From Hawaii to Arkansas

Moving from Hawaii to Arkansas at the beginning of winter has its difficulties. The biggest ones we faced was Austin's inability to part from his Crocs, his insistence that he doesn't need a coat but gloves are just fine, and his dislike of "long pants."

Luckily, we moved to Arkansas instead of somewhere more northern!

Here are a couple of pictures of him playing on his new playground in our own backyard!

Back on the Mainland at last!

We're HERE!!!

The Steele Family has arrived back on the mainland! We flew out on Friday night with Austin, 2 dogs and a cat! Our older dog, Abby, is a BIT overweight right now and BARELY made the 100 pound weight limit inside her kennel (she's 80, her kennel is 20 pounds), but she did, so we were clear to fly everyone home on the same flight! (Yes, we know she needs to lose weight...and she is, but it takes time and soon she'll be back where she needs to be!)

Anyway, we got to Little Rock around 9am on Saturday and we were EXHAUSTED!!! Austin slept a little on the plane...but being as tall as he is, didn't sleep very well. Brian and I didn't sleep much, if at all. If you can avoid a 7 hour flight when you are 29 weeks pregnant, please do so...it's not comfortable!

Brian and I still had enough energy to go to Petsmart for some supplies and make a trip to the car dealership where we didn't really find much. (Anyone know of a great deal on a car or minivan that we'd like???) After getting back, we basically just rested and visited with Brian's parents.

Sunday, we got up, got ready, and headed to Northwest Arkansas to get the keys to our new home. We saw a house for rent on Craigslist and have had it checked out by Bill and Mary and the Skarda's to see if it was 1. legit! and 2. as good as it seemed online. After many e-mails, pictures, etc, we signed lease papers and are now in the house! We LOVE it....and will get pictures of it up soon.

Wal-Mart really likes us after the trip we made last night...and I think we'll be spreading the wealth all around the area since so many things were ruined or just plain gross after living in Hawaii for 3 years!

We will be in Springdale until Friday (our cable and internet is being hooked up that day) and then we'll be heading back to Little Rock for the weekend, then up to Missouri next week.

Moving Update

Does anyone really believe that we will be back in the contiguous 48 states in less than 3 weeks!?!?

Well, we WILL! Our plane takes off from Hawaii on November 7th and we'll be in Little Rock on November 8th with a kid, one on the way, 2 dogs and a cat (along with plenty of suitcases and bags!). Sounds exhausting to me, but so worth it!

Living in paradise has been fun...but 3 years is definitely long enough for us. We are ready to be back with family and friends and a chance to get in the car and drive to more than a few places! Oh, and can you say EXPENSIVE!?!? :-)

Anyway, our household goods were picked up on Thursday and Friday. Thankfully, the rain held off for those two days to give our stuff a chance at NOT being moldy when we get it! (It rained all day on Wednesday and Saturday!)

We had some loaner furniture delivered on Friday afternoon, along with a washer and a non-working dryer so that we can stay in our current house...just with the bare minimum. The dryer will be fixed tomorrow! We are just glad we don't have to sleep on an air mattress for 3 weeks like we were expecting (and have done before)!

The pets, Abby in particular, were a little freaked out with suitcases being pulled out and stuff being packed up and all that. Toby has gotten over his trauma of being out in the wilderness for a month during our second Christmas here and is making a run for it every time the door is opened. Not sure if that's because of Koa or the move. All I know is that we'll have to be very careful the next couple of weeks so that we have him with us when we board that plane!

The few things we have kept back with us (pots, pans, dishes, linens, etc) will be picked up on 3 November....and we'll be out of housing on the 6th! I have made several To-Do lists....and have kept a calendar back so I can keep track of everything we have to do.

By the way...a big day is next Monday!!! Brian's Change of Command is on the 27th at 10am!!! This is a HUGE deal since he has been in command the whole time we have been here and he's ready for a little break! He has enjoyed his command, but he's looking forward to just having to worry about school and not 120-180 people!

So, what will be doing when we get to the "mainland?" Well, we'll stay at Brian's parents house for a couple of days, then head up to Fayetteville to get the keys to our rental house. We are VERY excited about this house since it is more than TWICE the size of our current house! We will have plenty of room if anyone wants to visit!

At some point, we'll make the drive to Missouri to visit family there....and then back to Little Rock for a little bit longer of a visit AND to go watch the Razorbacks play LSU the day after Thanksgiving.

I'm sure the stuff we have in storage in Virgina will be arriving at some point as well as our household goods, my car, and the unaccompanied stuff we sent back right before we left. I think sometime before Christmas, we will be moved in and settled into our new house and just waiting for Colten to make his arrival!

So, now that I have turned this post into a book, I'll just leave you with a cute picture of our two dogs that will most likely be mad at us when we finally get to Arkansas!

And his name shall be....

Brian and I are proud to announce that our second baby boy will be named....

Colten Tyler Steele

Austin has "approved" and we all really like the name. It was harder to come up with a name this time around....Austin's name had been picked out since we were dating. This time around we didn't even really discuss it until after the ultrasound! We went to Borders one night when we had some extra time before a dinner we were supposed to go to and both sat down with different name books and threw names back and forth between us.

Only a few names seemed to appeal to both of us and Colten and Tyler kept coming back around. We went back and forth on which should be the first name, then decided that we both liked Colten as the first name better.

As far as how I am feeling....I have been feeling great! I think I am doing MUCH better with my health this time around...and haven't gained as much weight as I did with Austin. I think I'm carrying it better as well! :-) I had been seeing a chiropractor as well, so I hadn't been having much back pain until recently when I haven't had the time to go.

Austin talks all the time about his little brother. He's excited about sharing a room (it was his idea and we are going to see how it goes when Colten sleeps through the night and is moved to his crib). He also says he's going to be a big helper when we have the baby. The other day we were talking about luggage and moving and Brian said something about it being nice that we won't have a whole carry on bag devoted to just diapers, etc this time around (since Austin's in underwear now!). Austin looked horrified and said, "We NEED to bring diapers....the baby will need diapers!!!" I had to explain that there will be plenty of diapers in the stores in Arkansas and that we can just buy some when we get there!

We are excited about meeting our new little guy....let's just hope he decides to come on time instead of being stubborn like his brother and be LATE! :-)

Another beach day!

Ok, one more beach post....at least for now! Before long, we will be back in the mainland for the winter and we'll all be wishing we could be looking at some sunny pictures like this!!! :-)

Austin had a fun day at the beach the day Amanda and Danielle went home, so I had to capture it all on the camera.

Sea Life Park

While Amanda and Danielle were here, they did quite a few touristy things including parasailing and swimming with dolphins...both of which I wasn't able to do as well since I'm pregnant!

They swam with the dolphins at Sea Life Park, so Austin and I got to have some fun as well. I didn't get many pictures, but here are some of what I did get.

Feeding the turtles...they eat lettuce, celery and broccoli that are sold by the cup for $3.

Danielle swimming on the dolphin's belly.

Amanda swimming on the dolphin's belly.

Paradise Cove

Amanda and Danielle wanted to do a luau, so we took them to Paradise Cove Luau. To Brian and I, it seems to be a good all-around luau with lots of activities before the meal and show. They have polynesian games, lei making, "tattoos", and canoe rides. Plus, a mini show when they bring out the kahlua pig and then the bigger show after people go through the buffet for dinner.

Austin got a tattoo this time around....

Austin and his shark...plus the tea leaf headpiece that was made for him.

Danielle on the left with Amanda...aren't they beautiful!!!

Austin about to throw a spear at the target.

A pretty picture I liked

Amanda, Danielle and Austin

Brian and Austin hanging out.

A pretty shot of the hula dancers...