Girls Day Out...

SHOPPING RULES!!!!

This morning began at Starbucks. One cheese bagel toasted with cream cheese, one blueberry bagel toasted with cream cheese, one Venti non-fat toffee nut latte no whip no foam and one tall double chocolaty chip latte please! Courtney and I had begun our day (and Kaci too but all she got was formula).

Once a year I like to revamp the kids' wardrobe. Today was Courtney's special day. She is getting ready to go on summer vacation for 7 weeks. So, after a trip to Old Navy and a trip to Target, and about $550.00 or so later she had a whole new wardrobe, new backpack for school next year, and two new pairs of shoes (and a pair of flip flops).

Every year I get the kids a new backpack and new lunch box. Well, as I am sure you know, I did not leave without picking up Rick a new pair of shorts, two pairs of shorts and two shirts for Kyle, two outfits for Kaci, and one shirt for me. Even KeiKei got something out of the deal; a new dog dish that is one stand with two bowls.

She has her "bathroom" bag already to go filled with all of a little girls necessities. :o) She has 5 new Katie Kazoo books, a book full of brain games, and a Miley Cyrus book. She has everything in a neat stack on her floor ready to go in her suitcase.

So, with that said, we had a fabulous day! Until next time...

The Royal Hawaiian

The Royal Hawaiian is located in the heart of Waikiki. Prime beach! It has been open since 1926 or 1927 I can't remember which. Over the last year or so it has been being renovated. it reopened in January 2009. We decided that we would take the family and see what the Royal Hawaiian was all about. We wanted to have some family fun. Well, we did have the family fun part; Kaci got to touch the sand with her toes and swim in the pool with mommy and daddy, but the hotel was not all it was cracked up to be. Kyle and Courtney had fun at the pool and the beach. one of the pools is shared with the Sheraton Waikiki which is next door (and half the cost per night we found out).

I think Rick and I have been spoiled by our bed. The bed at the hotel was awful and the pillows were worse. I think they were down, but they were SOOOO fluffy that they were hard and they wouldn't squish down so you ended up with a neck ache. LOL The mattress was not that great either. The bathroom was beautifully remodeled and the original hand carved doors are still there. The room was nice with a view of the garden. Our biggest complaint was the bed and pillows.

Breakfast the next morning was $98.00 for 4 people. WHAT?!?!? How can anyone afford a family vacation at the Royal Hawaiian?!?!?!? The organic mushroom and cheese omelet was delicious and I don't even like mushrooms!

Anyway, I'd seriously think about staying somewhere else if you are going to get away to Waikiki for a night or for a weekend. The Royal Hawaiian is very expensive. (It's $280.00 - military rate- per night with $29.00/day valet parking.) Next time we are going to try the Sheraton Waikiki.

Until next time...

More Please!

Let me just start of by saying that the conference was great. I keep learning though conference after conference that we live in a mean and crazy world. One case that we studied was a 3 1/2 year old little girl that was boiled to death in 148 degree water by her aunt and uncle. My heart just fell out. Justice is so important and so is the world of forensic science and DNA.

On a happier note, now that I have depressed all of you, Kaci is eating stage 1 foods! I am so excited for her. Yesterday on the plane I was noticing that she was eyeballing my Nutri Grain bar. Now, we had tried rice cereal and applesauce a few times over the last couple of weeks and she didn't seem interested. So, last night when we got home I stuck her in her seat and gave her some sweet potatoes. SHE ATE THE WHOLE CONTAINER! She was in sweet potato heaven.

This morning we had oatmeal and applesauce in the high chair. Then she proceeded to have a four ounce bottle of formula! Holy catfish Andy! LOL She didn't quite eat all of the oatmeal but she did a great job! Way to go Kaci!

Other than that no news..... off to do some homework then we are headin to the beach!

Where do I begin?

CONGRATS to AR on her new baby girl!!! Please send me a picture soon! Let me know if there is anything I can do for you!

The conference has been really great so far. I have listened to a lot of case stuff and even one that relied totally on DNA today. I have been asked to speak at next year's conference. I am quite pleased and I hope the boss is too!

SD is leaving tomorrow and I am leaving on Friday morning. Actually I will be happy to sleep in my own bed. Of course I miss my hubby too....Kaci is ready to be back in her own surroundings. The conference program chair even made Kaci a name badge and gave her a name badge holder even though she didn't actually "attend" the conference. LOL

This is a little off the wall but I just want to say that it really bugs me when people change just because their friends change a little. Hmmm. Whatever.

I am going to another conference in June and this one will be really good for the changes coming at work. Sooooo....

Until next time...homework is calling and it's 10:39PM. Nite!

The Flight

Kaci is like the perfect travel partner. The flight to San Jose from Honolulu was 4 hours and 37 minutes. Kaci slept 3 of those hours. She was up for a bit and we played and when she wasn't playing she was sitting in her sling that my very god friend Amber made for me. Kaci loves that sling and it alleviated me from having to hold her the whole time. AMEN! She was so good. Now, there was a 7 month old who was crying most of the time and an eleven month old 2 rows behind us that was quite vocal. But...no worries. It's cool. I don't mind screaming babies. Oh yeah, and I sat next to this grandma type lady who was very sweet and we spoke a few times. She was lovely.
Today was the first day of the conference. The opening ceremony was great and there were even Chinese dragon dances from the San Jose Police Department. Annnnddddd...the Chair of the CSDIAI asked me to give a presentation next year at the conference on JPAC and what we do there. I obliged. Hope the boss approves.
Well, must go for now. Until next time....

It's Been a While....

for a lot of things. I haven't seen my dad in forever. I will see him on Monday though and I am very excited. I am very excited for him to meet Kaci for the first time. My beautiful baby girl is 5 months old already! I cannot believe it. My how time flies. Kaci will also get to see great Grandma Reta and Aunt Sherry! Kaci is one lucky little girl. So many people love her and care about her. I thank GOD everyday that she is my daughter.

School is draining the life out of me. But in 7 classes which is 11 months I will have my Master of Science in Administration of Justice and Security. Woot Woot.

Rick is still going strong with school. Mostly A's and only a couple of B's. I am proud. That is for sure.

Kaci is crying and I am desperately trying to get some homework done. Well, I am ahead, but I like it that way.

Kaci and I will be leaving for San Jose on Sunday morning so please keep us in your prayers and wish us a safe flight.

Until next time....

25 Things We Learned From Our Mothers...

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE . "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL . "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10.. My mother taught me about STAMINA."You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING . "You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me about ESP. "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOR."When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT . "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS. "You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS. "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.

Officially Out - Take 2

HA! What a joke. Bassinet to crib - I don't think so. LOL Yesterday afternoon Rick went to the NEX and bought a baby video monitor. We just felt better about putting her in her room if we could see her. She had a long afternoon nap (5 hours to be exact) because she did not have a morning nap so I am not sure when it was time to go nite nite that she was really all that tired. When it was time to put her to bed I fed her, put her in her Halo Sleep Sack (which she used in her bassinet with no problem) and then laid her down in her crib.

We watched her on the monitor and all we did was crack up laughing. She was kicking her legs, in her sleep sack, like she was trying to run. HA HA! She then started to cry so I let her whimper for a while and then noticed she had dropped her bink bink. I gave her back her bink bink and she went back to sleep. Well, after about an hour or so she started to cry really really loud so I went in to get her. I brought her back to my room and she fell right asleep. Hmmmm. What the heck? SOOOOO we went as far as to bring her pack-n-play into our room (since she has 2) and tried to get her to sleep. I swaddled her, rocked her a little, and she went to sleep. Well at 3 AM she decided that she did not want to sleep in her pack-n-play anymore. Eventually, I got up and got her and brought her to bed with me so that I could get some sleep. She slept an additional 3 hours.

Tonight I am going to try AB's suggestion and put a fan in her room. AB thought that might be good since she is used to hearing one in our room. I will try that and pray that it works. Wish us luck for night number 2. If that does work then the pack-n-play is coming back out of my room and back into hers.

Officially Out!

I wondered if the time would ever come when I (and Rick too) would be able to put Kaci in her crib. Well, today is the day. The bassinet is gone forever...off to Airmans attic. Tonight Kaci will sleep in her crib for the first time. She is just 9 days shy of 5 months old. Last night I turned to look at her and she was laying diagonal in her bassinet and her poor little hands were all scrunched against the sides of the bassinet. I looked at Rick and said, "Tomorrow it's the crib." He agreed although I could see in his eyes he wasn't ready. Poor daddy. I thought to myself, "she has to go in there eventually."

Anyway, I wanted to share this bittersweet moment with you. It saddens me to know that my baby is growing up and she is not quite the wee little baby that she used to be. At almost 12 pounds and a long 24 inches she is moving up to her big girl room.

I am sure that she will be fine...it is me that I am worried about.