Today's Project

Today I drove around and stopped at the scenic views to see if I could get some panoramic shots. Canon has a program called PhotoStitch that is really easy to use. The first one is the view from the Marine Corp. Base that is about 10 minutes from our house. That is where I do all of my grocery shopping. That is a combination of 4 different pictures. And trust me, this picture does it NO justice. Today was pretty overcast, plus the scenic view stop on the road was not in the most convenient location. The second picture is off Pali Hwy, on the way to Honolulu. I had to drive up the mountain a bit, but the scenery was beautiful! That one has 3 pictures combined. These aren't perfect, but it was fun seeing it all come together.

I also went to a Veteran's cemetary today in honor of Memorial Day. I'll post those pictures later.

Memorial Day in a New Perspective

I think I've mentioned before how naive and ungrateful I was about the military before I personally got involved in it. Memorial Day would come and go and I would just be happy I had the day off. Never thought much else about it. Maybe I would hear something on the radio about it, but seriously, never REALLY much thought.

This weekend has already been different for me. I have a completely new outlook. You see, last week, reality hit. Big time. I woke up to a phone call from a friend Wednesday morning. He told me he read in the newspaper that a Navy helicopter had crashed off the coast of San Diego during a training exercise. 5 people died. I quickly went to the computer to look up the story, and sure enough, that helicopter was from Carrier Air Wing 11, on the Nimitz. Just in case you guys didn't know, that's where Spencer is right now. He is assigned specifically to Air Wing 11. I knew that Spencer was not on the helicopter. I had been on the phone with him the night the accident happened. I was not worried about him. However, I was still a complete mess. There were 5 other families that day that had to hear news of their family members' death. Five families heartbroken. It hit so close to home.

Spencer did not know any of the people involved in the accident, but a lot of the people who he works with knew them. My heart aches for them. On this Memorial Day, I am extremely grateful for all those who have served and still serve our country. I am grateful for the family members who have supported them. And my heart goes out to all those who have lost someone. This was a wake up call for me. The reality that something could happen to Spencer is very much real now. Even if it is just a training exercise. I am proud to support him. Knowing that he is fighting for a good cause - a cause that benefits the entire country, makes it a LITTLE easier to be on my own for a while without him.

I hope you all get a chance to really think about what the service men and women have done for YOU on this Memorial Day.

Our House

Everybody is asking to see pictures of our house. I kept telling people that I would just wait until we have our stuff so it would not be completely empty, but people keep asking. So here are the boring, empty, pictures of our house. Luckily, after Tuesday, it won't be looking like this anymore! Oh, and I gave up taking pictures of the bedrooms. There really is nothing to see. We have 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. Enough said.


Our House


The living room - what you see when you walk through the front door(this picture is taken from the kitchen)


This room connects to the living room. It will be our weight room.


The Kitchen


I was too lazy to take off the trash bag




The hall/guest bathroom


Side yard - going to back yard


Papaya Tree


Avacado Tree


Our backyard

In other events, tonight was probably my favorite night so far. I was invited, once again, to family home evening at my friends' house. A lot of their family members were in town, so we had a bigger group. After telling fun stories about how all the couples met, they started pulling out the musical instruments. They had 3 ukulele's, a bass cello(i think..all i know is that it is HUGE!), and a guitar. They taught me how to play the ukulele so I could join in. While we played our instruments, the other people there would sing(beautifully), and then one lady was doing her hula dances to the songs. I was just sitting there thinking of how happy I am to be here and to experience the life and culture of Hawaii. It is beautiful. I was sad that Spencer wasn't here to experience it with me, but I have a feeling that we will have many, many more evenings similar to this one.

My New Ride

A few of you know that I recently bought a car out here. I haven't been shy about gushing about the great deal we found. Hawaii may be known for a higher cost of living... except for when it comes to used cars. Here in Hawaii, you'll find people(like we did) who are moving off the island and are desperate to sell their car. I had 3 cars that I was deciding on... a Land Rover Freelander, Infiniti QX4, and a Mazda 3i. All beautiful cars. I decided that I really wanted an SUV, and the Infiniti ended up being too good of a deal to pass up. The guy lowered the price $1,000 before I even asked if it was negotiable. There are a few cosmetic problems with it, like some dents, scratches, and rust, but I don't really care about the dents, and we'll be fixing the rust soon. It's a 2000 with about 100,000 miles. The best part was that after we bought the car, I was driving it home, and Spencer leans back and says, "STACY! You have tv's in the back of your seats!" Icing on the cake. We had no idea. How awesome is that?!

My First Lei

At the very end of church today, one of the young women came up to me to give me this beautiful lei. I thought it was the sweetest thing! Since it was mother's day, all the mom's were dressed in their finest Hawaiian dresses and they were all wearing their leis. I loved it!


In other news, Spencer left yesterday. He will be gone for about 3 weeks on a boat doing MORE training. Ugh! I realized though that I have a few things that get me through the times when he is gone. First and foremost, my double fudge brownie chocolate ice cream. Comfort food is a must. Second, a gym membership. Third, my cell phone. And fourth, my computer. With all of those things, I can get through anything...so bring it on. All of this is just preparation for his deployment that is coming in just a few months. Then I will see if my list stands the test of 6 months.

YEEEOWZA

Please let me know if this is the kind of thing I need to keep to myself....

We're in Love

Not with these guys. In fact, one of those things jumped on a window I was standing in front of and almost made me pee in my pants. They are everywhere!

We are in love with the people here. Already. We went to church yesterday and realized immediately that we are definitely the misfits. However, after just 3 hours of meeting new people, we were invited over for dinner last night and then again with another family later this week. Last night was amazing. It was authentic. It was sitting in the back yard with the cutest little Hawaiian kids running around while we laughed, told stories, and learned more about the Hawaiian culture. We became Uncle Spencer and Auntie Stacy. We were welcomed and loved and accepted.

Let me just say that I am beyond grateful for a husband who knows how to make friends. Way better than I can. Within about 1 minute of walking into our friend's house, they had him down at the piano, making almost every woman in there cry as he played and sang his Mother's Day song. He knows how to make people comfortable. I learn from him constantly on how to open up to a stranger. I'm pretty sure this experience would not even be close to the same as if I were here by myself.

I'll try to post more often. I'd like to document our time here with the people we meet and lessons we learn. I think it will be quite an experience. After yesterday, I'm glad we made the decision to NOT live on base. If I were to live on base, I would have found myself stuck in a bubble of comfort and normalcy. I would not be out challenging myself in new situations and new culture. I would not have met our friends that we met last night. I don't think I would have truly lived the real Hawaiian life. So here's to new surroundings, new friends, new fears, new foods, new experiences, etc. etc. etc.

We're Here

We are here! Yesterday was a crazy day. We flew in at different times and ended up getting lost more than once. The weather wasn't perfect, and the people here were very unclear with the directions. However, today was different. We went to our house today (the last 3 pictures were taken from our front yard). I love the house. It will be perfect for us. It has lots of extra room. The view is unbelievable! We also decided to go check out the marine base that we live close to. We drove around until we found a little walkway to a beach, and found this hidden gem of a beach. There were only 2 fishermen there. The scenery was amazing...obviously. The rest of the day we've just been trying to find a bed that we can sleep in until our furniture gets here.

We'll keep you updated with the rest of our adventures here. Aloha!

Stay Classy San Diego

It's 1:57 local time on the west coast. San Diego is alive and well. Currently, I am up in my hotel packing while listening to R.E.M.'s album that typifies the greatest year of my life (1996). I leave for Hawaii in about 3 hours. I can't figure out where it all went wrong. It's as if I went to bed as a poor, clumsy, lost soul. Then I awoke and I have the greatest wife I could ask for, living in paradise and working for a great cause, at least for a service that represents a great cause.

What happened to the days of serving people at Chillis and spilling egg roll sauce on their laps? Or babysitting highschoolers for a great pay check? What happened to the days where I couldn't wake up, drive 5 minutes and dive into the Pacific Ocean?

Life takes funny twists and turns. If you're not up to speed with mine, you may never be. I think I will have some pretty good stories for my children. For what it's worth, I hope all my good friends and family members will some how be able to make it out to see us in the next 2 years. And for my friends that are long lost, you are always welcome too, you just may have to pay for your stay.

The above picture is my friend James and me in Laguna Beach.