Hawaii Trip: Day 3 Polynesian Cultural Center

Today was an extremely long fun filled day we left early to head down to Laie to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Uncle Trenson was so kind to hook us up with tickets; we are so blessed to be so loved by family.  The tickets didn’t only include a full day there and the night show but also a free buffet dinner! We were definitely surprised when we found out it came with the dinner as well. We had to plan very well on what villages to go to so we could participate in all the activities and see the little show each village had and also make it to the canoe show.  We danced in the Hawaii and Tahiti village, played games in the Hawaii and Aotearoa village we also played with the poi balls and got tribal tattoos in the Aotearoa village as well. We then started a fire with wood and a stick and basket weaved in Samoa then we played music and sang in Tonga and Fiji. Dillon looooved the PCC his favorite village was the Samoan village he thought the guy doing the show was hilarious, he showed us how to husk a coconut, crack it in half, shave the coconut meat, start a fire with a stick and wood and use the husk of the coconut to make a fire and there was also a guy that climbed a coconut tree.  The day was very hot and humid but we were hit with a little sprinkle of rain that only lasted a few minutes but did major damage to our straightened hair. PCC was one of the activities we had planned for our vacation that I was looking forward to taking Dillon to.  I really wanted him to get to know the Polynesian culture and learn about Polynesia so it was great seeing him get so involved and excited about everything.  After touring the villages we started to whine down and we were able to eat at the buffet in the Prime Dining Hall the food was delicious.  We then hung out at the little shops at PCC for a little bit then found our seats and watched the show.  During intermission we bought the sorbet dessert they were selling I have noticed things have changed a lot since when we would visit often growing up.  They used to serve the dessert during intermission in a pineapple with the crown cut off filled with ice cream and fruit nevertheless it was still incredible. I loved today, I loved the show, I loved that Dillon loved it, I loved being there with my sisters and my husband I love Hawaii!

Hawaii Trip: Day 2 Hike to Waimano Falls and Ko'olina

Today we woke up to the beautiful sounds of the tropics, all the different birds, geckos, lizards and whatever other animals are out there. The weather has been beautiful so far not to hot and not to humid.  We had breakfast outside in grandpa’s backyard as he did yard work trimming the palm trees.  After we ate we headed up Palisades to hike up to Waimano falls.  Hiking is sooo beautiful here in Hawaii we walked through the Lushes Mountains with the incredible greenery and tropicalness, you feel like you are walking through the amazon. We headed  down this massive hill of tree branches as well as a massive hill of huge boulders, you can only imagine what we had to go up on the way back… we also had to climb down hills by repelling with a rope.  Unfortunately as we were making our way down to the falls people coming up would tell us that the waterfall was dried out and the water was very murky like it has been sitting for a couple days but since we were already hiking down and were almost there we kept going.  When we arrived we saw that the people were right, the waterfall was dried out that day and the water was murky.  We hung out down there anyway and took pictures and threw a ball into the water for the German Shepard that was down there that seemed to love our company.  We then made our trek back which was definitely a breath taker…literally. Afterward we went to Baldwins where Dillon got to try Hawaii’s shaved ice for the first time.  We both got shaved ice with ice cream on the bottom and snow capped with sweetened condensed milk I got a mango and tutti frutti flavor shaved ice and Dillon got pineapple and lemon.  He absolutely loved the shaved ice.  Then we went down to Ko’olina beach resort where we swam in the beautiful clear warm water and played in the sand.  We buried Brandee and made her look like a mermaid and then we buried Dillon in a race car.  We finished up the day with a bit of relaxing and tanning on the beach then going on a tour of the Aulani Disney Resort.  Bronson took us on a tour of the spa then we walked around looking at everything else at the resort.  It was so gorgeous! We then went to Leonard’s to get hot malasadas which again is another one of Dillons favorites.  When we got back we had dinner with grandpa and aunty dawn, she made delicious somen salad which is a layered salad.  On the bottom she had noodles then a layer of lettuce, cucumbers, onions then ham then egg she also made a homemade sesame dressing.  Aunty makes all her own sauces and dressings and they are so bomb! Uncle Trenson, Taylore and baby Trey came over and brought us an ice cream sandwich called ‘’It’s it” it was our first time meeting baby Trey and let me just say he is absolutely adorable.  He was sleeping when he arrived but then we took him out and when he woke up he just was smiling nonstop.  He’s only 5 months old right now and is so behaved and smiley.  After a long day we finally went to bed.  Can’t wait for our activity tomorrow!

Hawaii Trip Day 1: Arrival

woohoo!! We are now here in Hawai'i Nei on the beautiful Island of Oahu! We had a rough start to our vacation but regardless we are happy to be here and our adventure here in Hawaii has begun. We left Monday morning at 6am from Stockton and drove down to the Oakland airport, the drive started out fine but then it hit.....traffic. What was supposed to be a 1hr 45 min road trip to the airport turned into a 2 and a half our car trip including having to pull off to fill up on gas so we wouldn't die on the freeway and miss our flight completely. We got to the airport and Erin walked us in to make sure we got through security okay and that our bags were the right weight and just in case they were too heavy and we would have to send things home with her but we both barely made it with our bags weighing 48 something pounds.  When we arrived at our gate we made it just in time, they were already boarding our row so we were able to just walk straight on to the plane and find our seats.  Once we were on the plane we were able to just take a deep breath and relax :) The flight was nice, it didn't seem long at all.  We left at 10am and arrived in Hawaii at 11:50am Hawaii time.  On the plane we were able to sleep a little bit and watch We Bought a Zoo.  Hawaiian Airlines is quite nice, Dillon and I sat in the 2 seats by the window and received our complimentary Hawaiian Sun drinks and the complimentary breakfast which was a breakfast burrito and a muffin. Unfortunately Dillon had a little accident, he had his laptop sitting on the tray in front of him and he placed his cup on top of it and it just so happened that the plane started inclining and what did his cup do? yeah, it slid off and spilled all over him, ice and all. So he sat there on a wet chair with his pants soaking for the remainder of the 4 hours of the plane ride.  We didn't let that dampen our spirits though! When we landed we met up with Brandee who arrived at the same time as us and got our bags. Brandee and Dillon had to go find Brandee’s bags because if you don’t pick up your bags right away they will take them and “destroy” your bag and we didn’t get Brandees because we were at the wrong baggage pick up. While they were away Ashley found me so I called Dillon and told him to come back when he came back Ash gave us plumeria leis that she picked and made from my grandmas tree in her backyard, they smelled sooooooo good! Brandee surprised Ashley with her visit so while ashley was talking with Dillon and I brandee went up behind her and surprised her. It was a great reunion, all 3 of us sisters are together again! We then had a rocky start in getting our rental car so I'm not even going to go there with that complication but we eventually got it and then our vacation was able to REALLY start. We went to Samurais and got ice cakes, Dillon and I got the yummy strawberry haupia ice cake mmm. Then we went to say hi to Grandma Hamamoto and talked with her for a while and met baby Legend then we headed over to grandpa Akana and Aunty Dawn’s house where we are staying.  Aunty made a yummy burrito dinner and smoothies then we watched our wedding video.  We absolutely love being here; we already have been trying to catch the geckos that we see at night and taking pictures in the sunset.  Although our vacation had a rocky start it only will go uphill from here and we are SO excited!

Dillon Playing the conch shell

Our room at granpas house

Helping aunty Dawn get dinner ready

Gone and back again

Well it has definitely been a while and I appologize for the long absence of posts. For those of you who weren't aware we have been in California then in Hawaii for about a month and we had recently returned last week. As you can imagine it has been difficult coming back to reality and having to get back into the swing of things. However, we are surviving.We had a BLAST on our vacation, I will be posting many many posts on what we did during our trip, pictures and videos so keep an eye out for that. I can't believe how incredibly hot and dry it has been here in Utah when we left it wasn't even close to being the way it is now and Hawaii wasn't even this hot! Utah is taking its fair share of fires due to the dryness, heat and stupid people but I'm sure after many prayers we are finally getting rain this summer.  This morning it was overcast and it is now raining thank the lord! we most definitely needed it. Even though I miss Hawaii terribly and wish there was no such thing as reality we are glad to be home :)

He did It!!

Yesterday my dad got a call from Golds Gym saying he needed to report to KUTV channel 2 news this morning at 6:15am for the announcing of the winner for the Golds Gym weightloss challenge. Early this morning my parents and Dustin went down to Salt Lake for the announcement and Dillon and I made sure we woke up by 6:30am to watch it on the news. Just as a background on what this golds gym challenge is and my dad golds gym holds these weightloss challenges where they take your before picture and you are given I believe 6 months to work as hard as you can to lose weight then come back for a final weigh in and get your body fat measured etc. They have an overall state winner for their age group then they have an overall national winner. Last year my dad won $3500 for 1st in state for his age group and 2nd nationally. This morning my dad won $6500 for 1st in state AND 1st NATIONALLY!! He went from 307lbs down to 200lbs in a year and a half!! It was incredibly tough but sooo worth it. He worked out incredibly hard and changed his eating habbits tremendously, talk about self control, determination and perseverance. He definitely is an inspiration for my whole family as well as many others that see him in our neighborhood and at the gym. Since he won last year he has been helping a lot of others in our neighborhood and random people who came up to him at the gym wanting him to work them out. We are soo soo proud of him!

Mini vaca

So as if I haven't said it enough I'm going to say it again but my husband is so stinkin thoughtful, romantic, spontanious, full of energy and excitement and just an overall cutie pie! Last week Dillon surprised me and booked a hotel stay at the Red Lion in Salt Lake for the weekend. We checked in on Friday May 4th after Dillon's recognition ceremony which he had a blast at. He recieved recognition and an award for doing so well on wow surveys and sales last quarter, he was #1 in his branch and #4 in the state, he also won a $50 gift card which we used to celebrate our little getaway he was so excited to have won a prize lol I'm so proud of him. We checked in to a big nice hotel room with an extreeeemly comfy king sized bed and that evening we went to see the Avengers with Cody and Erin.  We hardly get to see Erin so it was nice that she was in town that weekend and we were able to get together with her.  We absolutely loved the Avengers and afterward we all seriously felt as if we were almighty Avengers and could do some serious damage to anyone who gets in our way and causes trouble lol. Dillon and I were even getting all  pumped and about took codys friends out who at the time we never knew were his friends but were walking straight toward our little circle to say hi to him lol then we went out to eat at the Himalayan which is an Indian food place. On Saturday we went and toured the Beehive House and then we met up with Cody at the Living Planet Aquarium. It was soo neat we got to touch stingrays, starfish and lizards and we saw some really neat fish and animals. While we were in Salt Lake we went and hiked up to Ensign peak . Dillon and I had such a relaxing and great weekend, we just love spending time together and being able to go on mini getaways with each other, however we sure do miss the comfy hotel bed lol.