Bad Dad
I got pretty upset with Berkeley today for dropping a load in his drawers. It was more a response to a "high-strees" situation; but still it shows how weak I am. I was trying to get the kids ready for church (Kristy was already there attending some pre-church meetings) and get them there on time. I had already got Berkeley completely ready and was upstairs attending to a recently awakened Eliana. When I came downstairs, Berkeley had done the deed... and not 10 minutes after I had asked him if he needed to go (usually I don't ask him if he needs to go, I just ask him which bathroom he would like to visit and just presume he has to go).

Anyway, his outfit was completely soiled, so I had to strip him down and put him in the tub and clean him and his soiled clothes, then clean the carpet, then redress him, plus finish getting Eliana ready. It became obvious that instead of getting to church on time, I was easily going to be late by half an hour. Because I had been trying so hard to get to church on time, and because I had just asked him if he needed to go and he said he didn't... I simply lost it. (I wasn't expecting Kristy to return home, but she did; so with her help we were only late by 10 minutes).

But, really, who cares if we are late to church? Yeah... that's really worth getting upset over. Sometimes, I just don't think straight. Bad Dad.

March 2005 Tahiti Trip Photos
Our good friends Stacey and Val Son invited us to travel with them to Tahiti. Stacey and Val were planning on getting sealed in the temple there and spending a week vacationing. We accepted their kind invitation and made our plans. The Sons invited several other close friends and family. We later found out we would also be accompanied by our good friends, the Sharps (Dave and Lisa) and the Clarks (Mike and Lori).

We decided immediately that we would take Berkeley and Eliana and we made a two week vacation out of our Tahiti adventure, spending a couple of days before and after in San Diego with Kristy's parents and family. So, we flew down to San Diego on the 18th of March, and then drove up to LAX on the 19th to catch the plane to Tahiti.

Flight time was scheduled to be 8 hours. We had 2 kids and 3 seats. You get the idea. Eliana was up walking in the aisles the whole flight. She was quite active. Berkeley, by contrast, was pleased to confine himself mostly to his seat watching movies, reading books, or doing other activities that Kristy has prepared. But we made it. It really wasn't that bad... it was a day flight, so neither of them were cranky. It definitely could have gone a lot worse.

Tahiti Island. Our first stop was Tahiti Island, the main island of French Polynesia. We spent one night there and stayed at the InterContinental. On the morning of the 20th, Berkeley and Eliana woke up at their normal time - which was early for Tahiti time (Pacific time is 2 hours ahead of Tahiti Time). Once up, I decided to walk with Berkeley and Eliana down to the pool from our room. I snapped a few pictures while we walked around. Pretty much no one else was up except for the Sons (Val snapped a picture of the kids and me by the pool... the one where Berkeley is holding a coconut).

Here are a few sample images from Tahiti Island, all of which were taken early the morning of the 20th (between 6-6:30 am Tahiti time):

You can review the full Tahiti Island gallery here:

March 2005 Trip to Tahiti: Tahiti Island

Later that morning, after breakfast, all of the adults went to the Papeete temple to see the Sons sealed. It was quite nice... however, we forgot to bring our camera to the temple. Fortunately, the Sons did not forget and snapped plenty of pics on and around the temple grounds. Check them out.

Moorea Island. After the ceremony, we returned to the hotel, collected our gear (and our kids) and headed back to the airport. Once there, we island hopped from Tahiti island to Moorea island (almost literally, it was only a 15 minute plane ride to Moorea Island). We stayed at the Moorea Pearl Resort. Though we didn't stay in an over-the-water bungalow like the rest of the couples in our party, our accomodations were more than satisfactory. Our "family room" had two levels with one bedroom up (where Kristy and I stayed), and another bedroom down (where the kids stayed). It was very roomy; this gave the kids plenty of space to play around... and it was air-conditioned.

We spent two days on Moorea island. We spent most of the time either on the beach or at the pool (or in the room taking naps). However, one evening we attended the Tiki Village Theater for dinner and the dancing show. It made for a late night for the kids (it went well past midnight Pacific Time), but the show was so lively with lots of dancing and singing (and fire handling) that the kids never once looked like they were going to nod off during the show. And I must say myself, the show was quite captivating. The singing performances alone (mostly done by the entire cast) were mesmerizing.

Here are a few sample images from Moorea Island:

You can review the full Moorea Island gallery here:

March 2005 Trip to Tahiti: Moorea Island

Manihi Atoll. On the 22nd, we transferred from Moorea Island to the Manihi Atoll.... roughly a 1½ hour flight. The Manihi atoll (iirc) is populated by less than 1000 people. There is only one resort on Manihi, the Manihi Pearl Resort (which is where we stayed of course). When you look at the pictures, the first one listed is that of Kristy and Berkeley standing in front of the Manihi Terminal. It is basically a glorified lean-to hut. There is no screening, no wands, no ID check to speak of. You show your ticket, you get on the plane (the hotel took care of all of the baggage... nice).

At the Mahnihi Pearl Resort we stayed in an on-the-beach bungalow. It was small (one bedroom, one bathroom), but it was quite nice to be just 10 feet away from the water. Unfortunately, it was not air-conditioned (harder on the kids than on Kristy and I). I snapped a few pics of the bungalow which you can review below.

We spent quite a bit of time at the pool at Manihi (and had some great fun). But the resort also offered some other diversions. We took a boat ride over to a pearl farm and took the small (very small) tour and learned about pearl farming. We fed fish with the kids (something both of them loved to do), played billiards (see pictures), and went on bike rides (Val took some pics of our bike rides).

Kristy and I did manage to get out snorkeling once in Manihi. We saw a shark and quite a lot of fish and coral. The water was quite comfortable... almost warm to the touch. The water was a bit turbid however. Meanwhile, the Sons, Clarks, and Sharps did a lot of diving (twice a day, each day we were there).

Here are a few sample images from Manihi Atoll:

You can review the full Manihi Atoll gallery here:

March 2005 Trip to Tahiti: Manihi Atoll

We had a great time in Tahiti. The kids did wear us down by the end of the week (Eliana never did adjust to Tahiti Time the entire time we were there) and on some of the pictures we snapped (which I didn't care to post) it shows. But, I wouldn't have gone on the trip without them. They had a great time too and played hard... because they slept like rocks on the plane ride back to LAX.