Swimming with the Fishes

Andrew's preschool took a field trip to the Waikiki Aquarium. I was one of the chaperones, and it was pretty fun. We watched a movie about the coral reef and learned how to take care of our ocean. Andrew really liked the giant grouper and reef sharks.

Here we are at the touch pool. Andrew liked the sea anemone and the baby hermit crab. He wouldn't touch the crab, but said "Mommy, you hold it." I was brave and let the crab crawl all over my hand.

Ever Leave the House Feeling Like You are Missing Something?

Fair Winds and Following Seas

As sad as it is to say goodbye, there is a great sense of relief knowing that now we can just look forward to the boat's return. Knowing that the boat is leaving puts a cloud over everything, and it feels like we have been dreading this deployment for a year. I am sad, and a little lonely, but mostly relieved that each week is a week closer to homecoming.

















































After we waved and got our cries out, the ward room families came back to my house for dinner and ice cream sundaes. There were kids everywhere, and they were all sugared up on ice cream sundaes. Andrew loved the chaos, and I tried to remain calm. I drank a margarita or seven, and that made it all better.

Post-party low. Time for bed.

Open Up and Say Ahhhh

It was Andrew's very first dentist appointment and he was a bit nervous.
Mostly, he was excited to sit in the special chair that goes up and down.

Hooray for Andrew! He proudly pronouced, "I did it! Do I get a special prize?" The dentist gave him a new toothbrush and some floss. Andrew then got a puzzled look on his face and said, "No, where is my special prize??" Good thing Mommy had a sticker in her purse. Hee hee. Later in the day, Andrew smiled and said, "Mommy, I have 20 teeth."

Best Weekend Ever

Its been a really long time since we've had 48 hours of uninterrupted family time. It was beautiful, peaceful, fun, happy, silly, adventurous, and way way overdue. We began the weekend with a drive to the westernmost part of the island. We drove the jeep all the way to end of the road...the road actually turned into beach. It was quiet and the drive was gorgeous.

Andrew asked Daddy for ice cream,
and who could say no to this face?

We lounged around the house a bit and took Daddy to our favorite playground.

The theme of the weekend was "roll with the flow"

Monkey see, Andrew do.

Daddy told us to get all dressed up.
We went on a family date night.










Andrew LOVES Japanese food.
We had so much fun at dinner.

We did our best to squeeze every possible second
out of a fabulous family weekend and it was a great success.
We love you, Daddy.

There's No Place Like Home

Though it was a quick trip, we squeezed in as much family time as possible. Andrew got to play with his cousins, spend time with his Granny, his Papa and his Grandma, and we watched Uncle Jordan graduate from UVa. It was a really nice week, and we can't wait to come back in a few months. I've already blocked the emotionally scarring airplane trip from memory.

Andrew had an especially fun time with his Uncle George. Andrew liked UG's jokes, and is still asking me, "Who took my juice???"

It's family tradition to blend the mashed potatoes at turbo speed and watch the potatoes hit the ceiling. Yes, this is the Polish side of my family (no comments, please). Usually, George volunteers for this duty, but since he didn't get to make this trip, my dad blended in his honor. Here ya go, George. This potato is for you!

Here he is-- the Graduate.

One day, little boy... one day.

Dr. Doolittle Cleans House

Andrew's class has been talking about what they wanted to be when they grew up and I read the bulletin board to see what the other kids wanted to be. The little girl with a stay-at-home dad wants to be "a rainbow." Another little girl wanted to be "a big elephant." Andrew told his teacher that he wanted to be "a race car driver." Miss Dinah agreed that it would be a good fit. The morning of dress up, I asked Andrew what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he told me he wanted to be "a monkey." Well, I didn't have a monkey suit, but I did have an old dress shirt and a stethoscope... ta-dah! Meet Dr. Doolittle.

When Dr. Doolittle got home from school, he helped his maid-- I mean his mom-- clean the kitchen. What a great helper!

East Coast Howells Visit the Rock

Aunt James planned a super secret vacation of a lifetime and Uncle Bean was able to celebrate his 30th birthday island style. It was really nice to spend some quality time with the East Coast Howells.

We know J & B enjoyed their couples-only bonding time together, and we enjoyed adults' night out. Can't wait to spend some more family togetherness time in August!

Nene Bird Arrives with her Flock

Nene arrived with Aunt Georgia and "Crazy" Uncle Dick, and we had an exciting visit. Uncle Dick survived a surfing "incident" at Waikiki including a trip to the surf hospital conveniently located on the beach, and also thought it would be fun to fling himself out of an airplane high above the North Shore. Aunt Georgia and Nene chose a slightly different vacation style, and lounged at the beach and chased Mr. Andrew all around the town.

Uncle Dick taught Andrew that jumping out of airplanes is a normal way to spend the day, and also taught him some exercises to stay fit.

Andrew had a great time having an audience for his shennanigans.

Andrew took Nene and Aunt Georgia to the zoo and met Nene's namesake-- the Hawaiian Nene Bird. Apparently, the Nene bird is quite vicious. No comment.

We had such a great visit.
Thanks for traveling so far to spend time with us!

Can't wait to see ya'll in August. Miss you already.

The Easter Bunny Hopped to Hawaii

Meet the Hawaiian Easter Bunny.

Nene & Aunt Georgia helped Andrew look for eggs.

The Easter Bunny filled eggs with jelly beans and peeps.
Andrew was a little excited about this.

Here is video of waking up Easter morning.

Poor Nene... Andrew woke her up at about 6am every morning.
No sleeping late in this house.
We miss you already, Nene, Aunt Georgia & Uncle Dick.