Makapuu - my first clue!

I have the coolest story to share :) My sissy Tori was here in Hawaii a few weeks ago visiting a friend ~ and she did the coolest thing for me while she was here. If you know Tori, you know she's sporty and outdoorsy and adventurous, to name a few ;) So it was no surprise she climbed like every lookout here, and hiked up every trail just about. But what did surprise me was a "clue" she gave me when she got home. A what? And not only was it a puzzling "clue," but it was also written in a poem. Apparantly, she had left me clues all over the island, in VERY hard to reach places ~ sort of like my very own Amazing Race! How fun! She even built in rewards along the way. She knew this was just the motivation I needed to get out there and enjoy Hawaii, as well as get in shape and lose weight along the way. Here's my first poem she gave me while we were still at home:

Begin your journey,
and we'lll change who we are
you're going to have to try
and you'll have to go pretty far.

I've left you many prizes
and difficulties too
but know that I did this
because I love you.

Use your map and note
there are changes you will see
first go up Makapuu
your first journey there with me.

Go up towards the lighthouse
by the steps you'll see
a bush - 3 rocks behind it
reach between them, more rocks - 3

Find it, find it,
where will it lead?
See if you can't show the world
how beautiful are thee!

I'm tearing up just reading that again. My family is so wonderful, they believe in me! Anyways, so it took me a few weeks to get up there, with Bryan's crazy work schedule and all, but Thursday last week I said that's it, I'm going. I even dragged poor Bubby up this "mountain." Believe me when I say, when you're as out of shape as I am, it's a mountain. Some may call it a hill. Not this girl. :)

So here's Bubby and I before we started, safe and sound in the parking lot:

From Makapuu Lookout

Yup, that's the "hill" we have to climb.

From Makapuu Lookout

About oh, a hundred feet up I thought, now why can't we just cut through the valley and go to the beach? :)

From Makapuu Lookout

I was outta breath here and we're not even halfway up :(

From Makapuu Lookout

Still don't think it's high? Can you find our Trailblazer? Yep, all the way in the back. Looks small, huh?

From Makapuu Lookout

The views kept getting better and better...

From Makapuu Lookout

I would have liked to get closer for better pictures, but didn't dare with Bubby in tow...

From Makapuu Lookout

Nothin' like eating your goldfish on the side of a mountain, kicked back in your stroller! Don't worry, we look closer than we really were to the edge...I promise I wouldn't let Bubby fall!

From Makapuu Lookout

I didn't know cacti grew in Hawaii, did you?

From Makapuu Lookout

A cute lookout trail/hut ~ I thought the trail ended here. Oohhh baby was I wrong.

From Makapuu Lookout

Yay, Bubby and I are .... halfway?! Are you kidding? That's it?!

From Makapuu Lookout

A little island off in the distance

From Makapuu Lookout

Sorry for the dumb self portrait, but YAY!!! We made it!!! Look at that water...

From Makapuu Lookout

Sorry again for the silliness ~ I was so proud of myself!

From Makapuu Lookout

Now here's where it go tricky...."by the steps, you will see a bush, behind it 3 rocks, 3" remember? Yah well there were a lot of rocks and bushes :) So after a few moments, I got a hold of my sis (who knew that Sprint had service on top of that hill!) and she described them to me. And when I found my next clue, safe and snug in it's double baggie underneath 3 rocks, I was so ecstatic. Kind of like the Goonies :) It's like finding a hidden treasure! People around me probably thought I was nuts, digging in rocks and jumping up and down. So anyways, here's a very sweaty me with my second clue:

From Makapuu Lookout

So after a quick break to catch my breath, Bubby and I headed back down the path. We even saw a few whales out in the water! Sorry, no pictures. My blankety blank camera....anyways, we did see Molo'kai out in the distance. If you look closely, you can too. And a huge rain cloud, coming right at us. That was weird to see it out on the water...anyways, needless to say we hoofed it down faster that we went up! :)

From Makapuu Lookout

So that was the first leg of my Amazing Race. What did my second note say?

You've come so far
now look around.
Leave the old you
back on the ground.

Back to the main road
then right you go,
all the way to Waimanalo.

There's a big crooked tree
then a tiny sign
at the orchid place
That's what you must find.

She is so creative! Wanna know if I made it to the orchid place? Stay tuned! :)
Thanks again sissy ~ I love you! xo

Wai-KIKI!

I saw another blogger's post today about their dog, and of course it made me miss mine :( Did you know we named Kiki way before we had her? When we were here in Hawaii on our honeymoon, I joking said to Bryan "if we ever get a dog, let's name it Kiki, like Wai-kiki!" I never thought he'd go for it. But he did. And when we picked that perfect pup up from the pound, she looked right into our eyes and hearts, and thus became Kiki. She even responded to her name right from the start.

I watched Marley and Me before we left IL with a girlfriend and I had to chuckle. Marley's got nothin' on Kiki. As far as eating couches go: Marley = 1, Kiki = 2. Ha ha! We miss her bunches and bunches, but know she's in good hands and lovin' the country life out on the farm! But every time we see a pooch down on the beach, my heart breaks for her. She even sent us (with some help from Gramma and Grandpa) a cute Valentine's Day card, complete with a song "Ain't Too Proud To Beg." How appropriate. :) Here she is, sleeping on our clothes on Moving Day, as if to say please don't go!

We'll see you soon Kookie ~ we love and miss you! Be a good girl and take care of Grandpa and Gramma for us! xoxo

Bellows AFB

After Sea Life Park last Monday, we decided to hit up Bellows Air Force Base, just a few miles down the road. It's a beautiful stretch of white sand beach (don't hate us too much) and the surf is fairly gentle. The water is so blue, it just takes your breath away. We're on the northwestern side of the island (leeward), and this beach is on the southeastern side of the island (windward).

I guess they have cabins there you can rent on the beach (strictly for military I've heard, so that's nice.) It's just gorgeous...Noah of course ran around on the sand, free as a bird. He just loves the water ~ we had to keep a close eye on him that day because the waves were fairly rough. He's just absolutely fearless, which is a good and a bad thing all in one. :) Needless to say, he crashed out like a rock when we got home that night :) Bryan and I took turns going out to the bigger waves, and when Bryan was gone, Noah kept saying "oh, no! Where my daddy?" He puts his little hands on his cheeks (think of the cute kid in Home Alone) and was so worried, he kept saying "oh no! My daddy!" Way too cute. Did he ask about me you say, when it was my turn? Nope :) All the love's for Daddy it seems.


Best "action" shot I could get of the lil' man on the loose...

Jenny and Jenny ~ new Army wife friends! :)

I'll add more later on after the hubs goes to work ~ I hope you all had a great weekend and hope to hear from you all soon! Lots of love! xo

Sea Life Park!

Well, since Hanauma Bay was closed, we drove a little further down the most gorgeous stretch of road along the ocean and came across Sea Life Park. Have you ever seen 50 First Dates? It's one of my favorites...anyways, that's where Adam Sandler worked in the movie! It's Hawaii's teeny tiny version of Sea World, minus Shamu :) So we stopped with our friends (Matt, Jenny, Adam and Alex) and decided to give it a try. We had a ball ~ the boys loved watching the Sea Lion's "Beauty Pageant," where they showed off their "talents." Haha!

Then Noah watched the turtles ~ one of his new favorites ~ he kept signing "more, more! More turtles, pees?" Which means, please can I go in and swim with them? Please momma? We had to drag him from the wall, kicking and screaming...


Then Adam and Noah actually got to pet one of the baby turtles, only 8 weeks old...

...and finally we watched the dolphin show, always my favorite. They're just so beautiful! Noah kept squealing, "fishyyyyyy! Fishyyyyyyy!" :)


Maybe he'll be a marine biologist something-or-another since he loves the water and apparantly the "fish" so much. Wonder what that kind of education costs...

Noah's first How-To...

. . . put on Daddy's snorkling gear! We were trying to get ready for Hanauma Bay (pronounced Ha-na-ooma Bay, I was corrected by a local, and am working very hard at pronouning the 12 letters in the Hawaiian alphabet!) We didn't end up getting to go because the park was full, but that's another story. Enjoy your tutorial! ;)

Step 1 ~ Put mask on your face. Not necessarily your nose :)



Step 2 ~ Listen very, very closely to see if you can hear the ocean in the snorkle tube. Shhh.....



Step 3 ~ Now try and breath through the tube, while pressing it on your belly...



Step 4 ~ Now put the flippers on your feet ~ this could take a while, especially if your hands are chubby like mine...



Step 5 ~ lift both your legs up and down and yell hi-yayayayaya at the top of your lungs. And that's how your snorkle, Noah style :)

Catching up...

Sorry it's been a few days since I've posted. I'll try to catch up to date while my "men" take a nap.

It's been a crazy week here at room 1058, our "home" for only 11 more days!! :) But who's counting...

Let's see ~ Bryan started work with his unit this week, after two weeks of in-processing. This week they are on mid-shifts, which means P.T. from 5-6 p.m., and work from 8 p.m. - 6 a.m. Crazy! So he's been sleeping during the day, and Noah and I hightail it outta here to give him some quiet space. So what do we do during the day, you might ask? Well, we frequent the park down the road . . .

We jump in the puddles outside our room . . .

and just hang out soaking up the sunshine. This tree is just his height! :)

Hale'iwa

...is a cute little town up by the military reservation where we are going to be living. It's got a historic downtown, tons of cute restaurants/shops (which you all know I love!), and is just a nice getaway from the hustle and bustle of the "concrete jungle" (which you all know I don't love!) We've driven out there a few times, and I managed to snap a few pictures this time ~ Bryan wasn't very happy with my picture-taking-happiness but I want to remember everything we do, you know? So I compromised and only snapped oh, twenty or so ;) Here's a few of the ones that came out ~ Noah loves throwing rocks into the water, so this was a perfect beach for that! Enjoy! :)

Jen

From Hale'iwa

From Hale'iwa

From Hale'iwa

From Hale'iwa

From Hale'iwa

From Hale'iwa

From Hale'iwa

From Hale'iwa

From Hale'iwa

Lil' big man...

Noah is growing up so fast ~ I know every parent says that ~ but this past week it's dawned on me several times that he is not my little butterball baby anymore :( He's a happy, healthy, adorable, thriving and very active little man, whom dozens of people love and adore. What more could a momma want for her child? :) I talked to my parents the other day who commented how tall he's gotten in just these three short weeks ~ and they are right! His little legs and arms are looking more like a little boy, and with his blonde curly mop he's definitely as tall as any 3 year old we've seen or played with at the park! We always joke he's going to be a big linebacker when he grows up. For the Bears, of course ;)

One of those a-ha moments came a couple of nights ago when we were outside playing in the courtyard at our hotel (by the way, we're halfway done! Three weeks in, three weeks to go! :) Noah and Bryan were running around, and a couple of big boys (I'd say probably 8 or 9) were also running around with their Nerf guns. Noah was so adorable, he saw them and walked VERY slowly up to them, sidestepping almost ~ and when he got up to them, he said really softly "Please? Play?" I was afraid they'd run away from him, or ignore him, but they didn't. They all stopped and said "sure, you can play!" It melted my heart. They taught him how to load the "bullets" and shoot. They even shot towards the sky so it was "raining." He got the biggest kick out of that ~ and I got a glimpse into the boy that he's becoming. They didn't have to stop for him, and they certainly didn't have to share their toys. Such sweet kids. The funny thing was, you can tell their daddys are military because they were playing snipers ~ and using lingo even I didn't understand ;)

Otherwise, not much has been going on this week ~ Bryan had to work two 24-hour shifts so we haven't seen him much in between sleeping :( But our new friends moved into their house on Friday so they took pity on Noah and I and made us spaghetti for Valentine's Day last night :) Noah had a ball running up and down their stairs ~ and I liked that he was exhausted and fell right asleep ;) Haha! We're hoping Bryan has tomorrow off so we can go snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. I bought him a snorkel set for Valentine's Day ~ it's his new hobby.

Well, that's the update for now ~ here's some pics for you to enjoy ~ we love and miss you all! Happy Valentine's Day!

xoxo,
Jen

P.S. ~ I put in my bday as the day we would come home, and it said 100 days! :) Yay, that's not too long! We're still not sure the exact date, a lot will depend on if Bryan gets the time off or not...

One small step...

for me, one giant size down! YAY!!!! :) I went to Old Navy tonight to get something cute to wear for playdate tomorrow (I know I'm weird :) and I thought okay, I think I've lost some weight, but I don't know how much ~ so I braved the fitting room and tried on the next lowest size, JUST for fun :) And guess what?! IT FITS!!! Not even tight!!! Oh my goodness, I am STOKED! :) I want to set a good example for my baby boy and also change my lifestyle/eating habits. I guess walking around the post has helped, huh? Yay! Just wanted to share that! So not only did I get a cute outfit, I got a good confidence boost. :)

We're settling into somewhat of a routine here at the hotel ~ Bryan getting up early for PT, and Noah and I going to play with our new friends Jenny, Adam and Alex. We feel very blessed to have met such great friends after such a short while. We've been playing at the park, walking up to the PX, and going to the beach! :) I've got a few pics from our trip to Waikiki with our friends this weekend ~ Noah would NOT play with sand toys at all, he walked straight to the water and plopped himself down! :) Too cute! I bought him a new rashguard shirt and trunks before we left ~ and the trunks don't fit already!?! So sorry, the pics are of him in his soggy diaper :) Oh well, he had fun! He sat there the entire few hours we were there and threw rocks that kept coming in with the surf. Who needs water toys when you have ocean rocks? :) We topped it off and walked to Planet Hollywood ~ a very relaxing end to a fun filled day! Love and miss you all, hope you have a fabulous week!

Jen

McDonalds!

We made two trips to the great Playland by our house before the move to play with friends ~ first with Ruth, Nathan, Julie and Lisa; and second with Emma and Brenda. Noah had bunches of fun, but he was more content to sit on Ronald's lap, lean back, and put his head in his hands. Too cute! :) This is one of those kid traditions I've been looking forward too ~ having fun at McDonalds. Just not too often ;)

From McDonalds

From McDonalds

From McDonalds

From McDonalds

From McDonalds