Our First Week as San Diegans

The day after we landed Matt and I were up early to get paper work competed to get licensed and essentially paid.  After we got fingerprinted, we visited Matt's school and Matt got to check out his room.

And... the view of Point Loma from his classroom

 Then, we went to check out our new beach..

 We had Uncle Andy over for dinner one night and enjoyed the backyard and HOT weather!  Everyone always says, "it is NEVER this hot!".  We'll see about that.

The kids are taking well to being Californians...eating almond butter, carrots, and organic everything.

 A Padres game was a top priority for me. My dad got awesome tickets for us and we made sure to grab dinner at Tin Fish before the big game. Pads even won-WooHoo!

My craft cousin Mary, who was visiting, put this together within minutes of being at the game.  She is a teenager- enough said:)

 My mentor, Anne Ashford, sent us Groupon tickets for the Safari park and we finished off a busy first week by visiting the park.  The kids loved it and it and we are excited to get season passes for the Safari park and the Zoo.

 

To finish out our first week and weekend, before Matt started work the following day, we made our first real beach trip and visited the Murphy/ Crayton family in Mission Bay.  Matt was a champ and took all the kids out on rides and Abby and Zack seemed to acclimate to San Diego beaches quite nicely.   They didi't seem too bothered by the seaweed, colder and darker water.  It was great way to catch up with Courtney and family and check out new places in SD.

Moving On

After our guests left we had 2 weeks to sell all the furniture, pack up everything and oh yeah..work full time.  It is kind of a blur but we got the stuff we wanted into 29 boxes (it turns out I thin we still shipped too much), craigslisted non stop, and made the most of our time left!

The kids were SO easy going and luckily took everything in stride.  I am so impressed with how they handled people taking their stuff  and the transition of life on the move!

Some of the boxes getting ready to be shipped...

My car packed to the brim.  Many boxes to ship, send to goodwill and deliver to friends:)

Zack helping daddy take down his crib.  We hope baby Weida enjoys it!  No more babies in this house...

Officially our last moment in Ko olina.  We snapped this picture on our way out.

We thought we were going to have to make 2 trips to the airport with 1 LARGE stroller, 6 suitcases, a few carry-ons, 4 car seats, and two toddlers but we got a rental Jeep that fit it all....even though we looked liked the Clampetts leaving Hawaii.

The four of us on our way to new adventures. Aloha Hawaii, Hello San Diego.

Buelow's B & B

Our last two nights in paradise we were able to stay at the Buelow's house in their spare bedroom, AKA Buelow's B&B.  It is a favorite spot for many of our  friends at one time or another and we got to check it off our list on our way out:).  It was a perfect way to spend our last few nights where everyone had a friend.  Everyone carried on as if it were just another evening, ignoring the fact that our hours together were coming to end.

I didn't get many pictures of our last few days except Abby and Gavin as they were getting ready for school and before they had to say good bye to each other.  These two have been friends since birth and hopefully they will be able to stay in touch and always be friends!

Being silly...

Thanks for the hospitality, Buelows. We can't wait to repay the favor in San Diego!

Lucky we live(d) Hawai'i

There are so many great things about Hawaii that we will always remember and be thankful for.  Our kids may soon lose some of the blonde and begin calling "slippahs" flip flops like the rest of the people on the mainland and they may even start to notice when they leave the house without shoes (not holding my breath) but Hawaii will forever be part of us.

Our last few days we spent every possible moment soaking in the sun, the clear blue water and enjoying our proximity to world class entertainment and beauty.

 Feeding the swans one more time...

 We walked down to the beach for a family date night  and watched the sunset, ran around playing in the sand and stopped in to see the luau show at the Disney hotel.

 The kids loved the dancing and singing and seeing all the characters in the show and made it all teh way through.  Abby is going to be in for  a surprise when she finds out that there is a whole park with rides that is actually Disneyland.  Currently, she thing the hotel is it:).

Everyone was so excited after the show we just continued the fun and took a dip in the pool at 9:30 at night, which is totally unheard of for us since  we usually like to stick to the 7 o'clock bedtime- which we still haven't got figured out on California time yet...

We have been so fortunate to have lots of good memories in Hawaii which I think has made us even more thankful for our new adventures on the "mainland".

The Final North Shore Trip

I think that we went up to the North Shore four or five times in the last month and each time I thought this could be it.  Well, this one was the last.  Matt and I met the Buelows and the McGintys up at Three Tables and had a quintessential pre kids beach day where we sat and lounged in chairs, swam, read  and most of all relaxed.

 

 The finale of the day was a stop at Giovanni's shrimp truck for their famous shrimp scampi.

Breakfast Date with Zack

We got a call from our doctor that Zack's hemoglobin was bordering on low/average when he was an infant and he wanted to double check it before we left the island.  I am always up for dates with all of my loves and I took the opportunity to take Zack out for a breakfast date to butter him up for his blood draw.  It was just going to be a mother- son date but Matt ended up being home form work and we couldn't leave him out.

Chocolate chip pancakes and sausage...yum!  Zack loved being the only child and reveled in all of the attention and lack of big sister's constant chatter.

 And then it was time for the blood draw and lots of snuggles for mommy.  He did great and best of all his levels are perfect!

P.S.  Zack asked to go on a date the other day...How could I resist! 

Triple Date

Before Dom and Shaun left Hawaii after their 3 week vacation we headed down to Kaimuki for a triple date night.  It is a place we rarely go, in fact, we hadn't been to dinner their since before Dom left 3 years ago.  We started off at Salt for Happy hour in a quaint little bar and then headed to the restaurant Town, that hands down was the best food I have had in so long!  Everything was so interesting, local, fresh, and delicious.  Plus, we couldn't have better company! 

I have not laughed so had in a long time.  It was a perfect evening doing exactly what I wanted before leaving our home of nine years, enjoying the time with our friends who made Hawaii so special.

Aloha GNO

I am finally getting around to catching up and share our last few weeks in Hawaii before I get around to life in San Diego.  We are getting settled and loving our new city so there has been lots going on which means lots to catch up on:).

About 2 weeks before we departed (after our guests left) we started to say our alohas.  We had a girls night out and it was a perfect way to celebrate the wonderful friends and lifelong bonds that we have formed. 

The night started off at the Halekulani in Waikiki and we had to have some traditional mai tais to kick it off! 

The setting was perfect and the girls shared pictures and memories form the NINE years of our adventures.  It is crazy to think back on all the times we have shared and the events that have shaped out friendships.  Thank you to all my girls who love me unconditionally! 

Enjoying the music and ambiance at Rum Fire

With out sisters of our own, Steph became the sister I never had:)

We may not get to see each other all the time but we are not saying goodbye! 

End of the summer picnic

The day before Matt and Amy left  and the day after the Buelows and Weidas had returned the their East Coast summer trips was the only day to squeeze in a sunset picnic to get everyone together. It was great to reconnect after the many travels over the summer and see friends who have been off island for many years now.

I love how independent  they are!

Z. surfing with the big boys

Last family Hawaii sunset picture

all the girls!

love!

our beach babes