One Last Hurrah

I had booked a wedding in Hawaii right before I found out we were moving, so I got to go back to Hawaii for one last hurrah this past week.  It was nice getting to play tourist and having no responsibilities other than the wedding.  Colette was nice enough to let me stay with her.  It was just like old times.  I had lots of fun and relaxation.  We mostly did stuff that I hadn't done before, and never went near the area I used to live and work, so it really felt like a new experience. 

The view from Colette's front door

The wedding went great.  The couple was very sweet, you could tell they have good hearts.  I always love a chance for wedding pictures on the beach!

Colette and I spent time at the beach, rode bikes, snorkeled, went hiking, and did whatever else we wanted to.  I also got to meet her boyfriend, which turns out I did meet him briefly when I still lived there before they started dating.  They are great for each other I think. :)  It was also great to see our friend Shyla again.  She is an amazing girl and is fun to spend time with. 

Colette gave me a lei :)

Not the best picture of either of us, but whatever

I now want a bike

Me, Colette, and Shyla

Me, Shyla, Colette, and Rick

Quick stop at the pet store :)

I really wanted to buy this puffer

An abandoned chick we found in Colette's neighborhood.  He was sick and didn't make it :(

An amazing hike to a waterfall.  Can't believe I didn't know about this one before.

I wasn't really sad to leave Hawaii at the end, but I was sad to leave Colette.  She better move back soon or she's in big trouble!  Blake was so happy to have me back that he bought me flowers, which for him is a really big deal. :)

Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial

If you want to visit Pearl Harbor, I highly suggest you get there before it opens.  We arrived just under an hour before they opened and we were able to get tickets to the first USS Arizona tour of the day.  They take you to view a short movie and then you take a boat over to the memorial.  I was amazed at how much oil is still leaking out of that ship after over 70 years.  It was cool to look in the water and see how the fish and sea plants have made the wreck their home.  Going to see the Arizona and then looking around at all of the free exhibits was good enough for us.  We didn't feel the need to go to any of the things you need to pay for.  It is really cool to get to see such a powerful piece of history and to take a moment to remember those who have and will give their lives for our country.  

Moving On

Well, we're back in Utah and all settled in.  We got to celebrate Christmas, my sister's birthday, and my birthday with my family, which was so wonderful.  Holidays were always hard being away from family.  I'm loving getting to spend so much time with friends and family.  As promised, here's a little more about our move from Hawaii.

In November, we worked out the moving date with our boss.  He wanted 6-8 weeks, we counter-offered 4 weeks so we could come home right before Christmas.  He accepted.  We spent the next month going crazy trying to get ready to move, get Blake's replacements trained, and try to fit in some fun as well.  I made a bucket list that Colette was nice enough to help me complete.  I spent two weeks cleaning the apartment and selling/getting rid of all of our stuff.  It was ridiculous.  We ended up not even getting Christmas presents for each other this year because we were too busy with other things.  We decided getting to move back to Utah was our present to each other.  It was expensive enough.

I am so grateful for the last eight months of our life in Hawaii in which we got to share our home with Blake's cousin Colette.  My love for this girl that I had only met a handful of times before she moved in grew tremendously.  She made a huge difference in my life and understood me when no one else in the world could.  I hope she knows how much she means to me.

Hawaii was an incredible adventure that I'm glad we undertook.  Yes, there are lots of things I would change about it, but overall it was a great experience.  Here are some things that I learned while living in Hawaii:

-The novelty wears off in about a year.  Actually, for most people it wears off much faster than that.

-Real genuine aloha spirit is very hard to find on Oahu.  In fact, we mostly encountered quite the opposite.

-I never want to move away from Utah again.

-I used to believe that any two people could be friends if the circumstances were right.  I don't believe that anymore.

-It is okay to admit that you can't do it on your own.

-You need to make the effort to enjoy the place you live, or you never will.

-Hawaii is definitely one of the best vacation places ever.

-The ONLY tourist traps really worth going to are the Polynesian Cultural Center and Kualoa Ranch.

-I have some amazing, genuine, good-to-the-core friends who make me want to be a better person, even if we haven't seen each other in years.

We are happy to be home and ready to begin our next adventure!

Our last trip to the beach