Waialae and Bob Hope (A little bit of both!)

Today I wanted to begin with a little tour and re-fresher course for all of you faithful readers. Some things have changed and others have stayed the same...so pay attention! Beginning at the top of the blog page you will find three titles 1) Home 2) All About Abby 3) Stella & Dot. These are all separate pages. The home page will automatically come up each time you access our site. To view the other pages, you must click on each heading. The home page will have the current posting as well as numerous other goodies (which I will go over with you eventually). All About Abby will give you a little insight as to what's happening with our little one each week (this page is only updated weekly). Stella and Dot is also updated only weekly and will feature a new item from my favorites collection. As you read the Stella & Dot page, certain words will be highlighted. Those words can be clicked to take you to my Stella & Dot website, or to another link. You can also access the Stella & Dot page from the home page of the blog. Moving to the right of the home page you will find 8 different sections. First you will see Abby's current age and a cute, recent photo. The second section from the top is a little blurb about Jim and I and what our blog is all about. Next comes a new section this year "Noteworthy News". In this section you will find links to video clips, news articles, and interviews. I will only be removing items from this section when I can't add any more! The next section is Upcoming Tour Events. This is simply a listing of the next five PGA Tour events. This is not necessarily where you will find OUR schedule, as it may be different. To read about our doings, well, keep up with the home page and read! The next section is about our journey through the Academy Award winning best picture films. Yes, we are moving slowly, but still viewing movies. I have added a rating after each movie, just our humble opinion. Next, my section on reading. I will list books that I am reading or have read, just in case you're interested. Next, a whole bunch of family photos, our furry family that is. And finally, the blog archive. This is where you can go back to reference a past posting or catch up on the blog if you've been away for a while. Those of you who are new, I encourage you to check out some past postings! And finally, the bottom of the home page contains three different sections. The first is a collection of our favorite sites. You can click on each link to take you to that site. Next, you'll find the picture of the day. This is usually updated each time I make a new posting. These photos do not get archived, so enjoy while they last! And finally, you can find a section of links that will take you to sites that can help you decorate your own blog. I also want to point out that there are a number of icons/words at the end of each posting. You will find a small area giving the posting information including time of day and at the end of that line a section that lets you know how many comments there have been on each posting. You can comment by clicking on that small line, or by clicking anywhere on the post and scrolling to the bottom to a comment section. Under that small line you will find 5 icons. From left to right they are 1) for emailing the post to someone 2) for blogging about the post on your own blogger account 3) for sharing the post to your twitter account 4) for sharing the post to your facebook page and 5) for sharing the post to google buzz. I WILL NOT BE SENDING OUT EMAILS TO THE FOLLOWERS OF THIS POST ANY LONGER. I HOPE YOU WILL CHECK BACK WITH US OFTEN. TREAT OUR POST LIKE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITE. OUR CONTENT CHANGES FREQUENTLY, SO CHECK IN OFTEN! To get in touch with us you may also email us from the bottom of each posting (click on the envelope icon), or write a comment! Now on to the fun stuff ...oh you can find the picture captions at the bottom of each picture!

Jim had a great first tournament, the Sony Open, in Hawaii! I am so proud of his accomplishments. We made the cut, but due to the rain the PGA Tour limited the field for the final 36 holes. Usually this happens on the final day, after the third round of golf. There was a bit of disappointment not to be playing on Sunday, but all were pleased with the weeks total results! Waialae was just beautiful. There were exotic trees and flowers all over the place.

The sunset on the 17th hole was gorgeous on Friday. I was hoping this picture would lighten up a bit, but it's still interesting.

Saturday's round brought more sun and less clouds, yea! Here you can see the famous "W" for Waialae Country Club. I'm sure this was a man-made "W", but it's awful cool either way.

This sunny picture is the same as the shadowed photo from the day before. The coastline is just beautiful! We didn't do too much on Sunday, as we had a lot of packing to do and a red-eye to LA.

Unfortunately our wishes would not work out for this week at the Bob Hope. We are leaving tomorrow for San Diego to prepare for Torrey Pines. We've had just enough time to spend with a few friends and get some laundry done.

This is our good friend Kristina Putnam and her little boy Jantzen. Jantzen is 14 weeks old and is just sooooo cute. We were fortunate to stay with them in Hawaii and again for a few days this week. It's been really interesting watching Abby react to him. She just loves him so much. Especially his hair. She pets it, just as she does with our cat.

We were also blessed this week with our other good friend Chastity Mathis (left) and her little boy, Brady. Brady is 10 weeks old. Abby seems so big and much, much different from these little guys. It's amazing that this is where we were this time last year. We all had lunch at the clubhouse together and enjoyed catching up. There was also some time today for a little R&R. Kristina and I enjoyed a lovely spa day, with massage and pedicure! Hopefully, next week will meet Jim's golfing needs. I know he is anxious to get back on the course!

Waiting To Tee It Up

A few days have gone by now, and we are patiently waiting to tee off. At least, Jim and I are patiently waiting! We had a few days of nice, sunny weather before things went downhill. We got up early one morning and took Abby to the beach for a quick little swim.

The Hilton Hawaiian village has a waveless, 5 acre pool that suits our needs just fine. It is adjacent to the actual beach and only a few minutes walk from our hotel. There are lots of fish, warmer water and no waves. Interestingly enough, all Abby wanted to do was walk...and walk...and walk.

There was a little playing in the sand, but not as much as our previous trip to the beach.

Later that day we went to the Tap Room and watched the Eagles loose. Bummer. Anyhow, Abby enjoyed the layed back atmosphere and a little time with Daddy!

Our time at the bar was over and Abby was in need of a walk. We walked through a large park, watched a wedding and some beach volleyball. Then we parked ourselves on the beach for the beginning of the sunset.

The sunset was again, just beautiful. But, as you can see there are far more clouds on the horizon than any vacationer wants to see!

The night sky and view of Waikiki is just as beautiful as any view during the day. We are staying on the 37th floor, so our view of the lights is probably better than most.

The next day was sunny again, at least for a little while. Michael, Kristina, and Jantzen Putnam are staying with us this week. So we joined Michael's mom at their hotel for a day at the kiddie pool. Abby wore herself out. She played and jumped and ran all day. Finally she decided to take a little breather and relax in a lounge chair.

The next day the weather changed. There were on and off showers, but mostly clouds and wind. The Tour daycare at the course was flooded so no wives trip for mom and no entertainment for Abby. We waited out the morning rain and in the afternoon had enough of a break to take a walk and go to the playground. I think Abby's favorite part was chasing the birds.

We walked back to our hotel by the beach and had a blast watching the kite boarders. It looked like so much fun, but probably really tough too! There were so many of them, they definitely out numbered the people on the beach!

Day one of the tournament was rained out. This is what you do when you aren't going to the course...hang out with Dad! We had a relaxed morning, but then decided that we'd had ENOUGH of the hotel room. The Putnams and us decided to hit the road, rain or no rain.

We took about a half hour drive to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Our lunch was wonderful, pulled pork with pineapple barbecue sauce. Yum.

Here are all the Putnams, minus Jantzen. (from left to right...Karin, Dan, Michael, and Kristina).

We took a ride on the Pineapple Express, in the pouring rain!

Abby didn't care, she was all smiles!

Jantzen enjoyed his day too. He took a nice snooze on our train ride and then enjoyed a bunch of pineapples!

Jim and I got to look silly at the plantation too!

After the pineapple plantation, we drove to the famous North Shore. We stopped at the beach where the pipeline is. This is a very popular place for the world's best surfers and many surfing competitions. Here you can see a ton of surfers in the water. They look like tiny dots out in the water.

Jim said he would never surf, that it was too dangerous, but enjoyed watching for a few minutes!

We drove back to our hotel the long way and enjoyed the scenery. It was so beautiful with the bright sun behind the clouds. Although there wasn't any golf, the day wasn't a total wash. Now we are really waiting to tee off. T - four hours! Watch later today for more on All About Abby and Stella & Dot.

At The Beach

Our first day in Hawaii was sunny and warm. We relaxed in the morning...well, at least Jim did! Abby's internal clock was a little off. She was up at 4am and HUNGRY! We ate cold pizza together from the night before. We watched PBS Hawaii, pretty much the same with some different shows. One of my childhood favorites, Mister Rogers Neighborhood, was on. Wow, did that take me back about 25 years! So nice to see a show that I loved. We spent the rest of the morning hanging around our room (house). We have fabulous accommodations thanks to our supporter The Donald. Eventually we ventured out to do some grocery shopping and visit the golf course. After lunch we decided it was time to hit the beach! Abby spent just her second day ever at the beach! She absolutely loved it! Those little hands were filled with sand the entire time we were there. I don't know what she enjoyed more, rolling in the sand or sitting in the water. The water was warm, but not as warm as I would like. There was one handful of sand that made it into the mouth and down the tubes. She didn't like it very much. Needless to say, she won't be doing that again soon. Abby played, and played, and played. Then we spotted something down the beach and had to go check it out. We found a group of people huddled around this monk seal. I was worried that something was wrong with it, but then I spotted a big sign that said "shhh, I'm sleeping". A volunteer was spotted nearby telling visitors about this guy. Apparently there are very few of these creatures in the Hawaiian Islands. What a cool sight to see! Shortly after this we met up with our friends Danny and Emily Summerhays and their two boys, Jack and Patton. We spent a little time playing on the beach together and then it was time for Abby to nap! Once the nap got started we had trouble stopping it!!!! Abby decided it was time to sleep through the night...we weren't having that. So out we went for a nice walk to dinner.

Ringing in the New Year

Yesterday we did the airport thing! Jim and Abby and I are flew to Hawaii for the 2011 Sony Open. It is a very exciting time, and Abby handled the long flight from Houston very well! I wanted to tell you all a little bit about our New Year's celebration. I think this may have been the first year I ever celebrated out, other than being at Epcot.

We began the night by saying goodbye to Abby. She spent the night with her wonderful babysitter (thanks Holly!!!!), a pizza, fresh baked cookies, and all of her favorite toys. One family photo and away we went!

Dad and Mom, posing for the camera!

Annie, Teri, me, and Mom at dinner. We had New Year's Eve dinner at the Flash Beach Grill in Hobe Sound. Our friend Teri works there and since she couldn't join us, we joined her. Our other friends Jamie and Annie joined us as well. The Grill is known for their fresh catch of fish. They open on the weekend and catch the fish all week, so it is 100% fresh and delicious!

The Mehallis Family...After our lovely dinner it was back to PSL (Port St. Lucie) for a toast and a kiss. Our group went to the Vine & Barley (V&B), a little wine and beer bar just down the road from our home. Mike Mehallis (far left) used to work at the PGA with Jim. His family was down from Cleveland for the holidays and joined us at V&B.

Jim and I had a great time. It was nice to be out with our friends and spend some time together. We even got our picture taken! This is a rare occurrence these days as one of us is usually taking the pictures.

I stole this hat from my friend Ryan. It looked better on him, but made for a fun picture for me to remember!

I have to admit, this isn't the best of photos. But it is the only one of our whole group celebrating after the ball drop. Annie, Jamie, me, Jim, Ryan, Teri, Leah, and Steve (from left to right). We had a great time together and I truly enjoyed my night out. It was just enough excitement! More to come from Hawaii in the days ahead.

A Brand New Year

Hi all! A very Happy New Year to everyone. For our first posting of 2011 we will be catching you all up on the wonderful Christmas and New Year's that just passed. We will also be touring the blog site this next month or so. I feel it's good to get a refresher course on all of the fun things on our blog site. We also will have some additional followers who may have never read a blog before, so I want to help ease them into a journey with The Hermans. I also wanted to thank everyone for their patience while we took some time off from the blog. I will begin with a little tour and re-fresher course for all of you faithful readers. Some things have changed and others have stayed the same...so pay attention! Beginning at the top of the blog page you will find three titles 1) Home 2) All About Abby 3) Stella & Dot. These are all separate pages. The home page will automatically come up each time you access our site. To view the other pages, you must click on each heading. The home page will have the current posting as well as numerous other goodies (which I will go over with you eventually). All About Abby will give you a little insight as to what's happening with our little one each week (this page is only updated weekly). Stella and Dot is also updated only weekly and will feature a new item from my favorites collection. As you read the Stella & Dot page, certain words will be highlighted. Those words can be clicked to take you to my Stella & Dot website, or to another link. You can also access the Stella & Dot page from the home page of the blog. Moving to the right of the home page you will find 8 different sections. First you will see Abby's current age and a cute, recent photo. The second section from the top is a little blurb about Jim and I and what our blog is all about. Next comes a new section this year "Noteworthy News". In this section you will find links to video clips, news articles, and interviews. I will only be removing items from this section when I can't add any more! The next section is Upcoming Tour Events. This is simply a listing of the next five PGA Tour events. This is not necessarily where you will find OUR schedule, as it may be different. To read about our doings, well, keep up with the home page and read! The next section is about our journey through the Academy Award winning best picture films. Yes, we are moving slowly, but still viewing movies. I have added a rating after each movie, just our humble opinion. Next, my section on reading. I will list books that I am reading or have read, just in case you're interested. Next, a whole bunch of family photos, our furry family that is. And finally, the blog archive. This is where you can go back to reference a past posting or catch up on the blog if you've been away for a while. Those of you who are new, I encourage you to check out some past postings! And finally, the bottom of the home page contains three different sections. The first is a collection of our favorite sites. You can click on each link to take you to that site. Next, you'll find the picture of the day. This is usually updated each time I make a new posting. These photos do not get archived, so enjoy while they last! And finally, you can find a section of links that will take you to sites that can help you decorate your own blog. I also want to point out that there are a number of icons/words at the end of each posting. You will find a small area giving the posting information including time of day and at the end of that line a section that lets you know how many comments there have been on each posting. You can comment by clicking on that small line, or by clicking anywhere on the post and scrolling to the bottom to a comment section. Under that small line you will find 5 icons. From left to right they are 1) for emailing the post to someone 2) for blogging about the post on your own blogger account 3) for sharing the post to your twitter account 4) for sharing the post to your facebook page and 5) for sharing the post to google buzz. I WILL NOT BE SENDING OUT EMAILS TO THE FOLLOWERS OF THIS POST ANY LONGER. I HOPE YOU WILL CHECK BACK WITH US OFTEN. TREAT OUR POST LIKE YOUR FAVORITE WEBSITE. OUR CONTENT CHANGES FREQUENTLY, SO CHECK IN OFTEN! To get in touch with us you may also email us from the bottom of each posting (click on the envelope icon), or write a comment! Now on to the fun stuff ...oh you can find the picture captions at the bottom of each picture! We enjoyed a beautiful Christmas this year. Here we are on our way to Christmas Eve service.

The Hermans and Carsellos (Carolyn's mom Carol, and dad John) in after Christmas Eve service

Santa was very good to us this year, bring all our things all the way from Pennsylvania. Here are our stockings filled with goodies!

This was supposed to be a test photo, but it came out so nice. On Christmas morning in Florida you can usually wear your summer pj's as we are doing here.

Shortly, Abigail joined us for her first memorable Christmas. I think she was a bit overwhelmed. It took her a while to pick the first gift to hand out.

On of Santa's best gifts was Abigail's new chair. Santa is so good, that he brought one just her size! She loves it...although her attention span is still short.

Finally, a family photo complete with Santa & Reindeer antlers! A Merry Christmas indeed.

These are our friends Steve & Teri Wyder. We joined them for a beautiful Christmas Day dinner. Juicy prim rib of beef was on the menu and filled our bellies nicely!

Teri & Steve got Abby her first baby doll for Christmas. Here Jim sits with the two babies.

A wonderful family photo, Teri and her parents, George & Shirley. We had so many delights and such fun with our friends that we were ready for bed early and had a nice restful night.