Retirement

We have officially begun this thing called retirement. So far it feels like just another vacation - not a bad thing, it just hasn't sunk in yet!! Jason is sporting some serious facial hair, the kids realize we are officially "homeless". But we are all enjoying the adventure.

Exciting happenings- one child who will remain nameless called 911 from our hotel in Okinawa- thankfully it was on base and the MP who arrived at our door was very friendly. Jeremiah found a new sport of egg tossing to be enjoyable, we only had 3 casualties before he was stopped.

Our airplane ride went pretty well, we flew from Okinawa to Tokyo and onto Honolulu - we were actually "freezing" on the shuttle, some of you might appreciate what I am talking about - no humidity and really cold air. Quite chilly after leaving Oki. We happened to be flying in the same weekend as the APEC conference - so many roads and highways were shut down. but we actaully did not get stuck in any of it!!!

Our first stop was Jamba Juice- a little deprived or just missing some old favorites. Then we stopped in on some old friends who had no idea we were coming, Mariah + Ellen!! Good times -

We spent our first couple nights at the Olson's - it is always good to be welcomed (those of you with more than 2 kids no what I am talking about) hosting a family of 7 makes some people nervous. We almost departed without leaving any damage behind. I am probably not helping us be invited anywhere else by sharing this:) Jeremiah got into my purse and found a black permanent marker - he began to display his artistic talents on Cheryl's light colored berber rug. At the top of the stairs in plain view. I was mortified! We loaded our car as Cheryl so kindly continued removing the marker with hairspray and a rag. Thankfully it worked and our damage was not permanent. I still felt I was doing the walk of shame as I left their house. By the way did I mention, they got us in our best state. Totally jet lagged , falling asleep at any given point and random napping.


Onto Bellows - The Little's joined us our first day for BBQ chicken . The guys did a great job ( if you like black chicken with red meat) no seriously they really tried. Not sure what went wrong, but once you got below the charcoal it was great! Jason + JJ good job!

We decided to hike Diamond Head - the kids were great. After hiking Mt. Fuji it was a breeze. This was Zachary's Mt. Fuji of sorts! Jeremiah hung out in the carrier most of the way and walked at other times. The bonus at the end of the hike was Shaved Ice and big sloppy burgers from the gut truck! We enjoyed our last night at Bellows with roasting marshmallows and awesome weather. The kids loved playing in the forest and building shelters. Our surprise guest Mr. Centipede showed up uninvited into our cabin on our last night- the kids managed stay calm while mommy caught it and sent him back outside.

Our last night was spent at The Littles house. What does a family pf 8 need on a work/school night ???? A family of 7 sleeping over, doing laundry, keeping them up late and getting them up early! We love you guys!!

Onto Washington State - Flights went well. Kids did great. I would write more but who wants to relive flights # 3 + # 4 in less than a week, I don't. Just thankful we made it !!!! Washington is gorgeous, we are surviving and enjoying the cold. Our blood is a bit thin but doing well. We arrived at our 1st hotel before 11pm. Great welcome after a long day. Nice room and good heater. Our first morning came quickly- packed up shuttled to the rental car and off to the Space Needle. Pretty cool, I really enjoyed seeing Washington from the aerial view. Gorgeous time of year and a really clear day! Jeremiah loved the elevator ride and would yell "fun" each time. We got out of the city before the traffic hit and into our hotel in Poulsbo. We enjoyed a great Italian dinner and stayed at a familiar hotel that we have come to appreciate when we pass through here. Now if we can only get the kids to sleep!! Tomorrow brings more adventures and fun. Off to sleep... Pictures will have to come tomorrow....