Shaka, Baby

We have not tried Poi, we have not eaten a buried pig, and we have not learned to hula.  But we have surfed.  We took a lesson a few days ago.  The only reason I have not yet told you all about it is because it has taken me this long to regain movement in my arms.  Totally, completely and entirely worth it.

Dan's parents are staying with us this week, and they gave us a much needed break from the kiddos.  We spent the night in Waikiki as a sort of late Valentine's Day celebration.  We went to a movie, we shopped, we went out to dinner, we shopped, we ate cheesecake and we shopped.  It was awesome.  The next morning we woke up and grabbed some breakfast.  Bare with me a moment while I reminisce on how incredible the breakfast was.  Macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup . . . . I can't even begin to describe to you how goooooooood it was.  Just another reason you should come visit us.

Here's another.

After breakfast we walked to Waikiki and met our surf instructor, Susie.  She walked us through what we were going to do in the water, and she supplied all the gear we needed.  Susie was met by 2 other guys who were there for the sole purpose of taking pictures of us.  I think they might do this more for their own entertainment than anything else.  Watching a couple of "Haoles" stand on a surf board for the first time has got to be hilarious.  Especially when one of them is built more for a basketball court than a wave.  The photographers told us to ignore them.  That they had to be close to us to get good shots.  That we shouldn't worry about running into them.  That it would be so difficult to run into them they would give us a discount on our pictures if we did.  Guess what.

 The first step in surfing is to lay down on your 11ft board in the water.  It was cold, but only for a brief second.  After that you're sweating.  You have to paddle all the way out to the surf spot (obviously).  This was not nearly so difficult for Dan, who still manages to find time to lift weights from time to time.  When I was in weights class in high school my goal was to be able to do a pull-up (1) by the end of the semester.  That was the last time I cared how strong my arms were.  Until this week.  When Susie FINALLY said "okay, this spot looks good" I was so exhausted that I just laid my head down on my board for a second.  I had no idea how I was going to make it through a 2 hour lesson.  Then it was my turn.

Here's how it works.  Susie says, "Kaysi, are you ready?"  You (ready or not) say, "Yes."  Susie says, "start paddling."  You start moving your arms again.  Susie shoves your board and you row one more time with each arm and then push up onto your knees.  Find your balance.  Onto your hands and feet.  Find your balance again.  Stand up.  The rest of the time is pretty much spent keeping your balance.  It's also a spectacular thrill.  Weightlessly sailing through the water with only the strength of the ocean.  Suddenly your arms (which only a moment ago felt as if they were about to detach) thrust themselves into the air with shakas on either end.  (The "hang-loose" sign . . . . which, by the way, doesn't mean that here.)  You now have the strength to do it again.  And again.  And again.

Each time you row back to the surf spot Susie gives you some pointers.  The biggest thing is that you should be looking up at the beach the whole time you're on the board.  You will go in the direction you're looking.  I've heard this before with different things.  Driving, biking, etc.  None of these is more true than when you're surfing.  This is where our picture discount comes in.  So I'm riding a wave (because it's what I do now), and all I'm thinking is "look at the beach, look at the beach"  This is because I bit it pretty hard a couple waves ago, and it was less than fun.  Not wanting to do that again, I'm taking any advice I'm given.  As I'm staring at the beach I spot the photographer from the corner of my eye on his board with his big 'ol yellow water camera aimed right at me.  Now I'm thinking, "don't run over him, don't run over him."  You won't believe what happened.  Suddenly my board turned 30 degrees and aimed itself straight toward him.  I see his face (because I've completely forgotten about the beach at this point) and in a second it changed from the normal smirk at the silly midwest surfer girl to, "oooooohhhhh, no."  He literally abandoned his board and dove into the shallow, reef-filled water.  I crash into the water right over top of him.  Thus, we have these lovely, and quite affordable pictures to show you.  (There's a sermon illustration hidden somewhere in this paragraph.)

I have no idea when we'll be able to do this again.  But it IS going to happen.  We've decided that if you would like to come and visit us it will only cost you one morning of letting us go surfing while you keep an eye on our kids.  We'll return the favor if you bring your kids with you.  Start doing push-ups now.  Ask for Susie.  Shaka.

We Lov Nu House

They have this candy here called Maui Caramacs.  The best ones are the Kona Caramacs.  Think kona coffee flavored soft caramel, roasted macadamia nuts, and a glorious chocolate coating.  Mmmmmm.  They have nothing to do with this post.  We're just out of them and one would be really good right now.

We're officially in our new house! We are absolutely loving it!  Our favorite part is the kitchen/breakfast nook/playroom/living room.  Most people don't put their play room in their kitchen, but it really works for us!  We spend just about all our time here.  We're probably all 4 doing different things, but we're together, which is very cool.  Things are beginning to find their places, and the garage sale planned for later this month seems to be getting bigger by the day.  The house is about half the size of our old home, so we're doing lots of sorting.  (How many towels does one family need, really?)  The only major thing so far is that we haven't found our coffee grinder.  This is incredibly annoying.  Plenty of whole-bean coffee.  No grinder.  When the entire thing is done, we'll post a video tour.  So be waiting in anticipation of THAT!  :)

We've traded our spectacular view for a small but equally spectacular fenced-in back yard.  Axel has already taken over with his new playhouse (thanks to Pa & Guh Guh - construction pic below) and his new bike (thanks to Papa & Guh Guh).  He talks every day about how "New House" is in "Big Big Wada, Hawaii," but he has made it very clear that under no uncertain terms are we to go to Oahu.  Axel:  "No go Oahuuuuuuu!"  Us:  "Okay.  We won't go to Oahu."

Axel's biggest news is his new big boy undies!  He's doing a great job keeping his Thomas the Train underwear, "Allllllll dry!"  There have been a few accidents along the way, but the entire downstairs is wood-laminate, so clean-up has been pretty easy.

Joslyn is thinking very hard about starting to take a first step.  She is already following her brother around and trying to do everything he does.  Including:  1.  Driving toy cars all over the white walls.  2.  Pushing the semi-truck across the room and "go boom!" into the kitchen cabinets.  3.  Climbing up onto the toilet (which for her means playing in the water . . . I know . . . ick).  4.  Using toy bats (or anything shaped like a stick) to hit anything and everything around her.  So they're having lots of fun!

Joslyn has been such a trooper though these last few months.  From pack-n-play to pack-n-play she's smiled just about the entire time.  She's starting to get her top 2 teeth opposite the bottom 2, so she's got this baby hillbilly grin with a scrunched up nose that we have yet to catch on camera.  Dada is hopelessly wrapped so tight around her little finger he can hardly leave the house to go to work.  I think in about another month I'll be able to put pigtails around those chubby cheeks.  Can't wait!

The living on an Army Post is definitely a little different.  Showing your ID every time you come home is kinda strange.  Watching people salute your husband is just weird . . . and somehow a little funny.  Being called "Ma'am" all the time is not cool.  Learning all the acronyms (or just nodding and pretending that you know what they're talking about) is overwhelming.  Hearing random trumpet sounds seemingly out of nowhere is creepy.  Looking through pictures of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and finding one of the Japanese bombing Wheeler Army Airfield (where we are living now) at the same time is enough to make me look up flights for home.  Living around some of the most brave, strong people in the country is amazing, and incredibly intimidating.

We've met several neighbors so far.  Two of them live right across from us.  Their husbands have been gone for almost an entire year, and they are taking care of 2 and 3 small children by themselves.  (Remember how much I whined when Dan was gone for 2 weeks?)  They are of a very different mold than I am.  To be able to hold things together for that long while your husband - your children's daddy - is in a war zone is beyond my ability to comprehend.  They were not a mess.  They had make-up on, their hair was done, their children were well-behaved, and they had dinner cooking in the oven.  They were not in tears.  They were talking in the alley watching all our kids play together, trying to fill me in on some of the code they were speaking.  (Seriously, it's like a different language.)  They will be my friends soon, I think.

We are very happy.  We love our new home, and we are really having fun with the nice weather and the beautiful landscape.  We physically hurt when we think of how our parents are missing our kids, but we get to see them all very soon!  Axel tells me every day about all the things he's going to do with them when they get here.  I hope they don't have too much else planned!

By the way - one more thing.  If you're one of the people who has sent us text messages at 4am (our time).  We'd REALLY appreciate it if you'd wait until after noon (your time) to text us.  :)  Thanks!