Tag Archives: Hawaii

First leis!

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So my neighbor (and fellow ship wife) is from Hawaii and she and her mom were busily making leis for some function or another… Mckenna happened to be over there giving her a hand and got to come home with a couple of leis. We weren’t greeted with any at the airport (something that if we ever have anyone come visit us I will to do!) so this is the first time we got to wear a lei in Hawaii!

Omar’s interpretation:

 

Look mom! Flower hair!

My goodness I wish this kid could take a normal picture. Oh well they are still cute.

And of COURSE I had to torture my dog.

Right here he is thinking ‘wait until she releases me, I am going to eat this thing in 2 seconds.’ Which I didn’t let him do. I of course had to hang them up so they can dry. 

And so my collection starts. Just wait until Omar comes home, I am going to pile him up. The exchange even has leis with the mini bottles of booze. Love it!

 

 

Someone got a job!

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And no! It’s not me!

Mckenna got her first babysitting job and she is SO excited. Our neighbor’s husband is on the same ship as Omar so we are going to be deployment buddies! Well she is home with a 3 year old and a set of twin baby boys. Yikes! 

Anyways, we had gotten together with a few of the other spouses on Saturday and Mckenna was all over her babies. She remarked that she  would love to have Mckenna come over and help anytime!

Mckenna took her seriously and after a few texts back and forth went over this afternoon for a couple of hours.  She isn’t technically babysitting, just being a mother’s helper but she had a great time. Plus it’s great practice for when she CAN babysit in another year or so.  Our neighbor really appreciated having an extra set of hands and Mckenna loved playing with babies.

I am so proud of her! I am so happy that she is responsible and that parents are happy to have her help out!

Deployment Day #1

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So today was the day. Daddy had to leave and I was a wreck. I really thought I was going to be able to tough it out but nope. I don’t even know why I wore makeup today. Every time he hugged the kids ‘one last time’ I’d start bawling. Every time little Omar would start crying, I’d start bawling. When the ship came unmoored, I started bawling.

I’ve never seen the ship off like that. Both times he’s left previously he always had to be on the night before so it was a drop off in the pier parking lot.  I actually dropped him off today not planning on staying because the kids were going to school. Mckenna ended up going but Omar was a mess. Plus it was his birthday so he got to stay home with me. AKA indulge in some retail therapy. But we got a call saying everyone was still hanging around the pier so off we went. It was great to have a few more minutes but AWFUL to have to say goodbye AGAIN! We stuck around this time, got to watch him man the rails (fancy term for stand on the side of the ship) and watch the flag unfurl and the boat push off.

It was difficult.

I know we’ll get through this -because honestly what else can we do- but damn, it sucks so bad already. I just forgot how bad it can be. I already had to check the closets because I am a paranoid crazy person, thank God I have the dog! My house looks like a bomb went off and now I have not motivation to clean because who is going to see it? I’m telling you, I am a half-step from a hoarders episode right now.

Anyways, here are a few pictures from today. Pray for these men and women over the next ten months.

Reason #1 why it sucks being a military wife…

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Your husband deploys.

This is the worst thing and unfortunately it’s something we are going to have to deal with very soon and with very little notice.  I’ve been MIA because we’ve been trying to spend as much time together as possible before he goes. And without giving firm dates he’ll be gone until next summer. That is a really long time especially with kids involved, one of whom has never had daddy gone before (not even for overnight duty! We were so spoiled in Rota!)

I’m anxious because I hate being home alone, I hate having my husband in harm’s way, and I hate that he is going to be missing such a huge chunk of the kid’s lives – holidays, birthdays, soccer games. I just want to throw a tantrum and say ‘But I don’t WANT to do it! I don’t WANT him to go.’ It just sucks. There is no silver lining for us.

Yes, I know my husband is in the Navy and that his job is to deploy but we were not prepared for this. Another ship needed him so he was ‘traded’ from the command he had checked in on and SURPRISE we are about to leave.

And it’s horrible because he has it so so so much worse than I do. I still get to sleep in my bed and eat homemade food and hang out with the kids. I am hoping and praying that he’ll come home early of course but it’s one of those situations where you hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

And yes I will be having a pity party for the next few months!

Keeping busy…

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Now that my kids are in school and my husband is back to work (oh how I enjoyed having him on leave for a month!) I have to find something to do to keep myself busy. I miss working which is crazy but I enjoy getting out of the house and making my own little paycheck. I don’t plan on going back to work full time since my husband will be working crazy ship hours, but I would like to find something part time while the kids are in school or maybe volunteer.

I have, however been signing up for stuff like crazy. I’ve joined a women’s flag football team and I am having a blast. It’s been a great way to meet some really fun ladies. We are almost all military wives although we have one military daughter and one DoD civilian. We have been practicing our asses off (and my poor quad and ankles are not forgiving me for it!) and we have our first game Sunday. Against the active duty Navy women’s team. Who are the two-time champions. No pressure! 

I also signed up for my first 5K. This is something I’ve been wanting to do and I’m not sure why it’s not on my life list. I’ve started running again and I was finally back to running a mile straight before hurting myself in football. Now I am hobbling all over the place. I am going to be doing The Color Run in November, seriously, how frickin’ fun does that look? Even if you just walk it! I am really happy that one of the girls on my football team started a color run team so I won’t be by myself!

Also I just found out about the Joint Spouse Conference in October, it looks like it’ll be a lot of fun. There are a ton of different workshops to choose from. I am leaning toward signing up for Lei Making, Asian Cooking, Beyond the Mai Tai, and Digital Photography. We will see what is still available when registration opens at 8am tomorrow!

Oh, and an update on our stuff! I’ve been calling the moving company at LEAST once a week to get updates on our stuff. I was really frustrated because it has been sitting in Long Beach for weeks going through customs and then there was some kind of consolidation issue (I guess getting enough containers coming over here at the same time? I don’t even know.) I had called last Friday before the long Labor Day weekend to see if maybe just maybe it got on the boat and wouldn’t be sitting there ignored for another three days. Nope, no such luck. Still in CA. 

So I call back today, (really I am probably annoying the crap outta them but c’mon, I want my stuff!) and they transfer me to someone and tell me our stuff arrived on island on Sunday, the 2nd. WHAT?? So that is a very unexpected happy surprise! We probably won’t get it for another week or two because it takes forever for stuff to clear the customs there (I think our Volvo was there for a week) but it’s here. Like 10 minutes away from me! So while I am seriously NOT looking forward to unpacking, I am looking forward to having my clothes, my kitchen and my kids toys back in my possession! Just praying that everything made it safe and sound!

Kaneohe Bay – Pyramid Rock Beach

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One of the first things you learn when you move to Oahu is how the island is divided. Down the center of the island runs a mountain range (gotta love all that volcanic activity!). The north eastern side of the divide is the windward side, it gets all of the winds and moisture. The southwestern side (where we live) is the leeward side, not as cool and much drier. This becomes very apparent when you go from one side to another. I LOVE the windward side! It is so lush and green and every time I see it I feel like I am in Jurassic Park (because it was filmed here!)

 

 

 

This is the tunnel that cuts through the mountains, it is fairly new and is much easier than having to drive all the way around or over! And when you pop out of the tunnel this is what greets you:

 

The hills all have those distinct ridges due to erosion, all of the rain has carved the rock.

 

 

 

We were looking for someplace to snorkel over on the Marine Corps base at Kaneohe Bay but there wasn’t really anything suitable so we headed to Pyramid Rock Beach. It was a beautiful breezy day but the surf was really rough and we were advised by the lifeguard to stay shallow and keep our kids close.

 

 

Yes, I know it is all beach and ocean pictures all the time but seriously, this has been my life! We have spent a disgusting amount of time at the beach, but isn’t that what you are supposed to do when you live in Hawaii?

 

 

My gorgeous girl. This was the only picture I have where she isn’t posing like she’s trying out for America’s Next Top Model.

 

 

Oh this boy, he melts my heart.

 

 

Pyramid Rock, I wanted to go see if we could hike up the stairs but as you can see it’s REALLY far away and I am incredibly lazy. I bet the view from up there is great! 

 

 

 

Super crowded beach, I don’t know how we deal with the masses of people. Seriously though, I love going to beaches on base.

 

 

 

 

 

We also stalked a crab… cutest thing ever.

 

 

And the weirdo dog that was happy as hell to eat the leftover ice from the ice chest. Also please ignore my dirt back yard. My gardening stuff isn’t here yet, give me a couple of months and it will be beautiful!