What we've been up to...

To be honest, things have not been going so well. As of today we have 4 weeks left in Hawaii and we have 3 weeks until the movers come. I really like to go through everything before we move so that is a lot of work. It bugs me having the movers pack up stuff that we don't want or need anymore just to get to Washington to unpack it and then get rid of it.

We are nearing the end of the boys school year which means all kinds of activities and stuff.

And to top it off Darrick has hardly been around. He is either out to sea, on duty or getting home late. The kids are not handling it well and have been really acting out. Some days I feel like I can't hold on til shore duty any more.

But we are almost there and there have been a lot of good things happening too!

This week we made a hand print stone for Naomi. Micah and Jacob made one a few years ago so I wanted to have one to put in the garden for Naomi too. She is very proud of it and wants to show it to everyone who comes over.

I am starting to try some new styles with Naomi's hair. Now that it is getting longer it is easier to work with. I thought this week I would try braids. When I started I had no idea how long it would take. Well 1 1/2 hours later I put the last braid in. Naomi sat good for most of it. I buckled her in her booster seat and gave her snacks and put on a favorite movie. I love how it turned it out and we have gotten a lot of positive feedback.

Naomi and I were also able to go on a field trip with the kindergarten to the Honolulu Zoo. Jacob loved having us there and we had a good time. Jacob is such an animal lover and enjoyed when he got to pet a guinea pig (he said it made him think of Twinkle) and a skink. He stayed with the animals the longest just petting them and looking at them. Naomi did not mind the guinea pig but she was very unsure about the skink!

Thankfully it is the weekend now and Darrick has Saturday and Sunday off!!! Today we attended a Swazi Ohana Picnic for families who have already adopted from Swaziland and those who are in the process. It was at Magic Island and the water was awesome. The kids had a blast and it is so fun to talk with other families about how they are adjusting and to share stories. But the sad news is that it was our last picnic since we will be moving. It was a great day and so much fun!

Mother's Day 2009

This is my first Mother's Day as a mommy of 3 kids and it started out awesome. I woke up to Jacob singing me the cutest song that his teacher taught him at school. He told me later that he practiced it before he went to sleep and before he came in my room in the morning, he is so sweet. Then the boys each presented me with the gifts and cards they had made me.

While we were having breakfast, Darrick came home from duty with flowers and a beautiful card. Then while he slept, because he only got 3 hours of sleep while he was on duty I made myself some brownies and homemade salsa.

In the afternoon we attended a birthday party for Caleb, Mayra and Livingston's son who turned 1. It was a gorgeous day and I relaxed by the pool and soaked up the sun while Darrick played with the boys in the pool.

After the party we headed to the Homesley's house to hang out and have dinner. We had Mother's Day pizza and cookies, yummy.

Later that night after the kids were in bed, Darrick gave me a relaxing massage. It was a great day!

Six weeks and counting...

This Saturday marked 6 weeks until the kids and I will be leaving Hawaii. It is really hard to believe that our time is coming to an end here. When we first moved to Hawaii, Micah was 3 and Jacob was 1. Now Micah is 8 and Jacob is 6 and we now have Naomi!

We have been busy filling out paper work to get things going. Darrick filled out paperwork to request our leave date of June 13. He also had to get the paperwork going to ship our minivan back to the mainland, plus we had to get a letter from the bank that holds our car loan saying that it is ok for us to ship the car. We had to fill out the paperwork to get the movers to come and pack our stuff. And submit our notice to the leasing office that we are moving and set up our final inspections.

I have been busy making doctor appts. to make sure we are up to date on everything before we go.

The boys last day of school is the 9th so we were hoping to have the movers come then but the only date they could give us was June 4. So I sent and email out today asking if anyone had air mattresses we could borrow until the 9th. That is the date of our inspection so we need to be out.

That night we are going to have a special treat and stay at the Pacific Beach Hotel. We booked the Wiieee Are Family Deal which includes our room, free use of Nintendo Wii in our room, 50% off dining coupon to eat at the Oceanarium and microwave popcorn in our room!

Here is what their website says about the Oceanarium:

"Constructed in 1979, the Oceanarium provides guests of the Pacific Beach Hotel with a fascinating view of a unique microcosm of Indo-Pacific ocean life. Stretching three entire stories high and viewable from any of the three hotel restaurants, the 280,000-gallon aquarium is the largest of its type located in a single hotel. It is home to nearly 400 fish from more than 70 species.
Because of its size and the sheer number of forms of ocean life that it supports, this unique feature surpasses any mere aquarium and was appropriately named an Oceanarium.
The hotel's team of divers who feed the Oceanarium fish several times a day spellbinds guests and restaurant patrons."

After our night at the hotel, the Homesley family offered to let us stay with them until we leave.

We are trying to pack in as much as we can. Darrick is out to sea right now but the kids and I had a fun weekend. Saturday we went to White Plains Beach with the Gonzalez family. It was a perfect beach day and we loved every minute of it.

Sunday we spent the day with the Homesley family. We relaxed and hung out while the kids played. Jennifer made the most delicious lunch for us complete with brownies and ice cream for dessert.

Goodbye Girls

Today we said good bye to our dearly loved Guinea Pigs, Sarah and Twinkle. We had a little ceremony and the boys each shared a favorite memory. Then they each took turns filling in the dirt. Micah placed the headstone and Jacob put flowers.

One year ago we brought home 2 little baby guinea pigs. Micah's was white and he named her Sarah and Jacob's was brown and white and he named her Twinkle. They have been awesome pets and we all loved them dearly.

Yesterday morning they were fine. We even had a friend over and we played with them and held them. We have a little fenced in area in our backyard where we often put the girls, so they can get out of their cage and run around.

A few hours later I went outside to put them back in their cage and as soon as I stepped out the door I knew something was wrong, they were just laying there. I went closer and they were dead. I was shocked! I went into the house crying and Micah asked what was wrong and I told him and he started crying. Jacob ran into the room and Micah told him and Jake fell to the ground in tears. It was horrible.

One of our dear friends, Jen S., came over and helped by getting them wrapped up and put in a shoebox while we all watched and cried.

We have no idea what happened and why they both died at the same time...the heat? something they ate? they were sick?

I guess one of the major bummers is Jacob was supposed to bring Twinkle to school tomorrow to share with his class. His teacher is SO awesome and when I told her this morning what happened, she called the librarian right away and got a book about losing a pet and shared it with the class and then had a talk with the kids.

Micah is handling it way better then Jacob and Naomi is clueless. Jacob had a huge melt down tonight and said he can't stop thinking about Twinkle dying and that he wanted to get her out of the shoebox. It was breaking my heart to hold him while he was sobbing. Jacob has such a tender heart for animals.

We talked about getting another pet when we move to Washington. Micah decided on a rat he will name Junior and Jacob wants a dog named Ruby.

Marcio's Story

Today at church we heard this amazing testimony from one of the families-God is SO good-Praise God He has risen!!

Happy Easter from the Hays Family

USS Lake Erie Easter Party

Today we all attended the ship's Easter Party. They had a lot of stuff for the kids to do. Naomi LOVED the Easter bunny and Lydia cried every time she saw him. Naomi followed him around all over and even wanted to share her eggs and candy with him. She cried when he had to leave.

After the Easter party we headed up to North Shore to have lunch at Cholo's and then some shave ice.

Then we headed back home and it was time for Jim, Becky and Lydia to leave. It was so fun having them and we will really miss them but now that we will be living on the mainland soon we decided to take yearly family vacations together. We are thinking maybe the Grand Canyon for our first one! And Becky and I are also planning a yearly get-away for just us!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to my brother Sam and Darcie! A few days ago Sam asked Darcie to marry him and she said yes!

Our Weekend

We had a very busy but great weekend! We started bright and early Saturday morning with Darrick and Micah competing in the annual Ford Island Bridge Run. It was 10 k or 6.2 miles. It was Micah's first race ever so Darrick planned to go at Micah's pace. The race started at 7 am. They ran some, walked some and finished strong! We were so proud of Micah-way to go!

Before and after the race with their snacks

Saturday afternoon we all drove up the west coast to go for a hike. It was so fun and the weather was great. The Dads put their girls in backpacks and we were off! We stayed on the trail for awhile but then ventured off the trail and went down to the tide pools.

Becky was not very excited about the living creatures we found but the boys were diggin them!

Naomi and Lydia were cautious but had fun exploring.

Then today we headed to Waikiki. We had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise and then headed over to the zoo. The kids had so much fun looking at all the animals. Lydia fits in perfectly and is just one of the kids. Jacob has taken a special liking to Lydia and Lydia loves following him around.



We love how excited Naomi gets when she sees the animals. She points and yells and makes sure everyone sees what she sees. We also had fun playing at the zoo playground. Naomi liked going down the slide but there was some throw up on the ground so I made sure to catch her so she wouldn't get in it. When Micah saw how much fun we were having he wanted me to catch him too. But he came down to fast and knocked me over and I landed right in the pile of barf! Becky had a great big laugh at that so I made her clean me off. It was so gross.

Darrick and Micah finishing the race

Our Last Visitors

Over the years we have hosted many friends and family who have come to see us. But since our time in Hawaii is nearing its end so must our visitors. Yesterday, late afternoon we picked up our last visitors: Jim, Becky and Lydia Peterson. Becky is one of my best friends, who I met at Dordt. It has been about 2 years since I have seen her and since then she has had Lydia. Jim and Becky came to visit us once before but it was over 3 years ago.

They live in Michigan and were excited to leave the cold behind and enjoy some warm Hawaiian sun! Lydia loved her lei, in fact she loved all the leis and wanted to wear them all!

It is a 6 hour time difference for them so after we grabbed dinner at Da Big Kahunas it was home to get some rest! This morning the kids played a lot outside and Naomi and Lydia hit it off pretty good. The best part was when Naomi was pushing Lydia on the swing! Too cute!


After the girls had naps (the little girls, not the big girls)we spent the afternoon at the beach. It was a fun time!

Hale Koa

I know you see a lot of posts about us going to the Hale Koa pool, but it is one of our favorite places to go! The weather so far for Spring Break has been awesome so today was a great day to take the kids to the pool. Poor Darrick had to work.

I had a pink inner tube for Naomi and she loved it. She really loves the water. The water in the pool was warm and even I got all the way in. The boys love swimming and diving for little water bombs they have.

In between swimming sessions we soaked up the sun, ate lunch and topped off the day with ice cream.

The only bummer came when I went to pay for our parking and I was short $2.00. I had to back up, re park, unload the kids, and walk back to the Hale Koa to use the ATM. By the time we did that, got back in the car and back to the paying booth over 30 minutes had passed and I had to pay even more. Oh well, what can you do.