Military Meanderings

In memory

2012-02-02T20:13:00.000-10:00

Creating sanctuary

2012-02-01T14:21:00.002-10:00

Read a great post here about your marriage being a sanctuary, "The trip back to the garden of delight is always a trip back to sanctuary. We find our way back to a safe place where we can be vulnerable and unafraid, back to the place where we can be naked and not ashamed."

"No man needs a castle when he has a sanctuary."

What a great goal to strive for, to make our homes and our marriages a place of sanctuary.

Ichiban!

2012-01-27T19:36:00.001-10:00

This is what happens when you accidently select the entire photo for red-eye removal instead of cropping it.

Hula

2012-01-27T15:56:00.000-10:00

It's out of order but I wanted to post this video of Abigail's first hula lesson, enjoy! I didn't record too much between trying to keep Ethan occupied and not wanting to be "that Mom" but this will give you an idea of how the class went.

Making Gingerbread Cookies

2012-01-26T16:43:00.002-10:00

I just noticed that for some reason there is a shoe on the counter right next to where they are decorating the cookies. Nice.

Shot taken moments before we had many little red projectiles sliding across the counter.

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2012-01-26T07:18:00.002-10:00

So appparently I was further behind than I realized - here are the kids and I decorating the Christmas tree.

It is my contention that the Christmas Tree is straight.

It's the windows that are crooked.

2012-01-13T07:30:00.001-10:00

Ethan sneezed and no one said anything so he said, "Bless you me."

We're still here

2012-01-12T20:13:00.002-10:00

The past month has flown by and due to Wil putting photos and updates on facebook I've neglected my blogging duties. We are now getting back into our regular routine (just before we prepare for our deployment routine) so hopefully I'll get caught back up soon.

My current project is finishing Abigail's baby book. Some of you may remember that it was my goal to finish it over Wil's first deployment. Obviously that didn't happen. I did achieve my goal of running a half marathon on the last deployment so I guess I'm batting .500. I had ordered all the pictures for it then so I have all the materials. And now that we have a guest room again I've set up a table in there that I can just leave my scrapbooking supplies out on and not have to worry about kids getting into them or spend half an hour setting up every time I want to do something. I've been able to get some work done on it every day this week.

Now on to catching up -

Right after Wil got back from EMV the babysitters, uh I mean, his parents arrived and he and I took off for a romantic getaway at Turtle Bay. It was HEAVENLY. We slept in, drank coffee on the balcony, had a couples massage in the oceanside cabana, watched the sunset over the beach on a horseback ride and just enjoyed being Wil and Krista again instead of Mommy and Daddy.

Next up - Grammy and Poppy's visit.

Kids

2011-11-25T06:39:00.000-10:00

Of course on black Friday morning Ethan sleeps until 7 am instead of his usual 5 in the morning.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T12:22:00.001-10:00

Halloween

2011-11-23T20:50:00.001-10:00

This was about as close as I could get Abigail to actually stick her hand in the pumpkin

The finished product

Abigail and Sophia

Abigail counting her loot

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-13T07:31:00.001-10:00

Waiting to go on the hayride

Outside the petting zoo

Enjoying a shave ice

Shooting the pumpkin cannon

"Mommy, I want THIS one!"

"Okay, maybe not"

Not exactly sure what this was about

Our handsome little man

We love the Waimanalo Country Farms pumpkin patch - it's a little smaller than the Aloun farms one, no amusement park rides but much less dusty, crowded and, for us, a MUCH shorter drive.

Base Harvest Festival

2011-10-22T10:44:00.000-10:00

My two little super heros

Abigail helping Ethan brush the grass off his costume

Riding the kiddie train

Zoo Trip

2011-10-18T11:04:00.000-10:00

My favorite photos from our zoo trip over Abigail's fall break:

There's always one

2011-10-05T14:39:00.000-10:00

Gymnastics class starts by running laps around the floor and sure enough, there's Abigail running in the opposite direction from everyone else.

Another first

2011-09-16T12:37:00.000-10:00

While brushing her teeth last night Abigail lost her first baby tooth. Fortunately she wasn't over the sink at the time because it literally fell out of her mouth.

Catching Up

2011-09-04T20:05:00.000-10:00

Easter baskets (yes, I'm THAT far behind)

And this was so long ago I don't remember what the heck she was doing here - but it sure looks funny

Movie Night

CHEESE!

One of our traditions - taking a family photo outside our house before we move

Ethan's Birthday

We went to 808bounce in the Windward mall for Ethan's birthday and I would NOT recommend this place to anyone. There was absolutely no parental or employee supervision and they only had four bouncy toys. After Abigail got practically crushed we decided we'd had enough. Definitely not worth our $16 admission price - we would have been better off just going to the free children's play area just one floor down. (Okay enough ranting).

HMH-362 Dinner Social - the squadron had its own function since they'll be training over the Marine Corps Birthday.

Ethan's Haircut

2011-08-17T20:05:00.001-10:00

Before:

After:

Our little kindergartner

2011-08-15T12:41:00.000-10:00

Today

2011-08-04T15:05:00.001-10:00

Ethan is using my silicone baking mats as bases in his imaginary indoor baseball game. "Everybody's gotta be doing something."

Family Camping

2011-07-10T19:39:00.001-10:00

Our church had family camp out at Bellows this weekend. We were only able to make it out for one night due to Wil's schedule, which was probably for the best. We decided it would also be for the best if Ethan and I slept back at the house. So we enjoyed the beach, campfire and outdoor church service as a family but left the sleeping in a tent to just Wil and Abigail. Other than several fire ant incidents (Wil and me, not the kids thank goodness) we had a good time. I hope that we'll all be able to go camping as a family soon.

New House

2011-06-25T11:44:00.000-10:00

The construction fence came down so we went and checked out our new house!

Preschool logic

2011-06-22T10:55:00.000-10:00

Abigail: Mommy, look a princess booster seat, can we get it?

Me: No, Abigail you don't use a booster seat any more.

Abigail: No, but Ethan does.

Me: Yes, but do you think Ethan would want a princess booster seat?

Abigail: No, but a baby sister would.

Me: Yes, but you don't have a baby sister.

Abigail: Well, no, not yet.

(And no this is not our way of announcing a pregnancy, that's just how Abigail's mind works.)

Abigail's Birthday

2011-06-21T07:04:00.002-10:00

We decided to just have a family celebration for Abigail's birthday this year so we let her pick what we had for dinner - spaghetti and meatballs - and a fun activity - putt-putt golf.

This was as close to "standing still" as she could come

* For those of you who are "local" we went to Glow Putt in the windward mall in Kaneohe and it was a great experience. We were concerned that they would charge for all four of us even though Ethan wouldn't really play and Wil and I would likely be going back and forth between playing with Abigail and taking care of Ethan. Not only didn't they charge us for that but they also gave us an extra putter, ball, and glow-necklace for Ethan to play with. Their prices are comparable to here on base and I really liked not having to worry about getting sunburned while Abigail played. After finishing their game they gave both Abigail and Ethan light-up flashing rings as well. I'm all about rewarding businesses that treat you well so wanted to pass on our experience. *

Princess cake from the commissary

Opening presents

Abigail

2011-06-14T06:24:00.002-10:00

Singing in the bathroom: "One plus two equals three, three plus three equals . . . more!"

May

2011-06-07T08:43:00.001-10:00

Abigail snuggling with her daddy doll

Enjoying the new Sesame Street live show

Memorial Day picnic at Kailua beach

A sample of our average day

2011-05-24T18:57:00.003-10:00

Abigail: Why are carrots orange?

Wil: Because that's how God made them.

Abigail: But then why is the TV black?

Wil: . . .?

Sandbar

2011-05-19T15:02:00.000-10:00

Finally on our way in our third (or was it fourth?) boat, two of which were "brand new"

Crazy comb-over hair courtesy of the windy ride back

Catching Up

2011-05-14T10:30:00.000-10:00

Playing in the sprinklers with Brennan

Loving on Daddy

Camping trip - all of these prior to the thunder and lightning storm/50 MPH winds

The other after-math of our camping trip - a mosquito-bite covered Ethan

Showing off her new "big-girl bike"

Long Day

2011-05-08T16:50:00.000-10:00

Me: "Abigail why do you ask so many questions?"

Abigail: "Because that's just the way of me."

And . . . we're back!

2011-04-19T17:10:00.005-10:00

I had to sign up for another e-mail account but hopefully this will work so I can post more pictures so we'll give it a try.

Movie Night!

2 for 2 on geocaches!

On top of the pillboxes overlooking Lanikai

The loose gravel made for treacherous footing on the way down

Yet another trip to the botanical garden

Ethan kept trying to pet the ducks - they were not amused

Abigail insisted that she was scared of the ducks until she and Nana made up a song to scare them away

One kid looking at the camera and both smiling while hugging each other, I'm calling that a win

Peek-a-boo!

2 for 3 geocaching on this trip, The Far Side eluded me once again

Alaina and I before the Hail and Farewell at Formaggio's

The rest of the homecoming photos

2011-03-17T08:30:00.002-10:00

Location: Kailua, Hawaii
Photographer: Crystal Nix
www.snapshotsbycrystal.com

I'm still working on the issue of storage space for the blog photos. I was able to delete some old photos that weren't on the blog and that freed up some room but that's only a temporary solution. I have the original files without watermarks so if there's some you want printed let me know and I'll send you the files.

Off to the beach with our friends Alaina and Andrew who are getting ready to welcome their Ugly Angel home!

In the news

2011-03-06T11:15:00.003-10:00

Check out our little girl here.

Homecoming

2011-03-01T10:07:00.000-10:00

Location: Marine Corps Base Hawaii

Photographer: Crystal Nix

www.snapshotsbycrystal.com

Facebook page

Okay I'm not crazy . . .

2011-02-24T15:58:00.000-10:00

. . . there really was an earthquake. It felt very similar to when a helicopter or Osprey would fly right over the house back when we lived in North Carolina right next to the flight line - I could feel the slight vibration and the dishes in the cupboards rattled just a bit. It was a little disconcerting simply because there was no sound associated with it. If it was an aircraft or a weapon there would have been some sort of sound accompanied by the shaking feeling.

Now that I'm calm . . .

2011-02-23T17:31:00.000-10:00

. . . Hawaiian Airlines was finally able to get our suitcase from American Airlines and delivered it to us last night. We went a little less than 24 hours without the bag which for us wasn't that big of a deal (other than my contact solution and glasses being in there). However, I still think it's ridiculous that my bag got misplaced on both legs of my journey.

Don't fly American Airlines!

2011-02-22T12:43:00.000-10:00

Warning - rant ahead

They'll wait until the last minute to delay your flight so you rush through an ice storm to make it to the airport on time only to sit around and wait at the gate with an energetic toddler and preschooler. They won't hold your connecting flight for you even though there are 11 other people on your plane trying to make the same connection. They'll somehow manage to get your bag on your original flight so it gets to the airport five hours ahead of you. Then they'll lock it up, go home for the night and tell you it's Hawaiian airlines responsibility to send it to you (since you had to switch to one of their flights to make it home). Then they'll refuse to answer their phones so even though Hawaiian airlines is trying to send you your bag they can't because American airlines has it locked up at the airport.

I'm really glad that I'm at home dealing with this but I can't even imagine what would happen if I was a tourist trying to enjoy my vacation in beautiful Hawaii only to have to deal with this. With the state of Hawaii's budget problems and the hit the tourism industry has taken due to the economy the last thing it needs is American Airlines turning what should be a trip to paradise into a stressful situation.

In all our years of travel (okay it's not that many years but in the last two years I've taken a lot of flights to the mainland) I've only had one other time where our bag was delayed and that was when there was basically a blizzard blanketing the entire northeast. On this trip home American Airlines "lost" my bag BOTH times. In the future I will be rethinking booking on American Airlines, I'm not sure saving $20 on plane tickets is worth the hassle of trying to deal with them.

Back home

2011-02-01T14:18:00.001-10:00

Thanks Kristina for the botanical garden photos!

Ethan's two favorite spots

Photo taken by Abigail

Christmas Morning

2011-01-31T20:06:00.001-10:00

Random December Photos

2011-01-30T13:46:00.000-10:00

Banks and Abigail

The beautiful roses my hubby sent me for our 10 year dating anniversary

Chuck E. Cheese with Poppy

Abigail showing off her new tutu

Enjoying Nana's big tub

Sledding with Grandpa

Cronkright Family Christmas 2

2011-01-29T14:57:00.000-10:00

Michigan

2011-01-28T20:02:00.000-10:00

A ~~few~~ ~~bunch~~ ton of photos that never made it up from our trip home

Marathon Trip

Carpenter's

Jumpin' Jax

2011-01-09T15:03:00.000-10:00

Christmas #2 (not in order)

2011-01-04T03:00:00.000-10:00

Poppy opening the picture Abigail drew for him

We were able to talk to Wil on Christmas

Talking to Daddy

Honking Poppy's nose

Ethan intently watching the pictures of his Daddy

Everything is a dog to Ethan right now

Story time with Poppy

Christmas Program

2011-01-02T04:00:00.001-10:00

Getting some help from one of the other angels

I think Abigail wanted to be Mary

Waiting for their cue to go on stage

Watching "Brownie" the clown's antics

Abigail re-arranged the manger

Surprise

2010-12-28T05:18:00.000-10:00

HUSBAND

AWESOME!

Christmas #1 - The Carpenter's

2010-12-25T17:11:00.000-10:00

We celebrated Christmas early with my side of the family since my new sister-in-law had to work a 30 hour shift on Christmas day.

Ethan commandeered Sarah's Christmas present

Merry Christmas!

Abigail-isms

2010-12-22T02:30:00.000-10:00

"Mommy, me and Daddy are rock stars. Yeah, we rock."

"Mommy, I think someone in this car is sleepy. And it's me."

(Singing) "I love my Daddy and I love rainbow lights!"

Um, thanks

2010-12-19T16:35:00.000-10:00

Disclaimer - we're going into a taboo subject here, the topic of MONEY

I just saw the figures for BAS (Basic allowance for subsistence) here. I had to double check what our rate from last year was. Our BAS went up . . wait for it . . . a grand total of 80 cents. I guess I should probably be glad that they didn't go down but 80 cents just seems like such a ridiculous amount.

We'll now return you to your regularly scheduled kid-cuteness.

Randomness

2010-12-16T09:43:00.001-10:00

Now that I have a moment I'll post some captions

MSU museum

This exhibit was for Nelson Mandela and Rose Parks and she was "supposed" to be writing a letter to one of them but she decided to write to Daddy instead.

On the carousel at the Toledo Zoo lights

With uncle Matt and aunt Sarah

This has become Ethan's new favorite spot, where he can climb up on this cat house and look out the window

Chuck E. Cheese

Outside the Bird In Hand bake shop in the heart of Amish country

Enjoying the swimming pool at one of our many hotels on our marathon road trip

Rehoboth Beach 1/2 Marathon

2010-12-11T13:59:00.000-10:00

I made it!

13.1 miles
2 hours 40 minutes

First Snowfall

2010-12-02T10:45:00.000-10:00

Trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue

Yes, he is wearing his sister's pink converse shoes - they were the only ones that would fit over all his layers

Catching up . . . again

2010-11-28T17:48:00.000-10:00

Around the house

Painting the star for Daddy's tree

Construction paper necklace and drum

He's Mr. Potato Head!

Me and the little man

Decorating cookies for Daddy

Halloween

My little kitty cat

On the "hay ride"

Zoo Trip

Look Mommy, it's dirt!

Playing in the trees outside the zoo - LOVE this photo, minus the apple juice spilled all down his shirt

Abigail

2010-11-14T16:19:00.002-10:00

Abigail: Knock, knock

Me: Who's there?

Abigail: Chocolate

Me: Chocolate, who?

Abigail: Chocolate I'm for dinner, ha ha ha!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-13T19:47:00.000-10:00

Corn maize - the adults were not amused

Operation Christmas Child

2010-11-09T18:34:00.001-10:00

A few weeks ago at MOPS we had a speaker come from Samaritan's Purse to talk about their Operation Christmas Child outreach. Each of our tables packed a couple of boxes for some little boys and girls in other countries. One of the ladies at the table had mentioned taking her daughter to the store and having her pick out the gifts. It sounded like a very simple way to get Abigail involved in giving so I thought we would give it a try. So a trip to Target (or "the red store" as Abigail calls it) was in order to fill up a box with toys, school supplies, and toiletries. I wasn't sure how much Abigail was getting it when I told her she was picking out things for a special little boy who wouldn't get any other presents for Christmas. Then on the way home she said that we were going to be like a "pretend Santa Claus" and then I knew she got it, at least a little bit.

Decorating the box with spider-man stickers

Showing off the filled-up box

Mac Nut Farm

2010-11-07T09:03:00.000-10:00

T-shirt design

2010-11-05T20:18:00.000-10:00

Front:

Back:

Catching up - grammy's visit

2010-11-03T21:03:00.002-10:00

Last chance - updated

2010-10-31T21:33:00.001-10:00

Here are the votes as of now:

1 - Team Ugly - one vote

2 - Semper Malus - two votes

3 - Run Olaf, Run - two votes

4 - Half my racing team is in Afghanistan - six votes

Still taking votes until the end of the day!

Just to clarify . . .

2010-10-29T19:44:00.000-10:00

. . . this is Olaf:

Still taking votes on the running shirt poll in the post below. Vote today!

Running Shirt

2010-10-28T18:26:00.000-10:00

I'm looking at getting a custom running shirt made up and I had a few ideas for what I should put on the back. Help me pick and vote for your favorite!

1 - Team Ugly

2 - Semper Malus (Always Ugly)

3 - Run Olaf, Run

4 - Half my racing team is in Afghanistan

Feel free to suggest others or just leave a comment and let me know which one you like best.

Kiddos

2010-10-26T16:22:00.000-10:00

Abigail and Ethan's daddy quilts

Ethan - 1, Spaghetti - 0

Not sure what the appeal here is but he climbed in there three times. Reminds me of this photo:

Ugly Angels

2010-10-20T10:52:00.002-10:00

Check out an article on the Ugly Angels here.

Wil was HAC on this one

Photos by Sgt. Deanne Hurla

Catching up

2010-10-15T20:03:00.000-10:00

Abigail sleeping with hats - #2 in the series

Zoo trip with friends

Petting the goats

Geocaching on 10/10/2010, in the tenth year of geocaching.

We were part of a world-record setting number of geocachers logging a find on a single day.

"Nano's Revenge"

Yes we are still going to the beach in October =)

2010-09-25T10:53:00.000-10:00

Abigail's first dentist appointment

My two little monkeys

Yes Abigail is sleeping with her hat on

Enjoying the cupcakes at Calvin and Wyatt's birthday party

Looking so grown up

Loving on her daddy doll

The things no one tells you about being a parent . . .

2010-09-21T17:56:00.002-10:00

. . . that your son will spit up on a soccer ball and then throw it across the room

We're in for it now

2010-09-18T20:57:00.000-10:00

Looked over yesterday to find Ethan climbing from the chair up onto the kitchen table - I'm so not ready for this!

"I'm trouble and I know it!"

Botanical gardens and around the house

2010-09-13T19:34:00.000-10:00

Abigail and Wyatt fishing

She didn't catch anything but she had fun

Our little ham

Her "fishing pole" before mommy let her do the real thing

"Do I have something in my teeth?"

Getting ready for gymnastics

My two cuties

"What? Isn't this for me?"

Bubble time

BUSTED!

Ugly update

2010-09-08T14:31:00.000-10:00

You can read an article about the squadron here: http://dvidshub.net/news/55875/red-lions-transfer-authority-ugly-angels

I was able to talk to Wil on the phone for a little bit today and he sounds like he's doing well. Although they were originally disapointed they wouldn't be getting into the cans it turns out the tents they are living in are actually in a better location so he's pleased with that. Abigail got to talk to him for a little bit as well which was nice but then we got cut off and he wasn't able to call back. Still, it was good to hear his voice.

C25K Week 4, Day 1

2010-09-06T20:04:00.001-10:00

It was fitting that I did this run on Labor day because that's what it was, labor. The first two runs felt like my legs were running through wet cement. I just could not pick my legs up and kept doing the "old man" shuffle. After the second set of running I was able to finally get my legs stretched out and lengthen my stride to a somewhat normal length. I'm a little sore tonight but I should be okay by wednesday for my next session. One thing that was reassuring was my total distance was back up over two miles. For the first few weeks it seemed like as more run time was added my total distance went down. That's not the best outcome when I have a 5K coming up.

Good day

2010-09-04T19:50:00.000-10:00

We had our first squadron function today down at the botanical garden in Kaneohe. Abigail got to enjoy feeding the ducks, trying her hand at fishing and playing with her friends. I was able to enjoy some grown-up conversation with my fellow "Ugly" ladies. Other than the walk back taking twice as long because Abigail kept getting distracted and her accidentally hitting Wyatt in the head with our car door, it was a good morning.

Then we came home and were able to have a web cam with Wil. It took a long time for him to get connected but once he got logged on our call only got dropped a couple of times. Also, the quality of the web cam went way down compared to the one we had when they were at their intermediate location but it was still very good to see him.

C25K Week 3, Day 3 v. 2.0

2010-09-03T17:54:00.001-10:00

The run went pretty well although I did feel a little sick to my stomach at one point. I think I should be able to move onto the next week's schedule on Monday, although I'm going to play it by ear. I can't stay at this point for too long because I have a race to run on Thanksgiving. I want some time to focus on getting faster after I'm done using this program to get myself into the habit of running.

Ethan's birthday

2010-09-01T08:33:00.001-10:00

Since we were pretty sure that Wil wouldn't be here for Ethan's birthday we decided to celebrate early.

Signing more, more!

Our very messy, but happy birthday boy - Happy Birthday Ethan!

Uuuugggggghhhh

2010-08-30T14:44:00.000-10:00

I woke up a couple of nights ago with a little bit of a sore throat and stuffy/runny nose. Then yesterday I developed a very slight fever. I had been trying to decide whether or not to run this morning - I had already planned on doing last week's workouts instead of moving on. I eventually decided that it just wasn't worth the risk of prolonging my cold with Wil being gone.

I'm very glad that I didn't go because this morning Abigail started sniffling and then when I checked both her and Ethan had very low fevers as well. I had been looking forward to taking a nap while Abigail was at preschool and Ethan was sleeping but with Abigail's fever I couldn't let her go. So hopefully by in a day or two I'll be able to run again but I'll probably just repeat last week.

Pet Peeves

2010-08-29T20:30:00.000-10:00

It bugs me when TV shows use dialouge like, " . . . at 3 a.m. in the morning." As opposed to 3 a.m. in the afternoon?

Abigail

2010-08-28T20:34:00.000-10:00

Abigail's latest thing is to ask me how to spell things. It seems to be helping her because she can now spell her name. The strange thing however is the words she asks me to spell. I would expect her to request words like Abigail, mommy, ball, dog. Not parking lot and soccer game.

Family Photos

2010-08-27T14:20:00.000-10:00

Small victories - 2

2010-08-25T19:50:00.003-10:00

Made dinner tonight and actually sat at the table to eat it - notice I didn't say cooked, okay well I did put the hot dogs on the grill but that was the extent of cooking

In other news, Abigail has discovered condiments. We've tried to get her to try dipping things like chicken or hot dogs before, thinking if she liked the dip she might be convinced to actually eat more but she never wanted to try them. A few nights ago she tried ketchup on her french fries and she has decided that she likes it. So much so that she actually ate TWO hot dogs for dinner tonight, in addition to some cheese and grapes.

Small victories

2010-08-25T08:22:00.003-10:00

- I was able to sleep until 4 this morning - it could have been worse.

- I went for my run this morning - I cried for a good portion of it but I did it.
(What did I expect with Aeorosmith's "I don't wanna miss a thing" on my ipod?)

- I unloaded the dishwasher last night - this might actually be a large victory. If you know me at all you know that I HATE housework so when I'm feeling down, sad, and upset that's the last thing I want to do.

Coming soon - family photos
Abigail decided she wanted to feed the ducks at the botanical gardens on the last day before Wil left so we got all dressed up, brought our tripod and remote for the camera and took some family shots.

Saying goodbye sucks

2010-08-24T18:22:00.001-10:00

That's all I have to say about that.

Celebrating 8 years

2010-08-20T15:27:00.002-10:00

Beautiful flowers from my hubby =)

C25K

2010-08-18T11:44:00.002-10:00

Week 2 - Day 2

I let my pride get the best of me today during my workout. This week is 5 minutes walking for a warm up, then alternating running for 90 seconds and walking for two minutes for a total of 20 minutes, followed by a 5 minute cool-down walk. On my first running section I finished up just as I was going by a group of people on the jogging path and I just couldn't let myself stop and walk right in front of them. I have no problem with people seeing me going for a walk but I struggle with people seeing me stop to walk. My pride makes me look down at my watch when I do that so people will think that I am just at the end of my run and not that I can only run for 90 seconds at a time. Sometimes I wonder why I care what people think so much. Fortunately I was able to complete the run just fine even with my own stubborness making me stray from the planned workout. On monday I certainly wouldn't have been able to do so. So far the first day of a new workout is pretty hard by the end of the run sections I'm very ready to walk. Then the second day I'm feeling like I can handle it and by the third day it's almost easy. It seems to be a good progression following this program, I'm pushing myself but at the same time I'm achieving success at a sustainable level.

Running log BC and AC

2010-08-13T14:32:00.001-10:00

Before children - had to stop to re-tie shoelaces

After children - had to stop to remove choking hazard from Ethan's mouth

Running

2010-08-11T14:30:00.003-10:00

I'm on my second training day of my Couch to 5K (C25K) program. It starts out doing a run/walk program and at the end it has you running for 30 minutes, very similar to the Galloway running system. The first week starts with a 5 minute walk, followed by alternating running for a minute and then walking for a minute and a half of walking for 20 minutes and then finish up with a 5 minute walk to cool down. I spent $2.99 on this app for my Ipod and it lets me listen to music and then breaks in with alerts to tell me when to run and walk. It's nice because I don't have to think about it or even look at my Ipod. It's like having a little electronic coach. I'm sure it could vary a lot from person to person because it's not a set pace but in today's 30 minute workout I went just over two miles. Pretty good for just getting started I think.

I'll be running several 5K races with my family when I go home for the holidays but I had thought I would find a half-marathon to train for. I did a couple of ten mile runs when I was in high school so a half would be my longest race distance. I thought during Wil's deployment that training for a distance I've never done before would help keep me motivated. However it turns out that mid-November through January in Michigan is not a popular time for half-marathons. The closest I've been able to find is a good three hours from my parents' house.

My next thought was to do the Great Aloha Run after I returned from Michigan, it's "only" 8 miles but it would still be a long race to train for. However when looking over their website I discovered this:

"DISQUALIFICATION: Anyone who does not follow Great Aloha Run safety rules and procedures MAY BE DELETED FROM THE OFFICIAL RESULTS AND DISQUALIFIED FROM THE GREAT ALOHA RUN FOR UP TO FIVE YEARS.

Major violations include:
• Jumping into the race along the course
• Running with a baby jogger, stroller, or assisted wheelchair
• Starting in the wrong color group
• Disregarding generally accepted rules for the safe and fair conduct of a running event"

Um, yes, running parents need not apply for the race. So much for Aloha.

So I'm stuck still looking for a "big" race to train for.

Ethan Walking

2010-08-09T19:49:00.002-10:00

I tried to upload the video of Ethan walking here but it looks like the file is too big. If you want to check out a good video of him walking you can check it out on Wil's facebook page.

Putt Putt

2010-08-04T19:25:00.000-10:00

Woohoo!

2010-08-02T20:03:00.000-10:00

Got such a great deal on tickets home for the holidays that I was able to get Ethan his own seat and still pay less than we had budgeted for two tickets. If anyone is planning on flying November through January this year US airways has some really great deals right now, at least for flying from Honolulu to Detroit. So for those of you who we'll be seeing in Michigan let me know what dates you'd like the kids and me to visit and I'll "pencil it in."

In other news I got an e-mail from our Family Readiness Officer (FRO) letting us know that the Black Pearl was moored just twenty minutes up the coast so the kids and I took a little drive to check it out.

Fun Weekend

2010-08-01T21:48:00.002-10:00

- started the weekend off with our Aloha to Alaina coffee, a lively night out in Waikiki with karaoke at the shorebird. Alaina wowed us with her guts and her voice.

- we put Ethan to bed and let Abigail stay up late with us while we had a fire in the yard, roasted marshmallows and ate 'smores.

- got to see a free sneak preview of Nanny McPhee returns with our friends the Ladners. It was a little over Abigail's head but we enjoyed it.

Hmmmm

2010-07-30T07:50:00.000-10:00

Ethan just took a big bite out of our Wii mario kart wheel:

Maybe he thought it was a soft pretzel

New trick

2010-07-25T17:17:00.000-10:00

Ethan just stood up without pulling himself up on anything for the first time! He is also growing more confident in his walking. He's been taking more consecutive steps and is beginning to walk instead of crawling all the time.

Bird Lake

2010-07-23T13:32:00.000-10:00

Snuggling up with Grandpa

Ethan LOVED the lake, he literally fell asleep in the water - just leaned back into his lifejacket and took a little nap.

Captain Matt

Jumping in

Abigail swimming with Aunt Sarah

Geocaching

2010-07-22T19:23:00.000-10:00

Michigan Visit

2010-07-16T03:59:00.002-10:00

Abigail in her flower girl dress along with Ethan. Abigail did great walking down the aisle although she didn't drop very many flower petals. Her basket was still full when she was done. She did walk down the correct aisle, unlike last time - kind of hard not to in this church. A big part of why she didn't drop any flower petals was the reluctance of the ring bearer, Jacob, to walk down the aisle. She got half-way down the aisle and noticed he wasn't walking with her so she went back up the aisle to go get him. It was so sweet and she and Jacob became very good friends over the course of the weekend. When he had to go to the bathroom she wanted to go into the men's room with him. Over the course of the night we could hear him calling, "Abigail!" several times from his table across the room at the reception.

Busy times

2010-07-06T19:40:00.002-10:00

Before we head off to the mainland again we figured you might want to know that Ethan took his first step and said his first and second words, dada and mama respectively.

Abigail's Birthday Party

2010-06-30T18:18:00.000-10:00

Obviously with two trips to the mainland within a week of each other things have been kind of crazy but here are a few photos from Abigail's birthday party.

Happy 4th birthday Abigail!

June 8th, 2010

2010-06-10T17:17:00.003-10:00

Abigail's dinner-time prayer, "Happy birthday to me, amen."

New camera

2010-05-24T12:42:00.001-10:00

Check out the chompers!

Too cute

2010-05-21T07:12:00.001-10:00

Abigail just told me I was her "favorite princess girl." =)

Sand Bar

2010-05-04T08:40:00.000-10:00

Well it only took us two years but we finally made it out to the sand bar. We had so much fun just hanging out and relaxing with our friends. For some reason all the kids wanted to hang out on the boat instead of playing on the sand or in the water. The morning was made even more interesting due to the fact that there were some professional kiteboarders there having photos taken from a helicopter. Wil and Kelly of course had to go talk to the helicopter pilot. It was definitely one of those mornings where Wil and I kept asking ourselves why we waited so long to do this!

View from the boat

Getting set up

Looking towards Kaneohe

Andrew

Wyatt

Enjoying the water

Ethan kept chewing on his hat which made it hard to keep on his head

The sand bar after the tide came in

There were some 53's heading out as we were bringing the boat back to the marina