Mow, mow, mow the lawn...

Darrick has duty today and our grass was pretty long and I got this great idea that I would surprise him and mow the lawn. I have not mowed a lawn since we lived in New Jersey I think. Anyways it has been a long time. I could not get the lawn mower to start. I checked the gas, held the bar and pulled the string and nothing. I saw my neighbors and asked for there helped. They helped kind of. Margaret overfilled the gas tank and it leaked out all over. Her husband said now I couldn't mow with it so I had to use their lawn mower. I had forgotten to prime our mower by pushing the button. The boys played on the patio where I could see them while I conquered the lawn. I did it all, front, side and backyard. I am pretty proud of myself. But the best part was when Darrick called tonight and said he had to mow the lawn tomorrow and I said "I did it!" And he said "What?!" I think I surprised him! He thanked me a few times which was nice.

This afternoon I taught the boys how to make paper snowflakes. Well Micah mostly and he did pretty good. Then we played in the sprinkler. It is wierd to think that it is winter and do Christmas things and then do summer things like play in the water! Christmas in Hawaii...

Jacob

With the Parrots

Celebrating the Holidays-Hawaiian Style

It is so fun being in a tropical environment for Christmas and experiencing new customs.

Wednesday night we went to Ala Moana Mall to see their stage show "The Christmas Gift of Aloha". It was awesome! An elf from the north pole gets lost and ends up on the islands and finds the Hawaiian elves-menehune. They show him how they celebrate Christmas, the boys loved it!

Friday night the base had Winterfest Childrens Party. They had all different tables set up and you get a passport and at each table you do a craft from a different country. Then you get a stamp in your passport. When the boys had them all they got a prize-a nice children's book.

Saturday night we went to Aloha tower to see the annual Yaught Club Christmas boat parade. It was so cool. People decorate their yaughts with lights and decorations and they dress up and sing carols as they go by. After that we took a Trolley ride for a Honolulu city lights tour. We sang carols and they take you all over to see the light displays and the big one-Honolulu Hale. We also got our pictures taken with some parrots before the parade started. Micah wanted nothing to do with the birds and Jacob liked them at first until the one on his head started biting his hat. One bird pooped on me.

Last night, Sunday, Darrick and I went to the USS Hopper Christmas Party at the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki. We got all dressed up and had a great dinner and Darrick even got on the dance floor with me. We did not win any prizes but had a good time anyway!

Found

Today we found Micah's lost blankie! The boys were just playing in the playroom and started playing with their tools and there it was shoved inside a tool box! We are so happy!

This afternoon we went with our friends Lauren, Charlie and Alex to the Marine Base on the other side of the mountains to play at their playground and then had dinner at McDonalds. It was such a good time. Her husband worked late and Darrick has duty so it was a perfect night to do it.

Aloha

Today marks one week since we arrived back to the beautiful island of Oahu. There was a lot to do this week to get settled back in!

Our flight went really good. It was hard to say goodbye to my family, but hopefully we will be seeing my parents in a few months, they are planning their first trip to Hawaii! Our good friend Lauren picked us up at the airport and greeted us with hugs and leis.

Most of the week we spent unpacking, doing laundry, grocery shopping, playing with neighbors and getting bit by mosquitos. It has been raining a lot, add that to the humid weather and you get mosquitos. It was also wierd to go from cold weather to now the boys are back in bathing suits and swimming.

Our house was good but we were quite surprised by the amount of gecko poop in our playroom! We cleaned it up and sanitized the room. There was also one big dead cockroach which is not too bad.

Also sometime this week we have lost Micah's special blanket that Darrick's mom gave to him when he was 6 months old for his baptism. We cannot find it anywhere and are starting to wonder if we left it on the airplane...

Yesterday we had the Hopper Children's Christmas Party. The boys had a good time and a lot of children came. They served lunch and had crafts and cookie decorating and a visit from Santa. Jacob couldn't wait to see Santa and Micah wanted nothing to do with him. When Darrick came back with the free polaroid picture I was a little surprised. There is Jacob sitting next to Santa making a face and sticking his tongue out, nice...does that mean he is now on the naughty list?

Today we went to church and then in the afternoon is started pouring! Huge drops. We had to go to the commissary and got soaked as well as our groceries but at least we got it done!

One more day

Wow, it has been awhile since my last post. As you can imagine we have been super busy.

Last Saturday my parents and me and the boys went hiking at Mt. Baldy. It was such a beautiful day and the pine trees smelled so good. We had a picnic lunch and then headed home again.

Sunday we went to LAX because Darrick is on leave and flew to CA for Thanksgiving. From the airport we went to Dave and Laura's so he could meet his new nephew. After a nice dinner and dessert we headed back.

Monday morning we got up and Darrick, me and the boys headed to Disneyland for 2 days. The boys are at really great ages and had a really good time. Micah rode Splash Mountain twice and Jacob was in love with all the characters and wanted to have his picture taken with them and give them hugs. His favorite was Minnie Mouse. We spent the night at the Double Tree Hotel and had another fun filled day, mostly at California Adventure.

When we got home Tuesday my brothers Sam and Jeff had arrived from Iowa! It was so great to see them.

Wednesday we got back in the car and drove 3 hours to Bakersfield to visit Darrick's brother Charlie and his wife Maud. They are expecting their first baby in February and they found out it is a girl. They also showed us their new house and we went out to dinner at John's Incredible Pizza Kitchen. When we got back, Dave, Laura and Elijah had arrived at my parents house to stay for a few days.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and my Grandpa and Grandma Vanderbilt joined us for a yummy dinner.

Friday we all went to Acapulco's (my favorite place to eat) for the last time, since they do not have any in Hawaii. Darrick and I started packing up in the afternoon. Then at night my parents watched the boys and Darrick and I went and saw "Jarhead".

Today we are going to LA to Dave and Laura's for Christmas. Since we are all here and will not be at Christmas we are celebrating now.

Then tommorrow we are flying back to paradise! These past two months have gone by so quickly but we did so much fun stuff and reconnected with so many friends and loved ones! Aloha!

Thanks

Thanks for leaving the comments, hopefully that will work and people can now post again.

I took the boys to Scandia to mini golf this morning. We had a good time but it was super windy. We don't keep score or even play right. Actually most of the time Jacob picks up his ball and puts it in the hole. When you get to the last hole it goes in and you can't get it back out. The boys each rolled theirs in. It has a volcano type hole so and if you get it in there you get a free game so I thought I would give it a try. I hit it really hard and it bounced off the wall and right into the water. The boys just looked at me and Jacob kept saying "Mommy, you hit ball in da water?" He even had to tell my parents at dinner.

It is one week until my brothers, Sam and Jeff, come home from Dordt. If you don't know, I'm the oldest of four siblings. I have three brothers, Sam who works at Dordt, Dave who is married to Laura and they live in LA, and Jeff who is a Senior at Dordt. Yes we all have gone to Dordt, in Sioux Center Iowa and once Jeff graduates we all will have graduated from Dordt.

Darrick is out to sea this week and then is flying here on Sunday. It will be a month again since we have seen him, so we are anxious to be reunited again.

Try to leave a comment

If you are reading this could you try to leave a comment for me? I changed some of the settings so that non members could post a comment but hopefully not those lame computer ads, so we will see.

Today we (my parents, me and the boys) went to Knott's Berry Farm. In the month of November military and vets get in free plus you can get a guest in free, so my mom was free too!

We spent some time first at Camp Snoopy. We rode the boat, nascar speedway, ferris wheel, and saw a Peanuts pirate show. Then we had lunch and rode the mining ride, big train, log ride, nascar speedway again and the huff n puff. We also had a caricature done of Micah and Jacob which turned out really cute.

We had a really great day and the crowds were not bad until late afternoon. The longest we had to wait was for the log ride-20 minutes.

I have discovered that Jacob loves thrill rides and Micah does to a point but he is more cautious. Jacob was asking to go on the adult roller coasters and even told Papa he would hold his hand, because Papa said he was too scared to go on!

Darrick cleaned out our storage room in Hawaii and got our Christmas decorations out so I can decorate when we get back. When I talked to him he was at Ala Moana mall in Honolulu, having dinner and walking around with a guy from the ship.

Ow, my eye...

Tonight I was going to go over to my friend Nicole's house to hang out and watch TV with her. My contacts were feeling dry so I thought I would look for some drops before I went. I looked in the bathroom cupboard at the contact stuff my brother Jeff left behind. I found a little bottle that looked like eye drops and put one in my right eye. The moment it hit my eye it felt like someone jammed a hot needle through it! I told my parents and my mom read it closer and said it was a protein remover for contacts, not rewetting drops. I had to flush my eye with cold water and wear my glasses for the night. It was read and still burning but better then before. I guess that is why people always say "Read the label..."

Another mini adventure

Yesterday the boys and I drove out to Los Angeles for a mini overnight adventure. We drove to Dave and Laura's house to spend time with them, see Elijah and spend the night. We had such a great time. The boys love Elijah so much. Micah held him a lot and Jacob even shared his special blanket with him. We had a great night sleep in their guest room and then a yummy breakfast with Laura and Elijah this morning.

From their house the boys and I left to go to The Natural History Museum which was about 5 minutes from their house. It was so great. We saw dinosaurs, animals and they had a great Children's Discovery Center. The boys just went from display to display saying "Mom, look at this!"

An added bonus was when I went to pay for my ticket to get in ,$9.00, and found out that military gets in FREE and kids under 5 are free too so I only had to pay for parking!

We left by 1:00 and had no traffic on the way home!

Darrick is back in Hawaii this week and then next week out to sea and then he will be here!

Day at the Museum with Mommy

Today my parents were invited to a wedding so I thought the boys and I would go and do something.

So we headed out to Redlands to the San Bernardino County Museum. I told the boys that today were going to exercise our brains which is just as important as exercising our bodies. The boys were both free and I was only $6.00 so I was happy about that. The last time I had been there was when I was in High School. The Children's Exploration Station was closed but we had fun anyways.

We first walked to see the stuffed and preserved animals and insects. Then onto the birds, nests and eggs. The boys really like these two exhibits. The last floor was California History which did not really interest them much.

I packed us a lunch so we went outside and ate at some tables in the sun. They wanted to go look at the animals again after lunch so we did that one more time and then we went home. We were there about 2 1/2 hours.

It is so important to me that the boys are well rounded and appreciate things like museums and art galleries. We talk about how you act and how we use a quiet voice and no touching unless it says we can. It amazes me what a sponge Micah is, he loves learning so much and did not want to leave. I told him that I would take him to another museum and he was happy with that.

On the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen for a ice cream treat.

It was such a nice day together!

Catching Up

Well the last day I posted was Thursday. And by Friday afternoon we got a call from my brother Dave and his wife Laura that they were in the hospital to have their baby! We were so surprised because their due date was not until November 8! Little Elijah David Gutierrez was born at 6:07 pm on Friday night. So we headed to LA to see the newest little miracle. And boy is he cute!

Saturday the boys and I had a day out. A Christian Bookstore was premiering the newest VeggieTales movie "Lord of the Beans" evey hour so we went to watch it. While we were there I bumped into my friend Susan and her kids. So we all went to lunch together at Carl's Jr. From there the boys and I went to Barnes and Noble for a special Halloween Storytime with Max the Bunny from Max and Ruby. After the storytime we sat in the warm sun and drank some Starbucks (non coffee) drinks and read stories. Then we went back to my parents and carved pumpkins.

Sunday we went to church with my parents so that we could go visit Dave, Laura and Elijah. They came home from the hospital that afternoon so we also cooked dinner for them so they could just relax.

Monday was Halloween. At night we went to my Aunt Belinda's house for dinner and then Trick or Treating. Micah was Batman and Jacob was Robin, they were really cute.

Yesterday morning we went to visit my Grandpa and Grandma Vanderbilt. We always have peppermint tea with yummy banana bread and cookies.

Today the boys and I went to Target and I just have to say that I am so tired of people who think they know how to parent my boys. I was changing Jacob's diaper in the restroom and this lady comes in. I was completely minding my own business and she asks how old Jacob is. I say 2 and she goes "Oh well I guess it is ok, I thought he was older and he needs to be potty trained" then she starts on Micah "How old are you, shouldn't you be in school?". I just bit my tongue because she was pretty fiesty and rude and I didn't want to get into it with her. But what makes people think they know what is best and why do they feel compelled to give me their opinions. It is not the first time this has happened to me. I have been given unwanted advice on pacifiers, bottles and even discipling. It is just so judgemental and rude.

I'm such a wimp!

I admit it...I am freezing my bootie off in California! Last night I put an electric blanket on my bed. I am constantly wrapped up in a blanket with a heating pad to warm me up...oh send me back to tropical weather!

Today me, my mom and the boys had a nice Fall Adventure. We drove to Yucaipa to go to a really cool pumpkin patch. We went their last year too. It was pretty packed with school kids but we were still able to do what we wanted to do. We were surprised when we saw some of the kids shirts and realized it was the OC (Ontario Christian) Preschool. I went to OC 1st-12th grade. I even saw Terry Jansma who was in my class. We climbed on the hay castle and looked at the animals and took pictures. The boys each picked out a mini pumpkin.

Then we continued on our journey up to Oak Glen. I do not remember my first time to Oak Glen-it seems like I have always gone there every Fall since I was a little kid. We went to Los Rios, home of the best Apple Cider, and had a nice picnic lunch and of course some warm apple cider. After we ate the boys played around and collected pinecones, acorns and pine needles. Micah came up and pointed to the pinetree and whispered to me "Mom that tree is a conifur!" Wow, I was impressed. They mention that on a video he has, it was just cool that he remembered the word and was able to identify one himself.

From there we went down to the village and feed the reindeer. The boys loved it and laughed when their tongue tickled their hands. Then we followed the bear tracks (they are just yellow bear prints painted on the ground) to the candy shop. That is where we get the best caramel apples, chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate snowcaps, and yes we bought all three and they are so so so yummy.

Then we went down to another village and bought Apple Strudels for dessert tonight. We also picked up two "Daddy" Pumpkins, as the boys call them. They boys have never carved pumpkins so we thought we could do that this weekend.

It was such a fun day. The air was so cool and crisp but it started getting foggy and the sun went away when we were on our way home. Time for me to get back under the blanket, hmmm...now where is that heating pad?

A Million Little Pieces

Yesterday afternoon I finished reading the book "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. I started on Saturday morning on our way down to San Diego and read every spare moment I had so I could be done by today.

This book was chosen by Oprah for her book club. This is the first one of her choices that I have read. Something about it just interested me. But I knew the author was going to be on Orpah today talking about the book so I wanted to be done by then.

I knew my friend Nicole had the book so I called her and asked if I could borrow it. She said yes but had to warn me that the language was pretty bad, which it sure was. For those of you who have not read it, it is a true story about the author's time in drug rehab. It was very raw and detailed and taught me things I never knew about this world of drug addiction.

I only cried on one part when it talked about what happened to Lilly at the end but I do not want to give anything away...

I usually read Christian books and this was so different because he does not believe in God. This book was not something I would normally read but it is good to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone every once in awhile. Next though I think I will go back in to my comfort zone and read "Sisterchick's Down Under"...it is more up my alley...

Yoho, Yoho, The Sailors life for us...

It was so great to see Darrick again this weekend! Let me catch you up...

Saturday morning a group of 18 family and friends drove down to San Diego to see Darrick and tour the USS Hopper. Our group included My parents, me and the boys, Dave and Laura, Aunt Belinda, Corey, their friends Kelli and Sarah, Uncle Oscar, Aunt Kathy, Charlie, Maud, Micah, Nicole and Kaitlyn. The weather was gloomy but we had such a good time.

From there we went to The Corvette Diner for lunch which was so fun and really yummy. After that everyone headed home but my parents and the four of us checked into the Navy Lodge so we could spend more time with Darrick.

It hit me Saturday night. Every once in awhile I just feel weak and so tired of all this and I just had to get it out and cry. I usually am ok but sometimes it is hard when Darrick pops in and out of our lives. It feels so good and familiar when he is with us. As we were sleeping and he reached over and pulled me close it felt so safe. He is so much more than my husband, he truly is my best friend and the person I am closest to in the whole world. It is so hard that we are now separated again. It is hard on the boys too. Jacob is really a Daddy's boy and would hardly leave Darrick for a minute the whole weekend.

Monday the Hopper left to go back to Hawaii. Darrick gets leave for Thanksgiving so he will fly back to California in about a month.

I miss him tonight, the boys miss him, but we will make it through...

Eat More Chicken!

Today we went to Kohl's to look for some shoes-since they were on Sale. Every pair I tried on was wrong for me in some way so I gave up but on the way out my mom and I noticed some 70% off racks so we started to look. It was 70% off the already reduced sale prices! A lot of it was summer stuff, which was perfect for me since we live in Hawaii! I found some great stuff for cheap-I love to get a good bargain.

After that we headed to Chick-fil-A for their grand opening on 19th street. It was so yummy! I had an original chicken sandwich and my had a wrap. They were giving away free brownie tastes, balloons, and were so customer friendly. They have a great play area for the kids. Even the cow was there with his sign saying "Eat more chicken!" The boys each got a mini stuffed cow.

They gave away booklets for 52 free chicken sandwiches for the first 100 people through their doors. We actually saw people with tents out there!

Interesting...

Date Night

Tonight Micah and I went on a "Mommy and Son" Date. I had found out that Barnes and Nobles had a 7 pm storytime for kids and tonights theme was Pirates! The boys are obsessed with pirates. But since it was at Jacob's bedtime my parents said they would put Jacob to bed while we went. First we went to Starbucks and Micah got a chocolate chip non-coffee drink and I got vanilla bean.

I was surprised at how many kids were there almost 30 I would say. After the 3 pirate stories each kid got a treat from the treasure-Micah picked a lollipop. Then I bought Micah a book "How I became a pirate". We had so much fun together.

Today Darrick called me and said that he went to Fire Fighting school in San Diego. He said that it was cool and the fire was about 30 feet and they put it out.

I rained again today so my mom and I took the boys to the newly remodeled McDonalds on Foothill and Archibald. They have a cool new play structure. We were there for 2 hours eating and playing. There were other little boys Micah's age and they all played pirates. It was nice for them to burn some energy since we cannot got outside and play.

I also took the boys to get a haircut today at this kids hair shop. They get to sit in little cars and blow bubbles. They love it and it makes the process so much easier.

Update

It has been awhile since I posted! Wow the time is going quickly. Today marks one month that we have been in CA. We have one more month here-actually about 5 weeks.
The weather took a turn for the colder and it is nice but I definitly think that I am a warm weather girl. Last night we had a huge rain storm complete with thunder and lightening and it poured rain-it even woke me up.

Yesterday my Dad built a nice little fire in the fire place. It was so cozy.

So what have we been up to you may wonder?

Well last week we spent a lot of time running around and getting things ready for a Baby Shower I threw for Laura (my sister in law)on Saturday.

My Grandpa also came home from the hospital and praise God he is doing so great!

My mom and I picked my Uncle Marv up from the airport one night. He flew in from Grand Rapids to help with things at my Grandparents house.

I talked for about 3 hours to my newly married friend Becky.

Then on Friday night I waited up til midnight for Darrick to drive up from San Diego. It had been a month since the boys and I had seen him. The ship pulled into San Diego and since he had the weekend off he rented a car and drove 2 hours north to stay with us for the weekend. We had such a nice time but of course it went to fast. He left Sunday night to drive back down to San Diego.

Saturday was the baby shower and it was such a nice time. A lot of people came, even men, and they hung out outside and talked while the women had fun inside. Dave and Laura got a lot of really nice gifts and we had really yummy food.

Saturday night after we got the boys in bed Darrick and I went to Starbucks and walked around the new Target on 19th street.

Sunday we went to Friendship Community Church. It was so great for Darrick to see everyone again. After church the Martinez family had us and a bunch of other friends over and we had such a great time eating Juan Pollo and talking.

Then Sunday night our good friends Micah and Nicole invited us over for Pizza.

It was a very busy weekend but so much fun.

The boys had a hard time with Darrick leaving last night. They did not want him to go.

Since we are suppossed to get more rain over the next two days we are just being cozy at home in sweats. Maybe we will make some hot chocolate...

Past few days

The past few days have been really busy and it has been like grand central station here. My Grandpa Vanderbilt, who is 94 years old, had surgery on Friday. My mom had a minor operation on a tooth on Wednesday. Praise God that everything is going good for both patients.

This afternoon we went to the hospital to visit my Grandpa. He is in the Intensive Care Unit so they can monitor him closely because of his age. Micah really wanted to in and see Grandpa but they would not let him because he was under 14 years old. I told this to Grandpa and he said that meant a lot to him. He said he would of expected it from Jacob because he is so open with his feelings and always gives them hugs. But it meant a lot to him that Micah said that because he is so shy. I was very touched by that. Grandpa looked really good I thought and he was tired but was pretty talkative!

Hospitals can be so sad sometimes. There were a lot of distraught people in the waiting room. One of my dear friends called me this week because her mom died and being in the hospital brought so many emotions up for me.

It is so interesting to me how God works in our lives. On Thursday I just had a nudging on my heart that I should call this friend, who I have not talked to in a few weeks. So I did. I called her cell phone and she did not answer so I left a message. She called me back on Friday and told me that yesterday afternoon her mom died. You could call it a coincidence but I know it was God.

I also heard from Darrick tonight. The ship is in San Francisco for Fleet week. Tonight he was going to Fisherman's Wharf. They had to go in uniform and he said people were taking pictures of them. Tomorrow he has duty and will be giving tours on the ship. Monday he is going on a tour of Alcatraz and Tuesday he is going on another tour but I forget right now what it is of.

We made it back!

Here we are back in CA! We actually got back late, late Sunday night/Monday morning. So yesterday was spent catching up on sleep, unpacking and laundry.

We have a wonderful time in Wisconsin-except for the freezing weather the first few days! Brrrr! Now I know why I like Hawaii. All of our flights went really good. And our hotel was great. They had an amazing indoor pool that the boys loved.

Wednesday night, since we were the first and only guests there, Becky's parents had us over for dinner which was so yummy after a long day of traveling.

Thursday morning Becky and I went out to breakfast. Thursday night Becky's parents invited all the guests that were there over to their cottage by the lake for a BBQ.

Friday started with a brunch for the bridesmaids and then a day at the spa. I had a wonderful hour long massage. That evening was the rehearsal and dinner.

Saturday was the wedding. Becky looked amazing! She was so stunning. Her and Jim just both seemed so happy and in love. The ceremony was beautiful and focused on God's faithfulness to them. Another great thing is that we had a Dordt Roommate reunion. This was the first time all 6 of us had been together in 10 years. Five us have have been together at different weddings but never all six. It was so great to see everyone and catch up.

Sunday afternoon we flew back.

Darrick and the ship are on their way to Fleet Week in San Francisco which is this weekend.

I talked to Laura yesterday too and this Saturday will mark 4 weeks until her due date!

I spent some time today going through almost all of my mom's photos and organizing them. I made four main boxes for us kids and then some other categories. I love doing stuff like that.

The boys spent a lot of time today playing outside in my parents backyard. It feels like Fall is in the air! The air feels a little crisp at times. I love this time of year!

On our way again

Today and yesterday have been spent getting ready for our trip to Wisconsin.

Yesterday my friend Susan, who I have known since gradeschool, gave me a manicure and pedicure. Now my nails look pretty. I am the matron of honor!

Today the boys and I went out to lunch with Nicole and Kaitlyn. Nicole suggested "The Hat" because of their chili cheese fries. They were so yummy. We gave the food a 10 out of 10 but our kids a 2 out of 10. They were not bad but just busy.

The rest of the day was spent packing. We leave before the sun comes up tomorrow morning so we can arrive in Wisconsin in the afternoon. I will not be posting while we are gone.

I got good news from Darrick today via email: his leave request that he put in to come to CA over Thanksgiving was approved! I am so excited!

Hey does anyone feel like some cheese?

Our weekend

Thank you to those who let me know that you are reading. So I will continue to post while we are in California!

Saturday my parents, me and the boys drove out to LA right after breakfast to help Dave and Laura with painting their living room. They are missionaries for World Impact and live in their housing. The only downside is that inside their house, every inch almost is blue, light and dark, including the carpet. They have almost been there a year and are slowly painting it. Well now that Laura is pregnant she cannot paint so we came to help! Laura played with the boys while we got busy. We got the whole first coat done by lunch and then finished the second coat a few hours later. It looks awesome! After that Laura gave me some make-up lessons. I am in a wedding next Saturday and wanted a new look. Since I never had a sister I really enjoy now having someone I can go to and get advice on girly things. Then we went through 2 bags of the boys old clothes and she picked out what they could use for their little guy.

Today the boys and I went to Friendship Community Church, which is the church that we attended for 3 years while we lived here. It was so good to see everyone and feel so much love. After church they had a potluck at a park so we went to that too. Then we had a chance to catch up and talk to people. The boys played all afternoon with their friend Jonathan. And I went from person to person talking. Even one of our good friends, who goes to a different church now, stopped by to see me and the boys. I wished that Darrick was there too. It will be nice to reconnect with everyone while we are here.

Tonight my Grandpa Gutierrez came over to see me and the boys. I learned something that I had never known-that he joined the Navy when he was 17 years old and that he spent some time in Hawaii! He was a gunners mate and it was fun to hear some of his stories.

Last few days

I'm just curious if anyone is reading our blog. I thought that maybe people thought that since we are on vacation that we might not post. So if you are reading and would like to hear about our CA adventures can you let me know. It is not as easy here to post...my parents have dial up...enough said.

Wednesday morning we went to the Montclair plaza to do some shopping. For dinner my parents took us out to Los Monitos for the best enchiladas! Later that evening I went by myself to my friend Nicole's house and we watched the premiere of "America's Next Top Model"-one of our favorite reality shows. Confession: upon moving to Hawaii I discovered they did not have UPN (the network that plays the show) so Nicole recorded every episode and mailed them to me! What a great friend!

Thursday morning we went to visit my Grandpa(94) and Grandma(88) Vanderbilt. We were welcomed with loving hugs, kisses and cookies! We also joined them for tea time which they have every mid morning. It was such a wonderful time. That evening after my dad got home from work we went to the LA County Fair. The weather was so perfect and we had a great time. We ate yummy food and rode on the big yellow slide and saw fun exhibits.

Today we kind of relaxed and I did laundry. I am having a hard time adjusting to the time change. And now Wednesday we will be in Wisconsin and have to change time zones again!

Hopefully I will hear from someone...

Rain, rain

Today we had such a nice rainy day. In Hawaii it rains but soon after the sun is usually back out and the dark clouds are gone. It actually started last night. And today we even had thunder and lightning. It was cozy and since we did not have to go anywhere it was nice.

My big project today was to write out and address invitations for a Baby Shower I am throwing for my sister-in-law. Her and my brother Dave are expecting their little guy on November 8!

I also heard from Darrick today which was so great. It has been almost 2 weeks since we have talked.

The boys have been playing all day long. We just can't get over it. My brother Jeff left a big tub of his toys when he was little and the boys are just having a blast with them.

Monday

We had a good day today and got to do some things that we have missed while being in Hawaii.

The first was that the boys and I went out to lunch with Nicole and Kaitlyn. We went to my favorite place to eat: Acapulco's! We got our normal-the lunch buffet. It was so so so yummy except the enchiladas were not fresh but it was still good. It was so great to reconnect with a dear friend.

The second thing is that we went to Target! I love Target and they built a new one about 5 minutes from my parents house. So after dinner we headed up there to get a few things. I wish Hawaii had Target.

Nicole also told me that Frienship Community Church (our church when we lived here) is having a potluck after church so the boys and I are planning on going to that and hope to see some more good friends!

California here we come...

What's up dudes? Well like yesterday we totally made it to California safely...
Just kidding but we are here now.

Lauren dropped us off at the airport bright and early in the morning. We only had one mishap before getting on the plane. We were trying to get on the escalator and when I turned around to help Jacob somehow Micah lost his balance and rolled back down about 5 steps-ouch. Thankfully he was ok, except for tears and a small bump on his head.

The boys did so great on the airplane. Micah watched our new DVD player and Jacob even took a nap.

We were greeted at the airport by my dad, mom, brother Dave and sister in law Laura (with her cute pregnant belly), my friend Nicole and her daughter Kaitlyn! It was such a warm welcome and even some tears were shed.

Upon leaving the airport we were greeted by a lovely LA traffic jam on our way to Dave and Laura's house. But we finally made it and ate yummy dinner and dessert before heading home.

The boys are having so much fun at Nana and Papa's house and eating up all the love and attention. We are all feeling pretty tired with the time change though. We went to my parent's church today and had traditional Sunday Pizza. I unpacked this afternoon and the boys played.

It was 60 degrees when we woke up this morning and the boys and I were cold! Well I am going to go get some dinner for the boys...Later!

Unwanted house guest

Tonight when we got home from Bible Study I found a dead centipede in our master bathroom. It was about 2 cm long. That was the first one that we found in the house. I am trying not to get freaked out about it but they are posionous and now I am wondering if there are more lurking around...

We had a really great Bible Study tonight. I was sitting there thinking how a year ago I did not know all the specifics of my future, only that I was moving to Hawaii. Now there I was in a livingroom with other believers, just soaking up their knowledge and experiences. It is amazing how when you have the Lord in common you have a bond. I feel like we are connecting and growing closer. They are amazing people and so encouraging.

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day here! Final packing and preparations have to be done tomorrow because we leave at 5:45 am Saturday morning for the airport! Yikes! I better get some good rest tonight.

I did it

A few months ago I set a goal to read the complete "Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis. I think I said in a post way back that I saw a preview for a remake of "The Lion, the witch and the wardbrobe" coming out this winter. I have a beautiful hardcover book that contains the entire series in the correct order. The book is heavy and about the size of an 8x10 photo. It is 524 pages. Well my goal was to finish it before I left for CA and last night I did it! This is a huge accomplishment since as the mother of 2 young kids I don't have a lot of time to read.

If you have never read the whole series I would highly recommend it. The whole thing was beautifully written and the symbolism was amazing. By far my favorite book was "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". I cried during this one a lot. One night Darrick asked me if I was ok and I read him the passage and he was pretty touched too. It just paints so vividly what it is that Christ does for us when we give our lives to Him fully. I get emotional just thinking about it right now.

When the boys get older I plan on reading the series to them.

Continuing to improve

Well we had a great night sleep last night-meaning no one threw up! Micah sleep 12 hours, Jacob 11 hours and myself 10 hours. We all really needed it.

So today we just continued to rest but we did run one errand to KMart. After naps we played out front with the neighbors which was so nice since we have not done that for a few days.

I packed some of my clothes and the boys clothes for our trip to CA. It makes me feel better knowing I am not leaving it all until the last minute.

Jacob is having a hard time understanding why Daddy is not coming home. Last night he cried for Darrick. A few nights ago I told him that Daddy was on the ship and he said "I go on ship too!" I think it will be good to go to CA that way it will distract him and keep him busy!

Stomach Flu part 2

There is nothing like being woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of your child crying and throwing up...ahhh, parenting. Next victim:Micah Time: 2 am Place: his bed He threw up all night long about every 1/2 hour so neither of us slept. But the good part is that it passed pretty quickly and he is starting to feel better already. Hopefully there will not be a part 3...

Today I hit my breaking point. I'm still trying to recover and after being up since 2 am by mid morning I had lost it. I couldn't hold the tears back back anymore. I was running out of food and diapers, I didn't know how I was going to get to the store. I finally went over to my neighbor Audrey's house, and ended up crying on her doorstep. She came over and sat with Micah while Jacob and I went to the commissary. Thank God for caring people again!

It is so hard to ask for help sometimes and to admit that you can't do it it all (I guess that is why we end up Worn Out Women, huh Nicole and Shelley?) But I did reach out and ask for help these past few days and everyone has been so willing.

Audrey and her husband Brian even came over in the afternoon to watch the boys so I could keep my hair appt. It was nice to have a little break.

I'm am so excited to sleep! Goodnight...

So Thankful

What a rough few last days!

Darrick and the USS Hopper left on Thursday morning. We had to bring Darrick to the ship and get up at 4:45 am! So of course we were all tired the rest of the day. I took a little nap when the boys did and woke up with a headache but still thought it was because I got up too early. I kept going and in the evening the boys and I went to Bible Study, which by the way was really good.

But by the end I was not feeling good at all and made a quick exit home. I barely got the boys and myself in the house before the stomach flu it me hard. In between my bathroom stops I somehow got the boys in bed. Everyhour, if not more I was up getting sick. By morning I was wiped out.

My original plan was to go grocery shopping that day because we were out of the basics. I called my neighbor Lauren to ask her if she could get us a few things. She dropped off saltines at my doorstep. My neighbor Margaret saw her and found out I was sick and later came over and took the boys for about 3 hours. Lauren came back with my groceries and told me to take some advil (my temp was 101.4) and gave me a banan and 7-up. I couldn't even think straight. After Margaret's daughter woke up she took the boys for a few more hours and then Lauren took the boys for dinner and baths! I cannot tell you how thankful I am for such caring neighbors. It is so amazing to be in a community that supports one another especially when our husbands are gone.

And then today Lauren called to check on me, Margaret stopped by and my other neighbor Audrey heard I was sick and offered me help or if I needed anyhting from the store. On top of all that, someone mowed our lawn today. Whoever did it (Margaret was it you?) thank you so much.

I am feeling better today but still weak. I'm so glad it was only a 24 hour bug!

I cannot believe that next week this time the boys and I will be in California-we're so excited!

Katrina

You will probablly find this hard to believe but before today I had not seen ANY footage of the hurricane. Of course I was hearing bits and pieces of what happened. Since I have 2 little ones at home, I have made it a point to not watch the news anymore during the day. The news is not good and the commercials are terrible too. I don't even watch the morning shows because we have cartoons on. At night I have other things to do.

Well today after talking to my friend Lauren I decided I should try to watch some. Jacob was napping so and Micah was playing so the only news on then was CNN. It was interesting because the guests were the Surgeon General, Dr. Phil and Rick Warren (author of Purpose Driven Life). I was pretty amazed and shocked at everything that was going on.

Then I noticed that Oprah was doing her show about it so I tuned it. By now Jacob was up and they were both cuddling by me. I couldn't help weeping at what I heard and saw. I was trying to explain to the boys why I was crying and what we were watching. At the first commercial I muted the TV and told the boys we needed to pray. So they bowed their heads and closed their eyes and in between my tears I got the best prayer out I could. I can't believe this world we live in and the condition of the people's hearts.

Every night when we tuck the boys in we pray and sing a song. Lately they pick "This little light of mine" every night. After the traditional verses I added "let it shine to the people in the storm" and Micah asked me why I did that. I told him so that Jesus could help them and they could have hope. When I look at the state of this world and think what it will be like for the boys the only things I know I can do is pray and raise them to be strong God fearing men every chance I get.

Labor Day

Today we invited our neighborhood friends over for a BBQ. At noon only one family came and a friend of our family so we grilled and had a yummy lunch. Later in the afternoon more neighbors came so we grilled again for dinner! We all enjoyed ice cream sundaes for dessert-after lunch and dinner!

We had 3 pools set up, the trampoline, the sandbox and a slip 'n' slide so the kids were busy all day. We had weird weather-it was sunny and hot, then it would rain even though it was sunny, a rainbow came out and then a double rainbow.

We really enjoy entertaining and having people over. The adults had a great time talking and laughing and eating of course!

Happy Labor Day! The summer is now over...

Our Sunday

We had such a great day today. During breakfast we were talking about the next few weeks. It is wierd to think that next Sunday will be our last one here for awhile and then the next one we will be our first full day in CA! Darrick leaves this week for a couple of months so we wanted to have a family day today.

We went to early church, which starts at 8:15 am so it is nice to have a great start to our day and then a long day ahead still. Right from church we headed to North Shore. We stopped at Dole because my cousin Dan and his wife Dee just had their second child(a boy) born on Sept. 1st and I am sending the baby a gift and wanted to send something for the big sister too. I remember that people did that for Micah and it helped him adjust to the new baby. It was super crowded today-tourists everywhere. I even got bumped and pushed!

From there we headed to Haleiwa and had lunch at Cholo's-yummy, but not near as good as Mexican food in CA-I can hardly wait, my mouth is watering right now! From there we headed to Shark's Cove. Last week when we took Karen there we had so much fun. Well now that Micah is swimming he feels more comfortable in the water. He was trying to look at the fish using our snorkel gear which was too big. So this week, while at Walmart I bought him a kid size set and Darrick wanted to see him use it before he leaves so we thought today would be a good chance. We had so much fun. The water was warm and we saw so many cool fish. We enforced the buddy rule with Micah so first I was his buddy. At first I thought he was panicing but then realized that he was just so excited by the fish he was seeing. What we like about Shark's Cove is that you do not have to go very deep at all to see fish. On the way home we stopped for some shave ice. I tried 2 new flavors-pina colada and strawberry with ice cream on the bottom-it was sooo good! Darrick is hooked on ice cream in his too!

Tonight we cleaned up the house and got some food ready for our neighborhood BBQ tomorrow! It is raining right now but we hope it will be sunny tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Today we celebrated our friend Charlie's 3rd birthday. We met at the Ewa Beach Railroad and had sandwiches, chips and birthday cake. Then we all boarded the train for a 45 minute train ride. We all had a good time and the engineer even let the kids each blow the train whistle after the ride!

This morning we ran around doing some errands. And this evening Darrick mowed the grass.

Back to the routine

Well Karen left today which means that my vacation is over too! Back to the laundry and grocery shopping.

Yesterday we spent the day at the Polynesian Cultural Center and had a really great time!

Then this morning we brought Karen to the airport. She was so easy to have and fit right into our family. We all miss her already. The boys really liked "Miss Karen" and didn't want her to go today. But we will see her again in about a month at our friend Becky's wedding in Wisconsin.

After dropping Karen off we stopped at the clinic because Jacob needed a TB test, which I wanted to get done before we come to CA. He is so brave and did not even cry or say ouch! I was pretty amazed.

Then we had a mini board meeting for the Hopper Ohana at California Pizza Kitchen. Then we went to the commissary and finally home.

The boys were in bed early and we hope to be too.

We invited some of our neighbors over for a Labor Day BBQ. Hopefully we get a good turn out!

What we've been up too!

Wow...we have been so busy! Here is the latest-

Friday: When Darrick got home from work we drove to Honolulu for the night. We parked at the Hale Koa which is a military hotel and then walked to the International Market Place. We ate dinner at a little plate lunch place on the sidewalk and had pork, chicken, rice and macaroni salad. Then we shopped and Karen got all of her gifts for friends and family. We walked back to the Hale Koa and loaded all our deals in the van. We went to the beach at the hotel and watched the fireworks. From their we went to Bibas and had dessert.

Saturday: We got up bright and early and went out for breakfast at the Wright Bros. Cafe. From there we took the scenic drive to Hanauma Bay. After the mandatory movie before you enter we walked down, down, down to the beach. We found a great spot and Karen and I got ready to go snorkeling. We probably looked like a comedy routine. We were falling over trying to get our fins on and the waves kept knocking us over but finally we got out. We saw some cool fish but somehow ended up on the coral reef right where the waves break and were knock silly. We both got cut on the coral-Karen pretty bad and had to return and go to the lifeguard station. When we were done at the beach we had to hike back up the hill which was terrible! I had to carry Jacob on my back! We stopped at Dirty Lickins for lunch and then to home for showers. After that we went to Paradise Cove for our Luau. It was awesome! We all had so much fun and the food was amazing.

Sunday: This morning we got up and went to church. After church we drove to the Dole Plantation. We rode the Pineapple Express and all tried a chocolate covered pineapple. From there we went out to lunch at Cholo's and to Matsumoto's for a shave ice. It never fails that one or both of the boys flips theirs on the ground-this time it was Jacob and it landed on my foot-nice. Then we headed to Shark's cove. My neighbor Margaret recommend it to us-thanks Margaret-it was awesome! Karen watched the boys and Darrick and I went out first. It was amazing and better then the day before. We saw amazing fish and even got to hold hands while we swam along looking at everything. Later Karen and I went out. The boys played in the water and collected shells. Then we went to dinner at Pizza Bob's. We then went to watch the sunset and finally drove home.

We are all so tired but had so much fun these past three days. I sent out pictures to everyone through ofoto-if your not on my list and want to see them just let me know!

Day 2 in Hawaii

This morning we just spent time relaxing and hanging out in our pj's. Jacob was also really tired and he took a good 3 hour nap. Our friends let Micah borrow their Buzz Lightyear costume so Micah wore that all morning (see pictures).

In the afternoon we took Karen to the USS Arizona Memorial. We went after lunch and only had to wait 20 minutes until our tour. I always feel so emotional when I am there-this was my third time. Karen really enjoyed it and thought it was good (see picture of her in front of memorial).

After our tour, I drove her around Ford Island and then we went to Dave's Ice Cream for a treat. Our friends Miss Lauren, Charlie and Alex met us there and we all enjoyed our ice cream a lot.

After that we came home and jumped on the trampoline and even Karen got on and showed us her stuff. Then we had dinner and took a walk around the block with two other neighbors and enjoyed the nice cool Hawaiian breeze. It was really humid today-blah!

We are all ready for a good night sleep and then another adventure tomorrow!

Micah as Buzz Lightyear/ Micah and Jacob

Karen at the Arizona Memorial

And our mystery guest is...

Karen Scholten. Some of you may not know who she is. Karen is from Ripon, CA. We actually met at Dordt and were roommates for 3 out of our 4 years there.

Karen's flight arrived right on time even though the boys and I were almost late. We could not find a parking space and ended up parking far away and having to walk a long ways, actually it was more like a jog-good thing I had the stroller. But we got there a few minutes before Karen and were able to greet her with a lei when she came through the doors.

From the airport we took her to lunch at the exchange and from there we went to Pali Lookout to enjoy the beautiful wind-and a nice breeze (actually it was blowing really hard again)!

Tonight Karen and I went to get a pedicure and then out to dinner by ourselves. Our neighbor watched the boys until Darrick came home (Thanks so much Lauren!).

Another adventure tomorrow...

Karen and me/ Our cute toes

Busy

To all our faithful readers, we are sorry, but things have been so crazy.

The first reason is that the boys and I are getting ready to come to CA for 2 months. We had planned that we would leave about a week before Darrick's ship pulls out so he could help me get ready and bring us to the airport. But on Friday the ships schedule was changed and now he is leaving a week and a half before us. Sometimes it is hard that the Navy rules our life and we have no say when and where Darrick goes but that is the way it is. So we have been busy trying to get things done before Darrick leaves.

We also have a visitor coming tomorrow so I have been getting things ready for her. Who could it be...find out tomorrow!

We had a really great weekend. Saturday night Darrick and I went on a date to celebrate our anniversay 2 weeks ago. Troy and Bow watched the boys. They are so great with them! We drove an hour to the Polynesian Cultural Center and ate dinner at the Ambassador buffet and then went to the Horizons night show. The dinner was ok but the show was amazing! We really loved it.

Sunday after church we went to the Swap Meet at Aloha Stadium. They have it every Wed., Sat., and Sunday. This was my first time and it was fun. But boy was it hot. It is on the black top which just radiates heat. Near the end Micah just keep saying "Can we go home and play in our pool?" Which is just what we did.

The weather has been hot for here. The forcast shows 89 or 90 degrees all week. I know that it is nothing compared to other places for with our weather normally in the 80's this is hot and there is no smog so it is direct heat.

Our neighbor Maragaret, who has a 1 year old daughter, traded pools with us. She had a bigger one and we had a smaller one. We have been swimming in that every afternoon and jumping on the trampoline. Needless to say the boys have been pretty tired at night-which is a good thing!

For the past few nights the boys have wanted to sleep together in the same bed (Jacob's bed). And it was working good. We love to hear them talking and laughing and soon falling asleep-well until last night. I don't know what the deal was but they were not going to sleep and kept goofing off. Finally after about an hour we put them in their separate beds. We love to see their relationship grow as brothers.

Well we will be pretty busy over the next week with our visitor but I will post as often as I can!

Happy Birthday Darrick!

Today we are celebrating Darrick's 32nd birthday! But for some reason the Navy wouldn't give him the day off-so he still had to go to work. But when he got home we treated him like a king. Micah and I made a banner on the computer and hung that up. Then he opened his cards and a gift from us. After a quick shower we took him out to dinner. We found a new place that he wanted to try so we thought his birthday would be a good reason. It is called "Dirty Lickins' " and they specialize in authentic New York style Buffalo wings. Darrick got 10 medium (heat level) wings and he said they were so good. So good in fact he enrolled in the 1000 wing club. When you eat 1000 wings you get your name up on a board in the restaraunt. Wonder how long that will take? I had a really awesome plate lunch. It is a very popular thing out here. I had Teriyaki grilled chicken, rice, salad and macaroni salad-it was so good! Then we came home and had birthday cake and ice cream-yummy!

There were so many people who guessed about Darrick's record on the trampoline. And the answer is 71! Some of you were close. So when you come to Hawaii we will see if anyone can beat his record!

We're so sore!

Well tonight we are definitly feeling that our bodies are not as young as they use to be. In the afternoon we spent time in the back yard watching the boys play and jump on the trampoline. After awhile Darrick got in there and was doing some tricks, the boys were cracking up. Then I got in there too and we were having so much fun.

I decided to see how many bottom bumps I could do in a row (jump land on my bottom and then back up to jumping). My first try I did 10, yahoo! So I challenged Darrick to beat my score. So he got in and did 31! Well I had to try again and I did 37! It is really hard because you have to land right so you can jump back up. Well Darrick couldn't have me holding the record so he tried again and blew my record out of the water! I don't think I will ever beat it! How many do you think he did?

But oh are we feeling it now-I hope we can get out of bed in the morning!

Jump, jump!

Last night we bought a trampoline! It is something we have been thinking about for awhile. The boys always want to jump, mostly on the couches and beds which we do not allow. So we thought this would be a good alternative. It took Darrick and I about 2 1/2 hours to put the whole thing together-without arguing! We all jumped last night and then some today and boy are my legs sore!

I went back to the doctor again today beacuse the symptons of my bladder infection were returning. The Doctor decided to keep me on the same antibiotic for a few more days and see if I improve. I'm am getting so tired of this!

We have been having a weird smell in our van for awhile and we can't seem to find where it is coming from. Well today I did. We finally figured out it was around Jacob's carseat. At first we thought it was the seat protector under his seat so a few weeks ago we took it out and washed it. Well the smell started coming back. So I decided to try washing his car seat cover today and bingo! I started taking the cover off and got squirted some who by this green juice that smelled liked barf and sour milk! Then deep in the crevious of the plastic parts was the grossest mold I have ever seen! It was about the size of a golf ball, no joke! Who knows how long it was growing there or even what it was but it was bad! So I cleaned and scrubbed and washed it all (including myself). I am so happy the mystery is solved, well mostly, we still don't know how it got there-but I guess that is something only Jacob knows...

The last few days

As you can see from the pictures below, the boys had their last swimming lesson today and he did it: Micah learned to swim! The only thing holding him back was that he would not put his face in the water. So at our Wednesday lesson, we went in the 1 ft. pool and Kristi had him look for her keys on the bottom. He loved that idea and she would tell him to kick his legs this time or use your arms and before we all knew it he was swimming. And today he swam in the big pool-it was so exciting. And of course being a proud mom I had the video camera and regular camera to capture the special moment. Jacob did really well too. He went under the water and tries to swim in the 1 ft. pool. At the end of the lessons the boys gave Miss Kristi a card they made for her and they each had a lei they picked out from the store to give her. After a nice picture (that little girl is her daughter) we said our goodbyes.

Here are some more updates from this week:

Tuesday we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner as a family which was nice. On the 20th Darrick and I are going out to celebrate and Troy and Bow are watching the boys so we are looking forward to that!

Wednesday Darrick took his midterm which he feels went pretty well.

Thursday I took the boys to the zoo for the morning. We had a good time and then we went to Bible Study last night.

So that was our week, I wonder what the weekend will hold...

Last swimming lesson

The boys with Miss Kristi and Micah swimming

No tattoos for me!

Well since a few people asked asked, I thought I would respond. No I do not have any tattoos. I have thought about it but I can't think of anything I love that much that I would want on my body forever. Darrick does talk about getting another one someday but we will see.

The boys had swimming lessons today. This is their last week for this summer. Micah swam today just holding onto a kick board and tried to swim a little on his own but he is nervous. Jacob swam around with his floaties.

I continue to feel better and am regaining my strength.

Nothing really exciting happened until Darrick was giving the boys a bath, I was cleaning up dinner. Micah opens the door and yells down the hall "Mom, Jacob pooped in the bath tub! Come quick!" And sure enough when I got there they were both dripping wet out of the tub and the tub had poop floating around in it. It's funny how when you are a mom, poop is really not poop, it is just something you have to deal with constantly. My job was to get it out of the tub and it didn't even phase me. Where was Darrick during all of this you may wonder, since he was the one giving them a bath...Let's just say that Darrick doesn't handle poop very well. So he got them dressed in their pajamas. Kids are funny. Jacob didn't seem to get what the problem was...hopefully he will someday! :)

What was he doing?

Were you right? As you can see from the picture Darrick was getting a new tattoo. He has wanted this design for over year. So this year for his birthday (August 16) I gave him the money to get it. It is on the side of his right calf. The cross is blue with dark blue tips and outlined in black, then the word REBORN is in solid black. It was done at TNT tattoo by Dr. Dave in Aiea. We are really happy with it and now we just have to wait for it to heal.

Speaking of healing, I am starting to feel better, I think this is the right medication. Darrick let me rest all day today and did everything. Praise God for antibiotics!

This afternoon we went to a Welcome BBQ at church for new people to meet the staff. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot.

Saturday

Our day started off with us going in different directions. I dropped Darrick and the boys off at the field for a 9 am soccer game, and I went to a board meeting for the Hopper Ohana. When we were done with our meeting I picked Darrick and the boys up and we went to the commissary for just a few items.

On the way home I was telling Darrick that I still didn't feel good and the medication was almost out. So we took me to the weekend clinic. The dr. said different kinds of bacteria can cause a bladder infection and it often is hard to tell which one and give the right antibiotic. So he perscribed me a second antibiotic and said if I don't feel better by Tuesday I need to come back.

From there we wanted to do something as a family since the boys were in the house all week with a sick mommy. We went to the Hawaii Maritime Center. We were excited to find out that it is part of Bishop Museum because we have an annual pass and got in for free instead of paying $16.00! Darrick, Micah and I each got a headset. We loved it so much and learned a lot. I would highly recommend it. It has little bits and pieces of history , Capt. Cook, whaling, cruise ships, etc. I love to watch Micah because he is like a sponge and is just drinking in all the knowledge. The boys favorite part though was when we got to go on The Falls of Clyde-a four masted sailing ship built in 1878. They were convinced that it was a pirate ship. Micah came to me and said "Mom I wish we could really sail on this ship with the pirates!" They got so excited when we went below the deck and they had some old trunks stacked and they decided that was where the treasure was.

We walked around the stores by Aloha Tower a little and saw the bird man. He has all these beautiful exotic birds that he will put on you and then take your picture (For $ of course) but when he had no customers he put a bird on each of the boys shoulders. Then he tells us that these certain birds are for sale. And that was just what Micah wanted to hear. He has been wanting a dog for a while but now it is a bird.

We were all tired and headed for home. So now the boys are sleeping, I am writing our blog and Darrick is out. What could he be doing all by himself on a Saturday night? Guess you will have to check back tomorrow and see-any guesses?

Fun with Foil

Yes, sad but true this is what we do for fun on the weekends-we dress our kids up in tin foil and then laugh at them. They were pretending to be robots so they thought it was so cool!

Update

It has been a rough week for our family. The boys and I all have pretty bad colds. Then to top it off I got a pretty bad bladder infection. I am on antibiotics right now but I am so exhausted from my body trying to fight off 2 infections. Darrick has his midterm this week and has had some rough days at work. Just wanted to let you know that we did not fall of the island. We are looking forward to the weekend and hopefully we will all feel better next week.

We also added a link to Troy and Bow's new blog. They posted some really cool pics of their trip to Thailand.

Our Weekend

Good Morning everyone!

Well it is morning here but probably afternoon for some of you with the time difference. I have a bad cold and have just been laying low. It is windy and rainy here so Darrick took the van today, which is alright so I can rest. Jacob has it too.

Jacob and I stayed home from church and rested. Jacob slept for almost 4 hours-it was great so I could rest too.

Since "The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe" movie is coming out this winter about a month ago I decided I wanted to read the whole chronicles of naria. I have only read "The Lion, the witch and the wardbraobe" before. So far I have read "The Magician's Nephew", "The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe" and yesterday (in one day) I read "The horse and his boy". I am really enjoying them.

Darrick and Micah went to see "Shark Boy and Lava Girl" in 3D at Sharkey theater in the afternoon. Micah thought it was really cool and enjoyed time with Daddy.

After dinner we had movie night in the living room. We popped popcorn and ate m&m's and watch an old version on VHS we have of "The lion the witch and the wardrobe".

Well the boys just woke up-8 am. Which is sleeping in since they normally get up at 6:30 every morning but they did not get to bed until 10:00 pm because the movie went long. So I guess it is time to start my day...

Weight

Hello this is Darrick
I am sure that some of you are like, "Oh great he just tells the details of the day."
I do have a couple of things to add. First, unlike Jenn's brother Sam, I am down to a weight I have not been to in years. So you know what I am talking about Sam's blogspot link is to the right so you can check it out and be caught up on that weight issue. Seriously I can't remember when I was down to 200 lbs. I am not sure if people realize I got up to 227 lbs on recruiting. But on Friday I hopped on the scale after my shower and the digital readout said 200 lbs exactly. I am not saying Sam weighs 200 lbs just that I am happy to be 200 lbs again and that I lost some weight. My goal is 195 lbs, it was 200 lbs but now that I made it and I see in the mirror that there is a little more to lose so I set a new goal. This happened with no tricks or pills or weight lose plans. Just eating better, especially at home thanks to Jenn, and stopping eating when I am full and exercising a little more than before.

Now on to today. We had a fun day. Bow and Troy invited us over for BBQ and swimming. I can not believe how great the boys did swimming today. They were in the water for hours and hours. We bought them those noodles that lots of people have. They are great because they are like $1.50 each and they keep the boys afloat. We also got Jacob some Batman arm floaties. Micah and Jacob swam around by themselves. Jacob would not even get in the pool before. Now he is swimming around by himself. Micah is a really good swimmer with just a noodle around his waist he was all over the pool. Their swim teacher would be so proud. I am sure it will not be long before Micah swims with no float device help. I can see he has the ability just needs to overcome his fears.

Well that is all I have for now. Hope you have a good Sunday everyone!
Darrick

Rub a dub dub

This morning I watched Charlie and Alex. We decided that we would play in the back yard on the slip n slide, in the pool and sandbox! About 20 minutes into our play it started to pour! But the great thing about Hawaii is that even though it was only 9 am it was not cold. The boys all danced in the rain and had so much fun.

When we were done I brought all four boys in the house and put all four of them in the bathtub. They had fun even though there was not a lot of room to move.

Jacob and I have not been feeling 100% so we rested in the afternoon. Then we played outside and invited a new neighbor JP to play with us. He is 3. We had fun and played until Darrick came home.

It rained off and on all day which was nice-maybe we will get some more!

Micah

We are not sure when it happened but right before our eyes Micah turned into a boy instead of a little boy.

This weekend Darrick looked at me with tears in his eyes from just watching Micah and asked me where our little guy went.

Today at swimming lessons he tried swimming without any flotation devices. He has come so far since his first lesson when he wouldn't even get in the 1 ft. pool.

After swim lessons we went to the commissary and Micah had to go to the bathroom so we headed for the girls room and he said "No mom, I want to go in the boys". My first thought was "But I can't go with you!" And it guess the reality is that was the point-I'm a big boy now and I can do this by myself. I waited right outside the door (I probably looked like a stalker). He came out and said "Mom, they play nice music in there" and I said "Did it help you pee?" and he said "yep". So simple yet, I wanted him to come out and say "Mom it was scary in there and I like going with you so much better!"

I love being a mom but it is so hard to let go of them and let them grow up...

Our Gate

Today was a normal stay at home day... nothing exciting.

A few days ago the gate on our back fence fell off it hinges. Darrick said the wood rotted away at the hinges, but the question is why? Our guess is either bugs or just old wood. Anyways DZB (the maint. crew) is coming to look at it tomorrow so we will see what they say.

So that is it for today...short and sweet!

Fun Day

Today I really had no plans and Darrick took the van to work so the boys and I were just going to hang out at home. But in the morning our friends from across the street called and invited us over to play. The boys all had fun and Lauren and I even got some time to talk. Then we had lunch on their patio and the boys played in the water.

After we left we relaxed and watched a little tv. I discovered a channel on tv that shows "Lassie" and "Flipper" in the afternoon. Today was the second time we watched it and the boys like "Lassie" the best. But Micah finally asked me why it had no color. It seemed to confuse him and he asked me if they saw color. Today in the episode they were painting Timmy's go cart and he asked me if they were really painting it a color and that he wanted to see it. In that way he likes "Flipper" better because it is in color.

In the afternoon we got out our slip 'n' slide and the boys had fun with that. We talked to a lot of our neighbors today- all of them in fact came out at some point and talked to us-it was really fun.

Jacob learned how to do the hang loose sign this weekend and has been doing that to everyone he sees. It is so cute and everyone gets a kick out of it!

Sunday

We woke up this morning feeling lazy but actually did a lot by the end of the day!

We went to church. There was a guest pastor who spoke to us on healing. It was very interesting and coming from a CRC background something that we have not heard a lot about. Micah was moved to the Kindergarten class for Sunday school. Two weeks ago they asked us if he would mind switching because the Pre-K class had way too many kids (which is actually a good thing!). Knowing how Micah does not like change we walked over to that room and met the teacher and showed him the room. But of course this morning he wanted nothing to do with it and started crying in the car on the way to church. I told him I would go with him and stay for a bit. He liked that idea. The teacher was great! And I was able to leave after about 5 minutes. When we picked him up we asked him if he liked it and he said "No...I LOVED it!" we all laughed.

Jacob took a nap in the afternoon and I scrapbooked while Darrick and Micah went to Sharkey theater to see "The adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl". But the 3D glasses did not arrive at the theater in time so they were reshowing "Madagascar". So they watched that again-why not? It is free! Micah enjoyed time alone with Daddy. They also got Micah a haircut at the Barber Shop by the Exchange.

We have always given both the boys buzz haircuts. But now they are different because they both have such different hair. Micah has always had nice hair, it reminds me of my brother Jeff's hair. Jacob on the other hand has unruly hair and it reminds me of my brother Dave's hair-we often compare his hair to a burlap sack! Oh, love between siblings...
So a few months ago we decided to let both of the boys hair grow. Micah's looks good but Jacob's just keep getting bigger and fluffier and it made his head look enormous. So today Micah got a traditional boy haircut and Jacob got a buzz and they both look great! We are very happy!

Arrgh Matey!

The boys did not have swimming lessons today because it was overcast and looked like rain. So we enjoyed our morning relaxing. We also went to 2 yard sales on base but no amazing discoveries. For our Pancake morning today we all tried something new. We had whole wheat pancakes with turkey bacon. We liked it a lot and plan to have it again.

This afternoon we attended Gilbert & Sullivan's the Pirates of Penzance. It is an Opera and this afternoon they had a Children's Matinee and the tickets were a lot cheaper. The boys did really good and it held their interest most of the time. Darrick and I really liked it, it was funny. They gave everyone a pirate eye patch when you came in the doors so the boys liked that. It lasted about 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission. It was in Downtown Honolulu. One thing that we really enjoyed it that they had a screen on the top of the stage that displayed all the lyrics to the songs which helped us follow the story line. Micah asked us if we could go again tomorrow so I think his first experience at the opera was a success!

After the opera we went straight to Walter and Tiffany's house for their daughter, Jillian's 2nd birthday party. We had pizza and cake and the boys jumped in the bounce house. It was a fun day but we are all pretty tired! Good thing tomorrow is another day to rest!

Busy, busy, busy

I apoligize to those of you who check our blog every day to see what we are up to. Here is the scoop from the past few days.

Yesterday I watched our friends Charlie and Alex while their mom was out. Everything went great until Lauren called me on her way home saying the traffic was terrible and it looked like a fire by our houses. I took all 4 boys outside and we could see the thick black smoke really good. It was not on the base housing but pretty close. They ended up closing the road (the only road) to the housing because the fire hose had to go across it. Lauren did not make it home before they closed the road. Finally a few hours later she made it home safely and they put the fire out. I heard it was at a junk yard.

Darrick and I had a date night planned last night and we just made it to that. It took us about 20 minutes to get out of the housing because they diverted us through a park and some back roads and the bike path. We went to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". The original has always been a favorite of mine and I wanted to see the remake. I really enjoyed it, it was different from the first movie but good. I loved the boy who played Charlie.

Today was busy too. The boys had swimming lessons. Micah surprised his teacher and I by trying to swim just holding the noodle in front of him without anything around his waist. He is doing so good.

This afternoon the Hopper Ohana Board members met with the Captain, XO and CMC of the ship to discuss our plans.

Hope everyone is well, drop us a note sometime!

Our Saturday by Darrick

Hello again it is me Darrick
Today was a good day!
I had duty yesterday and had the mid watch, 10 PM until 3 AM, last night with no sleep before and got up at 6 AM so I was tired but kept busy and stayed awake. I will sleep good tonight!

When I got home this morning we had our usual pancake breakfast. Then Jenn had to go to the Hopper Ohana (family) meeting so I watched the boys. We played and watched some TV, ate lunch and Jacob took a nap. Then while Jacob was napping Micah and I played a computer game and had a lot of fun. It was snowboarding and biking an easy game for kids but like I said we had a lot of fun. I am not bragging about Micah but I am always impressed by how intelligent he is.

When Jenn got home we rested a little, I think I feel asleep for about half an hour. Then we went to the boys swim lessons. I was so proud of how good they are doing. Especially Micah I can tell he will be swimming soon. Jacob is getting a lot braver and actually is in the water and seems to be having a lot of fun.

We went directly from the swim lessons to Waikiki to the International Market place. We had a little trouble finding parking but eventually found a garage. But it was so tight in there. I seriously had to squeeze between cars to get to the spot they wanted us to park in. I mean inches on each side. Then I had to squeeze in the spot. I had less than an inch on one side of the van to get past a pole. It was crazy and Jenn said she was very impressed. After our van was finally parked we walked around and enjoyed some nice shops and ate at Burger King. It is really nice down there but you can tell that is where all the tourist are.

Well that is how we spent our Saturday. I am looking forward to Church tomorrow. We always get great messages.
Later,
Darrick

We're Back!

No we didn't go anywhere, but we have been really busy and the past few nights Darrick has been working on his online course, which he needs the computer for. Here are some highlights from the past few days:

At swimming lessons on Wednesday, Micah swam a little just holding the noodle, without it tied behind his back. But at the end of the lesson he was on the step with no flatation devices on. Jacob wanted Kristi and I to watch him jump. Somehow Micah feel off the step and into the pool underwater. But the awesome thing was that he got himself back to the step and out of the water. Writing it now it sounds like minutes but he was so quick maybe 5 or 10 seconds. Kristi was really proud of him too!

Thursday we attended the USS Hopper picnic at Foster Point on Hickam Airforce Base. The ship put it on and it was so fun. They had lots of stuff for the kids: bounce house, squirt guns, water balloons, pinatas, and face painting, the boys had a blast. For us they had free 30 minute massages. I got one and it was so great. The food was really good too.

Last night I attended a meeting at the Fleet and Family Services. It was "How to get your Family Support Group up and running". I went with the president of our group (Hopper Ohana) and the captain's wife. We learned a lot and are excited to see what happens. It was good to hear about all the other groups and their ideas.

This afternoon the boys and I braved the commissary even though today was pay day and it was bad like usual. But the boys did great and I bought them strawberry milk and goldfish for the car ride home since they did good. This was their first time drinking it and they loved it! I told them that Papa loves Strawberry milk (I hope that is right Dad, because they want to drink it with you when we come to CA!) I tried a sip but it brought back horrible memories. When I was little I wanted Strawberry Shortcake Cereal. Finally my mom bought it and I ate it. Now I don't know if it was the taste or I was sick but I threw it all up!

We are looking forward to the weekend! Hope you have a good one!

Trying new things

Today we discovered that no matter what age we are trying new things can be hard and take some getting use to.

Darrick and I have been trying to eat blueberries on our morning cereal. So far so good.

Today the boys had swimming lessons and the teacher wanted Micah to switch from the noodle around his waist to floaties on his arm. He flipped out but after some talking we got them on him and he eventually was fine and swam all over the pool. At first I felt frustrated with him but looking back on it tonight I realized that I feel that way too in life only I don't let my feelings out like he did.

Tonight for dinner we all tried Kiwi for the first time. It was good and I'm sure we will have it often.

What new thing have you tried or want to but have not yet?

Sunday

Today we had a nice quiet Sunday.

We really love the church we are at. Every Sunday we leave feeling so challenged. Today's sermon was based off of Acts Chapter 2. There were many points in the sermon that hit home for both Darrick and I but the biggest was tithing. If you aren't familiar that is the part of your income that you set aside for God. We wanted to make a change and so we sat down this afternoon and evaluated our budget and reworked it tonight after the boys were in bed. Our goal is to be better stewards of the money God has given us. We are also learning the hard lesson of living within our means, which we did not do for many years, and to become debt free by the time we leave Hawaii.

We also are both making a commitment to read and study the Word everyday. To be honest, we have been slacking. We asked our Bible Study last Thursday for any tips anyone had for us and we got some really good ideas. If you have a tip or something that you do we would love to hear it.

We hope everyone has a good week!

Busy but fun day

We sure did a lot today and we had a lot of good family time.

We started our day at the soccer field. Today was the playoffs for the Hopper soccer team. Their first game was at 9:00 am. I left at the beginning for a Hopper Ohana board meeting. They won their first game 3-1! Their next game was at 11:00. I returned from my meeting to catch the last 3 minutes of the second game, they lost 0-1. They were disappointed to lose but happy that they finished in 3rd place out of 16 teams.

We went home so Darrick could shower and then went over to Sharkey Theater for the first time. It is a movie theater on the Pearl Harbor Base. They were showing "Madagascar" a kids movie and we thought we would give it a try. The boys had never been to a movie theater before. We were quite surprised when there was a pretty big line outside. They only show one movie at a time and you can't beat the price. Kids under 6 are free, active duty military are free and I was $3.00! We had fun and Micah really liked it. Jacob did pretty good too. While we were waiting in line I heard a mom calling her son Micah and later she said Jacob. I asked her if her sons names were Micah and Jacob and she said yes. When I told her ours boys were Micah and Jacob too we all thought that was a pretty cool coinsidence. What are the chances of that?

From there we headed to Chuckie Cheese for dinner. When we got home we had ice cream and then played "Old Noah" our version of Old Maid.

We buy our gas on the base and we pay $2.36 a gallon for unleaded! But off base it is $2.48 a gallon!

And the answer is...

Thank you to everyone who participated in our trivia game.

The answer that is false is C- Darrick did not pass out at his graduation from Boot Camp although a few other people did.

Answer A- During a 6 month deployement Darrick and some of his buddies got a little bored so they thought piercing their nipples would be a good idea. They got some needles and ice and went for it. I was quite shocked when Darrick told me. He later ripped it halfway out on accident while taking a shower-ouch!

Answer B- Darrick and his buddy Matt decided to get tatoo's while in port in Turkey-hey for $30.00 why not? It was good at first but over time lost its color and faded. Last year Darrick got it covered up with a sacred heart that he is much happier with.

Answer D- Sorry to say but this one is true. It happened while Darrick was stationed in Norfolk Virginia, before we were married. The guys were actually after one of the guys he was with but since Darrick was with him he got caught in the middle. Yes, they used his head to break a car window and he got a black eye- thankfully that was all!

Answer E- While on the John Paul Jones Darrick was on the VBSS team. They rode little boats over to Iraq ships and boarded them. He had to carry a gun and they inspected the ship to make sure they had legal stuff on them. He enjoyed it but I was so glad when it was over!

So now you all know Darrick a little better! Thanks for playing!

Happy Anniversary Darrick!

Today is a special day in our house. Today marks 10 years for Darrick in the Navy-he is half way to retirement!

On this day 10 years ago Darrick arrived at Boot Camp in Great Lakes, Illinois and his official Navy clock started ticking. He flew there from San Diego and arrived in the afternoon. He landed in Chicago and then took a bus to Great Lakes. When he got off the bus he was greeted by lots of yelling and commands. They started issuing him everything the Navy thought he needed to survive. The next few days were getting shots, doing paper work, going to dental and going to medical and most important of all-learning how to march. Darrick is glad that is all in the past.


In honor of this special day we created the Darrick Hays trivia game-please guess which one is false and post your guess in our comments and we will post the answer tomorrow.

A. During one of his deployments Darrick pierced his own nipple with a needle and an ice cube.

B. Darrick got a tatoo of a coyete howling at the moon on his arm in Turkey for $30.00

C. During his graduatin from boot camp, Darrick stood at attention for so long he passed out but quickly came to again.

D. In Norfolk Darrick and 2 other sailors were jumped by 20 guys. One guy broke a car window with Darrick's head and Darrick ended up with a black eye.

E. On the John Paul Jones Darrick was part of the VBSS team which boarded ships coming in and out of Iraq.

Hays Family Independence Day

Hello there,

This is Darrick with all the details of our Fourth of July. First we got up and ate a breakfast consisting of breakfast bars and yogurt. Then we went to the commissary for some last minute things for tomorrow, but you will have to read tomorrow to see why we needed last minute stuff. While Jenn was at the commissary the boys and I went and got the propane tank filled. The place to get it filled is at the Navy Exchange Garden Center. They have a koi pond there so the boys and I spent some time looking at that. Then we met Jenn at over at the store. Then we came home and Jenn and the boys made puppy chow and I cut the grass. After the puppy chow the boys took a nap to be ready for the night time.

When the afternoon came we went to a friend from the ships house. Together we went to the base where they had a festival set up. They had jump houses, slides, pony rides, a car show, music and Chinese Dragons and on and on. Micah, Jacob and I went on a slide that was a shark. Jacob rode a pony while Jenn and Micah watch a show. We walked around the cars. Then Micah went on an inflatable obstacle course. Jacob went on the swings, the ones that go around. Then we all had a Slush Puppy and watched the Chinese Dragons and one came right up to our table. We left the festival at about 5:45 and went back to Walt and Tiffany's house for a BBQ and to watch the fire works from the base. The fire works started at 8:30 and we had a good view. They were really good. It was a good day, the boys were good all day and we had a lot of fun and we got some good pictures that I am sure we will share with you later.

Well that is the step by step account of our Fourth of July. I hope you all had a good day.
Happy Independence Day!

Happy Fourth of July from the Hays Family! 

Fun with the Fuentes Family 

Ko Olina with the Fuentes Family

Today we were finally able to spend some time with the Fuentes Family. We went to church with them in California and they are friends of ours. They are here because Mike's dad passed away.

Darrick had duty yesterday and only got a total of 45 minutes of sleep. When he came home he was completely exhausted and stayed home from church to sleep. The boys and I meet the Fuentes family at our church and we worshipped together.

After church the boys and I went to pick up Darrick and then we headed to Ko Olina lagoons to meet the Fuentes family and Mike's relatives. We had so much fun catching up, eating and playing. We invited them over for dinner on Tuesday, which we are really looking forward to!

Today I also got a phone call from the captain's wife (The captain of Darrick's ship). She was calling to ask me if I would be the president of the Hopper Ohana which is a support group for families of sailors on the USS Hopper. I told her no but that I would take the Vice President position. So yes I am now the Vice President of the Hopper Ohana. I love to be involved and look forward to meeting other wives.

Why I love yard sales

Darrick has duty today so it is just me and the boys. After we ran two errands this morning and we were driving back onto base and I saw a sign for a yard sale. The sign itself was not unusual, since people are always moving it seems like there is a yard sale almost every weekend. We have never gone to one here on base but as I saw the sign I just had an overwhelming desire to go-so we did.

It was a mulit-family yard sale which is always good. I spent a grand total of $2.50 and got 2 Spiderman t-shirts for Micah, 3 power ranger action figures, 1 buzz lightyear, 2 pretend safety goggles, a train and track and a set of tinker toys! I was so impressed.

But the best part is that these "New" toys kept the boys busy all day long...it was great! It is funny because the boys have never seen a Power ranger show and really have no idea what they are. They just think they are super hero men. I am not a huge fan of power rangers because of all the karate fighting they do.

So I was able to get a lot of housework done and then in the afternoon we played in the backyard in our little pool.

What is the coolest thing you ever found at a yard sale or the best deal?

Jacob's first dentist appt.

This morning Jacob went to the dentist for the first time. For those who don't know he is 2 1/2. My friend Lauren watched Micah so I could just focus on Jacob. Micah took the time to tell Jacob what it would be like and the dentist was just going to "tickle his teeth"!

Jacob did not seem worried but was pretty conerned about getting a sticker. When they called his name for his check-up the first thing he said was "I get my sticker". He was a little unsure of the chair but got in pretty quickly. They were very good with him. He is too young for x-rays so all they did was check his teeth, clean them and then put a little flouride on them.

While we were waiting for the actual dentist he started to suck his thumb. So when she walked in she said "He sucks his thumb, yah?" She said of course if he sucks it until he is like 6 then we need to do something about it because it will mess up his teeth, but I am not totally convinced. I have heard two different theories 1) it is genetics that determine your teeth 2) thumb sucking will mess up your teeth. Does anyone have any experience or advice for us?

In the afternoon we went to a BBQ for a guy who works for Darrick that re-enlisted. It was nice and we had a good time!

Yesterday we did not write because we got home late from Bible Study. We really love this church and the people, we just seem to click so easily with some of them. We appreciate the Bible Study because everyone is so into studying the Word and have so many ideas and thoughts. The first week we were so surprised when almost everyone pulled out the notes they had taken from the sermon and were ready to comment on what they thought. It really challenged us! God is so good!