March 2026

 

The spider lily I transplanted to our house on Leko finally flowered!!

We started taking pictures of our house to put on the renters market for tenants. I really don't want to leave our place, but Bryan has always been great at managing out rentals throughout his Army career. This is the master bathroom with the new cabinets.

Master shower

Master Bedroom

Kate and Jane's Bathroom with the new cabinets. 

For our spring break, we went to Hilo, Hawaii. All the islands were being showered with a Kona Low, so it was a very wet spring break. Our first stop was Rainbow Falls.

A wet walk around Banyan Drive 

Lili'uokalani Park and Gardens

The pool was rather cold. Jane's friend Liana was visiting her grandmother, so we invited her to come hang out at the pool with us.

Antics Pizza

A cute little pizza shop with old video games at the tables.

We had reservations to go up to Maunakea Observatory and view the stars, but unfortunately the tour was cancelled due to the storm. The road had given out, making it unsafe for anybody. So we just looked around the museum and did a short hike to see if we could see anything. As you can see, we are up in the clouds. 

Kaumana Caves

This lava tube went on forever. It made Jane a little uneasy. 

Hilo Bay from our hotel room.

The broken bridge to coconut island in Hilo Bay.

Tephra at Volcanoes National Park.

We were fortunate to be able to enter the park while we were on Big Island. Kilauea was venting and made the air extremely toxic. The gift shop had to shut down because of the vog. The park had previously been closed due to damage from the eruption over the last month or two. The buildings, tennis courts, parking lots were covered in tephra.  

Akaka Falls

442 foot drop

Enjoying some pineapple and coconut after the hike at a local farm.

Honomu Goat Dairy Farm

They had really yummy cheese and caramel.

Hilo Zoo

Richardson Ocean Beach Park on our last day on Hilo.

Sea Turtle

A hike with Kristi over at Hanauma Bay. 

Caught Howie sleeping on the bean bag chair in Jane's room!

February 2026

Kate's Young Women's Class

Milena, Sadie, Kaoiwinani, Kate, Naomi, Lilia, Makamae

Howie might be looking at a reflection. What a silly dog! Jane is wearing a sweater Jennifer found with Stitch and embroidered her name. Got to love the personalized clothing from my bestest girl friend. 

Preparing Valentine cookies for the Primary Girls to decorate.

Kate with her cute friends at their school's Valentine's Dance.

Celebrating Kate turning 13 at the bowling alley in Aiea. Kate's birthday landed on President's Day, so everyone had the day off to hang out with the birthday girl!

Funny little videos we created on the bowling screen.

Jane and Kristi

Everyone had a good time (well, except for maybe Jane). We forgot to order the bumpers for her, so she was a little sad the ENTIRE time because her ball kept going in the gutter. 

My favorite 13 year old got her first cell phone. She was super shocked and had no idea! I love a good surprise. 

Sophi, Emma, Emma, Kate

Kate was able to celebrate with her friends the following weekend at Wai Kai. It is an inflatable waterpark set up in a lagoon in Ewa Beach. 

Jane was able to invite her friends Liana and Sammi.  

Pizza party outside in the truck. Apparently, you are not allowed to tailgate. Luckily we were mostly done eating when we got caught!

We decided to start painting the walls in the house in preparation for turning over our house to renters in the summer. Can you believe we have been here for almost 3 years? Kate was so helpful... I think more so she wanted to get her room back! 

Not the greatest picture, but Bryan and I ran the Kolekole Pass at Schofield Barracks. I believe this specific race has not been opened since before 2020. The road hardly is used, except in times of emergency. I think this event was a 10K- 3 miles up and 3 miles down. The only way to do a race (or a hike) here in Hawaii!

MIS work party at the Waikiki Outrigger with a beautiful sunset in the background. Bryan mentioned going to miss my works annual parties because they are always in great locations with great company. My coworkers also know that I will be leaving soon, so it stung a bit too. 

Suzi, Sheila, Rebekah, Marta, Char, Cynthia, Nadine

I have really loved working with these beautiful people. 

My work bestie- Sheila

 

December 2025

Jane spent months trying to lure Fancy Pants into being her own cat. She was finally able to pick the cat up and walked home, but unfortunately, she didn't like that and wriggled away. This made Jane very sad. I told her that when we move, she can get 2 cats. That made her day. 

Kate started doing crochet animal orders for my work as well. 

Jane singing their Christmas Performance in Waikele. She and Liana had a solo part and they did so well! I'm so proud of her bravery!

Jennifer came into town for the Honolulu 10K/marathon. First things first, a yummy breakfast with kimchi fried rice, spam, and eggs!

Beautiful sunset at Kahanamoku Beach Park.

Picking up our packets at the Convention Center.

Laying wreaths at Punchbowl National Cemetery for Wreaths Across America.

The boys traveled to Lanai and were able to bring home some deer meat.

The wettest race we have ever participated in! We stood in line for the bathroom at mile 2 for about 30 minutes. It started raining buckets about 30 minutes before the race began and just kept coming. Jennifer's friends completed the marathon, while we just did the 10K. It was a nice little jog through town.

Hanging out with friends while we waited for our marathoner to finish.

The next day, we were supposed to go to the sandbar in Kaneohe. However, with the storm and rain they canceled our excursion about 20 minutes before our arrival time. So Bryan and I did an island tour with our new friends to some of our favorite spots. Apparently we did a pretty good job- we got tipped!

Anne Miller- a favorite of ours.

We traveled to Maui over winter break for a Christmas Party with the eye clinic Bryan moonlights. They always put on a great work Christmas party and we usually end up taking a prize home.

 This is a pretty cool spot on the west side of the island.

Watching the sunset at Haleakala. Quite the crowd for the winter solstice. We made sure to dress appropriately and hydrate!

Above the clouds. 

Also, this is Bryan and mine's 20th anniversary! We will have to plan something later... without the kids, of course! 

I took the girls on a short hike up Iao Valley. I'm not sure if they were impressed...

Howie protecting our Christmas tree. 

This year the girls received gifts that were a little more practical. I feel like they are at an age where toys and games are not something they immediately choose. Books, clothes, electronics, and self care items are more appropriate choices. I can't believe I don't have any more pictures!

I remember why I don't have many pictures- I was having issues with my cellphones storage. I was deleting pictures/apps/messages to try to increase my space. It was quite the nightmare!

Howie loving on his favorite human, Miles.