Slackerdom has officially taken over my blogging.

So here's another recap post!


Has it really been April since I last posted? No posts in May or June...whoa! Life gets in the way so easily. And in the last few months, much has happened at our pod and in the lives of our loved ones.


Here are the highlights:

My littlest brother and my mom came to visit us in May. It was only for 5 short days, but it was amazing to spend time with them and show them why we love it here so much. It made me appreciate my family that much more.


June was pretty quiet. Hubby is still in it to win it with HFD. He's been working his butt off and come November, we'll be celebrating like it's 1999... oh, wait... haha.

July is only halfway through and it's already shaped up to be a great month. It marks a year since the left side of this picture was taken. I called this pic, "Same shorts, more room." The hubs has been keeping me accountable with my health and fitness and I'm so glad he does. I know I hate going to workout, but I do feel better and more accomplished afterwards. I haven't really weighed myself, but I love the fact that my clothes fit better and are getting looser. I just want to be healthier and I'm on my way.

This little guy made his world premier on Monday, July, 9. Meet our adorable nephew! I just want to love up on this little buddy, but he's all the way in Pittsburgh. [sad face] I don't know when we'll be able to meet him in person, but it's going to be a love and happy crying fest when it comes.

July--actually in the next few days!--is going to be filled with important milestones. I've felt God working in my heart for a while now and I know I've already chosen to live my life as He leads me. So tomorrow I'm getting baptized. Not just water sprinkled on my head and blessings, but full on getting dunked and coming out anew. I'm so excited and I'm thankful that He has given the hubs and I a small community of loved ones here in Hawaii to come out and support me. So. Stoked.


Then on Tuesday. Well, Tuesday marks the third anniversary of the greatest day ever. I'm just sayin'. =)

Zipping by...

Man. I really am the ultimate slacker. I haven't updated since CHRISTMAS?! And it's MARCH! I guess the island life is really rubbing off on me. I stay on island time!


Here's a what I you've missed in my absence from the blog:

Our first Hawaiian Christmas was spent with family, which really helped since it was our first holiday away from all our loved ones. I got to experience a beautiful Christmas sunrise and we were gifted with a rainbow.

For New Year's Eve, we didn't even go very far--just to the beach that is in our neighborhood. We celebrated with the hubs' cousin and her bf. From our beach, we saw fireworks from Hickam AFB, and downtown Honolulu across from Pearl Harbor.

In January, we went with our friends to go see Sir Elton John at the Blaisdell Center. I don't care who you are... Elton John is THE MAN! He played for 2 hours straight. Amazeballs.


You're all almost caught up. I have one more update, but that requires its own post.

My Best Friend's Wedding

I just realized that I never blogged about my [other] best friend getting married. Isn't she gorgeous? I can't even begin to tell you how blessed I am to have her. It was the most beautiful day. Here are my favorite shots from her wedding.

Me and my other best friend doing our "Amazon Woman Strikes Again" pose. We literally have so many pictures of this one pose. We even have one from each other's wedding. It's tradition. ♥

Anniversary Recap: Hawaii Day 9

My last full day in Hawaii was spent on a sandbar in the middle of Kaneohe Bay. It was an amazingly fun day, spent with the hubs and new friends. I had my first close encounter with an awesome honu (sea turtle), saw a dog in a life vest AND A donut floatie, and I got to try stand-up paddling for the first time. I'm hooked, btw! I promised the hubs that I would at least perfect surfing first before I bug him for a paddleboard. Here are my favorite shots from the day.

Anniversary Recap: Hawaii Day 8

Day 8 came and went. It was a day to catch up on work I needed to do while hubs was at work.  That night, we went to see one of our favorite bands, Go Jimmy Go. Funny because we've seen them twice before during each of my other two visits to Hawaii. It was a great way to keep up the tradition. We got to Chinatown too early, so we decided to wander into this little martini bar called BambuTwo. It may just be our new watering hole! Drinks were affordable (my martini was $6! I can't even find a martini that price here in FL!) and our server was super friendly! It just had a great vibe to it.

[yummy lychee martini for me, PBR for hubby]

[Go Jimmy Go performing "Bang the Skillet]

GJG played at SoHo, just around the corner from the martini bar. We would have stayed for more than four songs had they come on earlier--island time, I guess! But what we saw we enjoyed. Good night overall. It was great to spend a quality night out with the hubs and find a new fave place in a new town.

Anniversary Recap: Hawaii Day 7

For Day 7, I got to visit hubby's work. I got there on a simulation training day and there was a pretty big class of soldiers that had to go through. Pretty crazy. There are two rooms, each with four simulation dummies in different stages of injuries. One of them even simulated breathing and bleeding... So creepy! The soldiers go in pairs and they have to crawl around in the dark, smoke filled room and find the dummies (aka injured soldiers) and assess and treat them. There are sirens and strobe lights going on. It's pretty crazy! I could only take one set of soldiers before I was done.

Here's hubs with a (fake) bloody limb. I'd share the other pictures, but they're like a scene from Halloween Horror Nights at Universal! After I saw one test done, I went outside. There was better scenery out there.

There was also a team of flight medics training alongside the other soldiers. I got up close to this big guy. It's totally one of the coolest things I've ever seen! I geeked out... see?

Anniversary recap: Hawaii Days 5-6

Day 5 was filled with more surfing! Well more attempts at surfing, I should say. We went on down to Waikiki again and since we had an extra board, the hubs' cousin came along, too! She's been living there for three years now and no one had yet to take her surfing before we did! Can you believe it?! (So I wish I had pics for you guys, but I am an über slacker and haven't gotten our underwater camera developed yet.)


Later on that day, the hubby and I changed our phone numbers. It's official! We have 808 numbers! So surreal... Only one of us was available for a phone upgrade, so the hubby was awesome enough to let me have it. So I got myself an iPhone 4--and I love it! It's so pretty!


Day 6 was the first day I was on my own. Hubby had to get back to work, hitching a ride with his co-worker, leaving me with the truck to see if I could get around on my own. Did I mention that it was the first time I was driving around in HI by myself? EVER? Yep.

We live here in Kalihi Valley. I love that Google says we live in the woods! ahaha So how did my drive go? Well... yep. I got lost. Got on the freeway and got lost. Thank goodness for maps on my new phone! I managed to turn myself around and get to our storage unit and Ala Moana Mall. I think I'm intimidated by driving around because I can't pronounce half the streets! But I am determined to get it, Dang it! Just like I'm determined to catch a wave!

Anniversary recap: Hawaii Day 4

Day 4 consisted of hiking the trail to Manoa Falls. Neither one of us had been before, so we were looking forward to it. Each muddy step and near slip was so worth it.

I can't wait to hike the falls again, as well as work up to the other hikes on the island. It's going to be amazing taking in all the breathtaking sites! 

Anniversary recap: Hawaii Days 1-3

My 10-day visit was nothing short of amazing. Mainly due to the fact that I got to see my hubs again after the longest two months ever. I know, two months is nothing and it could have been much worse... I have a new-found appreciation and heightened respect for military families who have to be apart for so long.


My long travel time was well worth it to see my hubby waiting for me. It's the best feeling. He said he was so excited that he was there an hour and a half early. He's so cute!

I got in on a Friday night, two days from our anniversary. He had dinner plans for our anniversary, but he called a few days before I got there to tell me that we weren't going to dinner anymore. We were going to do something else. He also said that it was a surprise and that I would find out on Saturday. Here's the reason why we weren't going to dinner:

See that big white one? Yah, that's mine! I was so stoked and so surprised. I cried. He told me that for our anniversary, we were going to spend the day in Waikiki and he was going to teach me how to surf! Best anniversary ever! So much more memorable than another anniversary dinner. (We got a cheap disposable underwater camera, so I'll have pics once I get those developed)

I got to see family, too! Mudder's cousin, her hubs and daughter have been living in HI for three years now. They were the ones that were gracious enough to house us for two weeks during our last trip and to let the hubby crash for a couple of weeks when he first got there in May. We love them to bits! Even Wishbone, their portly pup.


Stay tuned for more!