Big Island

So while Kim was here visiting we went to the Big Island of Hawaii over Valentine's and President's Day. We had a bit of trauma prior to arriving since prior plans with some other friends going on the trip fell though 2 days before and we found out that every car on the island was sold out and rooms were slim...yikes! But thanks to Craigslist we were able to find someone willing to rent us their car and we got a nice hostel that could accommodate all 5 of us for a very reasonable price. Then the morning of our flight our ride flaked on us! But we still made it to the gate with 15 minutes to spare :)  Luckily for us it was smooth sailing from there! We picked up our car at the airport, it was an awesome Jimmy 4x4 that smelled like a mixture of ashtray, weed, and air freshener, but hey it was a car and we would have been stranded without it! We met up with my friends Kat, Aly, and Tom in Kona, grabbed some breakfast and let the adventure begin. Tom was pimping it with 4 dates for Valentine's Day, I'm sure that was rough haha. We started off by going to the southern most point in the United States, it was the windiest place I have ever been! After that we went to the black sand beach which was super neat. There was a turtle on the beach that everyone was gawking at, unfortunately I think that he seen better days :(  We continued on down the road toward the Volcanoes National Park, making a brief stop at the Punalu'u bakery for a yummy plate lunch. After going up 4000 ft. in elevation we reached the summit of the volcano. It was FREEZING! We were definitely not prepared in our shorts and t-shirts and the rain and wind didn't help either haha. But we sucked it up and got to see the steam vents, lava tube, and crater. Due to the bad weather we did not get to see the glow of lava dumping into the ocean at night...maybe next time. 

The next day we went to church and it turned out to be stake conference so that took a little longer than we had planned but it was good.  Next we went to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park and did a short little hike to a really nice beach, then we drove inland a bit to get a better look and Mauna Kea and the SNOW! Before I moved here I had no idea that there was snow on Hawaii...it was so surreal to look one way and see the beach then look the other and see snow, crazy! After that we dropped off Tom at the airport, and us girls headed to the temple for some pictures and relaxation. Then we went in to  Kona and walked around downtown and got some huge shaved ices and enjoyed the sunset. Later that night we met a lot of cool people staying at the hostel and played some great hands of texas hold 'em (no money involved of course). 

Monday one of our new friends from the hostel named Patrick joined us on our trip over to Hilo. We saw several water falls including 442 ft. Akaka Falls and the appropriately named Rainbow falls. We ate at a great little Italian restaurant for lunch then headed back toward the airport. We attempted to see the lava dump into the ocean but it was too light so all we could see was steam, oh well it was still cool. Then it was back to the airport...we went all the way around the island in one day...i'm so glad Kat offered to drive part of the time or I would have gone crazy!  They aren't kidding when they say it is the big island! All in all I think we had a great time and crammed a lot into 3 days. I had thousand of pictures, literally, but here is what I could narrow it down to. I did a slide show for each day enjoy!

                                        Saturday 2-14-09

                                     Sunday 2-15-09

                                           Monday 2-16-09

There was so much to see and do I wish we had more time there! But I'm so glad we were able to go while Kim was here. It was so great having her visit. I can't believe she really moved to Tennessee, Utah will miss her forever!!  

Oh and I also wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to move back to Utah at the end of the school year, at least for the summer :) So if you wanted to come visit Hawaii you have until the 3rd week of June.  Aloha!

So many visitors, so little time!

So I have a ton of pictures and stuff from the Robinson's visit over the New Year's.

I had so much fun while they were in town, I can't even express it. I wish you all could see the dance I am doing right now...it explains it all ;) Maybe Renae can show you sometime...I wish I could get the videotape from that elevator camera haha. The list of activities for their trip was ever changing and somehow never seemed to get any smaller, there is just so much to do and so little time! We did however manage to squeeze a lot into 2 weeks, including but not limited to-Parasailing, Sealife Park, North Shore waves, Pearl Harbor, swap meet, picnics, sunset catamaran ride, Maunawili falls and Diamond Head hikes, BEACHES, shaved ice, fireworks, ocean, and LOTS of food :) Here are some pics of the fun!

Thanks so much for everything while you guys were here, I am so spoiled to have such an amazing family! Love you guys and cant wait to see you all again soon!

Hikin', eatin', ballin', jumpin'...the usuals!

I know it has been a long time since I updated this...seems to be a trend haha. Sorry I am such a slacker. Anywho there has been a lot going on. I started back to work on the 14th of January after almost a month off for Winter Break! I worked for 2 days then school got cancelled on Friday because they were predicting a huge storm. Thursday night I hiked Koko Head with Kat, Tom, and Jon. It is 1106 stairs to the top!! Let's just say I almost passed out when I got to the top but I did it! :) Well by the time we got to the top it was totally dark...good thing the baseball field at the bottom had its lights on so it wasn't too bad and we all made it down safe and sound!

The next morning since I had the day off I had some yummy coconut pancakes at the Seaside Grill, courtesy of Jon for finishing the hike, then hung out in my apartment waiting for the 'huge' storm to hit...but it never did! Monday was Martin Luther King day so we hit up the secret swimming hole! It is just off the Pali highway and has a rope swing, rock slide, and cliff jumping :)

The next weekend was Chinese New Year so Christine and I went to the block party in Chinatown. Welcome Year of the Ox everyone! They had tons of yummy food booths, Lion dancing, and a parade. We had a good time and got out just in time, it was getting so crowed you could barely walk down the street!

Lion Dance

Jin Dui- Chinese doughnut AKA Grease ball! I could only eat a few bites haha

Later that night Kat and I went to the Utah State vs. University of Hawaii basketball game, sporting our 'Show em' you A' shirt of course and the Aggies dominated!! "Show me the true blooded Aggie from Utah who doesn't love the spot where the sage brush grows!!!" (milking motion with the arms ;)) Sorry Hiram...we still cheered for you while you were in!

This past weekend I went to see the reggae group A'a Mele play at The Shack in Waikiki. Good music and good dancing=good times. Then on Saturday I went skydiving!!! We went up on the North Shore and it was B-E-A-U-tiful!! I can't believe I actually did it...it was so surreal!

I love you all and miss you everyday. I can't wait for Kim to come tomorrow!!!

OMGosh!!!

Ok I am going to compile a post with all the Christmas and New Year's festivities and the Robinson's visit soon, but I just had to post this!! We were watching TV and saw this infomercial for 'Bumpits'...Oh my gosh I think this had to have been invented in Idaho and popularized in Utah!! I guess this is giving girls across the land all the more time to get fro-yo and scrapbook! ;)  

Oh and one more thing

I forgot to put up the video of the sharks! :)

My christmas gift to all...A new post ;)

Hi all!!
I am so sorry I haven't written in such a long time, but don't worry I am alive and things are still going fabtastic in H-town :) Lots has been going on! 
Kandi and Bill were in town so I went to dinner with them to celebrate Bill birthday and catch-up...it was so good seeing them! I wish I could have seen Karly and Kyle, sounds like they are doing great and growing up so fast. I can't believe Kyle is driving!! If they are reading this I love you both and miss you!!
My parents also came to visit, which was awesome. Sunday they cooked a big Thanksgiving dinner for my friends and I and it was spectacular! :) All who know me know my love for thanksgiving and it didn't disappoint! I felt so bad I had to work most of the time they were here, but luckily they are pretty self-sufficient and kept themselves entertained:) I did take one day off and we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) for my mom's birthday (30th of course ;)) and my friend Mon totally hooked us up! He works there so he gave us a VIP tour of all the villages and back stage at the evening  show. That was about the only day we took pictures, my bad! Here they are:

Some other highlights of the trip included a University of Hawaii (UH) basketball game, the swap meet, and that is all I can remember right now haha. Honestly the whole trip went by way too fast and it is all a blur now!

I am still busy with the calling as FHE coordinator and am even more stressed since my partner got deployed to Iraq and I am flying solo! Luckily things have been working out great and we are having a lot of fun. We have written holiday letters to the troops, gone to a UH basketball game, decorated gingerbread houses, and gone on a trolley ride to look at the Christmas lights. Here are some pics of the branch:

Now what you all have been waiting for...pics from the shark encounter! Saturday morning we got up early and went over to the North Shore to catch a boat that took us out about 3 miles and dumped us into the ocean with sharks. Ok we had a cage to swim in and snorkel masks so I never felt I was in danger. We saw some awesome 10-12 ft. sharks that would come right up to the side of the cage and blink at us haha. Oh and I have to tell this story for Renae cuz she will freak! While we were in the cage swimming the water was really rough and we were getting thrown around pretty good. Well Jon got sick and threw up. Oh my gosh I flipped! We were snorkeling around and I could see it in the water so I jumped up and wanted to get out, but the cage had drifted about 10 ft. from the boat so I was trapped in the cage swimming in puke! Granted it was the ocean so it diluted pretty quickly but it was super nasty nonetheless! Happy ending though, we got back on the boat and they had a hot shower waiting for us...Hallelujah!!! On the way back in we saw a bunch of spinner dolphins that kept jumping up and doing tricks next to the boat , soo cool! And we also saw a whale! Totally worth every penny!

Lastly here is a compilation of some random stuff that has happened in the last month and a half:
Finally got the pics scanned from the Haunted Lagoon at PCC.
I got free tickets to the Symphony from a girl in the branch that play the violin for them and got to meet Bela Fleck, 18 time Grammy winning banjo player...Yee haw :) Really he is awesome though!
Also got free tickets to the Marine Forces Band concert and got to meet singer Anita Hall and Jake Shimabukuru, ukulele genius!! Seriously if you have never heard or seen him you-tube him, he will knock your socks off! And he is super super nice!
I found my favorite beach so far called Lanikai Beach...stunningly beautiful, soft sand, not very crowded, and some shade. Who could ask for more!
I got caught in a terenchal downpour coming home from mini golf one night-literally clear sky one second then snap a bucket of water thrown on my head. Surprisingly refreshing :)
I made festive crafts with my Kindergarten group...I promise it is work :)
And last but not least I finally tried SPAM and eggs from McDonalds. My review...not inedible, not incredible :)

Love you all so much and am sooo sad I won't be home for Christmas!! But, I will see the Robinson's in a week so I can handle it :) Best wishes to all and Mele kalikimaka!!!

Chinatown

Saturday we took the bus from Waikiki to Chinatown for some lunch and shopping. I went with Jon and some of his friends that go to school at BYU-Hawaii. They are originally from Thailand so they knew of all the good little places to eat and shop in Chinatown...lucky for me! :) We had dim sum at a place called Good Luck restaurant and it was so good! I had never had dim sum before and I was pleasantly surprised :) It is basically a variety of steamed dumplings with different fillings like shrimp and pork. They look a little scary at first, not gonna lie, but they are quite tasty and inexpensive! We got a whole table full of food for 6 of us for $35! After we went to lunch we wandered around the different shops and markets that have all sorts of fresh produce and ethnic ingredients. We bought some strange fruits, one was delish...the other was the complete opposite! The little red fruit is called Rambutan(?) and it is sweet and juicy. The big spikey fruit is called Durian. It smells so putrid and the taste is likewise...imagine the taste of rotten potato salad. But hey at least I can say I tried it right?! Here is the slideshow of pictures...enjoy :)