today was the first day of spring term classes. I'm only allowed to be enrolled half-time as a student since I am still a full-time employee, so I am taking one three credit physical science class. yes, I'm so stoked...can you tell? I'm blogging DURING class!
i hope these eight weeks fly by...let's get to the fun major courses!!
i pick up ahonui every day after work from my in-laws in kahuku. most days i'll let him putter around the apartment while i cook or clean. sometimes i'll take him out for a bike ride, or run errands...but yesterday i took him just outside of our apartment to walk around, play in the dirt, and get some fresh air. it's usually around 5:30 or 6pm by the time i get home and the sun is setting just about then. the way the sun hits every object just before it sets is absolutely breathtaking. even though i'm not laying out on the sand or eating shaved ice every day - i LOVE living in hawaii. i know, i know, the cost of living here is crazy ridiculous considering the land already belongs to us (but that's a whole 'nother blog subject that i won't get into now...wink, wink). but it takes me 3 minutes to get to my mom's house, or marcus & nue's, or jared & betty's too. then it takes only 7 minutes to get to my in-laws in kahuku! and THEN, both brandon and i have a 4 minute commute to work. who could ask for more?!! although little laie isn't the most ideal place for many people - it's ideal for me, brandon, and probably ahonui too. i realize that living on the mainland could mean a bigger house, newer car, disposable income, and new types of activities, but i think i'm okay where we are now.
i wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here - in hawaii.
**my sister-in-law, ange wanted me to make sure to note that we're also lucky to live only an hour away from herself, tane, and little avey. hopefully one day we'll live a lot closer...kapolei and the beautiful brand new hawaiian homestead homes - here we come!
just a lil' sampling of the slides at the water park on saturday. it's so short only because we're limited to a digital camera for videos. i'm constantly reminded by occasions such as these that i actually need a real video camera to catch those precious fleeting moments.
and for those of you who are wondering - according to the travel channel "bizarre foods" producers, our show is scheduled to air in september. in the meantime, you can always go on to travel channel's website to check out clips or watch other episodes on tuesday nights. more information forthcoming. stay tuned!
it was such a joy to see the excitement on his face that day. i loved that he seemed like he had no boundaries, that he was entirely unreserved throughout the park. he wasn't afraid to stick his head underwater, or find new friends to splash around with, or even go down the slides with his daddy. i was totally a proud mommy.
of course brandon & i had to get some big slides in as well...so while ahonui went with his grandparents or aunties, we went off on our own to go on the big kahuna, the shaka, surf slider, and the volcano express. soooo much fun!!! hopefully we'll be able to make the trek to the other side of the island more often for days like that.
unfortunately, free time to do free activities come in small amounts. if i'm not exhausted when i get home from work, i'll try to take ahonui for a bike ride until brandon comes home. one night after picking up brandon from pcc last week, we strapped ahonui into his stroller and went on a long walk around laie. i seemed to have forgotten how a simple stroll on a beautiful night can enable a husband, wife, and family to re-connect and establish that communication that has been lost to tv & the internet. why in the world do we pay this high cost of living in hawaii if we don't take the time to savor it?
speaking of savoring...(is that even a word? oh well)
i found an old recipe that my mom used to make a long time ago. i think it's a twist off of those bacon & egg pie recipes from new zealand, but i've tweaked it a little and i must say - it's the bomb.
