Majuro, We Have Arrived!

After our flight was cancelled yesterday, the Oakley family finally made it to Majuro this morning!  We are super excited to be here, and looking forward to new friends and new adventures!

The first glimpse through the clouds...

We were met with beautiful hand made floral headbands, one for each!

Iakwe!!

Instagram Round Up: Honolulu Edition

Some extra highlights from our week in Honolulu!

Aloha from Waikiki!

My favorite beer maker, Kona Brewery, has a restaurant in Honolulu!  My beer flight was the highlight, with Koko Brown being my new favorite.  Yum, love Kona beer!

Also, Mai Tais might be my new favorite mixed drinks.  Pure yum.

We stopped here for some hot malasadas...a Portuguese donut type thing.  Delish!

Kylie is learning to use chopsticks.  She picked up her Ariel toy and pretended to eat her with no help from us... that girl is smart.

On our way out of Honolulu, the TSA officers gave K this awesome Keiki Officer sticker, which she wore with pride all the way to Majuro.  (Keiki is child in Hawaiian.)

We had so much fun in Honolulu, and in the US over the past few months.  Thank you to everyone who came out to spend time with us in WA, NV, CA, DC, VA, TN, MD, MA, and HI.  It's been really fun!  Now it's on to the next adventure...

Byodo-In

Today we had a chunk of time between appointments and meetings in Honolulu, so we jumped in the car and went out to Byodo-In, a replica of a Buddhist temple by the same name in Uji, Japan, located in the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park in Oahu.  It was just a quick 20-ish minute drive from Honolulu, but felt like a world away.  What a beautiful side trip, thanks to my aunt for the recommendation!

Beautiful day, beautiful temple.

Nestled in the mountains, it is almost too pretty.

Here we are!


In goes the dollar...

...and ring goes the bell!!

Flowers in bloom in March.  Hawaii is awesome.

An offering for the Oakley Family.  We'll take all the love we can get.  :)

Koi feeding frenzy!!


Manicured garden.

Many people have left their mark in the bamboo here.

One last look before we head back.  How beautiful!

Out and About in Honolulu

Saturday afternoon we arrived in beautiful Honolulu, HI for a few days' stop over before heading to post.  My mom came out to see us off, and we had a really fun week!

Cheese!  Everyone is so happy to finally be together in Honolulu!

Ready to snorkel!

 We took a scenic drive around part of Oahu Sunday.  What a gorgeous view!

Diamond Head Crater on the horizon.

Once we got out of Honolulu and into the less crowded part of Oahu, the scenery turned gorgeous.

There were steep cliffs...

...beautiful, wind-swept beaches...

...rugged, volcanic peaks...

...and lush valleys.

Then we were back in Honolulu, spending time on Waikiki Beach.

Eric even had a swim!  It was too cold for me, though (because I'm a huge baby!).

Killing it in the most awesome sunglasses ever.

 Shopping 'til she drops!

 Late afternoon swim!

We had so much fun in Honolulu, we can't wait to go back!  Thank you mom for making our week so much fun!

Instagram Round Up: DC Edition

Here are highlights from Instagram in DC this time around.  We've had a great time in DC over the past few weeks.  It was too short, and we will miss everyone so much on our new adventure!

To me, the rounded roof of the metro station is iconic DC.

A night out at the Irish Pub.

The Ravi Special, Ravi Kebob, Arlington.  The best, as always.

Orange lipstick for girls' night fun.

All my favorites, all in one pile, all pretending to sleep.

Oh, America...land of the correctly spelled names without even asking.

Tamarind margarita, I may love you best of all.

Goodbye DC!

We squeezed in a last minute weekend date and a few more play dates with Aya before we said goodbye to DC and hello to our new adventure.

Goodbye teenage babysitters and dates in the city!

See ya later, best friend Aya!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today we all got up, dressed in matching shirts (thanks Eric!) and made our way into DC to watch the St.Patrick's Day Parade.  We had great seats in the grandstand looking across at the White House.  It was a beautiful sunshiney day...with a windchill of about 10 below.  It was so cold.  I thought we would turn to solid ice.  Seriously.  Next time I am wearing snow clothes!!

 Top o' the morning to ya!

Washington Monument looking great this morning.

Our matching shirts (dad is too cold to show his!).

Brrr, let's snuggle up!

Daddy's turn!  At least we remembered to bring a blanket for K.

And the parade begins!

Bagpipery, very important element.

I like this picture.

Falls Church representing.

Irish Dancing.  There about 20 different Irish Dancing Groups in the parade.  Also, if I am cold, they must be freezing!!

And then this happened.  Right...

Fun day at the parade!!