Ready, Set . . . Go

I'm all ready and set, now I just need to wait for the "go" . . . the go of guests that is.

The house is clean, the laundry is done, the fridge is stocked to the brim . . . so now we are just wait for the impending arrival of all our visitors.

As mentioned, tomorrow our friends, the Williams, will be arriving on a house hunting trip. On Monday, Brian's mom and step-dad arrive for a three week visit, bringing the total number of people in the house to 6 adults and 3 kids, for a few days anyway, but whose counting. ;) No doubt it will be busy around here, but we are all looking forward to the various guests and fun activities that will inevitably follow. The Williams have a daughter that is only a year older than Charley, so the kids cannot wait to meet their new friend . . . and the Williams are also Hobie's surrogate parents (they watched Hobie many-at-time for us when we were in Sacramento), so he too is excited for the extra attention. The kids are also beside themselves with excitement for their Grammy and Papa to arrive, which always means lots of extra play buddies and fun stuff for a few weeks. During this visit, Bev and Dick are going to be staying in the beach cabins for a few nights, and at a condo in Waikiki for a week, so that will also be some extra entertainment during their visit. Plus Easter happens somewhere in there, so this should be pretty good few weeks for everyone.

Charley is on spring break this week and next week, so we did manage to squeeze in a beach day on Tuesday. Aside from that, however, we've mostly just been getting ready for our company and tackling some neglected projects around here, like shampooing all the carpets/rugs/furniture, mopping every square inch of floor, weeding the yard and trimming bushes, etc. Potty training is going even better than I had hoped with Zander . . . I was only concerned with daytime training, sticking with pull-ups at night, but much to my surprise, Zander has woken me up the past two nights to tell me that he has to go to the bathroom. Hopefully this is a trend and not just a fluke. And besides, he's been waking me up several times a night for the past couple weeks anyway, so if he's going to torture me with that, at least he has a good excuse. We still have our accidents once in awhile, especially when he is distracted and busy playing with friends, but we are getting there. My diaper days are quickly coming to an end!

Brian is busier than ever at work, as he is currently acting as the head Operations Officer for the next few months, which means that all helicopter and C-130 missions go through him. As a result, this also means that he is on-call 24/7, so his phone may (and does) ring all hours of the night and day. As if that doesn't keep him busy enough, he is also taking a programming class as he works toward his Masters in Information Technology, and for someone with no programming experience what-so-ever, the class is time-consuming and requires a lot of his attention. So, Brian's life is pretty crazy right now, but thankfully it is all temporary . . . if the next four or five months count as temporary anyway.

That's about it at Casa de Palm . . . for now, anyway.

Excuses

Danielle: "Charley, how did you get that fairy costume and wand? I thought I asked you stay out of your room since I just shampooed your carpet?"

Charley: "I don't know."

Danielle: "Come on Charley, how did you get the costume and wand?"

Charley: "Magic."

Danielle: (trying to restrain my smile/laughter) "Charley, you need to tell me the truth. How did you get those things if you weren't supposed to go on your carpet?"

Charley: "Magic."

Danielle: "Charley, you know your not supposed to lie. Now tell me the truth."

Charley: "But Moooommmm, the fairy panties that I'm wearing made me do it!!!!!!

Birthdays, Bands, and Boats

Nothing ever slows down here at the Palm house, or so it seems.

Last weekend we braved a torrential rainstorm (with flash flood warnings and all) to attend a birthday party on the other side of the island. And boy were we glad we made the drive because the home that we were at and its views were absolutely breathtaking. Here's just an example . . .

And here we are cheesing it up for the camera . . .

It's always fun to experience new and different parts of the island, and visit with friends, so we were glad we went to the party.

Then it was back to the usual . . . work, school, and playdates of course. I had to post this picture of the kids trying out "Rock Band" for the first time at our friend, Kathy's house. Uncle Kurt would be proud . . . although it's too early to tell if either one of my children have any musical talents yet.

This past week was a little bit different in that Brian took leave on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday . . . Tuesday was his "homework" day, Thursday was his golf day, but he gave us Wednesday all to ourselves . . . and we took full advantage. We started the day by taking the kids to the beach for a couple hours, and they loved the change in pace of having Dad there too. Then we ran home, showered, grabbed some lunch, and we were back out the door to catch "The Boat" from Barbers Point Harbor to Aloha Tower, which is near downtown Honolulu.
The ride is about an hour, so we relaxed, took some pictures, and even spotted a whale not too far from the boat.



When the boat docked, we went over to the Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant, and grabbed a bite to eat. The atmosphere couldn't have been better as we sat outside under the warm sun, enjoying yummy food and live music. After dinner we had a little time before our boat ride back, so we milled around the Aloha Tower shopping area. Then it was time to head home, so we grabbed the last boat back the other direction to end our fun day.

That about covers the excitement of our week. Charley is officially on spring break for the next two weeks, but we'll be plenty busy getting ready for our upcoming visitors, so no one will have time to get too bored. Our friends, the Williams family, will be arriving a week from today from Alaska on a house hunting mission. We were stationed with the Williams in Sacramento, but our paths split when we got sent to Arkansas and they got sent to Kodiak. Now, much to our delight, our paths are crossing again, as the Williams are moving to Hawaii this summer. Just a few days after they arrive, Brian's mom and step-dad will be arriving from Michigan for a spring visit. It's been awhile since we have had any guests (by our standards anyways), so we are all excited to see our friends and family.

So excited that Spring is officially here!!

"I'm a big kid now . . . "

As you may recall, I recently mentioned milestones. We seem to have been hitting a lot of them lately.

Zander is completely out of diapers during the day (he still wears them at night of course), and there seems to be an increasing amount of time between accidents (we haven't had one for a few days now). Zander has also transitioned to a regular twin bed AND he has remained in the bed ALL NIGHT a few times now. He is also learning how to dress/undress himself, and he is almost completely done with sippy cups. He has even recently learned how to wear flip-flops with no strap on the back, which as you mommies and daddies out there know is an acquired skill. And, today I left Zander with a friend for a few hours because I had to be class mommy at Charley's school, and it was the first time I left him without "sneaking" out. He didn't bat an eyelash when I left, nor when I returned (he was WAY too busy playing with toys and friends), and the report was that he was a good boy and even went on the potty in this new place. He is becoming such a big boy.

Yesterday, Charley showed a renewed interest in trying to go to bed without a pull-up on. We tried this a couple months ago, but the results weren't consistent enough to stick with it . . . she had a ton of accidents and even slept through a lot of them. However, she recently demonstrated the willingness and ability to get up out of bed and use the bathroom at night, so tonight we are going to give the whole thing another shot. She also participated in her first sleep-over when we were in Montana without any major incident. She is also wanting to take care of her own hygiene needs (washing herself, brushing her hair and teeth, etc.), and she is constantly wanting to "wear her hair down" like a big girl. She has also become very opinionated about her outfits, and tends to want to wear dresses more than anything else. She is becoming such a big girl.

I also see them growing in their own sibling relationship. There is really very little doubt that they are best buds. This is a pretty frequent occurrence these days . . .

They keep each other pretty entertained most days, and rarely do they play without the other one around. Don't get me wrong, they fight like cats and dogs quite often, but within minutes of fight resolution, they are back to being best buds. They are much more expressive with their feelings for each other lately, and they often give hugs and kisses and exchange "I love you's" completely unprompted. When they are not together, they are constantly asking about the other and making sure they get to see each other soon. In fact, today at preschool, about two hours into class Charley declared, "Boy, I sure do miss Zander."

In all honesty, I'm loving where we are at right now with the kids. Not only do I love this age, but everything seems to be getting easier and easier as time goes on . . . running errands, traveling, eating out, taking hikes, camping, going to the beach, and even spending lazy afternoons at home. I feel like a haze is lifting and I can finally relax again once in awhile, especially living here in Hawaii. Now if I could only figure out how to freeze time . . .

Losing Track of Time

I had a few extra moments this afternoon, so I sat down to take a look at the blog, thinking I was about three or four days behind and maybe I should post something . . . boy was I shocked to see it had been an entire week! I have no idea where the last week went. And that got me thinking . . . I have no idea where the last two years have gone. Two years ago we were getting ready to sell our house in Arkansas, and making arrangements to move to Hawaii. I don't even know how that is possible, how time has flown by that fast.

So, that means we have just a little over two more years here in Hawaii, and then it will be time to go again. It's hard to believe that's even possible. So keep in mind that if you were planning on trying to make a trip out here before we leave, half your time is up and you better plan soon!

Let's see . . . oh yes, last Saturday was yet another Jimmy Buffett concert on Waikiki Beach. I know, I know, life is rough. We bought two tickets thinking we'd be able to find a babysitter, but when it was five days before the concert and we hadn't made a plan yet, Brian offered to stay home with the kids while I go to the concert with someone else. When I mentioned that the "someone else" that I would like to ask was my friend Marian, whose husband just happened to be deployed, Brian offered to watch our kids AND her kids. I know, I've got a pretty good man here. So here is a picture that Brian took of all four kids snuggled up in their pj's, watching a movie. They sort of all look related if you ask me. Talk about a bunch of toe-heads.


We knew several people going to the concert, so we had an awesome time with a random and "interesting" group of people (Heather, Kathy, Marian, you know who I'm talking about!). The weather was beautiful, the atmosphere was fabulous, and of course as usual, Jimmy didn't disappoint.

Last week was just an ordinary week in most respects, with Charley going to school, Zander and I going to playdates, and one afternoon we even managed to squeeze in a birthday party. Right before the party, when I was picking Charley up from school, her teacher told me that Charley got in trouble that day . . . but before I even had time to worry too much about it, she smiled and said that Charley and Cayden, a little boy in her class, were holding hands during circle time and she had to tell everyone to "keep their hands to themselves." Apparently PDA at preschool is not allowed. :) So, I couldn't resist taking this picture of Charley and Cayden, her "boyfriend," at the birthday party.

And of course here is Zander enjoying his hot pink frosting . . .

No party in Hawaii is complete without a bounce house, so here are my little monkeys being, well, little monkeys.

And the highlight of my entire week? The opening of the first-ever Target in Hawaii, which much to my excitement is less than a ten minute drive from my house. I couldn't resist braving the crowds on opening day, because you all know how very much I love Target.

Don't laugh, but I've already been there twice in three days. Life on the island is finally starting to feel complete . . . a Costco nearby, a Target nearby . . . I hardly have any excuse to leave this side of the island!

Tomorrow we invited a few friends over for the fun of it, which will include a few drinks and a taco bar. I'll let you know how our "Siete de Marzo" party turns out.