Ohana Time

Mark and I started this blog as a way for us to remember the many adventures we would encounter in Hawaii-but I feel the longer we are here the more desire we have to see the world and to explore even more. We are both on the inside really shy/reserved so this blog in many ways is our outlet to share our story and really bust out of our shells. There are so many new and different things we are able to try/do here in Hawaii that it would be near impossible to share all of them. Of the many photos we share in each blog entry we hope that each one is able to share a story of it's own in addition to the experiences we write about. Growing up, traveling was a huge part of each of our childhoods with our families and also within our relationship with each other. Traveling in some sense has been our outlet to relieve stress and to grow together. Oahu is one of the craziest places either of us have ever been able to experience. The diversity is one of the greatest in the world and it's so fun to constantly learn something new. Regardless of how long we stay in Hawaii or travel- this experience as we just passed our one year anniversary following our dream is to constantly learn and try new things. How crazy one year ago we started this journey. I still remember so vividly the feeling of landing on the runway at 10:30pm just over a year ago. Walking off the plane for the first time and feeling the warm air brush again our faces was reality hitting us as hard as possible that we really did take the plunge- there was no turning back now! The thirty minute drive from the airport to our hotel was one of the most overwhelming feelings we've ever experienced in our lives! We knew Oahu was crazy big and hustling- but wow was it scary. The first night in the hotel room I woke up at 3:30am asking myself what the heck have we done. Ever since then there has been no turning back, no matter the challenges. I still have those moments where I look around and go "Wow, we are really here- we really did this"! This entire adventure has brought us so much closer together as a couple and also individuals. Moving here and really starting 100% fresh has helped me appreciate how good it is to push yourself to try new things, and going out of your comfort zone can show you so much more about yourself.

work treasures

While we were visiting the Aloha Stadium swap meet a few weeks ago a piece of artwork caught my eye. It was a little raku jar with a turtle lid- a Amakua Jar- "dream jar". In Hawaii it is said that if a turtle comes into your hale it brings with it wisdom of the sea as well as longevity and relaxation. You are suppose to write your wishes and dreams down and put them into the jar and put the lid on. The powers of the turtle and the sea are said to make your dreams a reality. So far, the honu for us has been effective-plus he's an adorable little addition to our hale.

We love going every Saturday mornings to the KCC farmers market. We stock up on our veggies for the week, Hawaii made salad dressings and get other goodies like taro chips and li hing mui pineapple aloha pops! Yum! Such an awesome place to get local made goods and locally grown veggies.

Mark does ads for a business which is known for their takoyaki which they make right in front of you. It's basically a little deep fried piece of dough filled with different sauces and Tako (Octopus). As you bit into it you could literally see the tentacles which freaked me out, hahha. But as Mark said anything tastes good deep fried. At the end of the day he is wayyy more willing to try new and different things than me. What a brave guy! (It actually wasn't that bad).

We had so much fun when Mark's mom came to visit! She arrived two days before Easter. It was soooo great to have family here with us to celebrate the holiday. I unfortunately had to work on Easter but Mark and his mom made us all a wonderful dinner filled with pineapple ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, sparkling pineapple wine and my favorite; a famous teds pie! The week Kathy was here we explored beaches, went shopping, ate delicious meals, went to Pearl Harbor, visited Aulani (the Disney Resort) and our favorite day we spent at Polynesian Cultural Center. The day we visited Pearl Harbor it was slightly rainy and gloomy but it made for a beautiful rainbow. At Pearl Harbor we took a boat out to see the Arizona memorial. It was a beautiful all white, sleek looking memorial which sat directly on top of the ship which still sits at the bottom of the ocean. The back of the memorial is filled from floor to ceiling with the names of all the crew who lost their lives on the Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was an eerie moment for me as I was standing at the ledge of the memorial looking down at the ship on the ocean floor and seeing streams of oils still being spewed from the ship. You would see the bright colors of oil change as it floated away from the ship on the surface of the water. On a daily basis 2-9 quarts of oil are lost from the ship every day. At one point the Arizona held about 1.5 MILLION gallons of oil. It's mind boggling that it still leaks oil since 1941 when the attack on Pearl Harbor happened. The Arizona memorial was beautiful-and still is my favorite part of the Pearl Harbor experience.

Mark and I had never been able to visit PCC so it was so fun for us to play tourist with Kathy! We paid a little extra to be picked up from Waikiki and taken to PCC-and it was so worth it. We all agreed it was the most fun/exhausting day of her vacation. You are able to walk around to the different Polynesia villages and learn dances, recipes, see different housing arrangements and even get ink "tattoos". After seeing all the villages we were able to watch an Imax and saw Hawaii from the point of view of a helicopter. It was pretty spectacular. At one point during the day they sold Hawaiian sorbet with fruit to tourists from a canoe... if you know me at all you know that was my highlight. The day started to come to a close as we all sat down for our luau dinner. Very great grinds with an awesome show in the background. The climax of the entire day was after dinner a show PCC puts on called; Ha breath of life. It was such an incredible show- you really get emotionally involved with the characters lives as they grow up in front of you during the performance. After learning so many dances throughout the day and different rituals it was amazing to see them all implemented throughout the story of Hawaii and the characters journies in the show. It's a must see for anyone visiting Oahu. The finale of the show was a fire show-I don't want to give away to much but it was breathtaking watching the raw talent of the performers. Mark's mom even bought a piece of art from the main fire twirler.

We are heading to Kauai for the first this weekend for a small little getaway. We hope to kayak, get a massage, swim and most importantly relax! From what I've heard Kauai has a similar feel to the Big Island; country, slower paced and breathtakingly beautiful. Yep, we can't wait to relax a bit.

When we started this blog a little over a year ago I found a really cute turtle symbol that we use to close every blog. Now that we are closing the door on our first year in Hawaii, I thought it would be appropriate to change our signature as well. What an emotional and important this blog is for us. It's almost as if we are closing one door and opening another. We constantly thank God for the opportunities and our family and friends for always believing in us no matter how close or far.

XOXO,

Jen & Mark