A Story For You

I feel like i never write anything lately. At least every time i get on the blog that's what i think about. Then i never really have anything to say either, but i always have pictures-- so that's what this blog is: A Glorified Photo Album. At least lately.

But i have a story for you today, so hold on to your panties. or if there is actually a boy out there reading--hold on to whatever it is you choose to wear.

SO...

I had to make a quick grocery story run on Sunday after church. Turns out this is very popular time to do grocery shopping. So needless to say it was busy. So busy in fact it took a while to find an unused buggy.

Grocery shopping went fine, no crazy stories of strange people to avoid or children gone wild which is always good. And then I had to check out. For those of you civilians who are not in the know, all commissaries have baggers that work independently from the store itself and are only paid by the tips they receive. This is something i found strange at first, but now i just expect it and even appreciate my food being carried out and packed in my car--i can just focus on my kids and not worry about my rolling away buggy and food melting in the sun all the while my kids are crying because they are hungry and hot and tired.

So the point, i know, i am getting there. I load up all my groceries on the conveyor belt, the bagger flashes me a BIG smile and asks if i want her to bag my groceries. Side Note: i have actually never had a bagger ask this before, most assume you want the service and you must tell them in advance if you don't. So anyway, i smile back and say "yes" and she get right to work bagging all my groceries and then rolls her cart to the exit to move out of the way and wait for me to finish my transaction.

All seems well, UNTIL...the system will not accept my debit card...TWICE. The cashier says they have been having problems all day and it may be their system and not my card, which i have to agree with since i have already used it 2 other times that day, so i run it as credit and it goes through. This is GOOD, since i can pay for my groceries and not have to leave my groceries on the side and find the ATM, but BAD because i couldn't use the cash back option to get cash to pay my bagger. and of course, i don't even have a 2 pennies in my change purse.

SO, i get outside and am feeling very bad at this point because i am not going to be able to tip her. I debate for a whole half a second and feel the need to tell her before we go any farther, just to be courteous so it doesn't seem like i'm stiffing her at the end. So right outside the sliding doors of the very busy commissary i tell her that the system was glitching and i was not able to get cash back. At this time the big smile from her face vanishes before my eyes she completely stops moving forward and she stares me down. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO DO NEXT. Then without a word spoken she nods her head towards an empty buggy in the parking lot and i realize that she is telling me that she will not be going farther and i need to go get that buggy and take my things out of her cart. (yes they have special carts different from the buggies we use to shop with).

At this point I am so embarrassed that as quickly as i can i go get the buggy and switch over my groceries all the while people are walking around us because we are right in front of the door. When i finish, she grunts really loud and speeds away from me as fast as possible.

Geez, i don't know what i expected when i stopped to tell her about the cash problem, but i guess i expected her to still take out my groceries, maybe be a little irritated, but still do it. Not because i can't do it own my own, but because she did already have all my things in her cart. Boy was I WRONG! It kind of makes me never want to use a bagger again. I hope her little temper tantrum was worth the $2 I would have tipped her had i gotten the cash back.

What ever happened to kindness and understanding? Oh yeah, i forgot--i don't live in The South anymore.

Weekend Recap

I'll start with Thursday afternoon, because the pics are too cute not to share--but apparently Music Class wore them out because they napped HARD that afternoon!

Friday, Mike had the day off and it started with bed time snuggles (and bounces as you saw in a previous post!)

We went into town to meet a friend for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, but first we stopped at the aquarium to look at the "fishies"

Chris Corizzo worked with Mike before the last deployment. We loved the Corizzo family and were sad to see them leave HI. They are now stationed at Ft. Leavenworth in Kansas. Chris came back to HI for a few weeks and it was nice to see him. Holden fell in love again. He never left Chris's side the whole day.

Saturday Morning we slept in then went to check out a popular breakfast eatery in Kailua that i've been hearing about for a while now, but just haven't made it over there. Cinnamon's had a super long line when we got there and by the end of the wait i wasn't sure any food could be worth it, but boy was i wrong. It was YUMMY!

We ordered the kiddos Apple Cinnamon Pancakes. They were delicious.

Cinnamon's is famous for their Red Velvet Pancakes. Going in I wasn't too keen on the idea, but we ordered a short stack anyway just to try. It really tasted just like the cake and had a white chocolate sauce on top. I'm not sure i would want that as my only breakfast...but the pancakes were very good and we all enjoyed a few bites.

it's no secret i'm not a huge breakfast fan--except when growing a human being or 2 in my belly--so i ordered a cashew chicken salad sandwich. It may have been the best chicken salad i've ever had. and that is saying something, because i LOVE chicken salad and order it everywhere i can!

After breakfast/lunch, we went to Bellows Beach to hang out for a little while. It was beautiful as always.

That's as far as the pictures got this weekend although I also had a ladies night last night as we said farewell our commander's wife from the FRG. Tracey has been so great the past few years and we are very sad to see her go, although they aren't leaving the island quite yet so i'm hoping to see her around still!

Sunday was a normal Sunday for us. Church, Naps, Dinner, Playtime and a little Veggie Tales Dance Party right before bed. Totally Normal.

Quarter Machine Carosel

When did they get big enough to do this all by themselves?

Morning of My Dreams

When waiting to have kids, one of the things i would think about often is what our mornings would be like on the weekends. I'd dream of little kids running down the hall coming in our room and climbing in bed with us.

Basically...my dream came true this morning.

Although they aren't quite ready to get out of the cribs themselves--after Mike went to wake them up, my 3 most favorite people in the whole wide world came running down the hall, busted in my room and pounced on my bed, ready to cuddle and bounce and laugh.

It was a good day. Really.

Last Stop

On the way to take PopPop and Grandma to the airport we made one last improtant stop....to get Shave Ice (and Jamba for grandma!).

Devouring their shave ice.

thanks PopPop and Grandma for coming and hanging out with us. we had a great time and can't wait to see you again at Christmas!

new.obsessions

Instagram.

(for iphone users only)

i love pictures. that's obvious. so i REALLY love instagram. I can snap a picture on my phone, edit with a cool filter and send it straight to facebook with commentary in seconds. Instagram also has it's own mini feed similar to facebook of nothing but pictures your friends take throughout the day. i like it. a lot. can more of you join and by my friend? thanks.

pinterest.com

i tried to resist. and i failed. although, i do find it a bit therapeutic to search for things i love and organize them and save them for a later time when i may need the ideas. It's like a virtual version of the 3-ring binders i used to keep in highschool with torn out pictures from magazines and books. AND tonight's dinner recipe came from pinterest. so that's not wasting time, right?

Splash Pad Fail

It's been a while since we have been to the splash pad...too long apparently! The babies (and i meant to use that term) were NOT HAVING the water in their faces! As soon as we let them go they ran off to the "DRY" playground! I'm obviously going to have to go more often. ;)

running thru the water

and this is how she felt about it
and no difference here...

PopPop....save us!

ahh....the playground is much better!

nice gator

Movie Monday

Grandpa is now PopPop--courtesy of Holden

Oh, Westside Sunsets!

and for the conclusion of our cabin stay.....

Being on the westside of the island we caught some pretty phenomenal sunsets and each night was complete unique. Beautiful.

Beaching at Pokai Bay

Pokai Bay is the name of the beach that the cabins face. It is usually a pretty good surf spot although this week it was like a lake. We did have great weather though and we spent every morning until nap time out on the beach.

Hat Buddies...i goofed and brought NGB's newborn sun hat instead of the one that fits now (they are identical) we stuffed it on her head the best we could though... our beach setup
the view...pretty sailboats and pretty blue water

sittin' with PopPop

taking a snooze

feeding PopPop an orange slicewe always have to catch a few crabs...one of these poor guys lost a leg due to a curious little boy who will remain nameless at this time...

in the water

we bought a water camera this past weekend...i've been wanting one for years....

here's HRB's first underwater shot...covering his little eyes!

being silly

When Daddy would get home from work and the kiddos would wake up from nap we would go back out a little while to play...