Bubbles!

A favorite nightly ritual is a bubble bath in our jacuzzi bathtub. I got a little generous with the bubbles tonight but the girls had a blast. I would love to have one of these in my next house. I figure the jets and bubbles are doing most of the work, right? Most of my pictures of Eve turned out blurry so Veda wins tonight's photo shoot.

Good Mail!

Timing couldn't have been better for a package to arrive at our door. Travis is working and it isn't a school day. Boooooring! What a welcome sight to open the door to a package! I love nothing more than a late birthday present. Even though it wasn't for me. ;) My very thoughtful sis-in-law, Tanya sent us a whole box of goodies. Eve got a whole ensemble (very adorably Hawaiianish) complete with sunglasses and a hat and Veda was ecstatic that there were matching accessories for her. Eve couldn't get into that fluffy skirt fast enough and in no time she was accessorized to the max. She was so excited!

Tanya, you couldn't have sent anything I would have been more excited about than a few Trader Joes gems. If I could wish one store to appear on this island it would be Trader Joes. I am in withdrawal! You read my mind. Thank you so much!





Nothing stirs up those creative juices like having all your toys in storage. This is Veda sitting in her "Spaceship" eating ice cream. She spent a good hour creating this treasure; she even had me sew up a few of her "buttons" (the round dials taped to the front of her spaceship).

Tanya, this was minutes before the package arrived. Impeccable timing!

Blobfish

This is how Travis and I have been feeling lately - like Blobfish. We were really slapped in the face with it when we moved into our rental house with huge mirror doors in the bedroom. This is what we see as we get dressed into our beachwear and head to the ocean for some fun in the sun. I don't think I've seen myself full length for years! It has been terrifying. As we were up late one night watching infomercials something caught our attention: Beach Body P90X!!!! We are now 87 days away from HOT BEACH BODIES. It is a 90 day diet and exercise plan to get toned and lose fat. The workouts are kicking our butts, but the meals are pretty tasty and very healthy. I am actually excited about this and enjoying the quality time with my honey.
Here is our projected outcome:

Chop Chop!

Hawaii humidity has gotten to me and caused me to take drastic measures. My hair was so hot on my neck and back. I was wearing it in a matronly bun almost everyday. I have always admired those who donate hair to Locks of Love, an organization that collects long hair to make wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (mostly children). I went online to get more info and it turns out you have to have at least 10 inches to donate! I hadn't planned on going that short, but I figured "why not?". This morning I got it chopped and it feels so good! I am really happy with it and no regrets yet. It has been good for the neck and good for the soul. Here's how it all went down...



Before shot


AHHHHH!!!!


This braid is so heavy! I can't believe I have been carrying all that weight. No wonder I was hot.

The new me!


Back view of my new do


Hair is off to Locks of Love. For more information on donating to Locks of Love, visit www.locksoflove.org

Dream Job

Many have asked how Travis likes his new job. The details are this: He works in 24, 48, or 72 hour shifts. He will do anywhere from 10-15 shifts in a month. (24 hours is one shift but he can do two or three at a time) The hospital is small and the island moves slow, so most nights he gets to sleep through the night. The ER is single coverage meaning he is the only doctor working during his shifts. He is an independent contractor so he doesn't belong to a group, he is an employee of the hospital.

I wanted to see for myself what his environment was like, so on one of his 48 hr. shifts the girls and I went to Waimea to visit him. We got to the hospital at about 2:30 and Travis introduced us to his staff and nurses. Everyone was so so nice and they made a big fuss over the girls (Eve was wearing a red ariel wig, sunglasses, and a purse. She is really big on the accessories right now and gets all dolled up whenever we are going somewhere). They all said how glad they were to have Dr. Parker there and he is such an amazing doctor, so nice, etc. He had no patients in the ER at this time, so we went out to get a shave ice down the street. It just happens to be the best shave ice on the island. We took our treats and walked about 50 steps to a beautiful black beach and let the girls play in the sand and catch crabs while we ate and talked. I was surprised there had been no pages yet. We went back to the hospital and stayed in Travis' call room with him until about 6:00 when I decided we should get on the road to be home for bedtime. He saw less than 5 patients the whole day. He said the night picked up and he was up a few times. This was a particularly slow day, but he says he gets big breaks in the day when he can read or work out or run out for a bite to eat. He can eat at the cafeteria for free, but it's less than fabulous. When we were leaving I said "I can't believe you just got paid to play with us for the afternoon!" Is this too good to be true?


Veda's quote of the day "Mom, you haven't been nice to me for a couple of years!"

all chewed up

We are getting eaten alive by the mosquitos here. I guess there is something really tasty about fresh blood because the locals don't get bitten. Travis hasn't been bitten either and I think it's because he has lived in Hawaii before. They say the little pests will stop biting you after about 6 months. In the mean time, we haven't found anything that keeps them away - even repelent hasn't worked. These are poor little Eve's legs this morning.

Day at the Beach

We go to the beach often when Travis is off. The girls absolutely love it and want to be all the way in the water swimming. It can be really scary with the waves. There are a few beaches here called "baby beaches" where they have blocked off a portion of water with rocks so it is protected from the waves and a perfect place for little kids to swim. Since 90% of the coastline is sandy beaches, we could go to a different beach everyday for month and not see the same one twice. And they aren't crowded at all. Sometimes we are the only ones at the beach! We love it.

Veda says "Aloha Preschool"

It took me a month, but I finally found a decent preschool that wasn't full. We found a small Montessori Preschool in Lawai (South shore) that we both liked immediately. There are only 7 students total. The approach is more academic than her last preschool but I don't mind that (being the year before she starts kindergarten). Her teacher is Miss Irina, a russian woman with a 4 yr. old son in the program. She is very loving, patient and positive. The school is right next to her home on their acre lot with a big yard and playground. She goes 3 days a week from 8 am to 2 pm. The only problem is that I have to drive 45 minutes each way to Lawai from Kapaa where we are renting. We are only in Kapaa for another month, then we will rent closer to the school and Travis' hospital.






Veda and Miss Irina (pronouned with a rolled R like this - Errrrrrrrrrreena)

More birthday pictures

Today is Eve's actual birthday. She had some special calls from family and we sang to her all day, but other than that it was a pretty ordinary day. Veda taught her to respond "TWO!" to the question "How old are you Evie?" Here are some more pictures from the birthday celebrations (plus one of Travis doing yard work in a princess birthday crown).






She loves this adorable french kitchen Nana and Papa gave her!


Of course her favorite birthday gift is the ugly baby pony Veda picked out for her!




Thanks for coming so far to be here Mom and Dad. We love you.

Happy Birthday dear Evie!

We celebrated Eve's 2nd birthday with my parents this week. Her actual birthday is August 8. She was sooo cute and we had so much fun. We opened presents, then had an awesome bbq here at our rental and ate out on the lanai under twinkle lights. We finished up the night with cake and ice cream.

Aloha!

I promised myself and many other that I would start blogging when we move to Hawaii. Here we are! We have been here almost a month. Kaua'i is a beautiful place with wonderful people. We have had a great time exploring around the island. My parents came out to help us celebrate Eve's 2nd birthday. We had a blast and it was so great to have them here. They just flew back to Las Vegas today. My secret prayer that a hurricane would wipe out the airport and they would be stuck here for months wasn't answered.