Our FIRST Anniversary

One year ago today, I married the most wonderful man I have ever met. This year has flown by, and has been quite an adventure. From our vacations in Barbados and Hawaii, to combining our checking accounts, our first year of marriage has been full of big changes and new experiences. We celebrated our anniversary in Hawaii at the beginning of the month, and had a more modest celebration last night (since Kevin travels for work during the week), where we cooked dinner and enjoyed our defrosted wedding cake. I realize I have not shared how Kevin and I met. We were set up on a blind date by friends exactly three years ago. That's right, we got married two years after we met...to the day. As you can see, August 30th is quite significant to us. Anyway, Kevin was very quiet throughout dinner. I carried the majority of the conversation...I know, shocking. The dynamics of our relationship have not changed much since then. After dinner, we decided to get a few drinks, at which point Kevin became way more talkative. Our conversation flowed easily and we found we were looking for the same things in a significant other. After that, we were pretty much inseparable, and the rest is history. Happy Anniversary to my extraordinary husband. Can't wait to share many, many more years with you!

Life After Hawaii

I know I have not posted in a while, and that's because I'm trying to post all of our adventures in Hawaii before I post anything else. The problem is, life goes on, and while I WILL continue to blog about our vacation, I have other things to blog about, too! School started two-and-a-half weeks ago, and like every other year, the first few weeks are full of chaos, pre-testing/collecting data (BLECH), adjusting (or readjusting) to routines, forming relationships, disciplining, rewarding, and much, much more. All that aside, today was the first day that felt "just right". I don't want to jinx myself, but we had an AWESOME day.

I LOVE MY CLASS!!!

Sun, Sand, and Shrimp

We got back from our scenic overlook tour of the island, and took it easy on the beach and by the pool. I actually got to read a few "big people" books on this trip! The next day, we visited the North Shore and spent some time at two different beaches. Kevin did some snorkeling, while I continued to enjoy my novel. I did take a few dips in the ocean, though. At lunchtime, we packed it up and stopped at one of the roadside shrimp trucks. The food was delicious, but we had to peel our own shrimp. It was quite messy! Finally, we stopped at Laniloa. There is a huge piece of rock that a strong wave punched a hole right through! It was awesome to be standing right over the ocean, looking down as the tide came up. As we drove back to the hotel, this is what we saw. So pretty!

The View From Up Here

After our visit to Pearl Harbor, we took a drive up a windy road that took us by some beautiful homes. It also had gorgeous lookout points where we could overlook the entire city of Honolulu, including Diamondhead. Here are some pictures from this adventure.

Pearl Harbor

Finally, it's time for some posts about our recent trip to Hawaii! Upon arrival, we collected our luggage, which actually made it to our final destination, unlike our Barbados experience. After picking up our rental car, we had a self-guided tour of the south side of Oahu...aka, we got lost on the way to the hotel. Two hours later, we were all checked into our room...even though the airport was only 15 minutes from where we were staying. The next day, we spent several hours at Pearl Harbor, where we toured the USS Missouri, USS Bowfin, and the USS Arizona Memorial. It was an extremely powerful experience, and well worth the time. Some interesting facts I learned were: 1) The deck of the USS Missouri was the site of the signing of the document in which the Axis powers surrendered (a copy of the document is pictured below); 2) The USS Bowfin was nicknamed the "Pearl Harbor Avenger" due to the fact that it destroyed so many vessels to avenge the events occurring at Pearl; 3) 1177 people died at Pearl Harbor; 4) There is still a bunch of oil on the USS Arizona, and it continues to spurt out, thus it is called the "blood" of the Arizona.

USS Missouri

USS Bowfin

USS Arizona Memorial

Family Time

Before we departed for Hawaii, we got to spend a little quality time with the Pinskys. Here are some pics taken by my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Favorite part of the evening? Listening to Eli say his first phrase: "Dada buh-bye". CUTE!!