautiful morning. Now that is my idea of a great morning at Wailea Beach. Maybe soon, I will try to make time for something like that. Right now my time is about my children and what they want to do. You will see the locals clinging to the various rock formations with their lines cast in the water as they fish away the morning. Move to the water and the water is completely full of kayakers, paddle boarders, boogie boarders and a few people jumping on a giant trampoline. Underneath hidden from view, are the divers and their fish.

So what does all that activity mean for those of you visiting Maui, and especially those of you staying at the two hotels, the Grand Wailea Resort and Spa and the Four Seasons Resort Maui, that crouch on the land above this beach, talk to your concierge desk and book some activities for you and your family in advance of your morning beach excursion. You can do any of the things that I mentioned above, and the concierge desk will be happy to help you organize and choose which activities you think will be the most fun. If you are traveling in from somewhere else on the island to spend the day on this beach my suggestion is get there EARLY! This beach parking is not so good, and it can often fill up to capacity. It is my least favorite beach to park at, and I cringe like crazy if I have to find parking at this beach midday.

We had perfect light that morning; and when you have perfect light, you can make the best protraits of a person, the skin glows, the eyes sparkle and the background behind the person takes on a luminescence that is spectacular. You just know when you got it right. You just know it, and it is captured on film forever. No one can take it back from you. You can have that picture of your child to look back on for all your life and their life and they are frozen in the beauty of that moment. It is a great feeling, and it is why I have such a passion for photography.

Venturing out with little baby steps.

A walking path that stretches from Ulua Beach to Polo Beach is great for taking a morning stroll or watching the sunset in the evening. The following two pictures showcase some of that path.

Living in Hawaii has taught my family what is truly important. My kids and I really know each other as people. They know me and I know them. It is true, as that cute little movie said, "ohana means family," and the Hawaiian people know this better than any other group of people that I have met. I love them dearly. Yesterday a woman that I love and respect for her graciousness and hospitality called me Auntie. I call her Auntie. She could have given me no higher praise. I love them for the ideals that they have taught me, and I didn't come by them easily. It took many, many years for me to learn the lessons of this place. That they accept me as theirs that they have adopted me because they want to, that is high praise indeed.

Uh oh! Trouble brewing in Paradise. Not everything is perfect around here all the time.

What are they doing?

Waiting for that...