Old friends and great times!

Almost two weeks ago two of our best friends from high school came out to visit us for a week! Errol and Corey have known Alex since sophomore  year and I met them senior year and we have all been friends since!

While the boys were here we did a ton of sight seeing and we visited some of the tourist hot spots around the island. When we got back from the house after picking them up from the airport, the boys all had to go play with   Alex's gear (like kids in a candy store)! The next day we headed down to Pearl Harbor to see the USS Arizona and to go through the museum. Now Alex and I have already seen this part of Pearl Harbor but we had no problem in seeing it again. This time I was able to make it through both the museum and the USS Arizona tour with crying...though I did have to bite my cheek to keep from balling again.

The next day we all decided to take a tip to the beach. Because it was a Friday we decided just to go to a beach on base so there would be less of a crowd. We had a great time playing in the warm ocean water. We couldn't go too far out because of the large waves and strong current on that beach but the boys managed to some how get plowed by waves over and over! Now I can't seem to get all of our events in order but one evening we had our friends John and another Corey come over to meet the guys and just hang out. We also wen to go see Horrible Bosses and it was a great movie! One evening we played Monopoly which lasted all night! I had to be banker because the boys all admitted they could not be trusted to not steal money!

(Note my amazingly painful sun burn which just got worse over the next two days)

The next day (two days after our last beach trip) we went down to Waikiki beach to go swimming. We could not swim at the beach on base due to rocks, the current, and the huge waves but down at Waikiki we were able to actually swim. After a refreshing dip in the ocean we headed off to Cheeseburger in Paradise for lunch. And let me tell you...the name says it all! I had the cheeseburger babies (three mini cheeseburgers) for my lunch while the boys all ate burgers the size of their plates. That night we once again played bored games (Clue, Uno, and Taboo).

The next day we hung around the house while I did laundry and baked bread. We played more Monopoly and the boys played video games. That evening we went bowling at the bowling alley here on base. Corey and Errol each won a game.

 Boys will be boys I guess.

The next day we hit the road!

We decided to go to the Dole plantation to do the worlds largest maze (Alex and I were unable to do the maze when we went for our anniversary due to weather). The world record time for completing the maze is five minutes...it took us 58 minutes. So as a treat for making it out in under an hour we had lunch at the pineapple grill. 

The next stop on our island adventure was to visit North Shore. The drive along North Shore really shows off the beauty of Oahu. We stopped off at many of the beaches along the way but we found quite a surprise at the second beach we stopped at....

There were giant sea turtles all over the beach. They were also playing in the surf, poking their heads up and then ducking back under the waves. They are such amazing and beautiful creatures! We were so excited to actually see one out in the "wild"! We stopped off at a couple more beaches to just take in how beautiful the island really is. That night we played yet another game of Monopoly as well as Clue.

We loved having Errol and Corey come out for a visit.We had an amazing week making wonderful memories that will last us a life time. We are so thankful for our wonderful friends who make the effort to come see us when we are unable to go home to see them. We can't wait to see Errol and Corey again when we go home next or if they come back for round two!

Boys will be boys! 

Celebrating Two Wonderful Years!

Alex and I have been married for two years now, the best two years of my life. It really does feel like yesterday that we said our "I do"s and started our lives together.

After signing the papers in Monterey, CA. July 6th, 2009.

To celebrate this year we decided we would take a trip down to the Dole Plantation and have a look around. When we got there we decided to do the train and garden tours but we had to pass on the maze due to the rain but we plan on going back!

The train tour was very informative. It was an automated tour that explained the history of the pineapple business in Hawaii as well as how and when the pineapples are harvested.

After the train tour we just had to get our pictures taken as well...pineapples!

Next we went and did a walk through the plantation garden. This garden was full of beautiful plants and flowers. There was an audio tour that we could have gotten to go with the garden but we decided to just walk on our own and chat. In the garden there was a pond in the very center that was filled with huge koi! We were able to feed the fish and watch them go nuts over the food.

In the garden was Alex's new favorite tree. He likes this tree so much because if you didn't know better you would say it is fake, it looks hand painted.

 After strolling around the garden for a bit we went inside to get a little lunch. After lunch we walked around the gift shops looking at all to cool little nick-nacks they had for sale. We did end up getting a fresh pineapple which I can't wait to get into! To top off our outing to the west side of the island we drove up along Kamehameha Highway which runs along the shore all across the north end of the island. It was a beautiful drive and we plan on doing it again!

I am so blessed to have Alex as my husband, he is my best friend. And I am looking forward to spend many more years with this man. I love you Alex and thank you for two amazing years!