Livin Like Locals

We were so lucky with our Hawaii trip, for so many reasons. For one thing, one of my best friends ever in this life is currently living on Oahu with her husband and darling baby, and we were able to stay with them for most of our time there!

In Vegas, we went to a timeshare meeting and mentioned that we pretty much always stay with people we know when we travel. The timeshare agent got a little stressed and said "Oh c'mon! You don't want to stay with people every time you travel! That's gotta get old, doesn't it?" But I'm not lying when I say that was one of my favorite things about this trip.

It was so fun to have these knowledgeable tour guides to show us around the island. They took us to all these cool places, let us use their GoPro, gave us sunglasses, fed us, clothed us (at least Jonny let Stephen wear his Sunday clothes), advised us on our plans, and introduced us to a new oceanside pastime.

From this time we spent with real, live locals of the beautiful state of Hawaii, I can now confidently share with you how to live like Hawaiians.

Here's how they eat:

This is a Matsumoto's genius in action. You can get a huge shave ice there for like $4, with ice cream and condensed milk!!

You can also pick a coconut out of a tree, if you are hungry, and if your husband is super-strong and agile. 

Jonny and Alyssa had this weird metal thing on their back porch that looked just perfect for opening coconuts. I guess it was as perfect as a coconut-opening tool can be....but they are obnoxious little buggers to crack!

Clearly the fun ended pretty quickly. And the worst part is, we opened 6 coconuts and not one of them was good! 

Oooh! Sometimes they suck their thumbs, and it is the cutest thing ever.

Here's how they play:

After church, we all took the wicker chairs down to the beach to sit by the ocean and dip our toes in. 

It was very relaxing! But eventually, that's not enough for some people.

Jonny has a special technique for scooting forward, where you dig a hole in the sand with your feet and then stick the back of the chair in the hole. Every time you do that you scoot deeper into the ocean, but apparently, it's better because the chair is leaning back. 

But then it turned into a competition of who could go the furthest out.

They would run out when the water was calm and try to dig their chair into the sand before another wave came. 

Then they'd see the wave and jump up on their chairs to try and block it.

Sometimes the chairs got away.....

Sometimes the pants got away....

I can't even describe how hilarious it was to watch them sit in their chairs like 40 feet out! They looked like they had been on the Titanic and were now bobbing around on makeshift life rafts. 

Here's how they spend their evenings:

Spitting Caves! This place is so cool. When the water is calmer, people jump in here. There's a cave that fills up with water and then spits it all out. I would have been too scared I think, but Stephen for sure would have done it.

We watched the water for a little bit and then watched the sunset.

Does it make you feel a little sad about your own life that this is someone else's real actual life, like they watch this sunset err day? Cuz it makes me feel a little sad about mine....


Here's how they deal with the wildlife:

Like these fine American cockroaches. 

Crikey.

Alyssa and Jonny and LJ.....we love you guys!!

Be Mine, Stephentine

If there's one thing I love more than Valentine's Day, it's Valentine's Day that falls on a Saturday.

And if there's one thing I love more than that, it's when that Saturday happens to fall in the middle of a 3-day weekend. 

And as if my heart isn't already overflowing about this much wonderfulness packed into one holiday with the opportunity to spread that holiday out over 3 days, the one thing that could make all of this even better is something that happened this year. Called, all the national parks were free. 

And not to mention, Friday Feburary 13th was my last day on-track. SO, holler about that. 

Stephen and I started our Valen-weekend with our traditional big fight a few days prior. I don't know what it is, maybe the stress of how much I love Valentines Day and how much I expect for it gets to him, or maybe we just like to spice things up so we get snotty with each other. We're working on it.

Whatever the reason, Friday was Make-Up Day. Aka, the day Stephen added these to my life:

The cutest workout shoes!!

We've never really had a Make-Up Day before, to be honest.....but it worked! I almost peed my pants. I don't consider myself a material girl or even really a shoe person, but apparently I am on 

Make-Up Day. Some people might disagree with me, but I think fights are okay in a marriage. Don't go crazy or anything, and don't try to start fights, but knowing how to resolve conflict is very important. I think sometimes people freak out when they have a fight and they think they're never going to make it because they're fighting and they shouldn't be, but it's really okay. And if everyone would just calm down and hug and kiss and say they're sorry and then have a Make-Up Day to prove it, then everything could be fixed in time for Valentines Day. 

Which I barely took any pictures of, so sorry about that. 

It went like this:

Go to Bruge's for breakfast. They're in Provo now and it is delicious!

Drive drive drive. Read Cosmo. Listen to music. Play getting-to-know-you games c/o The Dating Divas.

Arrive at Snow Canyon! Not a National Park. Pay $6. 

It is worth it.

Get out. Roll in the sand. Try to learn how to do a backflip. Get scared err time so just hang out while Stephen does all the work of lifting and flipping.

Look around for a place to climb.

Try out our new camera tripod. 

It works like a charm :)

Climb and hike and play all day until the sun is setting. 

Go to the petrified sand dunes and try to climb to the highest point.

Put on music and dance.

Sit and wait for the stars to come out.

The stars are out, and they are breathtaking.

Try to find our way back to the car and get very lost.

Almost fall off a cliff.

Pull out the phone flashlights.

Become convinced that we are going to be wandering around in this desert wilderness until we give up and huddle together for warmth until the sun comes up and we are able to find our way out, if we haven't frozen to death by that point, and then when we make our way back to Cassidy Jane Carbaby, she will have been booted since she wasn't supposed to be in that parking lot past 10pm. 

Find our way out??

Pass several signs that say "Not a trail!" 

Feel bad. Ish. It wasn't on the purpose.

Drive out of the park and to Outback Steakhouse!

Change in the car. 

Lament because I didn't remember to paint my toenails and I brought wedges for date night.

Eat all the food, and even drink flavored lemonade. 

Drive to our hosts' home! 

Sit up and chat with Brenley and watch House Hunters. 

Go to sleeeeeep. 

Go to church.

Go kinda close to Snow Canyon on this beautiful hike. 

No pictures do it justice.

Go to Green Valley Loop. 

'Froading in a Honda is....still fun. *said hesitantly* Next time we'll get an ATV or side-by-side or something made for this. 

Watch in awe as some people try slack-lining across the canyon. 

Go climbing. 

This was a special day for me because there were two other couples that started climbing by us. And for the first time ever, I was the best girl there! The guys were pretty good, and it seemed like they went a lot. Like they were couple friends who took a bunch of trips together. But the girls weren't that into it and I guess that just made me super-confident or something, and I did my first 5.10 outside. It was so fun!! I've come a long way since my first time rock-climbing outside.....

Stephen also squeezed some bouldering in. Or maybe this was on the hike?

Drive to the Dixie sign. If there was a dental school here, maybe we would end up living here in Geezy. We consider this as we climb to the top of St. George's version of the Y. 

I'm glad we did, even if it is a little underwhelming. 

Drive over to the St. George temple. 

Consider taking a picture but we are wearing climbing clothes and the lighting's weird and it's kinda cold, so just get back in the car and drive on. 

The next day we take Zions! I love this place. 

We drive in fo freeeee and drive around, through tunnels, around mountains, taking the scenic route. 

We pop out for a brief hike.

Overhear this: "I think our kids are like, genetically predisposed to falling off cliffs."

Start hiking down. 

Get off the trail somehow?? What is wrong with our sense of direction?

Keep driving. 

Stop for lunch at Oscar's.
Become BFF with the owner so he gives us free carrot cake! Or maybe that was just him feeling Valentinesy. Or perhaps because he messed up our order. Hard to tell with these friendly small-tourist-town folks.

I have always loved Valentines Day, but I especially love celebrating this day when my Valentine and I first said "I love you" to each other. On fight days and makeup days, in Provo or in St. George, whether I'm in the driver's seat or he is, Stephen is my Valentine. It was a wonderful weekend that couldn't have been better with anyone else :)