The Growing Walnuts: The Shih's Are In Hawaii!!!

The past week has been a complete blur but the good news is that we made it to Hilo in one piece! Our house got all packed and shipped last week while the kids were in school. It all fit into a 40 foot long Matson container with room to spare. We shipped my car awhile ago so that it arrived when we did and then held onto Allen's car until the last day. Esme had no problems adjusting to having a rental car and actually enjoyed riding in it to school. Randomly on our first moving day we were called from Faye to pick Esme up because she had a fever of 101.3 degrees. Allen and I were shocked since we've never been called to pick her up in the 3 years that she's been there and it was on the busiest day ever. Oh well, that's life with kids. And luckily it didn't turn out to be anything and she was fine for the rest of the week at school. It was hard to say goodbye to Faye, the kids classmates and the other teachers. Faye's daycare had been their home away from home since birth and an amazing place at that!

The kids were in school till the day before we left so that Allen and I could tie up all our loose ends. And we're very thankful that our trip was only a one way because it was a very long day on the airplanes. The kids took turns napping on the little bed we made for them on the floor of the plane. However Chan was very squirmy and just wanted to get down and walk around. At least Esme we could distract with puzzles, games, books, etc.

We made it to Hilo just in time for family dinner night at Nana's house. After a long day of flying, this made it all worth it. We were so happy to be around family again. Chan was beat though and fell asleep immediately so we knew he'd be up early in the morning due to the 3 hour time difference. It's taken both kids at least 3 days to adjust and we still think they're not quite on HST. The heat has also been a challenge as they adjust to it.

Esme excited to ride in the rental car

Our entire house fit into this container

EVERY single thing in our house was wrapped in paper before getting packed in the container

Esme wanted to bring a lot of stuff on the plane

We had an impressive 4 carseats, 3 suitcases, 2 boxes, 2 strollers, and 1 duffel to get through the airport.

Chan was the first one to nap on the plane

Esme was next

Playing at the courtyard inside the Honolulu Airport

Family dinner night at Nana's house

As soon as we landed in Hawaii Esme said "we found the palm trees!!!" She's been obsessed with finding palm trees every day and wanted to go to the beach the day after we got here. She was excited to fill her bucket with sand. Chan was a little more hesitant in the water and sand. Luckily he didn't eat any of the sand.

We also celebrated Chan's first birthday just 2 days after we arrived. It's hard to believe that a year has gone by already! The best part was being able to celebrate in Hawaii with most of our family. We had a nice picnic at Liliuokalani Park for the birthday twins - Aunty Amy and Chan. The only one missing was Uncle Josh who also shares their birthday. Chan wasn't all that impressed with the banana cake that I made him. He's enjoyed apple bananas and papaya more than anything since we got here. He's also transitioned well to whole milk. And I was very relieved to see that he doesn't have an allergy to eggs and peanut butter which we've recently tried.

Esme enjoying filling her bucket with sand.

Chan's still not sure what he thinks of the water

Our little birthday boy

The birthday celebration with aunties, uncles, and cousins

The day after Chan's birthday was Mother's Day and we had a nice and leisurely day at home. Nana wanted to wash the dog and clean out the fish pond so that's what we did. Esme and Chan enjoyed seeing the fish up close and getting their hands dirty with the dog cleaning. It was more time spent with family too. When we asked Esme if she wants to go back to Washington she said no, she's having too much fun here :)