Tuesday, August 30, 2005

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!

Monday, August 29, 2005

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!

Thursday, August 25, 2005

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

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

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


Tuesday, August 23, 2005

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!

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

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!

Monday, August 15, 2005

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!

Sunday, August 14, 2005

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...

Friday, August 12, 2005

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

Monday, August 08, 2005

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! :)

Sunday, August 07, 2005

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, August 06, 2005

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!

Friday, August 05, 2005

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.

Monday, August 01, 2005

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...