Friday, December 23, 2011

Hawaii!!!

Prepare yourself, we're going on a big ol' blog ride to Hawaii today. It's 1 degree outside in Idaho this morning, and I'm missing the warmth of the beach. So I figured today was a great day to relive our trip we took in early December and get it blogged. We went because Jarom wanted to go to an away BYU game, and if an away game also includes a trip to Hawaii, you better bet I am in! Then to top it all off, we talked our friends into coming too. Really, you can't get a much better combo, BYU/Hawaii/Friends, what's not to love?

We started out early in the morning leaving from IF and flew to San Fran with our friends Karen and Scott. Karen had a hankering for clam chowder and potstickers for breakfast. I decided to go along with the potstickers idea and ate myself a big ol' order.

When massive turbulence hit about an hour outside of Maui, the potstickers didn't stick so well with me. The poor people sitting near us; everyone was so friendly and QUICKLY started chucking barf bags my way. (Seriously, I ended up with about 6, but thankfully only needed one.) So embarrassing. Thank goodness we had a small layover before hopping on the next plane to Oahu. I was able to walk off the nausea.

But by dinner time, I was feeling much better so we made our way to Benihana's and enjoyed a nice meal.

Bright and early the next morning we hopped in our ride, a convertible Mustang which was a tight fit for the four of us- but made for some very fun memories, and headed out to the Dole Pineapple Plantation.

I had to get my picture with the cute little Hula Pineapple b0dy. It's been 5 years since we last saw each other.

Just look at the colors of these plants. It was gorgeous!

This tree didn't even look real. It looked like the trunk had been painted.

Karen was our lovely tree model. This lady is a riot!

We enjoyed breakfast at the little cafeteria in the Pineapple Plantation's gift shop. It was surprisingly good. We had grilled ham and cheese on sweet bread, fresh pineapple, and a pineapple float. I've been craving that sandwich ever since.

Which way should I go? After wandering around for a bit, we decided to head on up to the North Shore to catch some sun rays and watch the surf.

Pretty scenery on our way to North Shore.

North Shore beach


The waves were massive. And we had a great time watching the surfers. They were pretty impressive!

More big waves!

The Women's International Surf Competition was happening just down the road from us. We were on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Center, so we didn't have time to stop. But we like to say that we maybe-might've-almost-did see Bethany Hamilton from Soul Surfer.

This barefooted tree climber at the Polynesian Culture Center was very neat to watch.

We had a great time milling around the PCC and learning about the history of the Island People.



They have a little boat parade, where each island is represented with costume, song, and dance.

The costumes are beautiful.

These boys could dance! Man they really rocked the boat. What happens when you're the little boat driver and the big boys start dancing?

You end up in the water. Man that was funny to watch.

There was a little old man in our group who looked SOOOO much like Jarom's Grandpa Holley, who passed away about 11 years ago. It was pretty fun to glance over and see him sitting there.

We had a great, full day at the PCC.

We even saw celebrities! Well, BYU celebrities anyhow. Scott, Tom Holmoe, and Jarom

Jarom and Chad Lewis

And last but not least Heisman Trophy Winner, Ty Detmer! Oh boy, was Jarom excited about that one. Notice how Jarom's arm isn't even around me, but he's sure hugging Ty! LOL!!! I laugh about it every time I see this picture. I have to admit, it was pretty cool to meet him, and he and his wife were very friendly.

We enjoyed our pina coladas in a real pineapple at the luau dinner,

and Karen and Scott enjoyed a 20th anniversary dance.

Then it was time for the night show. No pictures due to the "no cameras are allowed" rule, but boy was that impressive! The night show is definitely worth seeing if you ever find yourself on Oahu.

The next day was Game Day!

We spent some time at Pearl Harbor, which was really neat because it was the anniversary of the bombing. There is always a special feeling at this memorial, but it felt extra special and sacred this time around.

Karen even scored a picture of herself with several Pearl Harbor Survivor War Vets who were staying at our hotel.

Then it was on to the stadium for some BYU football!

Our seats were a little high in the stadium, but I was grateful for the shade and the coverage from the overhang when the rain started.

Oh and look! Our new besties Ty and Chad were down on the field.

And how about that? BYU wins! What a great game!

We attended church at the Oahu Tabernacle, which was a GORGEOUS building!

This sweet family blessed that beautiful baby and I just couldn't resist sneeking a picture. You know how much of a sucker I am for hairy babies.

Church was wonderful. We were able to hear so many sweet, pure, and simple testimonies from the Hawaiian members. I am so glad we attended.

We took a day to just do nothing but sit on the beach in Waikiki and soak in as many sun rays as we could, knowing that our bodies were returning to an Idaho winter and wouldn't have the chance to see sunshine for a few more months.

Scott and Karen doing the "fire power" pose with Diamond Head volcano in the distance.

Jarom and I decided to do some "Haka" faces. I'm supposed to be puffing my cheeks, but I just look stupid. LOL!

We rented a couple of paddle boards and Jarom and Scott had a great time playing around in the ocean.

Several sea turtles made an appearance and they all had a great time "turtle hunting".

It was a fabulous day and when the sun went down it was time to go back to Idaho.

So very sad our vacation is over. Don't make us go!

Goodbye beautiful land where the bathrooms have cute little lei wearing people on the doors!

We were lucky to get an empty flight on the way home. I took a couple of Dramamine this time around and I was asleep before the plane even left the ground. I have no memory of take off whatsoever. We were home and back to our single digit land of frozen air in no time. What a great trip!! I'm so glad we went. Thanks Karen and Scott for being such fun travel companions! Where are we going next time???

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Trying to Feel Like Christmas


I still need to get my blog post about Hawaii done. Yes, Jarom and I went to Hawaii a couple of weeks ago and it was fabulous. But in the meantime, I'm trying to get my rear in gear and make it feel like Christmas around here. I don't know what the deal is, but I am struggling this year. I have zero desire to get the decorations out, I haven't made one single batch of goodies, I don't even have my Nativities or Christmas cookie jar set out yet. And Christmas cards? Yah....don't count on one from me. It's SO not going to happen this year. Sheesh....my poor kids. I'm bound and determined to be finished Christmas shopping by tomorrow (but I don't think I'm going to make it. A lot is done and now I'm down to just the odds and ends.) and then the kids are out of school for the rest of the year. I'm hoping to start some baking, game playing, and gift delivering to get the Christmas feeling alive in our house. How are things coming along at your house? I hope you're feeling it more than me this year!