The Polynesian Cultural Center

Most of our trip in Hawaii, Andrew and I would wake up around 5:30 to watch the sunrise. 

Now that sounds all cool and impressive, especially when you know that Andrew and I are night owls!

But it was 9:30 in Utah. We weren't fully on Utah time though and not fully on Hawaii time, so somewhere in between. 

No matter what strange time zone we were in, we loved the sunrise!

This morning after the sunrise I went on my run and Andrew went for a swim with his dad in the ocean. I joined 

him after my run and not 2 minutes before, Andrew and his dad had seen a sea turtle just swimming around in the water.

How neat is that? They were out for a morning snorkel and they see a sea turtle! I think that was one of the highlights 

of their entire trip!

After our morning swim, the first place we went was Matsumoto's Shaved Ice. 

It is the only one ever and it was good stuff. If you ever go there I recommend the Matsumototo

flavor combination. It was SO good! 

^Showing off our colored tongues. Mine was really faded but you can see a small tint of green^

For the rest of the day we were at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was a really neat place where we experienced some of 

the culture of the various islands of Polynesia (hence the name of the place, haha).

I am a person who LOVES to experience and learn about different cultures and people. I loved hearing them sing

and watch them dance. Some cultures talked about some of their history and traditions. Totally up my ally. 

I totally forgot what countries they were, but there are two separate countries in Polynesia, it takes a 45 minutes flight

to get from one to the other. BUT, it is a 23 hour time difference because of the international date line! 

Is that crazy or what?! I love learning random facts like that! 

^In "Fiji"^

^One of the sisters from my mission works at the PPC and it was great to see her for a hot second!^

At the PPC we tried coconut bread which was delicious and tried to throw a spear. Andrew was not half bad. 

Me on the other hand, it's a good thing we don't depend on my spear throwing capabilities for food. haha. 

Amy and I were shown how to dance. We watched the video of us attempting to dance and you can see the Poly blood

does not run through our veins.

One neat thing  learned about was the origin of the Shaka.

So here's a brief history lesson:

Hamana Kalili was working in a sugar mill and he lost the first 3 middle fingers on his right hand. He was 

later reassigned to the sugar cane railroad, and he would wave his right hand to have the train come.

People thought it was an island thing so they started to start doing it too. Also he conducted the Mormon choir in
Laie and they knew his hand signal too. I just had no idea of how the shaka became a thing, and my mind was blown. 

We ate at the luau where a 10 year old kid was fire dancing! It was impressive!

We went to the night show, "Ha- Breath of Life." I found it online and started it at a funny and impressive part
to watch. 

It was fun to watch the full thing in person and see this wild stuff they did! It was incredible! 

Overall I loved the PPC but personally I think it's a little overpriced and not run efficiently. 

A lot of our time we were wandering because we had no idea where we were going or what to do.

Then things close after dinner so you wait around for over an hour waiting for the evening show to start

(we had the early luau). They do give you additional days to come back and do the activities but our condo was over
an hour away. It wasn't worth our time to drive all they way back, especially when we had other things we wanted to do. 

We were able to talk to some of the sister missionaries though and learn about their day to day schedule. 

We love finding missionaries wherever we go! Missions are the best!

And here is one of the many sunrise pictures we took. Hawaii is one beautiful place.

Beautiful View

First off, look at that view! The hike was beyond worth it! 

Besides the relaxing and the swimming, one of my favorite things we did in Hawaii was Diamond Head.

If you ever go to Oahu, it's a must do if you're into hiking and pretty views. 

^This was only the beginning of the very long staircase. haha. Luckily there is an alternate path

which is easier- without stairs and a much prettier view. We took the stair-less way on the way up 

and on the way down we took the stairs just to say we did it. ^

When we got back down we got a small treat and I don't think I've ever tasted a more delicious 
piña colada in my entire life.

We went and toured Waikiki Beach and it was crowded!

And see that mountain on the right? That's Diamond Head! 

^Proof that we were there, even though we didn't swim^

Traffic was really bad going back to our condo so we tried to wait it out.
We went shopping and bought amazing cookies! 

^It was an outside mall and these were the trees "inside" --> so cool!

It kinda reminded me of City Creek in Salt Lake. 

We ate at a place called Marukame Udon which Andrew and I really loved because we are all into
Asian food and eventually we made it back to our condo. 

I love looking back at all these pictures! It makes me really miss the sun! I know I've said it before, but Utah is
struggling with the warm weather this year! I kid you not, today I wore a sweater and boots to work! At the end of May!
And I was still cold. For now it's just imagining the sun on my skin! And waiting for summer to begin!

This past weekend Andrew and I went to Costco and bought pineapple & coconut snacks in attempt to bring some of
Hawaii back to us. We are currently loving crispy coconut rolls and I'm eating them right now! I want to put them
in pineapple ice cream. Or coconut ice cream. Does that even exist? I'm going to look for a recipe.
More Hawaii photo dumps to come! And maybe one on coconut ice cream.

Vitamin Sea

Most of our day looked like this:

I also went in the water but I also really did love my floatie. 

I sent this picture to my mom and she responded, "Is that fake?" She did not believe I was in a 

real floatie, in real water, with a real blue sky in the background. And to answer her question, this is not fake. 

This entire picture is real. 

It's not edited one bit. That is the beauty of Hawaii. That water alone was so blue! 

 ^Proof that I actually got in the water^

^And Andrew would dive and do all sorts of things in the water.^ 

^Look what he found when diving down. He got really good at chasing the fish.^

Later in the day we went on a search for sea turtles. We heard that they are seen often at a beach (Paradise Cove) that was 

walking distance away from our condo. No turtles were up on the beach so we looked in the water and we were lucky! 

We saw a sea turtle! It was trying to get up on the rocks but the waves and the current kept knocking him down again. 

Poor guy. I bet they spend hours trying to get up. He came close so many times but then a wave would sweep him back

out to the sea. It's so neat to see animals in their natural habitat. It makes it so magical! 

^Can you see the sea turtle?^

Can life get any more beautiful? 

I still have more Hawaii photo dumps to share. 

And it makes me miss that place so much!

#takemeback

Thank goodness for pictures and video to record the moments we have as memories.  

Pearl Harbor

One fun thing about Oahu is the amount of popular tourist attractions on the island, one being Pearl Harbor. 

Pearl Harbor was neat and I am so glad we got to go but it was not what I expected. I thought it would be more of a 

Pearl Harbor tour giving specifics and learning more about the people and things that happened on that day. 

Instead it was more of a WW2 museum. Still interesting, but I was wanted to learn more about the actual event of Pearl Harbor. 

^Behind is is the Arizona Memorial (the white rectangle). The Arizona was one of the first battleships hit and 

sunk at Pearl Harbor. That attack on that ship alone killed 1,117 men.^ 

Right before the Japanese attack, the Arizona had been filled with fuel as it was soon going to make a trip to the mainland. 

It was bombed before that could happen and the oil still leaks out a little over 2 gallons a day! 

Unfortunately we were unable to go out on the memorial because it was having repairs being done.

We were able to go out on a boat and drive by and see some of the ship sticking out from the water, but that was about it.

That little boat tour is free so I would do it again to actually go out on the memorial. 

And this picture an anchor from the Arizona. That thing is huge! And the ship had 3 of them! 

We were able to tour a submarine that was used during WW2. Not present at Pearl Harbor but used near the end of the war. 

Interesting, and I've never toured a sub before, so check that off the list!

^These door frames were so tiny. Everything is packed inside the submarine.^

This was a piece of paper that the Marines had that in case they were separated from the crew they could semi communicate. 

It was written in several different languages, mainly Asian ones. One being Annamese. Turns out it's Vietnamese and Andrew 

was able to translate the paper because it did not have tell us what it said in English. Basically it said the marine was 

separated from their crew, and they cannot speak the language. If the people there could help them find Americans and 

give them food and shelter, the American country will be grateful. 

We got back to the condo. Swam on the beach and went hot tubing. 

One of my favorite ways to spend the rest of the day. 

That night we had hamburgers from the grill and ate outside. 

It was dark, and the light was from the tiki torches they lit, and a fun atmosphere to be in.

Hawaiian all the way!

We are so excited for Memorial Day this weekend! 

We have been looking at things to do in Utah, but the problem is everything we were thinking of, is not suitable for

the raining Utah weather that has been going on nonstop! haha! 

Any fun summer suggestions that does not involve us getting wet with rain or getting all muddy, send them our way! 

Our Ohana Vacation

At the beginning of this month, Andrew and I got to be with his family in HAWAII!!!

We had so much stinkin fun! 

We did the typical tourist things + relaxation which is just what we needed after a stressful semester of school.

And we didn't look much at our phones so it was a break from reality.

AND... Andrew and I got to spend an entire week together 24/7! Pure bliss I tell you!

We arrived in Hawaii and all 7 of us- with all of our luggage, carry ons, and purses, piled into the van.
We needed food for the week and Costco was closing so on our way to our condo we stopped at Costco and bought groceries.
Somehow we managed to fit our grocery haul into the van too which took some creativity, but we did it!

When we finally arrived at our condo we were amazed by the view!
And the place we were staying was less crowded than the other places along the way. It was perfect.

Once we got all settled into our condo we walked around the beach path that surrounded the area. 

From that moment we were already in love with Hawaii! 

The next day was Sunday. We started off our morning with church and then we drove around the island which I really
loved seeing all the beauty of the area. There are so many places I want to go back to and explore.
One day it will happen!

We were also able to stop by the temple. I love visiting temples when we travel places, even just the grounds.
There is such a special spirit there and it just feels like a piece of home.

Another stop that we made was the Punchbowl Cemetery. It is formed from an extinct volcano and it was really neat to see.

None of the pictures we have do it justice. I guess it's a see it in person experience.

The cemetery is up on a hill and driving up there was an amazing view. That is Honolulu behind us, and this was 

my favorite part about Punchbowl Cemetery.  We were eye level with the buildings instead of looking 

up or down on them. The beauty of Hawaii kept amazing me, over and over again for the entire week! 😍

More pictures and hopefully a video to come 🤞

And how is it possible that we have 2 more weeks of school left?!

It does not feel like it's almost done. Maybe because the weather is so rainy and it is not feeling anywhere close to summer at all. 

I mean, I've been wearing long sleeves and a jacket to work! 

Can I go back to Hawaii?

Hopefully Utah weather will begin to act like summer! Or spring. Anything warm. Please! :) 

I Have the Best Job

Guys, I love my job! There are so many good moments and I wish everyone could experience it.

Personally, I think that everyone should work with special education or special needs at least at one point of their lives.

There are so many things I have learned from the kids I work with. And even when I'm having a bad day or when

work is a struggle, there is always something to laugh about. I mean, our kids are hilarious! 

I love celebrating with them their accomplishments of when they succeed in what they have been working hard on. 

I love cheering them on. I love their hugs. I love it when they are excited to see us and their friends at school.

I'm not exaggerating when I say it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.  

This past week was teacher appreciation and I loved it because it made me grateful for my job 

and for the staff and the students I get to work with. 

The PTA put a teacher appreciation together in the break room and is this not the cutest thing? 

And please notice the mini lantern lights above the red banner. They may be hard to see but it really completed 

the whole ensemble. We even turned off the lights for a minute and it was a little magic.

^And look at these smores' cupcakes! I'm not eating candy or desserts until our big vacation so 

I passed and gave it to Andrew instead. But I definitely want to try and make a similar recipe.^

Moments that Made This Week Special

⭐When one of our students wanted us to look up a picture of their brother. 

This student does not have a brother but they responded, "Yes I do, it's Jesus, and He loves me."

⭐Warm spring days when our kids want us to play with them during recess.

⭐When one of your kids invites you to their birthday party. I went and I absolutely loved it!

⭐The giggles from the kids.

⭐When the office staff plays with your kids and both love it.
Sometimes the kids run into the office on the way to the bus to play with the staff. 🙈

⭐ Potty training is going well!!! 

⭐The hilarious things our kids said. I think once tears even came because I was laughing so hard! 

I am so blessed to be working where I work and with all the amazing people. I love what I do. 

It's such a wonderful thing. If you want to be involved with anything involving special needs let me know and I will

give you different ideas of how to be involved. It will be a life changing experience for sure! 

Don't Take Your Friends Ice Skating

Holy cow, what a weekend we had! We were booked solid but it was so good!

Our friend Dennis planned a very last minute trip to Utah so we got to hang out with him! :) 

We started off our weekend with ice skating. It went really well until the very end...

We were doing only one lap more lap around because they were closing and the next thing I know Dennis 

is on the ground covered in ice. He makes it off the rink and when we get back to our apartment his ankle is swelling and 

he's hobbling around. We had a doctor look do a quick examination at the house and after he poked and 

prodded his conclusion was a really bad sprain. Ooops! Sorry Dennis!

Come to find out when Dennis went back to Connecticut he fractured his foot in 3 places and his hand! 

Next time Dennis comes to town, I think we'll skip the ice skating. 

The next morning we woke up and took pictures. Dennis wrote a book called,

"Is He Nuts?: Why a Gay Man Would Become a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ"

and he wanted Andrew to take some pictures for his social media account and other purposes.

It's a wonder he got his shoe on and he was hobbling around as we dragged him everywhere. 

But I think they got some good shots even with the circumstances. 

One thing special that we were able to do was to go to the Provo City Center Temple. 

Dennis had a brother who died around 15 years ago and Dennis went to the temple for his brother on Saturday 

(to learn a little more you can click here). So grateful for temples and so blessed to live so close. 

I mean this one is walking distance from our apartment

(of course we didn't walk with Dennis' foot and all) but so happy to live where we do. 

This gospel is true and I feel so much peace inside the temple. 

I love knowing that God loves all of His children and He wants them all to have a chance to receive His gospel. 

I love knowing that there is more to life than just this life- that there is life after death made 

possible through our Savior Jesus Christ. 

I love learning more about my Savior. I love becoming closer to Him.

And I love the countless blessings the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to my life on a daily basis #blessed.

^And of course, brides are everywhere, so we needed one in our picture, haha^

We continued our downtown Provo tour at Hruskas Kolache which I highly recommend. 

It's the perfect place for breakfast! 

In the evening we went to Comedy Sportz which is one of the best outings there is. 

Dennis is someone who loves to laugh and is constantly upbeat with a smile on his face.

He loved it! If you're looking for clean comedy, this is the place! This was Andrew and mine's 3rd time this year alone!

On Sunday we headed up north to see one of the many sister missionaries who served in Dennis 

home ward give her homecoming talk. 

^Look at all the missionaries Dennis has worked with + more not even here.^

And don't you love his footware? He couldn't wear his shoes so Andrew lent him sandals to wear. 

We had such a good weekend with Dennis and we found out that he is my 8th cousin twice removed.

So we're related which is pretty cool no matter how distant we are. 

He tried funeral potatoes for the first time and I don't think I've ever seen someone more excited to try a new food.

It was crazy busy all weekend long but we enjoyed it just the same. 

Sorry we broke your foot Dennis, but thanks for partying with us anyways!

Oh, and Dennis' book is coming out August 13 THIS YEAR! 

He is having a book launch party that day and anyone is welcome to come!

It's happening in Provo and the tickets are F R E E! 

Yep. Free.

If you would like to come tickets are being "sold" here. 

Come, enjoy, and celebrate!