Save The Ship

The Hopper is now in Singapore. It is very hot and humid here. So when we went to the Singapore Navy Damage Control School we were happy to get wet.


The reason we went to their school was to see how they do Damage Control and to practice our Damage Control. They had a mock ship that they have damage on like flooding through holes, cracks and ruptured pipes then we try to save it from sinking. Pretty much what my real job in the navy is. It was a lot of fun to use our skills and put them to the test. It was also interesting because we had some Singapore Sailors with us. Besides a little language barrier everything went really good and I think we could have saved the ship.

Other than call Jenn that is that only thing I have done here so far. Tomorrow I am going on a mountain biking trip that should be really fun and Saturday I am going out on the towne to check things out. I will try to keep you posted.

I am doing good. I feel good with only a little bit of soreness and have lost a few pounds. I will try to post more often to keep you updated. How do you like the pictures of the ship and me?
Darrick

Micah's 1st Bike Ride

Today Micah officially rode his bike for the first time! He
has tried before and could do it but gave up. Today I
encouraged him to try again and his first try, he took off
riding and did not stop all afternoon. He couldn't wait for
his friend Deja to get home from school so they could ride
bikes together. I even got on our neighbor Will's bike and
joined him and Deja for a ride. I am so proud of him and I
made sure to video tape the whole thing for Darrick! Way
to go Micah!

Happy Memorial Day!

I got an email from Darrick that said they are now in Singapore. Hopefully he will be able to call us-it would be so great to hear his voice and talk to him.

I didn't really have any big plans for me and the boys today but then my friend Sonya called and invited us over to swim at the pool in her apartment complex. Ironically we know that pool very well because it is the pool the boys had private swimming lessons in last summer. We got there at noon and they swam until 4. They got out occassionally to munch on some pretzel sticks and drink some water but then it was right back in the pool!

My neighbor let us borrow their copy of "Nanny McPhee"-it is called the new Mary Poppins. It was really good and the boys loved it. There was one part I did not like because they use some "bathroom" language but the rest was good.

One last story. Included in the goodie bags from the boys pirate birthday party at the beginning of the year was treasure. Included in this treasure was beads and gaudy rings. This weekend Jacob was playing with one of those rings and came up to me and said "Mom, when I get big like Daddy, I'm goign to marry you with this ring!" It was one of the best things to hear as a mom. It will be a bittersweet moment someday when I am not his favorite girl.
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I just got off the phone with Darrick. We were able to talk for an hour. It was so great. We laughed becaused I almost talked the whole time, I just had so much to tell him. But he did ask a lot of questions. It is 9 pm Monday here and it was 3 pm Tuesday for him. He said it is hot and humid. He said he will try to post of his adventures while in Singapore-so keep checking back!

USS Hopper by Japan with Coast Guard Ship Sherman in the background

Darrick and Walter enjoying a Steel Beach Picnic

Mini Church

This is a group picture of our mini church (Bible Study in someone's home). We meet every Thursday from 7-9 pm. We have a great time, learn a lot and encourage one another. Top Row: Jocelyn, Mike, Troy, Bob, Cassie On Couch: Tomoko, ME, Susan

Last few days

Later today we will be bringing Sam to the airport. We had so much fun with him, it will be hard to see him go. The boys adore him and will miss their Uncle a lot.

SATURDAY: we went to the 3rd annual Wahiawa Pineapple Festival. The weather was rainy on and off but we still had a nice time. We met our friends Will, Margaret and Loretta there. The kids rode rides and we all tried things like pineapple yougart, pineapple tea, pineapple vanilla ice cream and of course pineapple.

SUNDAY: we went to church and then went to North Shore with our friend Sonya. We ate lunch at Cholo's and then hung out at the beach.

MONDAY: Micah and I went to Lehua Elementary School with Margaret and her headstart class to tour kindergarten. Then me, Sam and the boys went to Dirty Lickin's for lunch and shopped at the Goodwill.

TUESDAY: we went out to breakfast at the Wright Bros. Cafe and then went to Lanikai beach. Then at night Sam and I went to Waikiki and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

On Sunday when we went to North Shore Micah had a cruch on a teenage girl. Her and her friend were digging a hole by the shoreline and Micah kept getting closer and closer to them. But the funny part was that he was acting like a gorilla. I laughed so hard I cried. He followed them around for at least 45 minutes. If they talked to him, he would run away. They were so kind and let him follow them all over. He would just sit and stare at the one girl.

Yesterday at Lanikai Beach we had quite an ordeal. I was dozing in the warm sun and Sam was building a sand castle with the boys. All of the sudden Micah and Jacob are crying and it took me a minute to figure out what happened. A dead jellyfish washed up on shore and they both touched it. It had stung them and they were crying hysterically. I remembered once I saw on Survivor that they peed on a guys hand when he got stung and it helped. Well Micah was too upset and couldn't pee but Jacob had no problem and peed all over his hand. Some people whose house is right on the beach ran to get some vinegar and we poured that on too. Well all of the sudden Jacob starts screaming again and yelling "my penis!" Apparently when he peed on his hand he touched it and when I looked at it, it 2-3 times the size and red. So we poured vinegar on it. The boys were crying "I want Daddy!" and honestly at the moment I wanted him too! So we left the beach. When we got home I gave the boys a shower and tylenol and I am happy to report they are feeling better and everything is back to normal.

Micah with a creature we found at the beach today

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday afternoon we headed up to North shore to get some Matsumoto's Shave Ice. Sam tried rainbow with ice cream on the bottom and loved it. The boys never seem to get the hang of eating it right and once again they dropped theirs. From there we headed to Turtle Beach where there was one turtle on the shore and two in the ocean close to shore. Then we went to a beach my neighbor told me about that dogs can go to. So we brought Moses along for his first outing to the beach. It was pretty empty so Moses could run around and chase after the boys. The waves were really rough but we could get our feet wet and enjoy the sunshine. At night we went to Bible Study and Sam fit right in playing guitar for worship along with Tomoko playing her ukelele.

Today we took a nice drive to see the famous blowhole and the east side but it was not too great because of the tide. Then we walk down to the beach where they filmed the classic movie "From here to Eternity". They have lots of tide pools and we found some interesting creatures. Sam is starting to get a nice tan and not looking like he just came from Iowa anymore! This afternoon Sam and I went to see the DaVinci code. It was good but the book was so much better. Enjoy the pictures.

Going in the waves with Uncle Sam

Moses' first time at the beach

Eating Matsumoto's Shave Ice

Sam and Micah trying out poi balls

Where's Darrick?

Hello everyone its me, Darrick. The USS Hopper just pulled into Okinawa today. We have been cruising across the ocean for eleven days. I am doing good and not having any problems with hernias. I am just really tired because we work really hard while we are out to sea. It is 10pm and I have been up since 1:30am so when I go to sleep after writing this I will sleep really good. I get a full night sleep tonight and have the day off tomorrow so I can take a tour of Okinawa. I was able to go to the Air Force base here and get a memory card for the digital camera I brought so I can get some pictures of my adventure here. Thank you for your thoughts a prayers I will try to write on here more if I can.
Darrick
Here is a picture of me on the ship. See how awake I look.

What we've been up to

Monday: Sam arrived and after some lunch we drove to Pali Lookout. The view was great but it was windy and chilly. From there we took the scenic drive home. Once we got home it was still early in the day so we packed up and headed to North Shore. We stopped at Shark's Cove and it was a little rough but we went in a little and had fun looking at little fish and building a rock tower. We stopped at Stordo's deli for dinner-so yummy and Sam loved it.

Tuesday: We spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. On the way there we stopped and got another Stordo sandwich. We toured the villages during the day. Sam's favorite was New Zealand where we all practiced twirling poi balls and Sam and I played the stick game! Then we had a yummy luau dinner and then on to the night show. We were so amazed when we were seated in the 4th row from the front! It was really cool!

Today: We had a relaxed day today, the boys were pretty tired after yesterday. In the afternoon we went to the commissary to get some groceries. Then we had dinner at Dirty Lickin's. Sam really liked it-he got 10 hot wings-and wants to go back again while he is here.

I really love having my brother here-we have had some great talks and boys have enjoyed daily wrestling with Uncle Sam. There has been lots of laughs lately!

Me and Sam at the Polynesian Cultural Center

Next visitor...

This morning we picked up our next visitor from the airport...My brother Sam. Watch our blog for our adventures...

Interesting day

Today some unusual and awesome things occured. It started out as a normal morning. Our friend Alex came over to play for awhile.

I decided we should go for an exercise walk. So I put Jacob and Alex in the double exercise stroller. Since Moses has not had all his shots yet, he is not allowed to walk outside of our house or backyard. So we strapped him into the single exercise stroller and Micah pushed him. Our whole walk I could see people looking and smiling or chuckling. One lady jogger said "That is about the cutest thing I have ever seen!" See picture. We also found a really cool bird nest on the ground.

After that were walking to the park minus Moses. Alex stubbed both of his big toes twice in a row. They were bleeding so we ended up walking home. But then they wanted to play in the tree in Alex's front yard. They were monkeys and I was the zookeeper building a nest for them. I was gathering flowers and leaves and sticks when I came across a huge centipede. It was dying but was still moving its legs. It was about 4 or 5 inches long! They are very poisionous. So I picked it up with some sticks and put it in one of Darrick's old hats. It was super gross!

Tonight Micah is really missing Darrick and was crying for him so I got out the book about Darrick and the boys that I made for his last deployment. It really cheered him up. There is one part that explains that Darrick and I asked Jesus into our hearts which is why we had them baptized. Micah said "I asked Jesus into my heart when I was 4!" And then Jacob said "I want to ask Jesus into my heart." So we all prayed there on Micah's bed and Jacob asked Jesus to come into his heart. It was such a beautiful moment and one I will never forget.

Ready to go for a walk

At North Shore the weekend before Darrick left

Goodbye

Well today is the day...The Hopper is leaving this morning for a 5 month CARAT cruise. We actually said goodbye to Darrick yesterday morning at 6am because he had duty. Micah and I cried and the boys keep saying that they miss Daddy but so far we are doing good on the home front.

Today my youngest brother, Jeff, is graduating from Dordt. Now all 4 of us have graduated from Dordt College and my Dad can finally retire from 30+ years with the phone company. Thanks Dad! My parents flew out to Iowa on Wednesday and will be there until the beginning of next week.

Moses is doing good. We have had to try something new because he kept having accidents all over the house so we have contained him to the kitchen-which he doesn't really like but it is saving us a lot of clean-up.

Once again I would like to thank everyone for the emails, prayers and gifts of support. It means so much to us!