Our very first date in Hawaii!

Oh how wonderful are the parents!  So we've been her in town only a little while and guess who comes to help us out?  The Fosburgs!  Originally they had planned to help when Vaughn was born, but I was able to convince them to come visit us in Hawaii and set up house!  I'm so glad they agreed.

After 6 long weeks in a hotel on island and finally getting a house and then getting all our HHG (stuff), I have to admit I was a bit (or a lot) overwhelmed with the idea of organizing and putting together a whole new home.  Plus somewhere in there I'm supposed to mother.  It's been difficult to say the least.  The worst part?  Chris has been a bit depressed with his new job.  His last job was very high demand on his time and his skills while he doesn't really have a job here so the difference is stark.  They are readjusting his department and don't know where they want him yet.  Not so good.  He's even more unhappy due to the fact that he can't even tell that he's on an island because he can't see the beach from the house or his office.

Anyway, so when Mike and Ronda came down we were all very happy.  Something familiar in a sea of unfamiliarity has really helped us calm down and start slow on all the work that needs to be done to get the new place up and running.  One of the best things about my in-laws is that they are so much more than that.  They are a major support and great friends.  So when they saw how frazzled and overwhelmed I was, and how sad and depressed Chris was, they encouraged Chris to surprise me with our first moment of alone time in a while!  Chris took me to THE BEST snorkeling spot on our new island.  We went to Hanauma Bay.

Hanauma Bay is the best for a reason.  It's a wildlife preserve so there are extra steps to visiting.  We were let in free because we are military and then we had to watch a video about proper conduct while in the water and on the beach.  It is so impressive right from the first view!  Absolutely gorgeous!

We had such a great time.  I loved all the fish.  I even saw the state fish, Humuhumunukunukuapaua'a! Yes that's it's name.  It is beautiful.  We saw so many different kinds of fish and coral and all by ourselves.  It was amazing.  I even got to lay on the beach for a while and get my token Hawaiian sunburn.  (I don't tan, just to remind you!)  I also got to enjoy the little beach birds.  I had a small snack which several tried to steal!  It cracked me up!

What a great surprise.  I got my husband, a beach, and a time to be a young woman in Hawaii.  What more could a girl ask for?  More time, maybe?  Ok fine, I'll come home.

Thank you Chris.  Thank you Mom and Dad.  So many wonderful people who love me!

Hotel in Oahu

I have always loved to travel and I have always loved to stay in a hotel, but I quit!  We are living in two rooms right now in a hotel next to the airport on the island of Oahu.  Sounds great right?  No!  I have had to unplug everything in the kids room.  They tried to fry something in the microwave, stuffed a pillow in the mini fridge, enjoy turning the lights on and off whenever the mood suits them, and can't wait for mommy and daddy to leave the room so they can watch what they want on tv.  It's so far from ideal it's ridiculous to even think that word.  When we first got here though it was even worse because although they had promised us a connecting set of rooms (since we have four kids that need a place to sleep) we were originally given two room next door to each other!

I was furious, but Chris had to report and we needed a car badly.  A rental for two weeks is so not cheap! Anyway, after bugging the staff often we were given the rooms we're in now.  While we were separated Chris set up our phones to be a video baby monitor.  It was great!  He's so smart.  Now I kind of miss the other rooms - it was easier to wake up when the time was right, now they just come in to get me.

Wish us luck on the wait for a house.  Chris has been good about getting down to the housing office often and calling a lot.  Hopefully we'll get one quick.

We were able to get a nice car!  We found it on Craigslist from a nice woman over in Kaneohe on the side of the island that reminds me easily of Seattle, WA.  It's rainy a lot of the time, though MUCH warmer, still need a sweater sometimes.  We really liked that side of Oahu: lots of beautiful mountains really close, very green (like most of the island), and wet.  It's a nice break from the constant sunshine.  A difference in weather is a nice treat, though we still LOVE the fact that we see a rainbow every single day.

At least now we can save a bit of money on the rental fees!

My poor Baby!

Oh my goodness!  We've only been on Oahu for like two weeks and we already had to find an emergency clinic.

I noticed that Vaughn was not sleeping well.  He was crying a lot, but guess what?  He's a baby!  After an "almost nap" I asked Chris to see if he could figure out what was wrong.  We had changed his diaper, he was well fed, and he'd just slept.  Unlike the other kids, he was in our hotel room, so I knew no one had messed with him.  Just as Chris finished checking the diaper again (you never know!) he noticed V's little foot, more specifically one of his toes.  It was purple and swollen!  Chris noticed that a hair was wrapped tightly around the little digit.  Of course it had to be blonde, cuz I totally needed a pride check, you know how I am about Motherhood.

 oweeee!

So we called our Tricare for a referral to somewhere since we were new to the island and not on base yet.  They sent us to a great doctor, though quite a ways from our hotel.  I called the clinic and they said to come in right away.  We did as quickly as we could navigate the way.  (note to travelers: apple's gps app is not useful here!)  Anyway, so we take him in and the nurse was amazing!  She reassured me that it happens quite often that a mom's hair (she's the one who does most of the care taking) gets wrapped around something on a baby - usually another important area for a little boy!  So after some very tense moments the doctor was able to finally remove all the pieces of hair that were cutting off the circulation in his toe.  It must've been on a long time because the wound was already starting to get infected.  I felt like such a bad mom.

this is after it got fixed!  took a while for it to look normal

Both the doctor and nurse kept telling me it wasn't my fault, but he's my baby and I didn't notice he was hurting for a long time.  He's doing much better now and so am I.