Happy Anniversary to Us

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So I had to dig out the wedding album for a little reminiscing on our anniversary. We generally don’t go too crazy celebrating it, maybe going out to dinner if I manage to find a babysitter. But this year (once again) we aren’t celebrating together. I wish I had kept a better calendar because I think we might have spent almost as many anniversaries apart as together!

I look back on these pictures of us taken so long ago at that cute little chapel on Ft. Belvoir and think, you dumb kids, you have no clue what you’re getting yourself into. We knew we loved each other and wasn’t that all there was to it?

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I wanted to marry you not long after I met you. You were quite that catch, good looking, funny as hell and you were just so solid. So there for me. We lived in each other’s pockets for two years before getting married, working together, hanging out almost every minute when we weren’t at work. We had so much fun. We still do thank goodness.

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We grew up together. We met at 18 and 20 respectively and now we are in our mid-thirties. I love having you as the witness to my life. I love making these incredible memories that we are going to be able to look back on after a lifetime of adventures.

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Happy Anniversary, I love you more than you know!

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Oh Lordy I Am Getting Old!

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Birthday time again! I really love birthdays, well any celebration or excuse for a party really. I think I am just shocked when I realize that I have to turn another year older. Am I REALLY not 23 anymore? Amazingly, no. And I was looking toward a bummer of a birthday weekend without my husband here to spoil me. All I have to say is I have some amazing friends who came to my rescue and made my birthday weekend memorable!

My actual birthday was on Saturday but we grabbed the opportunity to have an adult lunch without kids on Friday while they were all still in school. I chose a new place I have been dying to try, Scratch. OMG, go there if you can. It was outstanding.

Got a little baby action, I love cuddling this baby girl! photo IMG_2644_zps55aa8edc.jpg

My lunch, a crispy chicken sandwich with all sorts of yumminess inside and a warm brussel sprout salad.  photo 2014-11-14115809_zpse0a78f46.jpg

My friends both ordered this, I can’t remember the name but it was pork and rice and a runny egg. Beautiful! photo 2014-11-14115813_zps941258c7.jpg

On my actual birthday we did have some plans, or rather Mckenna had some plans… The girl has become a wrestler. She is only in 7th grade but the local high recruits middle schoolers to start wrestling early. This was her second tournament and managed to snag a 2nd place spot. She really loves it and I am so happy she is brave enough to dive into totally new sports. This girl has no fear!

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My sweet friends decided no birthday is complete without wine, s’mores, and cake. And we had plenty of all three that night. My s’mores fire was seriously lacking but the kids had fun making marshmallows for us. And I got a yummy vanilla cake with chocolate frosting and toffee bits! photo 2014-11-15204216_zps49bd5753.jpg

 

Silly me had scheduled an early morning hike with our spouses group the next morning. So we dragged ourselves out of bed to go hike Makapu’u Lighthouse. I could have just bailed because no one else showed up. Oh well, at least we all got up and out of bed! The whales are back for winter and we managed to see a few splashing around.

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Group shot! Thanks to a passing hiker who took it for us and made Omar get into the frame.  photo 2014-11-17020112_zps0b3e9b2f.jpeg

Hey cutie!

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Nothing like a tree pose on a rocky ledge. I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t do something halfway stupid on a hike. Next time I will try something a little more challenging… maybe a standing bow? Or not. photo 2014-11-17020122_zps35c0c019.jpeg

 

And lord knows it’s not a day with my friends if it doesn’t involve food. We are currently addicted to Cinnamon’s which thankfully isn’t closer or we would be there daily. My son has become quite the Loco Moco addict.

 

Loco moco, you ask? It’s a local breakfast dish that is made with rice, a hamburger steak, gravy and a over easy egg on top. Oh it’s good. I settled for eggs benedict, some bites of his loco moco and a side order of guava chiffon pancakes to share. (Oh and they are as good as they sound) photo 2014-11-16121700_zps89d36329.jpg

 

After such a great weekend can I really complain about getting older? Not if I get to celebrate like this every year!

Thanks to Those Who Serve

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This Veteran’s Day (and every day!) I want to send a big thank you to all our military. I get a front row seat to the sacrifices it takes to serve in the armed forces. I come from a pretty … Continue reading →

Aulani ~ Disney Hawaiian Style

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One of the things I’ve been DYING to do is hit up Aulani, Disney’s gorgeous resort in west Oahu. But let me tell you this place is EXPENSIVE! So we finally found a good shoulder-season weekend and booked it. One … Continue reading →

Counting down

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Well we now have less than a year left in Hawaii.
Just like when we were geting ready to leave Spain I am getting super sad and nostalgic before we even leave. It does feel like less time than that because Omar is deploying in late winter so we have to get all of out Hawaii to-do stuff done before he leaves.

I don’t want to go! I love, love, love it here. The weather, the people,  the food, the ocean, the mountains. 

So soon it will be decision time… where to go next. Of course it’s not like it is our decision entirely, the Navy will offer us a list of options and we will choose a few of those. We will either get one of them or have to try again next month.
Now staying on this ship IS an option but honestly not a real one. This command has been ROUGH. In the 3 years we will have been on this ship, Omar will have been underway or deployed for over half of it. We are ready to get away from this intense pace.
Omar would really like to get back to Virginia, he is ready to be back near family buy a house and settle down.
I am not ready to go back! I love and miss our family but I love living all over the world and can’t imagine living back on the mainland. 
Its just hard because Mckenna is going to be going into high school soon and I don’t want her to have to move in the middle of a school year then.
But as always I stress and make plans and the Navy will probably throw us another curveball!

What is your dream duty station?

My micro-homestead

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This post is laughably titled because somehow I still manage to have the blackest thumb ever. My ideal home would have some land so I can do a garden and have some more livestock, but man. I don’t know why I can’t keep my plants alive!

One thing I am growing, courtesy of this fabulous island, is an adorable baby pineapple!

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I know a lot of people are surprised to see how pineapples grow, straight out the top, one per plant. You can actually regrow them from the crown of a pineapple (and that’s how the plantations around here to it). I have lot’s of pineapple plants (we eat a LOT of them!) but this is my first one to bear fruit! So excited to harvest it!

On the livestock front my crazy ass chickens have gotten big and keep me very entertained. They’ve been laying eggs for a few months now and I have to say have a couple organic cage free eggs every morning is pretty awesome. I can’t find any of my nest box pictures but they lay the prettiest brown and blue/green eggs.

They are also curious little pigs. Every time the sliding door opens they come running hoping for a treat. No matter how I try to keep them off the lanai they sneak back in! And will walk right into the house if the doors open!

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I really don’t think I knew just how much fun chickens can be. They really do have personalities and will let themselves be picked up. They are also great at turning over a compost pile and keeping the creepy crawlies out of the yard!