Baby, it's WARM Outside!

It's mid-November and apparently winter has arrived. However, you wouldn't know it here in Hawaii, as we are still greeted daily with 80-90 degree weather. We have had a heavy influx of rain, but with the rain comes humidity, thus making our weather conditions that much more unbearable.  Despite the scrooge weather conditions, Marine Corps Base Hawaii has still adopted the Christmas spirit. The Lippincott household has not only embraced the Christmas Spirit but hit the ground running the day after Thanksgiving. Given that we leave our "home" one to two weeks before Christmas, we decided to decorate as soon as unheathenly possible in order to enjoy the festivities and our hard work for as long as possible. Although the weather may not have gotten the memo that the holidays are here, we are still enjoying Christmas in the islands...shorts, flip flops and all!

Getting into the Christmas spirit when your car temperature gage reads 94 degrees means putting Christmas music on the radio, cranking the car AC as low as it can go, and trying to enjoy a warm Starbucks holiday drink in the classic red cup without sweating... (although, I was still sweating if I am honest!)

This is how we get Christmas trees in Hawaii

Our 6-7 ft Noble turned out to be much taller (Jordan is 6'2")! We had to trim it so it didn't hit the ceiling.

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is enjoying the still-dark morning hours, coffee in hand (and AC cranked down to 74) with the ambiance of a softly lit  Christmas tree.  

My little photobombing puppy! 

Annual Santa "fly in" at Jordan's Squadron

"Mele Kalikimaka is the thing we say,

On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day,

That's the island greeting that we send to you

From the land where palm trees sway, 

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright,

The sun to shine all day with all the stars at ight,

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing we say

On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day,

A very Merry Christmas,

A very Merry Christmas to you."

A Case of the Mondays

Confession: I have a MAJOR case of the Mondays. Not only is it already nearly 2 pm, I have come to the realization that with the exception helping Jordan pack and dropping him off at the airport for his week-long training on the Big Island, I have done absolutely nothing this morning/afternoon. I have moped around and watched a couple of TV shows half-interestedly. I have walked to the fridge, opened the pantry, and stared blankly at what I know will not fill the hunger I'm feeling inside. I have plopped back on the couch, returning empty-handed and to whatever TV show I had chosen minutes before, hoping it would now peak my interest although it had not only mere minutes before. I have now had far too many cups of coffee in a futile attempt to snap out of this listless mood, which in the end has left me feeling even more agitated, dehydrated and still quite deep in this perpetual state of "funk."  It is all quite pathetic! Especially so, when you consider this case of the Mondays is the result of coming off the high of a most fabulous weekend. Instead of feeling like a pathetic, deflated balloon, bobbing forgotten in the corner from yesterday's celebration, I know I should be still floating on cloud nine, filled with exuberance and powered by gratitude and the joy-filled memories of this last weekend. I guess I now know a little how Cinderella felt after the Ball, when the clock struck 12 and the start of the new day began. Yesterday and the weekend over, and the magic so too with it...

If you haven't already concluded by the documentation of my morning's events, or lack there of, I didn't even have to work this morning (another thing I should be thankful for)! Yes, pathetic (I know!) hence the "confession."  However, instead of returning to the mundane Monday tasks of running errands, doing laundry and other household chores (and the chorus of mice singing in the background "Cinderelly, Cinderelly, Night and day, it's Cinderelly!"), I think I will procrastinate returning back to ho-hum of normal life just a little bit longer by reminiscing about our fabulous weekend and immersing myself back into that state of ecstasy and extending the joy even further by documenting the weekend to look back on in the future.

Our weekend started early on a Thursday when we headed down to Waikiki for the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball, the 240th to be exact! We checked into the Hale Koa Military Hotel and were treated to an upgraded oceanfront room since our original room was not yet ready for our early check-in. And while the Hale Koa is not the fanciest of accommodations, the price and the location can't be beat! Just check out the view from our balcony:

We arrived down to Waikiki early in order to make the most of our one-night staycation and headed straight to the pool. The weather was perfect! It has finally dropped below 90 degrees (on most days), although it is still in the mid-to-high 80s,  and we can finally enjoy extended periods of time in the sun without instantly melting. Unfortunately, Jordan's relaxation was cut a bit shorter than mine as he had to head over to the venue ballroom to practice for the ceremony later that evening.

The Ball was held at a nearby hotel in Waikiki this year. All ballrooms are basically the same, regardless of their location for the most part, but what makes the Balls special each year are the people you share them with, remembering the traditions and history of the Marine Corps that are celebrated and honored in the ceremony, and the speeches given by that year's Guest of Honor. However, what made this year's Marine Corps Ball especially special for me, was watching Jordan in the ceremony as the Senior Member of the Escort Detail. In layman's terms, Jordan was the lead escort of the honor guard that paraded out to the music of the band and was the one who directed the procession and sword routine by shouting out directions, such as " Fall In"..."Draw Swords"... "Parade Rest" etc. I unfortunately could only take a short video of the nearly 30 minute ceremony, and retired my phone to be respectful of the rest of the ceremony, but here is a very short clip of the escort detail marching in at the beginning of the ceremony:

Jordan is the first one closest to the camera. Sorry for the poor quality, I will have to have Jordan help me fix it when he returns.  But isn't the music and the band just so great? I love it! I also apologize for my rude neighbor who was talking during the procession...so rude!!!

The ceremony follows the same format every year, so I will spare further detail as this will be our 4th birthday ball that you will have probably read about by now, and I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking instead. If you are interested in the details of the ceremony, you can find more information in my older blogs: Our First Birthday Ball and Our Second Birthday Ball.

Jordan and I before we head out, on the balcony of our hotel room with our upgraded view!

At the Ball with my handsome Marine.

A friend took this from the other side of the ballroom. Jordan is on the far side, the first guy on the right.

These are just stills from the movie in case the link does not work for you. Jordan is closest to the camera.

Katie, Sarah and I. These two girls have been in my life for a year and a half now, and it is the second ball we have celebrated together.

Although the traditions and the ceremony remain basically the same year to year, each Ball is also inherently unique. This year, I will remember the entertainingly-pathetic, small one-inch tall, sheet-style birthday cake, as compared to the impressive cakes we have see in the past (especially at Our Second Birthday Ball), as well as, one of the Honor Guard Escorts locking his knees during the 30-minute ceremony and nearly passing out! Luckily, he did manage to stay on upright, thanks to a little help and support from his sword, and although a little off-kilter and wobbly on his feet, made it through the procession and out the ballroom doors without incident. However, most of all, I will remember the very entertaining time we had on the dance floor, dancing to songs both new and old, until the very last song of the night, and the camaraderie amongst all ranks of Marines.

Friday morning, we were greeted by another breathtakingly beautiful day in Waikiki. We spent the day relaxing again by the pool and desperately did not want to leave and for our one-day staycation to end. However, poor Gunns', our sick little furchild, was at home being watched by a gracious neighbor and we knew we had to return to make sure he was feeling better after his trip to the vet the previous day. Upon returning home, we were grateful to find that Gunnar seemed to be doing much better, the gorgeous setting sun behind the Pali mountains that greeted us from our kitchen, and that despite already having spent a wonderful two days together, it was still only Friday and we had two more days to enjoy of this long weekend together before Jordan left for the Big Island on Monday.

Friday morning view from the balcony

The beautiful sunset behind the Pali mountains that greeted us when we returned home.

Despite some extreme wind and morning rain (you should have seen our patio furniture scattered across the lawn and driveway), Saturday turned out to be another beautiful day on our side of the island in Kailua. We enjoyed an early dinner out on the patio of a local restaurant, which may not seem like a big deal but when you haven't truly enjoyed the weather outdoors in 6 months this is quite a treat, and walked around the shops of our little town. We kept commenting that it felt like California weather! Oh how we have missed California weather and we enjoyed the luxury of every moment of it here. However, I should have known something was up when Jordan offered to walk around shops... as I soon found out, the new James Bond movie apparently was on his radar for later that evening. After arriving to the theater and finding out the first showing was already sold out, we got in touch with our inner high school selves and opted for a round of glow-in-the-dark mini golf before the next 007 showing, which I ended up completely sleeping through!

Still kids at heart!

After 3 wonderful, fun-filled days, we didn't want the adventure to stop. We decided to get out of the house again and make our favorite Sunday drive up the scenic coast to the North Shore. Three quarters of the way up to the North Shore there is the world-famous, luxury resort, Turtle Bay. If anyone has seen the movie "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," Turtle Bay is the resort the movie is almost entirely filmed at. We decided to stop there for lunch at the restaurant right on the beach and for snorkeling in the nearby cove. Although we didn't see any turtles in Turtle Bay, we did see a variety of colorful fish nestled in the coral and the rocks of the natural cove barrier. We saw a ton of humuhumunukunukuapuaa (yes that's a real word), the official fish of Hawaii, which are combination of black, white, a vibrant yellow and a touch of the most brilliant, neon blue. We also saw an array of butterfly fish and moorish idol fish (my two favorites), needlefish, green coral and sea urchins.

The drive up to the North Shore never gets old. This is one of my favorite spots along the drive, when you can see the boats mooring just along the coast; the palm trees on the edge of the road, leaning out over the ocean water; and the beautiful ridges of the seacliff mountains in the distance. You can even see Chinaman's Hat (the oh-so-politically-correct appointed island, named for it's likeness to the conical hat) just to the right of the mountains.

Beachfront dining at Ola's at Turtle Bay. The cove in the distance is where we went snorkeling.

Just sitting on the edge of the cliff, taking in the gorgeous waves, the beautiful vegetation of the coastline of the North Shore, and a few lone surfers in Turtle Bay

One of Jordan and my's constant priorities during our time here in Hawaii is to not become immune to our surroundings. It's easy to fall in to your day-to-day routine of work/chores/errands and lose sight of the paradise we live our everyday lives in; to become used to the crystal clear, turquoise blue waters, and the majesty of the lush Pali cliffs and Koolau mountains. I'm so grateful for this wonderful weekend shared with my best friend, and this amazing, adventurous, and sometimes even glamorous, life we share together!

Just because we love that the stop signs are blue here! When I say we don't want to become immune to our surroundings, I don't just mean on the large, grand-scale. It's important to remember the small things too that contribute to the unique character, culture and our experience here. Just like this stop sign! 

Although it is now nearly 4:30 by the time I am wrapping this up and I still have not done anything truly productive (even though I would have finished an entire work/school day nearly two hours ago now), taking the time to sit down and document the special memories created this weekend, as well as, this unique time/Hawaiian experience in our life was just what I needed to snap myself out of my Monday blues. Although, to give myself some credit, I did manage to do three loads of laundry during the course of writing this. Well...washed and dried that is, the folding still remains to be done. But hey, it's the little things in life. And on this Monday, I'll take the little things. And next time I find myself feeling like the clock has struck 12, the beautiful spell broken, I will simply step outside and feel the breeze of the ocean air, watch and hear the waves crash in the distance and breathe in the sweet smell of the plumeria infused air to be reminded that the magic is always right around me, even on a mundane Monday.

While the Husbands are Away, the Wives will Play

We are finally in the home-stretch of Jordan's Australia training detachment, with only a week left until he returns. And while the time has passed faster than I had anticipated, when I look back at photos of the day he left, I realize just how long ago that now feels.

We spent our last day together enjoying the always-magnificent Officer's Beach by our house.

They told Jordan he could bring A bag... He made the most of it!

Saying bye and seeing the giant C-17 aircraft Jordan (as well as two cobra helicopters) would be flying in to Australia

The inside of the C-17, with two cobra helicopters. Once they took off Jordan found a way to string up a hammock and slept most of the flight.

Nothing like returning home to a spectacular and GORGEOUS sunset to turn my frown upside down, after saying goodbye to Jordan.

Thankfully, as I said, these last 7 weeks have passed by quicker than I had anticipated, and I owe much of that to the wonderful group of girlfriends I have made here in Hawaii. With the majority of our husbands gone, between the Australia detachment and a 6-month deployment rotation, many of us wives found ourselves alone again, but thankfully together during this overlapping time period. There have been quite a few training detachments in this past year: 2 weeks on the Big Island in January, 4 weeks to El Centro (and Legal School for Jordan in San Diego) in September, 2 weeks to Japan in August, and 2 weeks on the USS Peleliu and Big Island again back in July. And while the husbands are away, the wives get together to "play" often, to keep one another company during this time. Looking back at pictures from this past year, I have realized just how much fun us girls have had together. And while time away from your husband is never something we look forward to, I am so thankful to be surrounded by such fun-loving, upbeat and positive women that make the most of a hard situation by celebrating and enjoying the luxury of girl-time! Although this isn't officially a Flash Back Friday Post, while we are on the subject, I thought I would include some fun memories of our adventures in the past while the guys have been gone.

Meeting for Brunch and Mimosas and our monthly Officer Spouse Club meeting while the guys were gone in October

During the 2 weeks in January when the guys were gone, I threw an engagement party for Ashley. I love an excuse to throw a party, mostly because I love decorating for them!

I probably went a little overboard with the decorations! That tends to happen when Jordan is gone and I get wrapped up in a projects and just can't stop myself from shopping! The popcorn box labels say, "All because he POPPED the question."

Sarah and Victoria helping me prep a few last minute things in the kitchen

Popcorn and a movie! Watching the video of Luke's proposal!

The Fourth of July is one of my all-time favorite holidays. I love everything about it: the backyard barbecues, the neighborhood block parties, enjoying the sunshine at the beach and the simplicity of the outdoors, playing old-fashioned lawn games, time spent with family and friends, the red, white, and blue and the overall, all-American patriotism that is in the air! Everything about this holiday reminds me of the good-old-days, of simpler and more innocent times, of close communities and friendly neighbors, and happy people coming together to celebrate life with one another. 

I recruited two friends to sign up to do the freedom run with me in Kailua. It was only a 10 K, and after my recent half-marathon I thought it would just be a fun, easy run. I may have been a  little overconfident, especially after taking a month off from running to let my hip brusitis and peroneal tendonitis heal, but nonetheless it was still a great way to start the day, as well as, raised money for a great cause.

Later that afternoon, we walked down to the beach on base and enjoyed these magnificently blue and clear waters! Not to mention, an empty beach!!!!! We are so lucky to have this private beach, walking distance from our house! It was so nice to not have to deal with crazy parking lots and crowds of people covering every inch of the beach.

 

Did I already mention how much I love decorating for parties?! Once again, I went a little overboard, but I just couldn't resist all these little red, white and blue touches. We were all feeling a little down about the holiday with the guys gone, so I wanted to make sure we did it right, even if it was just us girls!

And these were just the appetizers! Our potluck was quite the success, and we had lots of leftovers, which we all enjoyed for the rest of the week! Yay, for not having to cook for a week!

When your hubby is away, sometimes you just need to text him a festive selfie to wish him a happy 4th, knowing he may not even get it for days/weeks! 

We can't hang up our American flag from the front porch because we get crazy, extremely strong winds on our street, so I opted for a few small ones in the planter as well as a DIY flag I made the week earlier.

I stained 7, 2" pieces of wood and attached them with the unstained pieces to create the stripes. I then stained the square for the stars, and hand painted 50 stars. It took me two tries (and a sanding and re-staining in between) to get all those stars to fit evenly!

I white-washed the final product, and voila! My rustic DIY American Flag!

After our potluck, we walked down the street to Katie's house, where we watched the fireworks over Kailua bay from her backyard. As we sat out on her lanai together, we wondered how, and if even ata all, the guys were celebrating. Come to find out they were relieved of their MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) rations, and bbq'ed hot dogs and hamburgers, the first "real" food they had in 3 weeks.

A recent trip to the North Shore for shopping and lunch with the girls. On the way back, we stopped at the beach and saw these two magnificent sea turtles, sun-bathing on the sand.

2 weeks ago, we celebrated a few of our birthdays a little early with a Waikiki staycation at the Modern Hotel in Honolulu. We have all been dying to check out this swanky hotel, with its rooftop pool, and secret lounge located behind a bookshelf wall that rotates at 5pm every evening. 

Don't you love these touches in the hotel room? A ukelele, starfish, and sarongs! And the beautiful sunset view over the harbor from our room.

Don't mind the party-pooper hiding under the giant, floppy hat in the middle, she wasn't part of our group. There were only so many lounge chairs for our big group, so we sat around her, haha. Needless to say, she didn't stay long! Sorrrryyyy!!!

The rooftop, adults-only pool was so relaxing.

Cheers to a fabulous staycation and great girlfriends!

The Modern surprised us with 3 cupcakes in our room.

Happy Birthday to us, the 3 birthday girls!

All dressed up for dinner, in front of the bookcase that swings open, revealing the secret lounge.

Also helping to pass the time while Jordan was away, was my recent trip back home to see my family. Usually Jordan and I go home twice a year, once at Christmas, and a second time for an event. Well this year was the first year there hasn't been a wedding back at home in all the years we have been away, so I wasn't quite sure I was going to make it home again before Christmas. And while I love to come home for a visit, regardless of an excuse, the ticket prices were twice their normal rate this summer! Well my mom generously offered her flight miles, so last Tuesday we booked my ticket, and Wednesday morning I was on a flight home! The timing could not have been more perfect, I had a little more than a week left before school started, it was my mom's birthday, and there were already two family events planned for the time I was going to be home, one with each side of my family! 

A week always seems like a long time to be away when I am booking a trip, especially when coordinating favors from people to watch Gunnar and take care of my new plants, but it always flies by far too quickly and I am left wanting a few more days before leaving. However, we crammed a lot in those 7 days together. When I arrived on Wednesday evening, my mom secretly picked me up from the airport and we were able to surprise my dad, who had no idea of these last minute plans to come home. My dad happened to be telecommuting on Thursday, so we were able to enjoy a lazy morning all together drinking coffee and grabbing a late breakfast on the patio at the old-classic, Bagels and Brew. I was also able to see my Aunt Brenda, my cousin Sandra, and sweet little Shelby that day. It was so entertaining watching Shelby giggling hysterically as she played with giant Smokey Bear, and so precious watching her release my mom's butterflies that she has been growing in our backyard. We enjoyed an afternoon of (successful!) shopping and then had a delicious MEXICAN lunch outside on the lake. Mexican food is something Hawaii does not do well, and something I have missed dearly! 

This gentle giant was happy to see me and thought doing sit ups in the backyard meant cuddle-time!

Shelby releasing the newly hatched butterflies

My mom and I continued shopping that day with a trip to Homegoods to look for some accents for their renovated home office. Walking into Homegoods was like the heavens opening up, glorious light shining, and all the angels signing!!!! My girlfriends and I have been (trying) to do home shopping lately, and there's just no great stores or resources like this on the island. I could hardly contain my excitement, but had to live vicariously through my mom as my suitcase only had about 10 lbs of buffer weight when I flew out to California, and I fully planned on using those 10lbs for clothing shopping (that which we are also deprived of here on the island). Later that evening, Troy and I spent time together, just the two of us, and hung out watching movies, while my parents attended a previous commitment.  On Friday, we went to Happy Hour at the Chart House in Dana Point with my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Brett. I greatly enjoyed sitting on the patio, carved into the cliffside, overlooking Dana Point harbor and the Pacific coastline. It was beautiful, and a bit chilly! Anything under 80 degrees now gives me goosebumps! 

Accessorizing the office with pillows, a side table, lamp, and florals. Next up, artwork!

Saturday was my mom's birthday and it was exciting to be able to spend it with her in person this year. There was a family get together already planned down at my Aunt Gayle's in Oceanside with my mom's side of the family, and it was such a great opportunity to be able to see so many people at one time. Well, once we finally got there that is. Nothing like sitting in California traffic and a 30 minute drive taking an hour and a half! And although we were only able to visit for a very quick couple of hours because of our delay in arriving, it was great to briefly talk with everyone, to visit with my grandparents, and to watch all of my cousin's young kids play together (which was also quite entertaining and made for a lot of laughs)!

Yay for spending the day together...

Sitting in traffic, not so much!

We went out to dinner later that night to celebrate my mom's birthday, and Kyle came up to join us, bringing his not-so-little-anymore puppy, Champ!

Double trouble

We don't spoil our dogs in this family, not at all

On Sunday, my dad and I drove up to San Bernardino to my cousin Jessica's house, where they were celebrating Paisley's 1st birthday, and I was again, so lucky to be able to see most of my dad's side of the family all at one time and in one place! It was so great to see little Paisley, since I've only ever been able to see her one other time, when she was only two months old. She is quite the little sweetie pie! It was so fun watching her with my dad, who sounds and looks like my Uncle Pat (Paisley's Grandpa). When we were little, my dad and Uncle Pat would play tricks on all of us cousins, pretending to be the other one when calling and leading all of us on for minutes before they finally cracked, laughing at pulling one over on us, once again! Poor Paisley is already being initiated into the tradition! 

Isn't this just the cutest little Hawaiian outfit for Paisley? I was wishing they had that Fedora in my size! 

Monday was my last full day in California, and it was time to go shopping! My mom and I hit the Irvine Spectrum and stumbled upon Nordstrom's anniversary sale. It was basically a one-stop shop and I was able to find quite a few new work outfits! My dad met us on his way back from LA and treated us to one last delicious Mexican meal at Javier's. 

On Tuesday morning, my mom dropped me off at the train station in San Juan Capistrano. I decided taking the train down to San Diego, where I was flying out of, would be better than risking sitting in horrible traffic as we had on Saturday. It would also guarantee that I would be able to spend at least 2 hours with my friend, and fellow military-spouse, Amy before I had to get to the airport. Although lugging my giant, nearly 50-lb now, suitcase up on the train and then, up the stairs to the second floor was quite the ordeal! 

All the window seats were taken, and I was especially annoyed because half these people were SLEEPING and not even enjoying the views I was straining over their shoulders and between the seats to see!

Amy picked me up at the train station downtown and we caught up over lunch in the always-adorable Little Italy. And although we only had two hours, thankfully we wasted no time because we always pick right back up where we left off! 

So long beautiful Southern California, until next time!