Daniel's First Week Back

I decided to make another post today to fill you all in on Daniel and his homecoming. You can scroll down further for the details on Sarah and Zeb's visit.

Saturday morning May 20th, around 6am Daniel's flight was scheduled to land. They got there a bit late, but I was there on time thankfully. I didn't want to miss it so I came early. So I woke up early enough to get dolled up to meet him. Here is their plane after landing. It was exciting and so emotional. There was a Marine band playing and there were flags up and banners hanging in the hanger. All the wives were waiting for them to pull the plane around and open the door. They finally did and I was so surprised to see the 10th person (or so) was my Daniel. I was not expecting him to come off so early. I ran and met him through my tears.

Unfortunately, we do not have any pictures of us together right when he got off the plane, but there was a professional photographer taking several pictures of us kissing. He gave us his name but we haven't found any pictures online or in any newspaper of us smooching yet. If you do find them, please let us know. Thanks.

My camera battery decided to run out right as he was coming off the plane, so he is not in that picture but he is right behind the last guy coming off.

It took about 2 1/2 hours for him to return his weapon at the armory and retrieve his bags. The plane had to be unloaded and all the bags went to a parking lot on base. It was a long wait while they sorted through seabags and packs all looking the same. I was just so thankful to have him home safely.

I had made a sheet sign with Jo a few weeks before their return and I hung it up over our carport. It stayed up for several days. I was quite proud of him and so thankful for his safe return.

He had slept quite a bit on the plane so he was not super drowsy Daniel. We spent the 96, the 4 day weekend, relaxing and getting Daniel back on Hawaii time. He slept several hours each day. :) He returned to work on Wednesday and their leave block starts on June 6th.

Daniel, on his way out of country, had a great time haggling at an Afghan market. He came back with some beautiful jewelry for his wife and some very cool finds. The blue looking centipede belt is actually a silver belt with lapis insets on it. It fits perfectly and I can't wait to find the outfit to go with it. The two necklaces are some of the coolest finds; both have eccentric designs and the one of the right has chunks of turquoise, quartz and amber on the chain. I was most impressed with Daniel's jewelry taste. My favorite gift he brought me is the adorable lapis hippo in the bottom left. Hippos are my favorite animal, and it has the cutest shape.

He also got a leather chess board, he is a sucker for the smell of leather, and chess pieces carved out of some kind of wood or resin. I didn't get a picture of it yet, but I will post one once it is pulled out and played on.

A favorite souvenir he came home with is his man-jammies. Daniel worked frequently with a local Afghan man. The Marines worked with him to hire local nationals to deliver logistics using pick-up trucks, donkeys, and jingle trucks. I will post a few pictures when Daniel gets them to me. The man apparently had a great respect for Daniel because he took Daniel to a local tailor and had him make an Afghan suit for him. It is custom fit for Daniel. (I was about to post this as the outfit Daniel had on when I picked him up at the hanger, but I decided against it. He was wearing his camis. :) )

So there you have it. Daniel's first week back has been busy with moving plans and his return to work. Memorial Day Weekend we spent with friends at two different cookouts, one in Waikiki and one in Kailua. Everyone keeps saying I am smiling a lot more. I guess that is true...

We are headed out for our island cruise on the 10th so we are excited about that. I think we may hike Maunawili Falls on one of his days off before the cruise. I want to make sure he sees it.

I will try to post more pictures when I get them. Thanks for your love and support through the deployment and the homecoming time. We both appreciate it immensely.

Love Ya'll

Shame on me...

I do know that I have neglected this blog for a long time now, but I have very justifiable reasons. One being Daniel's return and two being I was pretty sick last week and didn't feel like organizing my thoughts enough to write a blog. Please forgive the delay in Sarah and Zeb's photos and Daniel's first week home.

I will finish up posting some pictures from Sarah and Zeb's visit. We had an amazing 10 days. We jumped right into seeing the island and all it had to offer. After going to the Arizona Memorial and the Swap Meet on Wednesday, we enjoyed the evening at the Mongolian grill at the O Club on base. Here is a quick pic of S&Z while we waited to go into the memorial.

Thursday we went to Sunset Beach and spent a few hours relaxing on the beach. There were only a few surfers there. It was really odd seeing one of the world's most famous beaches so empty. It was perfect. That afternoon we went to the Dole Plantation and had fun taking some pictures while we waited for the Pineapple Express train to take us around for a tour. Zeb just loved these rainbow eucalyptus trees and Sarah looked too cute as a pineapple to not post this picture.

Friday we took a hike around the local botanical gardens mainly because Zeb loves taking pictures of plant life and birds. We saw plenty of both that day and Zeb's photos turned out beautiful. That evening we went to a famous restaurant down in Waikiki, Duke's, and I showed S&Z the super tourist spots in the downtown area. We enjoyed the evening, but walked away happy we were staying on the other side of the island. It is too crowded, too pricey and just too touristy in Waikiki (yes touristy is my made-up word); besides our side of the island is so much more beautiful with the amazing Ko'olau mountains.

Saturday I took S&Z to Hanauma Bay to experience snorkeling. It was a first for both and they loved it! I was so happy they enjoyed it. It is one of my favorite things on the island to do so having them enjoy it made it even better. The beach there is so nice to relax on as well. We went early so it wasn't as crowded, but when we left it was packed. There were so many Japanese tourists right around our seats that I didn't hear any English from anyone around me. I just love watching the adorable children so I rested as S&Z went back out a 2nd time. This is my picture from after I got out the first time. The palms were just calling for me to take their picture against the blue sky...

Saturday evening I had several friends over for a pasta night so everyone could meet and get to know S&Z. It was a great night. The game didn't work out so well but everyone seemed to have a good time just chatting.

Sunday was church and relaxing on the base beach. Zeb tried boogie boarding but the waves were pretty big that day. I think he preferred the relaxing on the beach more than the "getting attacked by the large and frequent waves" part of the beach that day. He definitely went at it though. I am glad he at least got to try it. He did catch one wave all the way back into shore. He rode it about 20 seconds or so. I was impressed. I am too weak and too scared to go at the big waves.

Monday we visited the ranch where so many famous movies were filmed, Jurassic Park, Godzilla, Tears from the Sun, George of the Jungle...I could go on. The Kualoa Ranch is located just north of Kaneohe so the mountains are a familiar backdrop around here. We took two tour rides. One of the tours was to the specific film spots. Here is the valley where a few major scenes in Jurassic Park were filmed. They even had the same piece of wood the children in the movie duck under to not be stampeded by dinosaurs . The second tour, my favorite, took us into the heart of the mountains. It was a very rough road and we had to hold on tight in the truck the guide was banging us around in. We went to the top of a small mountain and had an amazing view of the water and mountains all around us. It was a perfect day outside as well. The weather couldn't have been better.

Tuesday was one of my favorite days of the entire visit. We hiked to the Maunawili waterfall. It was about a 2 mile hike there and once we got there it was breathtaking. Amaya told us to bring our swimsuits and dirty tennis shoes. I am glad we followed both directions. It was muddy and it was perfect to swim in and jump from. It was like a movie set with the fern tree leaves hanging over providing shade. The waterfall water was cold but a prefect way to cool down after the hike. When we jumped from the waterfall we never touched bottom. It was deep and clear and cool. We couldn't have asked for anything better in a waterfall hike. It was a great intermission to the hike. We made our way back down as content as could be.

Tuesday night we went to the Paradise Cove Luau for some traditional Hawaiian luau food, music and dance. The sunset seemed to be a great backdrop for photos so we made sure to get one of all three of us as well as a sister shot.


Sarah and Zeb's visit was filled with lots of activity, but it was just so good to have them both here. I haven't spent a good amount of time with Zeb in a several years so I look forward to keeping in better touch with him and maybe taking a few extra road trips to Alabama once we move to North Carolina. I am excited about living so close to family again. I do miss roadtripping to see family in the south.

It was a great visit. They both made it just in time before we moved. Thanks for coming out to visit me. You guys were a great ending to Daniel's deployment. Love You both!

Daniel is Home!

I do not want to write long blog entry but I did want you all to know Daniel is home safe. He is sleeping on our couch as I type. They had four 7 hour flights on their way home so I know he is exhausted.
I plan on writing more about Sarah and Zeb's visit as well as posting a few pictures of the homecoming ceremony this morning at a later time.

Praise the Lord for his safe return!

Family is Here!

Sarah and Zeb arrived safely at 12:50 on Tuesday afternoon. I was so excited to see them.
We have already experienced Pearl Harbor and the Swap Meet. They woke up early on Wednesday morning due to the hour differeneces so I decided to take advantage of it and let them see some early morning things on the island.
Today we are taking it easy and going to see North Shore to hit some beaches.

I will keep ya'll updated.

Daniel is safe and is in transition time right now. He isn't feeling his best so please keep him in your prayers that whatever bug he has will leave him quickly. Before either of us knows it he will be back in Hawaii. I can't wait!

Love Ya'll

It is MAY!!!!

Well, it is finally the month; so many exciting things in store for this month. The first major event is Daniel's homecoming, of course. I do not know the day or time yet due to constant changes in schedule and operation security measures, but it will be this month towards the latter half. I am so excited about his return! I will be sure to let you all know when he is safely back in the United States.

Another wonderful event this month is my little sister and my cousin's visit on the 9th. I am so excited about their visit. They are both really looking forward to the time on the island and I just love being a hostess. Sarah just finished classes and she is in the midst of her finals week so she is hankering for the time away from school. Zeb needs a break from work. He is one of the hardest working people I know. There will definitely be a post about their visit.

Meli has been missing on the blog so I have to post her picture to make sure you all know who the most important figure of our household is... :)
She is sleeping with me for most of the night, when she is not bouncing off the walls and chasing imaginary bugs and lights. Here she is as she is stretching taking up most of the bed. I do not know if she will be able to share the bed when Daniel returns. We will have to lay down the rules once he returns...She may not be so happy. She will adjust though, she is a USMC cat. It is all about being flexible, Meli.

Speaking of being flexible, our moving plans are going smoothly. I made several copies of our orders today and took them to everyone and their mother. Yes, one particular place needed 30 copies. Apparently hearing that we have orders is not enough for the moving truck guys and all their kids and pets... :)

I have a brief I have to go to tomorrow morning. I am hoping it won't be 4 hours long like the last brief I had to go to. They can be quite overwhelming in that amount of time. It makes you want to never ever move. I left that morning with a 100 page manual and several handouts on specific topics. Thankfully, I have got a timeline set up with the exact steps I need to take to get things organized and scheduled. Things are moving along with out many hitches and I am happy to be learning all this now. I know it would have been nice to have Daniel to help plan everything, but I am learning a lot. I like to think it will make me a better KV as well. This way I can answer any questions a wife has on shipment of pets, household goods and vehicles and many more things.

My days are filled with lots of planning; planning for the family visit, Daniel's return, the time in June and July before we leave the island, and our eventual move. We are taking a cruise of the islands in June to celebrate: our 1st anniversary/Daniel's return/we're-leaving-the-islands-better-do-it-now. We are both excited about seeing the volcanoes as well as the magnificent views on the other islands. We are going to have 2 days on the "big island", 2 days on Maui, and 1 day on Kauai. It will be the first cruise for both of us. It should be great! That was another thing I had to plan alone. Daniel was out in the field and away from communication with family for 3 weeks when I went to the travel agency to schedule it. I knew the general things we wanted, but made the rest of the decisions without him. Thankfully, he would have agreed with everything I picked. I guess that is why we are married... :)

This month for Project Spectrum is the delightful color of green. There is so much green on this beautiful island I don't even know where to start. Here are a couple of plush photos I took at my last visit to the botanical gardens. I will have to think of something green to make this month.

Well have a great first week of May!