Round 3/4 of the Island tour

Saturday after 4th of July we were feeling adventurous & decided to go on a drive around the island. Our first stop was Costco to get the "Oahu Revealed" book. Then we ate at Taco Del Mar & contemplated if we should just go home & take a nap since we were still in the HK, but resisted the temptation & left the comfort of our HK bubble. We drove around Waimanalo into Kailua & then around Kaneohe Bay. We stopped at Hei'ia state park & took some pixs, below is a veiw of kaneohe bay & chinaman's hat. Our next stop was the art gallery in Kahaluu. We stopped to get ice cold coconut at a roadside fruit stand & met a CRAZZZY lady. Josh thinks when times get rough she uses the baggies to sell other goods. She was trying to convince us that lilikoi was a type of traquilizer & that we'd have a mellow day if we ate it. Huh? We did feel sorry for her & purchased her coconut macaroons & as we were leaving she told us they would last for 3 weeks. EW, then how long did she have them sitting out on the counter? Check out our sweet hats brah, so local.

On our way to Kualoa we stopped at Coral Kingdom because neither of us had been before & we decided we would each pick out a trinket for Fonse (lucky her). When we opened the door we were greeted with a overwhelming smell of stale hamburgers & tourists. Total disappointment. It was like a burger shop, maui divers & ABC store all rolled into one, but really rundown. The sale clerks were all Japanese, like ESL type. Where do they all live out there? We were so bothered by all the tourists that we ended up putting back the small tiki doll & piece of coral for Fonse & left. I really think if coral kingdom sold some of their own wares (i.e. koozies) they would make a killing.

We stopped at Uncle Bobo's southern BBQ in Kaaawa & had a meat fiesta! So Ono! We could barely finish this between the two of us. We ate over at the beachpark & enjoyed watching the fishermen

We then headed out to Laie point after seeing it in "the book" & were amazed at the sight. We witnessed a guy swimming off the cliff get stuck between the rocks & wasn't able to get out. Words can't convey the stupidity of the situation, he was in the shallow end of the gene pool. It was one of those moments that if something had gone wrong you ask yourself if you would really go into save him. Luckily for us he managed to get out.

We drove around to Kahuku & stopped at a random collectables shop. Josh got an old Hawaii License plate to put up in the garage. We made a stop at Josh's favorite Ted's bakery to get slices of pie, YUM! We ate over at Ehukai beach, went swimming & enjoyed watching the toursits get pounded by the shore break. So mean I know, but it was hilarious!

Last stop- Haleiwa Joes for a tropical drink! On our way home we saw a rainbow in Kunia & it was great end to a great day. We hope to make it to the West side soon so we can finish our round the island tour. Stay tuned...

4th O' July

For the first time Hawaii Kai had a firework show in Maunalua bay, this meant we didn't have to drive anywhere! We could celebrate right in our little HK bubble. We had a picnic at Maunalua bay with the fam & the Miyamotos.

Marc playing with the girls, Marley, Macie & their cousin Maya. They look like a 3 headed monster.

My sister & Marc made all the food since I had to work. One of the reasons I love my sister is the fact that she makes everything from scratch just like my Mom. She made these vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting that were amazing! I think I gained a few pounds this weekend...argh!

Picnic with the fam & the Miyamotos.

Macie & Maya hunting for Macie's barf... Maya is currently very intrigued with bodily fluids.

Happy 4th of July!!

Lisa's Shower

Lisa is getting married!!  My sister & the other bridesmaids threw her a shower to celebrate. Too bad I didn't win any of the games, but at least I dipped into the favors early & filled up on M&Ms.

Good job Robin on the decor & favors, very pretty & festive!  Where do you have the time to do all that you do? Simply amazing.

Check out the lunch...yum!  Fonse  you would have loved it here!  They even served 2 types of meat on a stick (bottom right corner).We would be in heaven if they had shovel ramen on the side.

In keeping with the cherry blossom theme my sister ordered cupcakes from cake couture.  Don't worry Cec when you get married we'll get you a box of these I promise!

Makapu'u tidepools

We trekked down to the Makapu'u tidepools for a short hike & swim.  It was scary going down & it took me twice the time to go down as it did to come back up (I'm such a scaredy cat).  Below is a picture of the tide pools about mid way through the trek down.

Josh patiently waiting for me to come down.

On the way to the tidepools we passed the blowholes which was weird because we had watched Fool's Gold the night before.

View of the lighthouse from the tidepools.  We snorkeled in the tidepools & saw lots of fish.  It was a great afternoon.

Father's Day

Papa & Dad enjoying Father's Day together.  Too Cute!

PCL fishing tales

While I was at work Josh went fishing on Wayne's boat with the boys from work.  It's a good thing they are in construction management & not fishing.  They got A mahi.  

JV belly flopping, that can't feel good?

Aquarium

Last week I watched the girls & took them to the aquarium. We met up with Kirsten & our nephews Jack & Carson. Marley was really into calling Kirsten "Auntie KK". The aquarium took all of 10 minutes for them to run through, so we sat out on the lawn played. Macie & Jack, I think Jack is critiquing her art & giving her pointers on her scribble.
The kids touching the aquatic creatures.
Hee hee! This never gets old. Marley likes to use my camera to take pictures & the first few are always of her face until she figures out she has the camer a pointing the wrong way.

S.U.P.ing

Stand up paddling on the North Shore.First we went down the calm river & enjoyed the scenery. Below is a tuberose farm, I didn't know it grew here. It smelled really good.Then we practiced on the open ocean & saw a lot of turtles. Ho brah, lucky we live Hawaii.

Beyond Bad Girls

Katy got upgraded to an office with a waiting room/suite at UH so we helped her move offices & ate a lot of candy in the process. She must be the best professor because of the candy bucket she keeps on her desk. While we were there I had her sign our copy of her latest book "Beyond Bad Girls". The cover is really cute! It is a criminology book on gender, violence & hype...we have yet to read this text.

Then Lou & Katy came over for dinner & we watched the gruesome & super disturbing movie "Dead Girl". If you are into these types of movies this one is for you. I am still having bad dreams from it. Waah!

Save our Spiny Lobsters

Haunama Bay has free educational seminars on Thursday nights & we went & listened to “Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Lobster Population & Biology". Our friend, soon to be DR. Joe O'Malley gave the presentation & "dumbed" it down for us simple folk, even though we did have to follow some K to L infinity graphs. It was sad to learn that over fishing & possible environmental changes have caused the spiny lobster population to decrease. :( We hope Joe gives another presentation soon so that we can spread the word about the spiny lobsters.
Joe also reminded us that it is International Year of the Reef (check it out).

Missing Auntie Diane

Laugh today, be creative, wear a fun necklace, eat eggplant, plan a trip, enjoy some wine, give a hug, be thankful & enjoy life because it is SO short. It's been a year ago since we lost Auntie Diane & words can't describe how much we miss her. It's been a long hard year on our family & even though we go on having family dinners there is always & will always be something missing, Auntie Diane's laughter. "Auntie Pretty" Christmas 2006.

Tiki's 95ers outing

Saturday night we went to Tiki's to hangout with Morgan & her fiance Scott before they flew off to Kauai to get hitched. They were quite the troopers for having just flown in from Texas. We all indulged in some tropical drinks & yummy pupus. Even though Candes is SO tiny she sure knows how to order pupus. 95ers pix- Me, Kristen, Morgan, Candes & Nora (Candes' Mom). After Tiki's Nora invited us to Michele's for Champagne & double cherries jubliee. The view of Waikiki was amazing. Morgan & Scott

3 Day weekend!

This weekend flew by too fast! We had a fun filled weekend of eating, playing, relaxing & oh eating... We were able to hangout with the Petersens Saturday night over mac & cheese & beer at the Yard House. I highly recommend the Rogue Morimoto Soba Ale! Sunday we drove out to the North Shore for Stand up Paddle board lessons AKA "S.U.P." On the way there Josh was pronouncing all the Hawaiian words like a Native American Indian, I was laughing so hard I cried. S.U.P was quite the workout & I paddled over a huge turtle.
Memorial day has always been a Monday to just goof off, but on Monday morning we woke up early to visit Auntie Diane at the cemetery. So sad. It was comforting to see the cemetery decorated with so many flowers, it would have made her smile.

Then we headed over to my mom's house because my sister put together a impromptu BBQ with some of Marley's friends from school. My sister made homemade ice cream sandwiches w/ brownies & chocolate chip cookies, so tasty! The kids were in the pool for hours! Some of the kids enjoyed lunch up on the jungle gymMarley had some Slip & slide time!Lunchtime!

Marley & the new hat that her crazy Aunt gave her. Marley has a loose tooth that is on the verge of coming out! Details to follow if it comes out soon, good ol' Uncle Josh offered pilers to speed up the process.

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Josh just returned from a week long business trip to Denver. On his way back he snapped this picture for me from the Honolulu airport. ???

Madre's Day

My Mom & I wanted to partake in the mother daughter look a like contest, I think we would have won if we had really gone. My Mom even suggested we wear matching outfits. HA! It was an on going joke for the whole day. We had my parents and Robin folks over for dinner at our house. I was lucky to find a bottle of wine called "Clos Du Val", it even got approval from my Dad who is a total wine snob. For the appetizer Josh grilled bacon, which is my mom's favorite ever since she came over to eat when the energy went out a few years ago. My Mom with her two favorite things minus my sister & I. Earlier in the day we went to Shokudo to celebrate Papa's birthday & mother's day. This is the sinful chocolate cake that Auntie Nina brought, I think it had a billion calories in it.

Happy Birthday PAPA!!

Happy Birthday Finn

On Saturday, we helped celebrate Finn Bettis' first birthday! The Bettis ohana always know how to throw a party, good food, good friends, beer, a slip & slide, pool & bounce house, what could be better?

Happy Nurse's Week to ME!

Happy Nurse's Week to Me! I got my complementary backache, sore feet and headache this week, oh & to top it off I got a sexy bright blue fanny pack from work..EEW! As much as I complain about my job on the inside I love it a million times more than I say I do (I will never openly admit it, especially after a hard day at work). It is still sweatshop like conditions with little time to rest or take a bathroom break, but it's all worth it. At the end of a hard day I know it's not as bad as my patients who are stuck sick in bed. I am lucky to work with caring people who have big hearts & are genuine. I am also lucky to have a husband who is willing to put up with me at the end of a long day when I am complaining, smelly, grumpy & mentally & physically drained. It is a good thing that there are so many other reasons that keep me going at work other than a fanny pack. I am just hoping next year we get a better Nurse's week gift...

Carson the LOST star

Our nephew Carson is one of the baby Aarons on LOST. Last Thursday was his big debut & we gathered at Josh's sister's house to watch the episode. It was an exciting night being around a Hollywood star. Below is a picture of Carson watching his scenes, he was smiling and koo-ing. Too cute~ Thanks to the Kari who is a devoted LOST fan, she found these pictures of Carson's scenes on a LOST fan site. Proud big brother Jack critiquing Carson's performance.