Our Pali Hike

In July Zach is joining his dad and brothers on a 4 day hike up Mt Whitney.

In preparation of the hike he decided he would walk 16 miles to Kailua up the Pali Highway.

At last minute I decided to tag-along and it's a great thing I did...he definitely would have been bored without my company and my singing!

We left our house at 5:43 in the morning, with bagels in hand.

We walked through town and around 7:45 we reached the start of the Pali Highway.

It was a little sketchy walking along the Pali as it is not really meant to be walked but there was enough room along the shoulder for us to squeeze by. 

The creepiest part was walking through 2 tunnels. 

We just stayed as close to the wall as possible. 

We anticipated rain so we were prepared when we reached the rainy part. 

Once we passed the tunnels and made our decent into Kailua we were both pretty much over walking but we had about 6 more miles to go. 

So we marched on with sore feet. 

Once in Kailua we stopped for coconut water and acai bowls 

and then walked our last mile to the beach. 

The water felt amazing on our tired bodies. 

I think it was a little ambitious of us to walk 16 miles in one day

but we're really glad we did it!

It was neat walking through town, we saw a lot of things we had never seen before like this cemetery. 

We were thankful for some grassy parts along the highway. 

Rain and the tunnels. 

On the other side of the tunnels we stopped for water and cookies. 

Our tasty treat!

The beach! Our destination.

Our walking trail, each dot is a mile. 

I think the guys will do well on their Mt Whitney trip. 

Zach wasn't that sore from walking 16 miles. 

My self on the other hand, my left foot is still super sore. 

Thanks Mom and Dad

It is no surprise. I cannot wait to be a mommy. When I was younger I always thought I would start having kids around the age of 25. Well, 25 came and went. And now that we are getting married we get the "when are you going to start having babies?" question all the time. We know we'll have our little family when the time is right.

On Monday as I welcomed my 28th birthday I couldn't help but think about how 28 years ago my parents became parents. I can only imagine how they felt bringing me into the world and how that first year must have been for them as new parents.

This past year seems like everyone around me was having babies and it has been the year where I have been surrounded by babies. In February I started nannying for my boss's 4 month old. I watch her at the office 3 days a week. I really enjoy watching her and I've learned a lot about babies. It has been fun watching her grow and develop. But the best part is how it's given me a glimpse into what it's like to have a little baby to care for and look after. It's not always easy, it takes a lot of patience (especially teething babies) but when they look at you and smile it is heart melting.
I now have a much deeper appreciation for my parents and all parents and I can only imagine that appreciation growing when I have my own babies.

I love you mom and dad!

Koko Head

We finally hiked Koko Head.

1050 steps pretty much straight up a side of the mountain.

When we lived in Hawaii Kai we were really close to Koko Head 

and we would see people hiking up and say, "we should do that".

Half way up the incline increases to about 80%.

And the steps are unevenly spaced which made coming down a bit difficult. 

The view was amazing and once we were at the top we enjoyed a beautiful sunset. 

Crossing the bridge which was a little creepy

Loved the view

Zach wasn't really feeling it

1000 steps 50 more to go

Panoramic view 

We made it!

Looking down from the top

Maui

First off...

Today marks 100 days until we say, "I Do!" I cannot wait!!!

Over the weekend we went to Maui, thanks to Zach's parents. 

His brother Jonathan, sister-in-law, Polin, and nephew, Noah were there visiting with Polin's family 

and we got to meet up with them and meet baby Noah. 

We were really surprised by how big, spread out, and country the island of Maui is.

It has a totally different feel than Oahu and we really liked it. 

We wanted to see the seven sacred pools so we drove towards Hana, little did we know how remote that side of the island is. We had no cell phone reception so we were unable to use the GPS, there were no signs to let us know where we were, and the road was so narrow. I know I annoyed Zach by yelling, "Babe" around every turn. But it was crazy not being able to see if a car was coming right towards us. There were parts with signs warning to honk around turns. 

But it was a beautiful drive with very diverse climates. 

Parts of the drive looked like how I envision Ireland. 

Along the drive we found a little black sandy beach. 

And we found a beautiful waterfall, which we stopped and walked up to. 

Since we had been driving for quite some time and we didn't know how much farther the pools were we decided to turn around and check out the lavender farm. 

It was so nice to spend time with Jonathan and family.

We loved meeting and holding baby Noah. 

We also loved spending time by the pool and going down the water slide.

The resorts on Maui are nothing like Waikiki, we were blown away by how uncrowded the resort was. 

We're thankful for the opportunity to explore another Hawaiian island. 

Zach and I really enjoyed spending time together too! 

We have been talking about how much we want to see a black sandy beach 

so we were excited to find this one. 

This waterfall was just along the side of the road.

The lavender farm was neat, we really enjoyed looking at all the plants and flowers and smelling the fresh lavender. 

We shared a lavender scone that was delicious. 

Noah didn't know what to think of Zach's beard, he kept pulling on it, which was really funny. 

 He has the cutest smile! 

We even got to see some penguins. 

In Need of Change

Lately I have been feeling blah.
This blahness is not a depressed feeling.
It's not an unhappy with life feeling.
It's a feeling that I need change in my life.
There are certain aspects in my life that I want and need to change.
I feel like there is this heavy weight on me.
This weight that is forcing me to realize I have to do what makes me happy.
I have to do what I enjoy.
Lately I have had very little time to really stop and enjoy life.
I am so caught up in the daily grind.
And it is draining.
If there is one thing I've learned recently it's that life is way too short.
It's too short to spend 10 hours a day in a office.
It's too short to not spend time at the beach.
It's too short to not spend more time with my love.
It's too short to not see family and close friends.
It's too short to not love what you do everyday.

I know I have the power to change what is not serving me.
I just have to dig deep and find the will, courage, and strength to go get what I want.

Engagement Photos

We talked about it and decided it was more important to hire a professional photographer to do our wedding pictures instead of our engagement pictures. So with the help of our roommate, Sam she used our camera to take our engagement photos.
We actually had a plan to go to Kualoa Ranch and then to the beach to take pictures. But on our President's Day holiday it was rainy and overcast. So we ventured over to Moanalua Gardens, which one of Zach's co-workers recommended to him. That was our only day off together where we could take pictures so we figured even if it was raining hopefully we would be blocked by the trees. It turned out to be perfect! There was no rain (just mud) and the sun started to peek through the clouds.
We didn't really know how to pose...I wanted us to have fun with it and we did.  Sam did a wonderful job, we got some great photos! After the gardens we decided to drive up to Tantalus to see if there were any good photo taking spots but it was still a bit too cloudy.

Once the rainy season is over I hope we can find a day to go to Kualoa Ranch and to the beach to take  a few more photos.

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!