The rest of Bernie's Trip...

On Thursday, we went to the North Shore. Saw the turtles and checked out the beaches. Then we went to Wahiawa Botantical Gardens. Such a beautiful place! In the afternoon, we drove around Pearl Harbor and Hickam Airforce Base. We took a walk along the shore and the girls played while we waited for Jeff to join us for dinner at the Mongolian BBQ. Imagine our surprise when Jeff called at 5pm from the house! The CO had "threatened" to escort him off the boat by gun point if he stayed any longer! (Thanks Drew!!!) So we all went to dinner. It was a a great evening! Jeff had leave on Friday!!! So we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It was a little windy and cool, but we had a fun. It was Bernie's first time snorkeling. She had a little trouble with the fins but loved it. We stopped at the blow hole on our way home. The wind and the waves made for a great display! On Saturday, we went to Sea Life Park. We hadn't been there before (probably wont go back either). The girls enjoyed it, but I don't think it is worth the price of admission. (Luckily, I bought the tickets at the DSF auction and got a great deal!) Sunday was church and a little relaxing. We went to the Paradise Cove Luau that night. It was a fun evening. Monday Bernie and the girls baked :) Madalyn's favorite thing to do!! I also joined in the fun and made pretzels for the bake sale (85% success rate - not bad for me). The other 15% looked bad, but tasted good :)

Toilet Paper Generosity

Last night we heard Madalyn yell that she needed toilet paper. I asked Amelia to take her a roll. Amelia comes back to the couch and I ask her if she took her some toilet paper. She said "yes, I took her 4 squares". I asked her why she only took her 4 squares. "Because she only uses 3 squares" was her response. Makes perfect sense to me!

Spring Break

Since the last post - Amelia is feeling better. I went with her class on a field trip to the Waikiki Aquarium. They had a great time and Amelia borrowed my camera to take pictures of her friends. On Sunday, I hosted a little party for the wardroom wives. We are planning for the upcoming deployment! Scary how fast that is approaching!

The girls started Spring Break on Monday and Jeff's mom got here on Monday night. Tuesday we went to the Arizona Memorial and KoOlina. I got a little too much sun. The girls had a great time and even slept in this morning. Today we went to the Aloha Swap Meet and then to the Tree Nut Farm. The Tree Nut Farm has an awesome tour! Very entertaining! Jeff has been busy with work and not getting home till after 7pm, but hopefully he will have some time off later this week!

Sick Day

Amelia got up at midnight crying. Her ears were hurting and, of course, there was no tylenol in the house. I tried all the home remedies but nothing helped. Finally turned on the tv at 2am and she watched Sesame Street. She finally agreed to try laying down in her bed at 4am. Lovely night. I went to check on her at 6am and she wanted to go to school. She was actually crying and stomping because I wouldn't let her go to school!! LOL!! So we spent the day home until the doctor's appointment. Double ear infection. She is feeling a little better tonight. Hopefully she sleeps well. Before she went to bed, she said "Don't worry if you hear crying, it's just me and my ears are hurting". Awww, isn't she sweet :)

Keeping Busy!

Wow - a whole week went by without a post! We have been busy - swim lessons, Dolphin Scholarship Auction, school, etc. Now I'm busy getting ready for the pre-deployment meeting. I'm also hosting a party to welcome the new CO's wife this weekend. Jeff's mom gets here on Monday and the girls start Spring Break - so next week is going to be super busy. We will be doing lots of tourist things so it should be fun :)

Weekend...

On Friday, Madalyn's CCD class did the stations of the cross. She was very excited and got dressed up and even let me do her hair! Rare occassion indeed!!! Madalyn was a little nervous but she did a good job with her reading. After that, the church had a supper on the lanai. It was great and everyone had a good evening.

Saturday Jeff went to work in the morning...typical :) He came home at lunch and we went to Elle's birthday party. It was raining off and on all afternoon but the kids had a wonderful time in the bouncy house. They also tried out the Wii Rock Band. Madalyn played the guitar with some help. They came home exhausted!

Sunday was family day :) Amelia had been wanting a football (like all the neighbor boys). Jeff and girls played outside with it. Madalyn was distracted by every leaf, bug, etc. Amelia had a fun time kicking the ball! I had had a photography session at KoOlina. I love that place! It rained on the way to the beach so I was a little concerned, but it ended up being a great afternoon!

Book Club

This Hawaiian cold is kicking my butt. Dang, I just want to be able to breathe!!

Anyways, today was book club. This month we read "The Worst Hard Time". http://www.amazon.com/Worst-Hard-Time-Survived-American/dp/061834697X The genre was historical non-fiction. This wasn't a juicy page turner, but it was still good. A little slow in the beginning, but it got better. I learned a lot about the dust bowl and the great depression. A little scary when you compare it to the current "recession".

March 3rd - Girls Day

I had never heard of "Girls Day" before. My neighbor's husband is the Japanese Liaison and she told me about it. Yesterday, she invited us over for dinner and to show us the girls day decoration. It looks very similar to the second picture on this webpage. http://www.ginkoya.com/pages/girlsday.html Dinner was a new experience for me. We made sushi! There was a wide assortment of food to put inside it - ahi, crab, cucumber, avocado, salmon eggs and other things I don't know the name of!! It was delicious! Amelia tried some sushi but mainly ate the stuff inside it. Madalyn ate the rice, egg and sausage. Yuno shared some Japanese candy :) We also had clam soup, green tea, mochi, and a neopolitan looking dessert (can't remember the name). Another neighbor came to dinner too and his 3 year old son was running around eating the sushi and then later I saw him eating plain seaweed wraps! They are moving to Japan so he should love it!