Christmas

The spirit of Christmas started off in Laie at the giving machine! This is the first time the giving machines made it to Hawaii! They passed around a signup sheet at church one day and I signed up with my friends. It was super fun spending time with those giving to others this Christmas season. Also, the PCC is so beautiful, and walking around in the evening in December without a jacket or anything is the best! 

I headed home for the holidays to spend it with my family. Went down to Temple Square to see the lights. I think this is the last year they will have the lights because next year renovations will start on the Salt Lake temple. 

I also was able to catch up with some of my high school friends. I haven't seen them in forever! And I'm not sure when I will see them again. We hung out at Savannah's house. Her place has always been the party pad. I also saw Roxi at the University Mall in Provo. We loved catching up after our time in Ukraine. Friends forever!! We spent Christmas Eve skating at the Midway skating rink! I love some good skate time. 

The rest of the break consisted of puzzles, watching the Brady bunch, catching up with family, and of course screaming in the new year with my pot and pan and watching the ball drop in NYC! It's not New Year's with the annual pot and pan bang! 

Swimming with the Dolphins

Today was probably one of my favorite days in Hawaiʻi ever! I know I’ll remember it forever and ever. Sam, Sariah, Caleb, and I camped on a beach on the West Side so we could swim with dolphins in the morning! I hadn’t been to the West Side at all since moving here, so I loved getting out of Lāʻie and seeing more of the island. I guess camping on the West Side beach is kind of a must-do when you're in college. The reason people do it is so you can be right there on the beach at sunrise, ready to jump in when the dolphins swim by. The night before, we ate spam musubi on the sand while playing with fire (don’t worry we were responsible-ish). We each took turns swinging around a wool sock tied to a string that we lit on fire, and we even released a few lanterns over the beach. It was magic. We fell asleep to the sound of waves crashing on the shore and a sky full of stars. Since there are no streetlights on that side of the island, the stars looked extra incredible. Sam brought his military-style dome tent and had it set up in like 40 seconds so clutch!

Once the sun came up we threw on our swimming suits and got the kayak ready for launch. We were sitting there watching the cost when I spotted a dolphin. We immediately paddled out as fast as we could. Because we were on a kayak we were able to get right on top of them. When I jumped in the water I couldn't believe how beautiful the dolphins there were. There were probably 50 of them swimming by. They looked so cute all swimming in a pod together. Sariah and I were on cloud 9! We were so happy to have a GoPro to capture the scene! I still can't believe what we saw. We probably spent hours out there snorkeling and swimming with them. It was the most magical thing I have ever seen. No way can I ever leave this paradise. We stopped at Mermaid Cave on the way back to top off our magical morning.