Jul 27, 2011

Tuesday and Wednesday in Hawaii

Quick Overview:

Tuesday:  Arrive in Oahu, transfer planes and fly to Hawaii aka "The Big Island", drive to Costco (YAY!) to buy food and an underwater camera, check in to Outrigger Kanaloa at Kona, go to beach at Keauhou Bay  (Pictures in yesterday's post), go to hotel pool, watch sunset from pool, stay up too late.  (When we first arrived on this island, I noticed a lot of areas that at first I thought were torn up asphalt parking lots.  Turns out, it was lava rock.)

Wednesday:
Jet lag kept us all asleep until 10.  After a slow start, we went to a small farmers market on the resort property.  Bought two mini pies (Key Lime and Lilipoi!) and a fresh coconut.  The coconut seller macheted the top off and we drank the milk then ate the flesh.  (Is it just me, or does that sound...wrong.)

Click to play this Smilebox collageNext, went to a crowded beach.  Didn’t stay long, but got two yummy snow cones to split.  Saw a few sea turtles. (SO COOL!)  Got torn up on the lava rock.  Baby Gray ate rocks.

Left and drove quickly to Wal-mart.  Bought life jackets, camera float, pool toys and some more food.

Create your own collage - Powered by SmileboxRaced back to the hotel and dropped of Mom, Sam, Gabe and Gray and the four of us went straight to the pool.  Then Doug and Max raced back to town for the night time Manta Ray scuba tour and didn't get home until late.  Everyone had a GREAT evening.  (Despite me having to watch a bit too much of the Disney Channel with Sam and Gabe.)

(Below is an underwater video of the manta rays.  I'm just blogging it for Doug because he's been monopolizing the lap top enough as it is lately!  Our desk top computer, along with all our "household goods", will arrive on Friday.)


  More tomorrow.  
If Doug will share the computer!

HAWAII!

Click to play this Smilebox collage
Create your own collage - Powered by Smilebox
I have too many pictures to post them all individually, so I started messing around with collages.  Didn't want to download Picassa onto our laptop, (it's on the desktop which is in transit) so I thought I'd try Smilebox.  But I don't need my collage to sing and dance, and I don't love having a huge logo at the bottom.  So I guess I'll keep experimenting.  In the mean time, feast your eyes upon the cuteness of our boys at the beach.  Yes, that's lava rock Gray is eating.  And he loved it!

Jul 23, 2011

"I'm So Far Behind I Think I'm First"

Pretty sure I had a "Garfield" poster saying that when I was a kid.  Or maybe it was on one of those posters you could get at the Book Fair and one of my teachers had it hanging in her classroom at Butler Middle School...?  And maybe it wasn't Garfield but an adorable gray kitty in a track suit...?  Hmm.  I'm sad that I'm thinking about this.

Anyway, what I wanted to say before I got sidetracked by that little cat tangent, is that I'm so far behind in my blogging that I don't even know where to start.

We've been doing lots of stuff lately.
Fun stuff, not so fun stuff...all sorts of stuff.

I.e., we've moved.

Sorta.

We're actually still in transit.

In Hawaii.

It's called "Circuitous Travel" and your tax dollars are paying for it.
("Sorry Suckas!" as Max and Sam would say...)

We've had a great trip despite the jet-lag and occasionally whiny/irrational/ungrateful/tired/bratty but adorable children.

No really!  We have!  It's been fun!  But we're ready to get to California and start building a practice without a 16 hour time difference and poor Skype connection interfering.

So that's what's going on.  I plan to do a few pre-dated catch-up posts when life settles down, but it may never settle down again, so no guarantees.  (Not that you give a rip about our Hawaii trip, but when did lack of audience interest ever stop anyone from sharing vacation pictures?  Huh?  That's right:  Never.)

Now we know where everyone stands.   Oh wait...I actually don't know where you stand.  Are you FOR vacation photos or AGAINST?  Or would you rather just talk about how we're going to decorate Doug's new dental office?

Thoughts?
Feelings?
Confessions of love?

I want them all.  Comment on!

Jul 6, 2011

On Swearing and Such

One of my favorite forms of teenage rebellion (as a...ya know...teenager) was swearing.*

As a good Mormon girl, sex and drugs didn't appeal to me.  (Not like anyone was offering anyway, but still...)  So, as a good Mormon girl, wanting to be a hellion, but a righteous, church-going one, I thought I'd just try incorporating a few "Bible" swears into my vocab.

I was instantly hooked.
(Don't try this at home, kids!)

H-e-double-hockey-sticks came first.  (Probably originally said "H-e-double hockey sticks!")
Then "D-a-m ("Oh no you didn't!"  "Oh yes, I did.")...n".

When I left Utah for California and REALLY wanted to shock and awe my new friends with my daring and originality, I pulled out the not so biblical  starts with "s-h" ends with "i-t" word.  (So sorry Mom.)

College expanded my horizons.  And my vocabulary!
Another (seemingly Biblically sanctioned) few words crept in on special occasions:
"Bas_ _ _ _" always got a laugh and so, usually, did the alternate for donkey!  (Which I now refer to only as "a-double".)

Life was good.  I pierced my ears a few extra times, died my hair unfortunate colors, and swore to my hearts content.  (But was otherwise a paragon of virtue.  Okay, well there may have also been a little too much NCMO, but that's neither here nor there.  Anyway, where was I...?  Oh yeah...)

Then I met Doug.

And he LOVED ME JUST THE WAY I WAS!!!
In fact, I think he was attracted to my wild potty-mouthed side.  (Just like I immediately fell for his nerdy, tennis-playing-side.)

So, obviously, we (quickly) got married and lived happily ever after.

EXCEPT FOR ONE THING!
As soon as the minister said "You may now kiss the bride..."
(there was no minister saying any such thing.  Mormon's don't even have ministers.) 
...DOUG NIXED THE SWEARING!!!
(Something about not being dragged swiftly down to h-e-double-hockey-sticks by my heathenism...)

OF COURSE, being the loving, adoring, dutiful, submissive wife that I am, I tried (and still try) hard to curb my rebellious tongue.  And...

I'm 100% successful in front of the kids.
100% successful in front of most friends and neighbors.  (You're such a bad influence Janeen!)
73.2% successful in front of Doug.  (Sometimes it's worth it just to see him shake his head at me.)
0% successful in the privacy of my own thoughts.
33.3% successful in front of my siblings.  (Doug's and mine.)
and heck, I think I'm just about
100% successful here on this wonderful, PG-rated blog!
(Pretty dad-gummed impressive, if you ask me!)
(And I told you already--I'm not British so "bloody" doesn't count!)

Why am I telling you all this?  So that you know that what I'm about to say comes from the deepest part of my soul.  And that there is no other way for me to describe to you the sheer expanse of my feelings.

And so you'll reflect, that in comparison, what I'm about to say could be much, MUCH worse.  (Okay, not that much worse, but still worse.)

Are you ready?

I just want to say...

...that moving sucks.
(especially across countries and continents.)

And saying good bye to friend, after friend, after friend sucks!

And trying to start a Pediatric dental practice from freakin'** JAPAN is super sucky!!

And while I'm venting, EARTHQUAKES ARE THE SUCKIEST OF ALL!!!

HA!!!

There.  I said it.  Think of me what you will, Judgey McJudgerson!

Sincerely,
Emily-Potty Mouth-Dub


*Another super original thing I did was wear a lot of black.  Not ALL black like a goth.  Just a lot of black t-shirts from the local DAV.  And occasionally black nail-polish.  Mourning my lost childhood and all that, ya know?!

**I would like the record to show that I have never, ever said the dreaded and diabolical "F" word.
(No, I don't mean FART!)
Oh wait...except that time I told my mom I was about to watch the movie "Huck Finn" and it came out wrong.

---


And now I must apologize to my mother, mother-in-law, and all of my aunts.  Please don't take it personally.  It's no reflection on you.  I was born this way.

*Doug is shaking his head at the fact that I wrote and published all this on my blog.  Poor man...!

Jul 3, 2011

A Few Little July Things

*People often ask me:  "When do you find the time to blog???"
Today's answer?  1:15 a.m.   What can I say...I'm a night owl.
{(My usual answer?  "It's what I do while you clean your house.")}

*I just finished listening to the audio version of "Unbroken" from Audible.com.  (I l.o.v.e. Audible)  It's about an American soldier held as a POW in Japan during WWII.  What an amazing story!  Makes me feel proud and wimpy and patriotic and wimpy.  Also, I'm in awe of our current relationship with the Japanese!  We (and they) have come a long way since the 40's!  (I highly recommend the book, btw.  4 stars.)

*Did I mention we got a house?  WE GOT A HOUSE!!!  WAHOO!
And by that I mean, we signed a one year lease on a rental.  And we're super excited.  It's by a big park with a Rec center and has access to a community pool!  And it has a GARAGE!!!  Something we've never had before!

*So where exactly are we going?  The San Diego area.  (Mind your business, stalkers!)  I will say this:  The temperature RARELY gets over 75 (or below 60) and we're ten minutes from the beach.  a.k.a. HEAVEN!

*And what will we be doing there?  Buying an existing practice with actual patients and a guaranteed income?  Oh no...that route is for sissies!  Doug will be starting a BRAND NEW pediatric dental practice!  From scratch!!!  So uh...save your kiddie cavities and come visit us!  You can sleep in my new garage!

*Actually, we've decided you can only come visit if you a] came to visit us here in Japan, (that eliminates...all of you) OR, b] if you sent us a Christmas card, family photo, or goodie box during the last three years.  The rest of you, well...we accept bribes.  Good luck.

*Hey, it's so early, it's tomorrow!  Happy 4th of July, everyone!!!  Isn't America awesome?!

*And now I'm must wrap this up.  Doug gives me a hard time if I try to sneak in bed after 2.

'nite.
zzzzzzzzz...