Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Terrible Twos!
The Terrible Twos.... Two moves, Two states, Two houses in Two years...I'm too tired to move! Well here we are, back in Woodbridge Virginia. I have to admit we are happy to be back in the Nations Capitol serving with the Old Guard at Ft. Myer Virginia. Just to catch everyone up...After moving from Hawaii, I got this hairbrained idea to renovate the most amazing southern mansion sitting in the middle of St. Joseph Missouri. For those of you who keep in contact with us on Facebook, it was by far one of our most interesting adventures thus far. Long story short, My "Jumanji" house, as I affectionately call it (Complete with wild animals) was sold last year, and I have resigned myself to being a small cottage home type person, where I don't have to use my cell phone to locate my children and they can't use the "I was on another floor and I couldn't possibly hear you" excuse as to why they don't have to listen to me. I've decided that 4000 sq. feet suits me much better than 8000...and cleaning floors is not nearly as hard in a smaller home, seeing as I do not have a full staff to clean and cook as I am sure the original owners would have had! Of course I will never again see the beauty or the handiwork in my home, that it took to build that amazing home...but the trade off for working showers, sinks and no racoons above me is a pretty fair! While I was playing renovator with the girls...Mitch was successfully completing SGM Academy in El Paso, Texas. He graduated with honors and is now serving with his beloved Old Guard! As for the girls, quick update Alexis: Attending Northern Virginia Community College getting her Assoc. Degree in Social Sciences. She wants to major in Political Science. Look what moving back to DC gets us! She is excelling as always in her academics. I love having her home! She is educating us all on hockey and I am sure we will all be Capitals Fans before we leave! Aylia: Is finishing up her semester at Northern Virginia and is getting ready to move to Miami Florida. She and the cold weather don't get along! As always she is our sunshine girl, ready to make us laugh. I shall miss her! Aislinn: Ditched us for the sunshine of California! She is in Sacramento living and enjoying the West Coast. She is doing well and we are excited for her to make a trip home. Ashleigh: School, Dance, Soccer and friends. Need I say more about this active Sophomore! She excells at everything she tries and loves to be on the move. We are so proud of our daughters and love every minute we have with them! If anyone wants to experience DC...we love to play host and show off this amazing city! Come and see us! Aloha, Shari, Mitch and the girls!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
On the move...
Here we go again...
The Army says it is time to go again...so although we will miss our beloved islands, we are off to another adventure, this time in Missouri...St. Joseph to be exact. So while our Daddy is off to SGM Academy in El Paso, Texas for one year (I couldn't bring myself to move the girls there for a year), we will be establishing our permanent home in Missouri. We have found a beautiful Southern Plantation Mansion which we have decided to renovate and begin our new business "Wedding Wishes"! A huge endeavor, but a project right up my alley which includes some fun design and creativity, and lots and lots of hard work! We will be living in St. Joseph, home to the Pony Expresss beginnings, Lovers Lane and Jesse James! A very historical city full of Old Homes and the beautiful rolling hills of Missouri, situated on the Missouri River! Things to see within a few hours; Nauvoo, Far West, Mark Twain's hometown,
Kansas City, The Chiefs, The Royals, St. Louis (5 hrs.) great water skiing lakes and campsites and of course my family! So even tho' we are minus the swaying palm trees, and our blue ocean, we would love to have you visit us! I can still cook you a mean Hawaiian dinner!
Family Update:
Dad: Heading to SGM Academy in El, Paso Texas (I nicknamed it Hell-Paso) He is looking forward to lots and lots of studying and graduating with both his Bachelors Degree and his SGM rank! We are so proud of him and very happy that he is in school and not Iraq this year! We will be doing the commute thing this year, but hey, at least this year we get to actually see him! I am sure his year will be filled with homework, weightlifting and raquetball!
Mom: Packing and moving, painting, remodeling, cleaning,yard work, starting a business, school, girls,designing, church, unpacking, and getting settled! Whew...I get tired thinking about it, but you can't eat an elephant in one bite, right? Taking it day by day with a good attitude is my goal for this year! I am very excited to be living near my sister Robin, whom I will be starting this business with! I am looking forward to the hard work that will keep me busy. Hopefully, I will get to decorate my Southern Home for Christmas! Looking forward to my Aug. trip to Alaska to throw some luau's and teach a dance workshop...I am ready for the cooler weather and 24 hours of sun!
Alexis:Our beautiful eldest daughter is already in Missouri with her Aunty Robin! She is enjoying writing and her newest hobby, Hockey! She loves being back on the mainland and is looking forward to attending Western Missouri, working and starting a new chapter in her grown up life! She can't wait for Hockey season so she can hit up some games...hard to do in Hawaii! She has grown into a beautiful young woman. I can't get over that she attends a singles ward!
Aylia: Our beautiful Lilo graduated in June! We are so proud of her hard work and we all enjoyed an absolutely beautiful graduation at Leilehua High School! She made many friends and will miss Hawaii immensely. She and her sidekick Ace are visiting with their Aunty Peri and Uncle Greg in Arizona right now...living the grown up life! She will be spending a year in Missouri working and attending college while she decides where she wants to go in her life's journey!
Aislinn: Our local girl is not happy about leaving her beloved Hawaii, her friends but most of all her beach! I have no doubt in my mind that this is where my little Hawaiian girl will return to, but until then she will finish up her senior year in Missouri! She is in Az. right now and says its too HOT! We will be picking up the girls and heading East after we pick up our car in L.A. Woo hoo road trip! We are very proud of Aislinn and love this sweet girl!
Ashleigh: The baby of the family, has grown into a gorgeous 9th grader...yep...she's out of middle school and looking forward to her high school careeer. She will be attending high school in Illinois and living with her Aunty Kacy so that she can attend high school with her best friends Andrea and Chayne! She is looking forward to the dance team, basketball, school and of course boys! We are so proud of her efforts and that she kept her GPA above 3.7! She has a new hobby..."The Lake" and says she is determined to conquer the wakeboard!
Tama: Our darling monster dog gets to stay in Hawaii (jealous). He is living with our cousins Mark and Eddy and their 3 dogs, so Tama has lots of new friends whom he loves! He also has three adorable children to love on him, or chase him down whichever the case may be, so he is very very happy! We miss him, but since they are some of our favorite cousins, we still get to see him!
So that's about it for the update. The girls are already in the mainland. I miss them, Hawaii is not the same without my family, so I am ready to go now! Funny how home really is wherever your heart takes you! I shall miss the beauty of our island home, our dear friends, the sound of the ocean and the feel of diving into it, the tradewinds and all the smells of Hawaii that it blows, but mostly I will miss our beloved family....Hawaii will always be home to us and no matter where the tradewinds blow us we will always return!
Much Love and Aloha,
Shari, Mitch and the girls
The Army says it is time to go again...so although we will miss our beloved islands, we are off to another adventure, this time in Missouri...St. Joseph to be exact. So while our Daddy is off to SGM Academy in El Paso, Texas for one year (I couldn't bring myself to move the girls there for a year), we will be establishing our permanent home in Missouri. We have found a beautiful Southern Plantation Mansion which we have decided to renovate and begin our new business "Wedding Wishes"! A huge endeavor, but a project right up my alley which includes some fun design and creativity, and lots and lots of hard work! We will be living in St. Joseph, home to the Pony Expresss beginnings, Lovers Lane and Jesse James! A very historical city full of Old Homes and the beautiful rolling hills of Missouri, situated on the Missouri River! Things to see within a few hours; Nauvoo, Far West, Mark Twain's hometown,
Kansas City, The Chiefs, The Royals, St. Louis (5 hrs.) great water skiing lakes and campsites and of course my family! So even tho' we are minus the swaying palm trees, and our blue ocean, we would love to have you visit us! I can still cook you a mean Hawaiian dinner!
Family Update:
Dad: Heading to SGM Academy in El, Paso Texas (I nicknamed it Hell-Paso) He is looking forward to lots and lots of studying and graduating with both his Bachelors Degree and his SGM rank! We are so proud of him and very happy that he is in school and not Iraq this year! We will be doing the commute thing this year, but hey, at least this year we get to actually see him! I am sure his year will be filled with homework, weightlifting and raquetball!
Mom: Packing and moving, painting, remodeling, cleaning,yard work, starting a business, school, girls,designing, church, unpacking, and getting settled! Whew...I get tired thinking about it, but you can't eat an elephant in one bite, right? Taking it day by day with a good attitude is my goal for this year! I am very excited to be living near my sister Robin, whom I will be starting this business with! I am looking forward to the hard work that will keep me busy. Hopefully, I will get to decorate my Southern Home for Christmas! Looking forward to my Aug. trip to Alaska to throw some luau's and teach a dance workshop...I am ready for the cooler weather and 24 hours of sun!
Alexis:Our beautiful eldest daughter is already in Missouri with her Aunty Robin! She is enjoying writing and her newest hobby, Hockey! She loves being back on the mainland and is looking forward to attending Western Missouri, working and starting a new chapter in her grown up life! She can't wait for Hockey season so she can hit up some games...hard to do in Hawaii! She has grown into a beautiful young woman. I can't get over that she attends a singles ward!
Aylia: Our beautiful Lilo graduated in June! We are so proud of her hard work and we all enjoyed an absolutely beautiful graduation at Leilehua High School! She made many friends and will miss Hawaii immensely. She and her sidekick Ace are visiting with their Aunty Peri and Uncle Greg in Arizona right now...living the grown up life! She will be spending a year in Missouri working and attending college while she decides where she wants to go in her life's journey!
Aislinn: Our local girl is not happy about leaving her beloved Hawaii, her friends but most of all her beach! I have no doubt in my mind that this is where my little Hawaiian girl will return to, but until then she will finish up her senior year in Missouri! She is in Az. right now and says its too HOT! We will be picking up the girls and heading East after we pick up our car in L.A. Woo hoo road trip! We are very proud of Aislinn and love this sweet girl!
Ashleigh: The baby of the family, has grown into a gorgeous 9th grader...yep...she's out of middle school and looking forward to her high school careeer. She will be attending high school in Illinois and living with her Aunty Kacy so that she can attend high school with her best friends Andrea and Chayne! She is looking forward to the dance team, basketball, school and of course boys! We are so proud of her efforts and that she kept her GPA above 3.7! She has a new hobby..."The Lake" and says she is determined to conquer the wakeboard!
Tama: Our darling monster dog gets to stay in Hawaii (jealous). He is living with our cousins Mark and Eddy and their 3 dogs, so Tama has lots of new friends whom he loves! He also has three adorable children to love on him, or chase him down whichever the case may be, so he is very very happy! We miss him, but since they are some of our favorite cousins, we still get to see him!
So that's about it for the update. The girls are already in the mainland. I miss them, Hawaii is not the same without my family, so I am ready to go now! Funny how home really is wherever your heart takes you! I shall miss the beauty of our island home, our dear friends, the sound of the ocean and the feel of diving into it, the tradewinds and all the smells of Hawaii that it blows, but mostly I will miss our beloved family....Hawaii will always be home to us and no matter where the tradewinds blow us we will always return!
Much Love and Aloha,
Shari, Mitch and the girls
Saturday, January 24, 2009
It's A New Year!
It's a new year and we as a family are looking forward to the adventures that are ahead of us during our 2009 journey! We have been so abundantly blessed throughout this last year. It has taken us from the cold of Alaska to the warmth of our beloved islands of Hawaii. It is so good to be home...as brief as this stay may be. We love being near our family and friends.
It has been quite different being here with teenagers opposed to being here when the girls were just babies. New schools, new friends, new experiences! So here is an update on all the members of our Ohana:
Our brave soldier Dad is in Iraq right now...but returns soon! We are counting down the days and the minutes til he is with us again. We are so proud of him and all that he does for us and for our country. He is awaiting his school date as he will be leaving to Sgt. Major Academy late in the summer. This is it...the last promotion! Finally, the goal we've been working towards for the last 20 years. He will graduate this final school as a Sgt. Major as well as having completed his Bachelors Degree. Super proud of my sweet husband! We are really blessed to have him as our daddy... we think he is pretty cool!
Mom (me) sold the dance studio to my dear friend Holly Fullmer. Dance Dynamics is in good hands and is coming up on their competition season. We wish them lots of good luck and good wishes! Wish I could be there to watch! I miss dancing, teaching and owning my own business, however; I am looking forward to new adventures. I am currently a stay at home mom...so much harder than going to work! This is real work, but I am loving every minute of it. I am enjoying the opportunity to be there for my daughters and support them in their new hobbies other than dance which includes everything from hitting the beautiful beaches of Hawaii to paddling, camping and volleyball. Mitch took me on an amazing trip to Maui before he left to Iraq. It was so romantic and fun. We are hoping to take the girls to the Big Island when Dad gets back to see the volcanoes. Moving to Hawaii is has given me a much needed break and although I have to put more thought into budgeting, it is worth the sacrifices to be with the girls. Speaking of the girls...
Alexis Hokulani Auna:
Is getting prepared for college. She is a brilliant writer, which is her favorite pastime, and excited to get on with her adult life! She turned 19 last November, and after being out of the mainland USA for 3 1/2 years, she is looking forward to our next move in July. We are excited to see where her next steps in life will lead her. She did great on her ACT scores in January, and we are so proud of her and the consistent good choices she makes in her life. She will most likely be attending Western Missouri this fall. She team teaches Sunbeams with me in our fun ward Primary. We do love our little sunbeams!
Aylia DeCambra Auna is now officially 18 and all grown up. She is taking extra classes to finish her credit requirements and will be graduating this May from Leilehua High School. She is so much fun to be around, with her very bubbly personality she adds laughter to our home every day. She hasn't yet decided where she wants to go to school after graduation, so we are very interested in what her life choices will bring and where it will lead her. She is a beautiful young lady inside and out, and we are so proud of her as well.
Aislinn Keakuinawahineliiliiona'ehulani Auna:
Turns 17 this summer and is an active Jr. at Leilehua High School. Excels in athletics and dance. She is still dancing hula with her high school halau and is learning all she can about her Hawaiian heritage. Truly loves Hawaii and everything about it...she is finally home here in the islands. I don't think she will ever leave! She signs her contract this month with the top modeling agency here in Hawaii. She is looking forward to this new hobby and perhaps some fun work.
Ashleigh Kahealani Auna:
Just turned 14 the other day. Our beautiful baby is also signing a modeling contract this week. Wow...where does the time go?! She is excelling in her academics at Wheeler Middle School and keeping up with her sisters on the ocean front! She loves the beach and the water and was the first one off the rock at Waimea! Fearless in her approach to life, this spirited daughter of ours keeps us on our toes. A beautiful dancer, she may be the only one that continues studying dance. She loves her puppy and continuously teaches him new tricks!
Tama:
Our American Bulldog... we call him the Taminator! Loves us with all his little heart but loves to eat our clothes, our headphones, our socks, our blankets, our books, our bags and our towels even more. He is so smart and full of energy. Headstrong like the rest of us, he is determined to do whatever his little brain comes up with! We love him dearly as he is the only boy in our house and our protector for the time being. I think he really misses his dad too... he is way outnumbered.
...And there you have it..the latest news in our lives. It's a pretty ordinary life we lead, for the moment anyway, so I will enjoy it while I can. If any of you feel the need to just get away...we would love to share our paradise with you! Come and enjoy Hawaii local style! Until our next update...Aloha
It has been quite different being here with teenagers opposed to being here when the girls were just babies. New schools, new friends, new experiences! So here is an update on all the members of our Ohana:
Our brave soldier Dad is in Iraq right now...but returns soon! We are counting down the days and the minutes til he is with us again. We are so proud of him and all that he does for us and for our country. He is awaiting his school date as he will be leaving to Sgt. Major Academy late in the summer. This is it...the last promotion! Finally, the goal we've been working towards for the last 20 years. He will graduate this final school as a Sgt. Major as well as having completed his Bachelors Degree. Super proud of my sweet husband! We are really blessed to have him as our daddy... we think he is pretty cool!
Mom (me) sold the dance studio to my dear friend Holly Fullmer. Dance Dynamics is in good hands and is coming up on their competition season. We wish them lots of good luck and good wishes! Wish I could be there to watch! I miss dancing, teaching and owning my own business, however; I am looking forward to new adventures. I am currently a stay at home mom...so much harder than going to work! This is real work, but I am loving every minute of it. I am enjoying the opportunity to be there for my daughters and support them in their new hobbies other than dance which includes everything from hitting the beautiful beaches of Hawaii to paddling, camping and volleyball. Mitch took me on an amazing trip to Maui before he left to Iraq. It was so romantic and fun. We are hoping to take the girls to the Big Island when Dad gets back to see the volcanoes. Moving to Hawaii is has given me a much needed break and although I have to put more thought into budgeting, it is worth the sacrifices to be with the girls. Speaking of the girls...
Alexis Hokulani Auna:
Is getting prepared for college. She is a brilliant writer, which is her favorite pastime, and excited to get on with her adult life! She turned 19 last November, and after being out of the mainland USA for 3 1/2 years, she is looking forward to our next move in July. We are excited to see where her next steps in life will lead her. She did great on her ACT scores in January, and we are so proud of her and the consistent good choices she makes in her life. She will most likely be attending Western Missouri this fall. She team teaches Sunbeams with me in our fun ward Primary. We do love our little sunbeams!
Aylia DeCambra Auna is now officially 18 and all grown up. She is taking extra classes to finish her credit requirements and will be graduating this May from Leilehua High School. She is so much fun to be around, with her very bubbly personality she adds laughter to our home every day. She hasn't yet decided where she wants to go to school after graduation, so we are very interested in what her life choices will bring and where it will lead her. She is a beautiful young lady inside and out, and we are so proud of her as well.
Aislinn Keakuinawahineliiliiona'ehulani Auna:
Turns 17 this summer and is an active Jr. at Leilehua High School. Excels in athletics and dance. She is still dancing hula with her high school halau and is learning all she can about her Hawaiian heritage. Truly loves Hawaii and everything about it...she is finally home here in the islands. I don't think she will ever leave! She signs her contract this month with the top modeling agency here in Hawaii. She is looking forward to this new hobby and perhaps some fun work.
Ashleigh Kahealani Auna:
Just turned 14 the other day. Our beautiful baby is also signing a modeling contract this week. Wow...where does the time go?! She is excelling in her academics at Wheeler Middle School and keeping up with her sisters on the ocean front! She loves the beach and the water and was the first one off the rock at Waimea! Fearless in her approach to life, this spirited daughter of ours keeps us on our toes. A beautiful dancer, she may be the only one that continues studying dance. She loves her puppy and continuously teaches him new tricks!
Tama:
Our American Bulldog... we call him the Taminator! Loves us with all his little heart but loves to eat our clothes, our headphones, our socks, our blankets, our books, our bags and our towels even more. He is so smart and full of energy. Headstrong like the rest of us, he is determined to do whatever his little brain comes up with! We love him dearly as he is the only boy in our house and our protector for the time being. I think he really misses his dad too... he is way outnumbered.
...And there you have it..the latest news in our lives. It's a pretty ordinary life we lead, for the moment anyway, so I will enjoy it while I can. If any of you feel the need to just get away...we would love to share our paradise with you! Come and enjoy Hawaii local style! Until our next update...Aloha
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