Hello Summer!

Summer is here.
Summer reminds me of no school, hot days and warm nights, dry feet, spending all day in the sun, eating popsicles for breakfast, juice or Slurpee's during the day, bbq's, finding hours of enjoyment from a hose in your front yard, being barefoot all day, beach, sandy everything, salty hair, staying up a little later, getting darker a little later and non stop bliss.
Although we still have to work, we still feel the fun of summer. The freedom of not having that essay or assignment in the back of your mind.

Here's what we're up to...
I've been having fun using the new camera! We've been spending lots of time at the beach. Here's some surf shots of Cameron.

On the last day of the semester, we celebrated by going to Buca di Beppo and Dave & Busters with the Nelsons and the Flakes!



The prizes:

Cameron got a whistle sucker... he was enjoying it thoroughly.


I've always wanted a dog so I guess my prize covers that. Cameron won me this pup and I named her Pucci (pronounced "Poochy"-- like the brand). She's pretty annoying.

Erin got this one of a kind fan! Go Athletics??

Aaron won a DNA strand, aka: Nerds rope.

For the last week we have had the pleasure of our friends Jason and Dulce staying with us. Dulce does Polynesian dancing and decided to give the guys a few lessons.

Jason...

Cameron...

The guys stopped after the poi balls were swinging into the wrong places. ouch. We've had fun with Jason and Dulce and we're happy they chose to come visit us!

Jeanne's birthday

The birthday girl turned 76!Jeanne and I before dinner

Since Jeanne and I usually go out for lunch, Jeanne thought it would be fun to go out for dinner! Jeanne usually picks really nice restaurants when we go out and this did it over the top! We went to a restaurant in the Halekulani Hotel called La Mer.La Mer

We heard this was one of the island's top places to eat. This french restaurant was amazing! The service was more than you could ask for and it was so extremely elegant. The ambiance, the food, the service, everything was just impeccable! Jeanne who has eaten at the nicest places in Paris says this has probably topped them all! We had a great time and I'm so glad Jeanne had a great birthday. I probably will never have a better dinner in my life than this because the check came out to $218 for just the two of us!
The dinner had several courses and took 2 hours to complete the whole process. Yes, portions were beautiful and petite but after that many courses you find yourself feeling pretty full.
This is just a few dishes I ordered:

I was a little worried at first because the menu was a little intimidating with the French words but Jeanne explained everything to me. I had lamb, caviar, quail, venison, and lobster. What a meal!
It was quite an experience and probably the best food I've tasted.

my 22nd year celebration

Birthdays just make you feel so special. The phone calls, the texts, the cards, the facebook messages all made me feel awesome!
Cameron started the b-day off with making me breakfast! He made me some yummy eggs on toast with cheese and potatoes. After, I opened my b-day presents sent via mail and I got ready and went to work. I didn't want to tell Jeanne, my boss, so we went downtown for shopping and her appointment. She ended up figuring out that it was my birthday so she insisted on buying me a birthday cake. I chose an ice cream cake from Baskin Robins and she also got Subway sandwiches for cam and I for dinner. She also decided that since her birthday was only a few days away from mine that just the two of us would go to a very fancy dinner on Monday to celebrate both of our birthdays.
I didn't get back from our errands downtown till late so Cameron and I decided to celebrate the rest on Saturday. Cameron picked some beautiful roses for me and wrote me the sweetest card that made me cry.
On Friday, I woke up to a birthday present that was left for me on my door step... A PINK BODY BOARD!!! My wonderful friend Natalie Vilos gave it to me for my birthday and it's the prettiest body board you ever did see!! She also left me a very thoughtful card. I love my friend Natalie!!!!!! That was so extremely nice and thoughtful of her. I've wanted to body board for a while but I always make the excuse that I don't have one and now I can't. I'm excited to go out and hopefully Cameron won't be too embarrassed of his "sponger" wife. :)
So Saturday, Cameron and I celebrated together in Honolulu. First Cameron went surfing for a bit with Mark and then Cameron and I went to lunch at my favorite place, Mariposa in Neiman Marcus at Ala Moana. It's such a great restaurant that you leave feeling fresh and well feed, not overly stuffed and sick. We also got to sit on the balcony with the ocean view... always a plus. After lunch, Cameron so kindly shopped with me (thank you grandma and Rondos for gift cards!!) for a long time. He's such a great sport and doesn't complain. I got some really cute stuff!
Then we grabbed a few slices of our favorite cheesecake from the cheesecake factory that we both couldn't finish.
Our last stop for the day was at Best Buy for Cameron's gift to me! We've been without a camera since February and I feel like our life has flown by undocumented!! Sooo... I got a new camera!!! A really nice one! (or at least really nice for me!) I got the Canon Rebel and I'm so excited to learn everything about it! I wanted something that took really nice photos ( I like Canon) and I think this is the most basic digital SLR. I thought this would be a great place to have a nice camera where we can take great pictures and also a great camera to capture daily life. I'm so excited to use it and to post lots of picture on our blog! :)
This birthday was like a 3 day celebration and it was great! I feel so special and loved!

pathetic and I know it.

So I have this weird thing/phobia that I can't stand needles. I can't stand anyone even touching the elbow pit where they draw blood. It's hard for me to even write these words as I'm thinking it. I know a lot of people that can't stand needles. I don't mind the pain, they just make me pass out-- my dad's the same way. I've tried several times and I just never make it.
Funny Story: (one of many stories I have similar to this)
My in-laws were visiting a few months ago and were staying at our place. Cameron and his mom left for a run so Cameron's dad, Alan, and I were the only ones here. I was sewing something upstairs and Alan peered into the room and said jokingly, "Don't get your finger stuck in there!" I laughed and continued and Alan went downstairs. A few moments later... BAM BAMBA BAM! Ouch! My finger did not get pierced but it got jammed on a little knob near the sewing needle. I looked at my finger and a small blood blister formed on my pointer finger. It hurt but it didn't bug me much, the blood did. And I think the fact that there was a needle (kind of, not really) involved in the injury. I ran myself to my bed, laid down, felt fine, and returned to sewing. The next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor not really knowing where I was. I looked at my chair and it was tipped over... I passed out! I ran my sweaty self to my bedroom hoping I wasn't going to faint again on the way there and also embarrassed that my father in law might see me. Well after I felt fine to stand, I told my father in law and he said her heard a lot thump upstairs and wondered what I dropped. Haha... it was me. Good thing I didn't slam my head.
So how will I have babies or fix "owies" for my kids? Hmm... guess we'll see when I get there.

Cameron's Trip

Since last Thursday, Cameron has been on a trip with the school organization, SIFE. He's been in Washington DC and Philadelphia for the SIFE convention and the career fairs. He's also had lots of time to tour around and have fun. I'm glad he went and I'm so impressed with his desire to learn but I'm also very glad he's coming back tomorrow. Some pictures from his travels:

Believe me... I spared all of you on the second to last picture. It wasn't pretty.

For me, it couldn't have been a better time to leave me alone because my homework load was on the heavier side. It was great that I had lots of time to finish everything but it was rather lonely.
I'm looking forward to seeing him tomorrow!!

school work?

Half way through the semester already! Yep! Midterms are within a week. School has been so nice!! I feel like I'm able to appreciate this opportunity even more since I've taken a year break from full-time school. My classes are so interesting and not too overwhelming. It has reminded me of how much I really do love to learn.

So Jeanne has been just a peach when it comes to my classes. Not literally but she has decided she's going back to school with me! It's hilarious/great! When I come in to work for her, she has me teach her everything I have been learning. Then she pulls out her books from her library that pertain to the subject and reviews and discusses it with me for at least an hour. She herself knows quite a bit. I'm thinking Am I really getting paid to review my homework? But she loves it! She tells me she feels she has gone back to school again. Haha... it makes me laugh. It has been a real blessing that she has been so flexible in working with our school schedules-- something we would have never imagined but are really grateful for.

Recently Cameron and I have been biking more. To and from school or just around for fun. Last Sunday we biked with our friends Lindsay and Sean to the North Shore to look for sea glass... haha... I don't think we anticipated how long it would be. About 26 miles there and back but it was pretty fun. It's been peaceful riding to and from school to just have quiet time to think and enjoy the air! (and saving gas $ too!)

Need a job?

Need a job or know someone who does?
A guy and his two daughters stopped me in Foodland and offered me this job but I told him I couldn't take it but I could maybe find someone else.

This guy is looking for a babysitter/tutor (I'm sure he's preferring a female) for his two daughters that looked about 9 and 11 (seemed like sweet girls). I think he said he needs someone from 3:30-7pm every school day. They live on the north shore behind Pupukea Foodland. You would have to find your own transportation and I'm not sure what the pay is. He said he's had girls from Laie do this in the past. I'm not sure if he minds if you have a baby or not... I didn't' get a lot of details.

Let me know if you're interested but don't text me! my phone screen is broken so either call and leave a message or leave a message on here! thanks.

My San Diego Excursion

As an early birthday present, I decided to go to San Diego for a week. My friend/ex roommate Rachelle was getting married and my other friends/ex roommates, Kristin and Chelsey, were going to be in town as well. It was a mini reunion. Kristin was able to stay at my parents house with me so it was fun to show her around San Diego and to also see it myself! Mom and I did lots of shopping and it was so great to spend time with my family. They're all still so young so every time I visit they're so much older looking. Kristin, Ashley my sister in law, and I went to Extraordinary Desserts (one of my all time favorite places) and it was divine! Next day,the family, Kristin, and I all went to Knott's Berry Farm (theme park) and that was a blast too. After Knott's Berry Farm, Kristin and I joined up with the apt. 507 girls in Huntington Beach for dinner. Saturday was a beautiful sunny day at the beach so Kristin and I soaked up some sun. Later that night we went to Rachelle's wonderful wedding reception. She looked amazing and so so happy.
It was so fun to see and spend time with so many faces I'm not usually able to see.

Easter 2009

Easter was such a delight. It was only the two of us to share a special Easter day. Sometimes it's really fun to enjoy a holiday with just the two of us.
Cameron woke me up by placing our large Easter basket sent from Grandma Corky and Grandpa Norris on the bed right next to my face. I woke up a little later, we went to church, enjoyed learning about Christ, and then headed back home. I was supposed to sing with the ward choir but unfortunately woke up without a voice.
At home we finally opened up our Easter basket full of goodies! So much candy! I think I was a little more excited than Cameron about the candy. Cameron also got me some beautiful pink flowers the night before-- they looked perfect for Easter. We decided to have our dinner early. We picked out some good looking salmon from Costco for our Easter feast and boy was it delicious. We also made Jello Easter eggs (thank you g-ma) and passed them out to a few of our friends on our bikes. Later, we watched "Mama Mia" and Cameron was so kind to sit through it all. :) What a great Easter.

school

Yes, I'm a BYU- Hawaii Seasider. I'm taking classes this spring. Finally! It's time I move on in my life and finish my Bachelors degree. Luckily my boss has been accepting of this idea. I missed the first day of classes on Monday (was still in San Diego) but I'm jumping in tomorrow. And don't worry, I even have a new outfit for my first day of school. :) I completed my associates degree plus a little more at BYU-Idaho and so I should have roughly a year left. I'm continuing with a (very different than BYU-I) Communications degree and I'm already stressing about my 300 level Spanish class I have to take this fall...it's been a while. I'm excited for Cameron and I to be studying together-- to both have a lot of homework rather than one or the other!

I love a little change every once in a while to keep life fresh and this change is good.

In San Diego as an early birthday present. See you soon!

Rondo Family Visit

Playing a game of croquet on Sunday afternoon.
Unfortunately the only picture I have.

We had great visit with the Rondo family. Alan and Shannon came last Friday and spoiled us non-stop till they left! They cooked, they cleaned, they did everything! It was probably more of a vacation for us than it was for them! Even though Cameron and I (mostly Cameron) were busy with work and school, we still had a blast. We enjoyed stand up paddle boarding with them in downtown Waikiki, hanging out at the beach, surfing, eating yummy food, watching movies, getting pedicures, eating ice cream and just hanging out at home. I really could not have better in-laws.
Joining us a few days later was Lance, Kristi, and baby Trey! We loved spending time with them. We have only seen Trey a few times before this visit so it was nice to have time to play! Talk about an easy going kid! He is so calm and I don't think I heard him cry once. All the guests were so helpful with everything. It was so fun being together all in one house. Cameron and I look forward to the time we get to live closer to our family.

I was thinking the other day of how fun it has been to have visitors. If we stayed in San Diego, when would we have the opportunity to spend a week together with our parents/siblings/grandparents/friends? We wouldn't have. Unfortunately we can't be on vacation with them but we can still enjoy their company.