Welcome Home Mandy!

As most of you know we were in Hawaii for 6 months last year. We were there because Kate's sister Mandy was in Afghanistan, I say was because as of a couple hours ago she was on a plane from Texas back to Hawaii safe and sound. Thanks to all the people that prayed for Mandy, Jake, Scott and us as we were there and welcome home Mandy. I'm so excited for you to get to know Jake more and more, he is a good kid that should keep you just as busy as all those crazy medics you looked after. We can't wait to get a chance to see you and to see your boys again.

We like Hawaii a lot!

One Thing

One of the things that I really love about being here is being able to head to the beach for a swim and a sit and then walking back home. I can head down there and swim for 10 minutes and be back without having to make a big effort or even take much with me. I am pale and rotund so I make quite a striking spectacle amongst the tan fit soldiers but I don't care. I have my sun screen caked on so I don't burn and I am slowly dropping some pounds, 4 since we got here, and I feel really comfortable out there. I don't feel fat like I do at work or every where else I am and it's odd because I got nothing on but my boardies. I guess there is a comfortableness here that I have and I like that, it's one of the things that I really like about being here.

Day 7

So far we have been to the beach everyday since we have been here and our mid-westerner farmer tans are turning into slightly less pale versions. There is a salt water pool at the house as well that we have been dipping in, Henry loves it, Finn not so much. I am on Day 4 of working at home and my first official day with everything working as it should. The first couple of days the phone was not working and since that is the bulk of my duties I did a lot of sitting around responding to emails in a lightening fast manor that would imply i was on top of it. I want to show that despite not being in the office I am on top of my game. Work starts at 5 AM and ends at 2 PM leaving a lot of time for fun in the sun. We have ventured into Kailua to walk around and yesterday on our walk saw Hurly from Lost. Having lived in Santa Barbara and run into our fair share of celebs we knew the drill. But it was oddly fitting to be in Hawaii for a couple of days and already run into a Lost cast member. of course I would have preferred Evangeline Lilly but you take what you get.

The boy have been sleeping a little later each day so that they now get up closer to 6:30 AM instead of 4:30. We are all in bed by 9 around here so the early hour isn't so bad. Mandy is here for a couple more days before heading back to Texas and then on to Afganistan. It has been a nice transition to see how she handles Jake so that we can keep things as routine as possible. There are a few pictures on Flickr and more coming.

I get Wet

THe swimming pool had too much salt in it so it needed to be drained. This is the end of the hose that is draining the pool, or as Finn calls it "The greatest toy ever!"

We made it

We are here in Hawaii and for the most part settled in. The flight over was great, the boy each had a long nap and were wonderful as usual. There was a couple next to us that groaned when they saw that they were going to be sitting next to a baby and a toddler but they told me how great my boys were when they were getting off the plane. I think it was about hour 3 in the flight when they still had not made a peep and Henry was in my lap staring over at them and smiling and giggling. They broke under the assault of cuteness and were gracious enough to admit their defeat. The morning was a little tough as Hawaiian Airlines wouldn't let us take our stroller to the gate like every other airline does because it was a three wheel job and one time one person fell while trying to get it up the gang plank. Awesome. We had to marshal the boys and bags through security. When we got to the gate we weren't able to take our car seat on the plane because it did not have a sticker on it that says it is OK for planes. It had been torn off at some point so we had to check it there. SO our plan to have Finn confined to his car seat where he would be much more likely to sleep were dashed. The lady was half way into a lecture/explanation on why when I walked away to get on the plane. She was one of the flight attendants and came by mid flight to resume her spiel seemingly unaware that I had no interest at all. Kate being an infinitely better person then I listened and nodded in all the right places. Again the flight was great, the boys did really well despite being confined to a small space for a five hour flight. Pictures and more to come soon. We are here though, we made it.

Wheels up on Friday

We have white walls and mostly empty rooms again. The cycle of apartment life is completing and with most of our stuff neatly divided between parents and friends we are left with a couple of suitcases, a baby cage, and a blow up mattress. Henry is sleeping on the changing table pad and a couple of blankets and Finn’s time-out chair is a 5 gallon bucket of plain white paint. 4 more days until we take off and the excitement is definitely building. This weekend we got to say, not goodbye but “See ya later” to a number of people and with each telling and re-telling of the coming months we are getting more excited. “This time next week” is the start to many of sentences and the end usually has us on the beach with a cocktail in hand. It really is an appealing picture if you think about it.

We have found that when we tell people about our plans they react in one of two ways: “What and adventure for you” or “What an act of service”. I wonder what it says about those people that fall into the different categories. Both are true and the real yin and yang of the situation. We have this amazing adventure ahead of us, living in Hawaii, looking after three boys under the age of 3, waking up in paradise to work at 5 in the morning, and exploring a beautiful place through the eyes of a toddler. I think we are getting as much, if not more then we are putting in and though the circumstances are terrible, the opportunity is once in a lifetime for our family.

New Adventures

Four weeks from today Kate, Finn, Henry, and I will board a one way flight to Hawaii for 6 months of family adventures. We have turned in our notice with the apartment, listed our car and some furniture on Craigslist, and filled out the change of address cards to send to the post office. Why are we doing this you ask? Well here is the Cliffs notes version. Kate's sister, who along with her husband is a Dr. in the Army, is getting deployed in early June to Afghanistan. Her 6 month old son and husband are staying behind in Hawaii and they asked us if we would come for 6 months to help look after the little man. I talked to my job about taking a leave of absence but they countered with working from home for that period of time and I accepted. We are heading out June 27Th until the beginning of January to live in Hawaii, help look after Jake and Scott, and live the life of carefree beach bums for as much time as we are allowed. We will be coming back to Portland at the end of this adventure hopefully with a healthy tan and beach blond hair.