Back again, with no excuses for my long absence except that the boys and I have thoroughly enjoyed our summer and early fall, albeit without Chris, and it's hard to find the time or energy at the end of the day to post.
I got to Skype with Chris yesterday and he is looking quite well. He's started growing some sideburns and his hair is too long, but nonetheless he is a handsome devil and my heart will be glad when he finds his way back to us. The boys were uncharacteristically good while we Skyped, playing by themselves and popping in and out to make appearances. As some of you know, this is not the norm. There's usually a great deal of furniture-jumping and brother smacking while I'm trying to carry on some semblance of a normal conversation with my loved ones.
Today is Sunday and I'm so looking forward to church. So blessed to have found a place where both the boys and I feel comfortable and part of a congregation. Lots of military families who understand how hard it is to come in and feel welcome in a tight knit town. Jake will start church school this month and Evan will continue to visit the nursery, with Miss Annie, who tirelessly watches him ride the plastic horse with a look of joy on her face.
What else is new? Jake is truly enjoying his first grade class. We've warmed up to the routine of homework each night and get it done promptly after school, before fatigue sets in and makes concentration difficult. He remains an excellent reader and my favorite thing to hear is his beautiful inflection while he reads aloud. When Chris asked what he was learning, he had the luxury of saying, "Nothing I don't already know..." Not for long, my love. Not for long, I thought.
Evan is as busy as ever, adding more and more words to his vocabulary. His favorite is "dinner" (or "DIN-nah") when he cooks for myself or various stuffed animal friends using his new kitchen and play food. He is a very considerate host and eager to serve second, third, or fourth helpings of our favorites.
We have worked our way up to number three on the on-base housing waiting list and our ears are perked for the sound of a call telling us we've got a house sometime this fall. The move will be an inconvenience, as usual, but will be far outweighed by having so many of our friends and favorite destinations just minutes away.
Where you are the weather is probably turning cooler, signaling the beginning of what I've always thought was the most beautiful season of all -- autumn. While we have much to enjoy here, I am truly missing the season of harvest on the mainland. As I said nearly a year ago in my first post, pumpkin lattes just don't taste the same in the land of aloha.

Plugging Away

Well friends, I have only good things to report as we round the bend in June. I had an absolutely wonderful birthday; truly bolstered by the love and support of my friends and little boys. My friend Dawn and her two kiddos took us out to breakfast first thing. We had a small wait from the Father's Day rush but it wasn't much, and I was able to open the gift Jake picked out for me: an amber colored hurricane and lavender candle from Pier One, along with a package of multicolored butterfly guest soaps. Midday was spent at "Up in Smoke" where a friend competed in a meat smoking contest, and the boys enjoyed shave ice and bounce houses, and we rounded out the day with a delicious baked ziti and cake with friends from the squadron. Fantastic!
Jake is in his second week of Kitchen Investigators, learning more and more each day. This weekend we are going to practice two of the weeks recipes: scrambled eggs and bagel pizzas! Just two hours each morning is enough to keep his interest from day to day and doesn't bore him. He's also begun his karate class in town and is enthusiastic about beginning the path to full-on ninja stardom.
Evan is testing new words each day. My favorites are "cool," "pool," and "hot-dog." His favorite activity is running like a madman outside when he hears the brakes of the garbage truck coming up the hill, yelling "YELLOW!!! YELLOW!!" (Can you guess what color it is, kids?) He also enjoys counting, whether it's the buses on the road, or mimicking Jake playing hide and seek. His numbers start and end with three, or his version of it, which makes it super cute.
No big plans for the fourth of July (or as Chris insists, Independence Day); going to run the Runway 5K to celebrate my healed stress fracture and take the kids to the parade downtown. I think we'll enjoy the fireworks from the privacy of our own house; one of the fringe benefits of living on the highest hill in Kailua. You really should come see it.

Evan and I at the Pier

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Oh, THERE She Is

Well, the time for deployment has come and here I am, back on the blog. Things were going so smoothly. You had to know that's why no one was hearing from me. Because things were going so well. It's true, I'm a fair-weather friend, and was so busy being happy that I didn't take time to update the blog. And then June rolls around the corner and "pop"-- out of the woodwork, here I come, friends, with more tales of woe. So predictable!
Chris left yesterday for the boat; got to fly on to the ship from the squadron so we dropped him off like any other day, except of course, that it wasn't. We managed to stay awfully busy after seeing him off. We went to the beach, watched a movie, got ice-cream with friends whose husbands had gone with Chris, and had a dinner/playdate with our neighbors. All of which landed us home just in time for bath, books and bed. Just as I'd cunningly planned. At the moment, unfortunately, it seems to be 3 a.m., and I'm wide awake after Jake's nightly coughing fit, waiting for the cough medicine to kick in so I can get back to sleep. Both boys have had a post-nasal drip that really gets a grip after half a night's sleep; Jake's is just hanging on longer than is welcome. But see how productive I've been while I was waiting?

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lion?

March on Oahu was a little different than the mainland. It doesn't seem to be receding like a good little lamb. Instead it is gusting and blowing and threatening to buffet us right off the hill we've come to call home. Rain comes and goes so fleetingly it calls us all fools: no sooner do we dash madly to our homes and cars than the sun is back, burning away every trace of cloud so that we look down at our wet shirts and wonder if we dreamed the whole thing.
The t-ball season is in full swing, heaven help us, and tomorrow is our fourth game. Jake is doing really well -- it IS his 3rd season -- he's a consistently good hitter and fields as well as any 5 year old. I hired an adorable sitter named Mollie to watch Evan while we practice & play; they walk off hand in hand to the playground while the balls fly and thus far the arrangement seems to please everyone. Belinda and I continue to bolster each others spirits and are doing the best we can with what God gave us. And them.
Chris is preparing for a summer deployment and has been out on the ship for 2 five-day intervals getting some practice in with the air crew to ready themselves for months at sea. These "work-ups" have been good for the boys and me, too, giving us the confidence we need to prepare for time without dad around. I had a chance to meet with other ship spouses this week and their organization, the Family Readiness Group, has lots of activities planned to foster a support network amongst the families while the ship is at sea.
We enjoyed our Easter Sunday at home, taking the boys to church and to brunch at the Club. It was a surprisingly dismal day for Hawaii, with bouts of rain throughout the day. We made a delicious ham dinner with veggie sides and Chris got his hands (and feet) dirty cleaning out our garden fountain. Hope you guys had a great holiday too.

Full House

Can it possibly be March? We've been here 5 months already! Almost half a year since I've seen you, at least! It has finally gotten cold here. Don't laugh, but when you are used to 88 and sunny, 66 and windy is uncomfortable. Chris' parents are here with us, now about 1/2 through their visit. We are having a fine time, going about our daily business and the boys are absolutely thrilled to have all the attention. I'm getting to go out to lunch with girlfriends and go grocery shopping by myself. I'm even able to run Kailua beach in the morning while they all play in the sand. I am in heaven! Tomorrow begins the t-ball season and guess what? I am the assistant coach! My good friend Belinda stepped up as coach on the condition that I would back her up. We are the Phillies (of course!) and I bought red shirts at the Exchange today so I look official out on the field. Look the part and the rest will come, I keep telling myself. We've spent the last week madly preparing drills and assembling equipment. Can you believe the league didn't have any tee's to give out??!
Nothing new on the work-front, though I am helping Chris by designing a didactic panel for a new simulator building being dedicated to a medal of honor recipient. He's presenting my idea to the Commanding Officer tomorrow, we'll see if it gets approved. I'm not holding my breath: military graphics haven't yet proved themselves to be on the cutting edge of visual literacy.
Evan is verbalizing more and more: this week he said kayak (gay-yah), Grandma (gay-yah), and guava (gay-yah). His growth in vocabulary is truly amazing.
Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. It just means we are content, cruising through each day much like the one before. Wish me luck on the ball field.

A New Day

A new day has dawned! Everyone is in good health and the world is once again ours for the taking. I really had a rejuvenating weekend, first dinner and pedis with the girls (my don't my feet look pretty) and then book club with a great group of women (The Alchemist). The sitter was worth every single penny. Turns out she'll be moving to our side of the island in a few months and then we'll have to work out some sort of direct-deposit arrangement, she'll be here so much!
Our social calendar continues to fill up -- it turns out I needed to take more initiative there -- and this weekend we are looking forward to a trip to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebrations and a special Mom and Jake date to see Avatar 3D. (I know, I know. I've heard how good it is.) Chris and his folks will be here in just over 2 weeks and then things will really pick up. I'm so looking forward to having the opportunity to do some things we haven't gotten to do yet: from seeing the Arizona memorial to going kayaking and paddle boarding with Chris at the beach.

Kick Me

Oh, my. What a start to the New Year. For the last 10 days I feel like I've had a sign that says, KICK ME on my back. Since Chris has been gone -- he left for a month to San Diego -- it's been one thing after another, it seems. Though we had an extraordinarily good time with Mike and Mattie, who came to visit for a week in the beginning of the month, their departure left me with a deep sense of loneliness and separation from my loved ones. They were gone, Chris was gone, and there was just US, and not a whole lot on the calendar to do. (So the post-holiday winter doldrums aren't limited to cold-weather climes, I figure.) Well, I shouldn't have worried about what to do, because we had a new visitor, albeit an uninvited one: a stomach virus came to play with the boys and I. Poor Jake had it worst of all, and Evan is still suffering from stomach upset. It left me fatigued and despairing...feeling like a prisoner in the house and not even meal times to look forward to! Prior to that I got my first bee sting on the patio, luckily no allergic reaction and thank God it wasn't Evan. Now we have a mandatory SHOE rule in the backyard; lots of flowering shrubs attract any number of buzzing "friends" to our yard. On a lighter note, yesterday was Jake's first Science Fair at school. He took me to his classroom where we observed the experiment they had performed: how celery and daisies absorb food coloring. He explained it very well and took me around proudly to each of the displays. In the cafeteria we looked at the older kids' projects and Jake was very interested in what each experiment tried to show, and wanted to know what each had proven. He seems to be really enjoying Fun Season soccer (1 practice, 1 game per week) and I'm considering getting him a once a week swim lesson as well. Evan and I have just discovered Playmorning, a mom and tot program run three times a week by the YMCA on base where we can go play with new toys and meet other little ones his age. I was reinvigorated last night by a much anticipated Girls Night--pedicures and Thai food with two other moms--and feel ready to take on the world once again.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Oh, I am SO excited for Christmas. We've had a really enjoyable couple of weeks now leading up to it, including a lovely visit with Shawn and Barb last week. We hosted them for dinner one night and went out to the Kona Brewery later in the week. The house looks great, though our poor tree is seeing it's final days: so brown and brittle, we will have to take it down soon over the weekend I fear. We've received a good number of beautiful Christmas cards, considering our recent change of address, and the photo cards hang around the pantry where I can enjoy the faces of my dearest each time I pass. How lucky we are!
Jake was an angel in his school pageant, where his class sang, "Happy Birthday Jesus." Chris took video, we'll see if he can get it loaded up for you all.
Yesterday we visited gigantic Ala Moana Center, to ride the Candy Cane Train and sit with Santa. At last, we found the REAL SANTA...Jake has no tolerance for removable facial hair, it turns out.
We're planning on Roasted Red Pepper Lasagna for Christmas Eve Dinner, and have invited our friend Sara and her two girls (same ages as our boys), whose husband is deployed, to dinner with us. After dinner we'll go looking for lights in Kaneohe and set out our sugar cookies for Santa. We'll do church on Christmas morning at Emmanuel, and then back to the Lloyds house for Christmas dinner. I think it's pretty much mandatory to enjoy the beach sometime during the day, though the water is probably a mite cold to swim. We might try our hands at a sandman, Frosty's gritty cousin. And of course lots of Skyping to all!! Merry Christmas, loved ones.

Here Comes the Holiday

We've had a busy couple of weeks and the holidays are officially here. We continue to enjoy our new surroundings immensely and spend much of the day outside, despite the dip in the temperatures of late. (Mind you, it is still impossibly beautiful, just cool enough for pants or a sweatshirt once the sun goes down.)
We had a lovely Thanksgiving with the Lloyds and several other families. The kids ate little and played much while the dads watched football and the wives all sampled the six pies that found their way to the dinner table! Earlier in the day we explored the botanical garden in the next town and fed the ducks, then ran from them when they tried to take Evan away.
Black Friday Belinda and I hit the stores from 5:30 to around noon. Wal-Mart was absolutely insane! Their were plasma screen TVs on every other cart and lines wrapped around the store. Made me realize why I skip Black Friday on the mainland. But, I was willing to try anything to help usher in the holiday spirit. Even if it was the angry, rude, and exhausted spirit...
This week we have two holiday parties scheduled: the first was Wednesday at the Hale Koa for all hands from HSL37. The food was great, and though we didn't score any of the huge prizes being given away we had a great time being out with the friends we've made so far. I wish I had someone take a photo of us, 'cause we were looking GOOD!
Tomorrow night is the wardroom party at the CO's house. The theme is Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and I have yet to discern what that means for our attire...perhaps a photo will be in order there, too.
We've got our tree up here in the main room, and it is a beauty. We mixed in plumeria shaped lights with our standard whites and it is beautiful. Once I get our boxes off to the post office I can start wrapping the goodies for the boys to plump up the underside of the tree.
Shawn and Barb will be here a week from Sunday and then we will really have reason to celebrate: what a treat to have some family to share all of this heaven with!

Are the Holidays Here?

Man, it really doesn't feel like fall. Is it still technically fall if the weather hasn't changed and isn't going to? I am usually the first in line for all things pumpkin, but I just can't get into it here. You should have seen our pathetic attempt at carving jack-o-lanterns. Even Jake wasn't enthused.
Anyway, I'm resolving to somehow infuse us with holiday spirit over the next few weeks. There's lots of cute Mele Kelikimaka stuff around (oops, spoiler alert for your Christmas gifts, fam) so I think the boys and I will head down to the big exchange and start to deck the--already crowded--halls.

(Be)Coming Home

Well, this is it. 1257 Mapuana Street is officially feeling like home. Chris and I speak often about how it's the perfect house for us and are so glad our first "love", on Kuuna Street, didn't work out. The boys have an awesome play area in the sunroom and easy access to the backyard. Even the ominous "multipurpose room" is emptying out.
Chris and I had two fun dates this weekend, once to Italian dinner at the Baci Bistro and the next to the Windward Mall for coffee and window shopping. And two good sitters who enjoyed watching the boys for us. We also fired up the grill for the first (and second) time for hot dogs and chicken. A banner weekend to bring in the holiday season!

Home Sweet Home

Aaaaah! At long last our goods have arrived and we begin the long process of putting the puzzle back together. The house is undoubtedly smaller than Rosecroft, and we are making use of the "multipurpose" room for added storage at the moment. We will probably have to rent a storage unit, at least for our washer and dryer! Chris and I were up late last night unpacking and every other room is livable, if a far cry from tidy. I'm not showing you pictures until I see tidy!
I've interviewed three guys to do our lawn maintenance, choosing tomorrow and am eager to get that underway. Each one was blown away by our view and location: Chris G and the Magic Computer strike again.
We've got tons of rain here lately, and a temperature the locals call cold. The boys were still out half-naked with a hose this afternoon, if that gives you any idea how warm we think it is!

3 More Days

Good news! Our household goods have arrived and can be delivered on Monday. Three more days of camping and then we all get our own beds back. It feels like a weight has been lifted, just knowing that the end is near. I also interviewed two young women as babysitting candidates and have scheduled "trial" dates for next weekend so they can hang with the boys. And Chris and I get to go out! What a treat that will be, even if only for a few hours.
Tomorrow Evan and I go for our orientation at the base CDC (Child Development Center) and I can then begin to sign him up for "hourly care" affording me another opportunity to take some time for myself. Or, make time for the mountain of freelance work that has chosen this moment to pile itself on my desk. Alas, soon the bills will begin to roll in and I'll be glad for it.

Camped out

So, we made it through the weekend. I didn't sleep a wink last night, but the boys did fine on their air mattresses and new surroundings. We ate dinner tonight on the floor in the dining room and Chris bought us chaise lounges yesterday as our living room furniture. It is quite a comical set-up we've got.
We had a great breakfast (out) this morning at a restaurant whose specialty is macadamia nut sauce on their banana pancakes...it is a MUST when you come to visit! Then we went to the beach, got drenched and headed home.
Tomorrow I meet with the housing office about loaner furniture so we can look forward to proper seating arrangements soon. That's a sure sign the household goods will arrive. I've also got a few sitters I'm going to interview this week so that Chris and I can take a date night now and then.

Moving Day

Uh-oh...we just found out we have been paying out of pocket to stay at the Villa for the past 7 days, so we are making a hasty retreat tomorrow morning to Mapuana Street. We'll live like refugees through the weekend on borrowed air mattresses and sleeping bags, but the base will provide loaner furnishings Monday or Tuesday...
Another adventure begins.

Posting from Phone

This is just a test to see how well my phone can post and upload photos. Here's one of Jake before school on Aloha Friday and Evan on Kailua Beach.








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A little bit of home

Yesterday we received our express shipment: some toys, dishes and kitchenware. It was fun to see our stuff again and means we are one step closer to being settled. While I waited for the truck, I drove around the neighborhood, picking out the best "block" for us to traverse on our walks. I also spent some time watering the yard. The homeowner did lots of planting, but they've gone neglected for a few months and now need a kick in the rear. (Or some water and MiracleGro.)
I went to my first spouses club meeting last night, now a department head spouse and presumably with a bit more responsibility coming my way, especially as Chris prepares to deploy in the new year. The wives seem very kind and look out for each other in the absence of family: I'm looking forward to knowing them better and becoming 'one of the gang.' I was once again welcomed to the group: this time with a lei, a pineapple and a serving dish from the club.

Just In

Just back from our first trip to the new house. It's smaller and more-70's era than I recall from my first viewing, but the yard is just beautiful and there's even more storage than I remembered. I'm starting a mental to-do list that includes new chandeliers and painting the bedroom and maybe a wall of the living room. And a trip to the nursery: they've left lots of pots for me to fill, as well as a vast array of their own plants, including orchids (!), herbs and roses. Time for me to step up to the plate when it comes to yard work!
The owners are just wonderful and made themselves available for whatever help we need. They raised their children to adulthood in the house and put a lot of hours into making it a place they could enjoy, so I have no doubt we will too.