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!