It's moving time again

We're headed back to Hawaii. Michael is already there, and the kids and I will join him once they are done with school in June. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the island and revisiting some of our favorite places. I've been creating a bucket list of new things I want to experience this time, and I hope to create a blog post to keep me accountable in checking them off.

The Vase Mystery

The Vase Mystery

A short story written by Abigail Ringman (9 years old)
Transcribed exactly how she wrote it on paper.

"Jingle bells, jingle all the way." Heather sang as she set up her Halloween decorations around her house. "Why are you singing Christmas songs? It's October." Heather's friend asked. "Because I'm in the holiday mood and there are not any good Halloween songs." Heather replied.

The next day, "Never, not ever touch this glass vase. I always decorate scary every Halloween with spiders and spider webs." Heather stated. "Where do you keep it?" wondered Molly, Heather's friend. "I keep it right in this window to scare the kids next door and to keep the stray cats out of my backyard." Heather replied.

It's getting closer and closer to Halloween, but then suddenly, something shattered. "My vase! My vase! My vase!" Heather shouted in panic. "Run! Run!" someone said. "Who said that?!" Heather said in her mind angrily.

Heather paced back and forth breathing in and out. "I'm calm. I'm calm. I'm calm." Heather said to herself trying to stay calm. Heather went to the store to buy a new vase.

"These vases are not scary enough to scare away those cats and kids." Heather thought. "Excuse me but, you really look like you're having a bad time. Do you need help?" asked an employee. "Yes! Please, I need the best vase that can be decorated scary. BOO!!" Heather replied.

"What happened to your old vase if you had one?" the employee asked. "Someone did something to it. I was upstairs and then I heard something shatter." Heather replied to the employee. "Here, try this one." the employee said. "I love it, thanks!" Heather said.

After she left the store, Heather went back to her house and started decorating the vase. The vase was very scary. Even scarier than the last vase. Heather was happy, but not happy enough. Something was missing. It was the thought of not knowing who it was that broke the vase.

The search to find this person began. "Who could it be. It could be anyone." Heather told Molly when she got home. "Maybe it's Gabe. Remember Gabe is the very disobedient kid across the street." Molly suggested. The next day, Heather looked around her house. "Ding Dong" the doorbell rang. "Hey Molly!" Heather said after she opened the door.

"What are you doing?" Molly asked as she walked into the house. "I'm looking around the house for clues to help find who did it." Heather replied. "Don't you have security cameras all around your house?" Molly asked while looking around the house. "Oh yeah! I do have security cameras." Heather replied looking out the open window. "Do they work?" Molly asked hoping for a yes.

"I don't know but, I'll call the security company to ask if they work and how to see the footage on them." Heather said. After Heather called the security company, she was emailed the working footage from the camera.

What Heather found was horrific. A mysterious man or woman in a all black outfit including a black mask with eye holes, a mouth hole, and a nose hole. "Hey, look at this, the "Mystery Criminal" is wearing a bracelet and has pink colored nail polish." Heather pointed out to Molly.

"Hey, what a coincidence, you're wearing pink nail polish too!" Heather told Molly. "Yeah but, I have hot pink nails, they have regular pink nails." Molly told Heather looking very close at the camera. "I think that's enough crime solving for today. Want to go to the mall?" said and asked Molly.

"Okay. I really need some new shoes anyway. I'll meet you at Waikiki-Beach Mall." Heather replied while getting her shoes on. When Heather and Molly walked back into their house, they saw a horrific and messy living room plus a very disobedient kid named Gabe. "Gabe, what are you doing in my house? Molly, how did a ten year old pick my lock?" Heather screamed in a loud and panicking voice. "I told you. He is a very disobedient kid. He's got an all black bedroom with skulls. I should know, I'm his babysitter on the weekend." Molly whispered in reply to Heather. "Gabe did you break my vase?" Heather asked. "No. No I didn't. This is what happened. I was taking a walk around the block to walk my dog. Since your house is at the end, I passed by your house. Then, there was a huge and strong blow of wind. Next, all I heard was glass shattering. I didn't want anyone to think it was me or know that I painted my nails pink, so I told my dog to run back home." Gabe explained to Heather and Molly. "Oh. Now I get it." Heather said.

"But, what are you in Heather's house for?" Molly asked Gabe. "Oh, I'm hiding from my mom. She's in one of her moods." Gabe answered. "Let's go out to eat." Heather suggested. "Yeah, let's go to McDonald's." Molly and Gabe said at the same time. "Jinx!" Gabe said to Molly.

The end.

8th Military Police Brigade Ball

Last Friday night Michael and I attended the 8th Military Police Brigade Ball. The ball was downtown at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. We made a reservation to spend the night down at the Hale Koa, the military resort next to the Hilton. We picked up the kids early from school and made our way downtown to the hotel so would could check in and start getting ready for our big night. Earlier in the week we checked Uncle Rick, Aunt Deb, Jason, Becca and Lucas into to the hotel. They were on the 8th floor in ocean view rooms. Michael was joking about our ocean view room with the front desk lady when we checked in. Our reservation wasn't actually for an ocean view room, but she upgraded us for free anyways! The boys headed up to the room while Abigail and I went to park the car. Michael sent this picture to me once they got up to the room. What a handsome boy and a nice view of the ocean, from the 12th floor.

Austin - 12th floor view from our balcony

Of course Abigail had to get her picture taken too. They were so amazed at the view.

We got ready for our night out and the kids changed into their swimming suits. While we were at the ball the kids went to the pool with Uncle Rick, Aunt Deb, Jason, Becca and Lucas. They were able to show off their swimming skills and watch fireworks from the pool.

Military balls are interesting events. This was our third time attending a ball, and I recycled my dress from our very first ball in Alaska. The formal portion of the night started later than planned and took quite a while to finish up. The dinner was pretty good, Michael and I both had the prime rib. It's nice to get dressed up once in a while. I like to say that it's my one day a year where I have to wear make up and heels. I forced Michael to get our picture taken, and of course he gave his best smile!

8th MP Brigade Ball - Hilton Hawaiian Village

He really likes it when I take selfie's of us too!

He really likes to smile!

We called it a night after the formal portion of the evening ended. We grabbed the kids and headed back to our room. We planned to go back over to our friends room for a little after party fun, but Austin fell asleep and we realized that we were ready for bed too. You know you're getting old when you would rather go to bed instead of continuing the party. We were up early at 6:30 the next morning just like we are every other day of the week. We enjoyed the view before we got our showers for the day.

After our showers we met up with the family and headed out to breakfast. We had to find a restaurant where the Michigan game was on. Once we move, we won't have to watch sporting events while we eat breakfast anymore. After the game, and a Michigan win, we headed back home to enjoy the rest of our weekend. It was so nice to stay down there after the ball and act like a tourist instead of coming home. We're so thankful that family was in town and willing to watch the kids while Michael and I attended the ball.

School updates

First Day of School - 2016 - Hawaii

Let's back track for a minute. 

The summer flew by and the kids started school at the beginning of August. This year brought about a few changes. It seems like this is the year for change! Abigail started fourth grade, and Austin transitioned to middle school for the start of seventh grade. 

MIDDLE SCHOOL! 

I can't quite wrap my brain around that one. The transition to middle school has been a little bumpy, but he's learning to navigate changing classes during the day and the increased responsibilities that middle school brings. I'm hoping that he will adjust by the time we move to Kentucky. Most schools on the mainland transition to middle school in sixth grade, so his classmates will have an advantage over him and the whole middle school experience. I don't want him to get lost in the shuffle. His school has a very odd schedule, they only attend certain periods on certain days of the week. He recently started attending the after school program three days a week. During the first hour he does homework during the "tutorial" period, and then he transitions to robotics for the last two hours. The extracurricular activities are a motivator when it comes to getting his homework completed and because he is still in school, in a learning environment, his mind doesn't wander like it does at home. Overall, I think he's enjoying middle school and my heart is starting to accept that he is growing up.

Abigail has adjusted seamlessly to attending school without her big brother there. She's fiercely independent and excelling just as she has the entire time she's been in school. She has been doing some testing for the enrichment program at her school for the past week. She has an interview today and she'll know if she get's into the program on September 30th. Her acceptance into the testing process, and possibly the program, was based on her grades from last school year and recommendation from her teacher. She is very confident in herself and will be anxious to hear if she gets into the program or not. If she is accepted, she will break out from her regular class during the school day and attend the enrichment class. In addition to work due in the enrichment class, she'll also be responsible to complete all of the work her regular class completes while she is out of the classroom. She was also selected to be her class's student counsel representative with another one of her friends. She had to prepare and give a speech to her class on why she would be a good representative. She was then nominated with the top number of votes. She's looking forward to moving, adjusting to her new school and running for student government.

Michael and I are also working hard to continue our education. Michael is just finishing up his last class for his bachelor's degree. He'll graduate at the end of the year. He's hoping to work on a master's degree once we're in Kentucky. I have one final math class to finish this semester before we move, and as I posted in my last entry, I'll be starting nursing school in January. We're getting smarter over here in the Ringman household!

Two short months, and it all changes again

It's that time again. Time for another move. Two months from now a moving company will enter our home and start packing up our belongings. Our fifth move with the military will take us back to the continental United States and closer to those we love the most, our family. After living so far away for the past five years, we're really looking forward to seeing our family more than once or twice every couple of years. A six hour difference will allow for quick long weekend trips and the ability to meet up half way to exchange our children with their grandparents. Something I think the grandparents are really looking forward to.

There are so many different things that are changing along with this move. A school change for both of the kids, job responsibilities for Michael and the beginning of nursing school for myself. Our kids are very resilient and I have no doubt that they will adjust just fine with all of the upcoming changes. I am always amazed that how resilient they are. The number of schools that Austin has attended always astonishes me. He's in seventh grade and has attended six different schools. Abigail has only attended three different schools, but that doesn't mean that she's any less resilient than Austin. I'm sure the ability to spend more time with their grandparents will help with the transition also.

Nursing school. It's the goal that I've been working towards for the past two years. All of my hard work has paid off and I'll finally get to fulfill a dream. I already know that it's going to take some juggling. My time will be limited on extra curricular activities and will mainly focus on handling my family, housework, laundry and studying. Studying, studying and more studying. As I've prepared to apply to the nursing program here in Hawaii, it has set me up well for school in Kentucky. I have already taken a handful of classes that would otherwise be required to take during nursing school there. For that, I am grateful. I can focus on my current schedule and clinical rotations without having to worry too much about other outside classes. I'm welcome to the challenge, and I'm so glad my family will be close enough to help celebrate once I cross the finish line.

But for now, we'll continue to soak up the sunshine while our time is limited in paradise. Three months left until we leave for good, and we're hoping to make the most of it. Maybe I might even blog about it...

Pro Bowl 2016

Waiting to get into the stadium

The NFL Pro Bowl returned to Hawaii in 2016 so we jumped at the chance to go to the game. The kids were excited to go and so were the adults. We put on our Lions gear, met up with our friends, and headed to the game. 

There's our Lion, Ziggy Ansah, #94

We were a little bummed that Calvin Johnson didn't make the trip, but at least we had one player representing our Lions. We weren't sure how many other people would be sporting Lions gear like we were so we made a little game out of counting all of those that we did see. There turned out to be quite a few. Not an overwhelming amount, but more than what we thought. 

Eli Manning waiting for the snap

 The kids got their fill of their favorite things, cotton candy and dippin' dots ice cream. Abigail really wanted to buy a foam finger as a souvenir. She thought that you poke people with them! Unfortunately they weren't selling them for this event. Austin was really into the game. He was fascinated with the camera that was over the field. And even though she admitted that she didn't have a clue about what was going on down on the field, Abigail enjoyed herself too. By the end of the game she had a little bit of knowledge about how the game is played. 

Family picture time

Overall we had a great time, but it was HOT! Our seats were directly facing the sun the entire time. We made sure to stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water and even came away with some weird tan lines. We left shortly before the end of the fourth quarter so that we could try to beat some of the traffic. It worked in our favor, and it didn't take us long to get home. It was a great experience and it's another thing we can check off on our Hawaii bucket list. 

2016

It's almost 2016! I haven't blogged in a few years, oops! Facebook makes it so much easier to post pictures. And since my blog was mainly pictures, well...it fell to the wayside.

Blah, blah, blah.

So here's to the New Year, and blogging again. I know, I know, I've said that before. But guess what, Abigail has a blog now too. So if she's blogging, then I can too.

Check her out, www.theamazingabigail.blogspot.com. All pictures and blog posts are by her.

Christmas 2015 - Hawaii