Family Friday - June 26

How is it the end of June already? This year is flying by! Perhaps it seems to be going even faster than normal because we know that our time in Hawaii is coming to an end.  We are due to leave the island within the first couple months of the new year.  It will be a few more months before we find out where we're going next but the possibilities are certainly occupying our thoughts.

CC has turned into little miss opinionated lately.  She has strong opinions about what she wants to wear now (though luckily she's still open to suggestions) and she also has opinions about what I wear!  There are some days where she will pull at my shirt and say "no, no" and then take me by the hand to my room where she opens my drawer and picks out a different shirt for me to wear.  I'm not exaggerating!  I don't usually comply unless it's a hot day and she picks out a tank top :)

She also has strong opinions about TV shows now as well.  Sometimes we start 3 or 4 different shows before she agrees that one is suitable enough to watch.  Lately she has been watching Curious George, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, and Sesame Street (but she hates the Elmo's World portion of it).  We watch one show before lunch most days.

CC's new favorite phrase is "How 'bout... "  When we ask her any questions concerning what to do or what she wants, she enthusiastically replies "How 'bout (baby babble)? How 'bout (more baby babble)?"  She is trying to make suggestions but we can't understand the babble so we give her some options and she says yes or no.

She has also developed an interest in photography this week.  She carries around my Olympus Tough camera and points it at things, saying "cheeeeese".  Once she learns how to actually take photos, I will write some posts featuring her work :)

CC has had some pretty epic tantrums lately.  It's almost always when she is tired or hungry and I tell her not to do something or I don't do what she wants me to do.  She will stand, red faced, and scream as loud as she can, and then she will cry like it's the end of the world.  Funny thing is that if something distracts her for even a second, the screaming and crying instantly stop... until she remembers that she was in the middle of a tantrum and then quickly resumes.

CC still loves to dance and now she likes to hold our hands and dance with us.  We even got Dulce in on the fun a few times!  Luckily "dance with me" (me holding her paws and taking some steps) was already in her trick repertoire so she doesn't object too much.

CC has a head full of curls that makes her hair look a lot shorter than it is.  It is actually well below her shoulders, it just seems to curl tighter the longer is gets!

We have been busy in the past week because we're moving!  Yes, again!  And no, we're not leaving the island yet.  We love our beachfront house on the North Shore but we have been dealing with an extremely difficult, inconsiderate, and uncooperative landlord since we moved in.  Things have gotten worse lately and we've had enough so we're moving out.

This is a sudden move - certainly not planned.  At first, it was pretty devastating to think about leaving this house but then we realized that this a great opportunity to experience yet another very different part of the island!  We were blessed to find a great house in Kailua on the east side of the island to stay in for the remainder of our time.  The house is clean and it's empty so we will be able to get all of our things out of storage and live comfortably.  It is considerably larger than our current rental, it has a large enclosed backyard (perfect for Dulce), an in-ground swimming pool, and it's only a few minutes walk to a gorgeous beach with turquoise water and white sand.  Best of all, the owner is amazingly helpful and friendly!

This is an easy move since most of our belongings are in a storage room.  I have been packing up what we can so that the moving company can get in and out quickly.  CC has been helpful, trying to assist me with the packing :)

Dulce loves life here so she's not too happy about the changes going on.  She doesn't yet know how much she's going to love her new backyard!  She has been grumpy this past week and tried to unpack her things as I was packing them.

Here on the North Shore, we see sunrises and sunsets.  The sunrises are over land, as are the sunsets for half the year.  On the east coast, we'll miss out on sunsets but we will see spectacular sunrises over the ocean every morning - the photographer in me can't wait!!

Kailua is a pretty amazing town with a lot of shopping and restaurants, and the nicest beaches on the island.  It is vastly different from the quiet, laid-back, hippy lifestyle of the North Shore.  We are certainly blessed that in this one assignment, we get to experience living in three very different parts of this island.  We will leave here with no regrets.

I am really going to miss our ocean view and having the beach in our backyard.   I am thankful for every day that we lived in this house, despite the difficulties we put up with.

Ocean view + sunset + wine = happiness :)

When I started this blog three+ years ago, I put the tag line "Life is an adventure every day" at the top under our title.  That's actually not how I always looked at life up to that point but I wanted to, so I vowed from then on to change my attitude and believe it... it's been a process.  Life is far from perfect but it is a hell of a lot more enjoyable when you have the right attitude.  This quote is a good reminder of that:

Count your blessings, be thankful everyday, and know that everything happens for a reason.

*******

"A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour."

~Author Unknown