Saturday fun with the Westras

So almost every Saturday we go and do something enjoyable with our good friends the Westras; We used to play with the Osterles too until Baby Kai popped out, now we don't see them as often, unfortunately. Anyway, we've done everything from going to the beach to body board or snorkel(something we do most often), go to the North Shore to get Matsumoto's shave ice, go the Temple and snorkel with Turtles (until the poor Westra's bag got stolen:( ), go to the Honolulu Zoo, play at Waikiki, Waimanalo, or Makapu'u, or just hang out. This Saturday we tried something new and went to play tennis.

That's me pretending to act tough, mind you this is before I got my butt handed to me.

Just one preface is needed here; Derek was a hard core tennis player in High School and has since taught his wife to do the same...Rob and me, not so much. Rob has played about 5 times and I've played twice, now. So I'm betting you can guess the outcome. We got SPANKED!! (sorry, we don't have a picture of Danielle handin' it to me, D & D took the pictures and they didn't send us one, blame them :))

(By the way, this is supposed to be one nice flowing post but I'm obviously not too proficient at blogging yet) Derek and Danielle had some pretty nice rackets they found at Savers, Rob had a fancy one he brought with us, as for me, well, I played with the "Jr. Pro" that we bought at the Punahou Carnival for 50 cents. I'm attributing that to part of the reason I was so awful, I'm not ready to assume full responsibility for sucking it all up just yet. Yes folks, I have a pride issue that I need to work with and yesterday was a great humbling experience, thank you Westras. In the end though it was all good times as Derek threw tennis balls at a tall mango tree so we could acquire the bounty that this island has to offer. We ended up with a pretty good stash!
This Saturday ended as most do, with a trip to the $1 theater to catch the hilarious thriller, "What happens in Vegas".
Wahoo!

Fireworks On Waikiki

Some Japanese cosmetic company decided to put on a $500,000 firework show on Waikiki so we thought we would capitalize on it. It was a good time. It cost $30,000 a minute!

Kamehameha Parade!

Okay, I'm trying to do better about posting things since I got rebuked. I hope this makes you happy Danielle :))
Further good (and free) times were had at the Kamehameha parade. It's a celebration of who other than dear old King Kamehameha I. There was some tough Hawaiian brothers playing the parts. We saw the princesses from Lanai, Molokai, and Ni'ihau. After, we played at the beach, and enjoyed the beautiful day in Kapiolani Park (with Diamond Head in the background) Life is good!

Surprise!! We're Utah bound!!

For our anniversary Rob surprised me with tickets home to Utah so we can see our friends and family before we ship off to China. Our time in Hawaii is coming to a close. We are headed to Maui for the Jeppson family reunion July 19-29. Rob and I will then come back to Oahu for one night before we jump on the plane to Utah the next day. We will be in Utah for three and a half weeks before we say bon voyage to the great US of A! Life is one big adventure and I love it that way!! See most of you in Utah in 2 months!

Memorial Day Lantern Festival 2008

This is us down at Ala Moana Beach Park on the evening of Memorial Day 2008. We were able to watch the Lantern Festival and enjoy watching the sunset and a cool display of boats dropping lanterns into the harbor to commorate the lives of those who have sacrificed to bless our lives. Hawaii is full of fun cultural events that you will probably find no where else. Good times.