Dan graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Leavenworth, Kansas at the beginning of June with a Master's in Military Arts and Sciences. He did a ton of work all revolving around George Washington's influence on civil-military relations. He and "George" (yes, despite being dead for hundreds of years, Dan is on a first-name basis with the 1st president) spent a lot of time together, so if you ever need someone to talk to about George, Dan is your man!
Bridget got lots of quality time with Grandpa!
While we were there, Dan got to Hawaii a week ahead of us girls. We soon followed and began the journey of adapting to island life. It was not hard since we very quickly got used to going to the beach so often. ;)
The girls embraced the Aloha spirit right from the start. ;)
Clothes were sometimes an option for the girls while adjusting to the heat. :)
Apparently Bridget is very serious about playing at the beach. Ha!
Not outside...but still happy girls!
The girls love going on slides!
The girls love going to the beach and playing in the water and in the sand.
Dan has started to pick up some surfing too!
At the end of August we all went back to California to be a part of Christine's wedding. It worked out that was the same weekend my dad was having surgery to remove some new-found stomach cancer, so we were grateful to be there during that process. We had a great week, spending lots of time with my parents and going to Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, and dressing up to be in the wedding.
This was the same rocking horse I rode as a kid. But I'm pretty sure I was never texting while riding. ;)
Dan's job is a very interesting one. He works for the USARPAC Contingency Command Post which trains for and responds to any natural disaster along the pacific rim that requires U.S. assistance. So far he has done training exercises that have taken him to Tonga, China, and Japan. He will soon go on a trip to Thailand as well. Lots of fun travelling opportunities for him in this job!
Dan in China!
Sendai, Japan was all lit up for Christmas when Dan was there this December!
I started my internship with the Office of the City Auditor for the City/County of Honolulu in October. This is a fulfillment for my final Master's of Public Administration degree and will graduate in the beginning of May. This means that the girls are in full-time daycare (aka "school") and they love it. They love playing with other kids all day. Their forte is circle time and singing songs that have accompanying motions. :)
We dressed the girls up as duckies for halloween. They loved it and still ask if they can wear their costumes again. I even got to dress up as Betty Rubble (from Flintstones) and go help out with a Halloween activity at their school.
Both Abby and Bridget are doing amazing. They both love to "talk" a ton, even though most of it is babbling. The English that they do know is mostly only decipherable by Dan and I, but they are getting better and growing their vocabulary every day. It was so much fun to see them figure things out.
We decorated for Christmas as soon as Thanksgiving was over and then have veen trying to enjoy the many Christmas activities that this island has to offer.
They helped to decorate the tree. Then over the next few days they "helped" to undecorated the bottom 3 feet of the tree.
We saw some snow at the snow-day held on post
We even went downtown to the City Lights festival and watched the mayor light the giant tree!
They just had their 2nd birthday last week! They are getting to be big girls (specially Abby who is in the 99th percentile for height). We had a birthday party for them at the beach (yes, we live in Hawaii, so we can have a beach party in December...woo-hoo).
The girls spent most of the party standing on the bench, elbow-deep in the chip bags. :P Guess you only turn 2 once! ;)
Maybe not a whole lot has changed in a year. :P
The girls got these quads for their birthday and love to ride them around.
Random photo...but Bridget sure is beautiful, isn't she?! :)
Our girls are turning into beautiful big-girls and we absolutely love them! We can't believe how much they have changed over the last year and are continuously amazed by them.
Another big change that will happen in the next year is that we are due to have another baby girl on May 6th. We are super excited about a third little one in our family and can't wait to meet her. Her big sisters are already practicing by taking care of their baby dolls. No name ideas yet, but we'll keep you posted!
She even waved for the camera during the first ultrasound!
We hope that you all have a very Merry Chirstmas and pray that God blesses your time, whether it is together or apart this season. We are so blessed to have such amazing family and friends and can't wait to see all the amazing work that God has planned for our lives this coming year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!
