He Speared a Fish!

A couple evenings ago I came home to a note that read,

"there's a surprise in the freezer"

When I opened the freezer I saw a little brown thing in a ziplock bag,

all I could distinctly make out was a tail.

I thought it was a bird.

I picked up the phone, going to text Zach, "why is there a bird in the freezer?"

when I saw pictures of a fish on his spear.

Then it clicked,

he speared his first fish!

He is very proud of his first successful fish hunt.

Luckily, I didn't have to clean and cook the little fish because 

as it turns out boxfish are toxic. 

I think this is just the first of many more fish he will bring home!

He is so stoked!

In other deep-sea related news...

this afternoon Zach and I went snorkeling.

The water was pretty murky so we swam kind of far out to more reef. 

We were looking at some fish when I looked to my left and saw a shark.

I came to the surface and told Zach, "there's a shark!"

He told me not to panic and to start swimming towards shore.

I have never swam so fast in my life. 

When we reached the shore I was out of breath and Zach asked if I was okay.

He did not see the shark but he told me it was most likely a reef shark and that they are very skittish around humans. But still I saw a shark and since I don't know the difference between sharks it was freaky.

Zach is jealous he did not see the shark.

But today was a beautiful day at the beach and I love that we live here! 

April's Happenings

Where the heck did the month go?
How is it almost May?
I wish time would slow down just a little bit...

We are staying busy, especially with work
but we do find time to have fun together and explore the island.

We had another good month, with more visitors. Papa and his friend Mary came to visit for a few days earlier in the month. We enjoyed our time with them and we appreciate all they did for us...Papa took time to show Zach how to check/change breaks, and luckily our Explorer didn't need new breaks.
While Papa and Mary where here we had dinner with Papa's cousin and his family, who live on the island. I enjoyed meeting them and it's nice to know I have distant relatives here.

This month Zach and I went on two hikes, Diamond Head and Manoa Falls. And we have spent many moments in the ocean, snorkeling, swimming with sea turtles, spear fishing (only Zach is the spear fisherman, he hasn't caught any fish yet but he is getting plenty of practice), and soaking up the sun.

Zach got a surfboard from a buddy for $20, which was a great deal.  So, slowly our water toys are piling up. One evening we went to pick up a free couch from another one of Zach's work buddies, which we were excited for. We got the couch home and up the stairs only to find out it wouldn't fit through our front door. Luckily people are allowed to discard their bulk items on the curbs here. Needless to say we still don't have a couch. 

But we are happy.

We are looking forward to the month of May

and even more excursions! 

Aloha!

D & M Visit

Zach's parents, David and Mary, came to visit last week and we loved having them here!

The week was filled with fun, adventurous outings and a lot of sightseeing. 

Our time together went by too fast, but we are thankful they were able to spend time with us in Hawaii,  and even more thankful for everything they did for us.

Zach and I were able to get a few days off of work so we spent the first 3 days of their trip doing the touristy things, which we loved.

We took them to the farm. It was good for them to meet John and see where our adventure began.

We took them to many beaches including: Waimanalo, Lanikai, Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach and Hanauma Bay. One day while we were working they ventured to Sandy Beach, where David learned just how powerful the waves here can be. 

We enjoyed a free firework show at Waikiki Beach. 

We went to the Dole Plantation where we rode the train to see the pineapple crops and strolled around in the pineapple maze.

Mary treated us to a wonderful Hawaiian dinner and fire show at the Polynesian Culture Center, which was a lot of fun. 

We hiked to the Maunawili waterfall and they hiked Diamond Head. 

We spent our last day all together at Pearl Harbor, where we visited the USS Arizona Memorial, and toured the Bowfin submarine and USS Missouri; all of which were neat and reflective things to see.  

After Pearl Harbor we decided to go to Hanauma Bay for one last snorkel, in hopes to see a sea turtle.

Mary and David went out minutes before the beach was closing and sure enough a turtle bumped into Mary.

They came walking up the beach with big smiles on their faces. 

We were all excited they got to see a turtle, it was the cherry on top of their trip! 

Thank you so much David and Mary for coming to see us!

 First day sightseeing

{Makapu'u Lighthouse lookout}

 David knows how to start off a vacation right
{Waimanalo Beach}

Zach getting his mom into the water
{Waimanalo Beach}

Loved the free firework show over the water

{Waikiki Beach}

David and Mary in the giant Dole Whip
{Dole Plantation}

This did not stop them

{North Shore}

Zach and David playing in the big waves
{Pipeline, North Shore}

We had to stop for fresh coconut water

{side of the road}

On the boat ride to our dinner at the Polynesian Culture Center

At dinner

 We liked these cool statues

{The PCC}

Hiking to the waterfall

{Maunawili Trail}

Zach and Divid jumped into the chilly water below

An early morning hike

The view at the top of Diamond Head

{Pearl Harbor}

They saw a sea turtle!
{Hanauma Bay}

Six Months

It was a warm Wednesday afternoon in June and an out of the blue phone call. On the other end of the line was a very familiar but nervous voice. Before hanging up he asked, “Do you want to move to Hawaii?”…

It has been 6 months since Zach and I sold our cars, downsized our belongings and packed 2 duffle bags, one backpack, and a tent to embark on a new, unknown adventure. All we knew was we were going to try to live in Hawaii. We took a leap of faith, we followed a dream, we sought adventure, and we did it together.

We both remember our first night on Oahu, John picked us up late from the airport and we drove through the darkness, unaware of the beauty that surrounds this island. When John said, “this is it” as he turned down an unlit, rocky drive-way I think Zach and I both thought, “What have we gotten ourselves into?” 

The farm was a blessing in disguise. It provided food and shelter. It required us to be productive and proactive. It pushed us out of our comfort zones. It imbedded more patience in each of us. It filled us up with gratitude and allowed us to get our footing on Hawaiian land. Without the farm, I don't think our move out here would have been as successful.

I think our move to Hawaii has turned out better than we both imagined. Our relationship is better and stronger. We’ve grown together over these past 6 months; we have fun and enjoy figuring out our life together. I cherish the moments Zach and I have shared on the island and look forward to many more.

We have done a lot in the short amount of time we’ve been here but there’s still so much we want to see and do in Hawaii. We ask each other every now and then if we think we’ll move back to the mainland and our response is maybe one day but right now we love where we live. It’s definitely not cheap to live out here but we aren’t starving and we aren’t in debt; we’re happy it’s working out. And we love that we get to have friends and family come visit! 

Happy 6 months on Oahu to us!

Kamaaina

It's official, we now have 4 wheels!!!

This is our new 1992 Ford Explorer Sport

We love it!

It's stick shift so we've both had to learn how to drive it. 

Zach became a pro after one day of driving it, while I'm still getting a feel for it.

{I should have stuck with it when papa was teaching me how to drive stick 11 years ago}.

Zach took a bus (a 3 hour ride) up to the North Shore to check it out and ended up making a deal with the guy and drove it home. 

We went out and about last weekend and it felt so good to drive together in our own vehicle, blocked from the elements, and with plenty of space in the back to hold our groceries. 

We drove about 30 minutes to the only Target on the island

to buy some more home-goods.

It was nice to do all of our shopping in one place.

Even Zach enjoyed our Target trip. 

{He makes life fun}

Since we now have 4 wheels we thought it best to get our Hawaii driver licenses. 

We took a morning and drove up the east side of the island to the DMV. We were pretty impressed with the DMV experience, we got there 45 minutes before they opened and once they opened we were out of there with our licenses within an hour. 

So we are now officially kamaainia (children of the land)! 

After we got our licenses we decided to drive a little more up north to check out Laie point.

It was super windy

Yesterday we decided to have a late afternoon snorkel at

Hunauma Bay 

{Hunauma Bay is world class snorkeling and it's about 3 miles away from our apartment.

Also, it's free for kamaaina, I think we'll be spending a lot of time there now}

 It felt good to be in the ocean.

We snorkeled a little ways out to where the waves were breaking and we saw a sea turtle swimming right toward us with his head above the water.

He was so cute and it was so cool to see.

I love sea turtles!

Afterwards we stopped off at the Hawaii Kai lookout point,

which is one of my favorite points on the island.

I was able to get Zach's hair in a pony tail...

I think this is going to be his look from now on. 

We are very excited to have Zach's parents visiting in 2 weeks!

It will be great to see them and explore more of the island! 

A Day Off!

Zach and I finally had a day off together.

Our last day off together was on Christmas...way too long.

So what better way to spend our President's Day than at the Aquarium in Waikiki.

I cashed in my February coupon for a day with my babe looking at colorful fishies.

I loved our day!

We woke up made some eggs and bacon, did some laundry then walked to the bus stop, and we only had to wait 10 seconds for the bus {I love when that happens}.

The aquarium is right on the water, it's small but offers a wide variety of fish to aw over.

We got a kick out of this spotted fish and it's name...Sweet Lips

I loved all the neon colored fish

Jelly fish are interesting creatures

I wish the aquarium had more outdoor exhibits but it was fun to watch this monk seal swim around

After the aquarium we walked around Waikiki, it's fun to do that every now and then.

We checked out a lot of the shops.

It amazes me that there are 2 of the same stores on the same side of the street just blocks away from each other, I guess tourist love to shop while they visit Waikiki. 

The weather was nice and sunny and windy.

The wind has been blowing here so much lately.

In fact, we've been woken up 3 nights in a row now because the wind has been blowing so hard.
There's just no escaping the wind.

We had a nice evening together as well.
It was a perfect day off!

Zach beat me at both cards and Bananagrams too!!

Our Days In Photos

 Evening walk

Love it here!

 Zach's hair is getting long. 

 I came home to a home cooked meal of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and green-beans.

Delicious!

I went exploring and found sea treasures.

And Zach went exploring and found a sea turtle. 

I got a box of books from Mary (Zach's mom)!

Hoping this will help with home management and home cooking. 

And that's our living room in the background...two old brown leather chairs. 

 Heart Day! 

                 

I tried new local food "loko moko"

A hamburger patty, egg, and gravy over a bed of rice.

Date Night.