Happy Birthday Maikeli

This last Tuesday Maikeli had his 26th birthday! It kinda sucked because he had an early morning class and was at school until 9:30 pm and I got home about the same time. I woke up early with him so he could open his presents and I could give him his yummy sugar cookies. I just love him so much. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. He is such a big boy and graduating in April. I am so proud of him and all his hard work in school. I have to brag about him and his school for a second... he has gotten practically straight A's since we got here. He is in the top 10% and has been on the Dean's List. He also is going to be apart of The National Honor's Society. I feel like a mom that is proud of her third grader but I can't help it. He is great! Happy Birthday Maikeli!

Baby shower and Halloween

Summer's Shower
This last Sunday Jen and I (along with help from a ton of wonderful people) had the great opportunity of throwing Summer (my neighbor and great friend) and baby shower. She is due at the end of the month and we wanted to have it while her mom and aunt were in town. It was a little difficult keeping it a secret but I still think she was surprised...kinda. She lives right above me so we had to be quiet while setting up and we had a great time putting this together. Thanks to everyone that helped bring food and decorate!

Here she is at the big surprise! She thought she was on her way to the temple with her family but I stopped her on the way.

Some present opening time!

Sorry Summer, I couldn't resist putting this one on!

Summer, Jen and I. These girls are great! I forgot to put a picture of the blanket I made Summer but I have to brag about myself a little here! I hand made her a cute little pink baby blanket. It was a fun craft for me and I think it turned out great!

The group!

Some decorations (my favorite part)! We had pink wrapped water bottles and we even make pink and green ice cube/blocks to keep them cold.

*Thanks Jen for taking such great pictures!

Haunted Lagoon

We were able to go to the Haunted Lagoon twice this year. The last 2 years PCC has put on this amazing haunted lagoon. The actors, lights, music, smoke, and costumes were amazing. They really did a great job. You ride around in a canoe through the production. It kinda felt like Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland only scarier. They have swamp men in the waters that creep up to your canoe and come over the edge onto the boat. They scared me so much because they would come from all angles and they even grabbed me a few times. I wish I would have taken some pictures worth putting on here but it was so dark so they didn't turn out that great.

Shaved Ice and Surfing Contest

Last Saturday we went to Matsumotos shaved ice. It is the best shaved ice on the island and so worth the drive up to North Shore. I would go every weekend if Maikeli would let me.

Then we stopped at a surf competition at Sunset beach. It was fun to finally start seeing some big waves again.

Changing times

I was going through some pictures that I never posted and came across these. We miss having Whitney and Leland and the kids around. I loved hanging out with them on the weekends and staying over there during the week sometimes. Watching Biggest Loser, Bachelorette, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars...and much more. We had so much fun with them and I am so glad we were able to have that time together. I feel like our time in Hawaii has been split into two sections. The times when Leland and Whitney were here and after they left. I am so glad that we live in TVA (student housing) now because we have been able to make some great friends. But we still miss these kidos sometimes.

On another note... the fix it pro is amazing!!! I saw it on TV the other night and wanted to buy it so bad. But after they add all the the "free" stuff for a limited time (you only have to pay shipping) it adds up big time, especially since it's extra to ship to Hawaii. But I was determined to have it so I quickly went to an "As Seen on TV" store and found it! It is seriously so amazing. I should probably start working for the company. Its just a little clear marker that fills in scratches on your car. It will match any color of car. So easy and I love it. I have had a ton of scratches on my car for so long and now they are all gone!!!

The actual product is just the little pen in the bottom left corner of the picture. It's the only picture I could find

Before...

After...

Before...

After...

A vacation day...kinda

Last Saturday Maikeli and I had a pretty good day. Lately the 1 1/2 hour drive each way to work every single day (3 hours round trip) has really been getting to me. To be honest I am so sick of driving. I do like my job, but sometimes I wish I could just stay in Laie everyday. But anyway, there is nothing I can do about that because the only job I could get in Laie pays $7.50 and that is just not going to work for us. So, on Saturdays I really like to enjoy myself on the north side of the island. We went boogie boarding at Pounders Beach and it was a blast. The waves started getting really big after a while so I got out. Sometimes they scar me.

We also went to Turtle Bay Resort and used their hot tub. We find ourselves doing this a lot. It makes us feel like we are on vacation for a little bit because we are at a resort! We have to kinda sneak in but it's so worth it. There was this little kid that was so cute sitting up in this tree watching the sunset. I couldn't help but take a picture of him. It was just a perfect picture!!!
I wish I could say this was Maikeli but he did go surfing at this same beach a few days earlier. This is just a surfer that happened to be out while we were watching the sunset at Turtle Bay.

So pretty!

More beach time!

Last Saturday we wanted to go somewhere we haven't been so we went to the China Man's Hat Beach! It actually wasn't that great of a beach to be honest. Not very good for swimming so we ended up going somewhere else to swim. But it's always good to try new places. It's really easy here to just keep going to the same places you like when there are so many new places to try!

Maikeli went spear fishing one night and net fishing another night. He brought home some good fish! This is what he brought home from net fishing with the elders quorum. We fried it and made some tarter sauce. It was actually pretty good!

He brought home lobster when he went spear fishing. Well, these are not your typical lobsters you would find at "Red Lobster" or something like that. I was a little grossed out by the way they looked, especially since they were a really weird grey color before we cooked them. I felt like I was eating an alien off the movie "Independence Day". I made Maikeli get all the meat out and once he did that, it was really really really good! We dipped it in a yummy garlic butter sauce and it was delish! Just another fun experience of living in Hawaii!

I love my mom and dad!

I don't know why but I was just thinking about how grateful I am for my family. Yes, we have our issues for sure, but we are still a family. As I have grown up I have realized that the most important thing in my life is family. They really will be there for you NO MATTER WHAT. You can do the stupidest things and make the dumbest choices but they will still love you! I know the Lord gave us families for a reason and I am so thankful for mine!

What we have been up to...

Well, sorry it's been a while since I posted last. We have been kind of busy. Things are really going great! We are still loving Hawaii and have really enjoyed meeting some new people in our ward. It has been so great living in TVA and actually feeling social. Here are some pictures from our ward activity on Labor Day. We were on the blue team and we were the only team that didn't try cheating. It was all the cheesy games like three legged race, water balloon toss, coconut husking, ect... but it was SO fun! We had a great time and then we had a BBQ after. Good times!

I was lucky enough to take a quick trip back to Arizona. It was exactly what I needed. This was the first time I had been home since January so it was so nice to see everyone. A bunch of us girls got together for a quick breakfast. My mom was pretty strict about how she wanted me hanging out with family the whole time so I had to sneak away. I guess I can understand her, she did pay for my tricky home.

It was so nice to see Cassie and Krystle. I miss these girls. They came out and saw me twice!

Me and Jonnie, sorry it's so blurry.

And here is the man I missed the most. I was so excited to see him. He came running in screaming my name when he first saw me.

Me and Tealey.

He loved his gift I brought him.

I also had the joy of going to Ikea while I was in Arizona and buying some wonderful decorations for my house. It feels so good to have a decorated house. I didn't realize how much I missed it. There are some "before" pictures in the post before this!