Strange...

This week Micah's fish, George, was not looking so good. He was floating around the job one morning so before school I told Micah he might want to say bye to his fish. When Jacob and I got home from bringing Micah to school Jacob ran over to the tank and said "Mom, George's eye is gone!" Sure enough I went over there and he was missing his eye. But the wierd thing was there was this empty bag thing thing still attached by one thread of something but the actual eyeball was gone. Later that day George died and we buried him in the back yard. The next day we went to Walmart for a replacement fish and now we have Silver Surfer or silver for short.

As you can see by our ticker we have finally made it down to the last month. Darrick called me this weekend because they pulled into Guam for 2 days. We are all getting so excited to be reunited. The boys said they want to have a sleepover with Daddy and play superhero and monsters with him.

First Day of School

Micah and Mrs. Hudson

Today was Micah's first day of First Grade. He did a really good job when Jacob and I dropped him off. There were 2 kids crying but he was not one of them! When we picked him up he had a big smile on his face and he said he had a great day. He said they learned a lot of rules and had a tour of the school. He said at recess he tried to stop some boys that were killing beetles. He said he talked to 2 boys in his class.
Visor he made at school today

Darrick at Hong Kong Disney

Last week the Lake Erie pulled into Hong Kong. On one of his days off Darrick signed up for one of the trips which was to go to Disney for $23.00! He had fun and said it was much smaller-they saw the whole park in about 3 hours. It did not have all of the popular rides but he enjoyed the experience.

Meet your teacher day

Today was "Meet your Teacher Day" at Micah's new school-Iroquois Point Elementary School (IPES). We left the house at 6:50 am and arrived at school at 7:25 am. Until we move in October it will be a drive I will make 4 times a day bringing Micah and picking him up.

Micah said he was nervous but it seemed more like a nervous excitement. We had a meeting in the caferteria first where the principal talked and she introduced all the staff. Micah was very excited when his teacher walked up on the stage, Mrs. Hudson. He thought her name was cool, like Doc Hudson from the movie "Cars".

After the meeting we were invited to go to the classroom and meet his teacher and put his supplies away. She seemed very nice and one thing that impressed me is that former students and parents were stopping by to come and say hi-that is evidence of a teacher that is loved and well liked. Micah has 13 girls in his class and 7 boys! He was excited when he saw that she had toys in the room and she told him that when they finish work they sometimes have time to play. He was also excited because on the daily schedule it said that they have Science and he decided over summer break that he wants to be a Scientist when he grows up!

After the classroom we visited some booths that were set up and Micah told me that he would like to try Boy Scouts. They can start in first grade. So I signed him up. Darrick was in Boy Scouts...he will be so proud!

Then we bought him a red school shirt that they wear every Wednesday for School Spirit day!

It was a really positive experience and he said he is excited to go to school tomorrow!

Back Home in Hawaii!

Here we are once again...in paradise! There are things I miss about California but the weather is not one of them. The weather in Hawaii is so great and a welcome change from the heat.

We had a great flight back over the Pacific and we were all happy to sleep in our beds again.

Lulu was beside herself with excitement when we walked in the door.

I am almost done with unpacking and getting things back in order. Friday we went to the dentist and we all passed with flying colors-No Cavities!

Tomorrow Micah has meet your teacher Day at his new school-Iroquios Point Elementary and then Tuesday is his first day of First Grade!

So now I have to spend time labeling all his supplies. First we have to go out and buy them and then we have to label evey single one of them-down to each and every individual crayon and pencil! I better get busy!

Highlights of our trip to Cali Summer 2007

Uncle Sam is here!

Yesterday my brother Sam drove down from Northern Cali to spend a week at my parent's house with us. Sam is going to Western Theological Seminary in the Fall and is working a Granite Springs Church in Northern California for the summer.

The boys were so excited when Uncle Sam arrived. They have been wrestling and playing pirates a lot.

The boys also received a care package from Darrick yesterday. He sent it after he visited Australia. Micah got a boomerang and Jacob got a stuffed Wombat. The both also got growing crocodiles. The kind you put in water and then they grow.

Tonight we are at my brother Dave house visiting! Everyone is here except Darrick, Jeff, Beth and my new niece (Laura is 3 cm)!

Disneyland

Tuesday the boys and I went to Disneyland with Papa and Nana. We got there a little after it opened and took full advantage of our day. A few months ago we went to Toyko Disney which was awesome but everything spoke Japanese so we couldn't understand what anything was saying so the boys liked that everything spoke English a lot! We started our day at Star Tours. After we sat down Micah said to me, "I hope C3PO drives our space ship and not the bad driver we had at Toyko Disney!" Micah laughed and smiled through the whole ride. Jacob was like a statue but as soon as we got off he said "That was SO awesome!" We went to check out the line for the new Nemo subs but the wait was 3-4 hours! No Thanks! So we drove the cars at the Autotopia. Papa rode solo and Nana and Micah were in one car and Jake and I in the other. Jacob was so serious and I asked him if he was hving fun and he said he was trying to watch the road! Then we rode the train all around the park-one of our favorites. Then we took the boys on the Matterhorn for the first time. Micah was not sure about this. He wanted to know if it was fast? Why were people screaming? Where was the snow monster? But we got them on it and they both wanted to do it again. Then we rode its a small world and over to toon town to ride Roger Rabbit. Next stop was Casey Jr. train-which the boys both loved. It was so fun to see how much fun Jacob was having on that ride. Then we went to Big Thunder Mountain. Micah did not want to do it and had a lot of questions again. Micah and I rode in 1 seat and Jacob in the middle of my parents in another seat. It started out good but as we picked up speed I looked back and Jacob and his little head was squished in between my parents arms and his eyes were huge and he looked feaked out. Micah actually started screaming out loud-it was pretty funny. Then we did Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. Then we went to Tom Sawyers island which they renamed Pirate's Lair. It was super cool and the boys ended up finding the pirates treasure! Next was Tarzans Tree House, the Jungle Cruise, Aladdin's Story time , the Tiki Tiki Room and the Parade. By then we were all tired and even thought the park was open 4 more hours we decided that was enough fun for us!

Yesterday we went to Mervyn's because they were having a huge 1 day sale and I got all of Micah's clothes for school.

Today we are just hanging out. The boys watched Stars Wars with Papa and are now running around in the backyard playing what else...Star Wars!

Sunday Fun

Yesterday the boys and I went to our old church Friendship Community Church to worship and see our friends. It was so nice to see the Martinez Family, the Norman Family, Ken and Candy and Helen. After church we went to lunch at Souplantation with our friends Micah, Nicole and Kaitlyn Leonard and Bryan Frame. We had a super yummy lunch and enjoyed catching up.

After lunch we went to the Leonards apartment and we took the kids for a swim in the pool. It was such a hot day and it felt so good. After we were all tired out we went to their apartment and the kids watched a movie while we visited. Then we had pizza and Big Micah wrestled with the 3 kids! It was such a fun time!

The "New" Me

Today I got my haircut. Joanna, who is my cousin Chris' girlfriend, is a student at Salon Success. She cut my Aunt Belinda's hair and my cousin Amber's hair, and their cuts were super cute so today I went. She cut almost 4 inches off and gave it some layers and style. She blew it out but I can also still wear it curly...what do you think?

Cousins

Elijah, Micah and Jacob

Great Grandparents

Micah, Jacob and Elijah with Great Grandpa and Grandma Vanderbilt and Great Grandpa Gutierrez

Science Experiment

We put 1 Mento in a bottle of Diet Coke and this is what happened. It surprised Auntie Laura and Micah!

Laura, Dave, Elijah, Jenn, Micah and Jacob at the 4th of July Parade

Sarah, Arden, Jacob, Micah and Jenn

Micah, Jenn, Jacob and Amelie

We are back at my parents house now after our mini-vacation to Bakersfield. We had such a nice visit at Sarah's house. The boys called her Marme which is what her grandkids call her. Two of her grandkids were there, Arden and Sophia, plus Micah, Jacob and Amelie-it was a full house but the kids had so much fun playing together. Sarah made us a yummy spaghetti dinner and we had fun catching up and sharing memories of Darrick's mom.



Let me just say that it is SO hot in California. It is 102.5! Oh where are the cool Hawaiian breezes?

Bakersfield

The boys and I are now in Bakersfield! It is about 3 hours away from my parents. We are staying with Darrick's brother Charlie, his wife Maud and are adorable niece, Amelie. Here is what we have been up to.

Wednesday: Charlie drove down from Bakersfield and him and I went to the funeral for Darrick and Charlie's cousin. His name was Cody and he was 20 years old. He committed suicide and the service was really sad. There were so many people there. I wonder if he knew how many people cared about him. After the service we went a lunch at Cody's brothers house. It was nice to visit with relatives and catch up. After the lunch Charlie and I picked Micah and Jacob up at my parents and drove to Bakersfield. We picked up some Little Ceasers Pizza and hung out until bedtime.

Thursday: We had a relaxing morning and then Micah picked to go to lunch at Carl's Jr. We all enjoyed some chicken stars and the boys and Amelie had so much fun playing on the play structure. After the kids had naps we went played out in the backyard. They took us out to dinner at El Adobe-a yummy Mexican place and then we wnt for dessert at Rosemary's ice cream. It was so delicious. Jacob and I shared a hot fudge brownie sundae and Micah had a bowl of chocolate ice cream with a chocolate chip cookie.

Friday: so far this morning we are just hanging out and we plan on meeting Sarah Kendrick, Darrick's moms best friend, for dinner.

Acapulco's Again!

Yesterday I went out to lunch with one of my best friends, Nicole. I picked Nicole up from work on her lunch break. Of course we had to go to our favorite lunch hangout, Acapulco's, and eat from their awesome lunch buffet. It was so good but the company was even better. We caught up with each other and talked about memories. It was awesome!

We're goin' back to Cali...

Well actually we have almost been here a week now. We were trying to get on a MAC flight but there were so many people trying to get on, it seemed hopeless. Within a few days of each other last week we had two deaths in the family. The first was my Grandpa Gutierrez's wife, Carmen, and the second was Darrick's cousin. So I wanted to get to Cali as soon as possible.

We ended up finding cheap one way tickets and so I grabbed them. We will worry about how we are gettting home later. We had a great flight from Honolulu straight to Ontario. My parents were there to meet us and bring us home.

The next morning we had to get up early for Carmen's funeral. It was a nice service but all in Spanish. It was nice to see my relatives and of course Dave, Laura and Elijah. The day of the funeral was also my mom's birthday so we went to Wienersnytzel's for dinner and to Rite-Aid for ice cream!

Friday we just hung out and tried to catch up on sleep.

Saturday was my parent's 34th anniversary. We celebrated by going out to dinner at my favorite restaraunt Acapulco's. It was so good! That night my mom and I watched "DreamGirls" after I got the boys in bed. I really liked it.

Sunday we went to church with my parents and I got to see my friends John and Sue Roeda. I use to babysit a lot for their kids when I was in high school. Their youngest in now a sophmore in college and I watched him when he was a baby.

Yesterday the boys and I went to Chickfila for lunch and then went shopping at Kohl's and Target!!!

Micah has learned to climb a tree in my parents yard. I was trying to show him how and grabbed a rotten branch and fell out of the tree. I got a scratch on my back and some big bruises on my arm.

Jacob has quickly bonded with Pepsi and enjoys cuddling with him. Jacob also enjoys all the snacks Nana and Papa have and he has enjoyed eating peanuts, popsicles and cookies with my dad!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day all you Dads and especially to you, Darrick!

I think you never really know all sides of your husband until he becomes a Dad. The second Darrick held both of the boys he was transformed and has never been the same.

Darrick you are such a great Dad to our boys and they just love and adore you so much! We really miss you today and we wish that we could celebrate with you.

It was also a special Father's Day at the St. Andre house today because this afternoon Lillian Grace was born! Mom and Baby are doing great. I took care of Loretta all day and then the boys and I took Loretta up to Tripler Hospital to meet her new baby sister. Congratulations Will, Margaret and Loretta!

Welcome Lillian Grace St. Andre!

Memories

Goodbye Dear Friends

A little while ago we drove Tonya, Deja, Jalen and Tayveon to the airport. It is time for them to move. We have lived by each other for 3 years. Micah was 3 and Jacob was 1 when we met each other.

The past 2 days they moved in with us. We had a pizza party, breakfast together with the whole neighborhood and the kids even slept in the same bed one night.

This is the one part of the Navy that is so hard-making friends that become as close as family and then just saying goodbye. They are getting stationed in Virginia.

We will miss them so much! We love you guys!

Summer here we come!

Today was the last day of school...yippee! There was lots of celebrating at school today. Our day started off with an all school assembly. I got to go up on stage with the other teachers who will be leaving the school. My position was just a one year position. One thing I really like about Hawaii is the tradition of giving leis to honor someone. I received one from a 5th grade student and one from the school. It is so nice to see all the teachers and kids covered with beautiful leis. After the assembly I helped Mr. Rodriguez with the 5th grade party. He also made a video slideshow of the whole year which was really cool. From there I went to Micah's class to help him celebrate.

We are planning on transferring Micah to another school next year. We feel like God is leading us to move to another part of the island. It is in Ewa (pronounced e-va) and is called Iroquois Point Island Club-you can check it out at www.iroquoispointislandclub.com It is about 25 minutes west of where we are now. We plan on moving October 1.

I really enjoyed my job but I am so glad to be a stay at home mom again! The boys and I plan on trying to come to CA for 4 or 5 weeks this summer and just hanging out and relaxing.

Last Day of School!

Will and Margaret's Baby Shower

Lehua Elementary School turns 100 years old!

Pictures from Darrick

These are two pictures that I got from Darrick this past week. They made it to their first port visit-Japan. They arrived on Monday and left again on Friday. The first is a picture of the Lake Erie going through some pretty big waves. The second is what Darrick and two other Chiefs did one night in Japan. They went to a Japanese Country Bar! He said there were three older Japanese gentlemen who sang country music.

Jacob's Aloha Day!

Having fun in the Backyard!