ZumwaltOhana.com

A Feast of Thanksgiving

I really cannot believe that it is 8:18 AM and Koa is still asleep.  Well, yes I can.  We have had a very full weekend.  Monday will be spent detoxing and running many errands.  At some point it needs to involve grocery shopping lest we should have to starve!!

Saturday evening we had a dinner party for our friends who have been on this crazy journey with us praying and anxiously awaiting answers to those prayers.  We decided to have a feast of thanksgiving to honor them and communion together to honor God and His faithfulness.  Zak made the unleavened bread for our communion and together we made the rest of the meal.  I am going to include links to as many recipes as I can for my own reference, but feel free to try them out, I think it all was a big hit--except the ice cream (more explanation to follow). 

We started with spicy crab stuffed mushrooms which were a big hit.  Our salad was organic baby greens and Manoa lettuce with fresh pineapple and raspberries, sunflower seeds and almonds topped with a pomegranate vinaigrette.  Then for our entree we had tenderloin steaks with herbed goat cheese (instead of the Gorgonzola the recipe calls for and the herbs were thyme, rosemary and basil since that's what I have growing on my lanai), served atop roasted garlic mashed potatoes.  For dessert I offered folks the choice ahead of time of creme brulee (either mango, vanilla, or ginger) or brownies with vanilla coconut milk ice cream and espresso creme anglaise.  For drinks we had iced Rooibos red tea with essence of vanilla pear and I made a mint syrup and simple syrup to add to taste, homemade ginger ale and iced and hot coffee.  We had grape juice for the communion ceremony and then served wine with dinner for those who wanted it.

Zak got up about 6:30 to go diving in the morning.  He got to finish up his advanced diving course with Brad, Wes and Jessi out in Hawaii Kai on a boat dive.  He did a wreck dive to the Corsair first and then he did a drift dive along China Wall, which is a long reef that runs along the southern coast of Oahu.  A drift dive is simply diving in a location with high currents and you just float along for the ride!  So you jump off the boat, get carried along by the current, then when you pop up, the boat comes and picks you up.  It was like passing by the reef on an escalator!  At China Wall is where Zak actually got to swim with a shark for a good 2-3 minutes!  It was a juvenile white tip, only about 6 feet long, so it was nothing to be concerned about (although at one point the shark turned and swam about 15 feet directly under Zak which prompted Wes to think Zak was going to get eaten!).  Zak said it was really incredible and peaceful - the shark was so graceful and didn't seem to care at all that they were there.  That's not really the report you expect when one swims with a shark!  I'm so glad he got to do that!  I think this whole certification process has been really good for him to be able to spend that time with our friends and do something he has really wanted to do for at least six years!

On his way home from diving he stopped by the church building and picked up some tables and chairs so we could fit all 14 of us around a table in our living room! 

I got up the same time Zak did and started juicing ginger and barely stopped the dinner-making process until everyone arrived at 7 PM.  I say barely because there was, in fact, a toddler joining me in this process who needed to be bathed and fed and other important tasks.  Unfortunately I couldn't take time to stop and read a book with him, so when he would ask I would ask him to read a book to me.  It was fun to work together to try to recite from memory what was going on in his books.  Of course, this would be the time that he would pick the books I don't know by heart!  Not to mention that the whole time we are doing this I am keeping in mind that we have to show the house the next day, so I was trying to be vigilant about "Put one toy away before you get something else out!" without ever leaving the kitchen.  Sometimes it worked.  It wasn't one of my better parenting days.  When Zak got home he made his bread, then helped with the stuffed mushrooms, garlic mashed potatoes and creme brulee. 

Dinner went pretty smoothly considering it was only my second time ever to make steak and I was doing it en masse.  The company was delightful, of course!  My big flop was the ice cream.  I was insistent that it had to be homemade and it couldn't be made ahead of time.  That is where my stubbornness foiled the plan.  I was using a Kitchenaid ice cream attachment that belongs to the Cousers and I have used it several times without incident, so I felt confident in my plan.  However, the kitchen was so hot from cooking all day and my Kitchenaid mixer sits right next to the stove.  I guess it warmed the ice cream attachment before it had a chance to freeze the ice cream mixture.  It turned to slush and then back to cream.  What a bummer!  My whole reason for making brownies and ice cream is that it is Brad's favorite dessert, so that was a big disappointment!  He didn't seem to mind, though.  He actually poured some of the cream on the brownie.  I saved the ice cream mixture for another day. 

If anyone has any ideas of what to do with a massive amount of egg whites, let me know.  I have a plethora!

Koa is still sleeping and it is 9:26!

(Updated:  Koa finally awoke at 10:20)

What A (Father's) Day!

Well, just as I predicted, it was a busy day yesterday.  It started bright and early with Rebecca and I embarking on our 13.1 mile journey through Waikiki and over Diamond Head out to Kalani'anaole Hwy and back to Kapiolani Park.  It is really a beautiful route!  If you have to run a half marathon, I can't think of a better place to do it!  We did make it all the way back--a little slower than we would have liked, but we made it. 

My recommendation is to never do anything like that when you have not trained for it!  I was in good enough shape cardiovascularly to run it twice probably, so BZ2 was perfectly safe (for all you worry-warts out there).  However, the combination of the added 10 pounds or so, and the repetition of just running for that long really took a toll on my legs!  They were shot by the end!  In fact, we sprinted the last 100 meters or so, and when I crossed the finish line I was afraid to be still because I thought my legs would cramp up and I would not be able to move for the rest of the day.  We made it out of downtown in time to grab a lei for Zak and get showered before worship services (we missed class).  After church when we were at lunch I started to cross my legs and both my thighs completely cramped up!  I stood up from my chair and realized there were 15 people looking straight at me.  Apparently we were getting ready to pray!  When I realized what was happening, I quickly sat back down and just tried to breathe deeply until the prayer was over and I could stand up again.  If it wasn't so uncomfortable it would have been funny!

After lunch we continued with the Father's Day festivities.  Koa and I got to surprise Zak with an airplane ride where he got to help pilot a Cessna.  We went to a little charter/flight school over by the Honolulu International Airport and Zak got to take a thirty minute flight with his instructor, Jon Vong.    He spent about half an hour familiarizing Zak with gages and controls and then Zak actually got to do the take-off.  Then Jon took them out over a pineapple field and let Zak take the controls again to do some maneuvers like turns and changes in altitude.  Then they headed back to the airport and Jon did the landing.  All told we were at the airfield for about an hour and a half.  I think Zak really enjoyed it.  Almost as good as the experience itself was the cost - it was only $56 (including a $10 tip)!  Now that's a cheap, incredible adventure!  Pictures will be coming soon (hopefully!).

While we were waiting for Zak and Jon to land, Koa convinced a nice lady who worked there (he called her Auntie, just like a polite little local boy!) to let him pilot her golf cart.  When he came back inside with her he told me they had gone to the beach. 

Saturday was just about as busy as Sunday (but less painful for me!).  After I signed up for the race and picked up my packet we ran a couple of errands and then headed for the North Shore for Zak to do some of his advanced certification dives.  If you didn't read the website I linked to in the last post, to become an advanced diver a student has to do 5 "adventures dives" from about a list of 20 (along with the usual book work and written examinations).  Two of those dives are required - a deep dive and an underwater navigation dive.  The other 3 can be picked from the list.  So, Zak's 5 dives are going to be a deep dive, an underwater navigation dive, a night dive, a wreck dive, and a boat dive (dive from a boat instead of shore).

Zak's first dive on Saturday was out of Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach Park (where we got married) for his deep water dive.  It's a dive location called Hale'iwa Trench.  He had to take a math test on land before they went out and then another at depth (in this case 92 feet was the deepest spot they could find) to demonstrate the effects of nitrogen narcosis on a person in deep water.  Zak actually did better at 92 feet (by a full minute)!  So, I guess that explains something about how Zak's brain functions!  Zak did his second dive at Shark's Cove (Don't worry Regina, there are very few sharks - its mostly named for some of the lava rock formations.)  In this one he had to do some underwater navigation which involved first counting how many fin kicks it took him to swim 100 meters.  Then using a compass and counting his kicks, he had to swim a square underwater and end up within 6 meters of where he started.  I figure after 8 years of navigating a submarine he ought to be good at this, but he explained to me that he uses lasers and gyro navigators on a sub and not a compass.  He still passed his dive though.

While Zak was diving, Koa and I played around at the park and then down near Shark's Cove.  Koa desperately wanted to snorkel, so I helped him put a mask on and tried to help him stick his face in the water with it on.  Just as he would get his face right up to the water he would lose confidence and stand back up (and hit me in the face with his head on one occasion).  Then he just wanted to splash around and throw rocks (with the mask on, of course).  He finally took the mask off and decided to make "juice" in his sand bucket.  The ingredients for the juice were sand and soy.  He liked putting the soy in because it got a good reaction from me when I would say, "Ewww, not soy!" and I would pick it out and throw it away.

Zak is well on his way to becoming an advanced diver.  He has three dives left and he is loving it!  I'm so glad he is finally getting to do some of the fun things he has put off because of the boat and then school the whole time we have been here.  Fortunately he has some really good friends to do these things with, too!  You can see the pictures we have of him diving so far in the SCUBA Diving photo album.  What a fun weekend with a fun Daddy!!  We are so blessed!

Both Saturday and Sunday we were gone all day and didn't get home until after 9 PM and Koa hardly napped at all either day.  So, Monday has been a somewhat relaxing day with a short trip to the beach to get some salt water therapy for my sore legs!  Hopefully we will be mostly recovered by tomorrow.

Hepitoter

Koa got to see his "hepitoter" yesterday!  Uncle Keith was kind enough to let us climb all around inside and give us lots of explanation as to how they work and where they've been.  He even showed us where runways were damaged in the Pearl Harbor attack.  They've patched up the spots, but you can definitely tell something big hit in those spots.  It was a short little tour, but very informative and a lot of fun for all of us!  Keith is such a neat guy that it is always a pleasure to spend any time with him at all!  You will find more pictures of our tour in Koa's two year photo album.

Zak finished up his SCUBA diving certification last weekend and this weekend is working on an advanced certification that will allow him to dive (sit down, Regina) up to 100 feet deep.  We are headed to the Northshore today so he can start that. 

Before we go up there I have to go pick up my packet for a race that I have decided to do kind of spur of the moment.  It is the Hibiscus Half Marathon that I will be running with our friend, Rebecca, very early in the morning.  So, for those of you who will be up already, please say a little prayer for Rebecca and me.  We will start about 6 AM Hawaii time.  Tomorrow will be a busy day with the race and church and Father's Day festivities!  It ought to be lots of fun!

Busy Week of Fun

Last week was so busy I didn't get to blog about it, but we had lots of fun.  Last weekend started with a congregational farewell party.  We have so many people leaving from the Pearl Harbor Ohana this year that it is going to be quite a transitional time for us.  Some of you may may be interested to know that Phil and Sandy (Preacher and wife) are leaving this Fall.  Our congregation has already formed a preacher search committee to find their replacement, so pray for them.  Before the Terrys exit the country for England most of the rest of the church will also be leaving!  Likely they'll be replaced by new faces as the Summer always brings a great influx of new military families.

Tracie Hendershot is moving on to Vancouver, WA, right across the river from Portland, along with some of our good friends, the Cousers who are also headed for Portland.  So, if we do end up going there, we will be in great company!  At the farewell party the person announcing where everyone was moving to thought we were all joking that so many of us were moving away to the same place together!  We are still waiting on the news of when we'll get to Portland, but hopefully it'll be this year instead of next.

Sunday evening we decided on a somewhat impromptu camping trip.  We talked (Uncle) Wes and (Auntie) Jessi into joining us on our adventure and headed for Bellows.  We decided it was not going to be a frugal camping trip because we were not really prepared to pack all the food and necessities for cooking on our impromptu trip.  Besides, there are several places in Kailua that we have never had a chance in which to dine because it is just too far to drive (and we are obviously too local based on that last statement!).  So, we invited our anti-camping friends (Brad and Rebecca) to join us for dinner after we had set up the camp-site and went for a nice dinner at Formaggio.  Then we headed back to the campsite and sat on the beach in the moonlight, visiting and enjoying the sound of the surf!  Aaaahhh some of the things we will miss....

I have to just make a note here that local folks really know how to camp here!!  It was absolutely incredible to see the set-up that most of these families had for a holiday weekend.  Some had their own portable toilets (like full-on out-houses!) and showers.  One family had a HUGE screen set up and were watching Hawaiian music videos!  It's a good thing Hawaiian music is basically soothing or that would have been terribly annoying!  I decided that most of these people use more electricity when they go camping (via generators) than if they had stayed home for the weekend!  The camp ground was filled to over-flowing!  I guess no one cares about permits on a holiday weekend because there were tents set up well beyond the boundaries!

In the morning we woke up and headed back into Kailua for breakfast at Boots and Kimo's for some wonderful banana pancakes with this incredible mac nut sauce!  If you know me and breakfast, you probably know that I am pretty critical of pancakes since I think I make some pretty fine ones myself and rarely ever think you can get anything close to homemade in a restaurant, but these were fantastic!  The omelets were good, too, but nothing to rave about. 

After some fun at the beach, some lunch, a nap in our tents, and some tennis, we headed back into town for some Maui Tacos (Yum!), Starbucks and ice cream.  We finally headed home about 8 PM.  We milked that holiday!  Since we have been trying to live on a more limited budget and only take out a certain amount of cash to spend each week on all food and incidentals we really had to scrimp and save this week after eating out for almost every meal on the weekend.  We actually did very well and were still able to have friends over for dinner at least two nights, I think!  I was pretty pleased by that! 

The rest of the week was equally busy.  We have some friends who are having some marital problems right now and are also in the middle of a forced move (Navy renovations) so we spent some time visiting with them for encouragement and also helping them move.  Between Zak and I, we've visited with them and helped pack/move stuff on 3 different days this week.

Zak also started a SCUBA diving class to get certified as an Open Water Diver through PADI.  His best friend (Brad) just completed his Divemaster certification which enables him to teach the SCUBA certification course, so he's teaching Zak one-on-one.  Needless to say, Zak's getting through the material much faster than he would in a regular class (today Brad and Zak were at the pool for about 4 hours knocking out a couple days worth of instruction!) and he also got a fantastic deal on price!  They're hoping he'll be done and certified by next weekend (now they need to make some dives in the ocean).  The only real bummer is that I can't do it with him since I'm pregnant.  I will have to be satisfied with snorkeling a bit longer!  Zak has really wanted to get certified for a very long time and it's definitely a little over-due since we may be leaving Hawaii very soon, so we're glad he gets to do it now and hopefully be able to do a little diving before we leave!

I have lots of fun little Koa tid-bits, but I will have to make that a separate post since this one is a marathon post!