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.