Backyard Shenanigans

Lately, I have seen so many sunset pictures from back home in Hawai'i, but what a lot of people don't know is that Arizona happens to have one of the most gorgeous sunsets I have ever laid eyes upon. I don't know what it is about the open desert sky, but something about it is just right. To be honest, Zona sunsets give Hawaii sunsets some pretty steep competition.

Regardless,  I am a huge sucker for sunsets, no matter where. I can sit alone in silence for 20 minutes just staring at the sky, which I actually have been doing for the past few days.  My backyard is the perfect place relax and take a few pictures of nature while waiting for that perfect golden minute or two just after the sun falls beneath the horizon.

Here a few backyard photos from the past couple days...

Friday night's Sunset

Found this adorable tiny hummingbird in our tree. He was way too fast to catch in action!

A perfectly fiery Saturday night sky, ruined by power lines! But still amazing!

S'mores just felt right on a summer night like this!

Tonights nights' super moon!

I even took a few photos today of big ol' grasshopper, the largest beetle I have ever seen int my life (probably about 5 inches long) and very scary looking spider... eating another smaller spider. But, I will spare you all the trauma and keep those pictures tucked away in the depths of iPhoto. You're welcome!

Hope you're enjoying your back yard this summer as much as I am!

Stuff Mac Says...

I've decided to creating a running list of the ever so interesting, unusual, and hilarious things that come out of Big Macs mouth.  Here are his top word mix-ups in recent history:

1.  When asked by Zed, "What should I use to spread this butter," Mac replies, 

    "Use that sword over there!"

Good idea, Mac! Zed, go ahead and use that sword to spread the butter on your bread. Just please be careful not to slice off your hand...

2.  Mac was going through all the old pictures and videos on his iPhone and came across a video he recorded of a humming bird in our backyard and with great delight exclaimed, 

    "LOOK AT THIS DRAGONFLY!"

3.  Driving home from school a few days ago, Mac and I were imagining what it would be like to live the lives of the characters in a couple of our favorite TV series. Apparently, "Orange Is The New Black" is actually called "Women In Orange" according to Mac.

It's like he fused "Orange Is The New Black" with "Men In Black" and came up with "Women In Orange."  That would make a very strange TV series...  I can't blame him though, I don't think he pays much attention when we watch. He's more of a Breaking Bad kinda guy.

Anyway, those are just a few of Mac's most recent word switcheroozies. Maybe it's a "you had to be there" kinda thing in order for it to be funny, but I just thought I'd share because I find it totally hysterical (and actually kinda cute) so I will continue to add "Stuff Mac Says..." posts and YOU WILL LIKE IT!  And trust me, there will be MANY more to come.  He does this almost every day. One of the many reasons why I love my Big Mac!

Until next time!

Family and Friends

The only thing that I look forward to more than the beaches when I go home to Hawaii is being able to see my family and friends and this trip in particular had no shortage of those two things.  From barbecues, to parties, to graduations, we were always surrounded by warm loving family, and crazy high school friends.  Here are few of our most cherished moments spend with out Hawaii family and friends...

Backyard Parties:

We had the entire high school gang over for a back yard party and to celebrate my sister, Malia's 18th birthday.

It was the most fun kid free fun I've had in a while! The little ones stayed around the corner and Grams house so we didn't have to worry about them. 

Malia's Graduation:

How perfect is this picture?!

We're so proud of Malia for completing high school! And even more proud that she's decided to join us at the University of Arizona! Go Cats!

Tea Time with the Bestie:

 My best friend Lauren always goes to tea so I though I would have to accompany her at least once this summer. It was fancy, fun, and delicious!

I dont know why we didn't take a picture at tea... That is so uncharacteristic of us to NOT take a selfie. But here's a picture of me and Lauren (and Malia) at my house.

Beach Days:

Unfortunately this is the only picture I got of all of us before the camera died...

Nonetheless, it was one of many fun beach days with friends!

It really is true that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone. Being constantly surrounded by family and friends is a blessing that many of us take for granted. Spending so much time away from Hawaii, away from family and friends, makes me love and appreciate the time that I do have with them so much more! I can't wait to see them all again, hopefully sooner than later...

Eastside & Westside, O'ahu

The east side of O’ahu is quite possibly my favorite areas of Hawai’i.  Of course, I have a inclination toward my love for the windward side since I was born and raised in Kailua, but nevertheless anyone can agree that it is a beautiful place.  Spanning from Waimanalo to Ka’a’awa, the windward side boasts peaceful beaches, endless hiking trails in the Ko’olaupoko mountains, refreshingly frequent rain, and most importantly, an escape from the hustle of the city.  

The west side of Oahu is, in a way, quite similar to the east side of O'ahu. The farther west you travel from Honolulu, you will notice smaller buildings and taller mountains, less big businesses and more mom & pop stores, less tourists and more locals... you get the idea. In terms of weather, the leeward side of the island is a little hotter and drier but it is a pretty good trade for the most amazing sunset on some of the most gorgeous and isolated beaches.

Here are some photos of our some of our favorite east side-west side destinations:


Makapu'u Beach

I love the cliffs surrounding this beach. They provide great hiking trails, like Makapu'u Lighthouse trail which leads to one of my favorite views of the east side, as well as a popular take off point for parachuters and hang-gliders.  

Makapu'u is also the most popular beach for body surfing on the east side.

Lanikai Pillboxes

Although the Lanikai neighborhood and the Pillbox hike is usually crowded, its a great hike for kids and dogs, so we always make a trip to the top. I think I've done this hike about 20 times...

The Mokulua Islands (also known as the Twin Islands) serve as an icon for Kailua. Although we didn't do the hike at sunrise, you should know that the sunrise from Lanikai Beach over the twin islands is breathtaking.  

Pokai Bay

We had an all day get together at Pokai with some of our closest friends to celebrate our return home and Macs birthday.  

Like I said, the sunsets on the west side are like no other. And to be honest this sunset was just average... so you can imagine the sunset on a perfect day.

Yokohama Bay

This beach is the furthest west beach accessible. Although it's a really far drive, it's worth the gas for the high number of shells and the low number of people.

So there you have it. Oahu from east to west, sunrise to sunset, coast to coast. Driving all the way to the opposite end of the island tends to makes me tear up a little when I see the price of gas in Hawai'i, but in the end it is always worth it!

North Shore, O'ahu

The North Shore of O'ahu is a world-renowned destination for surfers searching for the perfect wave.  During the winter months, waves can reach heights greater than 25 feet tall! But during the summer months, the beaches become famous for calm crystal clear water, pristine white sand, and endless adventures, from jumping the rock at Waimea Bay to searching the tide pools at Sharks Cove for ocean treasures.  

Spending a day beach hopping on the North Shore is one of my favorite things to do back home. In fact, we made the 45 mile drive out 3 times during the three week period! The first time we went out, my two best friends from high school came along and we spent the day at Waimea Bay. On our second visit, my sister and my cousin joined us as we beach hopped from Sharks Cover to Ke Iki Beach. And finally, the day before we headed back to Arizona, we made a last stop at Dole Plantation and the historic Hale'iwa town.  Here are a few pictures...

Waimea Bay

 

Turtles love Waimea Bay just as much as I do...

My best friends Lauren and Kealohi came along with the family.

I love them.

This picture doesn't really need a caption but all the other pictures have captions so, yeah.

Now it's not weird anymore... Or is it?

These two were brave enough to jump from the high side of the rock!

Proud of you K-Boy!

 Sharks Cove & Ke Iki

Right across form Sharks Cove is Foodland which automatically meant we were having Poke Bowls for lunch. It was a beautiful day!!!

And if you don't know what poke is or if you don't like it... GOOD. More for me :)

You don't have to worry about any sharks at Sharks Cove but you might wanna keep an eye out for wana (aka "sea urchins" for my non-hawaiian friends)... They're all over the place!

Mac took this pic while playing around in the waves at Ke Iki. I don't know why, but I like it!

Getting artsy there, Mac!

Dole Plantation & Hale'iwa

We don't normally stop at Dole Plantation but we felt like playing tourist this day...

Cooling off with a Dole Whip after completing world largest maze!

You can't go to Hale'iwa without getting Shave Ice! 

It's the 11th commandment!!! Or something like that...

Speaking of the commandments, thou shalt not go to Hale'iwa without eating at Cholo's...

That's the 12th commandment. But seriously, it's one of those special North Shore places that should never be passed up.

Now that I look at it, I think all we did during our last day on the North Shore was eat.... But that's okay! ZERO REGRETS. In fact, I wish I had some Cholo's right now. 

Perhaps I should end this post before it results with me and a microwave chimichanga at 1 am... Goodnight folks!

We're Back!

While the boys and I were so blessed to have been able to return to Hawaii for three weeks my blog has been, well, not so blessed.  This was our first time back home in almost a year so I was FORCED to put my blog life aside in order to enjoy every beach, wave, mountain, sunrise, sunset, and all the wonderful people that beautiful Hawaii had to offer.  I know, what a difficult trade... But now that we're back to our second home in Tucson, I can get back on my blogging routine and share with all of you my Hawaii experiences while I fantasize about the beautiful beaches and the gentle trade winds while in reality I am struggling to endure this dry triple-digit temperature summer.

For the next 5 days, my posts will feature all the fun we had back home in Hawaii.  It's going to be extremely difficult to squeeze 20 days of fun into 5 blog posts but I'm going to try my best.  Trust me, I'm doing my readers a favor by not posting 20 days of Hawaii. I don't want to torture you with 20 posts about the most beautiful place on God's green earth, especially if you're burning up in the middle of the Sonoran Desert like me... And on top of that, I'm too lazy to do that many posts... Actually, that's probably the main reason I'm only doing 5.  We all have weaknesses, people.

I wanna start off with a little teaser video.  A little 15 second "trailer," if you will.  Big Mac made this for his Instagram and I asked if I could share it on my blog.  Now, the song choice is not exactly Bri +3's style but hey, this was us in "college students on summer vacay" mode. Don't judge us. Enjoy!

 

Creations by The Master Builder

I have never been a huge fan of LEGOs but I have always found them interesting. I have a couple of adult friends who would spend hours following huge instruction manuals assembling thousand of tiny pieces to create detailed and intricate sculptures.  While these sculptures are truly impressive, my favorite LEGO creations of all time are actually made by a third-grader.

What is particularly interesting about the sculptures that K-Boy builds is that he doesn't use instruction manuals to build them, instead he uses his own imagination. He has a suitcase full of thousands of LEGO pieces of all shapes and sizes which can provide him with entertainment for hours. When I see a giant mess of tiny pieces all over the living room, K-Boy instead sees a helicopter, a race car, or a boat. It amazes me how something so tiny and meaningless in my eyes could be part of something so much greater in the eyes of a Master Builder like K-Boy.  He takes so much pride in everything he builds, as do I, which is why I wanted to share a few of his Sunday afternoon creations on my blog.

This one's a tank fully equipped with a rotating gun thingy... Sorry I don't know what to call it. But it's pointing straight at you! Watch out!

This helicopter may not be able to fly but it is ready to go to war with a big gun and a soldier. K-Boy seems to be very interested in military combat...

Can you see the trend here? This is some sort of military car, again with guns on the front. K-Boy also explained to me that the dude driving the car is from Halo... which is a shooting game, no surprise.

I am hoping that K-Boy continues to develop his imagination and have fun through his LEGO building hobby. More importantly, I am hoping he continues to develop his building skills and become an engineer or an architect so he can become rich and buy me nice gifts.

Until next time ya'll!