Our 2 weeks in Hawaii

People keep telling us it's like we're running a toddler daycare. :) Word to the wise - don't take your whole toddler daycare on 30+ hour travels! 11 hour flight, then 5 hour layover, then 3 hour flight, then 1 hour bus ride. Add in customs, immigration, security, luggage, and potty training, and it is enough to make the whole gang have a meltdown. And the next day we kept on traveling to get back to our city. Then a flight was cancelled, then it took yet another day. We are so happy to be home!



Dustin, Jamie and Katie Hobbs came to visit us in Hawaii too! They were such a great encouragement to us, and it was wonderfully refreshing to be with them! We lived with them a few years ago when we were homeless (in our transition phase of moving overseas). Our kids had a lot of fun with their sweet Katie (2 years old). They also babysat for us and brought us lots of cool things from California... including a video our friends made for us of themselves. Very fun! Thanks friends!!




Dance party on the side patio. "If you're happy and you know it...."








It was such a blessing to hang out with my Grandma and my Great Aunt Jeannie in Hawaii. They watched the kids while we went out to eat, they helped feed and bathe the little people. They played outside with them in the grass too! Grass is a novelty for our kids.




You can never have too many rocks, sticks and leaves for your rock, stick, and leaf collection.

More Hawaii pics from last week

Enjoying time with Grandma Donna in Hawaii. You can see Great Grandma Buss and Great Aunt Jeannie in the mirror!! :)

Scott and Aubrey at Pearl Harbor

An island in the Pacific

Eliana's first birthday! We arrived in Hawaii just a few days before Eliana's first birthday. We are here to complete the immigration process for our Africans to become US citizens. After many piles of paperwork, and lots of appointments at Federal buildings here... they have their certificate of citizenship, and now their US passports. This will make traveling with them soooooo much easier. You'd be surprised how many countries do not allow Ethiopians to enter freely into them! Americans can come and go without visas though... very helpful!






Grandma Donna flew to Hawaii to visit us since it is her spring break! Zac's pretty excited about having Grandma Donna around. He's a quick learner, and knows that grandmas are one of life's best blessings!



We've only been down to the beach twice since we are here mostly on buisness, but in those 2 trips, we've seen that Emily likes the ocean a little bit, and the sand a LOT.



It's been 2 years since Emily has seen Grandma Donna (Scott's mom), so they have enjoyed catching up with each other and making lots of new memories together. Thanks to Skype, Emily knew exactly who she was the moment she saw her, and she didn't need any time to warm up to her.



Carey's Grandma Buss is with us here in Hawaii for a week too! Grandma and her sister (Great Aunt Jeannie) are helping us so much with the kids! They are babysitting tonight so we can go out to dinner -without 3 one year olds! Blessings! This was Aubrey's first time to meet her great grandma Buss. Well, this is also the first time Aubrey has ever been to America! She was in the womb when we moved to Asia.



A friend of a friend lent us 2 strollers to use while we are here. The kids decided this double stroller can actually hold more than 2.

More from Thailand earlier this month...

Aubrey had to point out the sign that informed us the plaything was danger to 66% of us.

Finally some pics....

We are finally back in our apartment in Asia, after a grand adventure through Africa and Thailand! Navigating the airports to get back here was a challenge, especially the security checkpoints where all strollers had to be collapsed and sent through the machine and little people wandered every which way. But we got home safely, and now are just trying to get healthy. Emily and Aubrey have fevers and some sort of stomach bug. We've been up at night doing laundry if you know what I mean. Eliana still has a touch of pneumonia, and Zac is the best off with only a cold. But we are together, and are enjoying that a lot. I love to hear Emily when Zac wanders into her room. She gets a huge smile and says, "Hey there buddy!" Aubrey loves to play with little Eliana too, and thinks she is her baby. She brings me wipes and diaper cream and helps me take care of Eliana (who weighs more than Aubrey). :) They all seem to like being together so far!




My dad takes Emily on her first paddle boat ride in Thailand. My parents took great care of our girls while we were away, and great care of all of us when we got back! Thanks for taking 3 weeks vacation just to come serve us mom and dad! You're the best!



In the Orchid Garden in Thailand.




The family photo opportunity is always extremely brief! And then it looks like this....



The songtao is the mode of transportation of choice in Chiang Mai Thailand. I reckon it's not that safe, but the kids think it's fun! :)




My parent with the kids at the zoo.... see the lion?? My parents were such a huge help as we adjusted to our new family dynamics. The 8 of us stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment in Thailand. The weather there was perfect! We sooooooooo enjoyed the sunshine there.... since we rarely see it here!




Our two one year olds! In a few more weeks we'll have 3 one year olds!! Wild and crazy fun!




The bushes behind us are shaped like a mommy elephant and her baby elephant following her holding on to her tail. :) Fun botanical gardens.... Tweechol Gardens outside of Chiang Mai.



Now that Zac is used to us he is full of expression! He is super sweet and loves security guards.... at airports especially. His best buddies at the orphanage were the men who worked security at the front gate. Zac bonded with my dad instantly, and is obviously missing him since he left yesterday! He has started bonding with me now too, which I am very thankful for! He's so smart and such a quick learner! He's already mimicking the girls English phrases almost perfectly! He is already a joy to our hearts!

Together at last!

We flew to Thailand and left our little gals with Nana and Papa to explore Thailand while we went to Africa.


We spent 6 nights in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. It is a very poor country and most of the homes in the capital city look like this. But the taxi drivers told us that a poor person in Addis Ababa is richer than a rich person in the city where our kids were born.






Thailand is the place to be in the winter!!



Together at last! We'll try to get a pic where everyone is looking and some people are smiling.... but until we are able to accomplish that very challenging feat, here is proof that we are indeed all together!



Emily -3 years and 7 months old
Zac - 1 year and 8 months old
Aubrey - 1 year and 7 months old (20 pounds)
Eliana - 10 months old (22 pounds!)

A few pics from a few weeks ago....

You could have a promising career here as an English teacher. Just sayin

Exactly how scared, I'm not sure.


So, if I'm a disability, what do I do again?



What's your favorite kind of sand?

Well, we made it back home last night after a tiring 30 hours of travel from Ethiopia. We are not looking forward to the travel next time, but at least we will be able to take our little ones home with us after our embassy appointment hopefully in January sometime. The time went by so quickly last week!

Here are a few more pictures of Zac and Eliana at the transition home in Addis Ababa.





This is another adorable little gal whom we would have loved to take with us, but is going with another wonderful family.