Easter Mainland Visit 2009 and Sub Ball

I can not believe that I have put off posting for so long since being back in HI. I have lots to discuss, so I will begin with our trip to Texas.

First, CONGRATULATIONS to Zac for passing PNEO training/school!!! Zac was in DC while I was in Dallas. He had interviews to complete his training to be engineer qualified, and he did really well! We are all so proud of him. And let me tell you, he was living large staying in the DC Ritz. :)

When I first arrived in Dallas I spent time with family and friends. I got to see so many people, which made my whole trip! Fun lunches, a day of fabric shopping (and then some), a happy hour and dinners that I cherish so much - and that I will remember forever. Thanks to all of the people who rearranged schedules to hang out with me on such short notice!  

The Friday of that week I flew to Midland and met my sister, mom and dad! We drove to Marfa, Texas, where my mom grew up. There we met my aunt, uncle and two of their friends for a weekend of reminiscing and art. Friday mom took us on tour of all of the homes that she lived in, as well as other places around town that she remembered, then we had a lovely dinner at a local Mexican food restaurant. Saturday we toured the Chinati Foundation art collection. In the morning we toured several installations, broke for lunch at the Pizza Foundation, then regrouped and toured more of the Chinati collection. That night we had a lovely dinner at Maiya's and tried to see the Marfa lights, however they were not visible that night. The next morning, which was Easter, we all drove out to my mom's cousin, Chachi's. She lives near Alpine. There we had Easter lunch, and I had to unfortunately cut out early in order to drive back to Midland to fly to Dallas. 

After arriving in Dallas, Zac picked me up and we had dinner with his parents, grandparents and Beth and Neal at Uncle Julio's - and it was Nellie's birthday! Monday Zac played golf with John Flemming, I hit a couple more quilt stores and had lunch with Mandy, we ran a couple more errands, then we had an Elliott family dinner at Zac's aunt and uncle's house! We loved getting to see everyone that we love and miss so much. We made one last stop to see Ellen, Steven, Beth and Nick at Two Rows, then finally called it a night. Tues. morning we met Steve and Kay for brunch at Cafe Brazil, then got on the airplane and flew back to Honolulu. 

We had so much fun on the mainland, and I am so thankful to Zac for my flight, which was my b-day present! I loved every single minute of it. CLICK HERE for all of the pics from the trip!

This weekend was the 109th birthday of the Navy, and the Submariner's Ball! After a patience building experience of sitting in a chair to have my hair done, which took FOREVER, and then waiting for Melissa to also have her hair done, we finally made it to the Hawaii Hilton for the event. After a pre-party in the Captain's suite in the hotel, all of the wardroom (officer's) and their wives headed down for dinner. The ball was lovely, and you can see all of the pictures HERE!

And now, for some sad news. One of my friends, who is also an officer's wife on our boat, had two heart attacks in the last 2 days. Chrissi is only 31 years old, the mother of a second grade daughter and a pre-k son, and loving wife to our friend Alex. She is in ICU here, her heart rate is slowing down to a more normal pace, and the doctors and nurses are taking such great care of her - but please take a minute to say a prayer for Chrissi and her family. 

Until next time,

RAWE

Back in TX!

Things that I have experienced since arriving in Texas this a.m. that I love and miss!!

• Francesca's
• speeding on the highways - and speed limits above 55
• Texas toast & chicken fingers
• sweet tea
• Chuy's Tex-Mex
• seeing Texas flags and license plates everywhere
• an abundance of Targets
• an abundance of country and Tejano radio stations while flipping through the channels
• FAMILY and FRIENDS!

Things that I am excited to experience in the next few days while in Texas...

• MORE FAMILY and FRIENDS!
• shopping for fabric
• finding out the sex of the Peanut
• Sonic
• BJ's
• the *ding* sound (in person) on a Southwest plane
• Marfa, TX

And many more...

Tune in later to see more updates and pics!

Me ke aloha from Texas!

-RAWE

Scary -> Fro Yo -> Sunny

For anyone that has been keeping up w/ Grey's Anatomy - today I was Izzie Stevens. I have been closely watching a crazy looking spot on my back, and the last time I had a doctor appointment with my Navy doctor she referred me out to a dermatologist in Honolulu. Today was the appointment I had been dreading and thinking about a lot lately. The doctor removed the spot on my back this morning and sent it off for testing, and will call me sometime next week to give me the results. *insert prayers here*

But, after my appointment I met Audra and her two kids, Noah and Anya, at Menchie's for a lunch of only frozen yogurt - to celebrate my b-day! MMMMmmmm. Menchie's is a fun frozen yogurt "boutique" - walk in, and you are sure to be overwhelmed, as I was! There are sooo many flavors and toppings of fro yo to create your ideal treat. I had Original Tart and Georgia Peach yogurts with some graham cracker crumbs and just a few Butterfinger crumbs. Sounds weird, yes, but it was delish! I will DEFINITELY be making several more trips to create some more awesome concoctions. And heads up Dallasites - there is a Menchie's in Highland Park, and for you Houstonians, one is opening soon there!! So go forth and have fro yo!

After Menchie's I came home, quickly changed, picked up Ted, and we headed down to Ala Moana beach. There we met Steve and Natalia for an afternoon of SUN! The weather lately hasn't been very beach-like (windy and chilly), so Ted and I wanted to make the MOST of it, and that we did. We stayed all afternoon and soaked up the rays.

So, after a scary start, today ended up being fun after all. :)

My 27th Birthday

First of all, thank you everyone for the sweet birthday wishes!! I am truly blessed to have the most amazing friends and family.

Today I had a relaxing itinerary that consisted of Target with Melissa, quilting in the afternoon and then dinner at Aloha Tower. Sadly it rained off and on all day, so I didn't make it down to Makapuu Beach (south east tip of the island) - a beach I have driven by (and taken this picture), but never actually been to yet. 

But, what better way to spend your birthday than at Target!? The 2 Targets on Oahu opened at the beginning of the month, and I was beyond excited to be able to shop there again. So, I met Melissa and baby Mason there at lunch time to shop around. We had a fabulous time, and of course, bought stuff we really didn't necessarily need, but couldn't live without! Then I came home, waiting for the guys to get back from running an errand, and worked on my current quilt project for the afternoon. This evening, Zac planned dinner with some friends at Bikini Cantina in the Aloha Tower. CLICK HERE for pictures from the evening. 

I can't believe that a year has already passed. I am excited about what this year has to hold. 

Me ke aloha,

RAWE

The Hanging of the Quilt

This evening the guys hung up Zac's quilt in the living room, after only one day of me complaining about it not being up yet! :) This is the quilt I made for Zac and gave to him at the rehearsal dinner of our wedding. The quilt was long-arm quilted by Donna Francis, and she did the most amazing job!! Zac, Ted and Randy all pitched in to make sure that the quilt was level. Thank you so much, guys! I am so thankful to not be staring at a blank wall any longer! 

Aloha, Ted!

This evening, after several delays thanks to storms in Dallas and the Midwest, Ted Jakus finally arrived in Honolulu! After picking him up, we went to dinner at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in Waikiki. He will be spending the next two weeks with us! :) Hooray! He is on his way to travel/work around Australia - isn't that exciting?

As a thank you gift, Ted brought us something...

Shiner Bock (100th Anniversary bottles)! Thanks, Ted, and A-LO-HA!

Me ke aloha,

Rebekah

The Peanut

About three or so weeks ago Beth and I received an e-mail from Miss Mandy Cozart. I happened to be working out at the house, and closed the DVD player on my laptop (I was doing Turbo Jam in the dining room :) ) and saw that seven minutes before that, I had received that e-mail with a subject of "You are going to kill me...". Instantaneously I had the feeling that something big was going to be disclosed in this mysterious e-mail, and of course, I clicked on it right away. I remember reading the e-mail and having to re-read sentences because I was reading so quickly that I was skipping over words. Luckily Mandy didn't mess around and got straight to the point in the second sentence, which read "Well to cut to the chase I am having a BABY!!!!" (Side note: Thank you, Mandy for not making me read a bunch of mumbo jumbo before getting the news across, otherwise I would have probably suffered from a panic attack right then and there.)As you can imagine, I was completely taken back, and completely excited all at the same time! I immediately started tearing up, and then crying. I tried calling Mandy, and dialed the wrong number. After finally getting through, I conferenced Beth in for the call, but also accidentally dialed my sister-in-law Beth. Finally the connection was established between all three of us, and we gushed about how excited we were and asked Mandy a million questions. Here is a pic of one of her first sonograms...

The "Peanut", as Beth dubbed the baby, is due September 23rd! Mandy has only had a little morning sickness, and she and the baby are both healthy and doing great. She is surrounded by an amazing family (and us friends) that are 110% supportive and can not WAIT until the Peanut is born. AND, in the next couple of weeks, the baby will be old/developed enough for the nurse/doctor to tell if it is a boy or a girl! Whoop!

So, consider this an addendum to my blog post "Shout Out to All of the Mamas Out There", because at that time, I didn't know that one of my best friends should be included. But, now that I do, CONGRATULATIONS MANDY!! The Peanut will be spoiled rotten by Beth and me, and I KNOW that he/she will by your fam as well! I will wait to start making things for the baby until I know the sex, but I won't be able to wait much longer!

Thanks to many of my friends having babies, I continue to learn a lot about pregnancy and babies, and I think they sure are CUTE! But, to save you from asking, Zac and I are still waiting! :) I now have another dear friend that will be a mom soon, and I will try to soak up as much knowledge as I can from her experiences. And, I hope to be there for all of the Peanut's milestones! And until the Peanut makes his/her grand entrance into this beautiful world, I will be impatiently waiting to meet him/her - and shopping and crafting for him/her, as well! 

I love you Mandy! And I am gushing with excitement for you!!!

Me ke aloha (with love),

RAWE