I finally have internet back! XD

ALOHA!

Yes - we made it to Hawaii in one piece.
Sigh.
We left Utah on Tuesday and drove our cars down to Los Angeles. That went a lot better then anticipated. And it was kind of fun - I thought of it as a rally down to LA :)
One jem on the trip - I found a radio station in St George that had Christmas music only. That was awesome - but weird. Looking out the windows you'd swear it was 110 degrees outside and the middle of July. If I didn't have my car temp telling me it was 46 degrees - I wouldn't have known. Gotta love some desert!
The drive was longer then we thought - just because we had to get as close to the drop off spot as possible - and because the GPS is a LIAR [such drama with the stupid thing]! It took us about 12 hours - luckily it didn't feel like it!
How did Dmitri do you ask? He did FABULOUS! He slept the first 7 1/2 hours! Then woke up and played with toys for a bit - back to sleep - then woke up screaming. And rightly so - we did ask a lot of him - and he was very patient with us. So we got out and stretched our legs a bit - then finished the rest of the drive.
Once we got to LA - we needed a hotel. We found a "lovely" one in Compton. It wasn't terribly bad - but it was a casino hotel - so you know how that goes :) It was the closet one to the drop off spot. Poor Dan - he's such a wonderful guy! He made several trips to the cars to grab our luggage [6 suitcases and 5 carryons] and then woke up early the next morning to waste gas [we had to have less then a quarter tank in both cars] and wash and vacuum the cars.
We woke up that morning to A LOT of fog! I forgot how much I love fog :) It always reminds me of Christmas. So that's one thing I miss about CA.

Anywhos - we took the cars to the port place that morning - and it took forever! There was slight panic on both mine and Dan's end - wishing they'd hurry so we wouldn't miss our flight. The Outback took the longest because that one was being shipped by the Military. The WRX we paid for - so they didn't care too much about it - so that went faster.
The Outback is supposed to be here in 2 weeks - the WRX is being shipped from the LA port to one in San Diego - then to HI. So it's supposed to take a month. BOO! But ohwell.
Well obviously we made our flight. We taxied it to LAX [short distance - but expensive taxi ride. Of course] and arrived with an hour to spare.
Something new I learned - babies are required to remove their shows when going through security. So that was annoying - but funny.
The flight was pretty smooth. We watched Fred Clause [I liked it better this time around] and then some CBS shows [all kept me well entertained] also - the kid puking and screaming every half hour kept me quite occupied as well. Also made me feel a bit nauseus - but I survived. But regardless - it was a good flight.
Dmitri got his own seat and let me tell you - fabulous. Only way to fly with a baby! The carseat made a superb headrest for Daniel and me. And Dmitri was an ANGEL on the flight! He travels so well - and beleive me - I was shocked and thrilled!
He was asleep at take off - there was a moment once we got off the ground the he started fussing and grabing at his ears - but luckily his ears didn't get too bad - and he was back to sleep. It also helped that I said a little prayer before. Thank goodness for that! So he slept the first half - then woke up and played for a bit - then back to sleep till we landed.
He used to wake up each morning crying [not a morning baby] but I guess he's outgrown that. He's been waking up the last couple mornings and just hangs out in his bed playing with his feet or talking. He's so cute :)

So we were met in Hawaii by Dan's sponser - he brought us Lei's and they smelled so good! We were also greeted by pouring rain! It was kind of nice though - so I'm not complaining much :)
We got our rental car - then got Dan signed in at the hospital - then off to the barracks.
It's actually not too bad in the tempoary housing. It's basically a regular hotel room - but with a mini kitchen. They also provided Dmitri with a crib. Wonderful! Lol but his crib looks like a mini jail. It's kind of funny. It's made of metal and the bars are really high. But it works for now.
Yesterday we drove around the island. We headed up to the North Shore and went to a smaller beach in Halewia. It was Dmitri's first beach experience - and he didn't care for the waves coming up on his feet. Poor guy :)

Then we continued on, passed through the Temple and BYU Hawaii and then back home.
Today we headed out to Waikiki. We walked along the beach a bit - then back to watch the Utah - Alabama game. Go UTES!
This weekend we're heading out for the great house hunt. Also working on our tans. Woot woo! But yes - we're FINALLY here. It's felt like a long time coming - and we're so excited to be one step closer to being settled.
Yeaya!