so it's been forever since my last post....

Where did the summer go?? I can't believe that it's practically the middle of September already. How time has flown! We've been pretty busy here in sunny/rainy Hawaii. So please be prepared for a looooooong post (gotta love playing catch up).

From July 18th through the 31st Luke and I had a couple family members here visiting us. Luke's brother Sean got here on the 18th and my sister Jessica got here on the 21st. While they were here we kept em pretty busy! Luke took them on a hike and to Haunauma Bay while I was in my last week of language class. Then that weekend (25th-28th) we went Island Hopping! We went to Maui first for 2 nights and then went to the Big Island for one night before coming back to Oahu.

While in Maui we went to the Iao Valley and saw the Iao Needle.

Iao Needle

Our first night there we decided to entertain ourselves by jumping onto the bed..here's a video of the event ha ha.

We ate out at Bubba Gumps, Roy's and the Melting Pot just to name a few places. The Melting Pot was by far the best!!

at the Melting Pot

We went to the Aquarium in Maui on the 26th and there was a mini golf nearby so we went to that afterward. Fun times!
Since we were in Maui for only 2 days we didn't get to do a whole lot...but, we did do alot on the Big Island! We stayed at the military camp at the Volcano...sweet Cabins!! but it got really cold at night up there :( . Obviously we went and saw the Volcano. And we utilized the cooking site to have grilled steak, corn on the cob and garlic toast! It was tasty!! :)

Jess enjoying some toast!

We went to Rainbow Falls (much bigger this time around).

Jess and I at Rainbow Falls

We went to Akaka Falls too (still cooler than Rainbow in my opinion).

Went to the Lava tube (and Sean found one with a river flowing through it so we saw that one too).

In the lava tube

And to end our wonderful trip we went to the Green Sand Beach!! and got destroyed by the ocean ha ha. I learned how to duck under a wave to avoid the destruction :)

Sean, Luke and I in the water (I'm diving under a wave)

We got back late Tuesday night and had to get up early to take Jessica to the airport :( she is missed! But we will be seeing her (and the rest of the fam) when we come out in November! Sean stayed until the 31st, but Luke had to take him to the airport alone since I had to work :( He said he's gonna make this an annual thing (or something like that) to come out and see us once a year. We're glad that they came to see us!

I took my language proficiency test on July 30th and Aug 4th and didn't pass :( I did however improve my score from the last time I took it so that's a good thing! Here's hoping I can pass it the next time I take it in December!

August just flew right on by! We went to Bayfest on Aug 15th and saw the Black Eyed Peas in concert! They put on a great show. Too bad the first part of the day was pretty boring. Rochesterfest is so much better for food and activities! We started our search for our new place and after seeing about 5 different places in one day, we decided on a place in Mililani. We are now currently living in a 4 bed/ 2.5 bath condo (I'll post pics later) that is...get this...10-15 mins away from work!!!! Which means that I can sleep in till 9 am on work days and not have to leave until 9:45 am to get to work and find parking (what used to be me leaving at 9 am to get to work an hour later to find parking...) so you can understand how excited we are about this move! Especially since I've been really really tired, moody, queasy, forgetful...you name it, and I've felt it lately. All because of this:

Yup, I'm pregnant! I'm due on or around the 15th of April and we are super excited! I've noticed that several family members are also pregnant so it must be that time to have babies! I'm not best friends with the potty as far as puking goes. I've been lucky and not had to deal with that at all. Just the occasional queasy tummy, but Ginger Ale is my best friend! And I know that Luke and I are gonna be thrilled when I stop being so cranky :) I'm super excited to hopefully be able to hear the baby's heartbeat at my next OB appt on the 21st. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I really am pregnant. I mean I show all the right signs, but yeah...dunno how to describe it. I just hope that our baby is a happy and healthy one, and we will be excited no matter what gender it is! The ultrasound appt will be so exciting! I wish I didn't have to wait so long for me to get it though. Oh well, the time will soon be here I'm sure!

Nothing else has really been going on in our lives. Not too much can beat the excitement of moving and finding out that I have a little one growing inside me :) My birthday was yesterday too. We went to Red Lobster for dinner with some friends which was alot of fun! I also got to take not one, but two naps too so I was a much happier person due to that :)

Now I get to go do some unpacking so I will be off! Have a good one!

~Nicole