Nike Run 5K

Today we went for a run in Waikiki. It was part of the school service project and we had a blast. Thorin ran almost the entire thing. After the run they went and did kid activities to include a painted tattoo. When we had done all we could do, we went to the beach to walk around. The girls dumped their shoes and headed to the water. It was an awesome day. We now know where the best beach on south Oahu is and will be spending a weekend there before Robert leaves. More photos soon...stay tuned!

Waikiki

The girls were invited to a birthday party at the zoo today so that gave us an excuse to go do something fun. We had a very good time at the party. Sorenna questioned our tour guide for hours and got lots of information about rhinos, giraffes and hippos. She loved the tour of the apes and monkeys. We took our own tour of the rest of the zoo and ventured to the beach after that. It was a beautiful day with tons of beach lovers. The girls jumped in the ocean, ran on the shore and then humored me for a photo op on a stoney wall.

This is not the prettiest beach we have seen here, but the first one where we remembered our camera.....I know....I am not right here! I am now back to my camera toting self. More photos to be posted from now on!

Third time is a charm?

Robert has officially announced that he will be leaving next month to visit Iraq for a year-long get-away.
He will be going back to Iraq in hopes that this time he can finish what he started over there. His unit will be headed there in the next few weeks in waves and will return near Thanksgiving next year. He will miss Cannon turning 4 and maybe 5?
We will tell the girls some time this month when they are set in all the new things thrown at them in the past 3 months.
I would love for you to add him to any prayer list and to think of us here while he is gone. We are just grateful it is only 12-13 months instead of 15-16.
We have many things to square away before he goes, but I will continue to keep everyone in the loop.

The sounds of Hawaii

I have wanted to write about some of the sounds of Hawaii but just haven't been near my computer when I thought about it.
Tonight as I sit here cleaning the office of clutter and posting about the girls I realized it was once again 11pm (2300 hours). At that time every night you can hear TAPS echoing through the winds. I was told that every army post does that and for our 5 years in California it was a nightly ritual. I can only assume that I never heard it because I was closed up tight in my home and was too far to hear it through the walls.
Hawaii is a different world. The windows are open every night. The sounds of geckos chirping and bugs clicking are louder than I thought. The cool air feels great and being able to see the world and hear it while doing daily chores is somewhat peaceful.
But when most people are in bed or heading that way, I am peacefully enjoying the sounds of paradise.

Dancing Divas

Today was a very big day. The girls tried out their first dance class. I have to say it was very entertaining to watch them navigate across the floor. Thorin was very strong and determined as she is in most of her life. Her concentration levels were through the roof.
Sorenna was very floaty and graceful. Her arms seemed to stretch for miles.
Cannon was in her own class and the little ones are always the most unpredictable. She was enjoying the slippery sliding of her taps shoes on the wood floor. She looked like a little jewelry box top. The three girls were glowing and thrilled to be in class. The teacher announced her plans for a show with costumes and I thought they were going to exploded with happiness. It is so nice to see them getting settled in their new home and now a new adventure.

Volcano people finally welcomed him home!

As you can see by the photo, Robert has found his real family.
There was talk for years about the volcano people coming to take him back home and he has finally arrived. They rolled out the red carpet and even named a special bus for his homecoming.
We were so happy to finally be in his homeland and are learning about his heritage. We hope to see the volcano where he was born, but aren't setting our expectations too high because he has been gone for a very long time. Now that we are here, it is like he was never really gone.
Wish us luck in our adventures.

Our Hawaiian HOME

We finally took a photo on our front porch. The inside is still under construction, but I promise to have some video

footage soon.

Thorin's birthday

Today was Thorin's birthday. It was a very successful day and relaxing too. The girls were out of school for a state holiday and all they had was swimming lessons. They hung out and watched movies, went to a special lunch with daddy and did everything Thorin wanted to do for the morning. I was worried she wasn't getting a cake until Saturday because I am still new to the oven that actually works. Our oven in Cali took forever to cook anything. I was thinking the shortest time allowed for the cake would be good. I burned 2 cakes last night and had nothing to put icing on this morning. I finally figured the baking times and quickly iced the cake when they were at lunch. It was a huge surprise for her tonight.
I am hoping the movie is fun in the morning and we can enjoy another weekend day together. They are so nice. Soon the days will run together and the holidays will be here again. I just saw our Christmas ornaments last week. I have a perfect place to put the tree this year. If anyone is interested, I will be making a short you-tube video of our house soon....I can send it your way.
Love to all

HAWAI'I

I know it has been a while since many have heard ANYTHING from us, but it has been a very bumpy road to get where we are today.
We left Fort Irwin on June 12th, a day earlier than planned. We took Sorenna to the Kung Fu Panda movie for her birthday celebration and was prompted rear-ended after the fun day. I am happy to say it looks ok, but $700 plus new car seats. OUCH!
We got to Hawai'i and fell totally in love with all the green, but I have not missed the humidity. I was immediately sweaty from walking down the terminal hall.
Cannon has been a wet, red-cheeked girl for a month now.
The housing situation threw us for a loop and after many prayers, resourcing and FIGHTING, we got the best house for our buck. It is really expensive here and I was not willing to pay double rent for 1500 square feet of space (or lack of it).
We had to work really hard, but teamwork and some really great army families got us a house. Our stuff arrives in its boxes and crates on Thursday and we will turn it into a home.
The girls are all sharing a room and have loved the idea so far. The house is HUGE!
The design, YES there is a design, is awesome. I love the chirping geckos and hope they get to work eating the bugs.
I would love to say I love Hawai'i, but every new place takes some time before you can truly appreciate it. Once I have the boxes, the schools and the schedule in place, I won't want to leave for a while. The neighborhood is amazing, our street is perfect and we have this super field for a back yard. We have NO air conditioning and have had all the windows open and sometimes ceiling fans on, but it is so comfortable in the house and this is the HOT season. We will get an AC unit in the girls' room and one in the main room for when we have guests, but it is so wonderful here. I haven't taken many photos because it rains a bit every day and we walk everywhere. I will take more photos once my computer is set up.
I will send a link to YouTUBE when I get all my stuff settled so you all can see the layout, the neighborhood and all the family.
Love to all!

Going Going GONE

Well, here we are finally moving from Fort Irwin. All things considered, I loved this place. I could run almost every day. We could play outside because it NEVER rained. We could see the brightest stars because there were few lights. The most beautiful sunsets were seen from my front yard over the mountain my girls climbed several times. I am just so grateful for all the wonderful adventures we had without ever getting in a car.
That said, MAN am I happy to be leaving.
I am looking forward to seeing a real Target without driving 3 hours. I am looking forward to the climbing, running and water adventures in waveless beaches! I am thrilled to be going to a place I can continue to wear my Birks every day and tank tops on most. I am looking forward to my girls all going to school at the SAME TIME (can I hear an AMEN sista??? if you have more than one kid in school at Fort Irwin you know my pain).
But the most exciting thing about moving to Hawaii
drumroll please
seeing my husband more than 15 nights a month.