Abby's First Haircut

And what an ordeal it was! We went to "Auntie Denise" who did a great job despite many tears and movements. I did not expect Abigail to cry and carry on WHILE sitting in a car-chair watching Dora! Crazy kid! Case in point as to why I didn't attempt to do this myself. Anyway, Auntie Denise cut off about an inch, but Justin and I thought she should do even more. So, Abigail has about 2 1/2 inches less hair on her head.



For whatever reason, we didn't really get a photo of Abigail's back, where most of the hair was cut. So, I will try to post a photo from behind as soon as possible.

Daddy's Combat Boots

Need I say more? :)

McDonald's PlayLand

Almost every Wednesday Abigail and I meet friends at McDonald's for a lunch and a playdate. Pictured here is my friend Sarah with her son Drew (about 8 months old). Our other friend Sarah couldn't make it because her girls were sick.

Aloha Garretsons!

On Sunday evening we attended an aloha party for the Garretson family, since they will be moving back to the mainland on military orders next week. We will miss this family from our Ohana Group, as they have become wonderful friends. We thank them for being so welcoming and kind to us over these past few months, and we wish them the best at their next duty station where they will surely be a blessing to many.

The Garretson: Family:


Cute little Marlee (one year old):

Marlee with her mom, Cindy:

Siblings Marlee and Daniel (almost 3 years old):

Some of our Ohana group, as we watch a video Jaime made for the Garretsons:

Our Fifth Anniversary

What a kick to spend our 5th anniversary in Hawaii! What an even bigger kick to go out to dinner sans enfant, thanks to our neighbors.

Pau Hana = Backyard Fun

Pau hana refers to the end of the workday in Hawaii; when a workplace declares pau hana, the employees get to go home early. We just love that the military has gotten on board with Hawaiian culture, resulting in Justin coming home early some Friday afternoons. So, today after Abigail's nap, we enjoyed some family time in the backyard.

Yay! "Mimi" is filling the water table! Pool in the morning, water table in the afternoon - what a day!

Oh, the mind of a two-year-old!




"Coo-el!" The hula hoop has made a comeback! (Was it ever "out?")

Telling secrets... "I love you, Abby."

"Don't grow up so fast, cutie-pie!"


Playing with "Mimi's eyes" (Mommy's sunglasses):

"Purrs! Purrs!" Abigail decided that Mommy should wear her "slippers." Abby's attempts at putting the flip-flops on my feet correctly gave us a good laugh! We SHOULD have taken a photo of the end result!

Bathtime after the wet, muddy backyard playtime:

Midnight Madness...

...or maybe just "evening madness!" Between bathtime and storytime/bedtime, Abigail really comes alive. She comes up with some really cute songs and creative play - anything to woo us into letting her stay up later! What a charmer! As much as she might protest going upstairs for "night night," Abby practically begs for the haven of her blankie and crib once she is there.

Every girl needs some bling-bling, but this might just be over the top! (Tues night)

"Fwies" and "eyes" (aka butterflies and sunglasses) combined - does life get any better than this? (Wed night)

Father's Day

Justin is such a great father to Abigail, and the two of us really appreciate him! For Justin's third Father's Day, I made strawberry and cream crepes for breakfast. Abigail gave Justin an "I Love You, Daddy" book which she enjoyed hearing him read...

This picture includes the plate that Abigail and I painted at the ceramics shop on base:

Later on Sunday, we joined our Ohana group for a Father's Day pool party. ("Ohana" means "family" in Hawaiian; this is our Bible study group that meets on Sunday evenings with four other families.) Pictured here are just a few of these friends...
Hudson (Brother #1):

Easton (Brother #2):

Brennan (Brother #3):

Abigail:

Joe and Susan:

I will try to introduce you to more of our friends in Hawaii through photos in the coming weeks.

Botanic Gardens, Beard Papa's & Iolani Palace

We started our day with a short tour of Foster Botanic Gardens where poor Abby took quite a spill, resulting in three "owies" (head, hand and knee).



Later we grabbed some sandwiches and tried the famous Beard Papa's pastries for the first time. Yummy! (Abigail missed out since she was sleeping, but I took half of mine home for Justin to try.)

Did you know that Hawaii has a royal palace, the former residence of the reigning monarchy? The tour and information interested us, though Abigail and I were confined to the video and cellar tour while Lesley took an audio tour of all three floors "sans enfant."

Have you gotten the itch to visit Hawaii yet? What a place! So much to do! I sure hope that we will be able to return for visits in the future.

Paradise Cove Luau

On Saturday evening, Lesley and Karen attended a luau at Paradise Cove, complete with the bulky camera in a large diaper bag! The venue at the Ko Olina Resort was quite scenic, especially at sunset.


A lei-making station:

A sighting of Santa on vacation in Hawaii! Hahaha!

Part of the "pre-show:"

Our dinner (kalua pig) being raised from the underground oven:

The main performance highlighted hula through the decades with some fire exhibitions at the culmination.