Part 2: Twisted Ankles, Pig Control, and Amazing Scenery

The second part of our hiking day consisted of going to Manoa Falls to swim in the waterfall. Well, due to the lack of rain recently there was only a trickle coming down the waterfall so I got to see the waterfall and imagine what it would look like if the water was crashing down. After that we figured, 'why not hike a little farther?'

There was another trail leading off of the one we were on so we headed up. It was a little rocky and a little slippery at first but it got a little better later on. There were a lot of switchbacks and the elevation went from about 250ft ASL to 1800ft ASL. It was a beautiful hike with lots of bamboo on every side of us. It made a really pretty sound when the wind would blow and knocked the tops of the trees together. There were also warning signs that they were hunting pigs with dogs on certain days. I guess the wild pigs are just running rampant in those hills (unfortunately we didn't get to see any). By the time we got to the top we were muddy and hot and ready for a short break. We did see something that was very interesting though, 2 little old asian ladies had decided to hike up to the top as well, the only thing was that they were wearing white pants, light colored shirts, and slip on shoes. I was amazed because they were not dirty at all, I don't know how they did it but they looked like they had a great time.

On the way down, in the legendary ways of Christy, I twisted my ankles. Yes, I almost made it the whole way down without doing it but I was not that lucky. Of course I twisted them on the flat parts and not on the slippery rocks, the muddy areas, or the intertwined tree roots that were everywhere! No major injuries just a few good laughs. Well, here are a few pictures of our hike. Betsy-if you thought the other ones were high, just wait.

Beginning of our hikeMore gorgeous sceneryNatural tree archWhat a handsome man!Look how big these ferns are! Manoa Falls...just imagine it with lots of water...gorgeousFirst picture stop 1/3 of the way upRandy wasn't there...j/k but doesn't it look like he is super imposed on the scenery?

2/3 of the way up, you can see Diamonhead in the backround (our morning hike) That one is for you Betsy!Close up view of Diamonhead and the oceanBamboo galoreAll the way at the top looking East through the mountainsLooking NorthLooking West towards downtown Another one of the hot tired couple

It was a great last full Saturday in Hawaii! We are going to miss it here and we are definitely going to miss our friends Rob and Nellie, Darcie and family, and all of the wonderful people that we have met. Stay tuned for more pictures and stories of our adventures. I have a few random pictures to add so stay tuned.

Oh yeah, I forgot...we played a game called Chickenfoot (it's a version of dominoes), and Nellie whooped all of us! There I said it, are you happy now Nellie? :-)

Part 1: Red Cheeks, Brow of a Tuna, and Great Views

Last week I told Randy that before we left Hawaii I would like to hike Diamondhead and swim in a waterfall. Well, we hiked Diamonhead. The afternoon was HOT and as usual my cheeks turned red very fast.

Our first part of the day was up Diamondhead. It wasn't a hard hike and it is only a 8/10 of mile up to the top but we ended up having to park way outside of the park. We tried to park in the parking lot but the lady was turning people around at the entrance, even though there were spots open. It added about a 1/2 mile onto each way of our hike and it saved us $3 since it was only a $1 to get in if you walked in. We had a lot of fun and the views were great. Here are a few pictures. I will put the rest on snapfish so just let me know if you want to see them let me know. The pictures in the blog are a really big file size so if you click on them

*Diamondhead used to be called Laeahi by the ancient Hawaiians. The name means "brow of the tuna" because the silhoutte looks like a tuna. In the 1800's British Sailors renamed it because when they were sailing in they thought that there were diamonds glistening in the lava rock. It turned out to be the calcite crystals. Fort Ruger used to be located at Diamondhead crater and was used for harbor defense. There used to be canons inside of the crater and they built observation decks for target sighting. It is amazing how much history is on the Island of Oahu and just how much the military has enfluenced this beautiful place.

Inside of the crater and were the hike started.
Downtown Waikiki and one of the observation decks.
If you look close enough you can see the Island of Molokai. That is the island the lepers used to be sent to before there was medicine to control their disease.
The happy hot couple.
Shot of Diamondhead from the parking lot.

Check back for Part 2 of our Saturday hiking!

A few short steps

We only have one full week left in Hawaii. We are both excited to get to Alabama and see our new home and pick up our puppies. Although, I realized that there were a few places that I wanted to see before I left. Tomorrow we are hiking to the top of Diamond Head, an extremely old extinct volcano. Here is a website that has a diagram of the hike. http://www.travelwithachallenge.com/Hawaii_Diamondhead.htm

We are also planning on also going to Manoa Falls because I want to see a beautiful waterfall and if possible, swim in it. So we shall see how it goes. It says that you are not supposed to swim in the water but we shall see, I may sneak in for a quick picture. If I can't, we may have to go to the Audobon Society and hike to the waterfall they have on their property. I will definitely have pictures to post after tomorrow.

Oh yeah, it will be about 3 1/4 miles for the Diamond Head hike and about 3 miles for the Manoa Falls Hike so I am sure that tomorrow evening I will sleep very well.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Alot has been going on in the Aguirre household. We are getting ready to move to Alabama, our friends family came into town so we got to do tourist stuff, our new puppy is 8 1/2 weeks old (we get to pick her up in 5 weeks!), and so much more. I will add pictures over the next few days and keep updating. The movers will be coming to pick up our household goods on Monday so I will be very busy between now and the 27th when we move out of our Hawaii home. For now, here are some pictures of Baylee Bear! Oh yeah, Buddie is having a great time in Washington and is really enjoying the cool weather and spending time with this Grandparents and Faith and Toebee.



Just hanging out in the mountains.
Yes, I do have eyes...they are like my mommies...dark brown.
That stick doesn't even see me coming. You have taken 8 pictures already, no more!

Bye Bye Buddie Day

Well Buddie is now in Renton with my parents. He is doing fine although he did not sleep from the time they picked him up at 10pm last night until 740am Saturday morning. My parents are definitely going to have their hands full for the next 2 months.

On Thursday Randy I took Buddie for a 2 mile walk and then to the dog park for about an hour. We decided it was time to go when he just laid down by my feet and wouldn't move. He was very tired. Buddie got to see all of his favorite friends before he left: Pepper the pitbull/dachsund mix, Boots the min pin, and Sally the beagle. He is such a sweet boy and even our former mail lady came by our house to say bye to him. We miss our little boy but can't wait to go pick him and his little sister Baylee up and drive to our new home in AL. Oh yeah, and not only is Buddie gone now, Randy had to go to the field today (he found out Wednesday evening) and won't be back until the second week of June. So my plans for the next few weeks: go to the beach!!!!!

Once we checked Buddie in we got to keep him until 11am and took him to the beach so he could have one last Hawaii experience. He didn't get to dig or play in the water because we didn't want him to get dirty but he got to smell all the smells and run in the grass. We even took him to one last HI pet store. It was a very good end beginning to his big adventure.

Here is the last picture that we took with Buddie:

My Puppies!!!

CHICAGO!!!!!

Well, it has been a great summer at home in Washington. I have got to spend time with my friends and family and it has been awesome! One of the best parts of the summer was that I got to go to the Chicago conert with my mom, dad, and best friend Lorae. The concert was at the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, WA. We had a great time sitting on our blanket eating cheese, crackers, fruit, homemade humus and pita bread (Thanks Jill), and drinking great wine. It was to dark to get videos of my dad's 'original' dancing. Needless to say, if they ever come back to WA or wherever I may be living at the time I will be flying home to see them. I hope you enjoy the pictures! I will try and get a little clip of the concert on the blog soon also. Oh yeah, Lorae and I got some silly string at the store and surprised my parents!

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MY GIRLS!!!!

I just had to put a couple pictures on here tonight before I went to bed. My mom and I traveled out to the 'boonies' to see the 3 girls that I have held since the day they came home from the hospital. They are growing up so fast and I was so excited to see them!!! Aren't they beautiful!!! Some of you also know that the youngest had leukemia. She is doing great and is currently in remission.

The Finer Things In Life

I know, you are all thinking I am going to write about wine, beautiful jewelry, fancy houses, or something to that extent right? Well, turns out that I have realized that some of the finer things in life are the things that everybody takes for granted. Such as fresh smelling air, cooking what you want every night, being with your loved ones whenver you feel like it, not being limited to what you can do on any given day, and CINNABONS! Yes, I said it Cinnabons. Now not to discredit the things I said before that because those really are the finer things in life. Since I can't have those things right I have to resort to other things that make me happy.

When I got to work today I found out that a guy who used to be in our company sent us Cinnabons. Now of course some of you are thinking those would go bad by the time they got to us. Well, if you don't know...some of the bases in Iraq have places like that. Not full scale restaurants but fast food restaurants such as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway, etc. I do not remember the last time that I had a cinnabon. One because they have so many calories that I don't think I can count that high (by the way, I ate 2 of them...mini cinnabons though) and two because I just didn't take the time to ever stop and eat one. Well, today I realized something, that first cinnabon that I ate was like a little piece of heaven for my mouth. So in eating that Cinnabon it just helped me to remember that it is not the car that we drive, the nice clothes that we can buy because we have tons of money, or that we have the most expensive hi-tech cell phone out there but the finer things in life are the things I mentioned in the first paragraph. So take your family, go do something fun, make a picnic, stop by a Cinnabon store and pick up some cinnabons for dessert, and enjoy the beautiful day that God has given you. You will see what I am talking about when you take a bite of that cinnabon, they are even good when they are a little bit cold. Oh yeah...eat dessert first, life is uncertain!

The Best Kiss Ever

Hello Everybody! I know, I know, it has taken me forever to write for the past few months. My goal is to get caught up by this weekend. Well, the first thing I have to talk about is pretty exciting.

I GOT MARRIED!!! Yes, that may come as a shock to some of you whom I haven't talked to for a while. I got married on the 30th of June to my Randy. It wasn't anything elaborate but it was perfect for us. There were only a few people there. My mom, my boss and his family (the same one whose dogs I watched a few months ago), and my roommate Elizabeth. Randy and I got to spend some time together before he left to go back home. I met my in-laws for the first time also. They are very nice people and I had a great time.

We decided that we would also take a few days and spend some time together with just the two of us. We stayed at the Hilton in Austin. Now let me tell you, this hotel was beautiful. We had room service, we both got our first full body massages ever, and sat down and had a really nice dinner in the hotel restaurant. And yes Dad, I had Cabernet Sauvignon ($10 a glass) but it was a very good wine. I even got a free glass when we went the lounge upstairs. We had a little time on Saturday so by request from my wonderful new husband we went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean. I do suggest that you go and see the movie once it comes out, it was action packed.

This was our first kiss as husband and wife! Randy is a wonderful man and I would not trade him for anything in the world. I love him so much! I hope that after the next year and a half or so that we will finally be able to live in the same place. I really can't wait to be able to wake up next to him every morning and he doesn't steal the covers. That is about it for this post. Coming up next: Brian and Megan's trip to visit me + pictures from San Antonio!

Forgiveness

Hello Everybody! Many of you know the hot stud muffin in this picture with me or at least know of him. Randy and I have been talking again since February. It would be an understatement to say that he and I have been through a lot together. We have both learned a lot about each other and our friendship has really matured. Over the past few months I have gotten to see Randy a few times and spend some quality time with him. He and I went to Panama City for 3 days and had a great time! We went para sailing, jet skiing, swimming in the ocean, go-kart racing (twice), and sat down at the outdoor bar for a couple of drinks and watched all the spring breakers. I even got him to dance with me for awhile! We spent a lot of time talking and basically just enjoying each others company. He will be in Texas with me for a couple of days. We are going to go to Six Flags! My first time ever and his first time going on a BIG rollercoaster. Don't worry, I will make sure and let you all know about his little adventures and thrills. Maybe I will even get some pictures! We have been having a great time so far and we are both looking forward to a great weekend!