Zach's Hair

For as long as I have known Zach he has always gone back and forth between growing out his hair, beard, or mustache. He'd start to grow his hair out to see how long he could get it but would always end up cutting it before it would start to lay down. 
For the past 21 months he grew his hair out...

His stages were the curly top poofball. The almost long enough to pull it into a ponytail. And the shoulder length sufer look, which I really liked when he wore a hat! 

When we started planning our wedding the hair topic came up and we came to an agreement, either long hair and clean shaving or short hair and a beard. The choice was Zach's and he choose the beard. 

He wanted to make sure his hair was long enough to donate, which it was well over 10 inches long. So on Valentines night we went to the barber shop and he said goodbye to his long curly locks. 

Every time he grew his hair out I told him I wanted to straighten it. Well, I finally got the chance to! 

This is the Zach remember when we first started dating. 

So now he is working on growing out his beard...let's hope it looks good for the wedding! 

Yoga and Wedding

We have been busy...Zach has been busy with school, work, and the gym. I've been busy with work and yoga. And we've both been busy with wedding planning {there's so much to plan and think about!}

I completed the first 2 (out of 5) modules in the yoga teacher training and I definitely learned a lot in a month's time. I felt like a sponge trying to absorb all that I could and I let myself be okay with not fully understanding everything, I know it will all come in time.  It wasn't just doing yoga poses 5 days a week for a month. It was learning the correct alignment of poses, along with observing our bodies in postures, and recognizing and feeling the ever slightest adjustments of our muscles, heads, joints, ribs, and breath. We started learning about the history and philosophy of yoga; which the philosophy of yoga is something all of its own and quite a deep topic. We also started learning about meditation and the language of Sanskrit. Meditation is hard. It's really difficult to sit still with your eyes closed and just let your thoughts pass. It is something I need to work on and make time for.

Girls at work have been asking me when I was going to start teaching them, so the other day after work 4 of us stayed and I taught my first ever yoga class. It was fun! And the girls seemed to really enjoy it. They want to make this a weekly occurrence, which I think would be a great help for me to become comfortable with teaching.

I start module 3 on Wednesday and I'm super excited for it. The next 3 modules (February, March, and April)  include training for 5 days straight for 7 hours each day and we will be focusing more on sequencing a class. I'm hoping more things will start to click and I'll understand how to better prepare and design a class.

In wedding planning news...
I bought my dress!  A few of my co-workers went with me 3 separate times to try on dresses (they are the best) and I'm so grateful I had them there to help me out.

These ladies are the best! 

If you don't know yet, I am the most indecisive person. It is difficult for me to make decisions.  And I am not one of those girls who has pictured my wedding dress since I was 10 years old. I just wanted something flattering and not too expensive and that's what I got. When I was wearing the dress the other night in he bridal shop all I kept thinking was, "I can't wait to marry Zach". I had that moment where nothing else matters except I am marrying the love of my life!

We have the food caterer booked. We are both really excited for the food option we have chosen.

We went the other day to look at wedding rings and I have picked mine out. Now Zach just has to choose one.

On Monday we are going to take our engagement photos so hopefully we'll have invitations sent out soon.

Things are falling into place!

Save the Date!

We have officially locked down the venue and wedding date!!!

August 14, 2014 at Elings Park in Santa Barbara

We are so excited and it feels good to have it settled so we can concentrate on all the details. 

Since we are Hawaii and have decided to have the wedding in California Zach's parents kindly went to check out the venue for us. 

We think it's the perfect fit for how we invasion our wedding. 

The ceremony and reception will both be held at the park.

The park offers for the ceremony to take place in the amphitheater or on the grass.

We haven't decided yet which one we will use. 

The amphitheater seems neat but I don't like the idea of us standing in the dirt and there is not a true aisle to walk down.
We are still deciding on the amphitheater or the grass.

We love the large deck area for the reception.It will be great to have everyone gather for dinner and dancing. 

I am so excited to really start planning!!!

Tim & Chelsea's Visit

Over Christmas my friends Tim and Chelsea came to visit.

We really enjoyed their company and they had a fun Hawaiian vacation.

It was good to catch up on everything with them...

Chelsea is half way done with law school and Tim is busy teaching.

Luckily, the weather was amazing and we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day at the beach.

And Chelsea and I talked a lot about wedding stuff, it was nice having her here to help me start the initial planning process.

They really enjoyed Hanauma Bay and seeing the beaches of Oahu. 

They treated us to an adventurous kayaking trip. 

We rented two double kayaks and went out of Kaneohe Bay.

The guy at the rental place told us there was a sand bar to stop at and a little island that had good snorkeling. We reached the sand bar, which was neat.

It was a little windy and overcast and we kayaked farther than we had to, which turned out to the wrong island.
But we had a good time.

It was sure good to spend time with them! 

Our Engagement

I was surprised when Zach popped the big question 3 weeks ago. Sure, we had talked about getting married and we'd say things like, "When we get married..." or "At our wedding..." but now that it's actually happening it feels surreal. Those first 48 hours of being newly engaged are moments I never want to forget. When we told our families and friends and people asked if we had a date set or knew any details all we could say was, "We don't know anything yet". I just wanted to soak in all the happiness and love I was feeling. We both couldn't stop smiling.
Sometimes throughout the day when life is crazy and hectic I look down at my left hand and see the ring Zach placed on my finger and I am reminded of how lucky I am...I get to marry and spend my whole life with my best friend; the one who makes me laugh every day and who loves me for all that I am.
Now that the feeling and words "engaged" and "fiancé" have sinked in we have started planning our wedding. We don't know much yet, but we are working on it. We know we want a relaxed, outdoors wedding in Southern California with our families and close friends. Every day we talk about ideas or look at Pinterest for insperation for our wedding. It has been fun and I love that Zach is into planning and giving his input.  Once we have our venue and date I know things will start to fall into place and it will be easier to plan and finalize everything.
I just want us to really enjoy and have fun in our engagement.

I'm addicted to looking at Pinterest!

 We are thinking an evening wedding and I want lots of twinkle lights

I love this sign

 I can't wait to try on wedding dresses...

I want something with lace but simple

It seems every day so far our thoughts on wedding colors change...

we really like the idea of gray pants for the guys 

so we've been leaning towards more soft, natural colors. 

But theses colors together are pretty!

Happy 2014!

2013 was a good year for us...

We had lots of visitors.

Zach worked the graveyard shift for 7 months {bless his heart}
so we could see more of each other and have a little more money.

We were able to go home to spend time with friends and family.

We got to explore a lot more of the island

and we grew even closer.

 

But to top off the year, on Christmas, Zach surprised me by popping the big question!

We got engaged!!!
 

Christmas day
 

We are beyond excited for the New Year!

And we welcomed 2014 by celebrating being in each other's lives for 10 years!

That's right, around 1:00am on New Years Day, 2004 we kissed for the first time.

It's crazy how fast time flies.

 

I am so grateful for where these 10 years have led us

because we've ended up right where we're meant to be!

Us in 2005 & 2013

 

 



I can't wait to spend my whole life with this goofball!

 

2014 is going to be a very busy year for us.

On top of planning and enjoying our engagement/wedding

Zach is going back to school.

He starts at UH in 2 weeks and will be studying kinesiology.

And in 2 days I will be starting my yoga teacher training;

to obtain certification to become a yoga instructor.

We are both very excited to be taking the steps needed to pursue future careers.

And we are just so happy!

 

Happy 2014 Everyone!!

 

Stay tuned for wedding stuff!!   



Christmas Festivities

Just wanted to share our December happenings so far.

Our stockings are hung and presents continue to pile under the tree.

And we have enjoyed a couple Christmas festivities around the island.

We walked around the Honolulu City Lights last Sunday night. We had heard a lot about it and wanted to go last year but couldn't make it because we just had our scooter then. So we were happy we got to experience it this year. Basically, it's about a block decorated with large displays, Christmas trees, and Christmas lights.

I heard an advertisement on the radio the other day for a Christmas light canoe ride at the Polynesian Culture Center so seeing as we love Christmas lights, it was a no brainer!

Zach and I enjoyed date night up at the North Shore.

The lights didn't start until 6:45 so we stopped by a beach to watch the big waves and as we were walking Zach spotted a big sea turtle resting on the shore.

It was so cool!!

Then we stopped briefly near Sunset Beach to watch an incredible sunset.

 

Once we got to the PCC we were surprised to see the parking lot full.

We waited in line for about an hour before we got on the canoe ride but it was well worth the wait.

The PCC did a good job at displaying Christmas Around the World and telling the story of Christmas traditions. It reminded us a little of  It's a Small World.

At the end of the canoe ride they had fake snow falling, which was neat.  

We love Christmas time!

 

This year we added a stocking for Sam

 

Photos from Honolulu City Lights:



 

Up at the North Shore:



 

The pictures don't do justice but the waves were pretty big

 



 

We just loved seeing this sea turtle!

 



Truly amazing

 We wish we could live on the North Shore

Our pictures didn't come out that well from the canoe ride

but this one is very fitting for the season. 

Merry Christmas everyone!