Brent's Birthday

October 28, 2010 was a great day. Brent turned 24. We had fun. And the birthday celebration was a success even though we weren't surrounded by family and friends like usual. It was a very Hawaiian birthday celebration.

We went to the beach...

where Brent splashed in the water...

and played in the sand...

while I read my book...because it was a little too windy and cloudy for me to want to get wet.

We stopped to take a look at the beautiful temple...

saw some pretty flowers...

and ate a special birthday dinner of potstickers and rice with sweet soy sauce.

Here's the birthday boy with his presents!
Then we watched Encino Man and ate a chocolate haupia cream pie that we had all to ourselves! It was pretty great.

The Big 2-4

So... I'm not one to be mushy in public. Not at all. Sometimes I even struggle with hello and goodbye pecks when there are a lot of people around. But, today is Brent's birthday, so I feel like writing something nice about him. I know Brent's always thought the husband-adoring posts that he's seen are sweet, so here's his very own. Without being too mushy, don't worry, I figured I could write 24 things that I just love about him, to tell him Happy Birthday.

So, in no particular order...

1. I love his determination to do what's right. When there's a choice to make (even if it's little, like to continue watching a questionable movie or whether to go to all 3 hours of church on a trip) I know, without a doubt, that Brent will do what the Lord would have him do.
2. He plays the guitar and sings for me. And he's really good at it too.
3. He's a baseball player:)
4. He has such a strong testimony that he loves to share with others.
5. He's the absolute sweetest person I've ever met. He knows just how to lift my spirits when I'm down or make me feel like the most beautiful and loved person on Earth.
6. He's romantic. Always has been and still is.
7. He aspires to make a difference in the world. To do good. To make the world a better place.
8.He works hard in school (and work) in order to always be able to provide for me and our future family.
9. I love his sense of humor. He makes me laugh every single day.
10. He kills all the bugs for me.
11. He does the dishes! A lot!
12. He's an amazing and creative cook. He really knows how to work the seasonings, I'm tellin ya.
13. I love to watch him with children. He's so good with them and they all love him immediately. Our little neighbor kids just start talking to him every time he steps outside.
14. He makes friends incredibly easily and he can talk to anyone! Which is perfect for me, because I tend to be shy and quiet when meeting people for the first time.
15. He's so willing to help and serve others.
16. He praises me for every blog post:) And everything else I do.
17. He shares the same life goals as I do.
18. Every so often, he surprises me with little gifts. Pretty sure that's my love language.
19. He still asks me out on dates.
20. He encourages me in everything I do.
21. He's super duper handsome.
22. He has a wonderful family and he loves my family. He fits right in.
23. He protects and takes care of me. Growing up as the youngest in my family, this is exactly what I need. And he does it so well and loves it. For example, he drives me to the bus stop every morning and waits with me until it comes. Then he's waiting for me every day when I step off the bus. And...
24. I just love the way he loves me. He's the absolute greatest. I honestly feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

I hope that wasn't too mushy. Really. Brent, I love you! Happy Birthday! Let's go get some chocolate haupia cream pie!

Crouching Lion

While I took a midterm on Saturday, Brent went on another hike with some friends. We had been told this was a pretty difficult hike so, in truth, I was glad when I had a real excuse to skip it. Brent was exhausted and covered in mud after the hike. He told me it was a good thing I wasn't on that hike because I wouldn't have made it (which I almost took offense to, until he told me he almost turned around himself like 15 times). After watching some of his videos of the hike, filled with people falling down hills, slipping in mud, and walking on skinny ledges with drop-offs on both sides, I was actually grateful for my midterm. Brent took some beautiful pictures though, so it was worth it. Plus, he occasionally refers to himself as "the man" now that he's talked to some other people who couldn't finish the hike.

Can you see the crouching lion?

There's just something mesmerizing about this picture.






Brent says he may want to do the hike again in a year, once he has regained his strength. So I've got a while to get into shape before the opportunity to conquer the Crouching Lion hike comes up again.

Food Fest!!

Last Friday was our first official Food Fest experience. Every semester, BYU-Hawaii puts on Food Fest where all the international clubs (the Tongan Club, the Samoan Club, the Fijian Club, the Korean Club, etc.) set up a booth and cook up their favorite foods from home. It's a chance to try a little bit of everything; traditional foods from all around the world. The flag circle in front of the school became 'Spooksville' as people from all over the island came to Laie for the fun. There were at least 15 different countries represented, all selling their freshly-made, authentic specialties.

Spooksville.

First, we decided to try the plate dinner from the Philippines. Rice, chicken and potatoes, and pork lumpia. Yum!


Then we tried a Fijian roti: a thick crepe-like thing filled with chicken curry. Also yum!


For dessert, we tried crepes from Mongolia (or somewhere, I can't remember exactly) and a watermelon drink from Tonga called Otai. I can't wait until February, the next Food Fest, so I can get the Lu from Tonga! It was one of my favorite foods when my family lived there about 10 years ago. I just didn't have room in my tummy for it this time.

So, food fest was a definite success. Visits planned in October, February, or May could allow some of you to experience this wondrous, unique event for yourselves. Think about it:)

Makapu'u Lighthouse

On Saturday, Brent and I joined some friends for a hike to the Makapu'u Lighthouse.

Whale season starts late November. We'll need to go do the hike again because we've heard it's a great place for spotting tons of whales. I can't wait!

The Haunted Lagoon

Last night, Brent surprised me with tickets to The Haunted Lagoon at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I've been wanting to go for weeks. I LOVE haunted things. And The Haunted Lagoon promised to be a top-knotch halloween attraction; the "real squeal" as Brent called it. Apparently, they go to Hollywood and get old movie props and costumes. That way, when you see the scary people, you don't think "Oh that's just a person who's dressed up in a corny costume." Instead, you think, "What is that thing, I think I'm going to die." Exactly how I like it. With regular ticket prices at $25 a person (don't worry, we got a deal), our expectations were pretty high. And the PCC did not disappoint.


This is who they call "the Laie Lady." She's known to haunt the lagoon at the PCC. As the story goes, she either drowned in the lagoon long ago or she went crazy after losing her first child. She's often spotted, dressed in white with long shiny black hair.

She was just waiting for our canoe. As were the zombies, the clowns, the witches, and other creatures that weren't exactly recognizable. Dozens of creatures were swimming in the lagoon, disguised until they would pop up onto the canoe right next to me. People were waiting for us under bridges, at villages, and every spot in between. It seemed that every single lagoon creature chose to pop up next to Brent and I. There's no doubt that we screamed more than anyone else on that canoe, even more than the children on board. At one point, we were thinking that the danger of the moment had passed, when I felt a hand run down my arm. I screamed. Everyone else on the canoe looked at me like I was crazy, like "Why did you just scream out of the blue?" But they didn't see the black creature that was still watching me in the lagoon.

The creatures liked to linger by us too because Brent would get more and more creeped out the longer they looked at him. He's not too good at these things. When we were dating, I took him to the Haunted Mill in Rexburg. As we were walking along a path, a scary guy jumped out and started chasing us. Brent grabbed me by the arm, threw me behind him, and started running. Apparently, his gut instinct told him to throw me to the wolves so he could get away. It's okay though, I thought it was funny. It's fun to watch him get so scared by these things, and he loves them as much as I do.

The Haunted Maze, the Haunted Mill; they don't even compare to The Haunted Lagoon. Now I'm thinking you all ought to come visit next October. I hear it gets better and better every year. Our experience this year was made even better by a friendly and cute little Asian girl who started talking to us in line. When we climbed into the canoe, she latched right on the Brent's other arm and informed him, "I'm gonna hang onto you, just for safety purposes."

This is us waiting to board our canoe.

This guy met us at the exit gate.

And one last picture to leave you with.

True Hawaiian Experience

After conference last Sunday, Brent and I drove up the hill to a beautiful lookout in Laie. It was a little windy, but the view is unbelievable.
At a campus party, we ran into some Meridian friends so we thought we'd take a picture. Both mine and Brent's families know Shellee (on the right, holding her son). What a coincidence to run into her during her Hawaiian vacation!
Last night we found a little friend who seems to like our apartment. I've decided to call him Fred. He's tiny and adventurous and even kinda cute.Brent got really into taking pictures of him. He held a flashlight up with one hand and the camera in the other. He said "I'm like one of those professional photographers for National Geographic." Then he told me I could quote him on my blog. He felt really cool; taking pictures of the dangerous, local wildlife.

I don't mind the geckos. Especially tiny ones like Fred. Sure, they poop all over, but it's not hard to clean up. It's the cockroaches I hate. When you turn on the lights at night, there's at least one, sometimes four in sight on your floor. They're two or more inches long and an inch thick. They're disgustingly dirty and they're fast and yucky to squish. The worst is when I wake up at night and have to go to the bathroom. Especially because I don't have my contacts in and who knows where my glasses are. I'm also not fond of the large, black earwigs. But hey, it's the price you have to pay for living in paradise.

I found this picture on the internet. I'm too busy making sure each and every cockroach dies (Brent does the killing while I stand on the bed or chair) to take my own picture.

And here's an earwig (also from the internet). Now please don't let this post deter you from booking plane tickets to come visit us. The bugs really aren't that bad, in fact, they keep life exciting. It's something I believe everyone should experience.