It's Growing on Me!

Tuesday evening my wonderful Aunt Teddie arrived.  We ate taco salad for dinner by the pool.  I stayed up late to watch the Biggest Loser finale (an hour into it...I need to go back and see the before and afters).  It gives me some positive and negative feelings to the show....I was doing so well back in January and February...then the flu hit our household.  It then turned into morning sickness and then it turned into full-time preschool and preparing for Hawaii.  I just hope to do lots of walking with the kids and not too many macadamia nuts and Hawaiian bread....lots of pineapple, strawberries, etc.

Wednesday morning I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to go to Jason's work.  I got a wonderful view of the sun continuing to rise from Jason's office window.  He has an amazing view of the USS Missouri and looking out towards Pearl Harbor.  I got to meet his Supervisor.  Jason is really lucky to have such a nice boss for the time we are here.  He is really enjoying his job so far.  He says he'll miss it when he leaves.  His boss sat us down in his office to discuss things to see and do with my family while we're here.  Jason took me to get a rental car at 8:00 a.m.  Yes, a caravan and no more laps.  It's been heavenly to have it so far.  

We went to the Swap Meet again.  It was crazy hot this time for me and the kids.  I finally found some family turtle stickers for the car at home....I had some purchased from San Diego awhile back and misplaced them.  I needed new ones anyways with the added child in October.  I have been counting all the family and friends, families' birthdays, etc.  to determine what to bring home for everyone.  I will have to purchase a suitcase just to bring it all home in...then the added $25 luggage fee too.  After the swapmeet we attempted to go to the USS Arizona/Pearl Harbor.  It was closed by the time we got there.  After, poor Aunt Teddie got sick to her stomach while we were driving to Costco.  She is doing much better now...we're not sure why she threw up 3 times...but Eli did it too the first night he was here.  We love Costco!  It's so much more affordable to buy things there than a normal grocery store.  It's still more expensive then at home, but good to have food in the house.  It keeps us from spending too much money everytime we go out.  I fell asleep to Bride Wars...just too exausted from the early start of the day.

Thursday we explored Kailua...the area we are staying in.   We packed a lunch and headed to Lanakai Beach/Kailua Bay.  The water was so blue and colorful.  Afterwards we went to the Library.  Kai was in heaven.  He checked out 10 books and has already finished 1 1/2 books so far.  A yummy stop at McDonalds to cool off with a treat and then a drive to Waimanalo Beach and Makapuu Beach...I have no idea how to say most of these words.  When we get directions or tell the driver to turn onto such and such street....I guess as to how to say it.  It's a joke how well I can pronounce Hawaiian.

Later today/Thursday, Jason surprised us with a treat for himself.  He bought himself a used surfboard and headed to the Pyramid Rock Beach in the Marine Corp Base in Kaneohe.  He caught 2 waves...not necessarily standing, but he did it!  He came home and treated the kids to a dip in the pool and to float and attempt surfing on the board.  We had yummy chef salad with all the fixings, including huge fresh strawberries.  Mahalo Aunt T and Grandma for fixing it for us!  We are onto closing our eyes to a movie...oh, I mean watching a movie with the kids.   I am really feeling relaxed now that I am here.  It's so nice to have more books for the kids and a car to get around in.  It's so beautiful and a lot slower paced around here.  Most roads are 25-35 mph and the freeway signs aren't posted more than 60mph.  It truly is starting to grow on me, even if I encounter 2 dead cockroaches on my bedroom floor in the mornings.  Mahalo!

Dear Class,

A message written by Kai to his class in Roy City.  Following is a letter written to him by his class....so sweet and thoughtful.  

I am writing in my journal right now and it's only 9 a.m. here, but 1:00 p.m. your time.  I hope you get this in time!

Dear Class, 

How are you all doing?  I am having a great time in Hawaii!  It is super fun.  We found a new one in our pool.  It was a crab.  He is dead.  Which is unusual.

I couldn't swim very well last summer, but now I can!  I can jump in an 8 foot pool.  It is really cool.  Hey, that rhymes.

We have been going to the beach a lot.  

We went to a mall on Friday.  We took the bus to get there.  I got a new truck and a pocket game.

We went to the swap meet on Saturday.  I got four cars for me and my brother.  While at the swap meet, my dad was getting pit pocketed by a stranger.  It ended up being my mom's cousin's husband.  They are from California visiting Hawaii for a few days.  

On Mother's Day we had a really good breakfast outside.  It was pancakes and eggs.  It was so yummy.  We went to church and my sister and I sang a Mother's Day song with the rest of the kids.  After class, we got to play freeze tag, which was unusual.

I hope Mrs. Pilkington and Mrs. Miesch had a great Mother's Day!

Take care everyone!  Aloha, Kai

Aloha Kai,

 

We are writing you this letter as class using the big screen.  So each student is coming up with what we write.  

The whole class says, "We really liked your pictures!"  "We miss you so much!"

Auryn says. "I like the picture of the crab and it was weird that it was in your pool!" 

Camraya wants to know how you are, and she thinks you look like you are having a blast!

Dakota says, "I can jump in to 10 feet deep water, it isn't scary, it is fun." 

Felicity and Kyrah want you to have fun in the ocean, and think you might see more crabs. 

Kami asks, "Have you learned how to surf yet?"  River wants to know if you have been reading, and the class thinks MOST LIKELY you have! 

MyKenzie says, "We like you so much!"We really appreciate that you take time to write us and send us pictures. 

Nick wants you to have a good day, everyday, at Hawaii!

Aloha from Lakeview Elementary,

The first graders and Mrs. Pilkington

P.S. Mrs. Pilkington had a great Mother's Day and so did Mrs. Miesch!  Thanks for caring!

We're Feeling Homesick Already!

Friday- after the bus ride....we came home and had boiled potatoes, corn, and fresh pineapple.  We were all tired from the long day.  

Saturday-the Swap Meet.  It's the only place to buy things that are affordable.  We loved it and it's huge!  We only got through 1/4 of it.  It circles the stadium.

The most exciting part was running into my cousin, her husband, and her daughter.  They are visiting cousins that live on the island.  My cousin is from Southern California and to run into her at the swap meet in Hawaii is pretty neat.  Her mom will be joining us on Tuesday.  We can't wait to see you Aunt Teddie.

After the swap meet we went to see Jason's work.  He works on Ford Island.  As you go over the bridge to get to the island you can see the Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri.  It's an amazing site.  You can drive along the pathways where the Pearl Harbor Naval Air Station once had planes coming and going off the island.  

That evening the kids took a dip in the pool and discovered a dead crab in the bottom of the pool.  Tired kids allowed for an evening out for Jason and me while Grandma watched "High School Musical" with the kids.

Adventure out to Waikiki and Honolulu isn't the greatest....I mean it's beautiful, but very busy and Vegas strip like (without the crudeness)....just busy with lots of hotels, fancy shops, and lots of people.  I would never want to live there.  We went to the Ala Moana Shopping Center and got an Orange Julius Smoothie...oh yes, heavenly to a pregnant woman that craves the stuff.  We window shopped a bit and noticed how much more expensive things are there then at the Swap Meet.  We avoided a $10 movie ticket and decided to walk along the beach.  The sand is quite rough compared to the beach area we are living by.  We watched a big cruise ship take off into the night, while watching standing paddlers with their glow sticks on paddling along the shore line about 100 ft. off the shore.  When you don't want to spend money and it's too dark along the beach, what's left to do at 9pm at night?....Yep, we found Wal-Mart.  Hoping to find some better deals on a few household items.  A few items yes, but not great!  Sunscreen was $2.50 cheaper...it's been needed quite a bit.  

Sunday- a great day for me.  I had the opportunity to spend Mother's Day with my mommy!  Jason made us breakfast and we ate it outside.  We went to church and enjoyed the meetings.  My mom and I received a carnation and a yummy snack mix from the youth.  It wa very sweet.  

In reality...We are all feeling a bit homesick.  We have been overwhelmed with so much fun and good times, but we are missing everyone and the comforts of home.  We feel very blessed to have been given this opportunity to be here.  It's been amazing!  The kids are missing their bedrooms, friends, and comforts of home.  The heat of the house and humidity outside has made it difficult to enjoy a whole lot.  I feel bad that I am always getting after the kids....watch out for this furniture, be careful of the flowers, don't get too close to the pool, be sure to shut all the doors going outside, etc.  It's been difficult.  

I am so grateful my mother has been here for me while Jason has been at work.  She has helped keep me sane.  Aunt Teddie will be here shortly and we hope to have more freedom with getting a vehicle to get out more and enjoy the sites.  $$$$ is what matters when traveling in Hawaii and entertaining 3 kids at different ages...it's been a challenge, but wonderful memories are being built.  

There is a play group planned on Tuesday with the ward...we may be able to go, depending on the bus situation....it's not the easiest route to get to for the beach they are holding it at.  We'll wait and see.  

Till then, Aloha and a Happy Mother's Day to all my wonderful Mothers, Sisters, and Friends out there!

We Braved the Bus!

Bob's Pizzeria- Thursday night after the Farmer's Market.

Our local beach in Kailua

Jason's Office View of the USS Memorial.

Surfing the Hammerhead!

Skinny Pigs

Just Bird Talk!

Chilling Chameleon

Rough Day!

Last night was fun at the Farmer's Market. Still things are quite expensive. We purchased really tall green onions ($1), 3 tomatoes ($2), 2 onions ($2), and 4 small corns on the cob ($3). We also purchased some Beignets (French donuts), a bag of French Cookies, and a French Baguette. We sampled some local sea asparagus. Jason loves his squid jerky he purchased a few nights prior at the local Long's Drug. We decided not to eat the semi costly cooked food while at the market...thinking it would be more affordable to go somewhere else. We did find a pizza joint, but it still wasn't quite affordable. A drink and 2 overly sized pizza slices were around $6.

I am trying really hard not to spend a lot of money, but you can't help it if you want to go out. Today we braved the bus. For grandma, myself, and the kids it was $5 one way. We went to Windward Mall in Kaneohe. It is a beautiful commute. We decided to go there since it would be indoor, a/c, and they'd have a play area for the kids inside. All went well getting there. Unfortunately for Kai, he was too tall for the play area and was told by a security guard that he couldn't play. I was too busy with the other 2 kids to notice the height requirements. He is always trying to be taller so he can ride more rides at Lagoon and today was the opposite for him...he had to watch all the other kids play.

While at the mall, we found a Chinese $.99 store. Lots of things in Chinese that I couldn't really determine what the item actually was. We did find a few items for the house. The guy we're renting from doesn't rent out normally so we have had to purchase a few items for the kitchen...including Teflon utensils so I don't scratch his pots and some more plastic ware so we can eat outside.

The majority of shops were ones you could find at a mall at home. It was to be expected...but great fun to get out and explore. They had a pet store with some cool animals. I have never heard of a skinny pig. Hawaii doesn't allow snakes...so Kai was once again bummed during the trip. But way happy we found a little hand held old school game with lots of games on it for $2.

I am probably boring, but once again I am journaling for my sake.

While exiting the bus, poor Kezia got terrified by being the last one off and the back door being to heavy for her to push and it closed on her. I had gotten off with the double stroller, my mom was helping sleepy Eli off the steep steps, and she was behind her and the door closed. The driver luckily knew what was going on and the people on the bus were nice enough to open it for her to get off...no handles for me from the outside to open it from. Once I got here she started bawling. She was terrified she was going to be left on the bus. Poor thing. ....A part from this and things from earlier, including Eli getting a small bloody nose while in one of the stores, Kezia chipping a tooth while at the play area, and Kai being bummed off and on...the day went rather well. We'll be experiencing the bus again. TGIF....the weekend makes for more visitors at some of the tourists sites, but we hope go to Pearl Harbor tomorrow and see where Jason works as well as the Swap Meet (hopefully some better prices).  We are thrilled to spend the day with Jason/Daddy!

The Black and White Spotted Cow

The picture is our backyard. The egg swings are so fun!

The Black and White Spotted Cow...Yep, that's me! The last 2 days I have gone swimming in the pool and the ocean and I have missed putting sunscreen on several parts of my body. So I am sunburned on the backside of my upper arms from one day ago and now on both inner knees when I was sitting on the sand. Once they become tan I'll be dark in those spots and white on the rest of my body...and being that I am looking more and more pregnant, hence the cow!

The pool man for the house confirmed my worse nightmare. The dead centipede in the pool is poisonous. So I need to be on the look out while the kids are playing in the yard. At least the cockroaches aren't. Eli keeps throwing his binkie on the floor of his bedroom in the middle of the night. This morning I found two new cockroaches upside down slowly dying from the poison, close to where he throws it. So when he does it I hesitate grabbing it off the floor in the dark...hoping it's the binkie and then I have to go wash it off because I am not sure what the bug poison looks like and where it is actually in the room and just the fact the floor is dirty with the bugs crawling around on it. It's part of the beautiful experience here in Hawaii.

I hope to post pictures of Jason's office view. He says he has view of the USS Missouri off Pearl Harbor. We hope to take a tour of the base on Saturday after the swap meet. YEAH!

I am going through sunscreen tons. I bought the spray kind...costly but convenient. I am almost out of it, so I decided to get a cream version at the grocery store so it could go further....$10 later for an 10 ounce tube and $5 for an 8 ounce bottle of aloe vera. Not cheap. There is a Costco coupon we are waiting to use to get more. We would like to make a stop at the Wal-Mart, but they aren't everywhere here. That is a good thing though. It allows for more mom and pop stores to be available.

Last night we drove around Kaneohe Bay, which is close to the Marine Corps Base. They're are a lot of Bases on this island. Yeah, we found a Redbox/DVD Express inside of the Foodland store.

I am looking forward to the days ahead to see more details of the island. My mom got to go to Pearl Harbor the first day she was here with Jason. The kids and I were still on the plane when she did this. I look forward to seeing it soon. I have driven past it on the freeway, but it's hard to see much of anything....just lots of buildings and industrial stuff.

Tonight we hope to go to the Kailua Farmer's Market. I'll try and post a slideshow soon. With time!

Aloha says the Cow!

I've got to journal our days here...so for those that are reading I hope you don't find it too boring. The house here in Kailua is so beautiful. It has an amazing backyard with lots of beautiful foliage. It has an amazing tree...Jason knows the name of it. It has 2 egg swings hanging from it and the kids go crazy for them. It has an 8 ft. deep pool. We found my worse nightmare at the bottom of it....a centipede that's about 6 inches long or more.
The house has 4 sliding glass doors that go the backyard....so I don't relax easily when it comes to sleeping in. I don't sleep in because I am terrified Eli will get outside and fall in. The doors have locks but he's smart enough to test them and figure them out. We debated on getting a playpen, but we know he'll overcome it and flip himself out of it...all the rooms have tile so we don't want a damaged head from him falling out. The only bedroom without a sliding glass door in it is the one I share with him. No cuddling with Jason for a few weeks. We debated on getting a gate in that bedroom too, but lots of $ later it probably still wouldn't work. So I am up with the kid at 6 am most mornings....the jet lag in us all and the amazing birds chirping in the morning and the sun coming into the house is what gets us up so early.
We were VERY LUCKY to have gotten to rent this house. The owner is out of town for the weeks we needed it and he never rents it to strangers, but felt it would be good for him to do so. It's gorgeous in a gorgeous area. When we move to Ko Olina in 6 weeks we'll be bummed and missing the beauty. Ko Olina is in a resort area and not so done up in it's near surroundings. Kailua is awesome. We have the ocean about a block away and in our backyard you look up and see some amazing mountains.
The house does come with it's visitors...cockroaches. About every morning we wake up to some upside down ones....waiting for the poison to eventually kill them. They are big! My first experience with one was while we were waiting for Jason to bring the care to pick up our luggage. The kids and I were sitting on a bench and running up the backside of the wall was one. Then that same night, Jason went to close the sliding glass door and 2 were running up the screens. There are small lizards in the yard...we think they eat the roaches. Just now I am noticing a huge snail in the garden climbing the fence.
The hibiscus plant/flower is my absolute favorite and they are everywhere. We went to the temple late Sunday night and WOW they have this driveway that takes you to the temple and it's loaded with yellow hibiscus plants. Another favorite are these trees that have small bunches of flowers. You'll see them in our hair on some of our pictures.
The kids have been great until yesterday! Eli has been hitting his sister and then onto Kai when I was trying to drive to Waikiki. I did it though! I drove through the island to Honolulu and Waikiki and then to the airport to drop off the weekend rental car. We won't have a second vehicle for the week, so onto learning The Bus. Hopefully it won't be too hard with the kids.
While in Waikiki we went to an aquarium. It wasn't huge and not too much to see. The one in Sandy is just as good...a few more exotic fish were there and a seal. We walked to the boardwalk and looked out at the ocean. Waikiki is a bit too busy for me. While driving past the beaches it was crazy! It was like the strip in Vegas. Lots of people and lots of hotels. I am glad were not staying there. Too much hussle and too many people. The kids, grandma, and I found a Ramen restaurant that we had a Happenings coupon for. It was around the corner of the freeway entrance, something I needed since I had to get the rental back quickly and I didn't want to get lost. The food was good. I was proud of myself for getting around down there and locating a little food joint and experiencing that uniqueness.
After we dropped the rental car off, we squeezed into Jason's car and went to Target. Prices are high on a lot of things that I wouldn't expect....like Hawaiian attire. But all in all milk is priced between $3.92-$3.99 a gallon, better than we expected. Pineapples are affordable, duh! Bananas are $.99 a pound and Costco prices on fruit are a bit higher too. We bbq hamburgers for dinner and enjoyed our HUGE strawberries from Costco.
Jason seems to be enjoying work so far. He says everyone is really layed back around here. He has been invited to go golfing on Thursday....$40 plus a $30 registration fee....he's debating it because of the price. He says no, but I hope he considers it because it would be an experience for him. We'll see though. He's being smart though because he wants to make sure we save money for new windows for the house...a neccessity.
We have had a full weekend so far. Today we hope to take it easy...swim in the backyard or take a stroll to the beach and play in the sand. Hopefully we'll finally be able to relax. Aloha!

Aloha!!!

Well we made it all in one piece.  It was tough, but worth it!  It all started rough Thursday night.  We didn't leave our home till 11:30 at night and got to my mom's after midnight.  We almost had the packing correct, with the exception of 2 bags being too heavy and one being way light.  Jason fixed that!  

He left around 5 a.m. with my mom and dad.  My dad drove them to the airport.  After Jason and my mom were in the terminal and my dad had gotten to work at Primary Children's, he noticed his bag missing.  Jason had accidently grabbed it, thinking it was my mom's.  My dad got to the airport just in time for Jason to run back out of the terminal, hand it to him, go through security again to then get on the plane just as they were boarding.  Lucky!

I left my mom's at 11 a.m. with little sleep.  I tell ya I was frazzled at this point already.  I almost forgot to deposit some tuition checks at the bank and while doing so I remembered I had left the camera battery charging at my mom's.  So back up the hill I went to pick it up, to then pick up my mother-in-law, and then to the airport.

Curbside checking is awesome!  Even the security check went fine....8 bags later including getting out all the electronic devices, liquid bags, shoes and jackets off, etc.  We ate lunch at the airport, boarded the plane, and all went smooth.  No fever for Kai.  My medicines helped my tummy and head conjestion.  

We landed in LA and doom!  It was tough at that point.  I had to drive the stroller loaded full of all of our stuff outside of the airport, board a shuttle bus, then walk to another terminal to then do a security check AGAIN!  This time longer lines and lots of eyes on me!  I was looked at oddly as soon as I exited the plane into LAX.  

We got through security, found our gate, used the bathroom, and the 1 1/2 hour layover was gone in an instant!  We got back from the potties and they were already loading the plane.  It was tough, but the kids were all champs.  The airline checked a few of our bags under the belly which was great!  I didn't have to walk to the very back of the plane carrying 8 plus bags...with little help from my little kids.  They flight was great.  Eli fell asleep quickly and slept the rest of the way.  Kai and Kezia did great.  The food was awful though...some Italian pasta salad stuff...not for kids...but thank goodness I packed other snacks.  

We were greeted at baggage claim with a smiling Jason and Mom!  They greeted us with some beautiful Leis.  Hawaii is so beautiful!  It's been amazing so far.  We are so pale then everyone...this is to change.  Please continue reading Kai's journal entry.  He sums it up well.  Aloha and Mahalo to all!

The following is a journal entry written by Kai for his weekend news that he shares with his class at school.  His words explain a lot of what we have done so far this weekend.  

Dear Class,

I know this is late for the Monday Weekend News, but we are 4 hours behind Utah and it's been busy to finally sit down and write.  Hopefully our internet connection will work while I type this.

Happy Birthday Kami!

It's great in Hawaii.  Our island is Oahu.  When I went on the plane, it wasn't just one plane I went on, it was two planes.  One to Los Angeles and the other to Honolulu.

Mrs. Meisch,  I have already finished reading "High Tide in Hawaii."  Thank you for the book.  It is good!  

Mrs. Pilkington,  I have to write on my journal and my mom and dad put it on the computer.  

At Hawaii, my family- me, Kezia, Dad, Mom, Eli, and Grandma Simmons went to Costco on Saturday.  We had to get a lot of food and stuff to help our house.  We also went to the beach park in Kailua.  This is where we are staying for the first 6 weeks.  We went swimming in the ocean and then came home and went swimming in our backyard.

On Sunday, I went to church.  The hallways of the church were outside.  I met some new friends.  After church, we went on a trip around the island.  We saw the Pacific Ocean.  We went to the North Shore and ate at a restaurant across from the beach.  We went to the Pipeline to see the surfers.  We went to the Laie Temple.  It wasn't lit up at night because they are remodeling it.  Instead we went in the Visitor's Center.  There were all different kinds of Book of Mormons in many different languages.  

We have come across many insects and birds.  In the mornings, we can hear all kinds of birds chirping.  We have lizards in our backyard.  A few cockroaches in our house that  slowly die after eating the bug poison.  We also saw a frog and centipede in our swimming pool.  

Have a nice spring and summer.  Kai

P.S.  My name is the most popular word used in many names of places.  Such as Kailua--the city we are staying in.  We are staying on Kainui street.  We have driven past Hawaii Kai.....Kai in Hawaiian means "Ocean".