life long friendships

If you have ever moved, I'm sure you know how difficult it is to start over in a new place.

Once your housing situation is worked out and you are fully unpacked, you feel more at home by making friends.

Kids just start playing with the nicest kid that is near them, but for some reason it gets harder as we age. Making friends is a lot like dating, isn't it? And for some of us, it can be difficult.

Do you enjoy their company?
Do you have similar interests and hobbies?
Are you able to have an honest conversation with them?
If they are parents, can you stand their kids or their parenting style?
Do they smell funny?

Just kidding... kind of.

It took me a while, but I finally found a group of people that I am proud to call my friends. They are inspiring, intellectually challenging, and FUN!

We have done many things together, from celebrating holidays and birthdays, to baby showers and double dates. We also attended the Operation Homefront Celebration in Honolulu and the Hui 'O Na Wahine Mock Dining In on Schofield Barracks.

Erinn (of The Graber Life) and I ran the Color Run in Kapolei and hiked the Aiea Loop Trail!

Could I be any luckier?

Actually, I can! They are also very giving and generous individuals.

 

Erinn started Patchwork For Preemies last year. Once a month we get together to sew quilts that we donate to the Tripler NICU. I love being a part of a group that gives back!

I owe it all to Lacey, my first friend on the island. Her family opened their home and hearts to us when we first arrived on the island, just days before Thanksgiving. It is because of her kindness, generosity, and friendship that I felt so comfortable making friends here.

We've celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Easter, Fourth of July, and birthdays together. We've gone on a whale watching tour with our families, had game nights, and started Crossfit together! I cannot list it all, but as ohana we have helped each other through both good times and bad.

I was pouting in that picture because we were going to Crossfit for the first time and I was scared. Now I'm pouting because they are PCSing! 

We will miss them but I know PCSing is just another part of the military life. We wouldn't have met them if we didn't PCS. I'm sure we will see each other again one day, even if we do not end up at the same duty station.

True friends are hard to find, so when you find them you keep them forever! :)

new friends are lots of fun!

We live about half an hour north of Honolulu, towards the center of the island of Oahu. Anytime we go to the beach it's a bit of a drive, so to compromise, Daniel rides his motorcycle and I drive with the baby in our car.

Sunday, we went with a group of people and it was a ton of fun!

After a couple of hours at Ala Moana Beach Park we literally crossed the street to the mall and had lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. with just enough time to watch the last two quarters of the Giants game (woohoo!).

With food in our bellies, we went home to change and spent the night playing games with our new friends. Weather permitting, we're planning on getting together every Sunday to go to one of the beaches and barbeque from now on. Gotta stock up on swim suits!

Sunday Funday at the beach!

the last two-ish months

The first month I was here, Daniel was away training. And by away, I mean down the street. They have a facility we pass on our way to post, but part of the training requires full immersion, so he was gone for about 3 weeks.

Talk about terrifying! I landed on a Monday night and the following Monday my husband was gone for three weeks. Luckily he had shown me how to get around a little, enough to get gas, groceries, and other necessities.

Our family at Daniel's WLC Graduation (Dec 2011)

Unfortunately I didn't explore very much during that time since I was waiting for the boxes I mailed over to arrive. Did you know parcel post took 2-6 weeks? Me either.

Now that all our stuff has been unpacked, everything is in its place, and my husband is back home, we're ready to take on this island!

So far, we've only been to one beach (aside from the one pictured here). We were also invited to luau with our friends, who had us over for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve.

Daniel and I went on a dinner cruise for our third anniversary last month. It was a ton of fun and I highly recommend it for anyone visiting! We plan on going to a few more luaus and cruises while we're here :)

Mele Kalikimaka!

It's been a very busy week!

Daniel graduated from NCO school on the 16th and our third anniversary was on the 19th. We then had a friend of mine and her kids stay at our house for a few days and joined other friends for a luau in Honolulu!

And of course, there was Christmas today. We opened gifts this morning, had a delicious dinner with the same family we went to the luau with, and I then spent the night working on pictures.

I'll upload them and update more soon, I can barely keep my eyes open!