Maui Part One!

A few weeks after John returned home, we took a MUCH needed, relaxing vacation to Maui, Hawaii. It was fabulous! We have been to the Big Island as well as Oahu before so we decided to try out Maui and we both agree it is our favorite!

We were very fortunate to stay in one of the most amazing hotels I have ever been to in my life. Here is a view from our balcony.

And the pool area...

The first day we were there we relaxed a bit and settled in.

The next day we took a little road trip south to do a little shopping. John was quite gracious to let me do this the second day we were there! When you live in a country where shopping as we know it in the US is virtually nonexistent, then seeing a strip mall or any recognizable retail store is very exciting!

On the way, we pulled over to a scenic outlook and were able to see 3 other islands.

On the way home we strolled along the beach for a while, then we had dinner at a new Mai Tai restaurant with rooftop dining.

Just in time to catch the sun setting!

The next few days we spent at the pool and the beach.

We got to swim next to a few sea turtles!

I'm sorry this took so long to post. This blogger website has been acting up a bit and finally let me upload pictures!

Stay tuned for the second half of our vacation...

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mother's Day to our beautiful moms!
Here are a few pictures of us with our favorite ladies on our favorite day!

I only hope I will one day be as good of a mom as these two fabulous women are!

Beach day!

One of the worst parts (but in some circumstances, a good part) of military life is having to say goodbye to people. Inevitably you meet some great people and one of you has to move soon. This weekend we spent a gorgeous day at the beach with some good friends to bid them farewell.

We had a really good turnout. I have spent a lot of time with these girls lately. We are in a small Bible study together and the majority of our husbands have either worked together, or in close proximity.

I think that Okinawa should be re-named to "Baby Island". There is definitely something in the water around here. Here's proof. Two of these babies were born the same day and the other just 2 weeks earlier. I think I am going to invest in Babies R Us stock with all of the baby showers I am attending!

However I did get to sneak a picture of this cute guy nervously holding one of the little ones!

Anyway, back to the beach. We had a great afternoon full of sun and laughter. I hate having to say goodbye, but in the small Marine Corps world, it is very likely that we will bump into these great people again!

Homecoming!

It is with great pleasure that I write this blog. I have been waiting 6 months for this. On Wednesday, I anxiously drove to the airport and waited for my husband to return from his deployment to Afghanistan. I spent that day trying to keep busy so I wouldn't get nervous. I hung this awesome banner I had made and put up the flag.
I tried not to get to the airport too early because I knew I would probably be pacing back and forth.

Fortunately we had some friends and some of John's co-workers show up to welcome him and the others home.

He was one of the first people to get his bags and come out into the waiting area. I wasn't expecting to, but I started to cry the moment I hugged him for the first time. I think they were tears of joy AND relief! I don't know if I have ever hugged anyone tighter in my life!

I finally was able to let him go to greet his friends! It was such an amazing experience, I am so very thankful to have John home safe and sound.

Zeke was extremely happy to see John when he came home. He would not let him out of his sight!

Thanks to all of you for your love and support during this long deployment! We are so happy to finally be back together!

Happy Easter!

This has been a long weekend! It was jam-packed full of things to do!

It started on Thursday with our church's production of "The Living Lords Supper". Basically it was about Jesus' last supper as well as the history behind Leonardo DaVinci's painting. Each of the disciples also had a monologue telling a little more about who they were and how they became a disciple. They did a fantastic job. I am a little partial however because I directed the entire production! It was my directorial debut! Ha ha! We all put in a lot of hard work and I think it was well worth it. Here is a picture a photographer friend took of the men in the same pose as the original painting. She edited it to look like a painting.

We had a few more weekend events going on to include FOUR church services Easter Sunday. Since I am on staff at the church I had to be there for most of them. Thankfully I wasn't required to attend the 6am service. I think my boss knew there was no way I could be out of bed and ready by then! I also sang at a few of the services. Here is a picture of me and the girls!
And one of my friend Jessica and me.

As you can see, I am keeping busy while John is away. The countdown has begun and I am very much looking forward to finally having him home in a few weeks! Hopefully the next blog you see from me will be filled with pictures of our reunion!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! Mischa did!

Marine Drum and Bugle Corps

Tonight I had the pleasure of watching the Commandant's own Marine Drum and Bugle Corps as well as the Silent Drill team. It was awesome!

They performed at a high school football field and there were so many people there.

I have to admit, some of these pictures are from my friend Beth who has a MUCH nicer camera than I do!

The band was outstanding and incredibly precise.

Here are a few Marine WWII veterans that were honored at the ceremony.

Ah, the Silent Drill team! I had never seen them before and they are so amazing!

The announcer did inform us that those are 10.5 lb, fully operational M1 rifles with fixed bayonets. I wonder how long they had to practice with the fake ones before they were allowed to use the real thing???

Here are me and a few of my girlfriends. What can we say, we love Marines!

Semper Fi!

A Whole Lotta Shakin Going On

I would very much prefer not to relive this weekend again. On Saturday morning I was violently awakened by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Wow. It was said to have lasted 30 seconds, but it felt like time had stopped. I know all you Californians out there probably would have been much cooler than I was. Fortunately this Texas girl had heard somewhere that you are supposed to stand in the doorway during and earthquake. I had enough time to wake up, realize what was happening, go stand in the doorway, and still endure a few more seconds of rattling. It was one of the scariest things I have ever experienced. The ground should not be moving! My poor dogs were panicked. They had no idea what was going on and didn't let me out of their sight for the next few hours. Over the next 2 days we had TEN more! Fortunately I only felt one, but it was a 5.0 and of course it happened during the middle of the night the following night. I am clearly not a fan.

Here is a link to a video on youtube that recorded our big quake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfbprlCgpGw

As most of you know a few hours later Chile experienced and even larger earthquake! Is God trying to tell us something...hmmm...

That quake triggered tsunami warnings for all of the Pacific, Okinawa included. An hour or two before is was supposed to hit us they evacuated all of the people who lived along both coasts of the island and anyone 30ft or below sea level, and put the bases on lock down. Fortunately the "tsu-mini" and we called it, hit us with waves only 4 to 6ft high. Whew.

I am pretty much over this whole island-living thing! Luckily the Okinawans are very prepared for all of these natural disasters that come their way and we all live in concrete homes that are built to withstand tsunamis, typhoons, and earthquakes.

It was a wild weekend, but I am so thankful for God's protection over us, and even more thankful that we are more than halfway finished with our tour here! Don't get me wrong, we have had many experiences to last a lifetime, but I am ready to go back to America, preferably somewhere inland!