Sunset and an empty house

Thursday night the boys' sports got cancelled due to the weather.  So after dinner we tried to find a dry place to watch the sun set.  We drove as roar as we could to the end of the road at Kaena Point and found some sun and no rain.  It's been rainy lately, which is not normal.  

Notice my hair being blown straight up.  It was a little windy!!

 The sunset was beautiful, no green flash though.

 Since there was tons of rain behind us there was a beautiful bright rainbow.

 Friday I went with 2 girl friends to snorkel and relax at the beach.  Justin was at home with the kids waiting for the packers to get the last little bit of unaccompanied baggage.  When Grandpa and Grandma were here they bought the kids some of those new fancy water balloons that sort of tie themselves when full.  They are super cool.  So there was a huge neighborhood water fight!

 You can fill many balloons all at once!  Once filled they pop right off into the container.

 This picture was a selfie they took while we were driving to see sunset.

 The rainbow was so vibrant and there was a faint double, not pictured.

 While at the beach Friday morning we saw Pete Carroll, the Seattle Seahawks coach heading out to snorkel with his wife.

 While in an almost empty house, the kids (and Justin) are still able to have lots of fun.  The movers left 2 huge mattress boxes that the kids had fun playing with.

 This is what the boys' room looks like right now.  All 3 kids are in there.  It's nice to have the ability to borrow mattresses once all our stuff is gone.  We don't even have to move it in or out.  I just tell the community center how many beds/sofas/tables/nightstands, etc I want and they deliver and pick up!

Today we spent time doing some last minute cleaning, laundry, and packing.  In the morning we clear housing and move to the first of MANY hotel stays.

A little Stay-cation

Mimi and Grandaddy left before the packers came and headed to Kauai for a conference and some R&R.  When they came back on Friday we were just about all packed up so they took the kids.  Justin and I had a date night and joined the rest of them at the hotel later that night.  It was so wonderful to stay with them at the Marriott at Ko'Olina for a few days.  It is a beautiful spot and we had so much fun.

 Friends from a few streets over, who are also moving to Ks, were also there and Caroline really enjoyed having girls to play with.  Their 2 girls had mermaids tails and let Caroline borrow them.  She loved being a mermaid!!  Later that night she was searching Amazon for one.

 We were on the 14th floor.  Amazing views but no green flash.  Too many clouds near the water.

 The kids really enjoyed participating in the resort activities and most of the time they were the only ones doing them.  For the raft race it was just our kids and the Reichert girls.  They all got coupons for shave ice after!!

 The kids LOVED the many pools at the resort.  Dad tried to get them to go to the lagoon with him but as Caroline said, "why go to the beach when you have a pool!?"  So we stayed at the pools.

Thanks Mimi and Grandaddy for having us!  It was a nice way to relax after prepping for and seeing our stuff get packed.

It's moving time!

The house is now empty and I sit at the borrowed 'aloha furniture' table that we are given to use.  We have only 4 days left in this house before we clear and go to a hotel.  And then 15 days before we leave the island and begin more adventures.  It'll be awhile before we get another house (mid to late July hopefully) and the kids will get good at living out of a suitcase in the mean time.  So far they are doing pretty good.  We all have our moments and it just gets overwhelming.  To be expected when you see everything go in a crate and leave.  Then you have to leave and say good bye to so many friends.  What these military kids do so many times is pretty incredible.  This is the first move that Eric really knows what's going on, he was 2 when we left KS.  So there are some tears, which are expected, and lots of excitement about what the summer holds.  We try to keep the routine and schedules as consistent as possible.  It's hard when school is now over, there aren't as many chores to be done, and we are in a hotel.  But it is what it is and we so appreciate everything all our families are doing for us with when we are visiting.  It means the world to us!!

So before the packers came, I cleaned. And I cleaned, and cleaned.  I didn't want dusty, dirty, moldy stuff sitting in creates for 2 months.  Having our windows always open makes things get dirty fast.  Check out the mold that was growing under our ding room chairs!  So gross!

Eric helped by taking out batteries in toys.

Below is what Justin and I were doing one night after the kids went to bed.  Not the most enjoyable way to spend then evening.

Everything gets put in a box and/or wrapped in brown paper.

Caroline loved all the open space to dance and do cartwheels!

We filled 16 of those creates with our stuff.  It took 4 days.

Some times packing (or watching packers) is exhausting and you need a nap.  Miles was there every day as a loyal napping buddy.

Grandaddy and Mimi visit

Grandaddy and Mimi came to visit about 2 weeks ago.  It was just a few days before the packers came to pack up the house.  And unfortunately we put them to work!  They helped take nails out of the walls, helped the kids get their rooms ready by taking the stickers off the walls, dust and take the knickknacks off shelves, and get their clothes packed and out of the way.
We also did a little sight seeing.  We had fun at the Mac Nut farm and then enjoyed a picnic lunch looking out at Chinaman's Hat.  Then we drove back towards town on the Pali highway and stopped at the overlook.  That was also our anniversary (16 years!!) so Grandaddy and Mimi took us all out to dinner that night.
Saturday was busy with the pineapple run that morning that Will rode his bike while Justin and Dad ran the 10K.  We had a scheduled power outage that morning as well so while the boys were running Marie and I cooked breakfast and lunch!  We had all 4 burners and the oven going.  It was like thanksgiving!  We were able to walk to the edge of post near our house and watch all the runners, bikers pass.  We got there in time to see all of them and my friends come by!
After breakfast Eric has his t-ball game, dad and I took Caroline to the clinic to get meds for swimmers ear, and then made it back to see the end of Eric's game.  We came home for lunch then headed out to see Will's football game.  The girls stayed home because I had to get ready for the swim banquet that night.  It ended up being a little hectic.  I was supposed to be in the building by 4 for the event to start at 5.  We didn't get in the building until 4:45!!  We had to get all the tables, chairs, and decorations up for 100 people!  Marie was a huge help getting that organized so I could get other tasks that I needed to get done done.  Saturday was busy!

We watched Sunset after dinner Friday night.

The finishers.  You get a medal, shirt, and pineapple at the race!

Miles was sure happy to see his grandaddy too!  Dad enjoyed Miles as well.

I don't have many pictures from their visit.  You could say we were busy and that would be an understatement.  

Here are some of the pictures from Mimi.  

 Part of the Mac nut farm tour.

 Our picnic spot looking at Chinaman's Hat.

 View from the Pali lookout towards Kailua.

Thanks for coming and being SO very helpful!  We truly did enjoy visiting with you and having you here!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was a fun day even if the weather was not good.  The North Shore hasn't calmed down like it usually has by this point in the year.  Which means it was wavier than it should have been.  It was also cloudy and rained off and on all day.  But we didn't let that stop us from enjoying one of our favorite beaches! The kids had fun jumping off the sand cliff (they've done this before).

 Watching the fish in the river.

 Friends (the Phillips) joined us and the dads and big kids had fun running down the sand and hitting the waves.  It was hilarious to watch them get thrown around and then washed up by the strong waves.  So many laughs!

 The waves were strong enough to knock Ken, whose over 6 feet tall and weighs quite a bit, off his feet!

 Ready, set, run!

They all complained about sore muscles the next couple of days!  Running up soft sand is quite a workout.  Not to mention being beat up by the waves.
We then all went out to eat together at a newish restaurant in Haleiwa.  What a fun day!

8th Theater Sustainment Brigade Ball

Friday night Justin and I went to another ball.  Hawaii likes to have balls and we have been more while stationed here than all over places combined.  At least it feel like it.  This one was at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  We didn't have a view of the Friday night fireworks but it was still a fun evening.

My neighbor came over and took pictures for us.

We didn't stay out late as the next day we had a swim meet, t-ball game, and flag football game.