Tsnaumi...

While having a lazy Saturday night and just sitting down to eat dinner I heard a familiar sound from the tv.. Mind you it was the Tv upstairs, but I still heard that annoying "beep.. beep..beep" I told Jon that is what I was hearing and he blew me off..then both our phones and the ipad had a USA today Breaking news of "Tsunami warning" issued for Hawaii. We both jumped on to computers and starting seeing what what going on.. We also turned the Tv on downstairs and low and behold "beep.. beep.. followed by all the info we needed.. "We had plenty of warning to evacuate if needed. The warning was issued around 6 for a 10:28 wave arrival.  The sirens started going off immediately , followed but what we always make fun of in PDX and refer to as the news "winter weather watch" where its only the newscasters on TV for hours.. Since we have only been in one other warning which was cancelled right after being issued we found the news entertaining. We had already been drinking since the beaver game had been on so we figured we would stay put and when we saw the line up of cars to get out of Ewa Beach we knew we made the right choice. It was bumper to bumper for at least 6 miles to the freeway. Tatum had gone to scholfield army base with her friend Abby's family for some Halloween festivities and that was the only thing that stressed me out. It really is probably the safest spot on the island being that it is so high up and in the middle of the island per say. She called around 9 and said that they were on their way home and it made me feel a lot better. She got home and told us all about the traffic and that all the grocery stores, gas stations and restaurants were closed. The streets just below us were on mandatory evacuation and the police were going door to door and driving around with bullhorns telling people to evacuate. The boys were very scared and had a hard time falling asleep, to them the world was ending and it sounds like a lot of people thought the same. The gas stations were packed with people filling their cars up that many stations ran out of gas. The stores were packed as well and I don't think I could find toilet paper or water if I tried. Oh the joys of small island life! I finally went to bed around 11, T had an 8:30 soccer game and had to be at the field by 7:30 which meant we had to leave by 7 or so. Honestly, I was hoping that with all the pandemonium the game would be cancelled. But nope, we played on this am! Thank you to all of you who called, text or Facebooked to check up on us. I guess this is just the beginning of all the crazy natural disasters that may or may not occur down here in the pacific. But even with all the scariness, I would not trade this life for a second! I will tell you I got a thorough science lesson on a tsunami and so not what I thought.. Seems you are always learning something new!

Here Come The Griffin's...Duncan's and Bishops...

I am so excited as I type this post!! First off we start our adventure of continuous family on Halloween night. Jon's brother Mike and his girlfriend Jen will be staying with us for about 2 weeks. We are thrilled!! J is so excited to see his brother and the kids look forward to spending some time with their auntie and uncle. He has so missed his family and  he loves my family to death but this is very exciting and emotional for him.. it puts a huge smile on my face! Once they leave we get about a week to recoup and his mom Faye and my sweet nephew Olin come the day after thanksgiving and stay until the 10th of December. We are all so excited to see Mom as it has been a long time as most of you know Jon is very much a "mommas boy" and misses her dearly. We thought family visitors could not get better until my sister in law Leslie called yesterday saying she missed us and wished she could visit too.. She just "retired" from her job and is becoming a full time mommy to her 2 sweet boys. Since we never made it home this summer we have yet to meet her new baby Jimmy who was born in May. I told her that I thought the tickets were cheap at that point and she should look into it..thinking it would never happen as Leslie is so not an impulsive person.. But to my delight she called back to tell me she found cheap tickets and she and the baby were going to come a few days after Mom.. Can it get any better?? Yep, well fingers crossed her hubby Brandon will get to join them as well. I tell you we have missed them so much and I have been so disappointed that baby Jimmy is growing up and I have yet to meet him. In all honesty I was feeling a tad overwhelmed with all the visitors, only because I am a perfectionist and anxiety ridden, I don't know what the turning point was but I simply cannot wait.. I am trying to gather all the baby necessities, mattresses.. and so on. I love visitors, especially since we can just lay low and enjoy their vacation with them.. plus I am excited for them to see how happy we are and how much we as a family and as people have grown and changed.. Counting down days until  Mike and Jen get here, knowing that our time with them will be fun, relaxing and much needed... followed by a great holiday seasons beginning with the rest of the crew!

It's not goodbye, but until next time...

We were just blessed to spend the last 10 days with my parents, a quick trip for them this time and the kids were not accepting of the short trip, as they are normally here for at least 2 weeks up to just over 3.... My poor parents were troopers and jumped both feet into our crazy schedule and life. They got to go to 4 of T's games, where she scored 3 goals and played out of her mind each game.. They went to C's soccer games, where he too had a few goals and it was their first shot at seeing him as an animal out on the field.. Logan is in lazy season as we call it around here but that's ok as it is giving him time to work on his surfing skills. Between 4 soccer practices a week with 3 being a 2 hour commute (at least) I am sure they were exhausted by the time they left. We were able to do 3 beach days last week, take them to Waikiki during T's practice and walk the boardwalk, show them some of our favorite restaurants, A little shopping at Ala Moana, who does not love a huge open air shopping center?? They saw the huge waves on North Shore, help celebrate T's birthday but most of all we got to spend some good quality time with them. The kids asked everyday "why do they have to go home" to which we always answered "grandpa has to go back to work" and quickly Carson pointed out that "grandma doesn't work she can stay.." We all loved every minute of this trip and it seemed different. They finally seemed a little more relaxed and in their element here..hmmm, maybe they are getting used to the Island ways.. This was the first time the kids have lost it when they left, they are always sad and shed a tear, but this time was different. Logan was inconsolable and hysterically crying. I felt so bad for him and his little broken heart. Carson cried a lot and tried every trick in the book to get them to stay. Both boys were very moody and out of sorts yesterday and said numerous times they missed grandma and grandpa. T is very different then them and not as emotional, but she was still sad to see them go, but I think she realizes that they will be back before any of us realize it. (hint hint.. mom!!) It was nice to have them here with us and to have them see how much more adjusted and easy things are here and how much we have settled in after a year. So now we enter the next 2 weeks with no visitors and  then Jon's brother Mike and his girlfriend Jen arrive on Halloween night for 2 weeks followed by Jon's Mom and my sweet nephew Olin about a week after they leave. We are so thrilled to be able to spend this time with everyone and be able to share the holidays with some of them, and hopefully my parents will be back here shortly after they all leave in December!! ( more hinting.. hope its working! )

We survived..

Tatum had her birthday party last night and it involved 6 girls sleeping over... Now we have done sleepovers in the past and we all know how they usually end.. Mom doing all the work and constantly telling the girls" please go to bed".. I am not sure if it is age or what, but there was none of that. Our intentions were to have a true camp out in the back yard with a fire pit and all, but we forgot the log for the fire pit.. Oops.. We did however get the tent up and BBQ for dinner.. The girls had a photo scavenger hunt and it was such a big hit they did it again this morning. It was funny to see them running around the streets last night with their lanterns and cameras.. I gave them a list of things to do or find and take a picture with. They had  40 mins to accomplish the list and off the teams went. Here are some of the pics

                                                              Find a purple flower

                                                                Find the number 12

                                                                  make a pyramid

  funny face by with ocean background.. was to late to see the ocean, but it is right behind them

                                                                Picture on a slide

                                                            Picture smallest to Tallest..



They girls watched a movie (50 first dates..)  and had brownies/ice cream instead of cake since T does not like cake and then headed outside to "hang out" .. they were hilarious to listen to and what was even better was the fact that they were all asleep at 12:30!! No one woke up till 7 and I didn't have to get up till 7:30 to start breakfast.. If only every party was smooth and easy like this..

                                                  T and her friend Lindsy from soccer

                             a great mix of school, soccer and our only friend from Oregon..

                                                Lauryn, Ari ( from soccer) and Lindsy

                                                                    T and Mykaela

                                        I just realized I think I only put 11 candles on.. oops

Everyone loves eggs, bacon, Cinnamon rolls, Portuguese sausage and fruit.. 

Just another day at the beach..

So for T's birthday she was lucky it feel on a wednsday not only do we not have any activities.. (she practices every other week with the older soccer team, and it was the off week.. ) but they get out of school at 1:10 on wed's.. ( we start at 7:45am) So we packed up and headed to the beach just up the street.. Loaded both surf boards, packed a cooler, grabbed some chairs and towels and off we went. Our friends Ben, Lindsey, Julie and her daughter Sonja joined us. There was supposed to be a big swell so we were a tad concerned but we lucked out and nothing to big.. I think it was 4 to 6 ft further out where Jon, sonja and Lindsey were but were we stayed it was more 1-3.. T's bff Lauryn joined us and the 4 kids played for hours. The girls didn't surf today it got crowded and between taking the boys and getting his own runs in we just ran out of time. Now C and Jon usually go on Sunday's just the 2 of them to surf it's an early morning or mid day run and it is so their thing. Logan has tried once and cut his foot on coral and he was so over it. That all said the boys were dying to show grandpa they could surf so C was up first.. He had a few good runs and then he got a tad cocky.. 

He ended up showing off and not paying attention to where he was and he hit the shore... Oops.. board flipped, kid flipped and then the board hit his head.. I went running to him, picked him up got his leash off and T grabbed the board. The Lifeguards were spot on and came and checked him out and brought him some ice.. he sat for a little while and then went right back out. So it was time for Logan to head out.. I was so happy to see him out and trying, because he is one that will try once fail and he will never do it again. He was wonderful and loved it..

After the beach we headed home for dinner. T had asked for homemade Lasagna so I made it before we headed out and popped it in the oven when we got home. We then opened presents and went to B and R for ice cream. T doesn't like cake or cupcakes so prefers ice cream.. 

                                    Girl got lots of money.. we are going shopping tomorrow.

                                    have you ever seen someone so excited to get a headband

T and Her BFF Lauryn

North Shore.. BIG Swell.

                                          Kids found a tire swing and played on it forever..

The first swell of the winter came in this week and waves on the North Shore came in huge.. They were beautiful.. The swell was 20 to 25 ft and so much fun just to sit and watch. We went out to the famous pipeline and watched for a good 45 mins.. The kids loved it and played along the beach and it just makes us that much more excited for the Triple Crown surfing series that goes on between Nov and Dec.. These pics don't do it justice, it truly was spectacular!

Number 12..

A little look back at T over the years...

                                           There was a point where she did dance... she loved it

                                                                     Kindergarten

                                                                      First Tooth

I cannot even begin to explain to you the emotion I feel... where has 12 years gone? My first born baby girl is now a big girl.. I look back at pictures and see how much she has grown in not only size but her personality and outlook on life. I look at baby pictures and can remember each moment from the second she was born. I always wanted a brown little baby with big eyes and when she was born she was pale as a ghost and so not what I ordered.. I was pleased when she became jaundice and turned Orange.. HAHA.. She has always been the fairest of the 3 but has the most beautiful big brown eyes and cute little button nose. I still look at her daily and see the little things that are changing in her. She has always been outgoing, loud, focused and driven.. and now I see other things emerging from her.. She is still outgoing but a little more reserved. She is not as adventurous these days and likes to feel safe in her surroundings. She still has no common sense or street smarts, but is amazingly gifted when it comes to school. She is becoming kind hearted, sensitive, emotional, wears her heart on her sleeve kind of girl. It kills her to see homeless people and she thinks the "Occupy Honolulu" is just that.. she sees them and instantly breaks out in tears. It warms my heart to see the kindness and caring she has for others, even extending that to her brothers these days. On the home front becoming a "tween" that is there too.. She is sassy and sarcastic and definitely doesn't share as much with Jon as she used to.. Thank god she still tells me everything and I can relay it, but it still breaks his heart to see that she is not as upfront with him anymore when it comes to boys or her emotional status. I look at her daily and see how tall she is getting and her legs that go on forever. Her hair has lightened up so much since moving here and has beautiful sun streaks in it.. They call that "ehu" here. Thank god she still has no desire to wear makeup but she is obsessed with her long, beautiful hair and I often feel like I am living with Marsha Brady. I am so not ready for the late middle school yrs or HS when boys fully come into the picture. I love to just sit and have conversations with her about her dreams, goals and desires with today and the future. She tells us daily that she really wants to go to Stanford, but that U of O and U of Hawaii are her back ups. She would like to be valedictorian and plans on being an IB student starting next year (she is currently getting started with Gifted and Talented) Such big goals for a child who aspires to be a movie star or singer.. HAHA, she says her back ups are Architect or teacher. We shall see, I am just pleased that she has lofty goals and is taking steps to achieve them. Yes, that does mean we have our own version of American idol here. Good Lord, that child sings day and night and it usually involves headphones on her head so that makes it worse! She has a great voice, I will give her that... but she sings all day long. My dad calls her his little hummingbird.  We, as in Jon, myself and boys call her annoying. Terrible, yes we know but spend a day at our house and you will understand.. I swear our neighbors get a show each night when she takes a shower since the small window is open and she sings  her little heart out. In all reality I cannot be more thankful to have a daughter who is determined, respectful and full of life as Tatum.. Happy Birthday to my baby girl..