The Big Move

We spent last weekend packing up, deep cleaning, and moving boxes over to our new apartment on campus. Saturday night was our first night in the new place, then Sunday evening we went back over to Hauula to finish cleaning and get the rest of our stuff. We walked in the door of our old apartment and I saw something huge scatter across the wall.

I've never seen such a big spider in my life, and here it was crawling around the apartment I've lived in for the last 6 months. Luckily, I had Brent there who, being a little jumpy, was still brave enough to track down the beast and kill it for me.

Now, it's legs curled under when it was killed, so extend those legs about an inch and a half and you have the real size of the beast. All I can say is, I'm glad I hadn't spent the previous night in that apartment and I'm glad I'm never going back.

On a prettier note, we now live on the second floor of Building K in Temple View Apartments. I haven't seen a cockroach since we moved in! It's so nice to be able to walk to campus, walk to church, jump on the internet at home, and live ten minutes closer to work. We're loving it. I took some pix to help you all (especially my family) visualize where we live now.

Brent's busy making Argentine gnocchis (dumplings) to take to a potluck birthday celebration tonight. Yum!

And there's a bathroom too, but it's nothing special so I'll spare you the pictures. While we're still waiting for our decor and pictures to arrive from Boise (thanks Mom!), it's become home very fast and we love it. So here's to another 1.5 - 2 years in Hawaii!

And, just a sidenote, now we have way more room for all of you to come visit!

The Honeymooners

My best friend, Alison, got married to Ben a couple weekends ago. Being in Hawaii, I couldn't make it to the wedding or reception. Sadness. But while all my other friends got to be there with Al on her special day, I got to hang out with Al on her honeymoon in Paradise! It was great to meet Ben for the first time and see what a cute couple they are. They came out to Laie to spend the day at the PCC and I was able to join them on their trek to the different Polynesian villages.

Then Brent pulled some strings and we were able to join Al and Ben for their traditional Hawaiian Luau in the evening. Here's the cute couple.

And us. We're cute too.

Here lies our kalua pig. It's been slow cooking in the ground all day. Now it's ready to be uncovered and served.

Yum!

Then the honeymooners got called up to show everyone how cute and in love they are. They got to dance in front of everyone with all the old people who were celebrating their anniversaries.

Look how cute she is!

It was so great to see Al! It made me feel close to home and all my friends. Love you 202 girls! Miss you all. Maybe someday soon the rest of you can come and visit me too:)

A Day at the Beach

Yesterday, in honor of the holiday, we headed to the beach. This is me killing the humongous black bee that stung me when I accidentally stepped on it.(For reals, its body was bigger than a quarter)

Here I am showing off my cute new board shorts that I found at the Swap Meet for $10! Can you even believe how perfectly they match my swimsuit? What a great/lucky find.

And then we just had fun taking pictures.(Because I feel like I hardly ever post pictures of us or myself on here.)

In other news, we move into TVA on Friday (!) and I got a job @ Kahuku Farms; working in their farm fresh cafe and shop. I LoooVe it so far. But more on that later when I can get a picture in my cute apron:)

Ambassador Treatment

Because Brent's the VP of Special Events on campus, he's busy planning the upcoming BYU-H Winter Ball. As I've said before, being the wife of the VP has some perks. As he's been looking for a caterer and trying to plan a menu, (and he needs an extra opinion) we've been able to enjoy some delicious food for free lately. Last Monday, we just happened to be scheduled to try the menu of the Ambassador meal at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is the most fancy restaurant and expensive food at the PCC and we got to eat there for free on Valentine's Day. Perfect!

We got all dressed up like tourists (just for fun) and took the canoe ride over to our meal.

In the distance, you can see where we ate dinner.

Prime rib, crab legs, sushi, coconut mahi mahi, macadamia encrusted chicken, tropical fruit, guava juice... Best Valentine's meal I've ever had, and in such a beautiful setting. Now we just need to save up our money so we can go back someday:)

Little Moments

Instead of a mushy Valentine's post, I thought I'd share a little treat with you on this day of love. "Little Moments" by Brad Paisley. I guess you could say this is mine and Brent's song. It's my most favorite song ever and we were dancing to it during our first kiss, when Brent proposed, and it was our first dance at our wedding reception:) It just melts my heart every time. Enjoy.



I love you, Brent! Happy Valentine's Day.

Food Fest - Round 2

Saturday night was our second Food Fest experience at BYU-H. All the international clubs on campus set up their booths and sold their favorite foods from home.

Brent also set up a table to get students to vote for the theme of the upcoming Winter Ball that he's planning. Look at my cute Vice President of Special Events.

This year I went straight for the Tongan plate dinner.

I was honestly in heaven while I ate my Lu Pulu (corned beef and onions wrapped in Taro leaves, drenched in coconut milk, and baked) and Manioke root that I had fallen in love with ten years ago when my family lived in Tonga. It took me back to Tonga and I was happy for the rest of the night.
Brent loved his Yakisoba noodles from Japan.

We also enjoyed an omelette from China, fried won tons from Hong Kong, and a yummy, caramelized waffle dessert from the Aikido club.

Food fest was especially fun this year because my cousins from Kaneohe came out to Laie to join us for the delicious event. Between the 8 of us, we enjoyed food from Tonga, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Fiji, Taiwan, the Philippines, Hawaii, and more. Food Fest Round 2 = a definite success.

Invasion

This is Howard.

Apparently Howard has decided to take up permanent residence on my blow dryer, while two of his friends seem to have moved into my closet.

I'm not sure how I feel about our new house guests. They're harmless enough, and honestly, they were to be expected. But they give me a heart attack every time I walk into the bathroom or the closet. And I'm definitely concerned for the next time I reach for my blow dryer or my Levi jacket.

Luckily, we received the good news that we can finally move into on-campus married housing at the end of February.

Hallelujah! While we will miss our nice landlord, the extra privacy of living in a house instead of an apartment complex, and especially our cute neighbor kids...

...it will be nice to save a little money on rent, have an oven and start making real food again, be closer to our friends, and live just a small jaunt away from school and the temple.

Of course, that's not to say that we won't have a lizard problem in our new apartment too...