Aloha from Hawaii!

Alright, so it's been quite a while since I last posted on this blog and this is the first time since we set foot on the island! For the first several days we didn't have Internet, so that was my first excuse. Then, after we finally got it hooked up, I had so much catching up to do I didn't have time to blog. Second excuse. My other two excuses are 1) tiredness and 2) allergies. For some reason we have been going to bed closer to 9 p.m. since we've been here than our usually 11ish p.m. The two-hour time difference would be the obvious explanation, but even some locals we've talked to say they just get tired here earlier and get up earlier. Maybe it has something to do with being more in tune with nature? Lastly, I have had pretty bad allergies since we arrived and they really seem to hit a peak in the evenings. So, if it's one of those evenings, the last thing I want to do with my itchy, tired eyes is look at the computer screen.

So, excuses aside, here we are! I realize we are still in what could be considered the "honeymoon phase" of our transition to the island, but so far we just love it! I take such delight in seeing my little boys get to play like little boys out in our yard, it's wonderful! I now understand why many Hawaiian children I've seen in the past were either dirty or barely clothed. It really is a futile effort to get them dressed in any kind of outfit I would have put on them on the mainland on a normal day. In five minutes they'll walk back in the house covered in mud or having sat in chicken poop or worse. Aaron often runs around in only a onesie, a diaper, or nothing at all! Alex goes for swim trunks and his slippers (aka flip-flops). Seeing as how we hang-dry our laundry here, I don't mind keeping the clothing more on the simple side!

Alex is doing great at his new school. He is the only haole (white boy) in his class, but doesn't seem to mind. We take him to school in the morning and he rides the bus home. We have our first parent-teacher conference next week, so it will be nice to hear more about how he's doing. And of course Alex LOVES going to the beach. The last time we went it was just he and I, and he got out there in the waves in his floating swimsuit and was really getting into it! He was so excited and loud it was almost embarrassing, ha ha! He was learning how to get out in the water a ways and then let a wave carry him back in to shore. Of course I can't just relax with a book on the beach, I have my eyes on him every moment, but I enjoy watching him love life so much!

Aaron really seems to miss Alex when he's at school, but looks forward to the time of day when we walk out to the street and watching for the bus to bring Alex home. I am so glad they have each other, they play so well together now. They are sharing a room and usually wake up at the same early hour. We can hear them lay in there giggling from across the hall until Alex gets Aaron out of his pack 'n play. Next we hear the pitter-patter of their feet on the wood floor and soon I see a little face next to mine at the side of the bed and hear, "Hi Mommy!" And in our bed they climb and snuggle in between us. Thank goodness we have the king-sized bed!

When we take Aaron to the beach we really have to be on our toes. That child continues to demonstrate a determination to take on life without fear. I wish you could hear how hard he laughs when the waves toss him off his feet. He was not afraid of those waves for one second before he charged straight into the water! He loves life and he loves to make us laugh any way he can. We are amazed at his humorous facial expressions and acts he does purely for our entertainment. He has a LOT of personality to go along with his extra strong will!

Mark has begun his 2nd semester at Mammoth High and says he's glad he decided to stay, but is eager to get over here too! I can tell he's bored with Mammoth and ready for a change. We have skyped with him a couple of times now and the boys got to see him last night for the first time. It's odd not having him around, but we know he'll be here soon. We're thinking about registering him at the public school here now, which we didn't think we would consider. After being in the area and meeting some families with boys Mark's age, it is an option we are talking about with Mark. We'll see what we decide over the summer.

So we have applied to rent a larger home on Union Mill Road, which is just up the street from Jenny & Sully's land. The house seems very out of place in that it is the only two-story house on the street. We thought our two-story days were over when we left Mammoth! Jenny commented that this house seems like it was transplanted from Mammoth to Hawaii because it's just not your typical Hawaiian home. It's very open and spacious inside, which we like. It will have plenty of room for our 4 children, business office and also visitors. We hesitate to move so quickly as we are enjoying our month-to-month rental. It is perfect for our current family of 4. The yard is great and so are the neighbors, so we hate to leave it. We just know that by the time the new baby arrives and Mark and visiting family, this place will get small real fast!

Well, there is much more I could say about our new life here, but this is enough for now. I'm fading fast as it's actually 11:05 p.m. and way past my bedtime! I went to a women's Bible study tonight and got home a little later than usual. But I will write more soon and try to keep up on this blog as time allows. I hope all is well with you mainlanders!