Our December Adventure

Its been almost 3 weeks since I have updated the blog and I can't believe the month has sped past me this quickly already.  Between Kyle spending the first few days of the month in Missouri, numerous holiday parties, shopping, and a concert, there were very few free days in December.  Now time to catch up.

On the 17th, the USO put together a Seether concert here on base.  The band put on a fantastic concert.  At least I thought they did....Alec fell asleep at the beginnning of the performance.  Just in case any of you don't know what kind of music Seether plays, it is hard rock.  How Alec managed to sleep through their concert I will never know.  I can't get him to fall asleep here at home before 11pm, but put us outside at a concert and he's out by 730pm. 

All smiles after his hour long nap

After the concert was over the kids ran off some extra energy as everyone cleared out.  The band came out and started signing autographs so we went over to meet a few of them.  We managed to get behind the fence thanks to Kyle and we met all the band members.  They were all extremely welcoming and we actually spent a little bit of time getting to know all of them.  It was a really cool once in a lifetime experience.  We even got to go in their trailer and get a photo with the whole band.  The kids also made out with a bunch of chips and candy that the lead singer, Shaun, gave them.  That definitely made the concert that much better for the kids.  We all had a really good time.

Us and the drummer John and his wife

Us and guitarist Troy

The whole band

Standing on the steps to the stage

All the loot the kids got from the band

The following weekend Kyle and I went out Christmas shopping.  Because we were so busy earlier in the month this was the first trip we had been able to make.  What a mistake that was.  Honolulu the weekend before Christmas is something I do not want to experience again.  The shopping wasn't completely terrible.  We did have to stand in line for about 20 minutes at Ross but that was the longest.  The nightmare was the traffic.  What should have been a 20 minute drive home became a 20 minute parking lot on the same road.  We will definitely space our shopping out a little better next year.  Our shopping paid off however with extremely happy faces on Christmas.  We were also able to share a bit of our Christmas morning with part of the family thanks to Skype and our four hour time difference.  We turned on Skype so that everyone at my dad's were able to watch the present opening madness unfold live for them.  Its been a couple years since we have been able to spend Christmas with them so it was really nice to be able to do that.  Plus I think it was a win win.  We could spend Christmas morning with them but still have our nice warm, non snowy weather here in Hawaii.  I will pass on the snow any day. 

The Christmas spread

Alec was tryin hard not to get in the way of my photo :)

Waiting patiently to open his next gift

Using teamwork to open a present for both of them

Makin some music

Building a Knex dinosaur together

This took me over an hour to complete...but at least she loves it :)

The week will be pretty quiet since Kyle is on call 4 out of the next 6 days.  We will be spending the remaining week relaxing until Alec starts school next Tuesday.  I am off school for the next two weeks and I will be taking advantage of it.  This upcoming semester is going to be pretty brutal.  Hope you all enjoy your new years celebrations.  Think of us when you cross into 2011 while we are still in 2010!

Holiday Fun

Well it seems over the past few weeks I have found my inner holiday spirit.  Two weeks ago we had a very nice group Thanksgiving dinner with Kyle's coworkers and their families.  The food and company was fantastic.  It was a nice substitute for not being able to celebrate with the family.

Just a few days after Thanksgiving Kyle headed to Missouri for a week long school.  He got to spend some time visiting his family as well.  I am glad he got to spend that time but we are also glad to have him home.  While he was away the kids and I kept busy.  I am finishing my last couple of weeks of school so that always keeps me busy.  The kids and I also spent time making paper chains to decorate their rooms.  This was the first time we have ever done this and we enjoyed it.

Cutting the strips

She didn't quite grasp how to cut along the lines :)

Hailey and her paper chain

Hard at work

   The kids and I also watched some of the Christmas classics.  We watched The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Shrek the Halls, and Santa Claus is Comin to Town.  This is the first year they were both interested in watching the movies all the way through.  Hailey was very animated while watching and I think I had more fun watching them watch the movie than watching it myself. 

This week we have managed to finish getting the tree up.  This proved to be more of a challenge then I thought since we had to replace some light strands and then go get even more when we ran out.  In the end the tree is up and decorated and looks beautiful. 

Me and my munchkins

One of our best photos

My favorite picture

We still have several activities coming up this month.  There are various Christmas parties and of course some shopping as well.  Next week the kids and I are going to make and decorate some sugar cookies for the holiday season.  There are so many things to do and Christmas is fast approaching.  I will continue to keep everyone up to date.  Merry Christmas!

Busy Weekend

This weekend we had a lot to do.  On Friday we had some people over for our first barbeque at the house.  It was nice to have people come over to our house for the first time.  On Saturday we went to a our friends' daughter's first birthday party.  Before we went to the party though we decided to get Hailey's hair cut.  I had been letting it grow out for a long time and while it was beautiful, she never let me put it in a ponytail so it got in the way all the time.  So here is the before....

Length from the back

Sweet girl before

This was all the hair on the floor during the haircut...

Thats a lot of hair!

And now the big reveal!...

Hailey's cute little bob

Big length difference in the back

She really loves her new haircut since it is much easier to brush and wash.  On Sunday we went to see the new Harry Potter movie.  We had a good time as a family seeing the movie.  We spent a fun day on Sunday hanging out as a family.

This week we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving with some of the guys Kyle works with and their families.  It will be a nice way to celebrate a big family Thanksgiving even though we can't be with our families.  Plus I only have to cook one dish!  After this week we are going to be moving on to Christmas decorating and hopefully I can get more into the holiday spirit.  Over the next couple weeks I will finish up my classes as well and get a much appreciated 4 week break before I start 4 new courses. 

Well thats all for now.  Hopefully next week I will have some photos from Thanksgiving for everyone. 

Marine Corps Ball

This past week we had our Marine Corps Ball at Ko'Olina Resort which about an hour away from where we live.  It was a beautiful resort and we had a great time with everyone.  We rode in a limo with two other couples out there which was a lot of fun.  We always look forward to the Ball as a way to spend some time together and celebrate the Marine Corps birthday.    We had a really great time but it takes a lot of preparation so I am glad there is another year before another one.

Riding in the limo

Me and Vera

Our whole group

Us with Gunner and Jamie

Now that the Ball is over we move onto thinking about the holidays.  I am finding it a little hard to get into the holiday mood.  I think it will take a little time to get used to it being so warm here around the holidays.  Even though I don't like the cold and snow, those things actually make it feel like the holidays are coming.  Hopefully once I get my decorations up it will feel a little more like Christmas time.  I think it will take a lot of decorations, music, and baking to make it feel like Christmas around here. 

Halloween

Last week I went to an awards ceremony at Alec's school where he received the citizenship award in his class.  Only three awards are given a month in each class so it was quite an honor for him to get one of them.  There wasn't a lot of explanation about what the citizenship award was for but we are proud either way.

Alec getting his award from his teacher

The first one on stage

 Also this weekend was all of our Halloween festivities.  We went to a Halloween party which was pretty fun.  There were other kids there that dressed up but not too many adults dressed up.  The kids favorite part of the weekend was trick or treating.  There were so many kids out trick or treating and a ton of parents that were dressed up too!  The kids and I went out to collect candy while Kyle stayed at the house to pass out candy to all the trick or treaters.  The kids had a great time and so did we. 

Snow White and a Vampire

Speeding from house to house

Little Dracula

Now that Halloween is over it is time to think about Thanksgiving and Christmas.  First though Kyle and I are going to the Marine Corps Ball on November 10th.  We always have a great time there.  I can't believe that the year is almost over, but we still have so much to get through first. 

Diamond Head Crater

This weekend we went and hiked Diamond Head Crater in Waikiki.  It was only a 1 1/2 mile long hike round trip but it was challenging!  It is very steep but we all managed to make it to the top.  Seeing the view of Waikiki on one side and Hawaii Kai on the other was completely worth the hike.  It was such a spectacular panoramic view.  We had a really good time and I would like to do it again in the future.

Looking into the Crater from the trail

Inside the Crater

Waikiki from the observation deck

Diamond Head lighthouse down below

 
The rest of our weekend was relatively quiet.  Hailey wasn't feeling great so we just relaxed at the house and watched football.  We are getting acclimated to the area and there is still so much for us to do.  We look forward to exploring more of the island as the the year goes on. 

School, School, School...and a little sightseeing

I have gotten behind on my blog for a number of reasons.  Between having problems of and on for a week with my internet, Alec having a week off of school for his fall intersession, and gearing up for school to start for myself I have been pretty busy.

Two weekends ago we decided to go to Pearl Harbor and see the Arizona Memorial.  It was interesting to see where World War II began for the U.S.  There are still several other monuments for us to visit in Pearl Harbor but we figured we would spread it out since we have plenty of time here.

Looking through a periscope

From the ferry

Just a section of the wall containing the names of every man lost on the USS Arizona

Part of the ship sticking up out of the water

  After we left the memorial we went to the Pali Lookout which is a historical marker off the Pali Highway.  You can see our side of the island from that point.  It was much cooler up there and much windier since it was up in the mountains.  It was pretty breathtaking to look at though. 

Looking Down on Kailua

Kaneohe and Coconut Island (which was part of the opening credits for Gilligan's Island )

Entrance to Pali Lookout

Alec was off school for the entire week last week.  His school is considered year round, though I can't yet figure out how it is different than traditional schedules, so he got a week off for his fall intersession.  He got bored often and bickered with Hailey as they are not used to seeing so much of one another recently.  We did accomplish one important thing while he was off and that was that he learned to tie his shoes!  While that doesn't seem like much, he has struggled to not get frustrated while trying to learn to tie them and would simplly give up.  It was nice to see such glee and sense of accomplishment on his face when he finally did get it though.  Kyle and I are very proud of him.  He is back to school now and has a field trip tomorrow to a pumpkin patch. 

Speaking of being back to school, the fall semester started up for me today.  I am taking three courses.  There was a lot of confusion and a last minute cancellation for one of my courses but after everything I am taking Intro to Ethics, Developmental Psychology, and funny enough, Fit and Well for Life which is there form of an online P.E. class.  All three are only 8 weeks long but cover the same material as 16 week courses so that should keep my busy until mid December. 

This weekend we plan on hiking at Diamond Head Crater so we are all looking forward to that.  That should lead to plenty of pictures and good stories for the blog.