Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Happy Tummy


My tummy spoke to me. It said, I need something that reminds me of home...so I made chicken dumpling soup (my most favorite as a little girl). Nothing like hot soup on a hot, humid day, but my tummy sure was happy!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

I think this movie is going to be lovely...

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Jake Shimabukuro: an ukulele GOD!


D and I got to go to an awesome concert the other night! BYUH was putting on a little concert series and the headliner was Jake Shimabukuro! D and I had heard about him a couple years back from my mom. My little momma tech wiz found him while surfing YouTube!! Being a Beatles gal, she fell in love with his version of George Harrison's While my Guitar Gently Weeps...we did too! So when we saw the posters all over campus we ran to get tickets! D bought tickets 1 and 2!! :D It didn't hurt that they were only $5!! Whoooo! So anyway Danny and I were so excited to go hear some amazing ukulele music, and we weren't disappointed! We heard some originals, some classics, and even an uke version of Thriller!! Danny brought his ukulele to be signed just in case...
We took tons of videos, but aren't able to upload them so check him out on youtube here (the video that made him famous), here (this one got the crowd goin'), and here (made me wanna groove)!

Jake jammin on his tener ukulele
Excuse the blur: Jake signed Danny's Uke!

I am such a dweeb! I totally got in his way and made him step all over my feet! ooops!

There we go!! Feet in the right places!

Monday, July 27, 2009

The Hukilau!

Danny and I headed to our local beach for our morning run/powerwalk the other day and came across a local tradition here in Laie. It is called a Hukilau!! Big nets are brought out into the ocean by divers, a bunch of fishies swim into their path, and when it is time whoever is there gets to help reel in the catch! There were a bunch of community members at the ready to pull in the nets, so Danny and I decided to seize the moment and grab onto that rope too! It was hard work, and after a while we felt a little in the way, but I think we did our part! Anywho, cool little adventure...even if we didn't get in our run/powerwalk!

Here is a Hukilau from days gone by! We looked just like them! :p

HAaAaaaaa!


The other night Danny and I were able to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center's NEW night show called "HAaaaaa Breath of Life". Gotta love the PCC employee discounts! The show was great!! The story of a family was followed throughout. They sort of traveled around to the different islands and a new life adventure took place for the young boy at each place...think becoming a man, falling in love, getting married, etc! The music was great and the dancing was spectacular as always. After the show I just couldn't stop saying HHHhhaaaaaaaa! I loved it :)

The show is so new that they aren't even advertising on the PCC website yet...so no pic available!
Check out this video of the oldie but goodie Horizons night show! Fire and dancing, YES please!!


Saturday, July 18, 2009

Worker D makin' money at the PCC


By popular demand, here's a photo of polynesianized Danny on his way to work at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We dig his pink hawaiian shirt (very masculine ;) and polynesian man-skirt, aka sulu. D likes the sulu cause it provides superb ventilation in the hawaiian heat! The newest addition to his uniform is a sweet ukulele (not pictured here) that he takes to entertain his tour group with. Once he completes the look with a nice, even tan we won't even be able to recognize him as a mainlander anymore (well, the blue eyes and sandy blond hair might give it away)!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

4th


Danny and I had a magnificent 4th of July. D had to work in the morning so I did a little 4th of July cleaning (not so fun). 
We ate BBQ chicken, watermelon, and ice cream and set off to Turtle Bay Resort for fireworks. We pulled up our own little patch of comfy grass laid back and enjoyed some uke music until the fireworks started. Perfect holiday with my perfect guy :)





When we got home we set off our own fireworks, which I haven't done since I was a kid. It was a BLAST! 

Friday, July 3, 2009

Tahiti, and Tonga, and Fiji, OH MY!

A couple of weeks ago (sorry about the late posting) Danny and I got to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center on his day off. He started working there 3 weeks ago and is already taking his own tour groups!! GO D!! It was nice to have my own personal tour guide for the day!! We went around to all the different villages which represent each island of Polynesia.  D says- polynesia comes from 2 Greek words; poly (meaning many) and nesia (meaning islands). Gosh darn he is full of fun facts! ;) Anywho, we had a great time. We learned how to throw spears Tongan style, weave a fish from coconut leaves, and even endured the pain of Fijian tattoos!!  We splurged on dinner and the night show to end our evening. Holy Moly that Kalua Pork is somethin' else!

I wanna see samoa that! (D's contribution to this post!)

(Whoooo! D almost won the spear throwing contest. I think he found a new calling!)



(our Tongan fishy)



(The Tahitian dancers were my fav. They could shake those booties somethin' fierce!)



(My tattoo meant queen! D thought it was fitting ;) )



(The night show)

Monday, June 22, 2009

A day late...


Even though this is a little late we wanted to make sure we gave our papas a Father's Day shout out!!! Danny and I have the best Dads in the universe. They do so much for us and we couldn't be more grateful. We hope they felt our love all the way in Tucson and NYC. Hope you had a great day dads, you deserved it!!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!


Saturday, June 20, 2009

Finding our Inner Hawaiians

So Danny and I went to the PCC the other day (blog to come soon!) and checked out the Samoan show. It was one of the best!! Anywho, we saw a man husk and crack a coconut in like 2.5 seconds flat! I mean it was pretty impressive! A couple nights later D and I found a ripe coconut and decided to try our hand at husking!! How hard can it be right?! I mean the other guy did it practically with his eyes closed. 
 We banged that coconut against every hard surface we could find trying to break it open a little.
 
30 mins later...

Danny found a screwdriver! It helped a ton and we were able to start peeling the husks off!


45 mins later...

we struck the coconut!!! WaaahooooOOOOOooooo!

15 mins later...

we dug out the coconut!!!

5 mins later...

We busted that thing open! We drank the juice inside and ate some of the meat, but it wasn't the most tasty thing without all the sugar! Oh well it's all about the adventure. So, to sum up: Time it takes native Samoan to open a coconut - 2.5 seconds. Time it takes these Lams - an hour and a half! ;) I don't think we have struck out inner Hawaiians just quite yet, but we are getting there!


Saturday, June 13, 2009

MAHALO, GRACIAS, THANK YOU!!!


We have the best parents in the whole world! Today we went to the post office to pick up a mysterious package. It was the sweetest care package from our loving parents in Tucson. Thank you mom and dad soooooooooo much!!!! We love everything inside. It is just what we needed. xoxox  
love, d and e

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Laie Falls*




After the malasada incident, we decided we may need some more exercise!! We did a hike up to Laie Falls. It was kinda difficult, but the views and the falls were beautiful! There was a sweet man also enjoying the falls who reminded me so much of my Daddy it was uncanny! He was so nice and took lots of pictures for us!!! 




Malasadas; A hawaiian treat/heart attack in a box!!!



D and I found a list of things to do before we head back to the mainland. #1 on the list was to eat a malasada from Leonard's Bakery Truck! We had no idea where this infamous truck was, but as we drove to the store one day we spotted it sitting in the parking lot!!! Wahhooo....anywho we went home to google malasada so we knew what we were getting into! We found out it is a Portuguese donut that made its way to Hawaii years ago. It has become a local fav ever since. Dan Dan the Donut man was extremely excited about this potentially delectable dessert truck located only minutes from our house!! That night we went to the truck to order our first malasadas. Thinking they were the size of donut holes we order a dozen so we could try every flavor(cream, coconut, chocolate, cinnamon sugar...mmmmmmmm!!!). Turns out the donuts are quite large, quadruple fried, and injected with massive amounts of filling!! I was able to eat one before I could feel my booty and thighs start to jiggle a little more and my heart strain harder due to rapidly clogging arteries. ;) D couldn't have just one of course, but bottomed out at 2!! Whoooo we were sure defeated by these donuts which have found a new home in our freezer. Maybe we'll bring some back to share! 


Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Life Lessons Continued.



We learned...



Never hit bananas with a fly swatter!!!!!!


HEhehehehehehehehehehe. At least D got the "stupid fwy".

Baby steps to Pipeline!!

We are trying to sneak in a little fun here before the real fun starts (school, work...can I get another BOOOOOOO). Anywho, we decided to try out our new body board that we got from someone moving out of the BYU apartments. I was super stoked about our new board, but D was a little bummed it wasn't a surfboard! It was my first time so I got a little tossed and turned by the waves, and drank a little too much seawater!! D was a star!!
Our night ended with washing the seawater down with pizza and watching movies from the local Ohana Video. The only movie store in Laie is one that rents edited movies (so funny right)!!! I love it!! We rented Slumdog Millionaire (one I have been dying to see) and the Matrix (that freaked my freak!). We thought it was hilarious that they edited out the throwing up scene in the Matrix. I mean, who hasn't thrown up, been witness to it, or cleaned it up right!?!? ;) Oh well, we still got the gist! Mmmmm other than that it was a good day in HI.


Employment Update: E had an interview at Turtle Bay Resort and is waiting to hear back!! Cross your fingers! The job would be in part a pool safety girl (pretty ironic right!) D has a couple applications in at the school. He should find something when the semester ends this week! Yay!


Until the next...

Monday, June 1, 2009

Lessons learned thus far.

Although we have only been residents of HI for about a week, we have learned many interesting things about our new state...
1. The humidity is Crazy with a capital C! The weather couldn't be more different than AZ. Bathing suits are never dry after a dip in the ocean and towels always have that yummy wet dog smell about them! I couldn't get over my coke glass the other day; it left a condensation ring on my placemat for 2 days!!! AY!!! It just wouldn't dry! The craziest thing about this humidity we are experiencing is what it does to my hair...no explanation needed... ;p
2. I guess babies are water resistant. Ok, so I have nearly had to perform 2 water rescues already! On several occasions we have seen daddies with 3 or more kids at the ocean...by themselves (NUTS right Lainey!!). :Z One is thrown over their shoulder, the other is attached to a boogie board, and the last is bobbing up and down in the water!! I am so on edge watching them it is crazy!! I nearly ran after one today baywatch style! We even saw a daddy with twins who were just walking, and at least 2 more kids in the water. These crazy little babies were not afraid of the water!!! I think he should have paid me for babysitting, I had my eye on them the whole time!! ;) They were also naked, so I could resist snapping a naked Hawaiian baby shot... hehehe.


3. Little buggies also love the humid weather. We have a bit of an infestation of ants and termites in our little apartment which is a little yucky. We have just tried to think positively however, and now don't freak out when we see gaggles of dead ants in our bed!! :) It's kinda funny right!? New bugs we have discovered include: lots of misquotes (booooo), flying cockroaches (D's personal favorite), and tons of slugs when it rains (I have restrained myself from touching them...they just look so squishy!!)!

4. The scenery is beautiful.
Love you all, until the next...


Sunday, May 31, 2009

After much procrastination...

Phheewwww! We finally made it to the blogging world! I am so exited to keep in touch and updated with all our friends and family back home. Sometimes I am just so grateful for technology (Skype and blog are my newest tech obsessions!). We hope you all enjoy hearing about our adventures we are trying to cram in here in beautiful Hawaii before we rejoin you in almost as beautiful Arizona! We love you...until the next blog!