Sunday surf tradition

Photos from early 2006

The two highlights of our year so far have been Sierra's 4th birthday and the Punahou Carnival. Jack is a junior, and they are the class that runs the carnival. That makes Jack and Shari very busy for months and months.

Enjoy more photos:

http://web.mac.com/jimsmart1/iWeb

vacation photos

Grampa Carter and Sierra:




Click here for 48 photos of the Smarts in Palm Desert, Mexico, and San Diego:

http://homepage.mac.com/jimsmart1/PhotoAlbum54.html

Mexico

Mexico is a land of contradictions. The beauty and the beast together in one tasty but fattening lobster roll. The Rosarito Beach Hotel has a long history, and it's been perfect for us. We saw the Titanic movie studio at Foxplorations, where nothing is quite what it seems. Same goes for the lobster dinner we went to in Puerto Nuevo. This was the site of our first date 21 years ago, but everything has changed and grown almost beyond recognition. I love the whole enchilada down here. Perfect gorgeous waves, tasty food.

Jay, being 13, indulged in fireworks and ATV riding on the beach.

We love lounging in our big hotel rooms and watching Mexican TV.

Sierra loves the big freedom of the beach. She has smiled a lot down here.

Prospero ano nuevo

Palm Desert

Visiting family in Palm Desert = How important and right it feels to connect my children to their relatives and ancestors. I love those Joshua Tree Smarts. Aunt Meg is an inspiration, coping with her broken body, smiling and keeping up our spirits. My kids don't remember how vital and healthy she was before her back was broken stopping a rolling car from entering a group of children at her school.

Photos from Mammoth

Our new iPhoto photo album has been published at:

http://homepage.mac.com/jimsmart1/PhotoAlbum52.html

Kids' White Christmas

Ah, kids at Christmas in the snowy mountains.



Fun with snow and cookies.



What a gift to be able to give my children these experiences.

Jim

Skiing in Mammoth

I love Mammoth. I stare at the frozen trees as they pass in front of the mountains where I've backpacked in sunnier seasons as I ride chair 14 to the sky. Renewal. Recreation. Settling back into my real self.

Jim

skiing in Mammoth

having a blast!

Ski Sierra, ski!

Sierra had her first ski day yesterday, the first day of winter. She is a natural at age 3. Thanks to Devon Cole for the great gear!

Christmas picture 2005

Peace...really!

Peace, yeah, that's still the thing. The Holy Grail that we just can't seem to get closer to. Sierra, who's about to turn four, has recently become a fan of the bonky head guys, those monks in Monty Python's Holy Grail who chant and then hit themselves in the head with a sturdy piece of wood. I can't help thinking that we humans are a bit like that. We say our lines over and over, pausing only to hit ourselves in the head.

Sierra is a joy to spend time with. XTC sang Every minute spent with her's a bulging wallet. In fact all of the lyrics to "The She Appeared" sum up my feelings for Sierra. What happiness to pick her up at pre-school and have her run into my arms with a smile as big as the sun.

Jack's voice is so low, folks who call our house wonder who that man is answering the phone. It's strange living with a tall basso profundo who used to be this size of a loaf of bread and ask to play Thomas the Tank Engine. Stranger still is looking at Jay, a long haired seventh grader who looks and acts like I did back when the first Star Wars movie came out. I feel like Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas Past when I bump into my former self when we crash into each other on the way to Tutu's cookie tin.

Most of the members of our house are in good stead, but Gramma Betty is fading fast. She will turn 90 at the end of December, and her decline is hard on us all.

I'm always telling folks how busy we are, but 2005 makes past years seem like a lazy afternoon with a good book. Things are reaching their crescendo now as we have one last crazy week before flying off to California for the holidays. Away from all these house projects, school events, and lists of things to do.

All my resolutions will be about making our world more peaceful. I hope you are on that path, too.

Jim

Here's a brief rundown on where the family is at as 2006 approaches:

JACK
~ enjoyed roles in Godspell, The Importance of Being Earnest, and the Laramie Project
~ traveled to Rapa Nui and Tahiti with school group
~ A junior is looking at colleges
~ got certified in SCUBA; in process of getting driver’s license



JAY
~ learned to SCUBA dive with dad at many island dive sites
~ played water polo and swim team for Punahou
~ seventh grader
~ climbed mountains, sailed boats, and starred in a play at Camp Treetops in New York



SIERRA
~ moved up to the age 3 group at Kuapa Preschool
~ sings and plays piano
~ still likes sign language
~ swims like a fish



JIM
~ jobs included teaching at Punahou, leading Hawaii Writing Project, and teaching guitar at Camp Treetops
~ teaching sixth grade at Punahou and playing in bands
~ released solo album called “Mist” and played gigs in several cities (www.jimsmart.net)




SHARI
~ working as a substitute between massive home improvement projects
~ enjoyed teaching marine biology at Punahou summer school and crafts at Camp Treetops
~ inducted to the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame

fall in Hawaii

Here's 48 photos from our everyday lives this Fall:

http://homepage.mac.com/jimsmart1/PhotoAlbum47.html

Enjoy!

Jim

SCUBA diving with Gramma

Today we did a fun SCUBA on the Makaha coast. The first dive was a wreck of one of those D Day landing crafts. It is about 100 feet long, with the door on the bow that drops to let out the troops into the battle. They say it could sail with 5 tanks aboard, which gives you some idea of the size. It was in about 80 feet of water.

Then we went to a spot called Makaha Caverns, with lots of caves, passages, and swim throughs. The highlight was seeing a white tip shark, about 5 or 6 feet, lurking in a cave. There were lots of turtles and fish to entertain the masses.

Gramma did great! What a year she is having. Climbing Mt. Whitney, skiing, riding her motorcycle, camping and canoeing. Thanks for showing us what retirement should mean.

Jim

Jay's waterpolo Game

In October of 2005 Punahou played Iolani in intermediate waterpolo. This short film captures only a fraction of the drama, the pathos, and the intensity of Jay and his teammates. Water splashed. Heads cracked. Whistles blew, and angels sang.

Oh, and Jay scored two goals.

See the movie:

http://homepage.mac.com/jimsmart1/iMovieTheater46.html

Gramma Jackie on Mt. Whitney

Gramma Jackie Climbs Mt. Whitney

My mom turned 65 last month, and to celebrate, she climbed Mt. Whitney. I feel proud and inspired.

She camped for six days with my step dad Jim, and they carefully timed it so that their ascent would be on Mom's birthday. Perfect weather for a view of hundreds of miles. I got goose bumps when she called me with her cel phone from the top.

A birthday present to herself. Impressive.

Jim

Rapa Nui and Tahiti

Jack's photos from Rapa Nui and Tahiti:

http://homepage.mac.com/jimsmart1/PhotoAlbum42.html

Also, if you've missed other photos from camp and other summer things, they are listed at the top of Jack's photo album.

aloha,

Jim

Last week of camp photos

Hi folks,

The last week of camp was splendiforous:

http://homepage.mac.com/jimsmart1/PhotoAlbum41.html

Jack and I are back in Honolulu, preparing for school. Jay, Shari, and Sierra will be home Wednesday, and school starts Thursday.

aloha,

Jim

Songs at camp

We sing a lot of songs camp, which is good for the young whippersnappers. Input for those incredible computers in their craniums. Songs come and go here, and there's often a very popular few. Last summer it was Galileo by the Indigo Girls. This summer it's Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day, and Stairway to Heaven (more on that later).

Today is the farm fest, and I've chosen "Animal Farm" by the Kinks as the theme. I've helped kids make a giant, decorated song sheet with the words and chords on it. After the animal parade, we'll gather in the barn to share poetry and sing this song. And maybe someday, many years from now, magic will happen. The kid will be older, and far away, and someone with good taste will be playing an album called The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, and Animal Farm will come on, and the Farm Festival at Camp Treetops will be recalled in its full glory.

Another popular song this summer is Wish You Were Here. Everyone wants to learn the riff on guitar, and sing the words at council. I always get a bit of a lump in my throat at these lines:

"How I wish, how I wish you were here
we're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl year after year"

Those words always make me think of my old friend John Eaton. He and I were in high school and college together, and several bands. And it's not like he's dead and gone. Heck, he's right there, at the bottom of the state I'm in, in NYC. I could probably find him in a web cam image, like finding Waldo in those picture books that were popular a few years back. John and I don't see each other much, but we have some powerful things in common, and Pink Floyd is one of them.

The song that the most kids are crazy about is Stairway to Heaven. For most of us, it's an overplayed joke. But to these kids, it's fresh and new. It doesn't have all the baggage that it does for most folks, associations with druggies and Wayne's World guitar types. It's just a long song with interesting lyrics, and a likeable melody. So the guitar kids at camp, and there are many of them, are all learning the parts of the song from each other and from me. I taught the intro to Jay on the ukulele, which has to be heard to be believed. And we sing it at camp, along with the Bob Dylan and Peter Paul and Mary songs. And when you peel away its history and give it a chance, it's a pretty fine outdoors mystery tune.

But its Kinks songs that I most enjoy slipping in on them. Education, enrichment, under the radar.

Jim