Where did we go?

I honestly feel like I have been buried under a rock for the last couple of the days... Our house caught the flu... Harps, of course, started throwing up and eventually it spread to the rest of us. We had some fun plans that were cancelled. So instead we spent the weekend snuggling, lysoling, and getting ready for Uncle Dex's arrival. Uncle Dex got here this afternoon and we are hoping that the flu is a thing of the past and he doens't catch it!! Anyway, here are some random pics of the week.. I will have to "back" post later.

Not the best picture but every girl needs elmo slippers when they are sick! 

Daddy decided Harps need some outside time (despite being sick)..
so she helped clean the cars! 

Needless to say, it was a highlight of her weekend! 

Lots and lots and lots of baths with the stomach bug!

Okay.. we did venture out to the park. Crazy right? 

ANDDD Uncle Dex is here! We will be posting plenty more 

pictures of our fun adventures this week!!

xoxo,

allie

Cold Front

I know, I know.. the post title is board-line laughable. Cold front in Hawaii... practically an oxymoron. Everyday during the last week we have been waking up to 50 degree weather; I am sure some of you are laughing at such an idea.. but to us "Hawaiian" it feels cold! Our temperatures are usually between 75-85 degrees so the 20 degree shift is cold. I am also fully convinced people acclimate to their regions and consequential temperatures... I went to college in Wisconsin (freezing winters!) and was pregnant during the summer in Alabama (soo hot), yet your internal clock just adjust! Obviously our homes in Hawaii only have Air Conditioning, because heat is very unnecessary, but it does get a bit brisk during the "winter" months.  They have been putting signs up all over post "Please do not heat your house with your oven". Ha. Anyway, we have been wearing pants and sweaters and loving every moment of it.

I love this picture... This perfectly captures our Harper lady. She is always on the move.

Drummer Girl at Music Class. 

and I had to share this picture of the gas lines on post! Of course Hawaii is very expensive.. Anyway, the gas is a bit cheaper on post and consequently it is always busy. The other day we waited 30 minutes to get Gas... crazy! 

xoxo,

allie

Random Ramblings.

Here is a bit of an iPhone dump from the last couple of days.

We have been having some random power outages... It seems fairly common in Hawaii... although typically we experience more of a "brown" out with half power. Good news, we never have to worry about the temperature outside! That bright light on the left is a headlamp on Will..
Good thing he is prepared! 

Harps has become quite an organizer. She repeatedly stacks and re-stacks her Little People and Sesame Street people endlessly.

Okay so these are brand new shoes (well as of a couple of months old) and they look a decade old. Yes, I run a couple of miles a day but these look
 like I run through the mud daily. 

No worries, they are the verge of already being replaced.

Good Old Red Hawaiian Soil.

Big Girl. This was after a play date. Her hair is finally growing!

xoxo,

allie

Greg Redeployment and A Visitor

This past week was, yet again, another busy week in the Caff household. I went to six redeployment ceremonies total... Will was the first and Greg was the last! In between were people from our company and some close friends. There are fewer events in this world that will bring a bigger smile to your face... A seven year old running to their dad with a big homemade sign (after a year apart) is priceless... as well as a dad meeting their son for the first time... Anyway, we were so thrilled to welcome home Uncle Greg after his year long deployment in Afghanistan. He was busy flying the Kiowa over there.. thankfully he and Will were stationed at the same post, Kandahar, and consequently they could occasionally grab dinner together. That deployment marks quite a history for those two... West Point (track team together) to Fort Rucker flight school to Hawaii Wheeler Army Airfield to KAF Afghanistan together. It was an early ceremony at 4:30 am but Harps was still happy to greet! Greg also had some of our other friends Steve and Ingrid/ Kimi and Andy there to greet him as well.

 (this sign was super cute.. until coffee spilled down it!)

We also were lucky enough to have one of our friends High School (crazy to think that was years ago!!) visit! Steve was on the Big Island for a family vacation and hoped over to visit us for a couple of hours. We were SO happy to see him and felt very fortunate he took time out of his trip to visit!

Thanks Steve for coming to visit! We had a great time.

And Harps this weekend...

xoxo,
allie

Will's Redeployment Ceremony

Here are some photos from two weeks ago when Will came home! It was on December 23rd at 2:30 am but I think the pictures paint a better scene of what the night was like... (at least for those who don't regularly attend redeployment ceremonies!) Anyway, I think we all look a bit tired but it was a great ceremony and loved that my co-frg leader was able to capture these moments.

Here are all of the buses coming in... After the soldiers arrive they have to go through more in-processing (aka turning in their weapons ,etc). This takes about an hour, so all of the families are patiently waiting behind the other side of the netting... nerve-wracking yet exciting.

Watching the buses come in.. with a very tired tot.

I loved this little helicopter outfit.. it was so fitting for the occasion! 

They have a big screen behind the scenes so all of the families can watch all of the soldiers come in! We saw Will... it was very exciting.. and I loved his smile! One of my favorite parts of redeployment ceremonies is watching the preschool and elementary school kids; they are so genuinely thrilled to see their dads (or moms!) and run at full speed towards them... seriously so adorable and heartwarming. Anyway, over the last couple of weeks and (so far) six ceremonies, I love watching those kids get SO excited when they see their dad on the jumbo screen. Adorable.

Marching in...

Daddy brought Harps an Elmo to try and ease the transition (the back story is she was a bit scared on
 R and R) but the redeployment ceremony was perfect. She knew right a who Dada was and has transitioned exceptionally well ever since.

We are so thrilled Daddy is back!

xoxo,

allie

rainy season

Well the dreaded rainy season is upon us... as much as I love a cozy rainy day inside, it can be a long day of planning activities with an overly active toddler. (Will pointed out that the rainy season is really no different with freezing cold winter weather on the mainland ... true enough). We have been readjusting our outdoor play to indoor play.. I suppose a good adjustment seeing as we won't always live in paradise.

Harps has recently become very intrigued with cooking and has become quite a chef in her own play kitchen. With her new stool from Christmas (thanks Gigi!), Harps can now help Mommy in the kitchen. Obviously her "helping" is minimum but she adores it and is an excellent sampler. This weekend we made apple pie and chocolate chip cookies!

and the cookie sampler...

Our little Chef has also become a Mommy during the Rainy Season... she spends lots of time feeding her babies.

and a little bit of outside time... sweet baby.

(Doesn't she look so old?) 

xoxo,
allie

New Years!

We had a low key New Years... that seems to be our more recent style with baby H. We obviously couldn't have gotten a babysitter and spent the evening in Honololu but with Will recently getting home we decided a stay home evening was the way to go... and guess what? It was perfect! We had a fabulous day at the beach with some beautiful 70 degree weather.  Harper girl is such a Hawaiian baby and adores every moment at the beach.. the only downside is she has become a bit of sand surfer. By sand surfing I mean she belly crawls (or army crawls) across the sand... it leads to quite a mess but is so fun for the little lady. We are looking forward to many more beach days in 2013.

We finished the evening with some Chinese food (I know, crazy) and champagne. And this little lady ended her seven o clock bedtime with a great Ruby and Max episode celebrating the New Years...

Will and I have a couple of resolutions for the New Year... this year we are most excited just to spend most of year together! 2011 was a great year as H grew up for a baby girl to a toddler but Will was gone for 10 months. We are so grateful he is home safe and sound and look forward to exploring Hawaii as a family.

xoxo,
allie

p.s.
this picture is worth sharing... this is our first and last date of 2012! On Friday night we got a babysitter and went out to sushi... (Disclaimer- we have gone out to dinner as a family, etc but we decided our definition of a date is no Harps. Since we moved here January 4th and were living in the hotel, we never got an opportunity to go out alone. Anyway, we were so happy we could squeeze one in!

xoxo,
allie

Zoo Day

Harps and I have been waiting to go to the Honolulu Zoo until Will was home... so we spent Friday morning chasing Harper Girl as she ran from animal to animal. I was actually super impressed with this smaller scale zoo... it has plenty of animals (for an island!) and a separate area called the "Keiki Zoo" that is designed for Toddlers. It looks recently renovated and perfect for a growing one year old. We spent hours petting the goats, running through fish glassed tunnels, and watch the elephants squirt water out of their trunks (a real thrill for a toddler). We are definitely going to become members and make the zoo a regular outing.

(every girl needs her own zoo dress!) 

(her favorite activity by far.. goat petting; these goats were shockingly nice...
I have a feeling they get lots of pets!)

 (I can't tell you how happy I am that Daddy can now do some tunnel runs with H lady)

(fish tank)

(zoo baby)

xoxo,
allie