The Migliores

The four kids, Samantha, Taylor, Katie, and Zach at one of their stops on the way here...Guam.

While they were here they took us out to dinner with some other friends to celebrate Zach's adoption being final. Between the 3 families we had 12 kids!

Bailey, Taylor, Hannah, and Samantha

More beach fun!

Mmmmmmm, sand! Zach just can't seem to get enough of it!

To The Beach With The Migliores

A week after we moved into our house, we were blessed by a visit by our closest friends, the Migliores. They are stationed in Japan now, and although it took them a week of trying, and a trip to Guam, back to Japan, and then finally to Hawaii, they were persistant and finally made it here on a MAC flight. One of the many fun things we did while the Migs were here was go to the beach. All the kids played on the beach and in the surf, while Jason took JJ out and gave him his first surfing lesson. We all had a great time.

A Trip to the Zoo

Our move to Hawaii involved a long trip from Colorado Springs to San Diego, to drop off our vehicle at the port, and then on to Northern California to spend Christmas with JJ's mom, then back down to San Fransisco to catch our plane to Hawaii. Although we had planned many fun things in the LA and San Diego areas, the weather there was terrible and the only one that worked out was the San Diego Zoo. We spent 2 days exploring the zoo and had a great time.

Bailey Meets a Cactus In Tucson...

On our treck across country from Colorado Springs to eventually San Francisco, via San Diego, one of the places we stopped for a couple of days was Tucson, Arizona. We stayed at Davis-Mothan AFB, where we used to live when Hannah was a baby. The kids were very excited to be there, and found that a cactus is both beautiful and pokey at the same time. Poor little Bailey! She wanted her picture taken with Hannah in front of the big cactus, but as she walked over and put her arm around her sister, she found out they were a little too close to the cactus... for it jumped out and poked her on the back of the arm. I think it surprised her more than it hurt her, but either way, she learned the hard way about cactus. Not a block later, she stepped on one and it went right through her heavy soled Keens and poked her in the foot. When it was all said and done, we still had a great time in Tucson.

We Finally Made It...

Well, believe it or not, we finally made it to Hawaii, and are FINALLY out of temporary lodging and in our own house. Our new house is wonderful, much bigger than we thought it was going to be. We have a huge yard, a park across the street, basketball court across the street, baseball field across the street, and are about a 5 minute bike ride from JJ's work. All these pictures are from various spots in Hawaii. There is no arguing, it is amazingly beautiful here. We are thankful to be here and will enjoy every minute of our time here.

Sorry, No Pictures...

Just in case anyone is checking, I haven't forgotten about our blog.  We are still in a hotel and don't have any of our belongings, and so I haven't been able to download any new pictures.  Will try soon to get a cable so I can download some new photos.  Don't give up on our blog.

Bailey Takes Riding Lessons...

Jaydon and Hannah have been taking riding lessons for a year and a half now at the Air Force Academy, while the rest of us find a variety of ways to occupy ourselves for the hour and half lessons. Well, Bailey is finally old enough, and brave enough, to join them in the lessons. Miss Debbie, their instructor, is wonderful with the kids. They spend the first 30-45 minutes catching, then grooming and saddling their horses. Then they always get an hour of riding in, even if it puts their lesson over the hour and a half. The kids love it, they are learning not only to ride, but how to care for the horses. Bailey has done 2 lessons with them now, and she is doing great. She rode Curly the first lesson, Curly is a short horse and quite old, just perfect for a smaller rider (although he is fat, makes it a little harder the wrap your legs around). For the second lesson, Bailey asked for a taller horse and did fantastic on King, a horse that is just as tall as all the others. All the kids in their riding class are homeschooled kids from wonderful Christian families. When JJ is able to go with us, we also rent a horse for Josh and he rides as we lead him around.