I Love You, California!

This year our wedding anniversary fell on a Monday, so we did a little early celebrating. We spent the day out on the Windward side near Kualoa Ranch. They own some beachfront property called "Secret Island." The only access is via boat and on the "island" you can paddle board, kayak, swim, play volleyball, and just relax. We started the morning with a little boat ride over. We spent our time paddle boarding, walking the beach and collecting coral for our bowl at home, and "kayaking." When I say "kayaking" I mean squishing in to a one person kayak and floating around taking in the sights and sipping on delicious beverages : ) It was a very relaxing morning! Will on a boat at the dock. I knew it would be around lunch time when we were done at the beach, so I packed us a picnic to enjoy. We drove up the coast a little bit until we found the perfect picnic and swimming spot. When we got home we had a bit of ti...

A few weeks ago we went to our friends Dawn and Brody's, house for dinner, and another one of their friends, Jonathan, joined us. We knew of him from a previous event, but this was our first opportunity to formally meet him and hang out. Not only is he a cool guy, he happens to be an incredibly talented glass blower who has art installations both public and private all over the United States. He also happens to make wine decanters, one of which we always admire when we go to Dawn and Brody's. We got to talking and he invited us to come see him work in his studio at UH and said that we could pick out a decanter as well! How special! So this evening Will was done with work a little early and we walked over to the art building and watched Jonathan and his students at work. They were working on a large plate that was made of three different colors in alternating stripes. Checking the diameter to make sure it's the same size as a new color that is going to be added. P...

The biggest selling point of our current home was THIS VIEW! Lately we've had a lot going on weather wise, which has made for some great views. Tonight we had crazy thunderstorms as a result of Tropical Storm Darby. We had a great night cooking, sipping red wine, and watching the sky light up while the island rumbled with thunder. I tried so hard to get a lightning bolt, but the best I could get was a lit-up sky. There's always something fun to watch out our windows!

Today we finally got another adventure checked off our list of must do's - Lanikai Pillboxes and a picnic at the beach. When we got up to Kailua it was pouring rain. We were *this close* to going home to watch Netflix all day when all of the sudden it started clearing up, so we thought we'd give it a try and it couldn't have been a more perfect morning for a hike to the pillboxes. Here we go! First glimpse of the Mokes (Mokulua Islands) on the way up. Looking into Kailua Made it to the second Pillbox. This is about 570 feet above sea level. We kept going along the ridge for a ways past the pillboxes. Can you see Will up there? After our hike we went down to the beach for a picnic. We were hoping to make it into a whole afternoon at the beach, but the rain clouds were looming again and we didn't want to get poured on, so we took a quick dip to cool off, ate our lunch, and made our way back home. Cheers! Storm ...

I've been trying to make the most of my time off this summer, and beating the heat that is our home by relaxing on our shady lanai.

What better way to enjoy the Fourth of July than at a Cubs game? They've been doing great so far this year, and despite being a little rocky out on the road it was a fantastic day at Wrigley Field. For the opening ceremonies, service men and women brought out a huge American Flag and opened it up during the Star Spangled Banner This was a great way to start the game! And this was a great way to end it! Cubs Win! Meredith and David went home to check on Pookers, but Will and I stuck around Wrigleyville to bask in celebrations. We went across the street to the rooftop at Vines on Clark for some local beers and people watching. Later that night we chowed down on some Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. It was a great last day in the Midwest before we ventured back home to Hawai`i.

Meredith and David's house is right along the Chicago River, and even better it's just down the way from the boathouse where they rent canoes and kayaks. Meredith and David have been out a couple of times, but we never had been. A neighbor of theirs owns a canoe, but is moving to California and they're not taking it with them, so this also gave Meredith and David a chance to try it out to see if they'd like to buy it from them! We got their canoe out to the dock and in the water. Then, Will and David took the canoe over to the boat house so Will could get us a kayak. Then the boys came back to pick up the girls. We paddled North of Mere and Dave's house for a couple hours, from W Belmont almost to W Irving Park Road and back. Got them in the water! Off they go to the boat house. Waiting for the boys. Oh, and did you know we're sisters?! David's back to get Mere! Kayaking on the river We saw a lot of Blue and Green Herons as wel...