SeaLife Park

We wanted to take the keiki to SeaLife Park before we left the island. It is like a smaller version of SeaWorld.  We all really enjoyed it! There was so many wonderful things to see.  Quinn's favorite part was the Bird Aviary and LeiLei's favorite was the playgrounds. The park is on the windward side of the island overlooking the beach just past Makapu'u.

There was probably well over a hundred Love Birds and Cockatiels in the Aviary. You walk through a couple sets of gates to make sure none of the birds can get out and they hand you a stick with bird seed on it. The "attendant" told us that if we wanted to feed a cockatiel, hold the stick to the ground in front of the bird. If you want to feed a love bird, hold the stick in the air and one will land on the stick to eat. The little love birds were very eager to eat! They would land anywhere on you as long as the seed stick was within reach. We had to go to the aviary twice because Quinn loved it so much! Every picture I took, he has that huge grin! Someday, I'm going to get him a bird. Sweet boy!

LeiLei didn't like it as much. She likes to look at the birds and feed them, but not when they land on her. She did a good job of trying to be brave!

Honu, the Hawaiian name for sea turtle. The keiki even got a chance to touch the shell of a juvenile honu and the fin of baby shark!

New and Old in the Best of Ways!

New talent!

What talent! He takes after his mama! Quinn found that this scares LeiLei and used it mercilessly for the first few days.

New activities enjoyed by the whole 'ohana!

A new tradition we started a few months before leaving the island was going to the Mililani Town Library. (Really, Leilani was now old enough to not make trouble at the library). We would get up Saturday mornings and get ready as family to go check out books and movies we wanted for the coming week. It was neat to see the interest in books grow in our keiki over a few short weeks. I didn't develop a love of books until I was older. I hope it continues even though our Army post english library is too far away. (I'm gaining an appreciation for shopping online. Bookstores at my fingertips)!

New ways to get pampered!

While we were in Arkansas this past summer 2014, Quentin needed a haircut. So he got his first professional haircut. Since then, he loves going to get his haircut! This one he especially liked because he says the guy had golden hedgehog hair. Somedays he requests his hair to be styled like a hedgehog!

New Year's celebration at Mililani Town Center!

Sorry LeiLei is blurry, she's always looking a something other than what you tell her to look at. In Mililani Town Center, they have an annual New Year's Celebration Pineapple Drop. The pineapple is about 7 feet tall and is lit with hundreds of twinkling lights. I can't remember if it drops at 8 or 9pm, but at a very family-friendly time. Hats, beads, noise makers, and other fun stuff is free for the taking. Food vendors and local shops have yummy treats to buy. Live local bands, games, dance off, and a huge confetti canon all ring in the new year!

New primary class
First Day in Sunbeams!

Quentin and Leilani have been so lucky to have awesome teachers at church! They love going to church and learning and singing and being with their teachers and friends!

"Old" Friends!

Just one of the many wonderful families in our Mililani 4th Ward! The Fernelius 'Ohana are new friends we made in Hawai'i, but are friends for life. That's why I call them "old" friends. We love them so much and know that we will see them again. (Hopefully next year in Germany!) Colby (Dad), Amy (Mom), Olivia (beautiful young woman), Henry and Tennison (the best big "brothers" Quentin and Leilani adopted), and Tommy (Quentin's best friend)!

Old nursery leader
(Only because Quinn moved up to Sunbeams)

Sis. Perez! What a wonderful woman! She was an awesome nursery leader, ward choir director, temple travel companion, adopted Tutu, crochet buddy, and disciple of Christ!

Old mentor

Bro. K, by the time I could pronounce his name, which really wasn't very difficult, his ward-given nickname stuck.  He was our Webelos and Cub Scouting mentor and go-to, family history genius, and friend! He and his gorgeous wife are so kind and friendly. They truly exemplify the meaning of Aloha!

Old chapel
(Last Sunday, our Aloha 'Oe)

Most of the LDS chapels on O'ahu are cream with teal trim. The first time I walked into the chapel I fell in love with the building. There are huge windows that make it so easy to view the beauty of God's creation. There was always beautiful exotic flower arrangements at the pulpit. Sometimes the arrangements were 4 feet tall and 5 feet wide! We truly gained so much while being there. Mahalo nui loa Mililani 4th Ward 'Ohana.  

I wish I had been smart and taken more pictures of our friends. That's my one big regret. So many people we love!  

I have 2 or 3 more posts about Hawai'i. This one was by far the most difficult to write. I can hardly see through my tears. I don't know how to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for blessing us with this experience. It is a time of beautiful memories that we will always cherish. Aloha

Aloha 'Oe Hawai'i

Finally, with the help of Tony, we were able to transfer photos from one reluctant computer to another. So now I can get caught up with our "goodbye" Hawaii photos and "hello" Germany photos. 

Aloha 'oe O'ahu

Shark's Cove

Makapu'u at sunrise overlooking Hawai'i Kai

Waikiki with Diamond Head

Waimea Bay (little trail near ancient temple ruins)

Leilani, our lil local girl

Hale'iwa Beach park at sunset (canoers paddled out to watch the sunset too)

Flying kites in the park near Mililani Mauka Middle School

USS Missouri Memorial

Random rice paddy in the middle of Pearl City

We spent the last two months in Hawaii trying to do and see everything we wanted before having to say Aloha 'oe. It was a bitter-sweet experience. In the past three years we all fell in love with Hawaii and truly feel like we left our home and family.  We are so very blessed to have lived in Mililani Mauka!  We were warmly welcomed into the Mililani 4th Ward 'ohana.  The beauty of the island and the people will forever be a part of our souls.  Mahalo nui loa, aloha a hui hou!  With love 'til we meet again.

Heavenly Sunshine!

Today we had our first FULL day of sunshine! It was a warm 14 degrees...Celsius that is. That would make it 57 degrees Fahrenheit. When we opened our windows for our daily 10 minute ritual, I'll tell you why a little later, we actually left them open and didn't have to wear our coats and bundle up in blankets. Lately, it's been getting warmer but it's overcast so it seems colder than it really is. The lieblings and I decided to go play at the playground in front of our building. We even made friends with a family of four with a little boy that just turned four in February and a little girl that turned two in January. Quentin was soooooooo excited to have a little boy his age to play with! He was running and screaming joyfully the whole two hours we were outside! In fact, he was running around so much I couldn't get a clear picture of him. This is the best one I got! His new friend, Ian, is right behind him with the sunglasses.

Here's a couple of LeiLei. She is such a dare devil compared to Quentin when he was her age. Sometimes I have a hard time letting her do the things she wants to do because I think it's too dangerous. When in reality, I'm just used to Quinn being very cautious. She conquered the rope bridge and was exultant when she made it to the other end!

Hey Rikki, what does this last pic remind you of? It reminds me of a photo you took in high school of a beetle on a mushroom. I still have that photo, I love it! The next selection of pics are when we went exploring other playgrounds last week and realized that, even though we had a window of sunshine, it was WAY TOO COLD!

(If I was Rikki, I would combine these last two pics with their funny little faces.)

(P.S. The reason we have to open all of the windows in the apartment everyday for 10-15 minutes, is because the building is concrete and mold can grow very easily and ruin the apartment. The cooler fresh air circulating through the apartment helps to keep the mold away. It was an unpleasant thing to bear when it was 20 degrees colder.)

Danke Schoen Grandma Alice for my cozy blanket!

Troubles From the Get-Go

Well, I've been trying for a week to attach photos to the blog. The computer that we downloaded our photos onto will not let me attach ANY photos from any file, folder, or email. I'm still working on it. But for now, I'm going to jump to the most recent photos I have of the kids. I will come back to the photos of our journey from Hawaii to Germany later. The leiblings (sweethearts) and I have been stuck indoors for a couple weeks now for various reasons. The main one is they have been sick since we left Utah a month ago. Every time we go to a different climate, the kids get sick. I think since we've been in so many different places in such a short amount of time, it's taking the kids longer to acclimate. So here are some pics of the leiblings indoor activities.

LeiLei reading one of big brother's comics. Quinn is a huge fan of The Hulk!

Quentin enjoying one of Kinder's many delicious treats...a Happy Hippo

LeiLei still thinks she's in Hawaii. Any chance she gets, she'll strip down to her diaper. She hates wearing her coat! Nap time and bed time she gets away with it because by the time I go and check on her, she's asleep and naked. She's also taken to sleeping in her pillowcase. Funny girl!

We've been addicted to hot cocoa since we left Hawaii! LeiLei LOVES hot cocoa and tries to make the biggest cocoa-stache she can!

Blog name change!

Sorry to everyone who tried to look up The Rabbit and The Sheep and got something they weren't looking for!  So, with our move to Germany, I decided that the blog will be the best way to keep everyone up to date with our goings on.  Hence the name change. We don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable also, anything questionable is prohibited by German law.
Zeitung is German for newspaper.  (Newsletter was a lot longer and more difficult to pronounce.)  The way I remember how to pronounce it is: Zy-tongue, with a soft "g."

I'll post pictures soon.  First I need to email out our contact info.  If you don't get it, email me at delaynamontecino@yahoo.com

Auf Wiedersehen! (Goodbye)

2012, Year in review