The Adventures of Kini & Kimi

kiniheadon.gif (4359 bytes) My name is Wilikinia (Weeleekeeneeaa) which means Virginia in Hawaiian but everyone just calls me Kini (it sounds like Keenee). I live with Bob & Amy Ramsey in Virginia which is on the East coast of the United States of America. They found me when they were on vacation in Hawaii in 1996. They loved me and wanted to adopt me. I loved them too. So after I was adopted I went to live with them. I have loved every minute of it!

I am a boy lizard and I like my nickname because it means “the many”. I have gone on many adventures and travels with Bob and Amy and a lot of their friends. I think it is important to tell children and adults about the different cultures and people I meet on my travels. I also think that it is important to experience new things. So, I like to hitch a ride with people that do things most of us may never get a chance to try.

On my first big adventure when I went back to Hawaii, I met Kimi. She is my best lizard friend and my travel buddy. In case you haven't guessed, she is a girl lizard. I'm going to let her introduce herself...

Bob, Amy, and their friends are helping us to write and post these Web pages so that we can share our stories with you. We have had so much fun and learned so many interesting things in our travels. We want to thank our adopted families and friends for all they have done for us from buying plane tickets, developing roll after roll of film (well, now it is taking card after card of digital pictures), and for holding our lizard paws and taking care of us during all of our trips.

A special thanks goes to Mrs. Bolling, Mrs. Mitchell, and Mrs. Akers, the first grade teachers at the old Riner Elementary School in Riner, Virginia (now called Auburn Elementary School). Amy use to teach there. Without these teachers' inspiration and dedication, Kimi and I may never have started to travel or even have met each other. We miss you three and all the students who took such good care of us, taught us so much, and welcomed us into their classrooms as friends forever.

On to Kini & Kimi's Adventures!
(You may have to use your back button until Bob & Amy finalize the links.)

Aloha Hawaii! - Kini's adventure with the Severn's and how he met Kimi in 1996.		Skydive! - It's a bird... it's a plane... No, it's Kini & Kimi making their first jump at Burnt Chimney Drop Zone. (April 1996)
Women's Air Race Classic - Join Kimi, Jennifer Jager (Amy's sister), & Caroline Van Newkirk on a cross-country airplane race for women only. (June 1996)		Rome, Italy - Bob, Amy, Kini, and Kimi go international. (July 1998)
Australia - Join Kini, Kimi, Bob, and Amy as they say G'day Mate on the Great Barrier Reef and in the outback down-under. (June 2001)		Europe - Kini, Kimi, Bob, and Amy set out for a 2 week tour of London, Paris, and Switzerland by rail. K&K finally get married! (June 2002)
Grand Tetons & Yellowstone, Wyoming - K&K, B&A return 20 years later to one of the most wonderful places in the United States to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. (July 2003)		Sanibel Shell Fair & Show - Kini, Kimi, Melissa, Jennifer, & Amy go to Florida to enter a shell show with Amy's shellwork - 31 years after Nana won 2 blue ribbons with her shellwork. (March 2004)
Melissa's 69th! - Melissa is K&K's Nana - she turned 69 this year! See how she got flocked by the family! (June 2004)		China - Bob & Amy, and K&K travel through 5 cities & the Yangtze River for two weeks to learn about the Asian culture & history. (June/July 2004)
Melissa's 70th! - It's a Miracle! - Melissa (Nana to her grandchildren) turned 70!!! Check out our family adventures on the Carnival cruise ship! (June 2005)		Egypt & Milan - K & K and Bob & Amy travel to Egypt to learn about the ancients, then spend 2 days in Milan on the way home. (June/July 2006)
Peru - Macchu Picchu & the Amazon - K & K and Bob & Amy feel the power of Machu Picchu and steamy heat of the Amazon. (June/July 2007)		Kitchen Remodel - K & K watch the wall come down, cabinets pulled, and new ones put in place. Can you say "granite"? (February 2008)
Sanibel Shell Fair & Show - Along with the judges' ribbons, K&K got a special delivery from the stork!! (March 2008)		A Four Part American Vacation - Albuquerque, Roswell, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, then to Captiva, Florida - petroglyphs, aliens, family, and the ocean. Our 25th wedding anniversary! (July 2008)
Greece & the Islands - K&K and their little ones, with B&A look for the adventure and the source of olive oil while celebrating B&A's 26th anniversary & K&K's 9th. (June/July 2009)		Toby & Athena Come Home! - Born May 23, 2009 & brought home July 25, 2009 - later the brother & sister Shih Tzu pups meet K&K ... It's an ongoing story - keep checking back as they grow up.