We now own a house in Hawaii ! ! !

Today we closed escrow and got the keys to our house. Woo hoo!

Diane's sister Christine is here!

Christine came over for a two week visit. It was great seeing Christine again, and while she was here we flew to Oahu and drove all around the island (photos below from that day). We went to Honolulu, Waikiki Beach, North Shore, and too many places that I can't pronounce or spell - oh, plus we went by one of the filming locations for Lost (the Dharma village).

Beach Barbeque

We got together with a few friends for a beach-barbecue. Good times were had by all. Oh, and by coincidence, this is the same place that we went for a picnic when Mom and Alan visited last weekend.

We saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal

On our way to the beach, we (Mark and Diane) went for a walk around the harbour and saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal. It might not sound like a big deal, but Hawaiian Monk Seals are officially designated as an endangered species. There are thought to be only 1,200 remaining. Of those, there are only five on the Big Island - so seeing one was a rare treat for us.

Mom and Alan's visit

It was short but sweet. Mom and Alan arrived at 9.00am this morning, and left at 4.30pm. We had a nice day out, took them to see our new house (see photo of them below on our back deck with their ship in the background), did some sight seeing, and had a picnic at the beach. Too bad they couldn't stay longer!

Our New House

We should close escrow on April 30th. There's no going back now! Here's a photo of the front, back, and the view from our back deck (and pretty much every window at the back of the house).

Pineapples and Parrots

We (Diane and Mark) went for a walk around a coffee farm up in the hills this afternoon. They also have lots of other fruit trees too, and a pineapple patch which (I thought) looked pretty cool for some reason. While we were there, a flock of about thirty wild parrots flew overhead and landed in a tree.