Take two

Sadly my slideshow extravaganza failed so I am posting the photos separately.  

Normally I am more camera shy but my mother has this way of finding terrible photos of me and blowing them up to wallpaper size.

When I manage to take one that isn't awful I need to make sure she gets them!

That should keep her busy for a moment!

My good friend doesn't suffer from the above mentioned terrible photo issue - she is always bright and shiny in every picture I take of her...which is probably why this isn't her first debut on my blog.

The guest of honor received a puzzle of his former ship.  If you knew anything about his former ship you would realize the irony of getting to take it apart and put it back together over and over again!!

In addition to the large pope head in a box, our table was equipped with a lazy susan to aid in food sharing.  We learned quickly (yet not quickly enough to avoid this mishap) that serving utensils needed to be carefully placed before spinning the pope!  

You are seeing the theme?  Yes, we were booked in the private "Pope" room at this restaurant.  

Our handsome men!

Their better halves!

My goal is to re-create this photo before I leave Hawaii.  I might not post it though - lest it find a frame in my Mom's house!

Lots and Lots of Laughs

As usual, I am full of excuses as to why I haven't been posting.  I was trying to get Olivia to share some of her trip to Disney with you all.  Turns out the process of weeding through 200 photos and choosing 10 or so to tell a story is too limiting for my little story teller.  She's working on it - be patient!

Also...I got a shiny, new Mac computer last weekend and although I love it "to the moon and back" (that's how Emily and I describe REAL love), it is taking me some time to move all my data over, buy new programs and figure out how to work it all.

 

This video is part of that test.  My new toy makes some great slide shows but they are proving to large to load onto blogger.  Hang with me!  We attended another farewell this weekend and had a fantastic time.  As you can see it was a formal event and was complete with laughter, good natured roasting and gag gifts.  I do love the way this small group celebrates each other.  

Soccer finished up this weekend too.  Olivia's team played in a tournament which consisted of 3 games - one of which looked like a local street fight against a pretty tough team from Maui!  They had a great season and will top it off with an ice-cream pool party next weekend.  Where was this stuff when I was a kid?  I seem to remember at the end of our season, walking off the field to the car!

Em got a surprise package from Emma this weekend - matching outfits for her and "EM".  Life is good; very, very good.  

Poor things have 5 whole days of school this week and Daddy is out to sea.  What ever will I do with all the quiet.....ahhhhh

Got her!

So happy to see that face!  Liv had a great time and couldn't stop talking about her trip.  She impressed me tremendously...didn't lose a thing, bought sweet gifts for some friends and even came home with her dirty clothes folded in a separate section of the suitcase.   I'll have her blog her story in a few days - she looks pretty tired. 

Em is better, Liv is home, David is home; this might be my best nights sleep in a week :)

Tsunami's, Travels, Things that explode, Trophies and Turtles!

You name it - and chances are in the last week, we've done it!

Sent my big girl off on a plane :(  That was a particularly hard night after having them both sick and missing school all week, a tsunami warning sounding about a half hour before we went to the airport and scarcely having time to say goodbye after I checked her in and gave all the forms and medicines to the right people.  Alas, they took off and landed safely despite the airport closing shortly after. 

Em is still sick but has bouts of wellness when you combine her with Motrin and shake well.  She played in her last game on Saturday and we had a little pizza/trophy party at the end.  You know, the trophy they get for doing absolutely nothing of note but playing a game that they wanted to play...yes, that one.  Sheesh.  I never win that argument with the other moms. 

My child is 6 and has three large soccer trophies already. 

And while I'm home making the world safe from over -indulgent soccer kids my husband is off doing this boring stuff!  This shot is from the bow of the ship looking back towards the bridge.

That missile came out of the "not burned" cell you see there closest to the bridge.  



Here's a close up.  And no Dad...I was not close enough to take this shot nor did I accidentally push the button to launch it in port!  This happened out at sea last week and they sent me the photos!



After tsunamis and missiles (sounds like a few good umbrella drinks) we spent Friday night saying goodbye to some great friends that will be leaving soon.  We were in the dive tower with a beautiful view of the harbor at sunset.  Darn, forgot my camera and this shot is terrible but you get the idea.  We didn't last much past sunset as the guys had been up all night prepping the ships for a potential emergency exit and the moms had been up all night filling bathtubs and finding candles!  It was a bleary eyed group but a nice evening.



At least we have found a nice way to unwind here in the islands!  Last time we spoke to my father in law we said we didn't know what we were going to do that day and he said "go to the beach!"  Good advice.



I think the turtles have missed us.  There were at least 5 yesterday and they wanted company!



It's amazing to me how much they want to swim with us.

This one was more fond of David's plan...a nap in the sun. 

Olivia returns tomorrow night and I can't wait.  I have received many text's from her and she is having a fabulous time.  They must be exhausted but busy tweens are happy tweens!  Hopefully she is taking good photos that we can share.  

Emily and I are taking it easy for Spring Break.  We spent the morning collecting sea glass on the beach.  I hope she is better soon.

 

Tsunami

Oh the fun never ends!  Just as I nurse my last child to health and send my firstborn off on a plane over the ocean the sirens start howling a tsunami warning!  If you are waking to that and wondering about us - Em and I should be fine.  Our home is not in an inundation evacuation zone.  Olivia should be safely over it and David is out to sea.  Hopefully I will be sound asleep soon and will wake to much ado about nothing but since you all get up first I don't want you to worry.  I'll update in the am.

Update: seems slightly more serious than in the past.  Still not worried about flooding at my location but I am concerned about losing water and power.  I am prepping for both now. 

Update Friday 7:22 am local.  As you have probably seen on tv by now we experienced nothing more than a few feet of tidal surge.  Schools are closed and I don't think the all clear sirens have sounded yet (might have slept through them) but we still have power and water.  Other than being very tired we are fine.  It is sad to wake to the images of Japan.  I got a message that Olivia landed safely.

Underway!

My kiddos were sick most of the weekend and still not well enough to attend school on Monday.  I took the opportunity to take them to see David's ship getting underway!

Love this shot!

For those of you that have been here this is near the O'Club in the narrow channel where the ships must pass to get to open ocean. 

We also watched them depart from the pier but no photography is allowed so we jumped into the car and beat them to this location. 

Emily was so excited!  She kept yelling "I love you!" at both the pier and here.  The sailors were sweet to wave back at her :)  Sweet when she is 6, trouble when she is 16!!

David did come out to wave when they left the pier but after that any man in uniform at this distance was her Daddy!  Reminded me of a time in Japan when I took Olivia to the pier to see the USS KITTY HAWK pull in.  She said "I see the Captain!" When I asked how she knew he was the Captain she said  "He's wearing khaki and telling everyone what to do!"  Sounds like a Captain to me!

Big S, little s, what begins with s?

Sick sisters, spring break, that begins with S!!

Yes sadly a flu-like cold has hit our household this weekend but I can't complain about the timing. Spring break is next week but more importantly Olivia is preparing for her big school trip on Thursday.  I have been watching this bug hit the neighborhood and wondering what I would do if she left and got sick 3000 miles away.  Rather get it over with here at home...one less thing to worry about.

It didn't spoil ALL our fun.  Friday night was literature night at school and the kids were treated to a Dr. Seuss book and some crafts.

I thought it was funny that her teachers remarked how blingy Emily was that night...I forget they don't see her this way often!

She read the ABC book to me.  One of my little known claims to fame?  I have read that book so many times I know every single crazy word by heart and can recite it with my eyes closed.  Impressive...I know.

Emily was still feeling good enough Saturday morning to play her game and I snapped this cute photo.  Notice the girl in the back, that tooth was so loose I thought we were going to lose it on the field!  ICK. 

All that aside, in case you were wondering, Hawaii is still Hawaii.  Sunsets...

Rainbows...

And flowers.  All from the comfort of the lanai. 

Teambuilding

Chances are if you talk to me on the phone at some point in the conversation I'll say "just super busy with the workshop."  I don't usually post too much about them - usually because fluorescent lighting makes for horrible photos but poor as they may be, I thought I would share with you why I'm always so "busy" (you know, besides the Mom thing which also takes a few minutes each day.)

We ended up with about 75 spouses from all Navy communities and started with a great dinner buffet.

Next, our CORE TV reporters has some breaking news for us..."not all apples are the same!"  Since this workshop was a joint venture with officer and enlisted spouses - we had a most difficult time trying to address the disparity between the two groups.  

Each person chose an apple when they came in and we talked about not all trying to be equal but to see the value in whichever way we contribute to a team.  Some apples are good for baking, some for eating, etc.  You get the idea.  It was a fun way to break the ice - these two groups get a little nervous when placed in such close proximity!!

Food was great

Everyone was happy

Then we had some fun.  A local private school spoke to us about team building and had us up and moving!  They gave us some silly exercises to show us how difficult it can be to work as a team if we don't communicate well and work together.

Trust me, raising and lowering a swim noodle without anyone letting go is harder than you think!

As is building a tall tower out of spaghetti, tape and string with a marshmallow on top!

And as always there is the group that thinks outside the box and chooses to toast the marshmallow over the candle.  The heck with the tower!

I think I have also failed to mention in the last few weeks that I am now a monkey.  The XO spouses here are a fantastically fun bunch and have welcomed me into the fold!  There are many silly criteria for the monkeys - not the least of which is always taking a group photo at any event. 



I remarked after my initial event photo that I was by far the shortest monkey in the group so being the kind and loving monkeys that they are...they are making me look tall here!  Fantastic :)

I must admit this was a particularly difficult workshop to plan but in the end the work produced a terrific product that we were all proud of.  I wish I could say you can safely call me now but in one week I am hosting the next committee to begin plans for the April workshop...good thing I make the big bucks and get the corner office!