A few observations and the 4th of July

Aloha Everyone!

So, I know it has once again been awhile since I last posted, but do you want to know why?? Well, believe it or not just because we moved to Hawaii we did not turn into the most exciting family around. Nope, that's right, we are still the same old boring family :) Shocking, I know! Aside from that though we are having a little bit of fun.

Because I don't have a ton of fun and exciting things to fill you in on I wanted to share a few observations I have made since moving here to this beautiful state. First is about driving. It is pretty cool how in the middle of busy traffic hour cars will still stop at random pedestrian crossings to let people cross the street. I love this friendliness that is shown. Drivers are not so self-absorbed here. If you need to get over 2 lanes at the last minute, anywhere else you would have to keep on and make it to the next exit, but not here. If you use your turn signal 9 times out of 10 someone will slow down and let you over immediately. It is so nice to not feel so angry or frustrated when driving. However, I would still like to drive as little as  possible since gas cost $4.20, on average.

Another observation (not something I wasn't expecting, but living it is slightly different): we are what the locals would call Howlies (white people) and we are the minority. I was expecting this, but wow, are we ever. I have tried to always treat others the same regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, gender, religion...blah blah blah...but I totally understand how it feels to be the minority...the different ones now. Most people are nice, but there are those few who do not like us simple because we are not local. My plan: be the nicest howly around and make people love us even though we aren't locals :) I will let you know how that goes.

A few fun things now. We finally bought a baby carrier for Zella so we can now go on family hikes :) Our first excursion was very short and on a very easy paved path. Zella wasn't too fond at first and Porter tired out very quickly! It was still fun though. The 2nd hike was just as easy and the kids seemed to take to it better. Below are a few pictures from the hikes.

On another fun note: Porter started playing flag football. I wish I could report that it was really fun, but he hates it :) I'm hoping it's because he is so much younger than everyone else. The team allows kids aged 3 (if 3 before Sept.) to sign up. However, most kids are already 4 and going to be 5 by the end of the year. He is really shy and the only howly playing on the team (I'm hoping this has nothing to do with it though!). We'll see if he opens up to it, if not oh well...we can try again another year! Picture below.

In case you can't tell, Porter is the one with the flags covering his face :) And yes, his coaches are extremely buff!

Finally,  the 4th of July! Wow, it was a lot different here. We went to the Kailua parade (not really a parade according to us, but we are parade snobs!). Porter got dehydrated and Zella got sun burnt :) However, the fireworks, although not the best I've seen had the best locale! Fireworks on the beach always seem better. Enjoy the pics below. The kids loved play time on the beach :)

We miss a lot about Louisiana and our life there, but we are truly trying to make the most out of this new adventure. I hope to have some fun and exciting events to fill you in on in my next post. Some upcoming events: Luke and I have surfing lessons this week, I am traveling to Saipan (look it up...it's in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), and then I travel to Denver. Going to be a busy couple of weeks! Until next time, live the Aloha life! Love y'all!

Aloha,
The Gleasons
Luke, Beth, Porter & Zella

Dancing with Dolphins

Hello All!

Yes, believe it or not, I am writing a new post just as promised! Well, it was another beautiful week in Hawai'i. To give you some information about where we actually live so you can have an idea when I write about things below are some maps: We live on the island of Oahu, in the city of Kailua.

We live on the Windward side, so as the name suggests, we get a lot of wind and rain. The rain isn't so bad though, but it can be rather spontaneous! I work on the Leeward side in Honolulu. It is pretty cool because I literally drive straight through a mountain every day on my way to work :)

Anyway, on to some fun stuff. Just past Waimanalo (towards the southern part of Oahu) there is a fabulous Sea Life Park. As a gift to everyone for our anniversary we got us all (Luke, myself, the kids, Tutu, & Koa) the gift of getting to play with some dolphins on Memorial Day. It was probably one of the coolest things I have done. We, including the kids, got to get in waist deep water and we got to touch, kiss, and dance with a dolphin named Kaleo. This is a famous dolphin as he was the dolphin used in the movie 50 first dates! It was so neat. We also got to pet a wolphin. What is a wolphin you ask? Well this wolphin, named Kekaimalu, has a Pacific bottle nosed dolphin momma and a killer whale daddy! He is about the same size as Pacific bottle nosed dolphins with a more rounded nose and darker color. We also learned a lot about these beautiful creatures. Do you know what kind of fish dolphins eat? The answer: dead ones...hahaha :) 

Porter kissing Kaleo

Luke getting a kiss from Kaleo

Zella getting her kiss from Kaleo

Beth dancing with Kaleo

It was really fun! If anyone ever comes to visit us we should seriously consider doing this again! We saw other people who paid to actually swim with the dolphins and get a ride on their back. Pretty neat. Once we were done playing we got to see lots of other amazing sea life and then ended our day with an amazing show put on by the dolphins. We were pretty wiped out by the end of the day.

The rest of the week flew by. Some good news: I got my car all registered and even got my new Hawaiian driver's license...yippee!

On Saturday we took Porter to his first movie experience. There is a wonderful theater just up the road that plays older movies (just out of theaters) for only $5.50. Wonderful! We saw The Croods, which was great. He loved it and wanted to watch it again right away.

Another week has passed so quickly here. I am still amazed by the beauty of this place and doubt that 'awe' feeling will ever go away. Can't wait to share our new home with family and friends...only 79 days until Jenny Finnerman arrives. I believe she will be our first visitor :) Who's gonna be next?

Aloha,

The Gleasons 

Getting acquainted with the island

First let me apologize for being terrible at writing new posts. I am going to try from this point on to create a new post weekly (probably on the weekends). I promise to try my hardest to do this!

So, to the good stuff: island life. We have been here for just over 3 weeks and we are still in love with this place. Our first week was mostly like a vacation. We went to the beach, a butterfly/botanical gardens, and of course the zoo. See pictures below. All were very fun and we had a blast at each spot. The kids loved playing in the ocean. I do have an awful confession to make though: we have only taken the kids to the beach once since being here! I know we are terrible. Luke and I have been a few more times because we had been hiking and swimming with a friend before I started work. Great way to start the day! Too bad work has gotten in the way. 

There is just so much to do here. I think we will be tourists for the rest of our lives. 

Well it hasn't been all fun. Trying to get drivers licenses here is a real pain. Luke was able to get his, but I couldn't because I didn't have my marriage license to prove my name. Although my name is clearly stated on my SSN card and LA license! Hawaii has been ordered by the federal govt to supply copies of all info on anyone getting or renewing their license here because of immigration issues. Oh and the lines are ridiculous! 

The kids seem to be adjusting well. They love playing all day outside, which is a nice change. Porter and Zella have fallen in love with Uncle Chuck who lives across the road. Uncle Chuck has a dog to play with and koi ponds to play with the fish. He also just let the kids plant some pumpkins to be ready for October! He also makes great Mac-n-cheese!

I have made it through 2 weeks of work. I love my job although I am still trying to completely figure out what I'm doing :) it's almost like being back in graduate school and getting to do research projects all day long. I also have a wonderful office view. See pic below. Yes, I keep showing this off, but I am so in love with my view! This is good because I think I will be spending a lot of time there! The people I work with are wonderful. They threw a surprise party for me the other day just to get to know me. It was pretty cool. I'm hoping the honeymoon phase with my job lasts awhile!

I finally got my car so that will be nice. I am dreading going through the process to get it registered, but it has to be done within 30 days. Luke still doesn't have a job, but he has been writing and helping out with the kids. Weird to say but I actually like him not working right now because its nice to have him to get things done right now :)

Some of the best news is that my sister, Jenny Finnerman, has already booked her first trip out here. She will be arriving in mid-August and I can't wait. She got a great deal on a flight so keep your eyes open for them:)

Well, not much else to report on. I am going on a 6.9 mile trail run in the morning with my wonderful running buddy, Deborah Tom! I'm falling in love with trail running. By the way, I'm training for the Honolulu and New Orleans marathons if anyone is interested in racing with me! Honolulu is in Dec. and New Orleans is in early Feb. 

Ok. Well everyone have a great weekend and remember why we really celebrate Memorial Day! Thank you to all of our troops out there!

Aloha,

The Gleasons 

The Move

Moving to Hawai'i is no easy task! Deciding what to take and what to get rid of was not easy. However, we were pretty lucky in the fact that we were basically moving into a fully furnished house and didn't need much but our beds, clothes, and toys.

We had a huge yard sale and sold a bunch of our stuff, but even after that we had a huge amount of stuff we took to Goodwill. My wonderful family came to help us move and to take some stuff back up north. It was so nice to have my family around to help out. Not only was it nice to spend time with them, but I'm sure we wouldn't have been able to do everything without them. They are amazing. Below is a picture of what we had left stuffed into either one of two relocubes or a Uhaul. The relocubes were shipped to Hawai'i for us and my family took the Uhaul back to MI with them. It was really weird to see our old house empty. I guess a little weird and sad.

So our stuff was all packed up and then it was time for us to fly to our new home. We left bright and early from Baton Rouge Airport:

We had a very long day, to say the least. We ended up traveling for 19 hours. Had 2 layovers, one in Atlanta and one in Seattle. The kids were prett well behaved on all flights, but we were super happy to arrive in Honolulu.  Tutu and Koa were happily awaiting our arrival. We made it back to the house and I wish I could say we all slept happily that night, but as you know we have a 1 year old and an almost 3 year old...sleep is rarely happy.

So, we have been in Hawai'i for a little over a week and our cubes are finally arriving in 2 days! Will update on our adentures here so far in the next post.

Aloha!

The Gleason

Luke, Beth, Porter & Zella

Hawai'i...What, when, and can I come with you?

Dear Friends and Family: As most of you are already aware of by now the Gleason Family is moving to Hawai'i. Everything is happening so fast that I apologize if you have not heard this yet and the news is shocking. You may be sad (or not), but you should definitely be happy about now knowing someone who lives in Hawai'i so you can come visit :)
We are moving because I have accepted a job with McREL/Pacific Center for Changing the Odds. This is a non-profit education research company who works on education issues throughout the Pacific region. I am very excited to start working with this group and I am expecting great things. I will miss the many dear friends I have made at my time at the Louisiana State Department of Education, and hope through Facebook, this blog, and personal emails to stay in touch with them all!
Luke is trying to get a job at the Whole Foods there in Kailua, where we will be living. Hoping that works out, but I also know the cheffing industry there will offer some exciting opportunities for Luke as well.
Here is the scoop on where we will be. We will be living in Kailua, which is on the island of Oahu (think Honolulu and Waikiki). Here is a link to explore the islands of Hawai'i: http://www.gohawaii.com/ We will be living with Courtney (aka Tutu) and John (aka Koa)(and Uncle JT when he is home from college). They are graciously taking us in...I'm taking bets on how many months (or days) it may take for us to drive them insane :)
We will be flying to our new home on May 1st and will be there indefinitely!
Anyway, I just wanted to publish this first post as a general info post. My plan is to publish a post once a week so everyone can keep up with us, watch the kids grow up, live vicariously, and just overall make me feel like we are actually important enough for people to want to follow ;) We will miss our mainland friends very much, but are greatly looking forward to this new chapter in our lives!