Spring Break Adventures for Jackson

When little Jackson Builder Roberts (see below) gets out of Montessori preschool for 2 weeks of spring break, it's all hands on deck for childcare assistance. Mama takes one day off, Daddy takes one day, Auntie Kaki (who I think probably prefers just to be called Katherine) takes at least one day, and Grandma and Grandpa Pirie, (along with dear visiting friend, Ione from Wisconsin) chip in for double duty with two days a week.

Fortunately for all, I can bribe them with the occasional Hali'i Kai Ocean Club swim. Jackson loves going to Mama's work.

Sins of the Father

One night while channel surfing with my young, impressionable, almost three year old son we ran across "Jonny Quest" on the Bommerrang Channel. As a young boy I LOVED Jonny Quest. I wanted to grow up and be Race Bannon. What male child from the 60's didn't? It had a hip jazzy James Bondish theme song and you knew that at any moment Jonny and his best friend Hadji would grab rifles and start blasting away at the bad guys or the Monster of the Week. This was a boys show - TOTALLY politically incorrect and 100% action-packed.

Because of the cold-war stereotypes and the fairly constant gun-play "Jonny Quest" became one of the main targets of parental watchdog groups such as Action for Children's Television (ACT) along with shows like "Tom and Jerry" and "The Road Runner Hour" which were deemed too violent. I personally think it's OK for kids and even pretty tame compared to the non-stop horrorshow of most modern television. But I also understand why Judy is rightfully horrified as Jackson has now become a Jonny Quest fanatic. One day soon he will burn himself out on the Quest clan and move on to the next big thing in his life ... but until then Daddy gets to relive a cherished part of his childhood with Jonny, Hadji, Bandit, Race Bannon and Dr. Quest.

Judy's Big Fat Job

Anthony wanted me to post something so that the post below this, CATS, wasn't the first thing on the page. "We can't have CATS as the first thing people see!!"
So, I decided to talk about my job.

This is the job that I got after working at the Four Seasons Hualalai for about 2 years. The FS is a wonderful place, I loved being there. Working there? Not so much.

We referred to this new job as "the big fat job" during the months of the application process. Then I got it!
Now I call it the best job I ever had. I am in charge of this gorgeous resort on the Kohala Coast. We opened up the Ocean Club Bar and Grill about a month ago and now we are working on getting the vacation rental program up and running.



The place is stunning, the staff I've hired is awesome, and I look forward to seeing them everyday. If you are thinking of coming out to the Big Island and staying in a condo, this is the place. I'm not just saying that.

CATS!

Judith Loves Cats. Anthony is highly allergic to cats. Jackson loves cats. So now we have cats.

Anthony takes his Claritin. Aerobid and Flonase daily and washes his hands constantly like Lady MacBeth. That helps. It also helps that the rat and bird population has taken a severe hit since Kia (short for Pilikia - Hawaiian for "trouble") and Blue have joined the family. They even tried to take down a wild turkey, which resulted in about 100 turkey feathers in our yard and some scratched up kitties ... but alas no turkey dinner. "A" for effort though! Anthony is very proud of his little rat-killers. Jackson and Judy love their kitty-cats.

Splash!

There is a fountain park down by the Mauna Lani hotel that Jackson just loves. In this age of litigation and safety-first-itis, it's nice to see a place open to the public where a child can still run wild on wet slick tiles and have a great time!

Daddy Loves His Job!

Four little words I thought I would never utter in my life. "I love my job." I always assumed that work and happiness were mutually exclusive. The last place I would have expected to find my dream job would have been a cattle ranch. But keeping alive the history and heritage of Parker Ranch is a joy. Sometimes I drive to work and see the horses racing across the paddocks and I just can't believe how lucky I am. www.parkerranch.com

BRANDED!

Last time we checked in with our intrepid SALESMAN he was once again discussing the 160 year old history of Hawaii's oldest cattle ranch, Parker Ranch.., "It all started back in 1797 when Captain George Vancouver gave King Kamehameha the Great half a dozen wild longhorn cattle..."

RING! RING! RING! RING! QUICK - TO THE SALES PHONE!

"Saleman! This is Luna Nui. We got 600 calves we're about to slap iron to. Meet us down the Kawaihae road, wikiwiki! And bring your camera."

"Aloha Chief. I'm on my way!"

Visit to Hilo while Daddy works...

Jackson and Judy went to Hilo to visit Grandma and Grandpa Pirie, and our old friend Ione from Michigan. Jackson has recently discovered the joys of wooden blocks, and since he was already insisting on being called Jackson Builder Roberts, now he really fits his name!

After a long day of breakfast in Waimea with Daddy at Hawaiian Style Cafe (Beef Stew and Rice for Mama, Denver Omelette for Daddy and pancakes for Jackson), then driving to Hilo, then playing with Grandpa and having dinner at the big table... well a boy is just plain tuckered out.

"There's a Construction Site in Our Backyard!"

Jackson was thrilled to come home to find a big backhoe and a massive pile of dirt in our yard yesterday, where we are having a new cesspool put in. Kia and Blue (the cats) were also most impressed with what I'm sure they understood to be one big cat box.


My day was particularly nice; I watched a baby humpback whale enjoying a tail slapping lesson, I counted 13 tail slaps in a row. Then after a hard day's work I went to my wonderful new doctor who straightened out my back and told me all kinds of good news and healthy things. THEN I found a little back road farmer's stall where I bought baby carrots, fennel, radishes, red oak lettuces, and white eggplant. Perfect!

A Day in the life of Anthony

So yesterday Anthony comes home from work and tells me that instead of his regular day selling the Historic Homes of Parker Ranch, he's been called away to photograph the artificial insemination of the Hysteric Cows of Parker Ranch...

I understand it was a hot and dusty day.