one year

These are some of the first photos we have together, even though we had met six years earlier. 

One year! We have been married for one year and I still feel like we've been together forever.  I think now is a good time to share some of our story. 

We met in the summer of 2004 working at Regal Cinemas in Virginia.  He was a recent college graduate coming home for the summer to resume his position as a manager.  I had just finished my junior year of high school and was spending the summer working as a cashier. We had little contact during those first few months but we both remember the first time we saw each other and the first thing we said to each other. 

I said: "you have beautiful eyes" He said: "you have beautiful hair"

We never dated during this time. I went away to college in San Francisco and Brenden stayed in Virginia starting a new career working with mortgages. Over the next few years we lost contact but through the help of myspace (yes myspace) and email we were able to reunite and even meet whenever I was in Virginia. 

Yet even still, we never dated. It was not until after I lived abroad and came home in the Winter of 2010 when everything finally came together. We started dating officially in March 2010, moved to Hawaii in August 2010, were engaged March 2011 and married December 2012. 

Occasionally we will realize (or people help us realize) that is was pretty crazy to move in together on the other side of the world after only 5 months of dating, but we never had any doubts.  I was nervous of course but I never thought it wouldn't work out. Ever since we met I have always had Brenden in the back of my mind.  If you go through my old journals there are multiple entires about him from various years.  I even used one of the entries for my vows. 

This coming summer we will have known each other for ten years! I still remember seeing him walk through the lobby of the theatre like it was yesterday. 

Eat The Streets

Eat The Streets! We went to Eat the Streets last week.  It's basically a food truck festival that is held in a giant parking lot downtown. The theme was "Dia de los Muertos" and the advertising said there would be tacos and Mexican food, lots of it.  Advertisers lie.  Fact.

In the little circle of food trucks there was only one Mexican food truck and only one other truck serving tacos.  And, the tacos were expensive.  There was no buck tacos so you couldn't even try the different tacos without spending twenty dollars.  We ended up going to the Mexican food truck, Brenden got veggie tacos and I got chicken.  Brenden loved his, but it was also the first thing he had eaten all day so his opinion may not be valid.  I did not like mine at all. Even when smothered in salsa they were devoid of flavor.  It was so disappointing!  I guess thats just what happens when you grow up in Southern California with constant easy access to delicious tacos.

Not everything was negative though.  I had a wonderful cookie ice cream sandwich, and Brenden had a lilikoi lemonade that he said was delicious.  We both want to go back next time.  I really want to try the waffle dog.

Hiking with the Sierra Club

     We decided to try out a beginners hike with the Sierra Club to see what they were all about and decide if it's for us. We think it is.  The hike was about a two mile loop through a valley and it was quite lovely!  Our hike leader gave us a ton of information about the native and non-native plants, water conservation,  old sugar plantations and wildlife along the trail.
     Brenden enjoyed eating the Strawberry  Guava and took more than 100 photos during the hike.  Near the end of the hike there was a small incident when one of the fellow hikers took a nasty spill.  Luckily it was near the end of the hike & it wasn't along near any ridge.  After a little first aid from the hiking leaders and about a ten minute stop, we were back on our way.

We like you Sierra Club.

We used All Trails to track this hike.

Women's UH Volleyball (Rainbow Wahine)

We went to a volleyball game!  There were more people at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational than at the football games we've been to.  The center seats 10,300 and there was over 9,800 people in attendance. It was awesome.  I haven't been so pumped up about a sporting event since my cheerleading days. It was just a tournament and the crowd was cheering like this was the final for the national championships.  So exciting.

I also enjoyed the ads, "who needs a haircut?", "paddle cam".  People embarrassing themselves makes me happy.  And I love that the guy who won "who needs a haircut?" He's bald, which just makes it even better.

Art + Flea

The guitarist in this band looked just like our friend Regis 15 years from now but it was impossible to get a good picture.

We went to Art + Flea last night. It's like a local craft fair and thrift store of hipster clothing in one! Actually, all the handmade things are really cool and I'll definitely be going back to get some jewelry.

But, it is a teenage hipsters paradise, complete with local bands, photo booths, games, and shopping. Being around all these kids reminded Brenden and me of our past.  Brenden of how he used to go to punk shows all the time and me, how I was one of those girls who dated guys in lame bands. Thank god I moved away from Riverside, I could have easily stayed in that world.

Art +Flea, we'll be back.

sailing the high seas

^I was tied up for not saying ARRRR^

^treasure!^

^the prisoners were not following captains orders^

^so blue^

^shooting the other ships^

 

^ feeling seasick^

^the birthday girl as a gypsy^

We went on a pirate ship adventure over the weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday.  It was really fun! We got pictures in the stocks, had pirate competitions, did gypsy dancing and swashbuckled with children. The pirates on board were great. The captain, first mate and wench were all in character the whole time.

Brenden was in HEAVEN.  He had been wanting to go on this ship ever since it opened just a few weeks ago.  He also bought himself a pirate bandana and declared Sundays, Bandana Sundays. I really enjoyed the whole experience but by the time we turned back I remained posted on the upper deck. My absolute favorite part was that any time we passed another ship they turned on the "attack" music and started firing cannons at them.  It was great and the passengers on other ships laughed and waved.