Playing in the Sun

Spring term has come and gone...time really does have a way of passing by in a blink of an eye. Especially when you are having so much fun! I took 9 credits and tried to work 40 hours a week, even with my crazy and hectic schedule I managed to have a blast! I just wanted to post a few highlights of the past two months or so...

Below is a picture of Heather, Rachel, Lisa, and I on Waikiki Beach. I had to take a trip into town to purchase some items for a ward activity and thought I would make a night out of it. And an amazing night it turned out to be. We had just finished eating at a Thai restaurant and saw this beautiful sunset--so we took a little detour and took a nice stroll down the beach.

One of the classes I was enrolled in this Spring was Asian American Studies. It was an interesting class, but my favorite part was we went on a field trip!! So our class went to Valley of the Temples, which is the picture below. And then went to China Town in near Honolulu and ate some original Chinese. It was very interesting and tasty!

So I realized that China Town is a perfect place to purchase produce. Everything is very cheap and fresh. Even the meat products are fresh!
One weekend some friends and I took off to the south side of Oahu to Hanama Bay and snorkeled! It was a beautiful and relaxing day. The sun was very strong and it was the first time I got burnt since I've been back!

So this is me all decked out in my snorkel gear :) I'm not the best snorkeler I've decided cause my goggles always fog up...no matter what I do!

The same day we went snorkeling at Hanama Bay we hiked up to the light house. The hike is not difficult at all, but it's just a nice hike with some great views. You can see the crater behind us in the picture below.

The above pictures is one of the views from the lighthouse. Its quite breath taking. I love the water! GORGEOUS!

So there are a few high lights of the past two months. I've actually had more fun in the past two months then I have had in a long time. I hope all of you are doing well. I love you!!

Winter Semester Recap

Well, winter semester has come and gone...and I managed to log two posts in the past four months. I say I'm doing pretty good...at least for me :) I decided to summarize some of the highlights over the semester...just to give you an idea of what I have been up too.
Winter semester over all was great. It definitely flew by...I have no idea where the time went. School and work kept me busy, but I did manage to find time to play :) And just as a side note even with my "play" I managed to do very well in all my classes.
So what fun adventures did I experience...here is a brief recap:

~KOKUA FEST~

Amazingly I was able to snag a ticket to Kokua Fest this year from my very generous friend Sam (by the way THANK YOU!). For those of you who aren't familiar with Kokua Fest it is a benefit concert put on by Jack Johnson. Kind of a "keep it country" ideal. Anyways, this year was great because Dave Matthews was a guest artist--and I LOVE Dave Matthews Band. So I was pretty stocked. Below is a picture of us trying to entertain ourselves until the main artists start performing. Overall the concert was great. I just have to say I'm amazed how people can be so wasted and still play and sing with perfection, but in between songs can hardly form a sentence...kind of blows my mind...lol

Below is a picture of Hukilau Cafe...if you are ever in Laie, Hawaii you need to make time to visit this great little cafe for breakfast! They have the best banana pancakes you will ever taste. And if you happen to have a large appetite there is always the 'Hungry Hawaiian' (aka. rice, pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, potatoes, etc...) I have yet to ever finish that plate :)

In honor of my 'big brother' Joey...I put this picture above up to remember our last beautiful sunny day at Hukilau Beach. In truth I hardly made it to the beach this semester...as such I still have a terrible tan. I would say I'd be working on my tan during spring term, but I'm taking 9 credit hours of school and working 40 hours a week...so yeah my time is spent.

ACAI BOWLS!!! One of the best dishes ever! During the semester there have been a few get aways up to north shore just to have one of these divine acai bowls as shown above. I'm in the process of learning how to recreate them in perfection as the Kava Roots does.

TASTY, FILLING, AND HEALTHY! That's kind of rare for Hawaii :)

The below picture is just a tribute to my great friends...some will be returning to BYU-Hawaii in the Fall others have moved on to another chapter in their lives...where ever they go I know they will do great cause they are some of the best people I have yet to meet! :)

Above is a picture of me and one of my dearest friends Erica. Erica is kind of a wanderer so she has left me for an Internship in Tonga...needless to say I know she is falling in love with the place and might delay her return to Hawaii. Can't say I blame her. This photo was taken in our last weekend together...we decided to do some touristy things and so went into town to Pearl Harbor.

And of course in any event here in Hawaii we ended with food :) And lucky for me the choice was Cheese Cake Factory in Waikiki!!! One of my favorite places to eat...can you guess why?? Yep, I 'm a cheese cake girl :)

Well, there is a short summary of my life in the past four months. As I mentioned earlier I am still plugging away at school and am taking 9 credits during spring. I am also still working as a Lab Manager on campus and working 40 hours a week. So I am staying busy. Other then that all is going well. I miss all of you and hope things are going great in your lives. MUCH ALOHA!

Let the play begin...

Weekends are meant for play, and play this weekend I definately did. Friday I started the weekend with an amazing bonfire, which almost was postponed due to some rain. However, I am in Hawaii where rain comes and goes often. So seeing how my friends and I were already wet (even though we made every effort to stay dry as shown in the picture below) we decided to have a bonfire and go for a nightly swim too.

Only a few of us were brave enough to brave the ocean waters that night...I believe they thought the water would be to cold. However, they were wrong...the water wasnt cold when you were in it. It was when one stepped out of the ocean that it became FREEZING. So I must admit I'm glad we decided to combine a bonfire with the nightly swim in the ocean. Quite a genous idea actually...even if your only able to manage a small fire in the beginning.

I promise our fire was more amazing then it appeared in the picture below. Especially, once we found some large wooden crates and some gasoline. One of the things I love about Hawaii is that random people will always come up and join in on your fun. So our bonfire started out with 7 of us, and by the end of the night there were over 25 of us!

So Friday started off the fun, which continued to roll on into Saturday. Eventually, the bonfire had to end so everyone could go home and rejuvenate themselves for the beach later that day. Once everyone got their beauty sleep we all met back up at Hukilau Beach, where an amazing game of football came into play. Just so you all know I am much more of a threat then I appear, and played an amazing game. I think I suprised my guy friends (picture below) with a few amazing tackles...they didnt see it coming. Funny how assumptions or pre-judgements can come back and get ya.

Sadly, one of my dearest friends Erica (above picture) sprained her ankle at the beach. You are all probably thinking this happened during our fantastic game of football, but you would be wrong. She actually was sumo-wrestling one of our poly friends and got beat. In truth she had it coming, but I am sad she is hurt. It definately is cramping our style. However, even though Erica is a gimp for the time being we were still able to hobble over to the mens basketball game that night over at the CAC. By the way the game was great. We won! And I got up and danced with our schools mascot, which is a green gecko. LOL.

Sunday, was my favorite day of the weekend. I was not able to sleep in that morning for my ward starts at 9 a.m., but in truth I prefer that. Church was amazing the talks and lessons were great, and of course the spirit was phenomenal. I have been called as activities co-chair in my ward...so it will keep me busy. Though in truth I am excited...it will force me to get involved and meet more people, which I am always game for.

Sunday night Erica and I got together and made a birthday cake and card for our friend Joey. I just had to put the picture below on, because in truth I am quite proud of the card we made. Honestly, have you ever seen such amazing artistic skills? LOL.

Obviously, Joey was very excited about his b-day card. So excited and grateful that he taught me how to do some tricks in a wheelchair. In truth I was to afriad I would hurt myself so I just decided to give a cheesy grin.

So my dearest Shelley you should not worry about your brother...Erica and I are taking great care of him.

So Sunday was great. Went to church, spent time with friends, went to Joey's birthday party, and even managed to go to bed at a decent hour. Looking back on my weekend I have to say I think it was a great start to the beginning of the semester. Some of you might be thinking 'and what about your studies?' Just so you all know...school is a top priority of mine...so instead of going to the beach on monday, which was a holiday, I did homework. Mom arent you proud?? LOL! Well, I hope all of you are doing well. Love ya!

Returning to Paradise

To all my friends and loved ones ALOHA!

Seeing how I am now over 3,000 miles away from the majority of you I have decided one of my new years resolutions is to update my blog frequently. I know that for those who have known my amazing skill at blogging in the past are probably laughing at the thought of my blogging regularly seeing how it has taken over six months for me to update, but I ask that you have faith in me and extend a friendly reminder when updates are streched thin.

Obviously, I have returned to paradise. I am again attending Brigham Young University-Hawaii and LOVING it! The moment I stepped on campus I knew I was returning home and am where the Lord would have me be. I have decided to major in International Cultural Studies and minor in Psychology. Please refrain from asking what I am planning to do with this degree in the future...when I figure that out I will let you know :) All I know is that the Lord is taking me down the paths he would have me go, and will continue to do so...as long as I am willing.

Since the moment I stepped off the plane I have not stopped. I jumped right back into life here in Laie. School and work occupy the majority of my time. I have recently just been promoted as a supervisor for the computer labs on campus, which I am extremely grateful for.
I have only been able to slip away to the beach once since I've returned, but am planning to visit Hukilau (picture below) this weekend with some friends. In truth I am in need of some major sun and am sad to admit I am still looking like a Hao'li (white person).

Well, I hope all of you are well and the Lord is sending down his blessings upon you. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.