Graduation!

The day finally came...Tony and I both graduated! Okay, well I have six more credits to take in the next six weeks so I won't be officially done until June but I still did it in three years! We both were able to walk and graduated with honors.  Tony graduated Summa Cum Laude and I Magna Cum Laude with Tony a part of Phi Kappa Phi and me a part of Sigma Tau Delta. Boomshakalaka! We were so grateful to have our families come out and join us to celebrate.  My parents came out with Drew and Jules, my aunt and uncle Rene and Colin drove down from town, Tony's parents flew out, Carolyn and Craig and their kids flew out and Jeff and Jenn and their kids drove down from Kailua. As we walked up to receive our diplomas we got to shake the hand of Russell M. Nelson who was one of the speakers. As Tony walked up he entertained the audience by fist pumping and throwing a shaka. After walking out of the ceremony we got leied 15 times (I counted them when I got home)! So, in the words of Elle Woods, congratulations class of 2011--we did it!

 

He Always Knows Just What I Need...

These past few weeks I've kind of been in a slump.  I think it's a mixture of Tony being gone for most of the month, my stressful amounts of homework along with working on my senior thesis and to top it all off,  a terrible case of insomnia. I've been managing to stay sane for the most part but today I was just tired of bring in Laie and being in such a small town. I was feeling trapped. We went to the beach this morning and I felt better but after we came home the same trapped feeling came back. After slumping around the house for about an hour:
Tony said, "Let's go to town! Let's go to dinner and go shopping!"
Me: "Okay! But we've spent a lot of money already!"
Tony: "Well. We we have to do what it takes to make you happy." (I guess he knows shopping is my therapy)

Ok, now for a little background. About two months ago I found this super cute bracelet at Nordstrom that was juicy couture but $100, so obviously I didn't buy it.  Then, two nights ago, during one of my insomnia kicks, I found it on sale for $40 and was so close to buying it but decided to wait until the morning. When I woke up, it was sold out! I was so sad :(

Now back to tonight.  After going to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, one of my favorite places, we walked around the strip and dragged Tony into Juicy Couture. (literally). As I approached the jewelry table, I didn't see the bracelet that I was dying for but I saw the necklace. I knew I couldn't afford it because I knew it was $150 at Nordstrom, I had already checked. To my delightful surprise the lady took it out and it was on sale for $75 with a 40% off discount making it only $45. Well after putting it on hold for the evening, I came back and bought it. My day has been made and the slump is gone.  All it took was a little retail therapy to cure the blues. Here's the necklace I bought:

Now, here's what makes it even better. When I got home I checked Nordstrom online and it is only marked down to $98. Now, in the words of my mom, I'd call that the deal of the century! I'm so grateful my husband selflessly loves me and knows how to make me feel better, even if it cost a bit of mulla. :)

ACCEPTED!!!!

That's right! After studying for months and taking the MCAT, sitting through interviews and anxiously checking emails for acceptances, Tony finally nailed one!! On Friday we found out that he was accepted to Touro University California College of Medicine! We cannot even begin to explain how good it felt! Tony wasn't the only one on edge! Finally, Tony's dream of becoming a doctor will become a reality. There is light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope for the future. We are ecstatic! He has another couple of interviews but as of now this is our offer so this is where we are going. It's on a small island called Mare Island which is about an hour away from San Francisco. (which means only an hour away from fabulous shopping!)

Now that we have a secure place to go next fall, it also means that our time here in Hawaii is wrapping up. The other night Tony and I drove the North Shore route to Costco just before the sunset.  As we drove along the coast we saw the sun setting before the ocean, the sky turning different shades of gold and pink, and inhaled the smell of the fresh ocean breeze just beyond reach. Honestly, it was amazing.  We were talking about all of the fun times we have had here the past 2 1/2 years.  We are really going to miss this place.  It's where we met. It's where we have our first apartment. There are so many memories. We are excited to see where our journey takes us but Hawaii will always have a close place in our hearts.  Who knows, maybe we'll be back here in a few years :)

A Weekend of Kids

This past weekend Tony and I got a taste of what it would be like to be parents. Not only parents to one but parents to SIX! (Thank goodness they usually only come one at a time!) Tony’s brother Jeff and his wife Jenn live about 45 minutes away from us. Because it was Jenn birthday and their anniversary this month, we kicked them off the island to the island of Kauai for a relaxing weekend while we watched their kids.

We adore their kids so we weren’t too worried about it. Needless to say, it was fun to play with them for a weekend but we were both very tired come Sunday night when they came back. I have so much more respect for mothers now! Especially those of six kids! Here’s some fun tidbits about the weekend:

Friday:

On Friday Tony picked up Jenn and Jeff’s three kids, Noah, Leah and Ezra, and their friends, Skylar, Sage, and McKaide, from school and headed down to Laie where I was finishing up my classes. We spent a beautiful afternoon at the beach where the kids played and I constantly counted. You know how you see those mom’s with a million kids and you see them counting them all and they look kinda crazy? Ya that was me, except I counted in my head! I was up to 7 by the end counting Tony too! With only one broken boogie board, we succeeded. We went to Taco Bell for dinner and then the BYU-Hawaii basketball game on campus. The kids loved when the cheerleaders threw candy into the stands! We drove back to Kailua and the kids were tired. Bedtime was easy!

Saturday:

On Saturday we only had the three kids. (That seems like a better number for Tony and I). We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and Tony took the boys to the skate park in the morning and Leah and I went to the grocery store to get the baking goods to make Jenn a cake. We all met up at home after and had lunch and headed to their local beach and spent the afternoon in the sun! It was much easier only watching three in the ocean! We went out to dinner, Leah and I made snicker doodles for dessert, played Rook, which Noah won, and watched Buzz Lightyear fly! Aka Ezra wearing his Buzz wings and jumping off the table! Woohoo…Two days with no tears and still three kids alive!

Sunday:

Sunday morning we decorated the house for Jenn’s birthday with banners and pictures and homemade cards. We got the kids all ready for church and got there at what we thought was fifteen minutes late. As we were walking in Noah asked if we were early. I told him it was 12:15 so we were fifteen minutes late to which he informed me that church did not start at noon. It started at one! Dang it!  When I told Ezra that we were too early for church his reply was “DUH!!” haha such funny kid! So thirty minutes later we drove back to church and made it there on time. We spent the evening making a carrot cake for Jenn, making things for her birthday and watching a movie. It was nice to just relax! Jenn and Jeff came home that night and the kids were very excited to see them!

So here are some things Tony and I learned from this weekend:

1. We might not have six kids. Three sounds like a better number

2. When we have kids Tony will be the one that wakes up early with them while I sleep in.

3. I will handle the cooking and Tony will handle wiping the kids butts

4. I will count the kids, he will let them roam free

5. One day Tony will be the best dad…just not yet! 

Still Doing Wedding Stuff...

Believe it or not, 6 months after our wedding, I'm still doing wedding stuff! The last thing to do is pick the pictures for the wedding album. I got the pictures from the wedding back in around the end of July so really it's only been 5 months but still. Why am I taking so long? You would think it's because I don't like my pictures but it's acutally the opposite. I love them all so much it's just too hard to narrow down 1000 images to 30! Also, it does not help at all that I'm very indecisive!

For example we have two similar pictures that I love but can't include both so this is where I get stuck.

Or this other set for example..... HELP!

If anyone is looking for a wedding photographer, I highly recommend Rachel Thurston.  She took all of these shots.  I'm excited to see how the book turns out but wish I could include all of them! Well, it's back to editing down 1000 images! 

Gettin Lucky in Kentucky

The last week of October I had the opportunity to go to Louisville, Kentucky with the Ke Alaka'i (the campus newspaper I work at) for a conference.  The conference consist of classes held by professionals on how to grow even more in our areas of our job.  I went to some really good classes and learned a lot more about writing, editing, photography, and getting a job. The conference also has a job fair where you can drop of resumes for internships and if they are interested, will interview you right there. I got an interview with an upcoming TV show called Pedal America that will air next summer on PBS.  They need more people to write scripts, do research and host the show. I won't know until about April if I got the internship but it was a great opportunity to have the experience of the interview.  The job sounds like a blast and right down my ally of interest.  The show features different cities across the United States and focuses on biking in those areas. It's all about getting down your old bike, exercising, nutrition and having fun!

Here we are all ready for conference in our work attire!

After conference each morning we would go out and explore Louisville. One day we went to Churchhill Downs where the Kentucky Derby is held each year.  It actually really neat to see!

There's a funny story behind this picture.  In the museum there was a horse simulator and it instructed you to stand up when you rode like the jockeys.  I was having trouble steering the horse so Amanda and Valerie told me I had to bounce with it.  Little did I know you really didn't have to and little did I know they were recording it! If I ever see that video posted anywhere they are dead meat!!

Oh how we loved these beautiful derby hats! Too bad mine was $150!

Another fun thing we did was go out to dinner for Sister L's birthday at Lynn's Paradise Cafe.  This cafe is the cutest little southern place! It has an array of decorations all thrown together in one little restaurant and actually looks really cute! For example, every year at the fair they have an ugly lamp contest and all of the ugly lamps go to this restaurant.

It's hard to see but in the tree in the middle of the cafe there is a kite, upside down lamp, fish, christmas lights and much more!

Valerie, Amanda, and I all enjoyed going to an antique shop called Joe Ley Antiques.  It is a four story building full of everything antique-ish imaginable! We were in there for over 2 hours and still hadn't seen everything.  They had everything from old jewelry, teapots, and home decor to LIFE magazine from the 30s, chandeliers, mirrors and china.  I actually saw a china set that my great grandma had and now my aunt has. I will definitely be going back here when I decorate my future home!

One of my favorite things we did was rent bikes and rode around the city and across the bridge to Indiana.  It was so fun to see the city on bike and was right in tune with the interview I had that same morning! To my surprise, I loved the city of Louisville.  It had that nice southern feel!

(One of my interview questions was if i wore a helmet and I couldn't lie and say yes so I made sure to get this big red one for our adventure that afternoon!)

It was nice to be away and do something out of the usual routine but it was so fun to come home to Tony, and to my surprise, a beautifully clean house!

Happy in Hawaii

One of the funnest things for us about this school year is having Jenn and Jeff and their kids out here with us. It's been so nice to have family close by which makes it feel more like home.  We love it not only because they let us do laundry at their house, they feed us, and let us brainwash their kids into thinking we are their favorite auntie and uncle, but because they include us in all of the fun things to do. Tony and Jeff have enjoyed surfing together while Jenn and I have had fun trying new recipes. We get to together with them about every other weekend or so and have a blast! At the end of September was sweet Leah's baptism and guess who she asked to speak at it?!? Me!! After only three months in the Clark family she chose me over Tony! :) It was so fun to be a part of her special day.

See, look how cute she is!
 

It was a beautiful baptism and we enjoyed an evening of California Pizza Kitchen and a game of Rook.

Despite what it may look, I promise he really does like me!  (we realized after there were no pictures of Tony because he was taking them all)