Goodbye For Now

Since tomorrow I'll be leaving the island until after the wedding, I thought now would be a good time to post a few cute pictures and give a small tour of the beaches we visited. During this stay, I didn't get around to taking many pictures so don't expect much. Buckle your seat belts, ladies and gentlemen, because here we go:

This is the one picture I got Chris to take of me during the whole trip. Ok, well actually he took a picture of me in his vest and helmet but that's one I'll keep to myself.

These things here are the cannons, aka Chris' job. He's not actually in this picture but these are the exact cannons that he plays with at work everyday. While he is at PTA for the next two weeks, he will actually be shooting live rounds out of these bad boys.

This is when I looked out the window on the way back from the beach and the clouds were smiling at me.

If I had a better camera this picture would have been so much better. This was actually one WHOLE rainbow. I could literally see it perfectly clear from one end to the other. We were on the freeway and Chris wouldn't stop so I could capture the whole thing. Go figure.

The military beach is very calm and never crowded. We were two of ten people there. Right after this it got cloudy and I couldn't see through the water. Then I was too scared to get in and we had to leave.

On the way to the military beach we go through the not so good area of Waianae. In this area, there is the homeless beach. These homeless people have very extravagant set ups and signs that warn you to keep off their beach. This picture is of one of the not so cool ones. Again, Chris wouldn't stop so I could take a picture of a cooler one.

This is another homeless hut between two palm trees.

Downtown Waikiki is my least favorite beach. It is always packed and there are rocks everywhere. Plus the sand is weird. It's pretty though.

The sun setting at North Shore. My favorite beach on the whole island.

And just for kicks, this is baby Chris and his dad. He would kill me if he knew I posted this, so no one tell. It'll be our little secret :]

Things the Army Has Taught Me

#1: The Mary Poppins bag.

I have no idea what it's really called but to me, this has magic powers. Unbelievable amounts of stuff will fit in here. For example, this bag has 3 uniforms, summer and winter pt's, 10 pairs of socks, boots, two sleeping bags, a parka, and about a hundred other things. Seriously, it's a magic Army bag.

#2: The Army has their own lingo. If you don't use it, you will be an outcast.

Ah, the Commissary, aka the grocery store. However, if you say, "Hey, I'm going to the grocery store," people will look at you like you're crazy. Also, gas stations are called Shopettes and you don't go to Wal-mart, you shop at the PX. Learn fast my friends, or you will be shunned.

#3: Don't speed or the MP's will get you.

Driving on post will give you anxiety. It's a fact. The speed limit is 25mph unless its pt time, then it's 10mph. If you speed, the MP's will get you. Then you'll get a ticket and your soldier will have to write a 3-page essay and work on Saturday.

(MP's are Military Police, btw)

The Army has taught me many other things as well. Like there is such thing as mandatory fun. Seriously, who knew? Along with that, familiar words take on totally new meanings. For example, PTA is not at your child's school, it's where your soldier gets to go away for two weeks to practice blowing things up. So all in all, I feel like I've caught on to this Army life pretty quickly. Chris however, might disagree.

If I could climb trees...

then this would be my dream come true. But since I cannot climb trees, then looking at it will just have to do.

(this is a close up of its wonderous beauty)

These trees are everywhere on post. This one just happens to be on the next block over from us so I have easy access to it. In all honestly I did try to climb it. Well, if trying means I walked up to it, saw a bunch of ants, and then decided that was close enough. Maybe one day I'll be brave and make an actual attempt, but probably not.

Date Night

Let me start off by saying, I love date night. I love date night even more when Chris volunteers (yes, he actually volunteered) to cook the dinner. The only things that Chris can make are giant bowls of cereal and spaghetti, so pasta it was!

Naturally, I needed some photo documentation of the miracle that was about to take place. Chris hates it when I start taking pictures but every time I tell him to pose he does it! So how much can he hate it, really? This is the picture of when I told him to look like a chef. So to Chris, I guess chefs look like they have robot arms.

This is the lovely look I got when I told him the hamburger still had to be defrosted. After a few unkind words directed toward the microwave, I had to step in and help a little.

After the defrosting incident, Chef Christopher was on his way! Dinner ended up turning out great, which honestly, was a little unexpected. I guess there's hope for Chris' cooking skills to improve after all! The rest of date night was just a laid back night of movies and an ice cream cone but in my opinion, those are the best date nights of all.

Why We Love Hawaii

Recently, Chris and I went on a little adventure. We started off at our normal beach in North Shore where there are always tons of people but the lack of rocks makes it worth it. Eventually, it got so crowded that we decided to drive a little further to see what we would find. That wonderful decision led us here:

We had to hike down a ways from the road in our flip flops but it ended up being more than worth it! Once the waves started getting bigger and spraying over the rocks it was even more beautiful!

Needless to say, our decision to break out of the norm was a good one. Now that it's getting into October, the waves at North Shore are getting dangerously big (over 15 feet!). So we'll have to say goodbye to our new spot and start spending our beach days at the military beach.

Home Sweet Post

"Welcome to Schofield Barracks ma'am" are perhaps some of the most glorious words I have ever heard. Goodbye Mililani, Hello Schofield Barracks.

The Mililani apartment looks innocent from the outside, but the inside was filled with spiders, smelly couches and messy, messy roommates. We are not at all sad to say goodbye.

Home sweet post!

A lot of people complain about post housing because the homes don't have central air conditioning or carpet, but Chris and I are more than thrilled to be living here. Not only is Chris now just minutes away from work (which means almost half an hour more sleep!) but this house is bug free too! It's more than we could have ever asked for. Now all we have to do is get the air conditioner installed in the window and we'll be in Hawaiian heaven. In the mean time, we'll be enjoying a weekend full of private military beaches and hopefully, one giant shaved ice.