Monday, January 24, 2011

The Honolulu Zoo

Getting a better view of the monkeys

Checking out the animals

Monkeys!

Big turtles that say, "Hey Dude" according to Eli

Reluctantly saying cheese when he would rather be looking at the turtles



The bully peacock who was making sure to get all the food the little kids were dropping their lunch

Looking at the lions

The boys
  On Saturday morning we headed out to the Honolulu Zoo, which was great fun.  The zoo is really nice and it made sense for us to buy the annual pass because it will more than pay for itself in 1 more trip.

Sunday we had to move hotels because Navy lodging was sold out and didn't have any more room for us so we headed to Army lodging which is older, but bigger, closer to Robert's work and perfectly fine for what we need (thank goodness I booked it when I did because now they are full).  No good news on the housing front.  There are no houses currently available and no one has given their 30 days notice to vacate the home yet, so we are looking at least 5 more weeks for the new army housing or possibly mid February for ghetto old army housing that will be torn down in a year.  We have a meeting with Navy housing tomorrow so we'll see what they say.  Ugh.  I just keep praying for contentment.  We have a roof over our heads and some big time inconveniences and stresses, but overall we are healthy and there are millions of people who have it waaaay worse than we do.  We have Army lodging booked for the next month, so this is where we will be for awhile.

Otherwise we will continue to explore the island when we can and get out to pass the time quickly.  I'm thankful baby girl won't be joining us until June so we have some time to get situated.

Happy Monday!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

4 day weekend!

We just had a 4 day weekend and spent a lot of time traveling around the island and going to the beach.  It started on Thursday when we went out to Kailua which is on the other side of the island from Pearl Harbor.  We went to the beach for a few hours and then stopped at a great burger place on our way home. 

Hanging out at Kailua beach

Kailua Beach around sunset on our way out to dinner

On Friday we hung around the hotel, I had a Dr. appt to get set up for my pre-natal care and Robert had some editing to do.  After Eli's nap we headed out to Costco to get some beach towels and chairs and then to the NEX to get food for a picnic. 

Playing at the hotel

On Saturday we headed out to the North Shore for a beach day!  Someone told us about a beach that often has sea turtles hanging around so we headed there.  Eli had fun with the turtles and quoted lines from Finding Nemo all day.

Can you see the head popping up?

On Sunday we tried a church and then later in the day took Eli to get his hair cut.  It rained the rest of the evening so we stayed in.

On Monday we ventured out to the Ko Olina lagoons for a few hours, but once we got there we learned that the beach was closed do to high surf and brown water (yuck).  Apparently something happened with a local landfill that they were working to clean up.  So we ventured further up the island, but there were red flag warnings  because of the surf and rocky shores, so it turned out to be a bust, but a pretty drive.  After Eli's nap, we went to the hotel pool, Eli's first time in a pool!

Swimming!


A good view of Eli's new hair cut ;)

Cheese!

Practicing kicks
 Now we are back to reality, Robert is back to work and Mommy and Eli are hanging around the hotel waiting patiently for Daddy to come home.

I'll try to do a better job of taking more pictures!  I can't find my camera battery charger so we are heading to a best buy tonight in hopes they have one
 

Sunday, January 9, 2011

We are here!

We landed in our new home of Hawaii yesterday afternoon.  It was surprisingly easy to pick-up the cat and then head to lodging.  We didn't do much last night, but this morning we went out for a walk and ended up at the USS Missouri.  We knew it was close, but not that close ;).  So we decided to tour the ship and then eat some hot dogs while looking at the Arizona memorial which is not far.  It was a very fun family outing!

A good view of the Arizona Memorial

The USS Missouri

The USS Missouri

Daddy showing Eli the 50 cal


The spot where the Japanese surrendered


Eli got a little whiny and Mommy was laughing at him


Family photo

Eli pointing to the big "boom booms"

See the Arizona memorial in the background

Eli enjoying his first hot dog, he ate the dog and bun separate

Friday, January 7, 2011

It's a GIRL!

We are very excited to announce we are adding a girl to our family!  We are very excited!  Baby girl is due about June 1st, so I am currently 19 weeks and 2 days as of today.  Our little boy brings us so much joy and we are sure this little girl will do the same ;).

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Happy New Year!

I know I'm a week late, but I thought I'd share my New Year's Resolutions - mostly to write them down to hold myself somewhat accountable to actually do them ;).  So last year I really only had one resolution and that was to get better at cooking, which I think I can objectively say I accomplished!  I still have a lot to learn, but I have tried lots of new recipes and some scary things (like creme brulee) and they turned out pretty well. 

So for this year I want to keep it realistic since I don't know how long we'll be living in lodging before we get a house and we have a baby coming this summer but here they are:

1. Continue to get better at cooking (try fun things based on what Hawaii offers)

2. Refinish some of my furniture and get my house nice and organized and decorated

3. Learn some new sewing and crochet techniques and continue to blog about my crafting adventures

That's it for me this year, what about you?

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Christmas Fun

We have spent December packing, moving and spending Christmas and the New Year with family and friends.  We leave for Hawaii in a few days and while we love spending time with the people closest to us, we are getting anxious to get to our new home.  We got word yesterday that our household goods are there, so once we get there we will see about our housing and neighborhood.  I'll keep you all updated on that front as we go, but for now here are some pics from our Christmas fun!


Us with Robert's sister and husband and cousin Kira who came in from Michigan

Digging for bugs with Daddy in Grandma's garden


Disneyland

Giggles with Nammy and Uncle AJ

Eli and Nammy

Me and the hubs

Buzz Lightyear with Grandpa and Nana

Christmas presents!



opening one from Grandpa

Cowboys/Cardinals game in AZ on Christmas Day

Game Day gang

The boys watching very intently

Dad, bro and Craig, hangin at the game

Eli playing nerf war with Daddy and Grandpa

My brother and cousin Janea

Hanging out with family

Play time with great friends

Eli pretending to be Woody, one of his most favorite toys in the whole world