Trying to keep the pics and blog at a manageable level so no one has to dedicate hours to keep up (us) or to catch up (you). Hoping more biweekly posts rather than weekly but then we would have to keep adventures and picture taking to a minimum. If only we could find a good balance. Hard when we live in Awesometown and Karl & Pres have so much time for exploring. We keep on expecting for the vacation to come to an end. This is not taking a chance to brag it is just to say that we still cannot believe we get to live here. It is gorgeous, the weather is great, loads to see and plenty to do. It has been just over a month and there is no trace of island fever or boredom.
Preston started his new gymnastics class at a place called My Gym. We had not heard about this facility but apparently it is a chain. Reminded us of Gymboree but geared toward fitness, tumbling and good behavior. Loads of fun and wore him out!! Pres also attended a new play group at Hickam that is play & crafts with a bunch of other youngsters. Swim lessons start back up in October and he is signed up for AYSO U5 in December. Just picking and choosing till we find something that sticks, as long as he is having fun and learning something we call it a win. We finally made a visit to the Sea Life park and we really enjoyed ourselves. Another season pass to add to the stack.
Regan made two attempts to climb the Haiku Stairs. The first led them the wrong way through a bamboo forest and made it too late to the stairway. The second time they knew exactly what to expect and successfully reached the top. The weather wasn't ideal as they were socked in with clouds and it was a bit rainy. He was still quite pleased with the hike, anxious to take anyone interested up. Be warned it is called the stairway to heaven because you ascend up the severe jungle slope via 3,922 stairs. Additionally, you have to start the trek at roughly 3am to ensure you get beyond the guard before he arrives for work. The stairs are closed to the public. Besides being a deviant he is busy with work and has pitched in helping the McPhersons install some flooring.
Karl is job hunting in between pretending like she is on an extended vacation at the beach. Not much to complain about but would like to get back to normal. Hard to feel like she is contributing to the household when Pres is smarter than she is and Reg takes care of everything. Maybe she should use this time to beef up her FF team. (No mention who she got whooped by this weekend)
Sending love, thoughts and prayers to Jan on her trip to Thailand and Mandi & Kai who is arriving by c-section as this is typed. Missing the girls, all going through so much right now and would love to help.
See photos and scroll down for videos.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Quarter of a Year...
It has been a long time, thankfully not much has been going on. Would be horrendous to take care of this post if we had to wade through 3,000 photos, recall memories from family vacations or have just moved off of the mainland...wait.... Suffice to say this post will not do our adventures justice. (I apologize to future us that looks at these posts to 'remember when', I promise it was fun/scary/exciting/sad.)
We finished out spring in SoDak wrapping up cool temps, tee ball and swim class. We rolled into summer with our annual road trip to spend a week in Spokane. The trip was made extra special since it also served as a family reunion as Regan's brothers and their families were in town. We kicked off a week of festivities with all 4 families, the Parentals and Aunt Cindee who were on hand to celebrate Omi's 90th with yummy salmon and cupcakes, followed by the golf cart parade celebrating 4th of July. After that is was a blur of fun with Brown, Benz and Dentlers watching fireworks, visiting a trampoline gym, Riverfront park exploring and lots of hanging out. We popped back and forth between Spokane and Twin Lakes to maximize friend and family time. Twin Lakes held all kinds of water play in the lake, pool and slip & sliding. So much fun, we were in a daze by the time we finished playing. Can't even remember the road trip home.
The following 3 weeks spent in SoDak were unforgettable. We had lots of lasts that tugged at the heart; last day of daycare/work, last bbq with friends, last gymnastics class, last trip for pottery & froyo and last book club. We were so blessed to have such great friends who made us love SoDak and made leaving harder that we would have ever expected. Pritchards threw a bbq, Rise took Karl to a concert, Ortegas and Bond on hand for Summer Nights celebrating and a luau themed book club Monica put together to spoil Karl. Saying goodbye was tough, many tears were shed. Thankfully, with those kind of friends, we know we will see them again (Bond in 3 weeks!!!). Packing up the house was painless thanks to movers. We moved into a hotel downtown for our last week. Coulee got to be a City Dog, Karl walked him before work, lunch and after work was spent playing at the park. Nice send off all around.
Reg had dropped off the Subaru in St Louis right after returning from Spokane. This ensured that a car would be waiting for us in Hawaii and also made the drive from Rapid to Los Angeles that much easier because we were all in one car. Once in CA we took advantage of our proximity to Disneyland, Magic Mountain and the bounce house. Lots of fun with the Borellas, Hornes and Klines. Ten days of fun which was a mini vacation before we flew one way to Honolulu, HI and start our new assignment.
Hawaii has been great so far. The weather is amazing staying between 72 and 84 ALL THE TIME. We have already heard reports of Rapid going into the 30s at night, we are not missing those temps yet. A little concerned Reg will have Fall withdraws, he loves the crisp air and leaves changing. Nothing crisp about our new air...think tropical! There is nice breeze to keep you cool and the island is gorgeous.
Upon arrival we were able to stay at the Hale Koa resort in Waikiki as base lodging was full...darn it!! (that was sarcasm) Full access to beach, pool, shopping and restaurants. We took full advantage. Karl scoured ads for homes and we found a great house in the Windward side of the island which is known for cooler temps, less traffic and gorgeous beaches. After 2 weeks in the hotel we signed the lease on a Wednesday and our furniture was delivered on Thursday. Great timing, eh? We couldn't be happier with our location in a quiet neighborhood that backs up to the jungle and mountains. The house has a guest room so plan your trip, we would love to share!
We are doing well and settling in to our new routine. Reg started working right away and enjoys his new group. He is working for Pacific Head Quarters which has some unique challenges. He is now the guy all AF gets to call to resolve your finance travel issues, something new everyday. We attended the HQ picnic and it was amazing to see how big of a group he belongs to. Not to mention the ratio of enlisted to officers is swapped as compared to what he is used to. A 3 star general commands the group and was on hand to chat up the group. We were star struck, indeed! Pres and Karl are paling around until she finds a new engineering gig. Not a whole lot to chose from on an island but she will find something. In the meantime she and Pres have enjoyed exploring. Karl is trying to make sure to keep up with preschool curriculum, teacher is not her favorite hat to wear but hopefully she doesn't stunt Pres too badly. Pres is missing his school and friends but is adapting well. He starts his new playgroup and gymnastics soon which should fill in the socializing gap he has been missing.
Sorry again for the macro wrap up, we will work on keeping this thing current. Missing everyone in between enjoying our new locale. You are always welcome to visit!
Check out the videos below and the 6 new albums uploaded.
We finished out spring in SoDak wrapping up cool temps, tee ball and swim class. We rolled into summer with our annual road trip to spend a week in Spokane. The trip was made extra special since it also served as a family reunion as Regan's brothers and their families were in town. We kicked off a week of festivities with all 4 families, the Parentals and Aunt Cindee who were on hand to celebrate Omi's 90th with yummy salmon and cupcakes, followed by the golf cart parade celebrating 4th of July. After that is was a blur of fun with Brown, Benz and Dentlers watching fireworks, visiting a trampoline gym, Riverfront park exploring and lots of hanging out. We popped back and forth between Spokane and Twin Lakes to maximize friend and family time. Twin Lakes held all kinds of water play in the lake, pool and slip & sliding. So much fun, we were in a daze by the time we finished playing. Can't even remember the road trip home.
The following 3 weeks spent in SoDak were unforgettable. We had lots of lasts that tugged at the heart; last day of daycare/work, last bbq with friends, last gymnastics class, last trip for pottery & froyo and last book club. We were so blessed to have such great friends who made us love SoDak and made leaving harder that we would have ever expected. Pritchards threw a bbq, Rise took Karl to a concert, Ortegas and Bond on hand for Summer Nights celebrating and a luau themed book club Monica put together to spoil Karl. Saying goodbye was tough, many tears were shed. Thankfully, with those kind of friends, we know we will see them again (Bond in 3 weeks!!!). Packing up the house was painless thanks to movers. We moved into a hotel downtown for our last week. Coulee got to be a City Dog, Karl walked him before work, lunch and after work was spent playing at the park. Nice send off all around.
Reg had dropped off the Subaru in St Louis right after returning from Spokane. This ensured that a car would be waiting for us in Hawaii and also made the drive from Rapid to Los Angeles that much easier because we were all in one car. Once in CA we took advantage of our proximity to Disneyland, Magic Mountain and the bounce house. Lots of fun with the Borellas, Hornes and Klines. Ten days of fun which was a mini vacation before we flew one way to Honolulu, HI and start our new assignment.
Hawaii has been great so far. The weather is amazing staying between 72 and 84 ALL THE TIME. We have already heard reports of Rapid going into the 30s at night, we are not missing those temps yet. A little concerned Reg will have Fall withdraws, he loves the crisp air and leaves changing. Nothing crisp about our new air...think tropical! There is nice breeze to keep you cool and the island is gorgeous.
Upon arrival we were able to stay at the Hale Koa resort in Waikiki as base lodging was full...darn it!! (that was sarcasm) Full access to beach, pool, shopping and restaurants. We took full advantage. Karl scoured ads for homes and we found a great house in the Windward side of the island which is known for cooler temps, less traffic and gorgeous beaches. After 2 weeks in the hotel we signed the lease on a Wednesday and our furniture was delivered on Thursday. Great timing, eh? We couldn't be happier with our location in a quiet neighborhood that backs up to the jungle and mountains. The house has a guest room so plan your trip, we would love to share!
We are doing well and settling in to our new routine. Reg started working right away and enjoys his new group. He is working for Pacific Head Quarters which has some unique challenges. He is now the guy all AF gets to call to resolve your finance travel issues, something new everyday. We attended the HQ picnic and it was amazing to see how big of a group he belongs to. Not to mention the ratio of enlisted to officers is swapped as compared to what he is used to. A 3 star general commands the group and was on hand to chat up the group. We were star struck, indeed! Pres and Karl are paling around until she finds a new engineering gig. Not a whole lot to chose from on an island but she will find something. In the meantime she and Pres have enjoyed exploring. Karl is trying to make sure to keep up with preschool curriculum, teacher is not her favorite hat to wear but hopefully she doesn't stunt Pres too badly. Pres is missing his school and friends but is adapting well. He starts his new playgroup and gymnastics soon which should fill in the socializing gap he has been missing.
Sorry again for the macro wrap up, we will work on keeping this thing current. Missing everyone in between enjoying our new locale. You are always welcome to visit!
Check out the videos below and the 6 new albums uploaded.
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