That Time We Went to Hawaii-Part 3

Remember that time we went to Hawaii? Like over two months ago? Yeah, I suppose I better finish posting about it then. And lucky for me, Brian and I got sicker than dogs last night, so all day I've been sitting on the couch and I'm bored out of my mind. So I'll resort to mindlessly blogging. Maybe after that I'll read. Then maybe I'll attempt to stomach a pudding. We've really hit a milestone in our marriage, taking turns at the toilet at 4 in the morning to heave our stomachs up. But that's a totally different story. So, onward with Hawaii.

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Being the oldest sibling, there are plenty of incidents when I'm out and about with my little sisters and my mom is not present where onlookers assume I'm the mother. The first time this happened, I was around fourteen years old. We were in St. George. I took my sisters down to the pool (the rest of my family was coming down later). As my sisters were swimming around, I sat in a lawn chair to watch them as well as read my book. A few minutes later, a lady came and sat in the chair beside me and said, "Your daughters are just beautiful."

Being fourteen, that seemed really weird to me. "Oh. . .um. . .thank you. But they're actually my sisters. I'll tell my mom you said so though."

Well, while in Hawaii, a similar thing happened. We were getting ready to go out for dinner after cleaning up from a day in the sun. My mom and brother, Jace, weren't quite ready yet. However, I really wanted to catch the view of the sunset. So Brian and I wandered outside to Buddha Point (where the sunset was supposedly especially good) and my two little sisters tagged along as well. We sat on the grass, laughed, and just had a good time waiting for the other two hooligans to catch up with us. And of course we swooned over the gorgeous sunset and pulled the camera out.

And then things got weird. Okay, not weird. Just mostly funny. Because a man came forth and put his arms out for our camera and said, "Here, let me take a photo with all of you in it. The girls will want a picture with both their parents together."

Um. . .yeah. . .okay. So that's when we had our family photo taken in front of the sunset.

Aren't we such cute parents? Shortly after, my mom and brother arrived and then the man learned the truth. It's fine though, it's a common mistake I'm sure.

Then we headed off to dinner at a little local place. We ate out on the deck and enjoyed live music. And oh goodness, the food was tasty!

That's that. The time Brian and I pretended to be parents for about a full minute. And the time we all feasted on fine steaks and sang along to Hotel California as the man with his guitar played away in the corner of the restaurant. Also, I promise my brother was with us. He just wasn't in any of these pictures. Well, except for this one. . .

And I'm sure you can see now why I wasn't going to put it up. I mean, look at Jace's face. He looks like he's been smoking pot with some of the islanders. But he hadn't. I'm sure that's just his hungry face.

That Time We Went to Hawaii- Part 2

Our resort on the island was amazing. Seriously, if we never would have set foot off the resort grounds, we still would have had a ball. We were right on the ocean and there were activities to keep up busy and entertained all day. Not to mention the resort was so huge that there was actually a tram system and boat rides to take you from one end of the resort to the other. 

After staying at our resort, I think I discovered my dream job. Training dolphins. There was a dolphin center at the resort and every morning we would watch the girls feed the dolphins. Then the dolphins would usually keep us all entertained by doing tricks. Dolphins are the most interesting creatures. We could have swam with the dolphins for about a thousand bucks a person. We decided just looking at them would be easier on our wallets. There was a girl who would shoot peoples' sessions with the dolphins though, so they could take home a video of their expensive swim. And I got real excited because I thought, "I'm studying broadcast journalism. I could totally handle that camera, stand in some water, and get quality shots of kids laughing while they pet dolphins." Now doesn't that just sound like a job that makes you go home smiling every day? 

While we didn't swim with dolphins, we did swim with sea turtles. Snorkeling alongside the sea turtles was hands down the highlight of the trip for me. There were a few times we would run into a whole gang of turtles and we would be surrounded. And I loved it. I loved looking to every side of me and seeing the turtles lazily swim by my side. They are such ancient and wise looking creatures. I was so tempted to reach out and just hug one, but apparently that's illegal. My brother and Brian basically had to drag me back in to land when our time was up with snorkeling equipment. I'm obsessed. I'd snorkel every day if I could.   

Hopefully one day I'll finish talking about this trip and I can move on with life. I think with the amount of pictures I have left, there will be around three more posts? Stay tuned. In the meantime, eat some pineapple and do some hula. We'll all pretend we're on the islands of paradise.

That Time We Went To Hawaii-Part 1

The hula lady at church told us that aloha meant breath of life. Yes, there was a hula lady at the Nondenominational Christian church we went to. And yes, my sisters asked us a million times afterwards why we don't say things like, "Thank you, Jesus," during prayers at our church.

Oh, family vacations. They are simply the best. The time we spent driving around the Big Island in our rental van, hoping we weren't lost, laughing, and listening to my younger sisters bicker will be cherished forever.

That insane hike we went on during our first day on the island will also be cherished forever. I know my calf muscles cherished it. After hiking down and looking at some breath-taking waterfalls and patting the backs of some wild horses, we walked to the shore and enjoyed the black sand beach. The dark sand seemed to sparkle as the sun reflected off of it. And it felt so refreshing to just mush the sand in between my toes. It also felt refreshing as well as exhilarating to force my tired legs to sprint into the booming waves. We all laughed as the water came in, knocking us over, cooling our bodies and filling our nostrils with salt. Other tourists watched us and laughed.

And can I just say, it amazes me how pretty this world is? The lushness, the dampness, the sunniness. . .everything about Hawaii was just the break I needed. I needed that breath of ocean air and that time to just reflect on life a little.

After finally hiking back up from the beach, we found the perfect little Mexican bar. I had Mahi Mahi tacos and we all practically overdosed on chips and salsa. Then we went grocery shopping so we could enjoy bowl after bowl of cereal, as well as every variety of m&m you could possibly imagine. Oh, and we had a henna kit. So We decorated each other with henna designs. It was lovely. The whole trip was lovely. So lovely I thought it'd be a shame to shove it all together in one blog post.

   

Truth Tuesday

Some Hawaiian sky

• Never in my life have I longed for summer so badly. This has been a rough semester of school. The finish line is in sight, and I'm going to collapse after I cross it. 

• I've been stressing about my future lately. After doing a self-evaluation, I think it's time to stop stressing and trust in some things greater than myself. It will all work out. It always does. :) 

• Brian used to eat really healthy before he met me. Then he met me and his life was destroyed and his calorie intake skyrocketed. I just love food is all. I love to indulge in it. I love letting all the flavor just soak into my taste buds. However, I've decided to help Brian out by finding our way onto this healthy food path. It will be quite the journey, and I guarantee that I'm going to wander from the path on various occasions, but it might be fun to try eating healthier. Healthy food is not as fun to eat. But I will admit, I made a salad over the weekend and after eating it I felt quite. . .refreshed. It was different. And nice. 

• I am one of those people who won't shop at Wal-Mart. I had a professor tell us once that we all have to have one thing we hate. His was Mac computers. Mine is Wal-Mart. And TOM shoes. And Twilight. But I won't rant about my hates. I'll keep them to myself. 

• My mother is funny. My sister told me the other day she was looking up things on the computer to say instead of 'good' or 'bad' when people ask you how you are. So I decided to test her research the other day and I asked her how she was. She looked at the sky, squinted her eyes and thought for a second until she excitedly replied, "I'm so happy that I'm trying not to dance." I dare you to say that to the next person that asks how you are.

How are you any ways? Happy Tuesday night!

Excuse My Absence

I've been in Hawaii for the last week. Just got back yesterday. And when I go on vacations, I really go on vacation meaning I'm almost impossible to get in touch with. I keep my phone off and my laptop closed. The one piece of technology I continue using is my camera and occasionally my iPod. Apparently I hate technology so much while vacationing that I lost my phone on the trip. It fell out of my pocket on the plane. And after the kind flight attendants assisted me in climbing around on our hands and knees through the aisles and finding nothing, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Oh well. I don't like my cell phone that much any ways." But I really don't. I just hate that anyone and everyone can get a hold of me whenever they want. I might like cell phones more now though, because today Brian got me a new phone and this one is a smart phone. The phone I lost was a razor, you see. The phone that everyone had in middle school, back when the razor was so cool, and back when I didn't even have a cell phone yet. So apparently I'm moving up in the world. I'm so excited to play Words with Friends now. It will be glorious.

 I got a bit off topic, but that was basically the story of why I haven't been blogging. Because I traded in being a blogger for being a beach bum for a while and it was oh so nice. The vacation ended way too soon. But maybe that's because I was dreading coming back to Utah since we now have to move to a new apartment. Bummer. I despise moving. Especially when I'm all jet-lagged. So again, you may not be hearing from me for the next few days since I'll be vacuuming carpets and organizing pots and pans. How splendid. On a positive note, I now have a walk-in closet. I always dreamed of what it would feel like to have my own walk-in closet. Back in high school, I was jealous of my friends with walk-ins, although I never admitted that to any of them. Now I have my very own. I hung my clothes in it today and about drooled on the floor. I think I could just live in there and be happy. I'm really moving up in the world: a smart phone and a walk-in closet all in the same week.

I hope to document my adventure in Paradise real soon. And get moved into my new place real soon. And figure out how to work my new phone real soon. But aside from all the things I must get done real soon, I am a very lucky little girl. Brian and I actually realized when we were on our flight going to Hawaii that it had been exactly a year since he proposed to me on a sandy beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. And a year later we were on our way to Hawaii. I have a feeling I have many adventures ahead of me being married to that BWell of mine.

Beach in Mexico 

Beach in Hawaii