Hawai'i o3/o9

This post contains the MOST pictures I have ever uploaded to one post, I believe. You may need to sit aside 7 hours to look through this ... but hopefully I can write quick comments to make it a little more 'visually quick'. 

Day 1 - Sunday

We drove to a church building on the other side of the island, on accident. But it was fun! It was an all native ward - well, we were the only visitors at least, so we were 'in the know' if you know what I mean! 

Our view from our Hickam AFB hotel room: the hangers used in Pearl Harbor!

After church, we drove to the Tantalas Street look out, used in an Elvis movie... Blue Hawaii! Now there is a concrete and a fence; in the movie they were free to picnic here:

Handsome Mark striking a handsome pose:
Striped trees!

I had never walked down Waikiki before, so Mark took me for a stroll down the boardwalk: 
Day 2 - Monday

Before going to the base's beach, we drove around the runways that Mark is so used to taxi-ing on. It was fun for him to be able to drive UNDER the planes:

Here's the beach on base. It was netted off, but I still never got in. I know the sharks just love my toes!!

On the way back to our room, we snapped some shots of the bullet holes from Dec. 7th, 1941 that they never fixed. There are plenty of them in the old hangar windows. It's really sombering to see them in such a modern day:

Matsumoto's! Shave Ice is one of Mark's most favorite treats. The line was insane and out the door all day:

Here's Tom Hanks back in the day here at the store. It MUST be yummy.

Oh, it was so good! And so messy! My favorite flavor, was of course, raspberry! yum... And the condensed milk was a sticky sweet topping.

Surf n Sea is a favorite store of some friends of ours. They bring us back the bags and just get so excited to give them away. It's hilarious! But it was a pretty great store.

It was fun driving out to the North Shore, but it was even more fun driving PAST that and out as far as the highway can go before the West side of the island. It was a beautiful time to be there. We couldn't keep going on the road because it would have violated our rental car agreement. boooo....

On the way back from the photo-location above, we passed a YMCA camp on the right side of the road.... think Darma Initiative. I bet an entire dollar that these houses are what they used for Lost!! Look! They even have the same glass shutters as windows, and the same white fences, and the same yellow color:

Day 3 - Tuesday - the burn

Before "the burn" happened, we woke up and drove as far up the highway we could on the West side of the Island. It was a beautiful morning. 

On the way back we noticed this HUGE cave opening. We couldn't tell how far back it went. Mark was the only one that got close enough to see into it. I was claustrophobic just looking at how heavy those rocks were up top. Noooo thank you! I am such a whimp these days! But that's okay with me and the jogger inside.
Then we headed to Bellows Air Force Station. It is a glorious beach, that is almost private. On the day Pearl Harbor was attacked, so was this place. There was a submarine that broke near the sandbar. There were 2 Japanese on board, 1 drowned, and the other, instead of killing himself, he 'shamed himself' according to the Japanese government and surrendered. He later became an American citizen. Smart man. 

Here's where the burning happened. 3.5 hours with no sunblock... no comments about how stupid we were... please! The wind was blowing perfectly. Just enough to pick the waves' mist up and spray our warm skin. It was the perfect temperature...

These little crabs kept us entertained. We would wait until they'd pop out of their holes, scurry around, then see us move and dig lightening fast.

One of their holes. I think it's so funny! They were SO fast. 

Day 4 - Wednesday

With our bad bad bad sunburns, we spent our day under the shelter of shade; the hotel room (we had moved to Waikiki's Hale Koa - a military hotel), the car, restaurants, and TUNNELS:

Only emerging from the car to snap pictures of beautiful blue seas.

This is right before Bellow's AFS comes into view:

Day 5 - Thursday

Still an inside day! Mark woke up earlier than me and snapped this beauty off our deck. Nice job, Mark:

We drove back to Bellows to just 'look'. We sat here for about half an hour before it was too much like torture not being able to expose our burn to the inviting sun. We drove off for more car adventures:
Bellow's beach through the shade trees: 

We drove to the Pali Highway lookout point where the battle of the islands took place 2oo years ago. I would not choose to die that way... by falling off of that rock face. Yikes! But I doubt those people had much of a choice either! We tried to hike down a bit to try to find the waterfalls, but others told us they were all dried up, so we turned around. Then my ankles swelled up. Ew.

We drove around a bit more before heading back to the hotel. We wanted to just live here, right on the road:

Day 6 - Friday

ANOTHER day inside the car, no beach for us. We did pack our suits, just in case. But our burns were still dark red. Se we just messed around with the camera and had fun looking at pretty beaches:

I wonder what they were catching:

We walked around little Waikiki 'villages'. This lilly-pad flower was in a pond at the Hilton Village. How very Parisian. Nevermind.
On the beach that night, we went out to watch the sunset:

Watched a man without a shirt on run around and light the torches:

Then found out that there was going to be a firework's show! So we waited until the sky went darker... and darker...
Then like magic, the booms began!! The baby was JUMPING around inside. He must have not liked the insanely loud noises. It was a pretty show! I guess they do it every Friday.

Day 7 - Saturday

Went out to the Hale Koa's portion of Waikiki. It was not crowded at all yet! It was perfect. And yes, we sat on the beach! WITH sunscreen. Lots. Mark got in and braved all the sharp-toothed critters. 

In the water: parasailing in the far right-background, a breakfast cruise, a pedal boat, snorkelers, and surf-board paddlers (?). I guess it's the 'newest trend' in the surf board world. I would probably like doing it... you could probably see so much!

Here I am, like a whimp, trying not to get burned! Mark was laughing at me. And I'm sure so is my dad right now. I never disappoint!

Then we drove out to the Polynesian Cultural Center to see our friend Nelly dance!! Before the canoe show, we saw some pretty plant life:

Lots of coconuts:

The fire-dancer-famous-hilarious-guy put on a coconut milk show. He is SO witty. And man can he milk a coconut! 

Then we saw this famous palm tree... recognize it from Blue Hawaii?? It's bizarre! It curls, and arches, and turns every which way: 

Mark loving his Elvis-tree:

Us with the famous NELLY!!!

I was so mad that all of my pictures but like 2 were of her back (she's on the far left of the canoe):

So mad because of OLD LADY HAIR!!! They ruined just about every picture I COULD have had... And the old lady on the right had oogly pink huge sunglasses with the play-boy bunny on the sides. Mark said the old bunnies have to be somewhere!! I think I shuddered:

After a nice visit and plate lunch with Nelly we headed to the airport and bid adieu to the lovely warm sands and sky:

Day 8 - Sunday - Volcano Aversion Operation! 

Thanks to the volcano erupting so many times and the winds blowing ash to Anchorage, the airport closed. Flying into the Anchorage area, Mark and I saw clouds like he had never seen before. So I figured, if a pilot had never seen clouds like these before, they must be formed because of the ash particles in the sky. They were darker than others and really whispy and just dusty looking. Pretty incredible!

What a fabulous time! Now I'll have no problem enduring the rest of the winter here. In fact, it's been seeming to warm up as the sun doesn't set until after 9 already! I love Alaskan summers. Hope this took you less than 7 hours to read! 

good to be home

We were lucky to have gotten home! I wouldn't have been so anxious to get home if I didn't think it would be so hard. We flew in only 20 hours later then scheduled. Space-A didn't work out in the end, but same-day tickets sure did! Hurray for great prices. There are countless numbers of people stuck in Seattle b/c of the Anchorage airport being closed because of the volcano eruptions and ash clouds. When we heard we were being diverted to Portland instead of Seattle from Honolulu, we were sad because we wouldn't be able to see my parents, BUT 

:::  At the airport we could keep our plane and it would wait with us... almost like a private jet!

:::  We would be able to get home sooner. 

:::  Mark would be able to fly again sooner (it has been a really long time since he went to Safety School for a month+ in New Mexico - never knew it, huh!? I'm sneaky like that). 

:::  I would be able to sleep in my soft bed sooner (back pain is so wonderful). 

:::  I would be able to finish my quilt sooner (meaning fix my huge mistake sooner - more on that to come). 

:::  We would be able to finish the basement sooner (got an estimate today - we're anxious to begin!)

:::  We could begin the preparations for being parents! Not much time left... it's going to come so fast!

All in all, I'm just glad Mark is now home with me; so I can talk about my ideas out loud without feeling a little nuts, so I can laugh at (yep) and with him, so we can cook together, so we can drive together and I can be the best back seat driver ever. I've missed him over the last month!

20 weeks

So here I am at 20 weeks. This was taken on Monday night, I believe (courtesy of Mark's iphone). Since then, my belly has grown a little more. There have been 2 nights so far in this pregnancy where I have woken up and felt it growing, really!! It's the strangest sensation. It's tightens up and I feel little pulling. I have been able to feel the little boy every now and then and get all excited and shout, "baby!" Mark now knows that it means it's moving.

One worry: yesterday my ankles turned into little cankles!! Is this normal for almost 21 weeks? I'm a tad nervous... maybe it's all the restaurant salty foods and the little hike we tried yesterday. We met a guy in a gallery (who ended up making a commission... but that's another story yet to come) who's wife went into labor at 26 weeks and he said they caught it at just a 'regular check up'. But he said she was all swollen!! So you bloggity-mothers out there, tell me it's not a bad sign to get some swelling this early?!

So anyway, here's the picture I promised!! I better get back to Hawaii-ing.

Anyone hear about Redoubt erupting?? We might not get home on schedule...

bring on the heat!

Tonight we pack. 

Tomorrow we fly. 

We are trying to get here: Oahu, HI. We're flying Space A, a military perk to fly from place to place without spending money on transportation. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't! So if we only end up in California, I will still be happy because they have BEACHES! 

I'm taking: capris, t-shirts, swimsuits, camera, flip-flops, cell phone (because I have to), and a book

I'm leaving: ipod, computer, television (because I normally just tote this everywhere), sweaters, and snow
*pooch pictures ARE coming... Mark will just have to take them while my toes are nestled in the warm sand. EEEEE!

little bitty boy

A baby with a stinkin' cute foot like this:

and a sleepy little profile like that:

he must be a little boy!! For the little guy's privacy reasons, I'll refrain from putting his embarrassingly exposed picture up. But we are 100% certain this little hooligan is a little boy! I think he'll be just like Mark was when he was a toddler; walking around the house in nothing but boots and a cowboy hat! 

My Grandpa Barrett just said we will need to call him Wyatt Earp. oo! I do like the name Wyatt, though... 

Now begins the name game. You should hear what Mark comes up with!

Stats: 

19.3 weeks along today

16 Aug due date (Mark's birthday!)

*bump picture coming soon

Bon Voyage!

photo credit: .sunday. by punkinmom {caroline}

My friend had this on her blog and since I had some free time (woohoo!) I decided to give it a try. If I were to have a band, this would be my album cover, according to these steps. Give it a try!

See how my little sister's turned out. Pretty artsy-tartsy. That's right. Tartsy. 

1. Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2. Go to Quotations Page and select “random quotations”
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last few words of the last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3. Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4. Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

doldrums

Buckwheat is trying to outlast winter. 

bad bug

This week, I had a plan. I was going to work/temp(?) for 3 days at the clinic: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. 

Thursday I was going to stay home from quilting so I could finish my service auction frames. Thursday night I was going to attend the Relief Society service auction, enjoy dinner, and come home with something fabulous. 

Saturday, today, I was going to go buy a couple little maternity shirts, grocery shop, wash the cars, and fill them both up with gas. Then I was going to attend the Adult Session of Stake Conference. 

Instead, these last 2.5 days I have been incapacitated with a huge, ugly cold. Chills, fever, 'getting sick', congestion (nasal and chest), big stabbing headache with loud noises, bright lights, and sharp eye glances (sounds odd, I know), big cough, and just plain misery!! 

At least it's pretty outside and my neighbor finally drove his diesel truck away (they keep it running for at LEAST 45 minutes before driving away, which means my house fills up with the deadly fumes), and little Buckwheat is curled up by my feet. 

I hope today ends better then yesterday, and I feel a little better. I just wanted to complain to someone - so my blog won. 

Stay healthy, everyone!!

story from a vet

There was a gentlman I just checked out (I'm temping at the clinic this week) that had a Veteran's hat with a clip-on-metal and lots of ribbons. The wars listed were WWII, Korean and Vietnam. I had to ask.

He said he was actually in 4 wars, and he then started in on a little story. Here it is:

He was a bomber pilot in the Korean war, waiting for the moon to come out before they began their flight over the rice patties. Lying on the wing of his plane, his buddy gave him a stick of gum to help pass the time.

An hour and a half later his plane was shot and destroyed. While the plane was going down they all jumped with parachutes and survived (he left out the rest of the story, there was sadly a line of patients growing).

He said he's never chewed gum since, and he's also never been shot down since. So it must be working.

the graduate

I can now proudly say that I am one of the newest graduates from the University of Phoenix Online Campus. It feels wonderful. And I'm sure it will feel even more so as it continues to set in, and as I spend much less time with this: 

While I do love my computer, it will be very nice for both my fingers and my pup that pouts every time he hears the little 'start up click'... yes, he pouts! For the entire 3 years of marriage, Mark has been married to a student. Now he will be married to a Jayci. Congratulations, Mark!!

so nice

I just ran out to beat the mail man to my box. I was going to be late on a bill if it didn't get today (Mark, I miss you!). We made it to the box at the same time, and right when I slipped my envelopes into the outgoing slot, the mail man stepped out of his chain-tired truck and said, "Let me guess his name, Toto?" I said, "YES!" (just trying to be funny, haw haw). He held out a milk bone (Buckwheat has never really loved them), but Buckwheat stood to reach it, gently took it from the mail man and booked it back to the house where he could eat it. I said, "Thank you!" and let Buckers pull me on home with his 9 pounds of horse power. 

Then I noticed a suburban parked in front of my house with two women from the ward inside. I hurried and tried to look presentable incase they came to the front door. Then I noticed Brandon, one of their sons with a snow shovel. They drove off thinking I never saw them. 

So many  nice people!!  

wrap it up

Thai Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps: 

When I was a sophomore and roommates with Jordan, our friend Mauri came over (then I didn't know her too well - seems so long ago!) and they were making dinner together. Mauri had come up with a little idea for chicken lettuce wraps. 

I took notes, and have made them a few times. If you're interested, here is... 

what you need: 

iceberg lettuce 

cooked chicken (of course)

Peanut Sauce (I use Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce-mmm)

optional:

mandarin oranges 

water chestnuts

peanuts 

happy things

While I'm dreaming of summer time and fresh grapes, my pup still comes in from the outdoors looking like this: 

because he likes to do things like this: 

and this picture, I just wish had turned out clearly, it just makes me laugh:

Tessa! these are for you. He's still due for that de-wookie-ing haircut.