Aloha Homeland Security!

Welcome to our family on jet lag.

We didn’t think we’d experience much jet lag on this trip. After all, we flew all night and the kids slept pretty well on the plane. (Hubs and I, however, slept only a few hours.)

On arrival day, the kids took an afternoon nap and then were both in bed by 8pm.

All was normal until 11:30pm when Schäfer popped up in bed and said with a grin, “Good morning Papa! I’m awake!” I tried to get him back to sleep from 12-2am, but eventually I went back to bed and let him play in the darkness.

After I fell asleep, Sianna woke – maybe 4am? She talked to us for a while before falling asleep.

Then at 7:30am Sianna was standing in the pack-n-play tugging at our covers. I figured she was awake for the day so I picked her up. When I did she fell asleep in my arms.

Sianna slept until 9:30am.
We eventually woke up Schäfer at 10am.

Hubs and I were freaking out. These kids normally wake us up at 6am. We love Honolulu!

By 10am we headed down to the bus stop so we could get to the Homeland Security Office by our 11:30 appointment.

Hubs stopped by the ATM machine. (I’ve often thought if Hubs were ever in a wax museum then he should be waxed at an ATM machine. I guess this comes from living in a cash-based society.)

Anyway, he came back with culture shocking news:

a one month bus pass is $60 per person! Originally we thought it was $40, but it seems that the bus pass is indeed $60.

Yikes.

Since we’ll be in Hawaii for two weeks, we thought about getting the bus pass. After all, we live in China. Public transportation is our friend.

It costs $2.50 to ride the bus one way. Kids are free.

We’ve learned that if we come back within 2 hours of leaving then we can ride back for free. Yesterday, Hubs made it to Best Buy within the 2 hour time frame.

Today, we also finished our business at Homeland Security within 2 hours so we were able to make it back for free.

I know it’s just $5 that we saved, but that adds up. We’re still not sure if we want to get the bus pass. Thats $120 USD for our family to ride the bus – admittedly still cheaper than renting a car for $28 per day.

Thank goodness we’re staying in a small hotel in Waikiki. There’s lots to do and see within walking distance.

OK. We just talked it over. We’ve officially decided not to get the bus pass. At $60/person it would require 12 round-trip rides just to break even. Since there’s not 12 things we want to go see, then we’ll just pay the $2.50 each time we ride the bus.

Sites we’d still like to see: Pearl Harbor, Dole Plantation, the North Beach, Diamond Head Crater. Any tips?

Anyway, we made it to the Homeland Security Office in plenty of time for our appointment.

It was such a beautiful day to visit the immigration office!

Sianna loves a pen…

and her brother’s toys.

Apparently, in our precious brown envelope the US Consulate did not send a copy of our homestudy. Did we have one with us? Errr… no. Thankfully, they said we can print one off and bring it along during our interview.

We also needed a copy of Hubs college transcript. Huh? Apparently, we need proof that we’ve lived in the states after we were 14-years-old.

All of our other paperwork was in order and we received a nice compliment for having everything organized. Too bad that compliment didn’t come with a discount.

I think they should offer incentives at Homeland Security. If you have all of your paperwork in order and come to your appointment on time, then you get 20% off your paperwork processing free.

Instead of a discount, after our compliment we were charged to process Sianna’s immigration papers.

Schäfer had an excellent time at Homeland Security. He visited the water fountain no less that four times. Then, I taught him how to work a pay phone: where the money goes, how to dial a number, where the change goes, how to use the yellow pages, etc. This entertained him to no end. He (pretend) called the fire department several times to tell them we had a fire at the door.

Within 30 minutes of turning over our paperwork and waiting, we learned that Sianna has her citizenship interview tomorrow at 8:30am! Wow. That was fast. I can’t imagine what types of questions they will ask her…

Do you promise to vote?
Will you do your best to hold a job?
Will you always drive on the right side of the road?

We took the bus back to the hotel. The kids were exhausted. I’m not sure why since they slept until 10am. Sianna crashed in the Ergo. I took the kids back to the hotel while Hubs grabbed Ono Cheese Steaks for lunch. YUM.

Sianna woke up after 2 hours of rest. She was so happy and so loud that Schäfer woke up too. Gotta love all being in one hotel room.

We lathered the kids down in sunscreen and headed out the door for 3 hours of absolute fun at Waikiki Beach.

Sianna wasn’t so sure about the sand until I handed her some beach toys.

Eventually, she started crawling around.

Playtime!

Love her sweet smile.

Schäfer tried to bury himself in the sand.

Hubs offered to help. He made a sea turtle.

Schäfer requested we say, “Sea turtle come out!” and the sea turtle came out.

Then, he wanted to be buried again.

“Caterpillar come out!”

Today, Schäfer played in the sand more than the water! Sure he had fun swimming in his floatie, but this little guy needed to dig.

In the public swimming pools in China, every swimmer must wear a cap. Since this is all Schäfer has ever known, he thinks he must wear a cap. The goggles are just because he likes to wear them – and they make him feel like a pilot.

All afternoon, we had one busy boy.

I tried to bury Schäfer, but apparently I wasn’t fast enough.
I’m 18 weeks pregnant.

Yes, Hubs and I both wear rash guards. My fair skin burns easily so I’d rather cover up than have to lather sunscreen SPF 360 every 15 minutes.

Back to burying Schäfer in the sand…

“Camel come out!”

Finally, Hubs had Schäfer stand in a hole so that he could make a mountain.

Schäfer had a bit of difficulty getting out of this mountain.

After sitting in the water with me, Sianna was willing to sit near the water by herself. She didn’t fuss, but she wasn’t exactly thrilled.

Hubs and I both took turns taking Sianna for a swim in the ocean. She enjoyed being with us in the water.

Schäfer worked hard on making a “lake”.

Hubs had a great afternoon at Waikiki.

Sianna loved playing in the sand.

Schäfer played non-stop.

For supper, we went to Teddy’s Bigger Burgers. Just in case you are wondering about the look on Hubs face, he’s saying, “I don’t know if a hamburger has ever made me so happy.”

Man vs. Burger.
Man won.

Hubs ordered the Kailua burger with homemade teriyaki sauce, mushroom, swiss cheese and grilled onions. I had the Hawaiian burger with grilled pineapple.

Teddy’s Bigger Burgers was so incredible. The peanut butter shake alone was worth the trip. On the way home, we agreed that Teddy’s was, in fact, better than In-N-Out and Triple O’s. It’s sad, but so deliciously true.