We're Home!

Ok, I know I said I would be back to the blog and there has been only one post since January...sorry about that.  We have been a little busy

buying a house! 

This house!!

We hadn't planned to buy and were very much hoping to live on post at Fort Sam Houston, but the waiting list for housing was 6-9 months.  So, we started looking at rentals.  San Antonio has a very tight rental market at the moment, which meant little to choose from and very high prices.  We decided buying might be a smarter thing to do.  We started looking and very soon found this lovely home in Windcrest.  This city borders San Antonio proper, is convenient to freeways, shopping, church, and, most important, to post.  The house was built in 1965 and our neighborhood has wide quiet streets and lots of trees.  Right  now, the inside of our house looks a lot like this.

These are part of what we estimate to be 6,500 pounds of books!  That is A LOT of books.  (We think we will be doing a little bit of weeding).  So, I am posting mostly realtor pictures for now, so you can see what the house looks like.

 

We are charmed by the leaded glass door featuring a Texas star!

 

Authentic Saltillo tiles are in all the rooms except bedrooms.  They are really lovely.  There is a fabulous sunroom full of windows.  We have a great fireplace which creates a cozy feeling and will possibly be useful about 6 weeks of the year.  The breakfast nook has vintage stained glass.   The 1960's kitchen has been smartly updated with granite and stainless. 

The bathrooms have been updated as well. The lighting and cabinets make the small Master bath feel bigger.  The galvanized lamps and counter in the guest bath are really fun.

 

 We  have a fantastic backyard with 5 big trees, a grill, a fire pit, and a pool.   

It isn't the ocean, it isn't the lake, but it will be really nice in the long, hot Texas summer.   

When we are not in the pool, you can find us under the live oaks with Dash and a good book. 

We invite you to join us.

 

ADIOS AMIGOS

HELLO TEXAS!

After a 2-year hiatus and numerous requests to renew, the blog is back, coming to you from San Antonio, Texas.  Between the last post from Hawaii and this one, we were stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.  Layden worked as the Soldier and Family Readiness Chaplain for Forces Command, doing research on current issues impacting military readiness and strategic planning for the future. Sarah completed her MFA in Creative Writing and was active in veteran's writing projects and as a volunteer working with soldiers and family members at the Warrior Transition Unit ("Wounded Warriors").  We lived on a lake, which we enjoyed every day.  Sarah particularly enjoyed the birds - herons, geese, swans, ducks, kingfishers, cuckoos, bluebirds, cardinals, hawks, and more - even a golden eagle. Our time there was wonderful. We reluctantly bid a fond farewell, anticipating new adventures in San Antonio. 

 

Soooo many choices.....

 

"Does this hat go with my Aloha shirt"

 

We have been to Texas before, so the sight of grackles in live oak trees was familiar.  Grackles winter here in large numbers.

 

Numbers worthy of Hitchcock!

 

 

 

 

 

 

December is Here...Already?

 The month of November flew by very quickly for us.  We got back from our trip to the mainland and realized that we had less than 3 weeks left with Bethany, Cammon and Cortlynn, so we took advantage of every moment before they returned to the mainland.




We visted the Waikiki aquarium, where we got to see lots of fishes and this lovely monk seal.  They are a protected species and are hard to see in the wild, but Bethany got to see one on the beach about a mile from the house.  Lucky her!

   

Lucky Cammon too! He won a Nook at the Wahiawa Haunted Botanical Gardens.

 

 

  

Halloween was a lot of fun this year.  In addition to the haunted gardens, we went to parties, carved pumpkins, and went trick-or-treating. 

 

We got to go back to the Bishop Museum for the much-anticipated Lego exhibit.

 

 

The great home-school group that Bethany found here went to Kualoa Ranch. 

 

We got to visit a native village and learn about traditional Hawaiian games, plants, food, and houses.

 

We also got a fantastic view of Chinaman's Hat.

 

We made sure to get in one last vist to the North Shore shrimp trucks.Look at those "shaka" hands!

 

And, we took every chance we could get to have some famous North Shore shave ice.

 

We visited the Laie LDS temple and visitor center.

 

Getting lemonade from these girls on the corner of our street is always fun. They make the best lemonade ever, and treat their customers well.

 

Bethany got hooked on - and good at - stand-up paddleboarding.  The ocean has been a great adventure for all of us.

 

 

Dash the cat got quite used to Cortlynn. 

 

Grandpa and Cammon went on an awesome hike on a steep trail.

 

In the early morning when Grandpa left for work, the children would go to the window, chant "good-bye Grandpa" and wave and blow kisses.  He really misses his send-off.

 

 

We really miss having our fence look like this.

 

We had such a wonderful time having these wonderful people here with us.  It went all too fast, and

 

much too soon we had to say goodbye.  But, we are glad that they will have time in Texas with their other grandparents.  And, we are glad that soon they will be saying hello to their wonderful Daddy, who will be home soon from Afghanistan.

 

Sooooo......

What do we do now?

 

Well....

We took a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii so we could see the Kilauea volcano.  It was awesome.

 

And mesmerizing, especially at night.

 

 

Standing next to a stem vent was like feeling the earth breathe.  It was fascinating.

 

On this trip we also went to Mauna Kea, home of a wonderful observatory.  No good pictures of this because we went at night.  The stars were incredibly bright, and very beautful.

 

This year, the Thanksgiving turkey left a beautiful stand-up paddle board for Sarah.  She is delighted and had a great day on the water!

 

As we begin the Advent season, we are truly grateful for our family, wherever on the globe they might be.  We love our children, and are delighted to be grandparents.  We are grateful Stephen has been safe in Afghanistan, and grateful to him and thousands like him who sacrifice on behalf of their country.  We are grateful for the wonderful world we live in, for the beautiful ocean, and for blessings too numerous to count.  May you all have a blessed, joyful holiday season.

 

 

ALOHA

and

Mele Kalikimaka