Last Week in Hawaii

As I mentioned before, the time between when we were notified we were leaving, the when we actually had to leave was less than 2 weeks. That is VERY little time to pack and ship everything and move it overseas.

Still, the Air Force personnel were more than accommodating at helping us complete the ginormous task and everything went fairly smooth. Only a few minor hiccups.










We ended up practically camping out in our empty house for a few nights on air mattresses before we could move into a temporary living facility on base. Paul and I got ZERO sleep in that time. We had two sick kids that had been completely thrown off their routine. The first night we were there, I seriously played musical beds. I started out in one with Izzy, jumped over to Eva's for a while, slept on the sofa pull out next to Paul for a little bit and then ended back up in the bed I started in with Izzy. I had no idea that would be the beginning of some pretty exhausting sleep issues for Izzy.



When it was finally the day to fly out, Izzy woke up with a 102 degree fever. She looked miserable. But, with the assistance of many doses of children's Tylenol (hold your horses...not all at once) she managed to get through the 10 hours of flying time with only a few small bouts of fussiness. She slept a majority of the trip, thank goodness.




Once we arrived in Baltimore, we were greeted by my mother and father in law (Masie and Yosie) at the airport and shortly thereafter, we bundled up the best we knew how and pushed our luggage out into the cold air. VERY cold air.



Eva thought it was great. She was giggling with excitement and kept asking if we were going to build a snowman. Izzy...not so much.



When the shuttle to our hotel finally arrived, we all hopped on board fiending for the heat inside. The driver must have noticed our blue lips because he pushed the heat up as high as it would go and before long we were nice and toasty. However, the people who are used to a cold winter were sweating but whatever...it was a short trip to the hotel.

We stayed one night in a suite with one king size bed and a sofa pull out. Paul and I, along with both the girls, immediately crashed in the king bed completely jet lagged and wanting our sick babies to get as much rest as possible. Probably not the best idea because both girls were WIDE awake at 1am and talking up a storm. Paul and I did our best to hush them, and then finally realized it was a lost cause as we were pretty wired as well. To all of us, it only felt like 8pm. So, we talked and giggled quietly in our family bed trying not to wake Masie and Yosie on the pull out in the next room.




The next morning we ate breakfast in the room, packed everything up again, bundled the girls and started the drive to Stafford, VA to visit with Lina (Paul's sister), Craig and Brooke.

Hiatus...OVER!!!

Yay! After a VERY long month and change of not having my computer (other than the iPhone, but have you every tried to type anything on that contraption? You'd have to have the fingers of Thumbilina to type anything with zero mistakes) or the ability to blog about all the titillating events that happen in my life, I'm back. The Comcast guy came yesterday and plugged me into the lifeline that is the internet.

And boy oh boy do I have some stuff to tell you!!!

It really is funny how, as everything unfolded and developed in the last month, I would think of how I was going to blog about it. My mind would continually run through word combinations, similes, metaphors and synonyms. It may be a pathetic way to take life in, but on the other hand, it may be a way of enjoying it all the more.

Okay, okay. SO how am I going to tackle this? Well, I think I'll take the beloved Julie Andrews advice and "start at the very beginning, a very good place to start."

First, our last week in Hawaii. A tad bit stressful. And Izzy got sick the day we had to get on the plane. I mean, 102 degree fever sick. Not fun. We did manage to take one last drive around the island before we dropped off our van and we snapped some pretty amazing pictures. They've brought me warmth in the middle of trying to adjust to a cold winter here on the outskirts of Baltimore.

Hiatus

Well guys, the moment I've both hesitantly and anxiously awaited for the past 3 and a half years is at my doorstep. The movers come tomorrow. They're coming and they are going to pack up all things dear to me. My clothes, my books, my sketch pads, my DVDs ...everything.

They are even taking the computer. So, it is with great sadness that I initiate this blogging hiatus, if you will. I don't know how long it will be until I have regular access to a computer again, but it could be close to 6 weeks depending on how long it takes my stuff to travel by boat across the Pacific, down through the Panama Canal and up to the Baltimore docks.


But, before I go, let me leave you with some pictures that Paul and I took last night on a farewell walk down the banks of Pearl Harbor. Hickam AFB is a beautiful base and I'm sure that there are not many military installations that compare. I'm pretty sure that Ft Meade won't even come close. So, Paul and I plan to take the next few days to snap some shots of memorable spots and locations on Hickam and around the island before we leave on our jet plane next Tuesday.





I'll be able to share them with you in just 6 weeks. Hold tight, my friends. I'll be back!

Friends

This morning is a rough morning for me. I did NOT have a red letter day yesterday, but I won't go into detail about that. My stomach is churning, my heart is aching, and I just feel a sense of unrest in every part of me. There's SO much going on right now as we prepare for our move. Not just on the calendar, but in my soul as well.

Moving is stressful.

For as long as I've looked forward to getting off this rock in the middle of the Pacific, the emotion that comes with leaving a place that you're comfortable is starting to hit me...hard. Especially after yesterday.

But there was a silver lining around my dark cloud. I've come to treasure a friend who will listen. And not listen with the intent of interjecting (as I tend to do) but listen and not grow weary of you saying the same thing a million times. Listen even though you're complaining about the same thing you complained about a month ago and have done nothing to remedy it. Listen as you make your mental and emotional breakthroughs and need someone to help you make sense of them. A friend who will listen and never make you feel like you're boring them or burdening them or taking them away from something more important.

Do you remember High School? Do you remember that group of friends you had? The friends you could be silly with and sad with and dumb with and boy crazy with. Now do you remember that one friend in the group of those friends that you just had to talk to at the end of the day even though you'd seen each other all day at school? That friend that you could jump on your bed with while singing at the top of your lungs along with Hanson's MmmBop. The only friend you really trusted to give you a make over right before you were supposed to meet the "guy of your dreams" at the movies and the friend that would let you cry all over her new shirt from American Eagle when he broke your heart. It's been a long time since High School and it's been a long time since I had a friend like that.

But I have that friend in Kasey. She listens and listens and listens (and guys that what it takes because, let me tell you, I'm a talker). She's fun, giggly, real and a total life giver. Our friendship has been tested and tried as we've dealt with all the trials that come with being women, wives and mothers and it's withstood them all. We don't always agree on things but we value each others opinions and the experiences that have brought us there.

And today, I'm both happy and sad. I'm thrilled that the Lord has granted me a friend like that during my stint here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific. And I'm so sad that after a little over a weeks time, I'm not sure when I'll see her again.

But I'll take comfort in knowing that if our friendship has conquered all that we've put it through, surely it can conquer a little bit of distance. I know from experience that there are some friendships that a measly few thousand miles just can't stand in the way of.

"A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
-Proverbs 18:24

Taking a Time Out

Okay, so I know that I haven't really been my usual blogging self this last month or so. What can I say? The holidays are a time for reflection and I've been doing alot of that. I've also been doing a lot of stressing out and hyperventilating as we have been awaiting our seemingly mythological military orders to make our big family move to Maryland at the end of the month.

Well, the orders have finally arrived and most of our out-processing is complete. In a mere 13 days, we will be on a plane, flying over the island of Oahu, saying good-bye to the place that this young, newlywed couple started their family. It really is bitter sweet.

On one hand, I cannot wait to be closer to grandparents. I really hate that they are not accessible for birthdays, outings, firsts, etc. And on the other, the autonomy has been nice and much needed as Paul and I worked to solidify our family unit. I'm very much looking forward to living in a place that actually has 4 distinct seasons, but at the same time, I'm afraid my kids will freeze to death as I have NO idea how to dress kids for cold weather. Heck, I don't even know how to dress myself for cold weather...I grew up in Florida!

I will miss my brother Ryan and my sister in law, Jacquie. Jacquie and I have gotten closer than I could've hoped for when they moved here over a year ago and she has become someone that I love whole heartedly. I'll miss my church, my routine, my familiarity with the traffic and the way of life out here. I'll miss Kasey.

Hawaii has been special to me. I spent 3 of my childhood years out here and one of my favorite things to do is drive around base looking for landmarks that hold specific memories for me. I glance at our old house with the sprawling Plumeria tree in the back yard every time I drive down Fox Blvd. My brothers and I used to climb those branches and sit there eating Corn Nuts or sunflower seeds. I see the sidewalk that Justin and I used to walk to school every morning to Hickam Elementary. A long sidewalk lined with gigantic trees that yield fragrant, sticky seed pods which litter the ground. There's the patch of asphalt behind our home where I learned how to ride my bike with no training wheels or the "hill" in our front yard that I was afraid to roller skate down. And now, Hawaii holds even more memories for me. It's the place that Paul and I made our first home together. The place we became parents, twice. My memories of this place have only broadened and become even more dear.

I don't know what it feels like to have our family anywhere else. Weird thought.

Anyway, Paul and I are trying to capture the places that hold memories for our family on film in these remaining days. And as you all know, we spend a lot of time at the park on Worthington and First on Hickam AFB. Enjoy the photos!

When it Rains...

And that's NOT where it ended, folks. Kasey called me from our house, once they had successfully broken in, and informed me that they could not find the keys. Poor Kasey had searched through every nook and cranny of my home, going through dirty laundry, neglected drawers and cobweb filled corners (I praise God for a friend like Kasey who won't judge me by the lack of attention my home has gotten in the past few weeks).

Once she and Ben had admitted that there was no hope of them finding the keys, they drove the 20 minutes to Hawaii Kai to pick us up. All eight of us loaded up into their matching Honda Odyssey, left ours their in the parking lot, and headed home.

Once home, Paul and I did our own search through the house to look for the keys, thinking that perhaps in their unfamiliarity of all the secret spaces in our home, they had possibly overlooked them. Nope. No keys. Paul and I racked our brains trying to think of every possible place we could've left them.

Well, we were at Ryan and Jacquie's house the previous day for our Christmas festivities so Paul headed out to walk over there. Once there, they searched high and low and finally, at Ryan's suggestion, Paul checked their car. There they were. Paul rode with them Christmas night to go see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and must have left his keys in their car. Funny thing about this is that Paul texted me on his way home from the movies and asked me to please leave the front door unlocked for him if I was headed to bed. He had totally forgotten that he had his keys with him!

So, Paul got a friend to take him back up to Hawaii Kai to pick up the van, and on his way home, he called me. It was 6:30 pm at this point and I had just bathed the girls and was in the midst of their bedtime routine when I answered his call. It went something like this,

"Babe, you're not going to believe this."

"What!?! Did someone vandalize the car?"

"No. I forgot my wallet."

"O-Kay?"

"SO, I can't get on base without my ID and I don't have my driver's license either. I'm ridin' dirty."

"Paul...please tell me you're kidding. I don't have a car. It's dark. The girl's are bathed and it's thundering and lightning outside. It could start pouring any second."

"I know, Hun. But there's no other option. I need you to walk down to the back gate and meet me there with my wallet. Otherwise, I could get a ticket."

silence...

more silence...

smoke coming out of my ears...

"Fine."

So, I loaded up the girl's in their strollers, and started the 3/4 mile trek to the back gate of the base. About 50 yards out from the guard shack, the power went out. All over base...all over the island! I couldn't even see the sidewalk in front of me because even the street lights were out. I slowed my walking which was frustrating because I could see where Paul was parked just outside the gate which only made me want to hurry.

When I finally reached the guard shack, the guards were running around frantic trying to get the barriers up to keep people from coming on or off base. They asked me what the heck I was doing out and I explained the situation. One of the guards ran towards Paul to motion to him to hurry up and get on base. They were so kind. They allowed me to vouch for Paul with my military ID and even looked the other way when we had to load everyone up in the van sans car seats (which is a big no-no!).

When we got home, we looked up at our dark, powerless house and decided that maybe we should head back out and find somewhere to hang until our power came back on. But only minutes later, we learned that EVERYONE was out of power. Not just Hickam AFB, the entire island of Oahu was out of power. (Even Barack Obama who is vacationing here with his family was out of power!)

We had a nutritious dinner of chips and gold fish (as we didn't want to open our fridge in fear of letting out the cold air) and put the girl's in bed. Thankfully, Paul and are used to sleeping with our windows open so we actually had a restful night and the power finally came back on at 5:30 this morning.

Christmas Day

The afternoon of Christmas, after the girl's had napped and I was done baking my Pumpkin Cheesecake and Apple pie (in a cake pan because I couldn't find my pie plate anywhere!) we headed over to Ryan and Jacquie's for a family Christmas Dinner. Jacquie made a delicious prime rib along with some cheesy mashed potatoes and macaroni cheese.

Once dinner was done, the guys all headed outside to play with Hurley and Eva. Justin took the time to bond with Eva as he's only gotten to meet her 3 times so far. She wasn't sure about him at first, and who could blame her with his overwhelming stature, but she seemed to warm up after a while.

And of course, Eva enjoyed the company of her best buddy and favorite dog, Hurley. Hurley is the topic of many a conversation in the Cortez house and he's also handy when a good bribe is needed. For example, "Eva, if you want to see Hurley today, you're going to have to clean up your toys" or "Eva, Hurley doesn't like it when you act like that. He would be sad to see that." The mention of Hurley seems to snap our girl right back into shape. Maybe it's wrong to use him like that, but it works.

Anyway, it was a good Christmas day! We were blessed to be surrounded by family even way out here in the middle of the Pacific.

Christmas Morning

I don't know what it is about Christmas morning that makes it instinctual for all children to wake up at the booty crack of dawn. Eva has been making a habit lately of sleeping until 8 or 8:30. But Thursday morning, wouldn't you know, she was up at 7. I have to admit, I was glad for the early morning. I was probably as excited as she was, if not more so.

This year was the first year that Eva actually "got it." She was very into opening her presents, but not too much so that she wasn't willing to share the excitement with Izzy which made my heart proud. Of course, Izzy wasn't very in to the actual presents, but she sure did have fun going at the wrapping paper.

I think my favorite present that Eva got this year was a book by Brooke Shields called Welcome to Your World, Baby. It's an adorable story with whimsical illustrations about a big sister welcoming home her new little sister. She's telling the new baby about all of the things they'll do together and it's just really sweet. Perfect for my sweet girls.


But, just like every year, the wrapping paper frenzy is over too quickly for all of the planning and wrapping that goes into it. Still, I was glad to add to our girl's ever growing book collection, and Paul was excited to instill the love of photography in Eva with a Kid Tough Digital Camera.

All in all, a very good Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve

This Christmas, we were very blessed to have my brother, Justin here. He flew in at 9am on Christmas Eve morning, just in time to catch a few z's and be up in time for a little shin dig at our house.

Being that two of my 4 siblings were going to be here, I tried to make the night memorable by making all of the finger foods that my mom used to make for us on Christmas Eve. I made sausage bisquick balls, snickerdoodles, ham rolls, queso dip and my sister in law, Jacquie as well as my friend, Kasey supplied some very yummy additions of their own.

It was a very nice time and I enjoyed being around my brothers so much. Kasey got a kick out of seeing the three of us together and picking out the features that we all have in common. Of course, we can't see at all where we look alike, but it's nice to know that we do to other people.

Before everyone got here, Paul took the opportunity to try out his new camera and snap some pictures of the girls in their matching Christmas pj's.

Rainy Day and Christmas Cookies

Last night, we experienced something that hardly ever occurs out here in the middle of the Pacific; a thunder storm! It was awesome. I adore thunder storms. It's one of the things I miss most about living in Florida.


Anyway, when we awoke this morning, it was still rather dreary out and even now, at 12:30 pm, the rains have not relented. Paul even got a phone call this morning telling him not to worry about coming into work because the roads were so flooded on that side of the island. This is my favorite kind of day.








It's not, however, Eva's idea of the perfect day. So, in order to keep her occupied and happy, we made Christmas cookies. We made shortbread cookies and she did great. She loved cutting out the cookies and rolling out the dough. But when it came to decorating, she wasn't interested. She did agree to decorate a few with sprinkles before baking them and then she was off to watch Tigger and Pooh.




































Once they were all baked, I made some royal icing with the last little big of meringue powder I had left and spread it over the cooled cookies. I had big plans to decorate them with detailed and intricate designs but Izzy woke up and that plan went right out the window.




























But they still turned out cute, I think.