Mom and Dan's Visit

Wow, I have a lot of blogging to catch up on.

We are settled into our new place and love it.

 

Earlier this month my mom and Dan came to visit for a week.

I loved having them here.

They spoiled us good!

Our week with them flew by

but we did a lot of fun things and it really meant a lot to me to show them where we live.

We took them to our favorite beaches:
Lanikai, Waimanalo, The North Shore, and Hanauma Bay.
They snorkeled with sea turtles and got Matsumoto's shave ice.
They got the tour of the farm.
We went on 3 hikes that week.
Mom and I got to go to a yoga class together.
They treated us to meals, brought us home goods and Christmas presents.
And Dan hung our hammocks.
They spent the day at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet and Pearl Harbor.

The Pillbox hike at Lanikai

 

 We had a rainy hike at Moana Falls

 We were surprised that the fall wasn't flowing more

 Being silly with my mom!

We had to get a picture of them in the giant Dole Whip

 

At Pipeline

Famous Shave Ice

Hanauma Bay

Zach and I had heard of a "park" at the top of our hill where we live but we had not made it up there to check it out until we went one evening with mom and Dan.
We were shocked to find a forest. It literally felt like we were in another state in the forest.
It's incredible.
On the morning of their last day we went for a hike up there.
 

It was neat to hear the wind through the trees

 

 

Love those roots

 

Zach and I want to explore more of that trail and park.  

 

Of course on Friday night we had to take them to Waikiki to see the firework show.

We ate dinner and then enjoyed laying in the sand waiting for the fireworks.

We had fun!

 Aloha shirts and stogies

Also, that week Zach's brother and sister-in-law where visiting Hawaii, traveling to 3 of the islands.

We got to have dinner with them a couple times.

Zach got to go spear fishing and to Hanauma Bay with them.

It was great seeing them and hearing about their trip to the other islands.

  It was sure a fun week to be with family!!

Hello October

The other day I experienced my first bit of "island fever".  I was missing my friends and family and I was feeling overwhelmed with the congestion of people and cars that surround this island. I was also longing for a change in weather, hoping for a little cooler temperature seeing as it was the beginning of the fall season. All of these emotions were similar to those I often experienced in Guyana. I was missing home.
I'm really missing the change in seasons, especially at the start of the holiday season. This is my 4th fall/holiday season living in a tropical climate and it doesn't really feel like Halloween is just around the corner because the leaves on the tress are not changing color and I don't have to start wearing sweaters. Although, we have noticed a slight change in temperature in the mornings and at night. Don't get me wrong, I love living in Hawaii. I do love the weather and I love the fact that we can go to the beach any day of the year.

In other news, Zach and I are saying goodbye to our studio apartment and moving into a different place. We talked a little about trying to find a cheaper place but never made any serious effort. Then this opportunity to move in with one of my co-workers landed in our laps. We will be sharing a two bedroom house with my co-worker, Sam. Of course there are pros and cons but the biggest pro is we'll be saving a few hundred dollars a month in rent alone. And that we like very much! The house is a good size with a great view of down town Honolulu, it has an amazing lanai where we can hang our hammock, it has a washer and dryer (no more paying $3 a load to do our wash), it has solar panels, gas, and electric so our electric bill will be more consistent. It is 4 miles away from my work and Zach will now commute via the Pali (the freeway that cuts through the mountain) so he'll be using the explorer and his commute will also be shortened by 4 miles.
It will be different for us to have a roommate and we'll be living in a more congested area, but we are looking at it as something new to explore. We have truly enjoyed our first studio apartment together. We love the location, the space, and the quiet neighborhood. But being able to save a good amount of money each month is something we are really excited about.

Work is keeping us both busy but we still find time each week to lounge on the beach.
The rainy season should be approaching very soon.
And we are looking forward to hosting more visitors starting next month.

 



The view from our new living room

Zach Made 28!

On Friday Zach turned 28 and to celebrate we spent the afternoon at the Honolulu Zoo.

We were surprised by how nice the zoo is.
We really enjoyed looking at all the animals;
a lot of them were very active, which is always fun to see.
 

 

The Komodo Dragon.

 

Tigers are beautiful creatures.

 

Did you know that the Rhino's horn is made up of the same material as our hair and nails?

 

This guy put on the best show...

he ran and kicked the glass window were Zach was sitting.

The sound was so loud and it got the other chimps hollering.

Giraffes are always cool to see.

 

It was really cool to see the big hippos enter and swim around in the water.

 

I loved watching these little guys!

"I like turtles"

 

These orangutans were just sitting there

and then they each rolled themselves over to play on ropes.

 

So great to see!

 

After the zoo we walked around Waikiki a little bit

then sat on the sand as the sun was setting

before we got to watch fireworks.

 

As the sun was setting we got the text that Zach's newest nephew was just born!

So he now shares his birthday with his baby nephew, such a great birthday present. 

We love the free firework show that the Hawaiian Hilton puts on every Friday night.

And Zach's birthday treat were his favorite malasadas.

We had a good day celebrating his 28th year!

Our One Year Mark!!!

September 12th marked our first year in Hawaii!

As I was looking through our pictures and thinking about the year I couldn't help but feel sentimental.

We took a leap of faith on moving out here.
For me it was following a dream.
For Zach it was gaining independence.
And for us both it was to see if we could really be together.
Sure the year presented struggles
but truthfully it has been the most eye opening
and best year of our lives yet.

We have made a life for ourselves on this island.
And that is an indescribable feeling.

It has been an adventurous year
and we look forward to many more years exploring together.

Our first day exploring 

Our first time living together was in this tent, where we lived for 2 months

on Nalolicious Farm

Sometimes we talk about our time on the farm and living in the tent

and we think it was one of the greatest things we could have ever done.

We went from living in a tent 

to renting our first studio apartment together. 

And we went from just having the scoot

to also having the explorer.

Our first year of visitors...

We loved showing all these people around the place we now call home

and we look forward to many more visitors!

Princess, Becky, and Peter came in October while we were still on the farm

Eric came in January

David and Mary came in March

Papa and his friend Mary came in April

Dad and Berna came in May

We got to see Brad and Christina in July

Ryan and Jamie came for their honeymoon in September

Over the year we've done things we never thought we'd do like cleaning baby catfish tanks 

 or for Zach working with food.

This year has also been a year of many firsts...

Zach officially got his hair in a pony tail 

Speared his first fish 

And we spent our first Christmas alone together

We've enjoyed...

Watching the farm grow

Spending as much time as we can at the beach

And exploring the island

We love being together

and we love living in Hawaii!

We can't wait to see what year 2 brings

Aloha!