6th Birthday Party!!

For Caleb's birthday this year, we decided to have a pool party. Only in Hawaii can you have a pool party in February!

We were really worried about the weather. It has rained here almost everyday this month. Thankfully, it did not rain on the day of the party.

Caleb wanted to invite all of the boys in his class. So, of course, we did. We also invited the three boys next door, a new friend that just moved in, and two kids from his football team. It was a pool full of boys! None of them really swam much--they wanted to play tag or football instead.

We were able to cook out at the pool. The menu consisted of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, and Kool-Aid.
The theme that Caleb wanted was King Kong--Kong invitations, Kong plates and napkins, Kong party favors, and most inportantly a Kong pinata. Unfortunately, I could not find a King Kong cake. Caleb had to settle for Darth Vader and Yoda on the cake.

He got too many presents to even remember! I think his favorite, though, was a Ninja Turtles video game.

Although it was hard to not celebrate his birthday with our families, we all had a good time. Caleb and his friends pretty much had the whole pool to themselves and the made a pretty good mess of it.

On the day of his real birthday, I took off work so I could bring cupcakes to his class at school. I was also able to bring him a Happy Meal and eat lunch with him. We had his favorite for supper--pizza. After we ate, he opened his presents from us and the rest of family.

He says he had a really great birthday! Now that he is six, he says he can do more things by himself now--make his bed, take a shower.

If only his daddy could do things for himself...

:)

Home, Sweet, Home

Just in case anyone was wondering--here are some pictures of our house.

This is our living room...

Here is Caleb's room...

And here is our bedroom...

Hopefully, you will all be able to see it in person one day! We miss everyone so much!

More pictures to come of Caleb's birthday...

The Few, The Proud

Well, the Probowl was AWESOME! It was really cool to see all of these superstar athletes right up close.

However, it was even more exciting to see Randall representing the Marine Corps and our country. For those of you who didn't know, Randall was a member of the color guard, holding the Marine Corps flag during the National Anthem. He was even on national TV--they showed his right side (covered by the flag) for about 1/2 of a second! We are still very proud of him, though!!

I think that Randall was more excited about being able to be on the field with all of the players. Although he didn't get to stay there for the whole game, he was able to meet and get his picture taken with Michael Irving. He also got to meet Troy Aikman, who was a total jerk, and Ronde Barber. The football he brought is covered in autographs!

Caleb and I had great seats! We were on the 10-yard line on the NFC side. During warm-ups, we were about 10 feet from Michael Vick, Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Delhomme, Santanna Moss, Tiki Barber, and Lofa Tatupu. During the game, we were able to see Peyton Manning (who is also a jerk to fans), Troy Polamalu, and many more. Even though it poured down rain the entire first half, Caleb and I had a blast! We were soaked, but happy!

The Probowl is definately the best reason (if not the only) to live in Hawaii.

ProBowl 2006

One of the most exciting things about living in Hawaii is going to the ProBowl.

When the tickets first went on sale, we realized that we could get pretty good seats for pretty cheap. However, we tooled around enough and all of the good seats are gone!

Randall found out on Monday that he will be representing the Marine Corps by holding their flag during the singing of the National Anthem at the ProBowl. A close friend was supposed to be on the color guard, but gave his place to Randall. So, my question was, "Do I get free tickets too?" Of course, the answer was, "No."

So, until yesterday it looked like Caleb and I would be sitting in the nosebleeds. Randall called me yesterday and told me that he bought some tickets from someone he works with. Come to find out, they are on the 20-yard line, two rows from the field, NFC side (Santana, Michael, Tiki)! Caleb and I will probably have better seats than Randall; although, Randall is hoping that they will let him stay on the field!

I WILL be taking my camera!!

just a little update from Hawaii...

Things are going fine here. It is hard to believe it is January--you know, because it is 80 degrees and sunny all the time! Actually, this is Hawaii's rainy season. It has rained (hard) everyday this week.

I guess the big news around here, as usual, is Caleb. Caleb's school just finished their second semester. Caleb, being the genius that he is, made the Principal's List! Randall and I attended his awards ceremony last week. They called his name and he got to go up on the stage to receive his certificate and "goodie bag." He was very proud--not as much as us, though! His birthday is next month and I can't believe that he will be six! He is getting SO big.

Randall is doing fine. He is FINALLY getting some college out of the way. I guess all of my nagging has paid off!

I am doing well too. I'm not as scared of the geckos anymore--I dont like them or anything, just not as afraid to go outside! My school is going well. I am getting more used to the kids and they are getting more used to me. I still dont understand what they are saying sometimes and the cops still come almost everyday. But, I do like my job and (most of) the people that I work with. I may even go back next year without Randall even having to make me! I am still not quite sure of God's purpose in putting me in this school but, I know that I am here for a reason and I'd better hang out long enough to find out!

I think I am speaking for all of us when I say that Hawaii still does not feel like home. When we were home for Christmas, it felt like we really belonged there and fit in. We are just not as happy being here--I dont think that it will ever feel like the home that Virginia feels like. But, I guess that we dont want to be miserable for the next two and a half years so, we need to make the best of it. Thankfully, we have made some really good friends in our neighborhood--so, we're not totally alone.

well, I'd better go do a "gecko check" before bed! I love and miss all of you!