Nani = Beautiful

Seriously, I'm trying to think how to start this post off since it has been so long. I have no problem staying on top of my food blog. I need to get better so that I have our memories of living in Hawaii written somewhere. I have a ton of pictures on my phone, but my phone is freaking out when I try to download them. So, this will just be a wordy post.

Christmas was awesome this year. The boys really had a great time opening presents in the morning, and then of course we went to the beach that morning as well. People hauled their Christmas trees down to the beach all decorated, and they were even wearing Santa hats. All I could think of was how much they were sweating under their polyester, fur hats and if it was worth it. The New Years Eve experience was absolutely CRAZY! Not, joking....fireworks from 9pm till 3am non-stop. I could not believe my kids slept through it. My favorite fireworks were the homemade ones that sounded like a huge bomb, and shook my whole house. (You know I'm kidding, right?)

The month of January went by very quickly. The boys and I do our daily routine of eat, activity, eat, activity, eat, and bed. We spend every chance we get at the beach, and Brent is really getting good at Bodyboarding. Our favorite beach to go to in Kailua is called Kalama Beach. It has the perfect amount of waves, and big stretch of beach. The kids LOVE it there. Cameron turned 2 on the 31st of January. We had a beach party with friends in the morning, and then a family dinner celebration in the evening. He enjoyed blowing out his candles. He licked his cupcake a couple of times, but he is not our dessert baby. He prefers a nice piece of fruit over sweets anytime. Why can't I be more like that? Cameron is such a sweet natured boy, I'm so glad he is my child and a part of our family. I truly cherish him, and the sweet spirit he has. He is a wonderful little person.

Some fun highlights of Hawaii:

I had an encounter with a giant cockroach the other night. I was sitting in my family room late at night, watching TV. I heard this scratching sound, and I look up on the wall and there is a 2 inches long flying cockroach on the wall. I freaked out, turned off the lights and woke Jared up to kill it. He did, and I was relieved. We don't have alot of bugs inside our house, but sometimes when it rains really hard outside it drives the bugs in...so that was fun :)

My leather Rainbow Sandals have moldy soles from the humidity. Don't bring leather to Hawaii, it's rubber or plastic all the way. Thank you Payless Shoes for having lots of plastic shoes! The most random things get moldy here. I don't remember this happening to my sandals when I was at BYU Hawaii. Maybe it is more wet in Kailua.

I get to run Kailua beach almost every Saturday. It is the most unbelievable, scenic, spa like experience. I almost cry when I see the beauty all around me. I also feel so grateful that I get to live in Hawaii, and that I'm actually living a dream that I thought would NEVER happen. The Koolau Mountains are so incredibly HUGE and green here. They are so beautiful! Every time I get in my car and drive, I'm surrounded by beauty. When I'm laying in bed at night, all the windows are open and the sounds of the tropics help me drift off to sleep. I was afraid that I would be homesick, but surprisingly I'm not. We have almost been here for 5 months, and I still feel very content.

Jared loves his job. He has not had one bad day yet! I'm so happy for him. He gets to live, and surf in paradise, and he loves his job. Oh, and then of course there is this wonderful wife that he has who is hot, makes him dinner every night, and fresh homemade bread. What more could a man want.

We are very happy in Hawaii! Every place has it's ups and downs, but we are loving all the ups!