Category Archives: Life in hawaii

Cup Fence DONE! Almost Homecoming!

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I have been seriously MIA but getting everything ready for Homecoming is melting my brain. I can’t concentrate, can’t sleep, I am just a hot mess! Just wanted to update with our STUNNING cup fence we put up to welcome the ship home!

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E Komo Mai means Welcome Home in Hawaiian, trying to add a little local flair! I’ve never done one of these for any other Homecoming, I think this just might be a Hawaii thing? (Along with the 300 leis we are giving the sailors as well!)

Super excited, we are down to crunch time and I have to get to the commissary and actually stock my fridge and pantry with man food!

Another Boring Beach Day

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Good ol’ Ko’olina Lagoon. Can’t beat this beach for great weather and calm water. While my sister was hear we had a run of rainy weather up on the north shore and windward side of the island, where the best beaches happen to be! We ended up heading out west to lagoon 4 for some snorkeling and sun. The snorkeling isn’t terrible, I went out once and saw a decent variety considering the lagoons are manmade. The last time we were here a turtle had snuck in but we weren’t so lucky this time. All in all, you really can’t go wrong at too many beaches in Hawaii…

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Mckenna and her aunty Steph. These two were having way too much fun out there.DSCF1460a

 

And apparently getting a good shot of your feet while you are floating is difficult because I had about 20 bloopers on my camera… Mckenna did manage to catch a cute pic of her footsies.DSCF1469a

 

I don’t think he was grumpy? Not that I remember anyways…. tired and ready to go home though.
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Also! We were getting ready to pack up when this woman came over freaking out, she had been sitting next to us with some friends and had left a little while before. Apparently she took off her rings when putting sunscreen on her kids and set them on the blanket (!!!) When they left her friend shook the blanket off while packing up not knowing the rings were on it. The lady was FRANTICALLY looking for them so a bunch of us starting to help sift sand. We finally convinced her to talk to one of the marina staff which she did and they were able to find someone that had a metal detector to come help her and for us to stop (I guess what we were doing was possibly making it worse) We left before the guy got there so I don’t know what happened but I hope she found her rings! Anyways, that is my PSA for the day, leave your rings at home if you don’t want to get sunscreen on them!

Aloha Swap Meet

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Got some time to kill, head out and do a bit of shopping. Especially if you are looking for any type of tourist or tiki item, this is the place to go!

The Aloha Stadium has the swap meet three times a week and has dozens if not hundreds of different vendors… although MANY of them are selling the same exact mass produced in China crap.

However, there are some standouts in the crowd… I got a super nice plumeria branch for a great price, we found a great local baker who makes awesome cakes and breads, a local oil & vinegar company where I picked up some yummy dipping oil, and a cute Hawaii sticker for my car!

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It did bring back memories of the gypsy markets in Spain. It’s a fun place for kids because you can give them a couple dollars and they can find little treasures for themselves…DSC_1658

 

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I am still a little mad that Omar won’t let me get a tiki head for the house, he says they creep him out, I on the other hand, think they are pretty fun!DSC_1661

 

 

And if you need a sarong or a muumuu? This is for SURE the place to come!DSC_1662

Shangri La

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Okay. If you live here or are vacationing here you HAVE to visit Shangri La. Oh. My. Goodness. This place is insane!

A little backstory:

Shangri La was built by Doris Duke in the 1930s. (She was a crazy rich heiress) She gets married and on her honeymoon does an around the world trip. While on her honeymoon she falls in love with Islamic artwork and design. So she starts to collect some… On her way home they stop in Hawaii where she ends up staying for 4 months instead of a few weeks after falling in love with the island.

She ends up moving to Hawaii and building this BEAUTIFUL house near Diamondhead. She continues to collect Islamic art and has craftsmen working on the house for years. After her death she left the house in a trust and tours are conducted through the Honolulu Museum of Art.

While the kids were still in school (Shangri La is 8+ I think, but even then it’s not really kid friendly) Steph and I headed downtown to the museum to catch our shuttle. Of course we had to do a little poking around in the museum as well!

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There was also a small section with some Islamic art and a video with a synopsis of Shangri La. See those 8 pointed star tiles with the cross tiles? Those make my heart flutter. This stuff was so insanely beautiful. museum2Finally we hopped onto our shuttle to Shangri La which is only about 10 minutes away.

As you can see from the driveway, its a pretty private location. The house sits on 5 acres of Hawaiian perfection.

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And the front door. Here is where it gets incredibly sad. You cannot take pictures inside the house. RIGHT?! Can you believe it! I know, I know, I get it but it was SO hard to keep my camera in my bag. And we had a lovely security guard escorting our tour group just to make sure!DSC_1588Oh and this part I just found hysterically amusing… So our guide is telling us about this front door and translating the Arabic inscribed on it (Something along the lines of ‘May Allah bless those who enter’ something like that) And one of the older ladies in our group was like, “Did she know what that meant?” Like it was so horrific to have this door say those things. I am pretty sure Doris Duke had quite the staff willing to translate for her, she didn’t practice Islam but I think she appreciated the beauty in the religion for sure.

*This is where all of my interior photos of the house would be*

And out back we are!

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This is the living room window, that window is one entire piece that, at the push of a button, slides into the floor. I love it! And it is all original from the 1930s!

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Out on the lanai…DSC_1594 DSC_1593

This boat basin has now been turned into a swimming hole… You just have to get creative with how to get there. I hear on weekends it is a bit crazy!DSC_1591

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I just loved this tabletopDSC_1603

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That concluded our tour, but we did enjoy a fabulous lunch at the museum. Beautiful setting and great food!DSC_1613

Perfect lamb salad! There was not a bite left (well except for the tomatoes!)DSC_1618

 

Our First Visitor!

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Finally after almost a YEAR of living in Hawaii we have a visitor! My sister, Stephanie, hopped a flight to come hang out for a couple of weeks.

You gotta love late night flights… especially ones that get delayed… It was a late night for all of us!
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It’s been SO fun showing her around the island!

May Day!

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May Day is a holiday in Hawaii to celebrate Hawaiian culture. The schools embrace this by having the kids learn a hula and elect a royal court. The Royal Court goes back to the Hawaiian monarchy and is a pretty big deal. So we were proud of Omar for being elected to kindergarten prince. (Even if it meant after school practices for WEEKS!)

So this proud mama was super excited to see what the kids had been up to!

I found Mckenna waiting for everything to start, as usual gossiping with her friends!

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The entrance for the Royal CourtDSC_1402a

 

The conch shell blowers signalling the arrival of the Royal CourtDSC_1409a

 

Guess who was up FIRST?! Prince Omar and Princess Sienna representing the island of Kaho’olawe. (I was in the perfect seat!) He didn’t even see me he was so focused.DSC_1412a

 

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DSC_1427aThey were SO adorable walking down all by themselves. I was so proud of them!

The rest of the court did the same thing, one pair from each grade representing an island. Then came the crown bearers for the King and Queen.

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And the Kahili bearersDSC_1433a

 

And finally the King and Queen

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Here is the assembled Court.DSC_1442aEach grade then did their hula which was great, they all did an amazing job!

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And of course I have Mckenna’s recorded for your viewing pleasure!

Then the Royal Court performed their own hula. Omar did so well!

And here is Omar showing off his lei that his princesses mom gave him (how sweet is she? I totally failed at parenting that day!) The volunteers did an AMAZING job decorating!

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My cuties that did an EXCELLENT job!DSC_1479a