Hawaii Bliss

Our Christmas Hawaiian adventure was so amazing! John and I flew out on December 20th and arrived that day. My dad picked us up from the airport and we went straight to the PCC for dinner and a Christmas canoe ride.

We had a lot of fun hanging out at the beach with my brother Chris and his cute family for the next four days. We tended their kids one night while they went to the temple which was super fun. John and Chris wanted Romy's shrimp for Christmas Eve lunch so Jen and I went and got smoothies and watched them eat

Another highlight was performing with my dad at a Christmas concert held in the temple visitor center. We were excited that a couple hundred people showed up to hear us!

Christmas eve was different, but fun. We ate ham (can you believe my mom cooked ham?!) out on my parents' patio. My dad read the Christmas story from the bible and we just enjoyed each other's company since we decided not to give sibling gifts this year. Chris left the next morning and we were sad to see them go!

Christmas day was great! We loved how relaxed it was and having my parents and Ben there with us! We had a leisurely morning opening a few gifts and stockings. We stopped at McDonalds for lunch before seeing Les Miserables that evening. So amazing. We had an amazing dinner at a fun outdoor restaurant on our way home!

The next few days were super relaxed and fun. We went to the Buddhist temple we found on our honeymoon and my parents really enjoyed that. We also went to some pretty lookouts and enjoyed the great weather! One of our favorite adventures was the Kahuku Farms. We went on a little wagon ride around the farm and learned about how the fruits are grown and harvested. So interesting! We had done the Dole Plantation wagon ride before but this was so much better!,

Vanessa and her family came on the 28th. We had fun with them on our last few days on the island. We went swimming, had a poolside BBQ and walked on the beach.

Our final day was very busy and fun. We spent the day at the PCC and got to see what Ben does there every day. We had fun at the luau for dinner before heading to the airport. My family sang us a sweet version of aloha oi to bid us farewell

The trip was so amazing and we are sad it is over. It was hard to leave my parents but it was amazing to get to see what they are up to!

2012

I have been so bad at updating this year. So much has happened and life is so different now than it was one year ago. Here are a few 2012 highlights!

New Year's Eve: John and I rang in the new year with his parents for a change. I was still recovering from my laparoscopic surgery so we had a quiet sushi dinner at their home. John was the only one who stayed awake to ring in the new year!

Level 2: I began the hardest semester of my college career in January. This included the most intense coursework I have ever had, as well as practicum in a first grade classroom at Woodruff Elementary. Though I was stressed beyond belief and acquired canker sores on every inch of my mouth as a result, I also learned a great deal and fell in love with my students!

Spring Break: In March John and I were blessed with the opportunity to go on a cruise to Cabo San Lucas with my family. We drove to CA, stopping for two nights in Vegas to visit my brother who was there on vacation our cruise was five days and pure heaven! John even got me to go parasailing! We were sad when it ended but had fun stopping for one day at Disneyland before heading back to reality.

Home Owners: My Dad's childhood home went up for sale this year and we were able to purchase it after a long battle with the previous owner. We were so thrilled to have our own place and not have to deal with a landlord anymore! We have learned a lot from being homeowners including how to kill grass, how expensive taxes are, and how to repair broken toilets.

UFOMT: I returned to UFOMT for my 14th season. It was an excellent season and I was sad to see it end. I especially enjoyed performing with both my father and sister this year in My Fair Lady.

Fire: One of the most frightening experiences I've had in my life happened on July 29th. I arrived home from a performance late that night to firetrucks and police cars surrounding my house. John hadn't been answering my calls all night so I immediately imagined the worse. I quickly found out that our neighbor had been lighting off fireworks and had accidentally shot one into the huge Juniper bush in front of our house. Luckily no one was hurt and the damage minimal. The bush had to be removed, our front window replaced, the siding and attack vent replaced and painted, the railing by the steps refinished and the awnings replaced. We are so blessed that the fire was extinguished before it entered the inside of the home! We are still waiting for all the repairs to be completed.

Student Teaching: I was placed in a 3rd grade classroom at Edith Bowen to do my student teaching. It was the perfect fit for me because my cooperating teacher and I have very similar teaching and management styles and she gave me full reign of the class from day one. I loved my students and cried on my last day. Though I was excited to finish my schooling, I was so sad to leave that class! I ended up getting the highest score my advisor had ever given which made me feel amazing about my teaching abilities!

Subbing: The day after I graduated I was given my first paid elementary teaching job! My cooperating teacher had some medical issues to take care of so I subbed for her for four days. It was so nice to be back in my class and be able to feel like a real, paid teacher!

Hawaii: For Christmas this year John's parents and my parents teamed up to give us a trip to Hawaii. It was so amazing to be able to spend time with my parents and Ben again. John especially enjoyed not having to I to work since he hadn't had a day off in months! We were so sad to leave both the beautiful weather and my parents!

New Year's Eve: This year we rang in the new year on a red eye flight home from Hawaii. Though we were heart broken to leave we were also thankful for all of the memories we had made there!

Here's to another exciting year!!