Author Archives: Reb

Waikiki Staycation

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Catch up time!

Even though we LIVE in paradise, it’s still fun to VACATION in paradise! We had wanted to do some island hopping when Omar came home and had leave but with his mom and sister coming to visit we were a little tight on time. Thankfully Waikiki is just down the road!

We ended up staying at the Outrigger which has an awesome kama’aina (local) rate. It’s also close to the action of all the restaurants and beaches.

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We ate tons of food…  Yardhouse is right around the corner, I love it, the rest of my family isn’t impressed. Cheeseburger in Waikiki is good for burgers.

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Throwing a shaka at Cheeseburger Waikiki

It’s also just fun to walk around… Well until the teeming masses of tourists drive you absolutely crazy.

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We are standing on a slope, she isn’t that tall YET!

 

The best thing was just being able to hang out and play together as a family. We are terrible when it comes to that at home. We all have our electronics to entertain us. So it was good to put that all away for a few days.

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Plenty of beach time….

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Diamondhead in the background!

And for something EXTRA entertaining rent a kayak. This was a hilarious disaster. I don’t know what they were thinking letting all four of us into one kayak. We are NOT responsible enough for that!

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DSCF4107(FYI I can’t stand putting on a wet life jacket. It oogs me out for some reason.)

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While it looks like he is hanging on for dear life he was having fun… Being dragged by a kayak is a blast.

We also spotted a couple of sea turtles. Which necessitated me jumping OUT of the kayak to try and get some pictures of. And I lost the turtle as soon as I jumped in. Second turtle I got a pic but it was murky so I had to use this crazy filter to show him clearly. It really is kind of crazy that these guys are everywhere.

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And the BEST part of a vacation? Boozing it up with your husband!
DSCF4098aGot a Waikiki question? Let me know! I am happy to steer you toward the best hotels, eats and hang out spots!

 

I am such a slacker!

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Okay. Yeah. So I have been the WORST at blogging the past few months. Omar coming home and a busy summer kept me from any clever ideas and then the longer I went the harder it was to jump back into it!

I do have lots of updates on Hawaii, we are still loving it. My husband is getting worked to death so doesn’t get to enjoy it quite as much as his unemployed wife. I have lots of updated hikes, a million beach and rainbow pictures and some gratuitous pictures of my kids and dog.

The funniest thing is that I have had three different people on island tell me they read my blog. Too funny! One lady lives in my neighborhood and reversed her car to tell me she recognized us. I am just happy that people have found much needed information about moving to this amazing place.

Just wanted to pop in to say I’m baaaaaaaaaaack!

More Homemade Halloween Costumes

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Sorting through photos and realized I never put our Halloween costumes up this year.

I was SO happy the kids wanted to do homemade costumes again… I HATE the store bought ones, they are so boring and cheap and generic and cost a million dollars.

So this year the kids wracked their brains for something fun.

Mckenna came up with a creepy doll costume. Um, hmmm…. not sure how to swing that one.

Ended up watching endless youtube doll makeup tutorials (still wish I could have done it a little bit better, but I am TERRIBLE at makeup) found a doll-ish dress and voila she was happy.

Omar wanted to be Pac Man. I didn’t even realize he knew who Pac Man was. But I was game. This is actually one of my favorite costumes to date. I again searched online for inspiration. Swung by the bike shop and grabbed some bike boxes from their recycling bin. Spray painted the hell out of it and there you go, coolest costume of the night.

halloweenThis was actually the first idea… Halfway through trick or treating it was driving him crazy on his head so we ran home and I cut a head hole and new arm holes. The old arm holes became eyes. I REALLY had wanted to rig it so that candy could drop through his mouth and into a bag, but I ran out of time.  Seriously EVERYWHERE we went people were freaking out over this costume. Mckenna got a little annoyed at the attention he was getting… especially because this might have been her last trick or treating year.

Oh and a bonus shot because I am here for your entertainment…

rebpacmanAt our ship’s Halloween party… Looking all sorts of awesome.

 

 

Homecoming!

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So…yeah. I am like a million years behind in posting and I really have no excuse! We had homecoming, then family visiting, then squeezing every last bit of fun out of summer, then school started. So my kids are back in school, its time to flex my blogging muscles and catch everyone up on what we’ve been up to the past couple of months!

First and foremost is HOMECOMING! We had an awesome, incredible, wonderful homecoming. What a difference it makes when you are greeting a destroyer instead of a carrier!

I was super grateful to Mckenna’s piano teacher who took photos for me gratis to build up her portfolio. I barely touched my camera all morning! (ELR Photography)

Picture time!

The kids with their signs they made all by themselves.

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Trying to see the ship coming around the bend.IMG_1740

 

Time to change shoes (this was a LIFESAVER!)

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Here she comes! Helicopter escort and the flags flying! The extra long pennant is the Homeward Bound pennant and only ships who are underway for more than 9 months get to fly that. It was helicopter escort

And there he is!IMG_1873

Keep it together, Sailor!IMG_1875

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Finally getting off the ship!rebecca omar hug

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The kids each picked out a lei they wanted to give daddy. IMG_2014

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And this one just for fun… My husband had duty the day they pulled in, meaning that he had to stay on the ship overnight (there has to be some crew on the ship at all times!) So this was my personal sign! We got to bring him home the next morning though!IMG_2037

Cup Fence DONE! Almost Homecoming!

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I have been seriously MIA but getting everything ready for Homecoming is melting my brain. I can’t concentrate, can’t sleep, I am just a hot mess! Just wanted to update with our STUNNING cup fence we put up to welcome the ship home!

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E Komo Mai means Welcome Home in Hawaiian, trying to add a little local flair! I’ve never done one of these for any other Homecoming, I think this just might be a Hawaii thing? (Along with the 300 leis we are giving the sailors as well!)

Super excited, we are down to crunch time and I have to get to the commissary and actually stock my fridge and pantry with man food!

Another Boring Beach Day

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Good ol’ Ko’olina Lagoon. Can’t beat this beach for great weather and calm water. While my sister was hear we had a run of rainy weather up on the north shore and windward side of the island, where the best beaches happen to be! We ended up heading out west to lagoon 4 for some snorkeling and sun. The snorkeling isn’t terrible, I went out once and saw a decent variety considering the lagoons are manmade. The last time we were here a turtle had snuck in but we weren’t so lucky this time. All in all, you really can’t go wrong at too many beaches in Hawaii…

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Mckenna and her aunty Steph. These two were having way too much fun out there.DSCF1460a

 

And apparently getting a good shot of your feet while you are floating is difficult because I had about 20 bloopers on my camera… Mckenna did manage to catch a cute pic of her footsies.DSCF1469a

 

I don’t think he was grumpy? Not that I remember anyways…. tired and ready to go home though.
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Also! We were getting ready to pack up when this woman came over freaking out, she had been sitting next to us with some friends and had left a little while before. Apparently she took off her rings when putting sunscreen on her kids and set them on the blanket (!!!) When they left her friend shook the blanket off while packing up not knowing the rings were on it. The lady was FRANTICALLY looking for them so a bunch of us starting to help sift sand. We finally convinced her to talk to one of the marina staff which she did and they were able to find someone that had a metal detector to come help her and for us to stop (I guess what we were doing was possibly making it worse) We left before the guy got there so I don’t know what happened but I hope she found her rings! Anyways, that is my PSA for the day, leave your rings at home if you don’t want to get sunscreen on them!