Graduation!!

This past Saturday, I graduated from college!!!  It's still crazy to think about.  I can't believe I'm pau with school.  Forever.  Well, maybe not forever.  But definitely for the next little while.  It all seems like it happened so fast.  I know it doesn't seem real now, but it will feel very real when I get my first job as an elementary teacher!

All in all, graduation was a very neat experience that I will never forget.  I'm glad I got to wear a cap and gown (even though I now feel that Kamehameha dress whites look way better), hear my name called, and walk across that stage to receive my diploma.  I am also very glad my family was able to attend my graduation.  Even though the actual ceremony was really nice and I enjoyed the talks given, the best part was getting all my lei after and hugging my family and friends :)

 I'm so blessed to be at this point in my life, but I couldn't have done it alone.  So many people have supported me, been amazing examples to me, and have believed in me.  I am so grateful to have a loving husband, a supportive family, and great friends.  I am also very grateful for the knowledgeable, patient professors who have taught me the things I know and who have instilled practices and values in me that will allow me to one day become a successful teacher.

I think I'm as ready for the real world as I'll ever be, so I hope the world is ready for me.

Thanksgiving & Black Friday Madness

I love Thanksgiving.  And when I realized that this could possibly have been my last Thanksgiving at home for a couple years, I tired to cherish every bit of it as much as possible.  It's gonna be so weird being away from my family...especially during the holiday.  But I am so grateful that I'll get to be with my husband.  Anyways, Thanksgiving started off just like it does every year...some good old Turkey Bowl.  Every Thanksgiving, our ward (mostly the men) plays hardcore flag football for a couple hours.  Everybody comes out to support, hang out, and laugh at the OG's trying to take out the young men.  It's super fun and it's something I really look forward to.   I'm definitely gonna miss this. 

They play football at the park right in my neighborhood and my grandma's house is right across the street.  Since my family does lunch there, we all just make our way over to the house after football.  I love having a huge family that is super close.  You would think it would be hard to get everyone together having so many people, but somehow we manage to do it for every occasion.  After we stuff ourselves to the limit, me, my mom, and all my aunties pull out the black friday ads and the maps of the stores and get down to business.  

I am not kidding when I say we are serious black friday peeps.  Everyone makes their lists of what they need and then we put the lists together so we know how much of everything we need to grab.  This year, we all headed to Wal-Mart at around 7:00 pm.  We're each assigned a station and my mom makes sure we stay put and get what we need to get.  Since there's like 10 of us that go, we usually cover everything we need pretty fast.  It's hilarious how people end up making deals with each other, hearing the first timers talk about how nervous they are, and then watching everybody get all tense right before 10:00 and midnight.  But my favorite part is when they start cutting the shrink wrap open and all you hear is screams and big guys fighting over sewing machines and dress-up treasure chests.  I would go just for the experience!  We stayed for the 10:00 and 12:00 Blitz then headed over to Macy's.  It was ridiculous.  We stood in line for almost 2 hours there!  They need more cashiers.  Or maybe just some faster moving cashiers.  After Macy's, we headed down to Sear's and waited in line until they opened at 4:00 am.  Sear's was even more ridiculous than Macy's.  The electronics section was a mess.  I ended up ordering my aunty's camera on my iPhone while she stood in line waiting for it.  We finally got out of Sear's and I was tapped out by then.  My feet were killing me, I was starving, and my eyes were fighting to stay open.  I finally got home at around 5:00 am and I knocked out.  Even though I was super tired, it was all worth it.  Now you know I wasn't kidding when I say we're serious black friday shoppers!  We even train like the crazy lady on the target commercials!  Just kidding.  Lol.  

Well aside from that black friday crazyness, it was a very close to perfect Thanksgiving.  Having my husband with me would have made it more than perfect, but I'm hanging in there.  I'm so grateful for all that Heavenly Father blesses me with.  I'm grateful for my family and the closeness that we share.  I'm grateful for my eternal companion and for the love we have for each other.  I am grateful for the educational opportunities both my husband and I have received.  I am grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and to have knowledge of the gospel.  There is so much I have to be grateful for and I know I am blessed in so many ways.  

Let the holiday season begin :)

More CO Adventures

While I was in Colorado, we were lucky enough to find some time in Cory's busy schedule to make it out to the Denver Temple.  It's been a while since we've been to the temple together, so we both made it a point to do that while I was there.  And I'm really glad we did.  It was so nice visiting a new temple and being there with my husband.  It was something we both really needed.  It's always nice to be reminded of the peace you find in the temple and how easy it is to feel the spirit there.  With everything going on in my busy days, it's easy to forget to do all of the things I should be doing.  I think this temple visit with my husband helped to push me back on track a little.

No one was around to take a picture of us together, so we had to do it separately, lol.  

The Denver Temple was so pretty and was the perfect mid-week date night.

Cory also took me to this place called Chipotle's.  I guess if you've visited or lived on the mainland...you probably know what it is.  I had no idea what it was, but I'm glad I found out.  Here's Cory with his gigantor burrito.  

I got a bowl.  The guacamole was to die for.  

Here's the Bronco's stadium.  I was hoping we would get to watch a game, but we couldn't find cheap tickets.  Maybe next time.  

We also went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science one day because it was super windy and rainy outside.  I was so glad we went.  The museum was like no museum I've ever been to.  It was HUGE and there was all kinds of different exhibits.  Animals, dinosaurs, the solar system, minerals, health...they have it all covered.  They even had this machine that takes a picture of you and shows you what you're gonna look like at 70 years old.  It compares a normal 70 year old you and another 70 year old you affected by either obesity, UV exposure, or smoking.  Let me warn you, I am a scary looking 70 year old woman.  Scroll down at your own risk.  Haha.

I chose UV exposure.  Not cute.  This makes me want to stay young forever.  

Here's Cory.  He chose obesity.  I made a vow to myself to never let him get fat.  

This is one of the many dinosaur skeleton things they have.  Very cool.

They had tons of animal displays and the animals looked SO real.  Here's the buffalo soldier.

And if you every wondered what we would look like as moose...now you know!

We made a few trips to Wal-Mart and we found these cool hats on one of our visits.  We're ready for winter.

Sadly, my week came to an end.  I really did not want to leave my husband.  It was even harder than leaving him the first time.  8 more weeks...I can do this.  Anyways, as if leaving my husband wasn't hard enough, I had sooo much travel drama on the way home!  I flew from CO to SLC.  When I got to SLC, I went to my connecting flight and found out the flight was delayed due to weather in San Fran, which was my next stop before home.  I had to wait a couple hours in Salt Lake, so I snapped this picture of the snow on the mountains.

Our flight finally got the OK to fly, so we headed to San Fran.  When I got there 2 hours later than scheduled, I found out my flight from San Fran to Maui left on time.  I was soooo mad.  And to make me even more mad, I had to stand in line for 4 hours to talk to a customer service rep!!! Who stands in a 4 hour long line!?!  I could've rode like 5 rides at disneyland in that amount of time.  When I finally got to the counter, I got the lady to put me on stand-by for the next flight to Oahu which was leaving in like 30 min.  So I rushed to that gate and halleluyer, I got on.  Hungry, tired, and full-bladdered...but I got on.  I got to Oahu, crashed at my cousins house, and headed to the airport the next morning to finally fly to Maui.  All I can say is...never again will I be chang and book a flight with 2 stops to save money.  Totally not worth it.  But I am so grateful for the power of prayer and my family who is always worried about me and willing to do anything for me.  

Aside from my traveling drama, the trip was a blast.  It was so nice being with my husband again and I can't wait to see him in December.  If you know me, you know I am very much an island girl.  I've never lived away from Hawai'i, so I'm pretty nervous about my move in January.  I must admit, this trip made a bit of my nervous-ness go away and I can actually picture myself living in CO.  Not forever.  Just as long as Cory is in school.

Until we meet again Colorado :)