We did a Flat Stanley project for our nephew, Trey. Here is Troy with Stanley at the back of the bread truck. Yes, the diver's use an old bread truck to haul all their gear. :)

Aloha!

Sorry it has been awhile. We moved into our house on the 8th, and had our internet set up rather quickly, but for some reason my laptop would not access the network. Finally had an IT guy come over this weekend and fix it for us!! You'll probably get sick of me now :o)

This will just be a bullet style update as that is the easiest way to recall what has happened all month.

• 4/8: Move in day. All of our stuff arrived and nothing was missing so that was a positive. Also, Troy was able to fit it all in a room, somewhere in the house, so I won't be selling any of it (besides the couch). On to the negative...EVERY piece of furniture (which was one year new when it was put into storage in February of 2008) is now dented, scratched, chipped, etc. I am not kidding when I say every piece. Some more than others of course. But, it is do-able. Our couch didn't fit with the set up of the living room so Troy sold it to a guy in 0% his indoc class. We got 75% of what we paid for it and I was able to find replacement pieces for only $50 more than what the guy paid us. That is amazing considering to replace the couch alone with like kind would have been $1400. It is definitely cramped a little in this house but I think I can handle it for 3 years. The living room is crowded, but has very high ceilings so it kinda balances out. The dining room table is pushed up against one wall, which is weird for me but it'll work. The kitchen is a LOT smaller than the one I had on Stone Harbor (excuse to cook less??). Our bedroom...wow. Let's just say on one side of my dresser (which is covering up a window!) is Troy's dresser and on the other side is our tv armoire. Those 3 pieces are all touching. A big no-no, for me anyway. And lastly, the guest bedroom has now turned guest bedroom plus office. This doesn't pose a problem for us now...but may in say...a year? :)

• 4/9: Finally got our satellite set up, but its not working properly. After 3 different installation technicians, we thought we were up and running. We atleast had the equipment and it was all hooked up but now it is not functioning correctly in the 2 bedrooms. It was quite the process as we are under property management rules and they have a ton of requirements about the dish and where it can be installed. First guy didn't show up, second guy didn't do what he was supposed to do, and third guy comes at 9pm to remedy the situation. At least Troy was able to get an extra HD DVR box so we can have HD in our bedroom. Not that we watch all that much tv but....

• 4/12:....the Easter Bunny did not like our old tv as it was big, bulky and heavy so he brought me a new one. Samsung HD 32" flat screen (an exact miniature of our living room tv)....for our bedroom. It's kinda ridiculous but....oh well :)

• 4/18: Our sweet boy Gabriel finally made it to the island. I made a reservation in advance for him to fly Continental Cargo. Because of scheduling conflicts, if I wanted him to arrive in Honolulu the same day he left Florida, he was going to have to fly out of Orlando. So on the morning of the 18th, he left Jacksonville at 4:30 AM and arrived in Orlando around 6:30AM. He was supposed to be there by 7:15 for an 8:45 flight. Well, I get a call at 6:30 saying that due to the weather in Houston, the flight crew was delayed getting to Orlando, and were now illegal meaning they hadn't had enough time to sleep. The man at CO Cargo told me that there was no way he was getting to Honolulu that day and that Gabriel might as well stay in Jacksonville. Apparently he doesn't know that it is a 2 hour drive from JAX to MCO. I get on the phone, making numerous phone calls to other airlines to see who can get him out that day. No such luck. Another call back to CO Cargo and the agent says "Get him to the airport I have a flight that leaves at 8AM to New Jersey and will arrive in Honolulu today". Welllll, that conversation took place at 7:30AM. Gabriel was rushed to the Cargo office, all the paperwork processed in about 15 minutes. They want him in his crate for weight, then out for an inspection, then back in for a tie down, 800 stickers attached to his crate, blah blah blah. Poor dog was stressed out and barking. He didn't like the man sticking his hands in his crate to zip tie it. 7:57AM he was wheeled out the baggage claim door onto the tarmac. 8:05AM the man confirms he made it on the plane. This is 2:05AM Honolulu time!! :) Skip ahead 16 hrs and 40 minutes....6:45PM in Honolulu, Gabriel is wheeled off the plane. A door bell rings in the quarantine station at the airport and Troy knows its him as I've been tracking him on the internet all day, refreshing the page to see his progress. He is backwards on a cart so he doesn't see anyone and is brought into the inspection room to check for fleas. He passes. He is in his crate and scared, he doesn't make a sound. After processing more paperwork, they wheel him out to Troy's truck and lift him up into the bed. Troy sees him for the first time and his tail wags slowly. He is excited to see Troy but obviously scared and dehydrated. He hadn't had any water since he left my moms house at 4:30 that morning. He finally arrives to his new house where he is right back to his normal energetic self and is happy to see "his" couch, the chaise lounge, and all "his" other furniture. :) We are so glad he's home with us again. It's been a long year. We don't have much of a yard for him to run around in, but we live one mile from the Bark Park so he gets to go there often and socialize. Bigger dogs scare him so he tends to hang with the smaller ones. He's a bit of an outcast and definitely needs more socialization.

• 4/21: Couch shopping day #1. Unsuccessful.

• 4/22: Couch shopping day #2. Success! We found a loveseat with two recliners to replace our sectional. It's quite a bit smaller but we wanted room for a matching recliner too. Now we have 3 matching pieces from 3 different stores. It's quite a coincidence that they match as well as they do. The chaise lounge, the loveseat, and the man chair. :)

• 4/29: Pay off debt day. It sucks to see so much money go away, but its a relief to not have so much debt. Still have a house and 2 cars, but that is definitely a lot more manageable than where we were.

I'm still trying to get everything organized here in the house. Most everything is put away but some things were just thrown in a closet to sort later. I am doing the sort later part now. Organizing the towel closet, oversized kitchen pieces, holiday decorations etc. I am almost there!! Atleast I can see the end. Then we'll hang some curtains and we're about done. Only other thing we'll be buying for this place is a grill and possibly a garage door opener.

My mom and sister are coming in a week so I've been looking at some things for us to do. We're definitely going to do a Luau, I just don't know which one to choose. There are like 10 different ones! We'll probably go see Diamond Head, Arizona Memorial, North Shore, and I want to do an island tour.

I haven't taken many pictures later but as soon as we finish this place I'll post some. You must be going through withdrawal I'm sure :)

It's finally out...sorta!

This morning we told the most of the family about baby Frank. We were surprised in that we received mostly positive reactions to the news. That helped a lot as we honestly weren't sure how everyone would take it. Thankfully it's all out in the open now =)

Even though we told our family, I'm still not comfortable telling our friends yet. I've had a too many (and even one is too many) friends who have lost their babies, or have had complications with their pregnancies and I'm just not prepared to deal with having to tell everyone if something is wrong. It's still very early and this is my first pregnancy so I just want to keep it quiet. People will just have to understand.

After we made our phone calls this morning, we stayed in bed....ALL day! I was too tired to go anywhere and my bed is extremely comfy!

Shopping!

We went shopping for you today baby. We didn't buy anything yet, but we have mentally picked out everything we want to buy for you =) We're going to start early!!

Yuck! Taco Bell....

Well Baby Frank, I was exhausted and sick today. Not sure if that was you, or Taco Bell, or over-doing it outside in the heat.

Let's not do this again!

8 Weeks

I am so excited about this baby. It is getting harder and harder to keep our secret.

I can't believe our baby has been growing for 8 weeks now. It seems so weird. I feel better today, no nausea. The only craving I have been having is for Ben & Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream! Even better than that is Peanut Butter Cup Explosion from Cold Stone.

Baby, we can't wait to meet you. I think your daddy and I will celebrate your life today with Cold Stone :)

Oops!

Note to self: Never post on a Thursday about the week being uneventful. Troy worked Friday night until almost 9:30. I don't know on what exactly, I just know he had to stay late and that they also had to work on Sunday.

He played another soccer game on Saturday morning, which they won. They have some strong individuals and together they play pretty good.

Sunday we went to the stadium and walked around the flea market. It was nice for a little more than half way through and then it got REALLY hot. Next time I need to bring some water.

I didn't get the job I wanted, and yes I am bummed about it. I am more than qualified for that position, I just didn't interview well. I hate that. I have sent in applications for a few more places and am just waiting to hear back. I'm also still looking.