Picking Strawberries in Pungo

Strawberry fields

Rows of berries

Delicious!

Kaila, Daniel, Jr., and Emma

On Monday, I went strawberry picking in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach with my sisters-in-law, Sarah and Laura, and their kids, Daniel, Jr., Kaila, and Emma. We had a really nice time and picked a ton of delicious strawberries to eat!

Seashore State Park

Walking at Seashore State Park

The marsh walk

Near my parents' neighborhood

My family and I love being outside, so yesterday my Mom and I took our dogs to walk at Seashore State Park. The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed our time there.

Back to the Atlantic Ocean...

So, it's not quite Hawaii... It will take a little getting used to living by the Atlantic Ocean again after several years in the Pacific. Especially once Jeff and I try to surf here again after being spoiled in Hawaii! Luckily, it has been nice and warm, and we are only 5 minutes from the ocean, which is wonderful! We are definitely beach people, and we need to live by the water!

East Coast beach cottages

Catamarans

Our dogs playing at the beach: Cody, the yellow lab, is my parents' dog, and Bongo is my dog.

Bongo digging after a crab

The dogs and I had a lot of fun walking on the beach and enjoying the 80 degree weather.

Aloha, Hawaii!

Alison is leaving Hawaii and will be heading to Virginia Beach in just a few hours. It is very sad to say goodbye to the beautiful Hawaiian islands and our friends here. It will be especially sad for the two of us to be separated again for the next month. We are, however, looking forward to being reunited with family and friends on the East Coast. Please be praying for us during this huge time of transition with an enormous move, a new career search for Jeff, finding a place to live, and preparing for the arrival of baby Kai. This is both an exciting and nerve-wracking time for us... :)

The Big Move...

We have moved out of our house this week. All of our furniture and belongings were packed and moved out yesterday. Today, we are going to be cleaning the house and then we'll turn over the keys. We are both extremely exhausted to say the least. This week is very bittersweet as we prepare to leave Hawaii, which we are sad to say goodbye to. We are also excited about living closer to our family and friends on the east coast and getting to have the chance to start preparing for baby Kai's arrival, which is less than 3 months away!

Another beach day

Baby hammerhead shark

Lunch at the Ihilani

We spent the day swimming at the Ko'olina lagoons. After swimming, we had lunch at the Ihilani next to the hammerhead sharks.

The Third Trimester!

I started my third trimester this weekend, so I thought I'd update the pictures of my "baby belly." Kai and my stomach are growing more every day!

National Guard

A few words from the CO

Swearing in

Jeff's speech

Jeff & Alison

Yesterday, Jeff enlisted into the National Guard. This is the part-time National Guard where you work 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. He chose to have his ceremony at the Kolekole Lookout. The soldiers from his platoon came, along with his CO and 1SG.

Goodbye, Jeep!

We sold our Jeep today! We have been blessed and were able to sell both our vehicles before we left Hawaii. It was sad to say goodbye to our surf truck, but we have one more large thing checked off our list! We had a lot of fun owning this while on the island, and we hope the new owners will enjoy it just as much.

Surf Session

Jeff got to catch a few waves while we were at the beach today. Nothing big, but a fun set rolled in for a little while. It was hard to get pictures since the breaks are a lot farther out here than on the East Coast, but I got one of him riding a wave! :)

Back to the Windward side

Buzz's Lanikai: Best steak on the island

Alison enjoying lunch

Jeff posing cool

Outrigger canoes at Kailua Beach Park

We love going to the Windward side, which is our favorite part of the island and where we used to live in 2005-2006. We usually go swimming, but we were beached out from Thursday so we had delicious Teriyaki Steak Salads for lunch and hung out in Kailua-town at the surf shops, health food store, and our favorite coffee shop, Morning Brew.

Another beach day: Pililaau/Pokai Bay

Jeff got the day after Easter off, so we headed to the beach. We went to the beach right by our house, which is called Pililaau. It was a beautiful day, and the water was crystal clear. We both swam for hours, and Jeff did some snorkeling.

Easter Sunrise Service at the North Shore

Jeff in the dark at the beach

Alison and baby Kai waiting for the sunrise

With our friends Ashley and Dave

View of Waimea Bay after the sunrise

We went with our friends, Ashley and Dave, to an Easter sunrise church service at Waimea Bay. It was a really neat experience, to include leaving our house at 4:45 AM to make it to the North Shore in time! After the service, we had a big Easter dinner of roast lamb. It was nice to spend the holiday together.