July Photo a Day

I want to make sure I am behind my actual camera daily, I need to continually practice with it and get to know the inner workings rather than just snapping grainy (although the iPhone is nice) camera-phone shots. So, this will begin tomorrow...

To view the images from each day click the corresponding number: 

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17

18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31

Downtown Tourists

Today we played tourists in Honolulu, neither of us had actually been to the Kamehameha Statue so we wanted to go there for some photos. Tami (my island mom) had recommended the Iolani Palace so we headed down there. We missed the guided tours but we opted for the audio tour, we even got in for free thanks to the Blue Star Museum Program!

The tour was very informative, it was really interesting to know that the Palace had electricity and telephones before Buckingham Palace in England and the White House in DC! The decor threw me off because it was very Victorian, not what I was expecting at all after living in Hawaii. There is so much history, good and bad, contained in those walls. I wish we had been allowed to take photos, it was breathtakingly beautiful, we loved the personal towers the corner bedrooms had. The bathrooms were very unique as well, with hot and cold running water! They even had the crowned jewels on display in the basement.

After we finished our tour we walked across the courtyard to the State Capitol Building. It is completely surrounded by reflection pools and the middle is an open courtyard featuring a beautiful tile mosaic piece. The House and Senate meet in what look like huge auditoriums with a chandelier in the middle of the room.

We ended the day driving home, accompanied by rainbows.

Pineapples & Sea Turtles!

On Tuesday Quinn and I packed up our little ice chest, threw a quick beach bag together, then headed off for North Shore. I had been to the Dole Plantation three times already, but I had never done anything other than browse the shop and eat the famous "Dole Whip," Quinn had never gone. So this time we decided to try out the maze, it is actually the World's Largest Maze (according to The Guinness Book of World Records). The instructions said that if you didn't take a map and were in the top 5 times of the day you would get a prize, unfortunately we couldn't figure out where the finisher's board was to even check... we did finish the maze in 36min, we heard the record was 8min, crazy!

After the maze we wandered thru the shop and got our Dole Whips to enjoy in the courtyard. Just before we left this lady told me to check out the Helemano Plantation, I'd seen it before, but no one was ever there so I assumed it was closed. We walked over to check it out, it was (sadly) dead but all of the souvenirs were way more reasonably priced there! It is a training type of facility for developmentally disabled individuals, they can work in many different environments - restaurant, gift store, bakery, and farming! Pretty cool concept.

Once we were done there we walked through the Rainbow Eucalyptus grove back to the car. Our next stop would be Laniakea Beach, a first for both of us. It is know by the locals as "Lani Beach" and by the tourists as "Turtle Beach." A group of volunteers from Malama Na Honu come out everyday to protect these turtles from the onslaught of humans. They have each one tagged, named, sexed, and (approx) aged. The turtle that was there when we arrived was named Oakley, however his Hawaiian name was Me Aloha (meaning- the beloved). He was approximately 25yrs old and his stats say that he spends 25% of his day on the beach.

It had rained on us during our drive out to the plantation, it was spitting on us during our time in the maze, so it was only fitting that it started pouring on our way back home from Laniakea. We made a pit stop at Wal*Mart for some piggie supplies and grabbed Wendy's for dinner (there aren't any on our side of the island), then headed home. It was a nice little day-trip, always fun spending time together!

State Fair 2012

They all got really close to shooting the star out!

Last night we and some of the guys headed down to the State Fair, all of us spent way too much money on midway games, rides, and carnival food but it was tons of fun! Each of the guys won at least one stuffed animal (my purse turned into a huge pillow carrying them all!), I failed but it's okay, a guy that went after us won a HUGE rasta-monkey and I asked if could take a picture with it since it was nearly as big as me... Quinn and I both agreed we were glad we didn't have to figure out what to do with it!

No I didn't actually win... but, isn't he HUGE?!

We got to watch a lion show, the European Circus, and pig races. The lions were so majestic and powerful, all of us want one! As of right now Quinn still thinks that knives were actually thrown at him during the circus... he hasn't seen the photos yet! Me & the guys didn't let him in on the secret since he was blind-folded! We bet on the pigs (between each other) and mine won the first race and Quinn's won the third so we made the most money together. They race for an oreo, so funny!

Quinn was picked out of the crowd, led to the board and hand-cuffed. The clown then proceeded to aim knives at him... but before the clown threw one the ring master paused to cover Quinn's head!

Every time they covered his head the clown would yell "HUAH!" as if he were throwing it, the ring master would delay then stab the knife into the board! So- everyone BUT Quinn knew what was going on!

The clown "lost" the keys to the handcuffs so he had to be wheeled out of the ring...

Quinn and Stephen went on this crazy ride called the Techno Power... basically it rotates clock-wise and there are 3 sets of double seats on each boom. Once the ride speeds up the booms kick out and they rotate clockwise as well! SO CRAZY! The guys and I went on another ride called the Cliff Hanger, which is a 3-person hanglider that rotates clock-wise and goes up & down at a super fast speed. Brett & I get motion sick and about halfway thru we were like "okay, we're done!" I couldn't walk straight when I got off!!!

As far as the food, between the four of us there were... fried oreos, fresh squeezed lemonades, pizza, burger, spicy curly fries, and candied apples! Delicious & oh so bad for you, we skipped on the cotton candy but at that point it probably wouldn't have mattered!

What a great night with friends!

Homecoming!

As Tuesday approached I found myself in a cleaning frenzy... the house needed to be perfect. Not necessarily for him, more for the fact that I didn't want to have to do anything once he was home. Everything was to be done by Tuesday morning... dusting, vacuuming, mopping, laundry, bathrooms, linens, Moku's cage, etc. Monday night I was excited and ended up watching movies until 2:30am thinking "I can just sleep in since I already finished everything on my list." I woke up all on my own at 8am! So I did a short work-out, last minute decorations, picked up a lei, and then jumped in the shower to get ready. My friend Jennifer showed up around noon, we ate lunch, and she started taking pictures of the decorations while I did my hair/make-up. At lpm we headed out to find parking and meet up with the other ladies of the battalion.

Inside- Welcome home table with goodies from his parents, my parents, and of course me... including hershey kisses & homemade oreos! Outside- The awesome banner I ordered, balloons, and mini-flags lining the driveway.

Waiting with Brittany & Beth... the first glimpse of the bus!

We talked, laughed, shared our excitement/anxiousness, wrangled excited children waiting for daddy, and then... the bus came into view! All I remember thinking was "I see him, he's towards the front!" Beth and I were talking as the bus doors opened as her husband stepped out, I said "go get your man!" When Quinn stepped off I felt like I was in slow motion... I honestly don't know if I walked or "ran" (in heels, although I can do that), all I know is trying to hug him with a huge backpack on and laptop bag in one hand was awkward! I thought I was going to cry, but I was surprisingly calm... we smiled, talked, hugged, kissed, got out of the way so others could share their moment, then we watched as the smaller van pulled up and Brian arrived... It was such a happy moment for everyone! The base newspaper was even there documenting all of the little kids who were 1wk-4wks old when their dad's left and now 6-7mo old to the youngest only 4wks old being born a month before the guys returned! The CO & SgtMaj kept the returning formation short and to-the-point so the guys could go home since they would be returning to work the next morning.

We found each other, the awkward first hug with his huge backpack & laptop case, giving him his leis, and our first kiss.

Waiting for the van to arrive with the other guys.

Watching our friends reunion then grabbing a group photo.

He was surprised by the decorations outside and inside the house and very relieved just to be back in the US. For dinner all he wanted to do was order pizza! When the delivery guy arrived he said "Welcome back, you have the best banner I've seen!" Pretty cool. I've noticed that I tend to do everything still... try to drive, laundry, trash, dishes, cleaning up after Moku, etc. Last night he had to say "I can do my dishes," I'll have to figure out the balance.

**A HUGE MAHALO TO JENNIFER FOR ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL PHOTOS!

Lanikai Pillbox Sunrise Hike

I woke up bright and early at 4am, got my hiking stuff and camera ready and headed out to pick up Adrien. Once we found parking the colors of dawn started to show, it steadily got brighter as we progressed thru the hike. We reached the first pillbox but opted to continue to the 2nd since it looked less crowded (further up the steep ridge). We got to see the sun break over the horizon and thru the clouds, it was so beautiful!

I thought I was going to take a nap after the hike but we ended up garage sale jumping near her house then doing the same on our bikes on base! We got some good items at great deals. I dropped her off again then we headed to her bridal appointment, all I have to say is she's going to look beautiful on her renewal day!