Hawaii - Parasailing

We had two unique and really fabulous tourist packages.  The first one was a parasailing trip.  Neither of us had ever been before, so we were REALLY excited when we came across a Groupon discount deal that made it 2 for the price of a discounted 1.  Definitely didn’t want to pass that up!

Once we got in the boat and started making our trek out into the ocean, we were treated to a rainbow view!  

 Gorgeous Honolulu city views

Humidity means my hair goes wonky.  But it was such a great day!

OUR TURN!!  Luckily, the second tour guide (not the boat driver) was also a professional photo and took these in-flight photos for me!

All strapped up and waiting to go.

Starting to lift off the boat.  I’m a tad nervous at this point, but mostly excited!

Flying low and taking in the scenery. 

I love the colourful parachute!

A little further out on the rope.

It was surprisingly calm in the air.  I was expecting to be able to feel the waves through the rope pull, but it was really really smooth.

The boat driver with us flying in the background

We got the longest rope length of our group.  We went up much higher, and it was awesome!  We had a coupon, so we paid less, but got a longer/better ride.  I love deals. 

I also think it’s awesome that this photo has a little rainbow in the corner!

Dropping us lower; about to dip us in the water….

As soon as we touched the water, Blair SCREAMED in delight, which made me BURST out laughing. 

LOVE that he caught that moment on camera.  :)

Not sure what happened, but when Blair came out of the water, he was all flopped forward in the seat.

I think it’s HI-larious.

bwahahaha

It was such a beautiful day.  Absolutely perfect for being on the water.

 Such a FUN experience!!

Hawaii - North Shore

Day 3 held a North Shore excursion.  It was a little road trip adventure.  These mountains are actually really close to where their house was located, and you pass or go through them to pretty much get anywhere else on the island.  I love these mountains!

On a side note, I also love that these particular ones look just like the mountains in the show Lost.  awesome?  yep.

 We stopped a lot on the side of the road for pretty picture opportunities.  Teresa was nice. :)

We HAD to have Shave Ice on the way up.  Aoki’s Shave Ice was my sister’s favourite shave ice spot on the island.  This was our first taste…and of course, we were addicted.  Love at first bite.  They put ice cream in the center, top it with finely shaven ice, and then pour on whatever flavours you want.    

I got watermelon, pineapple, and coconut.  SO GOOD!

Next stop was turtle cove.  I LOVE me some turtles.  Last time I visited Teresa, we actually got to go snorkeling with the big sea turtles.  The water was a little cloudy that day, so the rocks and the turtles looked similar.  As I was swimming along, thinking I was right next to a rock, all of a sudden that rock turned around and the GIANT turtle face was right in front of my face.  It startled me so much that I SCREAMED under the water so loudly that Teresa stood up and burst out laughing.  Good times.

On this day, however, we weren’t able to snorkel with them.  :(  They were too far out in the water, and there were “turtle guards” (life guard type people to monitor and protect the turtles) keeping people away.  Sad.  But we still got to see them swimming around!

And a paddle boarder.

 Turned my focus back to the cute turtles again.  I wish they really spoke in the awesome surfer dude accent that they have in Finding Nemo.

Gorgeous, and stereotypical, Hawaiian beachscape photo background. 

I <3 this picture of us!!

Next stop on our North Shore tour was Waimea Bay, the beach where all the big surfing competitions take place.  Definitely a nice place to sit, rest, soak up sun, watch surfers, and find shells.

After watching the surfers and walking around the beaches, we decided to stop at a small local shrimp shack on the side of the road.  It’s called Romy’s Shrimp Shack.  Long line, but totally worth it! 

So good, in fact, that we forgot to take a picture BEFORE we devoured the yummy garlic and sweet & sour shrimp.

Leftovers?  Not of this amazing food.  No way we weren’t eating every.last.morsel.

I LOVE HAWAII!

Hawaii - Pali overlook

The next day of our AWESOME vacation was spent going to the Pali Overlook.  It’s beautiful! 

(*tip*  They charge tourists for parking here, but residents get to park free.  So…Teresa took us so she could show her HI license.  If you can snag a resident to take you, you’ll save some moolah.  sweet)

Ain’t it perty?    

Hawaii - Pumpkin Patch

Another amazing adventure we were blessed to be able to take was a trip to Hawaii!  It happened right at rhe end of the Vegas trip.  We actually flew to Oahu from Vegas!  Blair had never been before, so we definitely wanted to make the trek before my sister moved back to the mainland.  I mean, who would pass up having the insider information on fun/festivities, family reunion time, chance to meet their newest nephew (who, at the time, was 1 month old), free place to stay, and free vehicle usage?  It was, by far, a win-win situation!!

We arrived to the whole family picking us up at the airport!  So great to see all their sweet smiling faces, and to see one in person that I’d only seen in pictures.  Asher was SUPER cute!  Though, I didn’t get any pictures in the airport (stupid, stupid me).  They were kind enough to present us with very pretty, and very fragrant, leis!  Gorgeous!

 We were there over Halloween, so we decided to go to a pumpkin patch.  It was weird.  80+ degrees outside, lots o’ humidity, gorgeous mountains and water views….and then a pumpkin patch.  It totally didn’t seem like Fall at all.  I’m used to Fall meaning cold/crisp weather, hot apple cider, cider doughnuts, and layering clothes.  I’m not used to Fall in Hawaii.  But it was a fun experience! 

And the best part was experiencing it with the Ingalls family.  Autumn is such a hoot

 We took a “hay ride”, which actually meant a ride on a tractor trailer with no hay.  Haha

Asher was soooo small then!

Autumn got her face painted.   She asked for a pretty butterfly.

 She looked terrified during…but was excited when it was complete.

We didn’t tell her, but it was the worst butterfly face painting we’d ever seen.  :/

Then we went over to the petting zoo.  It was weird because you had to pay if you wanted to be inside the cage with the animals.  But you could walk around them and pet them from outside the cage for free.  Rip-off. 

Autumn liked the donkey’s ears.

Then Autumn got hungry…which made her depressed.  I think she has the Cutter girl “Hangry” (hungry means angry) tendencies.

We gave her a snack and she became this.

 Hehe

I was playing peek-a-boo with her through the playhouse window shutters.  She loved it!

 Next we stumbled across the perfect family photo opportunity. 

LOVE it!  (incidentally, this is also the tractor that caused my broken foot and resulted in me wearing an orthotic boot for 2 months.  As I was stepping down, I hit the hay bale funny, twisted my ankle, and tore 3 tendons.  yay.  At least the picture turned out super cute!)

Autumn picked out a pumpkin, and we went on a journey through the corn maze.  It was more a corn path, as they didn’t have any actual maze element.  Just a path marked off with caution tape.  But alas, we walked through a corn field and had gorgeous views around us…which totally made up for the lack of maze.

 Fun day = Fancy drinks!

Vegas - Part 5

Our biggest goal for the Vegas trip was to attend a Cirque De Soliel performance.  They aren’t cheap, but luckily we were given some reimbursement money that made it possible.  Neither one of us had ever been, so we were REALLY excited about the opportunity! 

We did a little research on the shows available, and decided to go see Kà at the MGM Grand.  It was AWESOME!!  I mean, absolutely mind-blowingly awesome.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the theater or of the actual performance (super sad, though totally understandable).  So the only pictures we got were these:

Theater / Show advertisement

In front of the theater with our tickets

We got a picture with a cast member!   He wouldn't speak, but he was totally willing to pose with us.

If you ever get the opportunity to go see a Cirque show, I strongly urge you: DO IT!  I know that we will definitely go to another show if given the chance!

On the walk home…aka back to the hotel….we stopped at the big M&M’s store.  We were told it was a several story store that was a “must see”.  I disagree.  Yes, it was few stories large.  But it wasn’t all THAT.  Granted, it had a few cool things...such as this M&M Rainbow.  I wanted a big ole bag of yummy colours, but we didn't end up getting any.  Mainly because we were JUST about to leave for Hawaii the next day and Blair didn't want to lug a giant bag of chocolate on a hot airway.  It makes sense and all, but still....

Overall though, the M&M store wasn’t a super WOW factor.  Take it or leave it.

They did, however, have the Las Vegas sign.  We couldn’t pass up the photo opp. 

All in all, Vegas was fun!  We probably wouldn’t go back unless the military again paid for the “vacation”.  But we had a lot of fun, and were able to avoid the really bad aspects for which Vegas is known.  Happy happy, joy joy.

Slacky McSlackerson

Not only am I a procrastinator, but I’m also a slacker.  A procrastinating slacker….pretty pathetic, eh?  Especially when you are a blogger who lives forever away from all family members who, therefore, rely on said blog to keep up with your fun lively activities.  *sigh*

If you know me, you know I’m not just a slacker but also a singer.  I didn’t say I was a good one (keep that at the forefront of your mind for the rest of this blog post, please).  But I do have the tendency to make up my own words to song tunes to describe either what I’m doing or thinking at the time.  It’s weird, I know.  But it’s genetic, so blame my dad.  :)

My dad and I aren’t the only ones in the world who do it either.  See:

 Mine is a little better (so I claim) because it uses an actual song’s tune…and sometimes I even try to rhyme.  But alas, it at least gives you a picture of the lame-ness factor.

That being said, here’s a little ditty going around my head as I write about being a slacker.  Please note it is to the tune of ‘Frère Jacques’.  Haha

I’m a slacker. I’m a slacker.

It’s so bad. It’s so bad.

I need to blog.  I need to blog.

Please help me.  Don't be mad.

Yeah, like I said…I’m not good.  Deal.

Even without internet in my current apartment, I’m gonna try to get as caught up as possible.  Here’s to optimistic thinking….  *CHEERS*