Just Another Week in Paradise :)

This past weekend we took a trip to the North Shore and then drove down the East coast. We stopped and ate at a little cafe called "Grass Skirt Grill". It was really good. It was so neat to just drive right next to the ocean for miles. :) There were so many gorgeous views. Here are some pictures that were taken a long the way.

We were going to swim on the North Shore but as soon as we got out to do so it started raining. So, we drove down the East coast and stopped in Kaneohe at a beautiful beach.

Home schooling gets better every week. It has been really frustrating because I feel like Blake has lost a lot of info. Things that I know he knew months ago and now he is clueless. So we will be playing catch up for a bit. I have a plan though and hopefully we figure it all out. He is starting to work better for me. His writing is improving a lot. Math is my biggest struggle right now. He is just being lazy with it.

We went to the library today and the boys loved it. It is huge and they couldn't believe all the books. The entire 1st floor is for children and young adults! I think the children's section is bigger than the entire Huntsville library..lol.

We are trying to let the boys have more freedom. Ben hates when I am the over protective mother. This neighborhood is so great for them. So many kids out playing. They are now allowed to ride down to the dead end and to the stop sign the other way. They are still in sight but they love it! Parker is just eager to be able to go with them! poor guy!

He has fun anyway :)

Catch up!

Shame on me...I actually forgot about the blog for the last week or so. :/ I'll try to pick up where I left off. As most know, Ben and I went to the Pro Bowl. We had such an awesome time. Ben is still the man of my dreams and getting to spend some kid free time with him is so refreshing. Neither of us had ever been to a NFL game before, so it was a new experience. I really like that it was the Pro Bowl because the neatest part was seeing fans of all of the teams interact. Everyone was teasing each other and it was a lot of fun had by all. We were pretty disappointed by the performance the AFC gave us, but we got to see Manning so it made up for it. Here are some pictures.

I posted a lot more on facebook. This last one is looking at the USS Missouri and USS Arizona memorial. The boys stayed with friends who are still stuck in the hotel we stayed in on Ford Island. So we just parked there and walked over. It rained on us when we were headed to the game but then was beautiful throughout the game and on the way back. I LOVE Ford Island. It is so beautiful and has so much history.

The boys and I have finally gotten into our grove with home schooling. Every week we add a little here and there. I am starting to feel more confident. We went to our first home schoolers' park day yesterday. It was nice to talk with some of the other parents. That alone made me feel better about the job I am doing. Blake and Hunter were very happy to finally get some play time with other kids. At the first of all of this Blake kept asking when he would get to start real school. He missed his friends and wasn't so sure about staying at home with me all the time. Now he actually says he likes it and wants to continue. I have been really impressed with Hunter. I tried working with him when we were in Arkansas and it was not a pretty picture. I think now he sees Blake working and wants to as well. He is really starting to show improvement. He has even learned some sight words and is starting to try to read. :) He was so resistant to this before.

Blake and Hunter started Karate Monday! :) Hunter was very intimidated at first. As soon as he put on his uniform, he thought he was the coolest thing EVER! That made him feel big enough to do it. Blake jumped right in. They go back this evening, so we will see how it goes. One great thing about this place is they have a little kids class on the weekend if Hunter doesn't do well with the bigger kids. We are hoping they can stay in the same class though. I will post pictures as soon as I can take some.

Ben bought a surf board! He found a really cheap one on Craigslists so he grabbed it. It is shorter so that the boys and I can get out there too. He will keep looking for a longer one for him. I think I will try it out for the first time this weekend. :) We are planning to head up to the North Shore Saturday. Check out Sunset Beach. :)

I LOVE it here. The weather is always nice. Even when it rains it is still warm. We almost always have the windows open and the air off. There is sooooo much to do here. We love to be outside and busy. I will be really sad to leave it. Can't wait until the end of March when we start having visitors though!!!!

Making amazing memories :)

Last week we took a hike up to the Makapu'u light house. Such an incredible trip. The views were spectacular. But the most amazing thing was to spend this time as a family. I have always been a social bee. I have valued my friends and considered them family my entire life. They are what have gotten me through the toughest time. Since we have moved here I have had the biggest awakening. As much as I love my friends, ( and I do love you all so much ) I have realized that more than anything...I need my family. My four men. For the first time in my life I feel like I could be truly happy with nothing more than just the 5 of us. While hiking up that hill, I looked up at Ben (with Parker on his back), Blake and Hunter. My entire world was right in front of me. I have always felt like my success was what made me, my career and what I had to show. My badges of honor, I guess you could say. But in the last month, I have learned that my biggest and brightest badges of honor are those amazing little men. I am finally okay with being a stay at home mom. The most important job there is. Here are some pictures of our hike.

There is so much more to say but it is late. I am going to try to upload the Pro Bowl pictures so I can tell you all about it. :) So hopefully I will be talking to you all very soon.

Happy 10 months Parker!!!

My sweet Parker. Everyday I am thankful for you. You have brought so much joy into this family.

Right now you are walking everywhere. You almost never crawl now! When you learn how to do something, you never look back. You are into everything. It amazes me how fast you figure things out. If the cabinet locks aren't tight, you know exactly how to get in there and quick! I love to watch you dance. You are not a big TV baby but you love Cho-Cho soul and the I-pad commercial. Something about the beat. You will only eat your baby food if there is no real people food in sight. :/ And if we feed you before dinner, you still expect to have plenty of what we are eating too. Momma is not a word you are even considering. In fact for a month or more now you think it is the funniest thing to say Da-da when we ask you to say Momma. Not nice. Up side is that you LOVE your momma. Very much a Momma's boy and I love it. Your brothers adore you and you them. They will tickle you while you just laugh and laugh. You are such a happy boy. Always smiling, laughing and making faces. My favorite is when you scrunch up your nose, show your teeth and snort! My little entertainer. You play well by yourself but you love having an audience too. You still HAVE to sleep with Gordon, the puppy that your brothers made before you were born. You get excited and laugh everytime you see him.

I am sure I have left out tons of the things you do. Every smile, every laugh and every funny face lights up my heart. I love you Parker. Can't believe you are getting so big!

First real week of home schooling.

So far I have to say that home schooling is going really well. My biggest challenge is trying to figure out exactly what Blake already knows and doesn't know. Everytime I think I have it figured out and start to teach...he already knows it :/ When I ask him if lessons are too easy, he says no. We will figure it our eventually. I found a great online program for him and Hunter to do. He works on the computer for about an hour a day (3 20 min blocks). Then we reinforce info taught or branch off the lessons. I love the flexibilty of the day. We take several breaks and also ride/walk to the park just about everyday. Yesterday was great because Ben actually got to go with us.

I am very thankful for our family time. I believe that is one benefit of being a military family. We are shown on a regular basis just how precious family time is. It is so easy to take advantage of the time with the ones you love.

Parker is walking EVERYWHERE!!! Didn't take him long to get his balance going and take off. He is just amazing. Growing up so fast but will always be my baby. :)

We actually unpacked the final box in the house yesterday! Almost everything is in its place. I bought a couple bar stools yesterday and stuff for the 1/2 bath downstairs. We keep finding more things we need though. I REALLY need a new vacuum. A futon or pull out bed/sofa is a must for the loft. And I need some kind of color for my living room. I'll figure it out eventually though.

Right now my biggest struggle is Ben working the night shift. Like I said earlier, I cherish him being home so I feel bad for even complaining. But, I seriously feel like a single mom again. He tries to stay on the nights schedule so that his body doesn't keep flipping back and forth. But it just makes it feel like he never has a day off. He is always sleeping during the day and doesn't get to go to bed with me. :( I am a big cuddler and I don't sleep well without him.

Ben is off Sat and Sun so hopefully we will head to the beach again. We did get tickets to the Pro Bowl!!! They aren't the best seats because we waited so late to buy them but we will still be there :)

It is past my bedtime...so the rambling will pick up another day :)

FINALLY settled!!!

A lot has happened since my last post. We decided to stay with the house that we signed the lease on. I was so unsure but once we got everything moved in and were able to get out in the neighborhood a little, I am VERY happy with our choice. I feel at peace here. The house is perfect for us. Just a little info on cost of living...our house is $2700 a month!!! Luckily the army gives us a housing allowance and cost of living allowance. :/ Here is a picture of the house.

Now here is a picture of a house for $2600 a month. I feel like we got a good deal!

I thought it was crazy the range of houses you could get within a $300 price difference. Ben has to drive a little further to work but we have a beautiful home that is only 5 years old. It is 2002 sq ft. Love the floorplan. The neighborhood is awesome. There are bike trails everywhere. They are building a park within walking distance. And it is only 5-10 minutes to the beach. :)

Speaking of the beach...while we were there last weekend a seal swam up on shore to sun bath and take a nap. I spoke with the life guard and he said this guy was a regular. They have named him Benny. He said that Benny likes to pop his head out of the water to scare someone and then will swim away. Playful guy! I just loved him!

Ben tried out surfing for the first time! He got up a few times but unfortunately I missed it :( We were distracted by the seal. But here are a few shots of an awesome attempt.

And here are my adorable boys enjoying the beach.

We are about 95% unpacked which is awesome. Blake and I are going to restart home schooling Monday. Starting with everything in chaos was not a good idea. We finally had the internet hooked up Thursday, so I feel like I can plan much better.

Today we went to the Dole Plantation. The boys loved the maze. I personally felt like the train and the garden was a rip off! The food was great though and the pineapple ice cream was even better!

I really miss all of my friends and family! Some good girl time is much needed!!! I am sure we will make good friends soon though. Ben started back to work last week, so hopefully we will start getting into a routine.