July

July is gone! Yikes! I guess time flies when we're having fun. :-)

Valerie's been playing and coaching a lot of soccer (although a recent sprained ankle put a damper on that).

Shin's been doing lots of home improvement projects: new shelf, new wiring system for surround sound, new doorbell, new peephole. Had a new fence installed. Our next big project: installing laminate flooring!

Scooby and I walked around the block the other night. It was lovely. Unfortunately my non-working life has been consumed with school (not pictured). I'm excited to take Scooby for more walks after Thursday's final summer final... For those of you wondering, this is what I'm doing when I get off work: http://www.sciences.aum.edu/departments/political-science-public-administration/master-of-public-administration

Theoretically I'll graduate (with a certificate in nonprofit leadership) in winter 2014. Yay education!

I'm excited about August. My fall class doesn't start until September, so August shall be AWESOME!

Still can't shake the jetlag

After the wedding, we stayed at a house in Haleiwa on the North Shore. We LOVED it. So relaxing and we lived across the street from the ocean!

We had a surfing lesson with Ash from www.hisurfschool.com and it was awesome! It was a ton of fun surfing and Ash and Kalai were great teachers. 

Then we ate subpar shrimp out of this questionable looking shrimp truck that several people recommended. 

We got some highly recommended but also subpar shave ice and then walked around this beautiful church cemetery. 

We stopped to stare at a sea turtle. Katie pointed this spot out to us on the way to Haleiwa bc one or more turtles comes ashore here to bask nearly every day. Very cool to be so close!

We visited North Shore Christian Fellowship (www.calvarychapelnscf.com) which was recommended and we loved it. The free hotdog, watermelon, and apple strudel didn't hurt.

We took a dusty trail with a cool breeze to Ka'ena point, the western-most tip of Oahu. And I saw a cool, dead frog.

We snorkeled at Shark's Cove one day, visited Waimea Valley and swam in Waimea Falls another day, and snorkeled at Pupukea Beach our last evening.

One day we visited Dole Plantation and we both saw pineapple plants up close for the first time. Also, had highly recommended and delicious Dole Whip (pineapple softserve)!

We enjoyed quite a few nice meals in our lovely home. This was our last breakfast and I think it was my favorite with our Hawaiian honey on Hawaiian toast. :-)

We had to say goodbye to our favorite kitty, Gizmo, at our house. And we headed off to Pearl Harbor and then the long trip home!

Aloha!

I was the matron of honor at Katie's wedding, so we HAD to go to Hawaii. It. Was. Amazing. 

We saw sea turtles our first day! They were just hanging out by the sidewalk!

We had jetlag, so we visited an early morning fish auction. These fish were ginormous. 

We got to play with Hoku at Dolphin Quest! Did you know dolphin stomachs feel different than their backs? I didn't. It was so cool!

Got to reunite with college friends at the Gao open house, rehearsal dinner, and Katie's raucous bachelorette party (at local coffee shop).

And then spent the next day helping this beautiful friend and her wonderful husband get married. I truly was honored to be a part of it all!