Anchor Suitcase

To all you DG's and anchor enthusiasts - eat your heart out. My mom wins major brownie points this year as she had my Christmas present sent to me early. It is an adorable suitcase covered in anchors! Perfect for holiday traveling. The only problem is - now I want the whole set!

Golden Curry

My mom would tell you that I have never been a picky-eater. It was never really an option growing up and I have always had an adventurous side: I am willing to give something a try at least once. If I don't like the food I figure that is just fine, at least I gave it a chance. However, as I have gotten older my taste buds seemed to have changed a bit and things that weren't previously my favorite have really grown on me. One of these is Japanese curry. When I was younger my family hosted several Japanese exchange students and I also traveled to Japan as a teenager. I think that the more exposure I had to Japanese curry the more I have come to like it. I have been craving some and last night I decided to make some for dinner. It turned out delicious and I wanted to share some of my cooking adventures!

Snorkeling Adventure

This past weekend Doug and I decided to go out to the Ko Olina resorts that are only about 15 minutes away from our house. There are several beautiful lagoons for swimming and snorkeling. We have gone there a few times before but this time we had an underwater camera to capture some of the fun.

Dole Pineapple Plantation

One of our first adventures together on the island was to go to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. It was fun to tour the plantation and explore a new part of Oahu.

Pineapple Plant

Elizabeth is such a sweetie :) - Pineapple that is!

Doug enjoying some pineapple ice cream

The Dole Plantation is getting ready for Christmas!

It's Beginning to Feel a Lot Like Christmas!

Cross-stitched stockings my mom made for us

Stockings that Kathryn gave us - there is even an adorable one for Beatrice

Our Christmas tree

This weekend Doug and I decided to get our Christmas decorations out and put up a tree. This is one of my favorite times of year and I love decorating the tree. We collection ornaments from all the places we have visited and it is so much fun to look through them and take a trip down memory lane together. Doug summed it up best by saying "Wow, we sure have done a lot together!"

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and families! This year Doug and I are both so thankful to be together after so many months apart. This really was a special holiday for us. We celebrated on Thanksgiving day with the Berger's but we also decided to have our own dinner at home for the two of us.

Welcome Home

After four months of being underway Doug made it safely to Hawaii on November 15th. There were many wives and families present to say "Aloha!" and welcome the USS North Carolina to Pearl Harbor. Kent and Kathryn's trip to Hawaii happened to overlap the arrival and they were able to share in the excitement of the homecoming activities.

Welcome Home sign outside of the gates to Pearl Harbor
Kent and Kathryn on our harbor boat tour to meet the submarine!

I was so excited! I spotted the submarine (little dot over my right shoulder!).

Kent came up with a very clever lymric to welcome Doug to Hawaii.

We pulled up right next to the submarine in the harbor - such an amazing experience.

We were so excited to see each other! Doug had been gone from home for four months and we hadn't seen each other since my visit to Kings Bay, GA two months ago.

I am so thankful that Doug made it to Hawaii safely. Our family is now complete and we are really enjoying spending time together and exploring our new home.

Visit with Kent & Kathryn

We had our first house guests in Hawaii. Kent and Kathryn came over here for work and I was able to spend a lot of time with them. They stayed the last few nights at our house as well - which was really nice to have company and show our new place. The first night that Kathryn arrived I brought her to see our house out in Ewa Beach and visit for a bit. We went into Waikiki for the evening and found Kathryn's hotel before we headed out to Thai for dinner. On the second day I joined Kathryn for dinner again at a fun Hibachi restaurant - also in Waikiki. The next evening, after Kent had arrived from Kauai, the three of us had an underwater dining experience at the Oceanarium restaurant. Sunday I picked them up after church and we came back to our place for a day of baking lessons. Kathryn taught me how to make strudel and also gave me a refresher course on her famous gumbo. All of the food was delicious and just happened to be a few of Doug's favorites. Which was perfect timing because..... he arrived in Hawaii the next day! It was such an exciting day and so wonderful to have Doug home after so long. It was great to share in the excitement and joy with Kent and Kathryn (more on that in my Welcome Home post).

Beatrice's Photo Shoot

My mom's co-worker and friend Lisa Nathan was kind enough to take some pictures of Beatrice while she was still in Washington. The pictures turned out great and I am so excited to share our photo shoot.

You can look at more of Lisa's work at www.nathanimages.com

Boat Lei

Here is a picture of several of the North Carolina wives who got together to make this 45 foot lei that the boat will drape around its sail for the homecoming.

And, back home to Hawaii

After my trip back to the northwest Beatrice and I made the trip over to Hawaii. There were a few minor gliches along the way but I am so happy to say that Beatrice made it safely to Hawaii. She is home with me now and getting aquainted with the new house. She has already made great friends in my landlord and his son who adore both Beatrice. Maybe I should ask for a reduced rent in trade for play time with her ;). I have felt really busy since my return because I am trying to get the house all finished up. On Friday I trained at the Dolphin Store here so I can volunteer. This store also donates all proceeds to the same scholarship as the Dolphin Store in Connecticut. I am also hoping to get involved with volunteering at the elementary school down the street from me. In addition to that I have been busy helping with homecoming events for the submarine's arrival. We created a giant 45 foot lei for the boat and have been planning all sorts of fun events. Everyone is getting excited and really looking forward to the big arrival.

Visit to the Mainland

This past week I made a visit back to Oregon and Washington to pick up Beatrice. I had a nice visit and was very excited to be able to see my big sister, Noelle, who was in town for another DG's wedding. Noelle and I had don't see each other often so I was really excited about the chance to see her for a few hours.

I also got to be around for the birth of my new baby cousin Lane and see him before I left town. He is quite adorable and a wonderful addition to our extended family.

It also worked out for me to drive up to Olympia and meet Dave and Andrea Smolin (both members of our wedding party) for lunch. It was so nice to see them as it has been several months since we have gotten together. I am trying to convice them as well as Noelle to fly over for a Hawaiian vacation!

All in all, I spent a lot of time with my family playing games and in general enjoyed seeing everyone before coming back to Hawaii.

Beatrice is Famous!

Beatrice was selected "Pet of the Month" at the McKenzie Animal Clinic. I wanted to share the cute little blurb.

www.mckenzieanimalclinic.com/Pet_Of_The_Month.html

Article on the North Carolina

My landlord told me about this article that was on the front page of the Honolulu Star Advertiser earlier this week.

www.staradvertiser.com/news/20101104_New_sub_heightens_capability_of_Pearl-based_fleet.html