Quest of the Quartet

Our weekends here in Laie are numbered, as in we only have 3 left. I have absolutely no idea where the time has gone! We are now working extra hard to get in all the things we want to do. On Friday we decided to have a girls night. We drove to Kaneohe mall for a little shopping, I ended up doing a lot more spending than I intended too, but everything I left with was needed and really cute! We went to Ruby Tuesday for dinner, I had never been there before so it was nice to try something new-it was delicious. I was so excited because they had a salad bar that was exactly like Cowboy Grub's, it made my entire night. Plus it was diet coke Friday which made everything better-funny how it really is the little things that can make us so happy. We then went to the movie She's Out Of My League, I was very surprised that I laughed as much as I did, it was pretty cute.
On Saturday a huge group of boy's went and rented scooters to drive around the island. Well, we weren't just going to sit around while they had all the fun.We woke up early and headed to the Dole Pineapple Plantation. We went on a cute little train ride around the pineapple fields and learned the history of the pineapple and James Dole.
We then got our sacked lunches to eat and finished it off with delicious pineapple ice cream. But, that was only the beginning of our adventure. We got back in the car and decided we were just going to drive and see where we end up. Well, we passed through some cute little towns and then before we knew it we were at the Honolulu Jail. Now this isn't your typical jail just off the road, we actually had to drive about 5 minutes on a long, winding road through the woods before we even got to the entrance. When we finally reached the gate we still couldn't even see the actual jail so we turned around and headed back to the main road.

We figured that this was going to be a road that lead us back to the ocean but it ended up being a dead end that ended with a cemetery. Since the road led to two options-a jail or cemetery, Jess named it the road of doom. After that adventure, we decided to start heading back north. We ended up in a town called Wailia and found a secluded beach. We pulled out our towels and were excited to lay in the sun, but that lasted about an hour before the clouds came. We stayed for another hour anyways and then began our journey home. In this cute little town all the mail boxes were painted and decorated.

Lohren just got a new camera so she decided she wanted a picture collection of these mail boxes. It was pretty funny to drive around and pull right up to people's houses snapping pics, especially when people saw what we were doing luckily, they just chuckled and waved.
When we finally arrived back at campus we got showered and were planning on going to see the Princess and the Frog that was being show on campus. Well, we thought it started at 7:30 but it started at 7, so we went to Jess and Kelsey's room, curled up and turned on Beauty and the Beast. I hadn't seen that show in forever, it is one of my favorite disney movies. Fortunately, they showed Princess and the Frog again at 9:30, I hadn't seen it yet, and I absolutely adored every minute. It is definitely up there on my favorite's list.

Penny For Your Thoughts

I realize that lately l this blog hasn't necessarily been about my adventures in Hawaii. But the past few days I have quit being a facebook stalker and began being a blog stalker haha. I love to read people's blogs and find out the highlights of their day, or funny stories that happened to them, or just random thoughts they have had. So I decided to take a page out of their books. I have come to love quotes. There is a quote for every event and every emotion in your life. This is one I recently found from nothing other than Winnie the Pooh. I loved it because I think it is something we all wish for everyone in our lives...

"This is my wish for you: COMFORT on difficult days, SMILES when sadness intrudes, RAINBOWS to follow the clouds, LAUGHTER to kiss your lips, SUNSETS to warm your heart, HUGS when spirits sag, BEAUTY for your eyes to see, FRIENDSHIPS to brighten your being, FAITH so that you can believe, CONFIDENCE for when you doubt, COURAGE to know yourself, PATIENCE to accept the truth, LOVE to complete life."

It Takes Two

Little girls dream of the day that prince charming will come on a white horse to sweep her off her feet. From then on when she told the story of meeting her prince charming it would begin with  Once Upon A Time and end with Happily Ever After.  Well not to anyone's surprise I once was one of these girls. But a few days ago I watched It Takes Two (a childhood favorite of mine) and they explained finding your prince in a different way.

"It's got to be that can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, world series kind of stuff"

Not that I am looking for my knight in shining armor yet (I am only 18), It got me to thinking that when I do meet that one guy for me I hope that it feels like that can't eat, can't sleep, world series kind of feeling, that beings with Once Upon A Time and ends in Happily Ever After.

Just a thought...

Called to Serve

Today I am grateful for the impact my friends have on my life whether it be making me laugh, cry, smile, or believe. I have to admit that in the past couple of weeks when it comes to friends at home it has been more crying than laughing, but they are tears of joy, well most of them anyway.

A week ago I received a call from my best friend Kamrin, he has been called to serve in the Ukraine Donetsk mission, reporting on June 16. Well the first thing I did was cry and then felt about 10 different emotions run through me in all of 20 seconds. It's far away, really far away. But hearing him so happy and excited made everything okay. Kamrin informed me that the national anthem is titled, Ukraine is not yet dead, after hearing this he knew he would love it!
For the next 2 days, Ukraine kept running through my thoughts. It is going to be one amazing experience for him. June 16 seemed to be the day that it was all going to start, my best friends leaving on missions, or so I thought.

Next to make me cry was Daniel's mission call. I was put on speaker phone so I could hear him read his call, the only problem was that everyone started screaming so loud I didn't hear where he was going but I had a feeling it was somewhere in Asia. After screaming through the phone at Jasmine trying to get her attention, I was finally informed that he had been called to serve in Busan Korea.
He is reporting to the MTC on June 2, when Jasmine told me this part I thought I misheard her and it was actually July 2 but my hopes were soon crushed. Daniel will leave in less than 4 months. The cool part about this was that he actually had a dream that he would be going to Korea, he wanted to go somewhere in Asia so badly. Just like with Kamrin, I am thrilled for him. The few tears that weren't joyful tears was because it finally became a reality that yes, they would be gone for 2 years, crazy that we are already that old! I also couldn't help feeling a little bit of homesickness when they both called me. It was hard not to be there to give them a congratulatory hug but I will be home soon enough!

On a happier note, friends also bring great joy in our lives. It is Lizzy Grant's 19th birthday today and boy am I glad that she was born. We became best friends sophomore year doing cheer together. Senior year we were told that you never see one of us without the other. She is an amazing girl and I am so lucky to have her in my life. If I ever need a good laugh or just a night of craziness and not caring whatsoever about what people think I call Lizzy. We have been through a lot together the past three years and I can't wait to get back home to create even more memories than we have. 

Happy Birthday Liz! I love you!!

Now back to my Hawaiian life, we had a great weekend here in Laie. On Friday we went to a condo at Turtle Bay for the night. It was me, lohren, kelsey, jess, jon and steve. We had an absolute blast! We played yahtzee and a few rounds of Kent. Lohren and steve ended up winning but jon and I are calling for a rematch! Then we watched the movie Unbreakable which I do not recommend any of you seeing.
We finished off the night with talking and laughing about anything and everything! On Saturday we headed to Waikiki where we were hoping to get some pretty cheap surf lessons but it turns out they aren't so cheap after all. Jess and I were so desperate that we almost went and asked two random guys we saw with surf boards to teach us but we chickened out.
 We ended up spending the day laying on the beach and then making a much needed walmart-run on the way home. It was culture night at our school where all the clubs and organizations perform something from that culture. There were some pretty amazing performances and I was so excited to see the Korean club come out and perform some karate that was very impressive, I think Daniel should take that up on his mission.

Tagged

I absolutely LOVE my friend Chloee's blog, it always makes my day! She just did a new post and if you are tagged you are suppose to do the same thing. Well, I wasn't actually tagged (even though at one point she did mention friends moving to Hawaii), but I liked it so much that I decided I wanted to do it too so here I go.

10 years ago...

10 years ago I was in third grade. I don't remember much about it except that in another month I was going to be baptized in Hawaii with my best friend Natalie, and I couldn't wait! Ms. Kirk was my teacher and we would dance and sing to Locomotion just about every morning. I don't remember much about my friends at the time but I do know that Natalie and I were inseparable as always. I was playing soccer, tennis, piano, and dancing but later on that narrowed down to just tennis and piano. I was obsessed with Mary-Kate and Ashley when they had their detective movies. Natalie and I would pretend that we were them (I was mary-kate, she was ashley). That's about all I can remember from that time.

5 years ago...

I was in 8th grade, attending the good old Hillside. People say Hillside is ghetto but man I loved that place. That was the year I had my first boyfriend, Dallin Scruggs (Lohren liked to call him lovin scruggs). He asked me out on Valentines day with a note in my locker and a bag of Hershey's kisses. That was a great couple of months, it's always fun to have a guy in your life. This was also the year that my Grandpa Noland died, which was really hard. I loved middle school, it came with drama of course though. Stephanie Tuitupou and I had a little mix up in, she thought I hated her and I thought she hated me when really neither of us hated each other, that was the start of a beautiful friendship. That was also the year that I meant Anna McKean and my life has never been the same. I went to her birthday party with her group of friends and had the best time. Ever since we have been best friends and I will never forget U.S History with her, zach baucom, and nick orchard. I also wanted something different so I got bangs and oh the horror! I look back on those pictures and just die laughing. What in the world was I thinking?

5 months ago...

I was just beginning my first year of college...in HAWAII! We were just starting to get used to our new life and starting to make some really great friends. We were going to the beach about every day and not worrying to much about the actual school part (things have definitely changed). I tried out for the tennis team, which I didn't make, I would later see this as a blessing But I certainly learned a lot about my self and worked harder in those two weeks then I ever have. We were just starting to hang out with Kelsey Fern Badger who I can now call one of my best friends, and getting to know Garrett and Egan better, and met Landon Smart who sadly left us at Christmas for the U.

5 thing on my To-Do list today...

1. Figure out a topic for my research paper and then actually start researching it.

2. Start reading the book We for english

3. Work-Out

4. Finish the Gossip Girl episode I was watching last night

5. Practice the piano

5 snacks I enjoy...

1. Wheat Thins and string cheese

2. Apples/bananas with peanut butter

3. Shiver's diet coke with extra lime

4. Nature Valley bars-Oats and Honey

5. M&M's (preferably peanut butter)

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire...

1. Go to the airport and buy a ticket for anywhere I felt like going that day

2. Bring all my friends over to Hawaii to visit me

3. Own a houseboat and ski boat

4. Buy all the purses and shoes I wanted

5. Attend a major event like the Academy Awards

5 things people don't know about me...

1. I love sending packages/fun letters to people now that I am away

2. I love showering, it is one of the best parts of my day

3. My biggest fear is not being able to have children

4. I wouldn't be able to live without music

5. I am a hopeless romantic and a sucker for cheesy/corny things

My happy list

1. Fresh flowers in my room

2. When I get a text/call/facebook from someone I haven't talked to in a while

3. Smiling/laughing for no reason at all

4. The ocean

5. Diet Coke fridays

6. Anytime I talk on the phone to my friends at home, they don't know it but it is my favorite thing

7. Pictures

8. Talking about memories

9. Playing the piano

10. Quotes that make me smile

11. Jewelry

12. My t.v shows-Glee, One Tree Hill, Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters
13. Sunshine

14. Getting all comfy and curling up in bed

Alright and that's all I have!! If you feel like doing it then try it, it's fun!

Calling All Prom Dates

It has been one hectic week! Mid-terms are never fun and now that they are over we are over the hump and on the decline, which means school is going to be over before we know it. We counted the days and we only have 40 left on this beautiful island. :(
We kicked the weekend off with the BYUH talent show on Friday night. It was full of singing, dancing, magic, comedy, and beatboxing. But the best was one 3 guys got out there and did the Single Ladies dance. We had a lot more fun than we were expecting. We laughed, cheered, and sang our way through the entire thing. It was also Diet Coke Friday which made it that much better.
I crawled in bed that night and ended up staying awake till 3:30 am watching a movie only to be woken up 2 hours later to Jess and Kelsey banging and screaming at our door. Neither Lohren or I were that thrilled with this, but reluctantly Lohren got up and opened the door and they barged in telling us there was going to be a tsunami. Not really knowing what to do I grabbed my phone and saw that Egan had called me, I called him back and had never heard his voice sound so serious. He explained that the tsunami was suppose to come at 11:19 and that we should think about getting into the car and finding higher ground somewhere.
We were then approached by our RA's telling us there was a meeting downstairs where we were informed that we are on the safest part of the island and if everyone stays on the second floor of the dorms we should be fine. So we went and packed up Jess and Kelsey's valuables and headed to our room where we sat for the next 7 hours waiting for the tsunami that never came. Through out those 7 hours we tried to sleep unsuccessfully, had the news on our computers telling us the play by play, and pretty much just sat. Well, I can only do so much sitting and not doing anything so I was soon getting out paper, scissors, and glue and began doing some cute little craft projects. Then I became so claustrophobic in our small little room that I went on to cleaning and organizing the room. Finally we were given the all clear and that no tsunami waves were coming at any time in the future.

We were so excited to hear the news that we could get out of our room that we showered and headed into town where the shops were just starting to reopen and we hit the mall. Unfortunately, every store we wanted to go to (Forever 21, American Eagle, American Apparel, Abercrombie) were all closed. So we found some cute little store we hadn't been in and then headed to Macy's. This is where the fun really began, we each picked out a ghetto-looking short prom dress and tried them on, they were pretty hilarious.

Then we decided we had to try the floor length ones too but this time Lohren and I picked out each other's and Kelsey and Jess picked out each others, it made for some good laughs. After eating some dinner at the food court and sitting in Old Navy for a good hour we headed back home. Even though it was only 10:00 Lohren and I had been awake for way to long and headed to our room for some sleep.

Birthday Girl Jess

It was a very special weekend because it was Jess's 19th birthday! We started celebrating at 11:00 pm Friday night and didn't stop celebrating till Sunday at 12:30 am! On Friday we went and saw Shutter Island which I just found disturbing and did not enjoy it all but the other 5 people I went with loved it and found it very intriguing, so you can decided who to trust on that one before going and seeing it.
After returning from the movie we all needed a little lift to our spirits and we found just the thing, a birthday package that Jess' mom had sent. We went back in time and turned 5 years old all over again. Each of us received a princess crown and bracelet, and then we got to play a version of pin the tail of the donkey called put the kiss on the frog, themed after the new movie Princess and the Frog. We then took a stroll through the dorms in our crowns and all to go cook microwave cakes that her mom had also sent. At midnight we watched as Jess opened her presents then topped off the night by watching The Swan Princess 3, not quite as good as the first, but it kept our 5 year old little girl spirits alive for just a while longer.
The next morning we woke up and I was sent to distract Jess while Kelsey and Lohren decorated her dorm room and then we got dressed and headed to Waimea, for a pure beach day. We arrived at 11 and didn't leave till 5 o'clock that night we were having so much fun. Lohren got a new camera and tested it out with a group of random guys that wanted Kelsey and I in a picture!
The waves were perfect for body surfing and scary enough that we all thought we were going to be killed at one point or another but we survived. We laid-out, read magazines, listened to music, and enjoyed every minute of the day. Even a couple whales showed up in the afternoon to wish Jess a happy birthday! After getting home and showered we met up with Garrett and Egan and headed to Kahuku Grill, a restaurant we hadn't tried yet but heard was great. We had gotten a cake and princess balloon for the birthday girl and spent the next two hours eating and laughing. The food was as good as we were told and the cake from foodland wasn't bad either even though it took Garrett, Egan, and myself about 20 minutes before we could get the candles lit to sing happy birthday. We finished the day by seeing Valentines Day which I don't know how much the boys liked but the girls all loved it.

It turned out to be one of the funnest weekends we have had in quite a while which worked out perfectly because Jess definitely deserved such a wonderful birthday. In addition to it being Jess's birthday it was also my very best friend's birthday at home, Natalie! So Happy birthday Nat, I hope you had a great day! I can't wait to celebrate when I get home! Now the fun is over for another month until we get to celebrate my birthday!!