Couldn't Love Him More.

I really love this boy.
He is the best I could have ever hoped for. Here are a few reasons why:

1. He makes me laugh . . . Usually until I cry
2. He takes care of me (sunblock, water, etc.)
3. He's good at his job (just got another raise and his own office!)
4. He makes me be nice when I feel like being mean
5. He LOVES vacations and he's really good at planning them
(Maui in 2 days!)

We're pretty much total BFF. I like it that way.

Joy Ride

The town just finished putting in a bike and running path from Laie to Kahuku. It's the perfect place to safely exercise with a great view, and we have already taken full advantage of it. We recently went for a joy ride. We were originally going to ride to Turtle Bay in hopes of a Courtney Cox sighting (they were filming Cougar Town there) but ended up having too much fun along the way and didn't quite make it.

They also recently put in some huge windmills in Kahuku that are a sight to see. Hurrah for renewable energy sources!

Disney Channel Acting School

Last night's SNL was actually pretty funny (considering Miley Cyrus was the host) and I'm not just saying that because I was all hopped up on diet coke

This was our favorite:

Three Things

Here are three things I really love right now.

Ice cold Hawaiian Sun strawberry lilikoi

Kauai avocados the size of Rod's head. . . and the amazing guacamole he makes with it.

The sunrise I watch every morning while I eat breakfast.

It almost makes waking up at 5:45 worth it.

Nephews

Last week Danielle, Matt, and their little nuggets Brenden and Asher came from San Fransisco to visit us. The trip had a bit of a rough start with Matt getting sick the night before their flight leaving Danielle to wrestle the boys on her own. Luckily after a couple of days Matt was healed by the island and they were able to have some fun. Here are a few shots of our darls nephews. . .

It was fun to spend some time with Danielle and Matt

When they arrived at our shack we decided that there really wasn't enough room for all of us. Thank goodness Rod and I have great friends like Tommy and Jozie who let us blow up our air mattress at their house and sleep on their floor! We owe them BIG!

Side note: On Friday night our air mattress decided to get a giant hole in it. We drove to Foodland at 11:00 to get some tape to patch it up, but it still had a slow leak. We woke up twice on the floor in the middle of the night and had to blow it up again (sorry Joz and Tom!) Around 7:00 a.m. Jozie woke up and told us to just get in their bed with them (they have a California King - a-maze-ing!) and I think if I wasn't so deliriously tired I would have refused. . . but I didn't. We laid there for another hour or so Charlie and the Chocolate Factory style. (For those of you too young to remember Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, both sets of grandparents shared the same giant bed) See picture below.


Even though It was a tired, miserable night Rod promised I'd laugh about it someday. . . and now I am.

We are glad the Peronas could come visit us! It's always fun to hang with you guys. We miss those babies already! Mahalo plenty.

A New Addition . . .

We are excited to announce a new addition to our little family. We have been trying for a few months now, and we finally got the good news yesterday.

We are the proud owners of a new Macbook Pro!

We have been sharing a computer since we got married, and it has been rough. Since evenings are the only time we are both home, it's hard for us to both be productive. But that's all about to change . . .

Coconut

The following random stories have 1 thing in common:

People think that life in Hawaii is nothing but sunshine and coconuts. Nothing can go wrong. All problems are wiped away and life is easy. Not quite. One time Rod complained on Facebook about how there aren't any good gyms around here, and our Aunt Robynn commented "just go lift up some coconuts!" She doesn't know this, but it has become a major inside joke that we bring up anytime something isn't going perfectly. "You have a flesh eating virus? Just rub some coconuts on it!"


A few weeks ago on "Off The Map" there was a guy with a life-threating blood disease. They ran into the jungle, gathered some coconuts, and did a coconut milk transfusion. I'm all about finding and making use of natural remedies, but come on . . . . really.

These beasts are real. They live on Christmas Island, and they are so big that they can crack open coconuts and eat them. Yikes.


"That's coconuts - you're super delightful"
- Phil Dunphy, Modern Family

Tanya inherited the following recipe from my mother. I grew up loving her coconut syrup, and Tan has been making it non-stop. It turns your average pancake into an out-of-this-world experience.

- Combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup light corn syrup in a saucepan on medium heat until melted
- Remove from heat - let cool to room temperature
- Add 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- Stir in 1 cup whipping cream (un-whipped) until blended
- Serve and watch people's brains explode out the back of their heads!

Yesterday we went to a new restaurant called Phuket Thai. All four of the dishes we ordered were amazing, mostly thanks to the heavy use of coconut milk in Thai culinary creations.

I'm seeing a pattern here . . . .