Holiday Update

Well the Hopper did not win, the USS Russell did, oh well. And we could not take any pictures, they are very strict about picture taking on the base.

Wednesday we got a new refrigerator. Ours was on its way out so housing replaced it with a brand new one-it is really nice. Lauren took all four boys to Sea Life park so Darrick and I could go on a date. We went to see Narnia. I really loved it and I hope they will make the other books into movies also.

Thursday we took our boys to Bishop museum to see the new Science Adventure Center. It is pretty cool and has a pretty big volcano in it. Thursday night we had our Bible Study Christmas Potluck. It was really fun, we played a few games and the kids all ran around. There are 7 boys and 1 little girl-so it got pretty wild at times. It was a Hawaiian food theme which we made it a little difficult for us to know what to bring. Darrick decided to get hot wings from his favorite place here so that was easy. The most unusual thing we tried was chicken lau lau. It was some chicken mixture wrapped and cooked in a taro leaf. We tried it but did not really care for it.

Friday Darrick had duty. We were invited to our friend Alex's 2nd birthday party at Honeymoon beach. It was a beautiful day and the boys had a great time. At night I babysat Lauren's boys so her and her husband could go on a date. They were all super good.

Saturday was my 31st birthday and Christmas Eve. Darrick made me breakfast when he got home from duty. Then we relaxed. I opened presents and cards, had a few visitors and got a few phone calls. It was very nice. At night we had church. We went to the 5:00 service because Micah's class sang in front of the church. He did good but did not really sing much. But he stood up there with a big smile on his face and waved. Our friends Steve, Lauren, Charlie and Alex came to church with us which we were so happy about and hope they will join us again.

Sunday was Christmas. This was only my second Christmas away from home in my life. The first was one year when we lived in New Jersey. We had a really great day. We got up and opened our stockings. Then we had breakfast and read the Christmas story. After I did a little food prep we opened presents. It was so fun watching the boys. I made a ham for lunch with some side dishes and a pie for dessert. The boys played all day with their new toys.

Today Darrick has duty but tomorrow he goes on leave until January 9th! I am busy today getting our guest room ready. We have visitors coming tomorrow, who could it be...

Ship competition

Yesterday Darrick had duty so the boys and I brought him dinner because the ship was serving tuna casserole. We also went to see the lights. Last night was the judging night to see which ship has the best holiday decorations. When we got there I realized how serious this was. There were guys with bionaculars "spying" on the other ships to see what they had out and then they relayed it to one another by walkie talkie.

The Hopper had lights all over, a movie screen showing "It's a wonderful life", a guy dressed up like Santa and two girls as elves. They attached a floating barge in the water next to the ship which is where Santa and his elves were.

The judge is the Admiral. He has a boat that he rides around and views the lights from the water. The Hopper's plan was when he came to judge them the elves would give him fresh baked cookies and eggnog. They also had Christmas songs playing over a loudspeaker.

Jacob could hardly take his eyes off Santa. It was fun but I have not heard yet who won. We will let you know when we hear.

A Day off

Darrick had the day off today because they are in stand down right now during the first leave period of the holidays. Darrick heard they were having big waves at North Shore so we drove up there. It is such a beautiful drive and the weather was perfect. We stopped at Pipline first but no surfers. Then we went to Sunset beach and found some surfers. We sat under the shade of a palm tree and watched while the boys played in the sand. The surfers were good. It is also fun to watch the silly tourists who do not obey all the bright orange flags and large signs that say "NO SWIMMING". There are always a few who think they can still go in and the lifeguards come and blow their whistle and tell them to get out. On our way home we stopped and had shave ice with ice cream in it, yummy!

This afternoon Charlie and Alex came over to play while their mom did some shopping. All the boys were so good and I think they had every toy in house out. We also fed all of them dinner and it went really smooth. We had BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs.

I put our boys to bed while Darrick went out to do some last minute Christmas or birthday shopping. I wonder who that could be for...

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...