Hmmmm...

I don't have a lot to say that is positive since I have returned to the cold, dreary weather in the Midwest it is so cold here so I should remain silent...yeah, that is a good idea.

I'm not a whiner and I'm not going to start being one but I like warmth, that's all, I'm done now...

Hope you are having a fantabulous day in your world, can you even believe March is gone? WOW!!! So thankful I spent most of my March in HAWAII. I most certainly WILL be putting that Hawaii on my "return to" list for sure, which is saying a lot cause that list is pretty short!

Working hard to get lilblue's taxes straight so we can get those filed; also trying to find some new tires to be put on my car, which trust me the whole finding tires thing is WAAAAAAAAY out of my league. I have been doing so much research and honestly I feel like the whole tire market is a big scam.  It doesn't matter what the mileage rating is chances are they won't last that long! On top of that the price varies GREATLY! And what's with all the varieties, come on let's be sensible here and not make it so difficult! Cause look honestly, I just want a SAFE tire that provides a quiet ride and doesn't cost me a fortune!

Oh, and we are having some chatterings and email traffic on where our next home might be :D it's fun and exciting, I still enjoy the official notifications (even when it is no, as was just the case for Germany) and then looking everywhere for anything and everything about the new locale. It's just ultracool in my mind....course then the thoughts of finding a place to live and the cost of moving that no one pays for but us rolls around in my brain and I get a bit nervous,  but not for too long, I know we will be fine, just fine!

Where are we going USAF Leadership and the powers that be that decide our fate? If it somewhere other then the career field orders waiting in the wings...I think I'm ready to know! But I'm willing to wait, cause I know that good things come to those who wait...well at least that is the saying, right? Even so the fall back career field plan is sweet as well!

I'm back in the MidWest

I am back in the land of the MidWest...it is cold, I don't want to be a whiner so that is all I will say about that.

I am contemplating my next adventure and the one after that. I am also looking forward to the passing of 81 days, however, I am not going to count the days, but I plan to make the days count.

Hawaii was awesome and I think we will definitely be planning to visit again, even though MiB thinks he would like to live there, I'm not so sure. However, if the opportunity arose I have a feeling we would be going without a second thought!

I'm still really tired from the trip, trying not to take a nap and hoping for an excellent, restful, night's sleep tonight.

Over and out for now!

Wow it's Thursday!!!

Geesh our time here is flying by now that LilBlu is here...I'm sooooo sad!

This morning MiB and I took our morning on the beach...lilblue slept in! I love the mornings best here!!

Main activity for today was surfing before the board was sold...which happened in less then 10 minutes with the help of Craigslist! Did I mention I LOVE Craigslist? Well I do! MiB bought a board here for cheaper then a rental and then turned around and sold it for only 25 bucks less then what he paid for it; he got to use a way cooler board then any rental for sure and enjoyed having another board even if only for a short period of time!

 

Before turning the board over to it's new owner LilBlue tried out surfing on Waikiki Beach at Queens... Hmmm let's just say she was no fan today and we will leave it at that! BUT she can say she surfed in Hawaii!
After the surfboard deal we headed to the pool since it was a windy day and no one wanted to be on the beach in sandstorm like conditions but we did want to enjoy the sun and warmth!

For our last dinner we gave LilBlue the honors is choosing and she choose the plate lunch from the steakshack! This was great with us cause we really like this joint! It was awesome and then we did a little last minute shopping before having fruity drinks with pineapple and umbrellas in them for a treat! A great last night enjoyed by all! I'm going to miss many things but others not so much!

Thursday Thoughts!
•Love the Kona coffee here!
•Dislike the traffic...it's really AWFUL!
•Hale Koa snack bar rocks, seriously!
•Don't think I would want to live here...

Aloha!

What a Wednesday!

Can you say WOWSA it's been a day or two since we have seen this guy but what a great reunion we had here in Hawaii! KJ was deployed with MiB way back when in Operation Desert Storm, we haven't seen him since left OK and headed to Korea. He is about to retire and we are thrilled we were able to hook it up to see him while we were here! He is doing well!

After a great breakfast with KJ we headed over to the stadium to check out the big swap meet! That was an interesting place! LilBlur had fresh coconut and pineapple that was awesome good and we picked up some T-shirt bargains for the family back home!

I'm still excited I can post from email but I have to admit it is harder to do and I leave a lot out but at least it is a post!

Aloha!

Dolphin Swim

Today was the coolest of all days according to LilBlue because she got to swim with the dolphins! And wow is all I can say! It was an unbelievable encounter...for the first 30 minutes it was ALL LilBlue then a man and his daughter joined in. The experience was even cooler cause her encounter included a wholphin...which there is only one. It is a hybrid cross that is a result of an Atlantic bottlenose breeding with a killer whale! She got to hug this wholphin named Kekaimalu. Then she kissed the real dolphin despite the fact she already has a boyfriend! They swam together, LilBlue rubbed her belly and learned lots of neat things about dolphins! When it was over we went to the dolphin show where we also saw Pacific bottlenose, who knew they were sooooo much bigger then their Atlantic cousins? It was a great time for all! And we have the DVD for reliving the day again for years to come! LOL

We ended the day with a little beach time and of course our nightly trip to the hot tub!

Snorkeling

Today we took LilBlue on her first snorkel adventure...wow, for a few tense moments I thought it was not going to be her thing... She did not enjoy the enclosed feeling nor the mask BUT before the day ended she was okay with it! Seeing the Hawaii state fish helped! It's a hoot to say the name of this fish and she learned how to say it off a YouTube video! Phonetically it is this whomoo whomoo newcoo newcoo ahpoo ah ah and spelled correctly it is humuhumunukunukuapuaa. Yes that is quite a mouth full and she loves to say it! We also saw "rainbow fish" which was one of her favorite books in her early years so that was awesome! We also soaked in a few rays!

After we left the bay we went to the blowhole and she saw a sea turtles and a whale! Pretty awesome day if you asked me!

Pearl Harbor

Today we went to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. This was one of the places on lilblues list. It was a humbling place and makes me grateful and thankful all at once... While there we toured the USS BOWFIN and Mighty MO. It was all pretty fascinating. We also walked over to see the memorial for the USS Oklahoma. Seeing the oil still bubbling up at the USS Arizona was incredible.

Pineapple

Oh yum! We went north today. It was a bit rainy but we were not deterred! We carried on. First stop - the Dole Plantation.

Pretty cool place and we paid our $7 and went on a little plantation tour... Saw amazing plants and trees like avocado, plumeria, macadamia, bananas, cocoa, mango, coffee, bird of paradise and many others I'm sure I'm forgetting!!! Oh and of course we saw pineapple, lots and lots of pineapple! We also got to taste it and it was very yum!

We enjoyed some pineapple whip from the snackbar as well!

After the plantation tour we went further north to a coffee place, then on around to the "north shore" which due to damp condition was not AS enjoyable but still big waves and beautiful beaches! We rounded out our excursion with coconut chocolate pie from Ted's Bakery! Then back to Waikiki where we headed to the beach for a few hours before the sun went down. Another great day in Hawaii!

Aloha :)

She's here!!!!

LilBlue has arrived! The time has been quick already as we find ourselves into the first day already!
We left the airport and headed to Chinatown for dinner then made our way back to Waikiki for a quick trip to the hot tub before making our way over to watch the Hilton fireworks show. She made a quick toe dip in the Pacific as well!
She was definitely ready for bed when we returned to the room!
Today we have made our way North to the Dole Plantation and we are currently waiting for the Pineapple Express. Then we are heading on up to the North Shore ad hitting Ted's Bakery before heading back down to Waikiki. All is well in HI :)

WOW

It's been amazing...from sunrises to sunsets I have been awed by this place! Snorkeling was awesome, seeing whales was incredible and the beaches have been beautiful! It's just been wow from the go!

I must mention that we got off to a bit of a rough start with MiB's baggage being lost and not being delivered for three days, having a room with broken AC and then the tsunami on day two...thankfully it's been much less eventful since Sunday!

I am posting via email thanks to my super duper computer geek man who set me up to be able to do that! I can only upload one picture though via my phone but at least I'm making progress...

This sunset was as we drove home from a leeward side day trip yesterday! It was gorgeous, I mean really, really gorgeous!

Aloha

Thursday Thoughts :D

ALOHA!

We are hereeereeee….it is gorgeous, sunny and warm, I am so blessed! I am savoring every moment and while I do not internet at the resort I am able to at least post from my phone.  However, I cannot upload pictures to the blog that way, which makes me sad but it is the way it is. IF we are at a wifi hotspot AND I have time I MAY try to do some posts with pictures, it will not be a priority but I will try if possible.

I am so overwhelmed by the beauty and the lush surroundings, it is very different then I thought it would be but not in a disappointing way by any means!

Today we are off to explore and get our island legs. We will visit the base for supplies and some local information at ITT and check into the attractions on our itinerary for best ticket prices. We are also in search of a surf board rental for the duration! Not to mention snorkel gear.

It is all good from the island!

THREE!!!

In just three days I will be in the air, flying to meet my MiB. This is such a huge trip in many ways. It is of course the "deployment R&R" which simply means it is his break from the year long assignment he is on. But to us it is also our 25th Anniversary Trip. We do not actually celebrate our 25th til June but his assignment will not be complete until it has passed so we are celebrating early. I'm okay with that!!! In our many years In The Blue we have often been apart for the real days so we are experienced with picking days to make our own celebration. I have lost count how many anniversaries we have spent apart, not to mention birthdays and holidays along with sorrow days but they cannot be totaled on one hand, it would probably take two and some toes...

The other awesome part of this trip is that LilBlue will be joining us for a week, I am so excited about this as is MiB! We are a trip family, we have taken many family trips together but this one is just going to be very special. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself! There are not too many years left that will allow this type of event. I see the writing on the wall... I know MiB and I are thrilled that LilBlue took the initiative to find a job last year, but I also think it gets in the way...we want to be able to have her anytime we want her, we already work around her school schedule and now add her job to it...and eventually we know there will be a husband (ackkkkk) and then children, oy vey! Growing up - it's hard on EVERYONE! The trips will still happen for sure just maybe not as often and with all of us together for them!

But anyway I wander off the THREE topic.. So in three days I will see the MiB and life will be BETTER (cause it is already GOOD)! HIP hip HOORAY!

Thursday Thoughts!

Honestly, ALL that has been on my brain lately is our upcoming trip to H A W A I I...MiB and I will be meeting up in less then ONE WEEK.....I am soooooooo full of JOY, I can hardly believe it is this close to happening. This is a BIG trip for us, we will celebrate our 25th anniversary and then we will have LilBlue with us for a little family vacation which will be awesome! I am stoked...

So thoughts this week are all over the map...I am content with where I am and my preparations...we have a great I-10 with lots of neat things on it and lots of flexibility as well! We will be just enjoying it, I know and that will so be the best part as we just soak up the sunshine and each other!

Thoughts:

•  Don't overpack!!!
• Fresh pineapple will be awesome!
• Not having my laptop WILL be okay!
• I'll be having a fruity drinks on the beach!!
• Lil Blue, MiB and I may want to move there?????

Only one more week...

I will be heading to HAWAII in one more week...I am ready, I have my suitcase packed, ride to the airport lined up so just bring on the boarding pass! WOOhooooo!!!!

I was hoping for good traveling weather out of my current locale...yeah, doesn't look like that is going to happen. Right now it is a 60% chance of snow. I know I WILL be thrilled to be getting away from that, but I pray it does not hamper any of my travel to the airport or the planes I need to fly on that day! HA who am I kidding? I am praying the whole forecast changes and that weather misses this area!

That's it, have a great Wednesday : )