Blogging Stupor and Hawaii!

An apology is due. I don't know what happened to me. I hit a blogging wall. But our most recent trip deserves to be blogged because we actually have cool pictures. Jon and I decided, after some discussion with a good friend, that now is the time to enjoy our marriage and the time we have together, before we have kids. So we decided to take a big trip...we first decided to go to Brazil where Jon served his mission, but the flights were insanely pricey. So we thought we'd go to Ethiopia so I could see my kids again, but again, really expensive. So we followed my friend's footsteps and bought tickets to Hawaii!!! Neither of us had ever been, so we were so excited! We went for 9 days, 5 days on Maui and 4 days on the Big Island. It was AWESOME! We just got back and can't think about anything else. Jon dreams about Hawaii every night...no joke. Well, we took a million pictures, so I thought I'd let the pictures tell the story! Sorry for the overwhelming amount!

Snorkeling at Honolua Bay...with a nasty, scary eel.


The eel wound himself into the rocks and would just gape at us with his white mouth. We couldn't see any eyes and it was totally freaky!

Fish at Honolua Bay!

The best part of our trip was snorkeling with these deep sea turtles. We saw ones that weighed over 300 lbs and were almost as long as me! The littlest ones couldn't hold their breath for very long and they would surface every few minutes, which is why they were so close to us. They were incredible!

On our last day, we went to Honaunau and there was an entire family of sea turtles that lived there. They nipped one guy in the butt, but were really friendly to us. This one kept touching my legs with its slimy flippers.

Kona Temple! It was beautiful! We were so glad that we got to go, but we hit a snag. We thought they rented clothes, but they didn't! I had to borrow clothes from the brides' room. And we almost missed the last session of the day!

The amazing beaches in North Maui!

Night out on the town after the temple! We had such amazing food!

Sorry these are kinda blurry. This is where the lava flows on the Big Island meet the ocean, sending off a huge plume of smoke. We had to stay pretty far away because there was an underground river of lava between us and where the actual lava flows into the sea.

This is at Wianapanapa State Park where one of the best black lava beaches exists.

Our favorite night, we stayed in a little cottage in the middle of a 5 acre fruit and flower farm. It was like living in the middle of the most beautiful jungle. We grilled up some salmon and veggies and then relaxed in the jacuzzi while we watched these little geckos crawl all over the house. They were pretty cute!

On one of the days in Maui, we drove the famous Road to Hana. It winds in and out of the coastline and was sometimes incredibly scary because it was so narrow! But the ride was beautiful and we saw and jumped into so many waterfalls along the way. The waterfall above was way too shallow to jump, but was so clear!

In the background you can see the Hana coastline and see the sheer cliffs that we drove along. The sights were amazing!

This is Iao Valley, the remains of the caldera of the Maui volcano. The center of the volcano has eroded away and has left these towering sheer walls that are covered by the jungle.

This was the worst moment of the trip and I am pouting. We went to eat out and I spilled an entire container of BBQ sauce all over my new shorts, my purse, my shirt, and my chair. It was horrible because not only do I hate the taste of BBQ sauce, I also hate the smell and I smelled like that for hours and we were too far from our hotel to get a change of clothes! Grrr to my clumsiness!

Beautiful sunset in Lahaina.

Famous beaches at Ka'anapali.

The great banyan tree in the middle of Lahaina. It was SO HUGE! I don't get how they work...they had branches connecting to other trees and branches shooting straight into the ground. It was pretty sweet.

At the Luau we went to. The food was amazing (I am now a big fan of kalua pork) and the hula and fire dancing was crazy! How anyone can move their hips that fast is beyond me!

Our drive around the Northern side of Maui.

Overall, it was the BEST TRIP EVER. Beaches, snorkeling, waterfall hikes and dips, great food and great company -- what more could you want! We loved spending time together for those 9 days and coming back to reality has been hard because we actually have to say goodbye in the morning. Hopefully we can go back another time! There was so much more to do!