MGB

You might have noticed from my ticker counter that we have been in Hawaii for 2 months, 2 weeks and 5 days. That's also how long it took us to register the MG! Recap:

To register a car in Hawaii (you are required to do so within 30 days) you must:
1. Obtain a "non-resident military form" from your command
2. Update your insurance policy to Hawaii no-fault AND have your insurance card printed on special watermarked paper from a local agency
3. Have your car safety inspected
4. Produce all of the above paperwork PLUS your shipping documents, old registration, address of lien company or title, power of attorney and $20.50 cash at your friendly DMV.
5. Get your registration and go BACK to the same safety inspection station for your sticker

UNLESS...

Your car is an "older" car with a "short" VIN number and then you will be turned away with said documents to also

6. Get your car weighed at a certified weigh station

7. Have your car "vin verified" by ONE place on the whole island (that is not very good at returning phone calls by the way

UNLESS...

You discover the night before the vin verification that when your car was restored that the vin plates were removed and are in your household goods shipment which you don't have because you aren't moving into your house for another month. (By the way, don't bother driving back to the DMV with this story to see if you can extend the 30 day temporary registration because in a word the answer is NO)

Ok, you are getting the gist. Found the vin plates, got the inspection, realized the military non-resident form and the safety inspection have expired by now. Re-do both, go back to the DMV, obtain registration, go back to the safety inspection and obtain sticker. Nothing to it.

Here are some cute shots of Em before picture day at school. Nothing to do with my story but way cuter than shots of the MG!!

Isn't she a hoot?

The grass IS greener!

So I know I have been absent for a while. Sorry, I have been busy unpacking, nailing things in walls, cleaning red dirt off of everything and everywhere (scrub, rinse, repeat) taking kids to school, dance, soccer, you know...the usual. BUT, all the while the grass has literally been growing under my feet! I have some before and after shots that are pretty amazing. They did a fantastic job and the real joy is that they come and maintain it for me once a week! Seriously, they mow, weed eat, and blow all the dead flora and fauna away. A gal could get used to that :)

The house is really coming along and I got the news last night that they are going to install some new kitchen cabinetry in my pantry area for me since we are limited with kitchen storage space. I think I hear another before and after slide show in your future!

The kids are great. Olivia went to the pool yesterday with a couple neighborhood kids and Emily met two new 4 yr. old girls on the playground! Add a new Barbie movie and finding the same pink and purple sparkle curtains at K-mart that her cousin Caitlin has and you have one happy little girl! She has declared that she is going to be the "pink musketeer" from the new Barbie movie for Halloween. Shocking.

Hawaii!

Well, we have been on the island for 2 months and in our house for 2 weeks! The house is coming along, but not photo worthy yet :) It seems to me to be taking forever but in reality we have made amazing progress in the short time we have called 7 Makalapa home. The girls are getting used to the neighborhood and we love the fact that they have made fast friends with all the kids and are free to roam around in such a safe place!

Here are some of our summer pictures that we took on this amazing island. It truly is paradise, see for yourself!

The Princess and the Soccer Player

Click on photo collage to enlarge

I know I have promised to embrace her inner beautician but when she is interviewed by "E" television one day about how she got into celebrity styling she won't be able to say..."my mom never really let me try anything else!" These may be the only photos ever capturing her in shorts and the colors blue, black and green. Maybe there is hope for her yet?

Disney!!

Ok all, I have finally downloaded my 289 photos of "what we did over the summer!" Don't worry, I will dole them out in mini doses so you don't get toooooo sick of us. Here is the big batch of our hot trip to Disney for the 4th of July. Fun trip, hot. Saw some princesses, hot. Good fireworks, hot. You get the picture.

7 Makalapa!!

The pictures aren't the greatest (sorry iPhone, not meant to hurt your feelings, I still love you) but time is money this week and this was the fastest way to update you and get back to the boxes! They are landscaping (complete with sprinkler system) this week so the yard is a bit of a mess but the house is great, the move went well and we are all LOVING our new routine of not living out of the car!

I can remember the days that it used to take me one day to unpack my kitchen and I was hanging pictures by weeks end. Well, those days are long gone but we are making progress and the house is shaping up nicely. Soon I plan to be siting in my hammock, swinging over my fresh new grass with a book and a drink! (Then that new sprinkler system will kick on, I will spill my drink on my shirt, ruin my book and end up dumping myself upside down on the grass - you know it will happen)