the Moncur family Is pleased to present the kahala farewell tour 2008

Since this will be the last night before we move into our own place, I thought it fitting that we create a little photographic tribute to the house on Ama'u St. - without which we could have been living on the beach lo these many months. So without further ado...















So long - thanks for the fun.

a memorial day special

Since Ryan is off galivanting in Utah, Ava and I have free reign to do as we please. Though we weren't really taking time off from anything, I thought we'd better get out and enjoy our Memorial Day just like everybody else. We went swimming, thrift store shopping, and stopped in at our favorite bakery for a handful of goodies. Best of all, we were able to do our final walk through on the new condo. Everything seems to be in order, so we are just eagerly awaiting Wednesday when we'll be able to move in.

too good to be true

After spending over two hours at our closing yesterday, we are still not finished. It seems there was a problem with some of the paperwork since we are doing sort of a screwy deal (due in large part to the ever uncooperative VA), and some of the numbers were recorded incorrectly. We also learned that we would have to come up with some extra money for closing costs that we weren't aware of (due in large part to our own naivety and a rather large oversight on the part of our loan officer). So, now we still have some papers to sign and a check to write, but we're trying to get it all done before Ryan leaves for work in two hours as he'll be working all night and heading straight to the airport after work in the morning. I've yet, however, to hear from our agent giving me the details of when and where this is all to take place.

The good(ish) news is that since we are coming up on a long weekend, the deal won't fund until Wednesday, which means we can't move in until then anyway. This means that Ryan will not be able to get out of helping to move our stuff over there. Also the company who has been storing the bulk of our belongings is booked solid through the second week in June, which means we can't get any of our household items until then anyhow. We're going to tough it out in the condo regardless. We won't have any towels or dishes, but we did have the forsight to bring an air mattress with us - so we'll see how that goes. It'll be sort of like camping...but not as fun.

We had the unfortunate job of informing Ava that despite our wishes, she would not be sleeping in her own bed for yet another two weeks. Doesn't she look dismayed?

we shant be homeless any longer

That's right...we are soon to be respectable homeowners once again. It seems that the housing situation has finally been resolved, and we will be closing on our condo tomorrow afternoon. This is great news because we cannot wait to move in and get all of our belongings out of storage, but it also means that I'll be going it alone while Ryan is in Utah. I'm not sure how he does it, but this is the third time in a row I've moved without him.

Ava's extreme battle with blood sucking beings

This is what Ava's legs looked like when she woke up this morning. It appears their was either a copious amount of mosquitoes hanging out in her bed or one extremely thirsty one. The other side is just as bad.

our new favorite obsession

jumping shots

swimtastic!

After moving to a state which happens to be surrounded by leagues of water, we thought it would behoove us to get Ava enrolled in some swimming lessons. After some research we settled on ISR - a program that focuses solely on very young children (6 mos - 6 years), and teaching them lifesaving techniques should they be involved in a drowning type situation.

The course lasts six weeks, and for the last few days Ava had to practice what she'd learned (mainly keeping her eyes open under the water to search for an exit and rolling onto her back to float so she can rest and breathe) fully clothed. Here's a quick snippet of what her final lesson looked like. Pardon for filming it sideways...I've no excuses.

holy smokes

It's been ridiculously hot here lately. This is what Ava looked like after her nap yesterday - her hair represents a masterful combination of sweat and sleep.

I'm stumped

The first person who can tell me what this means wins a prize.

before & after

I got a haircut today. It's exactly what I had wanted, but now I'm a little ambivalent. Ah well, I suppose I should just own it until the next time I get itching for a change.

hawaii maritime center

Yesterday we went to the Hawaii Maritime Center - a museum on one of the piers.

a hearty huzzah!

Earlier in our marriage Ryan and I spend one very miserable semester where we were both working full time and going to school full time. Since that proved to be a horrible thing to do, Ryan very generously dedicated himself to being the sole bread winner so that I could quit my job and finish up my schooling as fast as possible. A few minor delays (such as moving to Georgia and having a baby) set me back some, but I finally graduated about a year and a half ago.

The original plan had been for me to start working as soon as I was done so that Ryan could go back to school and finish up fast. At that point though we had no idea we would have Ava or that Ryan would be deployed for nearly a year - or that he'd get a job offer we couldn't refuse when he came home either.

Fast forward to today, Ryan has spent the last year working full time and schooling full time. Despite changing jobs, moving to Hawaii (and losing a textbook in the process), working odd hours, and maintaining a surprisingly fair amount of contact with his family he's been able to excel in his courses, and yesterday morning (after working a full 12 hour graveyard shift) he took his last two finals of the semester - thus completing the requirements for his Associates Degree. He is thrilled to be done (at least for the summer), and Ava and I are thrilled at the prospect of more time together.

guess what...

elephant butt

Today we went to the Honolulu Zoo. Ava had a great time seeing all the animals, and telling us what sounds they all make.
Here Ava is being very wary of the rhinoceros pen,
and pretending to be a guinea pig, and making friends with a little goat in the keiki zoo.

medical evidence suggests Ava is normal

Damaging photos aside, Ava's first visit with her new pediatrician convinces us that she is a normal tot. Except for a brief fuss when we took her away from the coloring book to be weighed, she seems to be fine. She is hearty, healthy and right on target for her size and all her developmental milestones.

Ava wants in on the action

It would seem that our frequent photo shoots have instilled in Ava the desire to be photographed as well because as we were heading out for a walk today, she asked to have her picture taken, and then started to pose away. I'm not sure where she got the idea to crouch, but it actually looks pretty genius, and I daresay I'll be attempting to copy it next time I'm in the line of fire.

where have we been?

I was a bit startled to receive a concerned email today from Ryan's mother kindly asking whether I was okay since my last post concerning an earache had not been followed up, and it's been days since I wrote about anything. I hadn't realized it had actually been that long since my last post. I certainly wish I could use my ear troubles as an excuse, but a quick trip to the doctor cleared that up, and since then we've just had nothing really to report. What have we been up to lately, you may ask...well, mainly only taking photos that chronical our daily outfits (something I find great pleasure in). Here's some of the good work:






Just think, in as little as a five years we could be looking back at these photos with horror, exclaiming, "I can't believe that outfit was seen in public!" - something my parents are probably already saying. Then in another ten to twenty years we could be wearing the same outfits again. Oh, how I love to hate the cyclical nature of fashion.

moanalua gardens

We have been meaning to switch in our Utah license plates for Hawaii ones for some time now, but have never gotten around to doing it. Last night, we vowed that it would be done today. Unfortunately, I've had a pesky earache for a few days now, and last night it got so painful that I wasn't able to get much sleep. This morning Ryan very generously offered to take Ava and get the car sorted out on his own so I could laze about feeling sorry for myself.

Part of the process for getting new plates involves having a safety inspection done on the car. Rather than wait at the dealership with an antsy toddler, Ryan elected to wander around the industrial area until it was finished. Luckily, for him and Ava, they stumbled on this lovely park:







I didn't see it in person, but these photos Ryan took make it look incredible. That is one funny thing about Honolulu - there are beautiful places like this smooshed in among dirty industrial scenes all over the place.