Liam gets really excited about bunnies. He calls them "bun, bun, buns" and does a little happy dance. It's too cute. So we thought the Easter bunny would go over really well...
He walked up with his Thomas train in hand. We told him to show it to the bunny, so he did. Then ran away. The bunny tried offering him a lollipop. Liam grabbed it and ran away.
I sat him next to the bunny. Liam did fine with that. Then the lady said sit him on the bunnies lap. That was SOOO not okay (no tears, he just refused to sit there!).
So mama walked away (Liam tends to do better with new things when dada's there to encourage him). It took some doing but...
Liam finally settled down and enjoyed his experience with the bunny! I know I am his mom, so I am bias but I think he looks so darn handsome, sweet & mature in these photos. I just adore this kid! I'm simply amazed that Kevin and I made this kid & were hand chosen to mold him into the Mr. Man he'll be one day. What a blessing indeed.
We finished the experience off with a strawberry cupcake and an orange julius. We'll just convince Liam to do these things through bribes ;) Nah, it was mama who had the sweet tooth and I felt compelled to give my big boy one since he was so mature and cooperative with the Easter bunny! Liam rode a couple mall rides & we headed home!
Finally, this post would not be complete without discussing the "black sheep" most of you already know about. After 5 months of pulling for orders, we finally received news on our future location. We did not get anything that we selected. After receiving verbal orders to San Diego, they were taken away and we were given three options: Japan (deployment duty), England (shore/no deployment duty) and Hawaii (shore/no deployment duty). Japan was out instantly (just not the culture for us) and we had to say no to England due to our cars we don't want to pay to store for 3 years (we could afford it, but simply don't want to put our new vehicles in storage for 3 years, while making payments on them). And the 2 dogs make anything overseas difficult... but since we've done Hawaii before we figured, we could handle it since we know the steps.
I'm/we're not exactly thrilled about it. When I said goodbye to Hawaii in 2007, I thought it'd be for the final time. It was a great place for us THEN (young couple, just starting out) BUT the traffic was awful, some locals are very racist, there is a lot of crime, you get island fever and it's sooo far from loved ones (you miss a lot of birthdays, holidays and celebrations!). Also, Kevin deployed his fair share last time, so I was left on an island and served an entire 3.5 year tour there (while Kevin got to leave!).
BUT, I'm/we're trying to stay positive about this new endeavor. Kevin is home (no deployments) for 3 more years, we get to experience Hawaii with our son (he'll love the new Hawaii Disney, beaches and for a boy who insists on playing outside all day, it will be nice to have the weather to do so in!). It will be a challenge (we are going to miss our family so much) and getting there will probably add at least a couple new gray hairs to my head (anyone care to help us move? all expenses paid!)... but we have to do what we have to do.
Poor Kevin tried for everything under the sun (applied for GA, FL, TX, SD--3x). We got turned down on everything. And it's happening to everyone. Some friends of mine just got orders to Japan after begging for San Diego, then settling on Italy. Like us, there verbal orders were taken away and they were given Japan! After all that negotiating. It's QUITE frustrating and heart breaking. The Navy just has too many people in and not enough billets. And we MUST leave recruiting duty, as our time is up, so this is what we must do. And it's "only" 3 years. After these next 3 years, hopefully Kevin will have his bachelor's degree and we'll go from there deciding if we are finishing with the Navy or if Kevin is going to seek employment on the outside doing his job.
Anyways, for now it's Aloha! for us. Kevin leaves for school (Texas) in August. We'll likely have our household goods packed up before he goes. Liam and I will live with my gracious parents who always take us in when we're homeless. Then, we'll be guaranteed our stuff is on island when we move out there in Jan. 2013. From experience, it's really hard to live only with "absolute essentials" for months on end, but I cannot imagine how that would be for a toddler. I think it would minimize the stress for Liam if we lived with my folks and then arrived on island, find a house quickly (we'll be on the wait list as of August, so something should be available to us when we arrive), then we'll arrange for our stuff to be delivered. So, that's the current plan, in a perfect world that is! :)
For now, the goal is to be grateful we're done with the emotional rollercoaster of pulling for orders and enjoy our family while they are still nearby. We appreciate all of the love, support and understanding everyone has showed during this crazy time!
 |
| In the parking lot, he was really excited! |
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| Searching for the Easter bunny! |
He walked up with his Thomas train in hand. We told him to show it to the bunny, so he did. Then ran away. The bunny tried offering him a lollipop. Liam grabbed it and ran away.
I sat him next to the bunny. Liam did fine with that. Then the lady said sit him on the bunnies lap. That was SOOO not okay (no tears, he just refused to sit there!).
So mama walked away (Liam tends to do better with new things when dada's there to encourage him). It took some doing but...
Liam finally settled down and enjoyed his experience with the bunny! I know I am his mom, so I am bias but I think he looks so darn handsome, sweet & mature in these photos. I just adore this kid! I'm simply amazed that Kevin and I made this kid & were hand chosen to mold him into the Mr. Man he'll be one day. What a blessing indeed.
We finished the experience off with a strawberry cupcake and an orange julius. We'll just convince Liam to do these things through bribes ;) Nah, it was mama who had the sweet tooth and I felt compelled to give my big boy one since he was so mature and cooperative with the Easter bunny! Liam rode a couple mall rides & we headed home!
Finally, this post would not be complete without discussing the "black sheep" most of you already know about. After 5 months of pulling for orders, we finally received news on our future location. We did not get anything that we selected. After receiving verbal orders to San Diego, they were taken away and we were given three options: Japan (deployment duty), England (shore/no deployment duty) and Hawaii (shore/no deployment duty). Japan was out instantly (just not the culture for us) and we had to say no to England due to our cars we don't want to pay to store for 3 years (we could afford it, but simply don't want to put our new vehicles in storage for 3 years, while making payments on them). And the 2 dogs make anything overseas difficult... but since we've done Hawaii before we figured, we could handle it since we know the steps.
I'm/we're not exactly thrilled about it. When I said goodbye to Hawaii in 2007, I thought it'd be for the final time. It was a great place for us THEN (young couple, just starting out) BUT the traffic was awful, some locals are very racist, there is a lot of crime, you get island fever and it's sooo far from loved ones (you miss a lot of birthdays, holidays and celebrations!). Also, Kevin deployed his fair share last time, so I was left on an island and served an entire 3.5 year tour there (while Kevin got to leave!).
BUT, I'm/we're trying to stay positive about this new endeavor. Kevin is home (no deployments) for 3 more years, we get to experience Hawaii with our son (he'll love the new Hawaii Disney, beaches and for a boy who insists on playing outside all day, it will be nice to have the weather to do so in!). It will be a challenge (we are going to miss our family so much) and getting there will probably add at least a couple new gray hairs to my head (anyone care to help us move? all expenses paid!)... but we have to do what we have to do.
Poor Kevin tried for everything under the sun (applied for GA, FL, TX, SD--3x). We got turned down on everything. And it's happening to everyone. Some friends of mine just got orders to Japan after begging for San Diego, then settling on Italy. Like us, there verbal orders were taken away and they were given Japan! After all that negotiating. It's QUITE frustrating and heart breaking. The Navy just has too many people in and not enough billets. And we MUST leave recruiting duty, as our time is up, so this is what we must do. And it's "only" 3 years. After these next 3 years, hopefully Kevin will have his bachelor's degree and we'll go from there deciding if we are finishing with the Navy or if Kevin is going to seek employment on the outside doing his job.
Anyways, for now it's Aloha! for us. Kevin leaves for school (Texas) in August. We'll likely have our household goods packed up before he goes. Liam and I will live with my gracious parents who always take us in when we're homeless. Then, we'll be guaranteed our stuff is on island when we move out there in Jan. 2013. From experience, it's really hard to live only with "absolute essentials" for months on end, but I cannot imagine how that would be for a toddler. I think it would minimize the stress for Liam if we lived with my folks and then arrived on island, find a house quickly (we'll be on the wait list as of August, so something should be available to us when we arrive), then we'll arrange for our stuff to be delivered. So, that's the current plan, in a perfect world that is! :)
For now, the goal is to be grateful we're done with the emotional rollercoaster of pulling for orders and enjoy our family while they are still nearby. We appreciate all of the love, support and understanding everyone has showed during this crazy time!
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