my british amiga.

holly will be here in just 3 days! 

when we met last summer in spain we didn't say goodbye we just said "see you soon" because we knew we'd see each other again but i didn't think it would be so soon :)) 

it's her first time here in america & she'll be here for two & half weeks. we'll be in utah for almost a week & then we'll hit the road on an adventure to st.george, zions national park, vegas, L.A., and san fran. 

i'm soo very excited. 

can't wait to "party in the U.S.A." with my lovely british amiga!! 

(i had to post this picture too... probably one of the best pictures ever taken)

baby doll.

my dad has always called my mom "doll" so when i was really little i started calling my mom "mama doll" and then devin became "baby doll" seeing as he was just a baby then (he is really embarrassed by that nickname every time we bring it up....haha). i'm so glad dev and i were both able to go to hawaii cause it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without him. and after hanging out with him for the past seven weeks in hawaii i really miss him. the house doesn't feel complete without him. we'll all be happy to have him back. 

no place like home.

one thing traveling has taught me is that there is no place like home.
even in paris or rome, spain, or a paradise called hawaii.... home is where your heart is & always will be. 
i absolutely love traveling because it is a complete eye opening experience. you learn so much about different cultures, people, places, foods, religions, etc. 
but coming home is one of the best parts because you come back a better person and each time you leave you realize how blessed you are to have the home, family, & friends that you have. 
i can't wait for my next destination but for now.... i am just happy to be home. 

stairway to heaven.

the night before i left hawaii a group of 9 of us climbed 4,000 stairs to the top of "stairway to heaven". i only got a few hours of sleep because you have to leave at 3 in the morning in order to make it there before the security guard arrives (yes, this hike is now illegal but tooons of people still do it). i was kinda freaked out at the steep parts and our legs felt like jello by the time we finished but the view made it all worth it. it was awesome!! 

last but not least...

hawaii to-do list: #1. check!

aloha hawaii.

and i'm meaning aloha as goodbye- not hello. the double meaning can be very confusing.

my time here has come to an end and it's definitely a bitter-sweet feeling.

sweet because it is always nice to go home after being away for awhile. family & friends are always missed. along with my bed, utah's mountains, and normally my car (but i'd rather not remember the fact that it won't be there to greet me when i get home).

bitter because it flew by waaaay too fast and there is still plenty i would love to do here while not being in school. i'll especially miss the beach being in my back yard, the sound of the waves in my living room, the lush green nature all around me, & the variety of culture.

i had an amazing adventure here in the aloha state. it will be missed but i'll be back someday.......

as for now i'm leaving on an airplane tonight at precisely 9:01pm (hawaii time) & will be arriving in utah in the morning. alooooha.

one more day.

the reasons why i am going to miss hawaii:

enough said. 

waikiki.

so i finally squeezed in a day in honolulu at waikiki and i loved it. 

of course the beach is terribly crowded with tourists. plus its lined with giant hotels rather than hawaiian mountains. so its definitely a different feel than being at a north shore beach. 

the beach at waikiki isn't want i loved though. it was the city. 

i just loved the feeling of the busy city right next to the relaxing beach. 

maybe its just because i'm somewhat of a 

city girl

guess i can't help it! 

hawaii to-do list: #5. check!

under the sea.

snorkeling has been my favorite thing to do here in hawaii.

we've done it at "three tables" and "sharks cove".

i looove seeing all the different life in the ocean & the cool coral. along with the occasional sea turtle.

ohhh ariel, how i wish i could be part of your world!

(then i wouldn't have to wear the ugly mask ;)

hawaii to-do list: #4. check!

china mans hat.

yes, i said china mans hat.

that is what this big rock/island is called.

hawaii to-do list:

#21. check!

waimea bay.

this is the first beach we ever went to here in hawaii & its probably my favorite beach on north shore.

its beautiful & the sun sets there so you can watch the sunset before you leave.

it also has a big rock that people can cliff jump off of.

it doesn't look too scary until you are up there looking down...

i finaaaally got the guts to do it (on the lower part).

devin jumped off the highest part like it was no big deal.

hawaii to-do list:

#12. check!

school fever.

i need to write a ten page research paper by friday
& i don't want to leave it for the last night so i best be getting started on it.
however it is so very hard to concentrate on school work here in hawaii. especially because it happens to be a beautiful blue sky day everytime i need to stay in all day at the library.
i wanna go to the beeeeach.
well enough whining.... i better get the ball rollin'
wish me luck!

xo
-lulu

blue hawaii.

kailua beach is probably the ideal beach for tourists.

it is exactly the type of beach you would imagine coming to in hawaii.

fine, white sand & beautiful clear blue water. swimming pool temperature.

devin & i went there last week & it was amazing.

there's a canal where the ocean water flows over into a river and the water is really shallow right there so it was hot tub temperature. we had fun basking in that as well.

i will most definitely miss the beaches here in hawaii.

turtle beach.

we ran into these little (more like big) guys on a north shore beach which is nicknamed "turtle beach" since sea turtles find their way to it every day to rest on the shore.

fun fact: they average about 250lbs! a little too heavy to bring home with me, darn it.

island fever.

i would just like to point out the fact that i am on this tiny little island in the middle of the huge pacific ocean. and last weekend i suddenly came to realize that. i've been doing fine & didn't think it would bother me but i'm starting to really feel the fact that i could drive for hours and hours and all it would do take me in a big circle around the island over & over & over again. actually i couldn't even drive... i would have to ride the bus. which is the reason i think i am feeling this 'island fever'. i would be able to do & see so much more of the island if i had a car. the bus takes like triple the amount of time & doesn't always take you directly where you want to go. but ohhh well i only have two weeks left so i'll be fine.. i'm doing a lot better now. this past weekend was just hard because it was crappy weather the whole weekend... like the sun didn't come out at all. and since i have no car & the beach wasn't an option.. there wasn't much to do which led to me really missing everyone/home. i love hawaii & i'm going to miss it but I don't know how people could live on an island their whole lives. there is no freedom at all. i guess coming from a girl who likes to travel waaay too much... i feel a bit stranded. being a beach bum in hawaii for the past month has been so much fun but i'll be happy to be back on the mainland (that is what they call it here) in just two weeks(: see you all sooooon.

red. white. & blue.

{happy fourth of july}

this holiday weekend has made me miss my family & friends but i'm glad I have devin here at least and we made the best of it!

*we went for a morning walk on the beach

*painted festive pictures with water colors (i had to beg dev to do this with me)

*made red jello (devin must really miss utah because he was craving jello ;)

*went all out and bought a frozen pizza & festive cupcakes for dinner (yes, this is going all out for us poor college students)

*watched fireworks at turtle bay resort with friends

*lit our own fireworks on the beach

it was a good day to be an american!

god bless america, my home sweet home(:

rain, rain, go away..

(even the beach looks sad today)

come again another day.

this would be a rather depressing day for tourists. good thing we aren't just here for vacation.

i heard rain pounding on my roof through out the night & then when i got up this morning i found it to be a cloudy/rainy/dull/ no good very bad weather day here in hawaii.

i actually love rainy days usually and in hawaii it's kind of fun because when it rains it actually POURS like you've never seen it pour in utah. with all the humidity you still even get soaked when its sprinkling because its more like a mist than water droplets. so i wouldn't mind it so much if it were a regular week day & i had classes to go to anyway. buuuut today is {saturday} and i wanted to play at the beach aLL day longgg.

ohh well! here is to a lazy day in hawaii.....devin is reading & i am blogging. we will be seeing toy story 3 later today.

cloudy day in hawaii

meant the beach was out of the question.

but it was a perfect day to head over to the dole plantation to see where the delightful fruit called "pineapple" come from.

the pineapple ice cream was yuuummmy.

hawaii to-do list: #18 check!

laie temple.

the laie temple isn't far from campus so dev & i went and walked the grounds & the visitor's center. they showed us a short movie in the visitor's center about the history of the church starting in laie and how byu-hawaii came about which was interesting to learn. right now the temple is closed for remodeling but it was beautiful to see.

hawaii to-do list: #23 check!