Friday....we finally get things done

This was a very productive day for us. Andy took the truck to get the plates put on then picked us up and we went to get base stickers for the truck. (you can not use the sticker from the old base for some reason) After that we went to get Aaron registered for Home Schooling. Apparently you fill out a form and then you are on your own. Kinda sad. Then we went to get their TB tests read because you can not do anything here unless you have one. After that we went to the library to print out some paper work we needed to get Kara registered for Part Day Pre-School. Then we ran to Central Registration to try to get her registered before they closed for the weekend. After filling out at least 20 different pages we were told we needed two more forms but could be put on the waiting list. The wait he said was 2-8 months. WOW. I told him she would be in school by then, but he just laughed. Hm.. so they we went home to eat lunch and rest from all the walking around. Then we went to the PX to get some essentials. We invested in a popcorn bowl and silverware since it looked like we are going to be at the Inn for a while. Then the kids spent part of their Christmas money on toys. They were excited about that. Anyway, we got a lot done and now I don't feel like a target driving our vehicles around the island. (I also keep forgetting to look for Hawaii plates instead of Alabama :)

Thursday Stuck in the Room again

So it was pouring rain again Thursday morning. We were supposed to go to a meeting for family members but the conference room was flooded. The meeting was cancelled and not rescheduled so any information for me I will have to find out on my own. Since Andy's was cancelled too he stayed with Aaron in the room and Kara and I walked around the inn and took pictures of all the flowers. If you know the names let me know and I will add them in.

The palm tree:


Nana has these copper plants but I can't remember their real name.

I think this was a bird of paradise, but it came out fuzzy.

I will try to get a better picture of it.

This is a statue on the grounds:

I think this is a giant heliconia:

I think this is a red ginger:

The yellow ones with black tips are called Parrot's Beak:

The plant was filled with water and closed at the end so it made a drinking cup.

In the afternoon we went to get the license plates for the cars. That took a while too. After you get plates you have to get the safety inspection again. Well, my highlander doesn't have brackets for the front plate. So Andy's car was done but mine wasn't. While they were looking at the highlander, we were waiting in the SAAB. Kara was playing up front and had the lights on which ran down the battery. So we had to jump the SAAB in the pouring rain. Good times. Then we went searching for brackets for the front of the highlander. It took us 3 places to find it, by then it was dinner time. So we picked up a pizza and called it a day. At least Aaron was feeling better so that's good.

We have seen these types of birds all over. They are really bright red.

Monday Monday...can't trust that day (10 Jan 2011)

The views from our room in the rain:

Today we tried to get things done but didn't really work for us. While Andy was in processing the kids and I walked to the Post Office only to discover they do not have post office boxes. Then we went to the library, but couldn't check out any books yet. So we went back to the Inn and had lunch. Then it poured all afternoon. So for hours the kids and I were stuck in the room watching the rain. Then Andy finished his appointments for the day and we went to housing.
Bad news there too. We have moved up on the waiting list but there are no houses available. Sigh. We will have to keep trying. So for dinner we went to Popeye's because at Fort Rucker there are a variety of veggies to chose from. Well of course this one doesn't have veggies so we all get greasy food and sides. Aaron was feeling sick by this time so we came back to the room. Very unproductive day.

Tuesday wasn't much better. Aaron still had a fever so the kids and I spent the morning in the room even though it was really sunny outside.

At lunch time Aaron threw up and felt better so we walked to the play ground. Aaron just sat though he didn't really play. Kara did and had a lot of fun. Then we walked to a field near the Inn and Aaron sat in the shade on the bleachers and I chased Kara around. So we did get outside for a bit but Aaron wasn't really feeling good.

Wednesday Aaron was still sick so other than walking around the Inn we didn't get out much. It was pouring the entire day. :( So not too much got accomplished our first week in Hawaii.

Sunday SunDay SUNDAY (9 Jan 2011)

Today was church day. The Catholic Mass doesn't start until 10:30 so we walked to the PX to get some hangers for our clothes. Then we went to mass. It was interesting. We sat in front of the youth group, which was kinda loud, so we know not to sit there next time. The songs were different and some of the responses were in Hawaiian so that will take some getting used to. Unfortunately there was no print out of the responses so we will have to ask about that as well. The priest sounded like Garry Marshall, but he had a good homily.
After that we of course ate sandwiches for lunch (it's our new tradition :) Then we went to the Post Theater and watched the movie Mega Mind. It was still funny the second time and the kids enjoyed it too. After that we went to the beach again, armed with sand toys this time. So Aaron and Kara were making sand castles and pits and they enjoyed that. The waves were still huge and relaxing to listen too and there were tons of surfers. It's very interesting to watch the surfers because it looks so effortless.
Aaron digging...


In this shot you can see Kara trying to get further into the waves.
Andy has a death grip on her hand. She is fearless.


Enjoying the waves




Andy & Me!

The kids don't want to leave.

Another interesting note. I have been cold the whole time here. I've been wearing long sleeves and jeans every day. The kids and Andy put on shorts just for the beach and when we were done they went back to long pants. I wish I had brought more long sleeve shirts.

Brr..from paradise!

Ice Cream Faces

Running Errands (8 Jan 2011)

Today was another running errands day. We went to get both cars inspected in the morning. That took about an hour. Then we dropped the SAAB off at the hotel and took the truck to the WalMart in Mililani. It's a huge Wal-Mart. They still didn't have everything we wanted but they did have the few things we needed, like a laundry basket and night lights. We had lunch at the friendliest Chili's I have ever eaten at. The waitress was super nice and very sweet. I had the chicken club tacos which were super yummy. Then we went to the PX to get paper plates, (we had gotten Styrofoam which don't microwave very well) as well as sand toys and a Frisbee. The PX also has an aloha shop so Aaron and I were looking for gifts/souvenirs but found that they were all made in China. Kinda sad. So on the walk back to the hotel the kids and Andy played Frisbee which they really enjoyed. Andy is quite good and Aaron was getting a lot better at the end. We ended the day eating leftovers and watching part of the Incredibles.
Not too exciting a day but we did get a few more things accomplished so that's good.

The Beach (7 Jan 2011)

Well, we got a lot done today. We woke up and ate breakfast at Burger King. Then the kids played a bit on the indoor playground. Then we started for downtown Honolulu to find our car insurance cards. (You have to pick them up or have an address) We were driving downtown and it reminded us both of a very green looking Houston. Lots of buildings and such, with some plants thrown in. Well, driving downtown we didn't even think about parking. We were looking and all we saw were car dealership lots. We passed the building we were searching for but couldn't find a place to park. We tried to turn around and drove through a mall. Very weird. We finally saw a metered place and took it. The driving around took a while but walking to the building, picking up our insurance cards only took about 10 minutes. On the way back to our car we looked through the windows at a Ferrari dealership very close to where we parked. Aaron loved it, but Kara said she would rather see a Porshe. Our next appointment was in the opposite direction so we drove and drove again. On the drive we did happen to see a Porshe dealership. We arrived right on time to pick up the Highlander and got that taken care of as well. Then more driving. First fill up the tank on the Highlander. Then follow Andy to drop off the rental car. Then we drove to a pizza place to regroup. It was called Big Kahuna pizza and the minute you walk in the door you start drooling it smells so good. We ate a very tasty pizza and were on the road again to get ready for the beach. We drove to Haleiwa Beach and it was very pretty. The waves were rough so we didn't get in the water much. We just looked around a played in the sand. Aaron was determined to build a deep pit and Kara was content moving sand from one spot to the other. As we were leaving Andy took the kids to put their feet in the water and they loved it. Kara was jumping and splashing and Aaron just enjoyed the water. It was fun. After the beach we went to the PX and commissary to pick up some essentials so we wouldn't have to eat out at every meal. It was a very productive day. :)