The Amazing Adventures of Us and Our Friends

It has been great having friends and family come visit us.  In December, my immediate family came, then January my dear cousin Haley came.  In February, Blake's cousin Colette and her friend Lindsay visited us.  In March, Aaron's friend Bryce crashed at our place for a few days.  And then in April, my friends Nicole and Nathan stayed in a newly-vacated room in our house.  I've already blogged about the first two visits, so now I'll blog about the last three.

First, Colette and Lindsay.  We sure had some fun with those two.  I had never met Lindsay before and had only seen Colette a few times, but I think they are both amazing people and I'm so glad they came!  We had to work a lot when they were here, but we got to spend a couple days with them and we filled it with awesomeness.  We hiked Maunawili falls again, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite hikes.  It's just long enough to be a good hike, but not too difficult or steep.  This time it was super muddy because there had been rain recently, and believe it or not I thought it was extremely fun.  I did end up with mud all over my clothes and skin though, haha.  This time we decided to jump in the pool and swim around.  Here's a video of Colette and Lindsay jumping in.

I have video of me jumping in too somewhere... but I can't find it now.  It's probably on Blake's phone.  It is probably pretty hilarious because I screamed like my death was approaching.  So now I have done my cliff jumping and I'm done forever.  ;)  After that we got lunch at my favorite, Mexico Lindo, since it is like 2 miles away from the hike, then went to Pali Lookout to see the sights.  It was actually super windy this time, I mean it's always kind of windy but this time is the most windy I have ever seen it.

The next day we went to the Aloha Stadium Swap meet in the morning.  It was okay, but I'd rather go to the International Marketplace because it's smaller and doesn't cost money to get in.  It definitely was worth it though because Blake bought my V-day gift there.

Then we went paddleboarding.  That was something I had never done before and kind of wanted to try.  Lucky for us Colette and Lindsay had rented one using a Groupon.  I don't know why I never thought of looking on Groupon for Hawaii stuff before.  I did think paddleboarding looked kind of lame, so my expectations were low and it ended up being more fun than expected.  Not a can't-miss kind of fun, but not super boring like I thought it would be.  Three stars.

And the girls had to take a picture of our feets because we all had pink polish.  Presh!  Guess which ones are mine haha.

Hint, I'm the one that lives in Hawaii.

Next up is Aaron's friend Bryce.  Aaron did lots of stuff with Bryce that we didn't do and so I can't really tell you about all that.  But we did do the Pillbox Hike with them and go to Makapuu beach to watch them attempt to body surf.

The only picture I took of Bryce

And just a few days ago, Nicole and Nathan headed home after a fun week in Hawaii.  We had to work several of the days they were here, but thanks to the jellyfish stinging the heck out of people at Hanauma Bay we got an extra half day off to spend with them.  (Sorry to those people who got stung, estimates were around 35 of you.)  The first day I got to spend time with them we went to Sea Life Park.  We watched one of the shows together and then I got to watch them do the Dolphin Royal Swim.  Which was really fun to watch but also slightly jealousy-inducing.

Yes, he's riding on dolphins

Yes, she's being kissed by a dolphin

We also found a shorter hike that takes you to a waterfall that you can jump off.  I think it's called Nuuanu Falls.

Nicole taking the plunge

Then we went up to North Shore, starting at the Dole Plantation, then Waimea Bay where we got the crap beat out of us, then to Matsumoto's.  Because you can't visit the North Shore without going to Matsumoto's.

So that was going to be all the time we had for them, until....

So then we hiked on the Old Pali Road to a waterfall.  Which was barely trickling, but oh well.  Then went to Lanikai Beach and ended the day with malasadas.

Thank you everyone who visited us and shared their vacations with us!  It has been a blessing for us living out here so far from friends and family.  We don't have any scheduled visitors for May yet, but Colette has decided to move to Hawaii and she'll be coming at the beginning of the month!  We are very excited to have her around for the summer.

Hidden Beach

Hidden Beach is very hard to get to, but it is so worth it.  Hidden Beach is along the part of Farrington Highway that used to go around the NorthWest corner of the island.  They stopped maintaining the road years ago and now all that is left is a very, very bumpy dirt road.  I'm not gonna lie, there were a few times I thought we were going to die haha.  If you do not have a car that can handle off-roading, do not attempt to drive to Hidden Beach.  Many people choose to hike in instead, which I think might actually be easier, but less of an adventure for sure.  To get there, you drive to the end of the paved part of Farrington Highway on the North side, not up the East side of the island.  You will have to drive a long ways down the road (I think it is around 1-2 miles) until you come to the small bay at Hidden Beach.  The beauty of Hidden Beach is that you will usually have it all to yourself.  But sometimes, you will be lucky enough to chance upon some Hawaiian Monk Seals.  (Just FYI, we are further from the monk seals than it looks in the picture below.  They are wild animals and can be dangerous.  Be careful and be smart people.)  If you have the time and want to go on an epic adventure, Hidden Beach might be the place for you!

Some cars never even make it out.  Haha.

Julep Maven It Girl March Box

For the month of March our Julep boxes had pastel polishes!  I have a soft spot for pastels.  I stuck with my regular box, It Girl, and I love everything I got!

My box came with the colors Shenae, Teri, and Simone.  I love all of them!  It also included a strawberry mint lip balm, which I couldn't find when it was time to take pictures.  Oh well.

Simone is a gorgeous pastel lilac color.  It looks opalescent in the bottle, but not on your fingers.  Weird, but I'm not complaining.  Goes on great with 2 coats and wears well.

I have like 3 different shades of mint polish already but I just can't get enough.  Shenae is a great color, a very cute light mint.  It also looks opalescent in the bottle but not on your fingers.  Opaque in 2 coats and wears well.

I have only tried Teri on my toes so far, so I thought I'd spare you up close and personal pictures of my feet.  But, Teri is a very nice coral-y pastel pink creme.  Looks awesome with two coats.

I'm super in love with the colors I got this month!  They are gorgeous and I know I will wear them a bunch.

Also, they threw in this:

 Which is awesome!