March Round-Up

The month of March was a busy and fun month.  We had another group of visitors from NE and some other little happenings that kept us busy and entertained.  Here's a recap of our March days.



Gracie posed in Grandma Linda's Valentine's Day outfit to her.  She now calls it her Minnie Mouse clothes :)

Hand on the hip action

Hand on the cheek action

Uncle AJ and his friend Jared came to visit us on the tiny island at the beginning of March.  They stayed for a week because they were on spring break.  We had a blast showing them around and seeing the island life.

First day they were here, we took them to Ko'Olina.  Talk about windy!  It was chilly and breezy but Gracie was the bravest one and went in the water anyways.  She is so dang adventurous...not like me at all!

Tide is much higher than when we first came to Ko'Olina.  You used to be able to sit in sand near where Justin and Gracie are.  Now you'd be shin deep in the water.

Paradise Cove and Hidden Lagoon

Buried in the sand

We also had a few game nights.  Justin and I got smoked in poker one night...should 17 year-olds be able to out-do adults in poker??  Something is wrong here.

Gracie wanted to join in on the fun.

Justin took the boys to the Makapu'u Lighthouse Hike.  This is the same hike that Justin took Tina and Brandon on when they visited back in November.

There's the lighthouse

In the military bunker

We did another beach day where it was much warmer outside.  The boys did a bit of snorkeling and Gracie played in the sand and water.

We definitely enjoyed having the boys visit and see things that you don't normally see in Nebraska.  We hope they are able to make their way back before our time is up here!



Here's a little project I completed for Gracie.  The baby crib was a gift from Justin's great uncle and great aunt.  Their daughters and grandchildren had played with it when they were all younger.  They had asked us if we wanted it for Gracie.  We gladly accepted and it came with us to Hawaii.  Since it is an older piece, I wanted to give it an update look so I attempted my first DIY (do-it-yourself) furniture spray paint job. It was a lot more work than I expected but I think that's because I have a large growing baby in my tummy.

Sanded, taped and ready for primer

Primed

Yellow baby crib complete!

My next step for this little crib is to make a new blanket, "mattress" and pillow.  I just need to learn how to sew.  Ha it may take me a few years to have it officially complete...hopefully she still plays with it then :)



I joined a mom's group in March to try to fill up our calendar with fun things for Gracie to do while we are in Hawaii.  I get bored at home, and I know she does as well.  MOM'S Club has playgroups, beach days, field trips, and mom activities for us to join in on.  Our first outing with them was to the Discovery Center (like the Children's Museum...just not as cool.)  Even though I like the one in Omaha better, Gracie didn't notice anything different.  She had a blast!  She danced on staged, played with lights, drove a fire truck, and checked out the human body.  She loved playing doctor too!

Dancing on stage to the music

She asked me to take a picture with the nutcracker guy.  What a peach!

I actually have a picture with her head in each character because she wanted one with each person.  I liked this one the best! :)

Ahoy Matey!

Absolutely one of my favorite pictures of her.

Afterwards, we walked up to the Kaka'ako Beach Park for a picnic with some of the moms and their kids.  This was our first picnic ever.  I don't know why it has taken us so long to do a simple picnic but it has.  Gracie had so much fun and was so interested in what I packed in our lunch cooler for us.  She sat so nicely and ate her lunch like such a big girl.  Some days I look at her and can't believe how big she is and how much she has grown.  This was one of those days.

This park has a gorgeous view of the ocean and was so breezy to make it a perfect picnic spot.

Trying not to have her picture taken.

Gracie loves playing in the garage with Daddy's tools, and she also loves to randomly do burpees.  These pictures are all from the Warrior Dash Day.  Justin competed in the Warrior Dash for the first time.  Gracie and I hung out at home.  I wish we would have made it but I didn't know what to expect with a toddler and mud everywhere.  So we cheered for Daddy from home then celebrated when he got home.

Hanging out with Mommy at home

Matt and Justin after finishing the Warrior Dash

One of the muddy obstacles

The Dahdals

The Adams

Gracie: Warrior Princess

Then, I celebrated my 28th birthday on the 25th with my Hawaiian girlfriends.  They took me out to dinner and to the beach to watch the sunset.  Mexican food, cupcakes, beautiful friends and view were a perfect way to celebrate this year.  Thanks girls for everything!

Sunset at Ko'Olina

On the 26th, my actual birthday, we celebrated at home.  Gracie and Daddy made me Chocolate Chunk Brownies!  My favorite thing...chocolate, chocolate with more chocolate!

As I mentioned in my last post, my best friends, Emily and Charlie, had their baby girl on March 31st.  Here is the newly born cutie...Tenley Katherine Krebs.  So happy for you guys!

On this same day, my big bro also competed in the Guns and Hoses Boxing Challenge.  I was already pretty emotional about missing Tenley's birth and her parents and then we watched my brother fight online.  I was a nervous wreck!  It's so different watching that sport when you actually know the person behind the gloves.  It also didn't help that his opponent was ripped beyond belief and had tried out for the NFL as a linebacker.  Um, yea, let's just say thank God it ended before the first round was over.  I could barely watch it.  Yes, I even teared up because he lost and because I was so scared for him.  FYI, he did his best and we were proud of him for not backing out.  He's a fighter!  Check out the link for more info on the challenge. :)

Night before the fights...feeling like a champ :)

The weigh-in

Both of these emotional happenings were the same night as our friend Karena's birthday party.  This was our take of Corks N Canvas.  We do not have anything like this on the island so we created our own.  (Add this to the list of things Oahu doesn't have LOL)

Table set up

Painting the night away

The instructor's painting, aka, mine.

My artsy, fartsy baby girl 

Finished products!  Happy Birthday Karena!

March really flew by and we are looking forward to what April has to bring us.  So far, it's been pretty good.  Plus a few more weeks till baby boy is here!!

Omaha: Part 2

FYI--Baby Update-- In my last post, I talked about Mommy-to-be Emily and her baby shower.  Well, the day after I posted that she had her little bundle of joy two weeks early!  Emily and Daddy Charlie welcomed Tenley Katherine on March 31, 2012.  She is such a cute little peanut, and we are so happy for their little family.  We can't wait to meet her when we return home!

Our two weeks back home were filled with fun.  The last few days of our stay, we really tried to make the most of it.

One thing we did that I did not get any pictures from was a visit up to my old work, Rohwer.  Gracie and I ate lunch with past co-workers and friends and caught up on life in Hawaii.  Gracie loved checking out the "really big kid toys"in Jenn's room and it was so nice to see everyone and talk to them.  I really wish my toddler would have had a little more patience with me as I would have loved to walk around and see some more familiar faces, but alas, nap time had arrived and she was ready to go.

I thing I have learned since being out here is that going from working full time with a never-ending to-do list to being a stay-at-home mommy with no to-do list has been the toughest transition of moving for me.  When I first had Gracie and was on maternity leave, I quickly figured out that I was not meant to stay at home.  As much as I love Gracie and being with her, I couldn't do it 24/7, and I felt like a better/happier person and mom working full-time.  I truly believe some people are meant to be at home, but I strongly support those who feel they can't or don't want to.  Now don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed being able to stay home and watch my little G grow into a smart, loving, funny toddler.  I do count this as a blessing as I know there are moms or even dads out there, who envy those who get to stay home with their children.  I will never regret this decision that we made and always try my hardest to make the most of it and to cherish it forever.

Given that, here is what I miss about teaching and working full-time:

-having adult interaction on a daily basis

-a never-ending to-do list

-the opportunity to teach kids and help them grow and learn in a positive environment

-being responsible to get things done in a timely manner

-being the "captain" and "Sister Nati" as my loving teammates called me

-seeing students' light bulbs turn on

-sharing stories about funny things my students have said or done

-I even miss the stress of it all (sometimes LOL)

Anyways, it was great seeing some of you and I hope and pray every day that when we do return to Omaha, that Rohwer has a spot for me to return to.  Have a great rest of the year Rohwer staff!

Here we are on Valentine's Day Eve decorating some heart cookies.  Gracie again wanted to eat more than she decorated.

Enjoying her masterpiece 

Warning!  Some of these are inappropriate...I did not participate in the creation of these. ha

Valentine's Day was spent with Gracie and Daddy.  Daddy brought Gracie some balloons, and we gave her a special treat (VeggieTales fruit snacks).  She absolultely loved her Mater balloon!  Justin and I enjoyed a massage and dinner at Anthony's.  We tried to find something else to do after dinner until we could see a movie, but the timing of everything and being pregnant really put a damper on those plans.  We ended up going home earlier than planned and watching Tangled with Gracie, which was a pleasant surprise for all of us!

My Valentine's Day date

Gracie and her Mater

I love this picture! 1. It's a rare picture of Gracie and I   2. She put her arm around me and grabbed my chin without any prompting from me :)  She is so cute and funny!

Gracie and Grandma Pam

Gracie and Daddy-o

Popcorn and a movie--our date Valentine's Day night

We also made sure to meet up with our friends Anna, Fiona and Callie to play at P.E. 101.  Gracie and I had visited the girls when we first got there but Gracie's bff, Fiona, was nearly dying of bff withdrawals that we made another date to see each other before we left.  We had so much fun there that Gracie threw a fit when we tried to leave.  She loves Fiona so much and talks about her often.  We can't wait to see you girls all again and to meet the newest baby girl addition when she arrives!

Gracie and Fiona in the foam pit

Precious Callie

Trapped :)

Fiona on the rings

Parachute...best invention ever for kids

We also had a "girls night" at my mom's.  We had dinner, got to see my aunts, and spent time with the girls in the family.  My brother and Justin went out for "guys night" to the bar and UFC fights.  Here's G and Uncle PoPo at the end of the night at Grandma's house.

Too sweet

Another event that happened while in Omaha was a surprise baby shower for our little baby boy.  I seriously had no clue this was going on.  I thought we were getting together at my mom's house for a family dinner.  I dressed the part as well, comfy sweats and a T.  My niece, Lexi, even said to my sister, Dianna, "Mom, I'm so worried she's going to show up in sweatpants!"  Well, I did.  Thanks for the heads up! haha

The party was a ton of fun with a ton of food...delicious Mexican food that I had been craving since last August.  The party was thrown by my mom Linda, sisters Dianna and Tina, and "a close enough to be a sister" Jackie.  A ton of my close friends showed up and it meant the world to me to have them there and to see them.  Had it not been for the party, I wouldn't have seen some of these friends at all during our time home.  Thanks for coming girls!

Big sis eating her guac and chips

No party is completely in my family without the beer.  So the contestants below had to drink a beer through a bottle and the one who drank it the quickest won a prize.  I can't remember who won and I wasn't drinking!  That's pregnancy brain.

Drinking game at a baby shower...only in my family :)

2 of my beautiful nieces who are growing up way too fast!

Now, for the next game, I had to guess the person who brought each gift to the party.  A wrong answer meant they could take the tube of lipstick and draw something on my face.  A correct guess meant I was spared some embarrassment. I didn't do too bad, thank God!

Friends and babies

At some point during this present opening game, we had a drama filled fiasco.  We always leave it up to my sister and her kids to have something crazy happen to them.  They are the clumsiest family we know.  My youngest niece, Lizette, threw a weighted balloon at my youngest nephew, Ben.  He ended up with a cut on his head, but with the amount of blood on his face, you might have thought it was a huge gash.  Thank God my sister-in-law and one of my best friends are nurses.  He checked out ok, and there was no need to go to the ER, which was a huge concern to my sister when she first saw him. Actually, I think we all thought he was going to have to go in to the ER and get stitches.

Here's how I ended up...like a total weirdo.  Thanks Di

Thanks again for the surprise party!  I had so much fun, and I appreciate all of you who came to support us.  We are truly blessed with awesome friends and family in our lives.



We were so glad that the weather was finally "warm" enough to take Gracie to the zoo.  We had talked about before we left Hawaii because Omaha was having an usually warm winter.  Gracie really wanted to see the monkeys and Nemo.  Well, the snow storm hit, and we thought for sure we wouldn't make it there.  But God gave us a little break and we made it there the day before we left home.  Gracie got to see desert animals, gorillas and monkeys, and tigers.  Unfortunately, the aquarium was still under construction while we were there so she was not able to see Nemo, Dory or the sharks.

Gracie and Daddy at the zoo

We also made sure to play with the snow one last time before we left.  She went sledding, ate snow, made a snow angel, and with Daddy's help made a "real" snowman/snow Minnie Mouse.  Obviously, Justin has experience in the snowman making department where as I do not.

Snow Minnie Mouse

Gracie and Minnie

Her snow angel

Last ride down the hill

It was very hard to leave Saturday morning after our two weeks home.  We had so much fun and did so much but there were still things/people we missed seeing while we were there.  I miss it every day we are gone.  Our trip back to Hawaii was not very fun...too many stops, too much waiting, and a sad/sleepy/exhausted/hungry toddler, made the day last forever.  It has seriously made me contemplate coming home for another visit before we actually return for good.  It was rough.

I miss home every day but I know to appreciate the time out here and to treasure the memories we are creating.  It's just that nothing can take the place of your real home.