A little update on all of us

Today I thought I would give an update on all of us...

Geoff: Last week of the semester for him so it is crunch time and has been pretty stressful!  We has a big paper due tomorrow (thank you to all of you who filled out the survey for him so he could complete the research he needed!) a big project due the next day and a take home final due after that.  Glad he's such a good student!  What a man!  Then he's off for the summer until the end of August.  We're looking into the best way to make money this summer while he's off.  Luckily the need for Japanese speakers is great here.  And being me, I've of course noticed several things lacking here in Ko Olina and have thought of several little businesses to look into to see if they would be viable or not. :)

Handsome boy in front of the amazing front doors at the vacation home we toured on the North Shore.

Daddy snuggling Aya on the patio swing out on the lanai :)

Me (Rachel): I'm doing very well and really enjoying it here.  I have been amazingly blessed health wise and am able to do all the things I need to if I pace myself, eat every 2 hours, take my naps, exercise, eat well, get my sleep etc  I still really have to be careful not to be in the heat, not to drive too far, shop very long, over do it etc or I get quite sick and it takes a while to be functioning again but compared to having to lie down all day last year and not being able to do much of anything, this is wonderful!  Thank you again for all of your prayers.  I trying REALLY hard to lose the weight I gained from not being able to exercise or move much last year and it's been so tough!  But I am making progress.  Unfortunately with my blood sugar, metabolism and other systems not working like they should I have to extra hard which can be discouraging.  Right now I exercise 6 days a week for about an hour each day.  I always get my cardio in for sure for my health condition and then add weights/strength training 3 times a week as well.  I often attend the free classes her that are at 7am and love them, especially, Zumba, Hot Hula and Yoga on the beach!  I also try to eat below my needed calories for each day, eat whole/real food and eat very little refined flour or sugar.  (I thought I would post the details to keep me motivated, sorry to over load you!)
I am really enjoying making this town house into our home and am decorating it as a beach house because I actually live by the beach!  I found some good things at the flea market on Friday and I'm excited about painting them and making them pretty.  Starting from scratch on a very small budget has been quite the challenge, but fun too.
I've been called to teach Relief Society (organization for women in the LDS church) and teach a lesson once a month.  I adore our sisters and love my calling.

1 of the night stands I snagged at the Flea Market on Friday.  I bought the matching one as well and plan to paint them. Kinda plain and ugly now but lots of potential and they were only $10 each!  For Hawaii that's a great deal!

2 more bamboo nightstands I got at the flea market for $5 each!  They are for the guest room and I love the simple beachy, Asiany vibe they have.  The guest room is slowly but surely coming a long and here waiting for you to come visit!

A great picture Geoff took of the girls and I when we zipped over to the beach on our golf cart to watch the sunset after a hectic day.

Hana:  Her 1st grade year is coming to an end in a few weeks and I can't believe it.  She's done really well considering the huge changes in her life this year.  She has made a lot of great friends, likes her teacher and school, loves riding the bus and is always kind to others.  I love that about her!  In school they have a Hawaiian man come and teach them about Hawaiian culture and she really enjoys that.  They are learning a Hula dance and the Hawaiian words that go with the song and it's fun to see her doing that at home.  She is looking forward to being baptized next year and mentions that often,
I'm amazed at how well she can swim!  When we first got here she didn't really know how but she's really just jumped into it with floaties at first and now all on her own!

Hana swimming in our amazing pool.  We only live a half a block away!

Hana dancing with her lava lava.

Impromptu picnic at the beach with Mom so Dad can have a peaceful house to get some studying done.

Aya:  Is so funny and cute.  She still likes to pretend like she's a kitten often and always snuggles everyone.  We love it!  She really likes it here and especially loves to go to the beach and play in the sand.  She doesn't like to venture too far into the water yet but enjoys the shallow side of our pool a lot.  One time we were at the beach, near the waves and she bent over to pick up a shell.  The wave came in and soaked her up to her waist.  She looked up at me surprised and said "the ocean surprised my bum!"  We all got a good laugh out of that.  She loves playing on our lanai making mud cookies and chasing the geckos.  Even though she loves it here, she misses the grammas and grampas and aunts and uncles and cousins a lot and talks about them  often.  She also says that she wants to go back to Utah and she wants our red house back too.

Busily building a sand castle while Momma swims in the waves close by

Looking for shells and sea glass

Aya loves to wear these white Hello Kitty ears from Hana's Halloween costume last year

Aya playing in her "boat" with friends.  She loves to decorate all over it with markers.

We feel very blessed to live in such a beautiful, spacious (for Hawaii) home near the ocean on this amazing island.  We miss Utah very much and most of all our dear family and friends but are thankful for the things we are learning and doing here.  Hope you are all well.  We love you!